hed the hope of this important reenforcement, he condescended
to hold a council of war, and approved, after a full debate, the
sentiment of those generals, who dissuaded the siege of Ctesiphon, as a
fruitless and pernicious undertaking. It is not easy for us to conceive,
by what arts of fortification a city thrice besieged and taken by the
predecessors of Julian could be rendered impregnable against an army of
sixty thousand Romans, commanded by a brave and experienced general,
and abundantly supplied with ships, provisions, battering engines, and
military stores. But we may rest assured, from the love of glory, and
contempt of danger, which formed the character of Julian, that he was
not discouraged by any trivial or imaginary obstacles. [75] At the
very time when he declined the siege of Ctesiphon, he rejected, with
obstinacy and disdain, the most flattering offers of a negotiation of
peace. Sapor, who had been so long accustomed to the tardy ostentation
of Constantius, was surprised by the intrepid diligence of his
successor. As far as the confines of India and Scythia, the satraps
of the distant provinces were ordered to assemble their troops, and
to march, without delay, to the assistance of their monarch. But their
preparations were dilatory, their motions slow; and before Sapor could
lead an army into the field, he received the melancholy intelligence of
the devastation of Assyria, the ruin of his palaces, and the slaughter
of his bravest troops, who defended the passage of the Tigris. The pride
of royalty was humbled in the dust; he took his repasts on the ground;
and the disorder of his hair expressed the grief and anxiety of his
mind. Perhaps he would not have refused to purchase, with one half
of his kingdom, the safety of the remainder; and he would have gladly
subscribed himself, in a treaty of peace, the faithful and dependent
ally of the Roman conqueror. Under the pretence of private business, a
minister of rank and confidence was secretly despatched to embrace the
knees of Hormisdas, and to request, in the language of a suppliant, that
he might be introduced into the presence of the emperor. The Sassanian
prince, whether he listened to the voice of pride or humanity,
whether he consulted the sentiments of his birth, or the duties of his
situation, was equally inclined to promote a salutary measure, which
would terminate the calamities of Persia, and secure the triumph of
Rome. He was astonished by the infl