d was appointed, after the victory,
master-general of the armies of Gaul. His real merit, and apparent
fidelity, had gained the confidence both of the prince and people; his
boundless liberality corrupted the allegiance of the troops; and, whilst
he was universally esteemed as the pillar of the state, the bold and
crafty Barbarian was secretly determined either to rule, or to ruin, the
empire of the West. The important commands of the army were distributed
among the Franks; the creatures of Arbogastes were promoted to all
the honors and offices of the civil government; the progress of
the conspiracy removed every faithful servant from the presence of
Valentinian; and the emperor, without power and without intelligence,
insensibly sunk into the precarious and dependent condition of a
captive. [105] The indignation which he expressed, though it might
arise only from the rash and impatient temper of youth, may be candidly
ascribed to the generous spirit of a prince, who felt that he was
not unworthy to reign. He secretly invited the archbishop of Milan to
undertake the office of a mediator; as the pledge of his sincerity, and
the guardian of his safety. He contrived to apprise the emperor of the
East of his helpless situation, and he declared, that, unless Theodosius
could speedily march to his assistance, he must attempt to escape
from the palace, or rather prison, of Vienna in Gaul, where he had
imprudently fixed his residence in the midst of the hostile faction.
But the hopes of relief were distant, and doubtful: and, as every
day furnished some new provocation, the emperor, without strength or
counsel, too hastily resolved to risk an immediate contest with his
powerful general. He received Arbogastes on the throne; and, as the
count approached with some appearance of respect, delivered to him a
paper, which dismissed him from all his employments. "My authority,"
replied Arbogastes, with insulting coolness, "does not depend on the
smile or the frown of a monarch;" and he contemptuously threw the paper
on the ground. The indignant monarch snatched at the sword of one of
the guards, which he struggled to draw from its scabbard; and it was
not without some degree of violence that he was prevented from using the
deadly weapon against his enemy, or against himself. A few days after
this extraordinary quarrel, in which he had exposed his resentment and
his weakness, the unfortunate Valentinian was found strangled in his
apartm