lr1

Eh,

Agrthlelr ,Ihe Hlrterler

of any elemcnt of i*ational f_uv or instrnctlve urgc to rprct

vlolently
less.of rhe consequences, while at the same tie ,.t.rni"s

regorel.

,irt h";;;-i

qualities associated with suih feelings

courage, resolution and the

will to
fight back.
7 Now, those emotions whose eflect is artogether proper and desirabre
are wholly to be cultivated. But those that are c-pable
,lro of having the re"th.y

verse efiect are not be used unconditionally buionly in

so far as
,r"
I rhgt you will al agree witrr,o. ilrui,
prudence
and unalloyed-blessing, ,ng* r, its forceful
a.*.i"ed side,
l-r-,r.o,*..
whrch is praiseworthy, but it also has its rash and impetuous
side, which is
unprofitable and undesirable. Taking rherefore, tn. r"r..,
9
in its entirery
and of the latter what is best; nd temlering hurdihood *itL
dir..*m.nt,
let us mardr againsr the foe confident
tkrro*r.dg. ,h*
rr.".rr.ry
course of action has been overlooked. ro only we riust ,rutii.
that it is

advantageous. s

;h.;
*

i'

il

with barbarians that we have to contend, ..n *t o uil- r."rrto-"a ,o

fighting in the manner of brigands, to rayini u-borl., *J-rr.-g
surprise
attad<s, but who have nor been trained io ,-tand th.ir gro;iJ],
p., *urfare. Though when they
:T thrJ prepararions have ben .ra. .o engage
them at close quarters and that the force that opposes and resists
them has
encamped_ in regular formation outside the walls and fortifications
they will
in all probability be obliged by the logic of rhe situation to lburrao, tlr.l,
practice and fight it orrt at_close qurters. rr But ir
*" rc.p
-normal
heads and maintain our traditional high standards of d;"ipli";1nd
"r,
etriciency, they will learn, ro rheir cosr, th;r the product
a.riui^ training
"r to the man who
received well in advance is in every respect vistly superior
is obliged_to improse desperately in the fac" of aiL no"rrity;.
19. Belisarius'words had a sobering efiect upon the soldierr, who nonetheless lost none of their bravery but Ihere .was more caution than
conceit
in their attkude. Their discipnd courage was, in its humble *uf, ,ro, ,rrlike that eribired by Leoidas and his spartans at Thermopylae wh.n
]eyes and his_army were already approaching. z Bur rhe sp,ir'tans perished to_a man, their fame resting solely on the-fact that they di ;";
die ke

cowards but killed alarge number of persians before th.y w.r" orrerwhelmed. Belisarius and his Romans in addition to displaying ,L .oorrg.
of spartans routed all the enemy, inflicting h.uuy .r*rtti.r'orr-ihu- *d

su-fiering practically no losses thernselves.

3 7hat happened \r'as as follows. A detachment of about two thousand
barbarians on horsebacl< suddenly separated from the rest of their forces and
set ofi at a gaTlop, mising a terrifi;din as they wenr, convirced that they
youtd svreep everything before them. As
th scouts arrived witir

r*, ,,

the news that the enemy were practically upon them (and they were almost
close enough to be pointed out) Belisarius immediately led'out his men

t,

egolnat them, contriving ao beat he could to conccal the meagrcneoa of his

own numbers. 4, that hc did was to select two hundred cavaltymen armed
with ehields and javelins and place them in ambush on either side of the
woodland glen from which he thought that the barbarians would be making
their attacl<. These troops /ere instructed to let fly with theit javelins at
the massed fotmation of the enemy s soon as he should give them the signal
for action. The purpose of this operation \as to roll up their flanks and
crowd them in on themselves, so that in the resultant congestion they would
be unable to make use of their superior numbers. 5 He also instructed
the peasants and the more able.bodied of the citizens to follow him and to

rhout and make a loud ratding noise. He himself took his stand in te
with the remaining troops, ready to sustain the first shodc of the
enemy atta&.. 6 As they drew nearer and most of them were already inside
the area covered by the ambush, Belisarius and his men advanced to meet
ttrem and drarged them head on. The peasants and the rest of the crowd
cheered on the soldiers by shouting and causing a clatter with pieces of wood
yhidr they carried for this purpose. 7 As soon as the signal was given the
other troops rushed out from their hiding-places and discharged a volley of
missiles obliquely from either side. The shouting and confusion was out of
all proportion to the scale of the ghting and at this point the barbarians,
S nding themselves assailed by missiles on all sides, did exacdy what Belisarius had anticipated. They closed in their ranks and huddled together so
tightly that they could not defend themselves, since there r7's no room for
them to use their bows and arrows or to manoeuvre with tJreir horses. They
seemed to be complete encircled and hemmed in by a vast rmy. 9 They
were in fact stunned by the ffemendous din created by the shouts and noises
of the milling crowd behind the Roman lines and the cloud of dust that was
raised prevented them frorn forming any idea of what the real numbers of
t}e combatants were. ro A-fter engaging and destroying many of the
enemy facing him, Belisarius broke eir ranks and drove them into flight.
Then as all the others bore down on them the barbarians turned their bacl<s
and fled in complete disorder, scattering in all directions. They made no
efiort to guard their rear, but eadr man took what he thouglrt was the
swiftest route to safety. rr The Romans followed them in an ordedy and
disciplined pursuit, maling short work o{ all they could lay their hands on.
The barbarians v'ere slaughtered in great numbers as they galloped away
without even turning round to look back. The reins of their horses were
completely relaxed and the incessant cracking of whips precluded any
slackening of the pace. rz Even the skill on which they pride themselves
so greatly deserted them in their hour of temor. For when fleeing the
barbanans notmally defend themselves most efiectively against those who
press the pursuit the hardest and they do this by turning round and shooting

.cenffe