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The Ecclesiastical History of Theodoret (CCEL)
Chapter XII. Of the death of Gratianus and the sovereignty of Maximus.
Gratianus in the midst of his successes in war and wise and prudent government ended his life by conspiracy. 1 He left no sons to inherit the empire, and a brother of the same name as their father, Valentinianus, 2 who was quite a youth. So Maximus, 3 in contempt of the youth of Valentinianus, seized the throne of the West.
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Gratianus made himself unpopular (i) by his excessive addiction to sport, playing the Commodus in the “Vivaria,” when not even a Marcus Aurelius could have answered all the calls of the Empire. (Amm. xxxi. x. 19) and (ii) by affecting the society and customs of barbarians (Aur. Vict. xlvii. 6). The troops in Britain rose against him, gathered aid in the Low Countries, and defeated him near Paris. He fled to Lyons, where he was treacherously assassinated Aug. 25, 383. He was only twenty-four. (Soc. v. 11.) ↩
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Valentinianus II., son of Valentinianus I. and Justina was born c. 371. ↩
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Magnus Maximus reigned from 383 to 388. Like Theodosius, he was a Spaniard. ↩
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ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟΥ ΚΥΡΟΥ ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΑΣΤΙΚΗΣ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑΣ ΤΟΜΟΣ ΠΡΩΤΟΣ
λγʹ.
Περὶ τῆς Τραϊανοῦ τοῦ στρατηλάτου παρρησίας.
Ἐπειδὴ δὲ τὸν Βόσπορον διαβὰς εἰς τὴν Θρᾴκην ἀφίκετο, πρῶτον μὲν ἐν Κωνσταντινουπόλει πλεῖστον διέτριψε χρόνον δειμαίνων τὸν πόλεμον· Τραϊανὸν δὲ σὺν τῇ στρατιᾷ τὸν στρατηγὸν κατὰ τῶν βαρβάρων ἀπέστειλεν. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἡττηθεὶς ἐπανῆλθεν ἐκεῖνος, ἐλοιδορεῖτο λίαν ὁ Βάλης, μαλακίαν αὐτῷ καὶ δειλίαν ἐγκαλῶν. Ὁ δὲ παρρησίᾳ χρησάμενος ἀνδρὶ γενναίῳ πρεπούσῃ· « Οὐκ ἐγώ», «ἔφη, ὦ βασιλεῦ, ἥττημαι· ἀλλὰ σὺ προΐῃ τὴν νίκην, κατὰ τοῦ θεοῦ παραταττόμενος καὶ τὴν ἐκείνου ῥοπὴν προξενῶν τοῖς βαρβάροις· παρὰ σοῦ γὰρ πολεμούμενος ἐκείνοις συντάττεται. Τῷ δὲ θεῷ ἡ νίκη ἕπεται καὶ τοῖς ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ στρατηγουμένοις προσγίνεται. ἢ οὐκ οἶσθα«, ἔφη, »τίνας τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν ἐξελάσας, τίσι παρέδωκας ταύτας;» ταῦτα καὶ Ἀρίνθεος καὶ Βίκτωρ (στρατηγὼ γὰρ ἤστην καὶ τούτω) συνωμολογησάτην οὕτως ἔχειν, καὶ τῷ βασιλεῖ μὴ χαλεπαίνειν παρῃνεσάτην ἐπ´ ἐλέγχοις ἀληθείᾳ συνεζευγμένοις.