in the camp of Alaric; and the wise Barbarian justified his regard for
the faith of treaties by the just severity with which he chastised a
party of licentious Goths who had insulted some Roman citizens on the
road to Ostia. His army, enriched by the contributions of the capital,
slowly advanced into the fair and fruitful province of Tuscany, where he
proposed to establish his winter quarters; and the Gothic standard
became the refuge of forty thousand Barbarian slaves, who had broken
their chains, and aspired, under the command of their great deliverer,
to revenge the injuries and the disgrace of their cruel servitude. About
the same time he received a more honorable reinforcement of Goths and
Huns, whom Adolphus, the brother of his wife, had conducted, at his
pressing invitation, from the banks of the Danube to those of the
Tiber; and who had cut their way, with some difficulty and loss, through
the superior numbers of the Imperial troops. A victorious leader, who
united the daring spirit of a Barbarian with the art and discipline of a
Roman general, was at the head of a hundred thousand fighting men; and
Italy pronounced, with terror and respect, the formidable name of
Alaric.

At the distance of fourteen centuries, we may be satisfied with relating
the military exploits of the conquerors of Rome, without presuming to
investigate the motives of their political conduct.

In the midst of his apparent prosperity, Alaric was conscious, perhaps,
of some secret weakness, some internal defect; or perhaps the moderation
which he displayed was intended only to deceive and disarm the easy
credulity of the ministers of Honorius. The King of the Goths repeatedly
declared that it was his desire to be considered as the friend of peace
and of the Romans. Three senators, at his earnest request, were sent
ambassadors to the court of Ravenna, to solicit the exchange of hostages