tern ministers of Constantius, the Praetorian praefect
Musonian, whose abilities were disgraced by the want of truth and
integrity, and Cassian, duke of Mesopotamia, a hardy and veteran
soldier, opened a secret negotiation with the satrap Tamsapor. [49]
[49a] These overtures of peace, translated into the servile and
flattering language of Asia, were transmitted to the camp of the Great
King; who resolved to signify, by an ambassador, the terms which he was
inclined to grant to the suppliant Romans. Narses, whom he invested with
that character, was honorably received in his passage through Antioch
and Constantinople: he reached Sirmium after a long journey, and, at his
first audience, respectfully unfolded the silken veil which covered the
haughty epistle of his sovereign. Sapor, King of Kings, and Brother
of the Sun and Moon, (such were the lofty titles affected by Oriental
vanity,) expressed his satisfaction that his brother, Constantius
Caesar, had been taught wisdom by adversity. As the lawful successor of
Darius Hystaspes, Sapor asserted, that the River Strymon, in Macedonia,
was the true and ancient boundary of his empire; declaring, however,
that as an evidence of his moderation, he would content himself with
the provinces of Armenia and Mesopotamia, which had been fraudulently
extorted from his ancestors. He alleged, that, without the restitution
of these disputed countries, it was impossible to establish any treaty
on a solid and permanent basis; and he arrogantly threatened, that if
his ambassador returned in vain, he was prepared to take the field in
the spring, and to support the justice of his cause by the strength of
his invincible arms. Narses, who was endowed with the most polite and
amiable manners, endeavored, as far as was consistent with his duty, to
soften the harshness of the message. [50] Both the style and substance
were maturely weighed in the Imperial council, and he was dismissed
with the following answer: "Constantius had a right to disclaim the
officiousness of his ministers, who had acted without any specific
orders from the throne: he was not, however, averse to an equal and
honorable treaty; but it was highly indecent, as well as absurd, to
propose to the sole and victorious emperor of the Roman world, the same
conditions of peace which he had indignantly rejected at the time when
his power was contracted within the narrow limits of the East: the
chance of arms was uncertain; and Sapor shoul