; and his irresistible attack determined the fortune
of the day. The cavalry of Maxentius was principally composed either of
unwieldy cuirassiers, or of light Moors and Numidians. They yielded to
the vigor of the Gallic horse, which possessed more activity than the
one, more firmness than the other. The defeat of the two wings left the
infantry without any protection on its flanks, and the undisciplined
Italians fled without reluctance from the standard of a tyrant whom
they had always hated, and whom they no longer feared. The Praetorians,
conscious that their offences were beyond the reach of mercy, were
animated by revenge and despair. Notwithstanding their repeated efforts,
those brave veterans were unable to recover the victory: they obtained,
however, an honorable death; and it was observed that their bodies
covered the same ground which had been occupied by their ranks. [68] The
confusion then became general, and the dismayed troops of Maxentius,
pursued by an implacable enemy, rushed by thousands into the deep and
rapid stream of the Tyber. The emperor himself attempted to escape back
into the city over the Milvian bridge; but the crowds which pressed
together through that narrow passage forced him into the river, where he
was immediately drowned by the weight of his armor. [69] His body, which
had sunk very deep into the mud, was found with some difficulty the
next day. The sight of his head, when it was exposed to the eyes of
the people, convinced them of their deliverance, and admonished them
to receive with acclamations of loyalty and gratitude the fortunate
Constantine, who thus achieved by his valor and ability the most
splendid enterprise of his life. [70]

[Footnote 65: See Panegyr. Vet. ix. 16, x. 27. The former of these
orators magnifies the hoards of corn, which Maxentius had collected from
Africa and the Islands. And yet, if there is any truth in the scarcity
mentioned by Eusebius, (in Vit. Constantin. l. i. c. 36,) the Imperial
granaries must have been open only to the soldiers.]

[Footnote 66: Maxentius... tandem urbe in Saxa Rubra, millia ferme novem
aegerrime progressus. Aurelius Victor. See Cellarius Geograph. Antiq.
tom. i. p. 463. Saxa Rubra was in the neighborhood of the Cremera, a
trifling rivulet, illustrated by the valor and glorious death of the
three hundred Fabii.]

[Footnote 67: The post which Maxentius had taken, with the Tyber in his
rear is very clearly described by the two Panegy