The Roman historie containing such acts and occurrents as passed under Constantius, Iulianus, Iovianus, Valentinianus, and Valens, emperours. Digested into 18. bookes, the remains of 31. and written first in Latine by Ammianus Marcellinus: now translated newly into English. Wherunto is annexed the chronologie, serving in stead of a briefe supplement of those former 13. bookes, which by the iniurie of time are lost: together with compendious annotations and coniectures upon such hard places as occurre in the said historie. Done by Philemon Holland of the citie of Coventrie, Doctor in Physicke.

CHAP. III. The care that Vrsicinus had for helping the besieged, whiles Sabinianus slept till he snored againe, remaining still as dead among the Sepulchres. The Plague infesteth the Amidens, and after some few dayes by fall of smallshowers ceaseth.

WHiles the fight continued thus at Amida with full resolution and pur∣pose of both sides, vrsicinus taking it heavily, that he depended upon the will and pleasure of another mans authoritie, oftentimes adverti∣sed Sabinianus, being then in greater place of government and com∣mand over the souldiors (but keeping still among the Sepulchres) That putting in readinesse and order all the skirmishing souldiors, they should closely make speed by the bottome and foot of the hils: that having by the meanes and helpe of light armour (if fortune were any thing favourable unto them) intercepted the stations, they might set upon the enemies night-watches, which taking a mightie compasse about, had invested the walls, or by often provocation and urging, find them occupied that so stoutly plied the siege. Which projects of his, Sabinianus stood against, as hurtfull and dangerous; pretending verily in shew, the Emperors letters openly giving commaundement, That what service soever might bee done, should be performed every where, without hurt or touch of souldior: but secretly in the bottome of his heart root retaining that which he was charged many a time in the court to doe, namely to disappoint his predecessor, so much inflamed with the love and desire of glorie, of all meanes and occasions to win honour, though the same might tend to the benefit of the State; such hast was made even with the utter destruction of the provinces, that this warlike knight might not be reported the author or copartener of any memorable exploit. And therefore, much abashed and dismayed with these hard fortunes, as booting nought by sending spies often unto us, although the wayes were layed so by streight watch and ward, that hard it was for any man to enter into the towne: and gaining as little by devising many good and profitable courses, he resembled for all the world a Lyon, for big bodie and grim looke terrible, but not daring to goe and deliver out of danger his whelps enclosed within net and toyle, as having his clawes taken from him, and lost his teeth. But within the citie, where the number of dead bodies lying thicke scatte∣red along the streets, was greater than of such as were to performe that last dutie of buriall, to mitigate so many miseries beside, came the pestilence, occasioned by a contagious infection of puttified carkasses breeding by this time vermine in them, and maintained with hote vapours and sundrie diseases of the common multi∣tude. These kinds of maladies whence they use to arise, I will briefely declare. The Philosophers and renowmed Physicians have written, That excesse of cold, of heat, of moisture, or drinesse, breedeth plagues. Whence it is, that those who dwell hard by fennie, moorie, and wet grounds, are subject to coughes, to the falling sicknesse, and such like: contrariwise, they that confine upon hote coun∣tries, are dried up with the heat of fevers: But looke how much more powerfull

than other things is the substance of fire, so much is drought ⁱ more quicke to kill. Hereupon it came to passe, that when Greece was employed painefully in a warre continuing tenne yeares, that a ^k stranger might not goe away unpunished for breaking the bond of a kings marriage, by such a maladie that reigned and came by the arrowes of Apollo, who is deemed to be the Sunne, a number perished: and as Thucidides sheweth, That wofull calamitie which in the beginning of the ^l Pe∣loponnesiacke warre vexed the Athenians with a grievous kind of sicknesse, crept by little and little from the hote climate of Aethyopia, and so set foot in Attica. Others are of opinion, That the ayre (like as waters use to be) infected and corrup∣ted with the stinke of dead carkasses, or such like, is the greatest cause of most disea∣ses: or at leastwise, that the suddaine alteration and change of aire breedeth ligh∣ter ^m sicknesses. Some also affirme, That the aire (thickened by some grosse exha∣lation of the earth, and thereby resisting the letting forth of the subtile matter that useth to breath out of the pores of the bodie) killeth some: for which cause, all o∣ther living creatures, besides men, which continually looke downe to the ground, Homer once said, and we our selves know by many experiments afterwards, die thereof at first. The first kind of this contagious maladie is called ⁿ Pandemus, which causeth those that dwell in drie places to be troubled many times with ex∣traordinarie heats: the second, ^o Epidemus, at which time as it doth invade, it dim∣meth the quicke light of the eyes, and stirreth up perillous humours: the third is ^p Loemodes, which likewise is temporarie, but speedily dispatcheth and killeth. With this deadly and mortall plague were they here shaken: and after some few consumed with intemperate heat, whom the pestering multitude stifled, at length, in that night which followed the tenth day, when by some smal showers the grosse and thicke ayre was dissolved and scattered, the bodies recovered and retained a∣gaine their firme and perfect health.

Notes

• Vrsicinus.
• Vrsicinus.
• Ioc••lares casus quare, whether he meant not de fura cuno ris••: a kind of madnesse with extreame fits of laughter: under∣standing by Casus. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, or 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, according to the Greeke phrase.