hou
didst promise the emperor. This, indeed, is the purpose for which we
have come. And the letter which he wrote to thee thou hast already
received, but as for the writing which he sent to the foremost of the
Goths, to no others shall we give it than to them." When the leading men
of the barbarians, who were present, heard this speech of the envoys,
they bade them give to Theodatus what had been written to them. And it
ran as follows: "It has been the object of our care to receive you back
into our state, whereat you may well be pleased. For you will come to
us, not in order to be made of less consequence, but that you may be
more honoured. And, besides, we are not bidding the Goths enter into
strange or alien customs, but into those of a people with whom you were
once familiar, though you have by chance been separated from them for a
season. For these reasons Athanasius and Peter have been sent to you,
and you ought to assist them in all things." Such was the purport of
this letter. But after Theodatus had read everything, he not only
decided not to perform in deed the promises he had made to the emperor,
but also put the envoys under a strict guard.

But when the Emperor Justinian heard these things and what had taken
place in Dalmatia, he sent Constantianus, who commanded the royal
grooms, into Illyricum, bidding him gather an army from there and make
an attempt on Salones, in whatever manner he might be able; and he
commanded Belisarius to enter Italy with all speed and to treat the
Goths as enemies. So Constantianus came to Epidamnus and spent some time
there gathering an army. But in the meantime the Goths, under the
leadership of Gripas, came with another army into Dalmatia and took
possession of Salones; and Constantianus, when all his preparations were
as complete as possible, departed from Epidamnus with his whole force
and cast anchor at Epidaurus[31] which is on the right as one sails
into the Ionian Gulf. Now it so happened that some men were there whom
Gripas had sent out as spies. And when they took note of the ships and
the army of Constantianus it seemed to them that both the sea and the
whole land were full of soldiers, and returning to Gripas they declared
that Constantianus was bringing against them an army of men numbering
many tens of thousands. And he, being plunged into great fear, thought
it inexpedient to meet their attack, and at the same time he was quite
unwilling to be besieged by the empe