s person. As he examined the exterior
fortifications of Maogamalcha, two Persians, devoting themselves for
their country, suddenly rushed upon him with drawn cimeters: the emperor
dexterously received their blows on his uplifted shield; and, with a
steady and well-aimed thrust, laid one of his adversaries dead at
his feet. The esteem of a prince who possesses the virtues which he
approves, is the noblest recompense of a deserving subject; and the
authority which Julian derived from his personal merit, enabled him to
revive and enforce the rigor of ancient discipline. He punished with
death or ignominy the misbehavior of three troops of horse, who, in
a skirmish with the Surenas, had lost their honor and one of their
standards: and he distinguished with obsidional [62] crowns the valor of
the foremost soldiers, who had ascended into the city of Maogamalcha.

After the siege of Perisabor, the firmness of the emperor was exercised
by the insolent avarice of the army, who loudly complained, that their
services were rewarded by a trifling donative of one hundred pieces
of silver. His just indignation was expressed in the grave and manly
language of a Roman. "Riches are the object of your desires; those
riches are in the hands of the Persians; and the spoils of this fruitful
country are proposed as the prize of your valor and discipline. Believe
me," added Julian, "the Roman republic, which formerly possessed such
immense treasures, is now reduced to want and wretchedness once our
princes have been persuaded, by weak and interested ministers, to
purchase with gold the tranquillity of the Barbarians. The revenue is
exhausted; the cities are ruined; the provinces are dispeopled.
For myself, the only inheritance that I have received from my royal
ancestors is a soul incapable of fear; and as long as I am convinced
that every real advantage is seated in the mind, I shall not blush to
acknowledge an honorable poverty, which, in the days of ancient virtue,
was considered as the glory of Fabricius. That glory, and that virtue,
may be your own, if you will listen to the voice of Heaven and of your
leader. But if you will rashly persist, if you are determined to renew
the shameful and mischievous examples of old seditions, proceed. As
it becomes an emperor who has filled the first rank among men, I am
prepared to die, standing; and to despise a precarious life, which,
every hour, may depend on an accidental fever. If I have been found