the public safety;
but his wisest measures were embarrassed by a faction, which, since
the death of Placidia, infested the Imperial palace: the youth of Italy
trembled at the sound of the trumpet; and the Barbarians, who, from
fear or affection, were inclined to the cause of Attila, awaited with
doubtful and venal faith, the event of the war. The patrician passed
the Alps at the head of some troops, whose strength and numbers scarcely
deserved the name of an army. But on his arrival at Arles, or Lyons,
he was confounded by the intelligence, that the Visigoths, refusing to
embrace the defence of Gaul, had determined to expect, within their own
territories, the formidable invader, whom they professed to despise.
The senator Avitus, who, after the honorable exercise of the Praetorian
praefecture, had retired to his estate in Auvergne, was persuaded
to accept the important embassy, which he executed with ability and
success. He represented to Theodoric, that an ambitious conqueror, who
aspired to the dominion of the earth, could be resisted only by the firm
and unanimous alliance of the powers whom he labored to oppress.
The lively eloquence of Avitus inflamed the Gothic warriors, by the
description of the injuries which their ancestors had suffered from the
Huns; whose implacable fury still pursued them from the Danube to the
foot of the Pyrenees. He strenuously urged, that it was the duty of
every Christian to save, from sacrilegious violation, the churches of
God, and the relics of the saints: that it was the interest of every
Barbarian, who had acquired a settlement in Gaul, to defend the fields
and vineyards, which were cultivated for his use, against the desolation
of the Scythian shepherds. Theodoric yielded to the evidence of truth;
adopted the measure at once the most prudent and the most honorable;
and declared, that, as the faithful ally of AEtius and the Romans, he was
ready to expose his life and kingdom for the common safety of Gaul. The
Visigoths, who, at that time, were in the mature vigor of their fame and
power, obeyed with alacrity the signal of war; prepared their arms and
horses, and assembled under the standard of their aged king, who was
resolved, with his two eldest sons, Torismond and Theodoric, to command
in person his numerous and valiant people. The example of the Goths
determined several tribes or nations, that seemed to fluctuate between
the Huns and the Romans. The indefatigable diligence of th