old, he cried out to the soldiers commanding them to open the door for
him as quickly as possible, in order that he might go against the
tyrant. But since the soldiers had decided to support neither side,
until one of them should be manifestly victorious, they pretended not to
hear at all and thus put him off. So Belisarius returned to the emperor
and declared that the day was lost for them, for the soldiers who
guarded the palace were rebelling against him. The emperor therefore
commanded him to go to the so-called Bronze Gate and the propylaea
there. So Belisarius, with difficulty and not without danger and great
exertion, made his way over ground covered by ruins and half-burned
buildings, and ascended to the stadium. And when he had reached the Blue
Colonnade which is on the right of the emperor's throne, he purposed to
go against Hypatius himself first; but since there was a small door
there which had been closed and was guarded by the soldiers of Hypatius
who were inside, he feared lest while he was struggling in the narrow
space the populace should fall upon him, and after destroying both
himself and all his followers, should proceed with less trouble and
difficulty against the emperor. Concluding, therefore, that he must go
against the populace who had taken their stand in the hippodrome--a vast
multitude crowding each other in great disorder--he drew his sword from
its sheath and, commanding the others to do likewise, with a shout he
advanced upon them at a run. But the populace, who were standing in a
mass and not in order, at the sight of armoured soldiers who had a great
reputation for bravery and experience in war, and seeing that they
struck out with their swords unsparingly, beat a hasty retreat. Then a
great outcry arose, as was natural, and Mundus, who was standing not far
away, was eager to join in the fight,--for he was a daring and energetic
fellow--but he was at a loss as to what he should do under the
circumstances; when, however, he observed that Belisarius was in the
struggle, he straightway made a sally into the hippodrome through the