from this consideration, that
his enemy, as has been already mentioned, always bore with him on a
litter the little daughter of Constantius, with her mother Faustina,
both when marching and when preparing for battle, thus exciting the
soldiers to fight more resolutely for the imperial family, with which,
as he told them, he himself was connected. So formerly, when the
Macedonians were on the point of engaging in battle with the Illyrians,
they placed their king, who was still an infant,[158] in his cradle
behind the line of battle, and the fear lest he should be taken prisoner
made them exert themselves the more so as to defeat their enemies.

4. To counteract this crafty manoeuvre the emperor, in the critical
state of his affairs, devised a sagacious remedy, and summoned Arbetio,
formerly consul, but who was now living in privacy, to join him, in
order that the fierce minds of the soldiers might be awed by the
presence of a general who had served under Constantine. And it happened
as he expected.

5. For when that officer, who was older in years than all around him,
and superior in rank, showed his venerable gray hairs to the numbers who
were inclined to violate their oaths, and accused Procopius as a public
robber, and addressing the soldiers who followed his guilty leadership
as his own sons and the partners of his former toils, entreated them
rather to follow him as a parent known to them before as a successful
leader than obey a profligate spendthrift who ought to be abandoned, and
who would soon fall.

6. And when Gomoarius heard this, though he might have escaped from the
enemy and returned in safety to the place from whence he came, yet,
availing himself of the proximity of the emperor's camp, he passed over
under the guise of a prisoner, as if he had been surrounded by the
sudden advance of a superior force.

7. Encouraged by this, Valens quickly moved his camp to Phrygia, and
engaged the enemy near Nacolia, and the battle was doubtful till Agilo,
the leader of Procopius's forces, betrayed his side by a sudden
desertion of his ranks; and he was followed by many who, brandishing
their javelins and their swords, crossed over to the emperor, bearing
their standards and their shields reversed, which is the most manifest
sign of defection.

8. When this unexpected event took place, Procopius abandoning all hope
of safety, dismounted, and sought a hiding-place on foot in the groves
and hills. He was followed by