s,
no longer deserving the name of Romans. The enervated legionaries
abandoned their own and the public defence, and their pusillanimous
indolence may be considered the immediate cause of the downfall of the
empire.

_III.--Ruin by Goth, Vandal, and Hun_

The genius of Rome expired with Theodosius. His sons within three months
had once more sharply divided the empire. At a time when the only hope
of delaying its ruin depended on the firm union of the two sections, the
subject of Arcadius and Honorius were instructed by their respective
masters to view each other in a hostile light, to rejoice in their
mutual calamity, and to embrace as their faithful allies the barbarians,
whom they incited to invade the territories of their countrymen.

Alarmed at the insecurity of Rome, Honorius about this time fixed the
imperial residence within the naturally fortified city of Ravenna--an
example which was afterwards imitated by his feeble successors, the
Gothic kings and the Exarchs; and till the middle of the eighth century
Ravenna was considered as the seat of government and the capital of
Italy.

The reign of Arcadius in the East marked the complete division of the
Roman world. His subjects assumed the language and manners of Greeks,
and his form of government was a pure and simple monarchy. The name of
the Roman republic, which so long preserved a faint tradition of
freedom, was confined to the Latin provinces. A series of internal
disputes, both civil and religious, marked his career of power, and his
reign may be regarded as notable if only for the election of St. John
Chrysostom to the head of the church of Constantinople. Arcadius died in
May 408, and was succeeded by his supposed son, Theodosius, then a boy
of seven, the reins of power being first held by the prefect Anthemius,
and afterwards by his sister Pulcheria, who governed the eastern
empire--in fact, for nearly forty years.

The wisdom of Honorius, emperor of the West, in removing his capital to
Ravenna, was soon justified by events. Alaric, king of the Goths,
advanced in 408 to the gates of Rome, and completely blockaded the city.
In the course of a long siege, thousands of Romans died of plague and
famine, and only a heavy ransom, amounting to $1,575,000, relieved the
citizens from their terrible situation in the year 409. In the same year
Alaric again besieged Rome, after fruitless negotiations with Honorius,
and his attempt once more proving successful