n of Anthemius. During that period, the government was in the
hands of Ricimer alone; and, although the modest Barbarian disclaimed
the name of king, he accumulated treasures, formed a separate army,
negotiated private alliances, and ruled Italy with the same independent
and despotic authority, which was afterwards exercised by Odoacer and
Theodoric. But his dominions were bounded by the Alps; and two Roman
generals, Marcellinus and Aegidius, maintained their allegiance to the
republic, by rejecting, with disdain, the phantom which he styled an
emperor. Marcellinus still adhered to the old religion; and the devout
Pagans, who secretly disobeyed the laws of the church and state,
applauded his profound skill in the science of divination. But he
possessed the more valuable qualifications of learning, virtue, and
courage; [58] the study of the Latin literature had improved his
taste; and his military talents had recommended him to the esteem and
confidence of the great Aetius, in whose ruin he was involved. By a
timely flight, Marcellinus escaped the rage of Valentinian, and boldly
asserted his liberty amidst the convulsions of the Western empire. His
voluntary, or reluctant, submission to the authority of Majorian,
was rewarded by the government of Sicily, and the command of an army,
stationed in that island to oppose, or to attack, the Vandals; but his
Barbarian mercenaries, after the emperor's death, were tempted to revolt
by the artful liberality of Ricimer. At the head of a band of faithful
followers, the intrepid Marcellinus occupied the province of Dalmatia,
assumed the title of patrician of the West, secured the love of his
subjects by a mild and equitable reign, built a fleet which claimed the
dominion of the Adriatic, and alternately alarmed the coasts of Italy
and of Africa. [59] Aegidius, the master-general of Gaul, who equalled,
or at least who imitated, the heroes of ancient Rome, [60] proclaimed
his immortal resentment against the assassins of his beloved master. A
brave and numerous army was attached to his standard: and, though he was
prevented by the arts of Ricimer, and the arms of the Visigoths, from
marching to the gates of Rome, he maintained his independent sovereignty
beyond the Alps, and rendered the name of Aegidius, respectable both
in peace and war. The Franks, who had punished with exile the youthful
follies of Childeric, elected the Roman general for their king: his
vanity, rather than his ambiti