eigned as third emperor of the
Romans, and yet the Goths continued in their kingdom
unharmed. Their safety, their advantage, their one hope 69
lay in this, that whatever their counsellor Dicineus advised
should by all means be done; and they judged it
expedient that they should labor for its accomplishment.
And when he saw that their minds were obedient to him
in all things and that they had natural ability, he taught
them almost the whole of philosophy, for he was a skilled
master of this subject. Thus by teaching them ethics he
restrained their barbarous customs; by imparting a knowledge
of physics he made them live naturally under laws
of their own, which they possess in written form to this
day and call _belagines_. He taught them logic and made
them skilled in reasoning beyond all other races; he
showed them practical knowledge and so persuaded them
to abound in good works. By demonstrating theoretical
knowledge he urged them to contemplate the twelve signs
and the courses of the planets passing through them, and
the whole of astronomy. He told them how the disc of
the moon gains increase or suffers loss, and showed them
how much the fiery globe of the sun exceeds in size our
earthly planet. He explained the names of the three hundred
and forty-six stars and told through what signs in
the arching vault of the heavens they glide swiftly from
their rising to their setting. Think, I pray you, what 70
pleasure it was for these brave men, when for a little
space they had leisure from warfare, to be instructed in
the teachings of philosophy! You might have seen one
scanning the position of the heavens and another investigating
the nature of plants and bushes. Here stood one
who studied the waxing and waning of the moon, while
still another regarded the labors of the sun and observed
how those bodies which were hastening to go toward the
east are whirled around and borne back to the west by
the rotation of the heavens. When they had learned the 71
reason, they were at rest. These and various other matters
Dicineus taught the Goths in his wisdom and gained
marvellous repute among them, so that he ruled not only
the common men but their kings. He chose from among
them those that were at that time of noblest birth and
superior wisdom and taught them theology, bidding them
worship certain divinities and holy places. He gave the
name of Pilleati to the priests he ordained, I suppose
because they offered sacr