wives, by a
military force, consisting, for the most part, either of infantry or
cavalry; and above all, by the use of the Teutonic, or of the Sclavonian
language; the last of which has been diffused by conquest, from the
confines of Italy to the neighborhood of Japan.

Chapter X: Emperors Decius, Gallus, AEmilianus, Valerian And
Gallienus.--Part II.

The Goths were now in possession of the Ukraine, a country of
considerable extent and uncommon fertility, intersected with navigable
rivers, which, from either side, discharge themselves into the
Borysthenes; and interspersed with large and leafy forests of oaks.
The plenty of game and fish, the innumerable bee-hives deposited in the
hollow of old trees, and in the cavities of rocks, and forming, even in
that rude age, a valuable branch of commerce, the size of the cattle,
the temperature of the air, the aptness of the soil for every species of
gain, and the luxuriancy of the vegetation, all displayed the liberality
of Nature, and tempted the industry of man. But the Goths withstood all
these temptations, and still adhered to a life of idleness, of poverty,
and of rapine.

The Scythian hordes, which, towards the east, bordered on the new
settlements of the Goths, presented nothing to their arms, except the
doubtful chance of an unprofitable victory. But the prospect of the
Roman territories was far more alluring; and the fields of Dacia were
covered with rich harvests, sown by the hands of an industrious, and
exposed to be gathered by those of a warlike, people. It is probable
that the conquests of Trajan, maintained by his successors, less for
any real advantage than for ideal dignity, had contributed to weaken the
empire on that side. The new and unsettled province of Dacia was neither
strong enough to resist, nor rich enough to satiate, the rapaciousness
of the barbarians. As long as the remote banks of the Niester were
considered as the boundary of the Roman power, the fortifications of the
Lower Danube were more carelessly guarded, and the inhabitants of
Maesia lived in supine security, fondly conceiving themselves at an
inaccessible distance from any barbarian invaders. The irruptions of
the Goths, under the reign of Philip, fatally convinced them of their
mistake. The king, or leader, of that fierce nation, traversed with
contempt the province of Dacia, and passed both the Niester and the
Danube without encountering any opposition capable of retarding his
pr