among the slaves of Gelimer, a Goth by birth,
a passionate and energetic fellow possessed of great bodily strength,
but appearing to be well-disposed to the cause of his master. To this
Godas Gelimer entrusted the island of Sardinia, in order both to guard
the island and to pay over the annual tribute. But he neither could
digest the prosperity brought by fortune nor had he the spirit to endure
it, and so he undertook to establish a tyranny, and he refused to
continue the payment of the tribute, and actually detached the island
from the Vandals and held it himself. And when he perceived that the
Emperor Justinian was eager to make war against Libya and Gelimer, he
wrote to him as follows:

"It was neither because I yielded to folly nor because I had suffered
anything unpleasant at my master's hands that I turned my thoughts
towards rebellion, but seeing the extreme cruelty of the man both toward
his kinsmen and toward his subjects, I could not, willingly at least, be
reputed to have a share in his inhumanity. For it is better to serve a
just king than a tyrant whose commands are unlawful. But do thou join
with me to assist in this my effort and send soldiers so that I may be
able to ward off my assailants."

And the emperor, on receiving this letter, was pleased, and he sent
Eulogius as envoy and wrote a letter praising Godas for his wisdom and
his zeal for justice, and he promised an alliance and soldiers and a
general, who would be able to guard the island with him and to assist
him in every other way, so that no trouble should come to him from the
Vandals. But Eulogius, upon coming to Sardinia, found that Godas was
assuming the name and wearing the dress of a king and that he had
attached a body-guard to his person. And when Godas read the emperor's
letter, he said that it was his wish to have soldiers, indeed, come to
fight along with him, but as for a commander, he had absolutely no
desire for one. And having written to the emperor in this sense, he
dismissed Eulogius.

XI

The emperor, meanwhile, not having yet ascertained these things, was
preparing four hundred soldiers with Cyril as commander, who were to
assist Godas in guarding the island. And with them he also had in
readiness the expedition against Carthage, ten thousand foot-soldiers,
and five thousand horsemen, gathered from the regular troops and from
the "foederati." Now at an earlier time only barbarians were enlisted
among the foederati, those