him. He was haughty in his walk, rolling his eyes
hither and thither, so that the power of his proud spirit
appeared in the movement of his body. He was indeed
a lover of war, yet restrained in action, mighty in counsel,
gracious to suppliants and lenient to those who were
once received into his protection. He was short of stature
with a broad chest and a large head; his eyes were
small, his beard thin and sprinkled with gray; and he had
a flat nose and a swarthy complexion, showing the evidences
of his origin. And though his temper was such 183
that he always had great self-confidence, yet his assurance
was increased by finding the sword of Mars, always
esteemed sacred among the kings of the Scythians. The
historian Priscus says it was discovered under the following
circumstances: "When a certain shepherd beheld
one heifer of his flock limping and could find no cause
for this wound, he anxiously followed the trail of blood
and at length came to a sword it had unwittingly trampled
while nibbling the grass. He dug it up and took it
straight to Attila. He rejoiced at this gift and, being
ambitious, thought he had been appointed ruler of the
whole world, and that through the sword of Mars supremacy
in all wars was assured to him."

[Sidenote: GAISERIC INCITES HIM TO WAR WITH THE GOTHS]

XXXVI Now when Gaiseric, king of the Vandals, 184
whom we mentioned shortly before, learned that his mind
was bent on the devastation of the world, he incited
Attila by many gifts to make war on the Visigoths, for
he was afraid that Theodorid, king of the Visigoths,
would avenge the injury done to his daughter. She had
been joined in wedlock with Huneric, the son of Gaiseric,
and at first was happy in this union. But afterwards he
was cruel even to his own children, and because of the
mere suspicion that she was attempting to poison him, he
cut off her nose and mutilated her ears. He sent her
back to her father in Gaul thus despoiled of her natural
charms. So the wretched girl presented a pitiable aspect
ever after, and the cruelty which would stir even strangers
still more surely incited her father to vengeance.
Attila, therefore, in his efforts to bring about the wars 185
long ago instigated by the bribe of Gaiseric, sent ambassadors
into Italy to the Emperor Valentinian to sow
strife between the Goths and the Romans, thinking to
shatter by civil discord those whom he could not crush
in battle. He declared that he was