ioned by any historian or geographer,
exposed the disgrace of the emperor and empire. Azimus, or Azimuntium,
a small city of Thrace on the Illyrian borders, [36] had been
distinguished by the martial spirit of its youth, the skill and
reputation of the leaders whom they had chosen, and their daring
exploits against the innumerable host of the Barbarians. Instead of
tamely expecting their approach, the Azimuntines attacked, in frequent
and successful sallies, the troops of the Huns, who gradually declined
the dangerous neighborhood, rescued from their hands the spoil and
the captives, and recruited their domestic force by the voluntary
association of fugitives and deserters. After the conclusion of the
treaty, Attila still menaced the empire with implacable war, unless the
Azimuntines were persuaded, or compelled, to comply with the conditions
which their sovereign had accepted. The ministers of Theodosius
confessed with shame, and with truth, that they no longer possessed any
authority over a society of men, who so bravely asserted their natural
independence; and the king of the Huns condescended to negotiate
an equal exchange with the citizens of Azimus. They demanded the
restitution of some shepherds, who, with their cattle, had been
accidentally surprised. A strict, though fruitless, inquiry was allowed:
but the Huns were obliged to swear, that they did not detain any
prisoners belonging to the city, before they could recover two surviving
countrymen, whom the Azimuntines had reserved as pledges for the safety
of their lost companions. Attila, on his side, was satisfied, and
deceived, by their solemn asseveration, that the rest of the captives
had been put to the sword; and that it was their constant practice,
immediately to dismiss the Romans and the deserters, who had
obtained the security of the public faith. This prudent and officious
dissimulation may be condemned, or excused, by the casuists, as they
incline to the rigid decree of St. Augustin, or to the milder sentiment
of St. Jerom and St. Chrysostom: but every soldier, every statesman,
must acknowledge, that, if the race of the Azimuntines had been
encouraged and multiplied, the Barbarians would have ceased to trample
on the majesty of the empire. [37]

[Footnote 36: Priscus, p. 35, 36. Among the hundred and eighty-two
forts, or castles, of Thrace, enumerated by Procopius, (de Edificiis,
l. iv. c. xi. tom. ii. p. 92, edit. Paris,) there is one of the name of