courtiers had been born gave evidence, he said, as to who was friendly
to him and who was hostile. And on this basis he honored many persons
and destroyed many others.

[Sidenote: A.D. 217 (_a.u._ 970)] [Sidenote:--3--] When the Parthians and
the Medes, greatly enraged at the treatment they had received, equipped
a large body of troops, he fell into an ecstasy of terror. He was very
bold in threats and very reckless in daring, but very cowardly in
following a slow course involving danger, and very weak in hard labor.
He could no longer bear either great heat or armor, and consequently
wore sleeved tunics made in such a shape as more or less to resemble
breastplates. Thus having the appearance of armor without its weight he
could be safe from plots and also arouse admiration. He often used these
garments when not in battle. He wore also a cavalry cloak, now all
purple, now purple with white threads, and again of white with purple
threads, and also red. In Syria and in Mesopotamia he used Celtic
clothing and shoes. He furthermore invented a costume of his own by
cutting out cloth and stitching it up, barbaric fashion, into a kind of
cloak. He himself wore it very constantly, so that it led to his being
called Caracalla, [Footnote: A word of Celtic origin, signifying a long,
ulster-like tunic plus a hood. This was a Gallic dress.] and he
prescribed it by preference as the dress for the soldiers. The
barbarians saw what sort of person he was and also heard that his men
were enervated through their previous luxury; for, to give an instance
of their behavior, the Romans passed the winter in houses, making use of
everything belonging to their entertainers as if it were their own.
[They further perceived that their opponents had become so physically
worn and so dejected in spirit by their toils and by the hardships which
they were now undergoing that they no longer heeded the presents which
they kept receiving from their commander.] Elated, therefore, to think