fortune which was upon them, came before the emperor and spoke as
follows: "O Emperor, the good faith which thou dost shew in dealing with
thy subjects enables us to speak frankly regarding anything which will
be of advantage to thy government, even though what is said and done may
not be agreeable to thee. For thus does thy wisdom temper thy authority
with justice, in that thou dost not consider that man only as loyal to
thy cause who serves thee under any and all conditions, nor art thou
angry with the man who speaks against thee, but by weighing all things
by pure reason alone, thou hast often shewn that it involves us in no
danger to oppose thy purposes. Led by these considerations, O Emperor, I
have come to offer this advice, knowing that, though I shall give
perhaps offence at the moment, if it so chance, yet in the future the
loyalty which I bear you will be made clear, and that for this I shall
be able to shew thee as a witness. For if, through not hearkening to my
words, thou shalt carry out the war against the Vandals, it will come
about, if the struggle is prolonged for thee, that my advice will win
renown. For if thou hast confidence that thou wilt conquer the enemy, it
is not at all unreasonable that thou shouldst sacrifice the lives of men
and expend a vast amount of treasure, and undergo the difficulties of
the struggle; for victory, coming at the end, covers up all the
calamities of war. But if in reality these things lie on the knees of
God, and if it behoves us, taking example from what has happened in the
past, to fear the outcome of war, on what grounds is it not better to
love a state of quiet rather than the dangers of mortal strife? Thou art
purposing to make an expedition against Carthage, to which, if one goes
by land, the journey is one of a hundred and forty days, and if one goes
by water, he is forced to cross the whole open sea and go to its very
end. So that he who brings thee news of what will happen in the camp
must needs reach thee a year after the event. And one might add that if
thou art victorious over thy enemy, thou couldst not take possession of