bstituting
another word, would suppress both the difficulty and the spirit of this
passage.]

[Footnote 82: Ammian. xvii. 8. Zosimus, l. iii. p. 146-150, (his
narrative is darkened by a mixture of fable,) and Julian. ad S. P. Q.
Athen. p. 280. His expression. This difference of treatment confirms the
opinion that the Salian Franks were permitted to retain the settlements
in Toxandria. Note: A newly discovered fragment of Eunapius, whom
Zosimus probably transcribed, illustrates this transaction. "Julian
commanded the Romans to abstain from all hostile measures against the
Salians, neither to waste or ravage their own country, for he called
every country their own which was surrendered without resistance or toil
on the part of the conquerors." Mai, Script. Vez Nov. Collect. ii. 256,
and Eunapius in Niebuhr, Byzant. Hist.]

[Footnote 83: This interesting story, which Zosimus has abridged, is
related by Eunapius, (in Excerpt. Legationum, p. 15, 16, 17,) with all
the amplifications of Grecian rhetoric: but the silence of Libanius,
of Ammianus, and of Julian himself, renders the truth of it extremely
suspicious.]

It was not enough for Julian to have delivered the provinces of Gaul
from the Barbarians of Germany. He aspired to emulate the glory of the
first and most illustrious of the emperors; after whose example,
he composed his own commentaries of the Gallic war. [84] Caesar has
related, with conscious pride, the manner in which he twice passed the
Rhine. Julian could boast, that before he assumed the title of Augustus,
he had carried the Roman eagles beyond that great river in three
successful expeditions. [85] The consternation of the Germans, after
the battle of Strasburgh, encouraged him to the first attempt; and the
reluctance of the troops soon yielded to the persuasive eloquence of
a leader, who shared the fatigues and dangers which he imposed on the
meanest of the soldiers. The villages on either side of the Meyn, which
were plentifully stored with corn and cattle, felt the ravages of an
invading army. The principal houses, constructed with some imitation
of Roman elegance, were consumed by the flames; and the Caesar boldly
advanced about ten miles, till his progress was stopped by a dark
and impenetrable forest, undermined by subterraneous passages, which
threatened with secret snares and ambush every step of the assailants.
The ground was already covered with snow; and Julian, after repairing an
ancient castl