enerous disobedience. Each of his officers gave a written opinion that
the siege of Ravenna was impracticable and hopeless: the general then
rejected the treaty of partition, and declared his own resolution of
leading Vitiges in chains to the feet of Justinian. The Goths retired
with doubt and dismay: this peremptory refusal deprived them of the only
signature which they could trust, and filled their minds with a just
apprehension, that a sagacious enemy had discovered the full extent of
their deplorable state. They compared the fame and fortune of Belisarius
with the weakness of their ill-fated king; and the comparison suggested
an extraordinary project, to which Vitiges, with apparent resignation,
was compelled to acquiesce. Partition would ruin the strength, exile
would disgrace the honor, of the nation; but they offered their arms,
their treasures, and the fortifications of Ravenna, if Belisarius would
disclaim the authority of a master, accept the choice of the Goths, and
assume, as he had deserved, the kingdom of Italy. If the false lustre
of a diadem could have tempted the loyalty of a faithful subject, his
prudence must have foreseen the inconstancy of the Barbarians, and his
rational ambition would prefer the safe and honorable station of a
Roman general. Even the patience and seeming satisfaction with which he
entertained a proposal of treason, might be susceptible of a malignant
interpretation. But the lieutenant of Justinian was conscious of his own
rectitude; he entered into a dark and crooked path, as it might lead
to the voluntary submission of the Goths; and his dexterous policy
persuaded them that he was disposed to comply with their wishes, without
engaging an oath or a promise for the performance of a treaty which he
secretly abhorred. The day of the surrender of Ravenna was stipulated
by the Gothic ambassadors: a fleet, laden with provisions, sailed as
a welcome guest into the deepest recess of the harbor: the gates were
opened to the fancied king of Italy; and Belisarius, without meeting an
enemy, triumphantly marched through the streets of an impregnable city.
[108] The Romans were astonished by their success; the multitudes of
tall and robust Barbarians were confounded by the image of their own
patience and the masculine females, spitting in the faces of their sons
and husbands, most bitterly reproached them for betraying their dominion
and freedom to these pygmies of the south, contemptible in their