the Goths.

And what was left? What of all the pomp and glory, the spoils of the
world, the millions of inhabitants?

Five or six senators, who had taken refuge in St. Peter's, and some five
hundred of the plebs; Pope Pelagius crouching at Totila's feet, and
crying for mercy; and Rusticiana, daughter of Symmachus, Boethius' widow,
with other noble women, in slaves' rags, knocking without shame at door
after door to beg a bit of bread. And that was what was left of Rome.

Gentlemen, I make no comment. I know no more awful page in the history
of Europe. Through such facts as these God speaks. Let man be silent;
and look on in fear and trembling, knowing that it was written of old
time--The wages of sin are death.

The Goths wanted to kill Rusticiana. She had sent money to the Roman
generals; she had thrown down Dietrich's statues, in revenge for the
death of her father and her husband. Totila would not let them touch
her. Neither maid, wife, nor widow, says Procopius, was the worse for
any Goth.

Next day he called the heroes together. He is going to tell them the old
tale, he says--How in Vitigis' time at Ravenna, 7000 Greeks had conquered
and robbed of kingdom and liberty 200,000 rich and well-armed Goths. And
now that they were raw levies, few, naked, wretched, they had conquered
more than 20,000 of the enemy. And why? Because of old they had looked
to everything rather than to justice; they had sinned against each other
and the Romans. Therefore they must choose, and be just men henceforth,
and have God with them, or unjust, and have God against them.

Then he sends for the wretched remnant of the senators and tells them the
plain truth:--How the great Dietrich and his successors had heaped them
with honour and wealth; and how they had returned his benefits by
bringing in the Greeks. And what had they gained by changing Dietrich
for Justinian? Logothetes, who forced them by blows to pay up the money
which they had already paid to their Gothic rulers; and revenue exacted
alike in war and in peace. Slaves they deserve to be; and slaves they
shall be henceforth.

Then he sends to Justinian. He shall withdraw his army from Italy, and
make peace with him. He will be his ally and his son in arms, as
Dietrich had been to the Emperors before him, or if not, he will kill the
senate, destroy Rome, and march into Illyricum.

Justinian leaves it to Belisarius.

Then Totila begins to destroy Rome. He