t.

The general design of this work will not permit us minutely to relate
the actions of every emperor after he ascended the throne, much less to
deduce the various fortunes of his private life. We shall only observe,
that the father of Aurelian was a peasant of the territory of Sirmium,
who occupied a small farm, the property of Aurelius, a rich senator.
His warlike son enlisted in the troops as a common soldier, successively
rose to the rank of a centurion, a tribune, the praefect of a legion, the
inspector of the camp, the general, or, as it was then called, the
duke, of a frontier; and at length, during the Gothic war, exercised the
important office of commander-in-chief of the cavalry. In every station
he distinguished himself by matchless valor, rigid discipline, and
successful conduct. He was invested with the consulship by the emperor
Valerian, who styles him, in the pompous language of that age, the
deliverer of Illyricum, the restorer of Gaul, and the rival of the
Scipios. At the recommendation of Valerian, a senator of the highest
rank and merit, Ulpius Crinitus, whose blood was derived from the same
source as that of Trajan, adopted the Pannonian peasant, gave him his
daughter in marriage, and relieved with his ample fortune the honorable
poverty which Aurelian had preserved inviolate.

The reign of Aurelian lasted only four years and about nine months;
but every instant of that short period was filled by some memorable
achievement. He put an end to the Gothic war, chastised the Germans who
invaded Italy, recovered Gaul, Spain, and Britain out of the hands of
Tetricus, and destroyed the proud monarchy which Zenobia had erected in
the East on the ruins of the afflicted empire.

It was the rigid attention of Aurelian, even to the minutest articles of
discipline, which bestowed such uninterrupted success on his arms. His
military regulations are contained in a very concise epistle to one of
his inferior officers, who is commanded to enforce them, as he wishes
to become a tribune, or as he is desirous to live. Gaming, drinking, and
the arts of divination, were severely prohibited. Aurelian expected that
his soldiers should be modest, frugal, and laborous; that their armor
should be constantly kept bright, their weapons sharp, their clothing
and horses ready for immediate service; that they should live in their
quarters with chastity and sobriety, without damaging the cornfields,
without stealing even a sheep,