tice) almost upon the neck, fiercely rolled
his large animated eyes round the field, Constantius then struck terror
into his foes, and inspired his soldiers with the assurance of victory.
He had received from the court of Ravenna the important commission of
extirpating rebellion in the provinces of the West; and the pretended
emperor Constantine, after enjoying a short and anxious respite, was
again besieged in his capital by the arms of a more formidable enemy.
Yet this interval allowed time for a successful negotiation with the
Franks and Alemanni and his ambassador, Edobic, soon returned at the
head of an army, to disturb the operations of the siege of Arles. The
Roman general, instead of expecting the attack in his lines, boldly and
perhaps wisely, resolved to pass the Rhone, and to meet the Barbarians.
His measures were conducted with so much skill and secrecy, that,
while they engaged the infantry of Constantius in the front, they were
suddenly attacked, surrounded, and destroyed, by the cavalry of his
lieutenant Ulphilas, who had silently gained an advantageous post in
their rear. The remains of the army of Edobic were preserved by flight
or submission, and their leader escaped from the field of battle to the
house of a faithless friend; who too clearly understood, that the head
of his obnoxious guest would be an acceptable and lucrative present for
the Imperial general. On this occasion, Constantius behaved with
the magnanimity of a genuine Roman. Subduing, or suppressing, every
sentiment of jealousy, he publicly acknowledged the merit and services
of Ulphilas; but he turned with horror from the assassin of Edobic;
and sternly intimated his commands, that the camp should no longer be
polluted by the presence of an ungrateful wretch, who had violated the
laws of friendship and hospitality. The usurper, who beheld, from the
walls of Arles, the ruin of his last hopes, was tempted to place some
confidence in so generous a conqueror. He required a solemn promise
for his security; and after receiving, by the imposition of hands, the
sacred character of a Christian Presbyter, he ventured to open the gates
of the city. But he soon experienced that the principles of honor and
integrity, which might regulate the ordinary conduct of Constantius,
were superseded by the loose doctrines of political morality. The
Roman general, indeed, refused to sully his laurels with the blood of
Constantine; but the abdicated emperor, and hi