erial court. The
legions, which had been ordered to march into Pannonia, were immediately
recalled, or detained, for the defence of Gaul; the military command
was divided between Nanienus and Mellobaudes; and the youthful emperor,
though he respected the long experience and sober wisdom of the former,
was much more inclined to admire, and to follow, the martial ardor of
his colleague; who was allowed to unite the incompatible characters of
count of the domestics, and of king of the Franks. His rival Priarius,
king of the Alemanni, was guided, or rather impelled, by the same
headstrong valor; and as their troops were animated by the spirit of
their leaders, they met, they saw, they encountered each other, near the
town of Argentaria, or Colmar, in the plains of Alsace. The glory of
the day was justly ascribed to the missile weapons, and well-practised
evolutions, of the Roman soldiers; the Alemanni, who long maintained
their ground, were slaughtered with unrelenting fury; five thousand only
of the Barbarians escaped to the woods and mountains; and the glorious
death of their king on the field of battle saved him from the reproaches
of the people, who are always disposed to accuse the justice, or policy,
of an unsuccessful war. After this signal victory, which secured the
peace of Gaul, and asserted the honor of the Roman arms, the emperor
Gratian appeared to proceed without delay on his Eastern expedition; but
as he approached the confines of the Alemanni, he suddenly inclined to
the left, surprised them by his unexpected passage of the Rhine, and
boldly advanced into the heart of their country. The Barbarians opposed
to his progress the obstacles of nature and of courage; and still
continued to retreat, from one hill to another, till they were
satisfied, by repeated trials, of the power and perseverance of their
enemies. Their submission was accepted as a proof, not indeed of their
sincere repentance, but of their actual distress; and a select number of
their brave and robust youth was exacted from the faithless nation, as
the most substantial pledge of their future moderation. The subjects of
the empire, who had so often experienced that the Alemanni could neither
be subdued by arms, nor restrained by treaties, might not promise
themselves any solid or lasting tranquillity: but they discovered,
in the virtues of their young sovereign, the prospect of a long and
auspicious reign. When the legions climbed the mountains, an