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a prodigious wind, blowing straight against the adversaries, and such as we have never before recorded, broke the ranks of the enemy, and darts and javelins sent against the Romans, as if striking against a solid surface, were turned back upon the bodies of those who threw them, and snatching the shields from their hands, it rolled them against them with rubbish and dust. 7.24.7 And having been stripped of their weapons, the greater part were immediately destroyed, while others who escaped for a short time by flight were captured not long after. And Eugenius, running to the feet of the emperor, begged to be saved; but while he was supplicating, his head was cut off by one of the soldiers. And Arbogastes, fleeing 7.24.8 after the battle, killed himself with his own hand. And it is said that, at the time this war was being waged, in the church of God which is in the Hebdomon, where the emperor had prayed on his departure, a certain demon-possessed man, being snatched up into the air, reviled John the Baptist and reproached him for having been beheaded, 7.24. and cried out: “You conquer me and plot against my army.” And those who happened to be there, since there was, as was likely, great eagerness about the war to hear and say something new, being astonished, wrote down the day on which they learned not long after from those who had participated in the battle that the events of the war had occurred. So the story goes that these things happened thus. 7.25.1 And after the deposition of Eugenius, the emperor, arriving in Milan, came to the church to pray. But as he was at the doors, Ambrose, the bishop of the city, met him, and taking hold of his purple robe 7.25.2 in front of the crowd, he said, "Stop; for it is not lawful for a man defiled by sin and with hands unjustly bloodstained to step upon the sacred threshold before repentance, or to partake of the divine mysteries." And the emperor, admiring the priest for his boldness, became pensive and turned back, pricked by repentance. 7.25.3 The occasion of the sin was as follows: The charioteer of Butheric, who was then the commander of the soldiers in Illyricum, having shamefully looked upon a cupbearer, made an attempt on him, and being arrested was in custody. And when a notable chariot-race was about to be held, the people of the Thessalonians demanded that he be released as necessary for the contest; but when they accomplished nothing, they fell into a grievous sedition 7.25.4 and finally killed Butheric. And when these things were reported, the emperor, falling into an immoderate rage, ordered a specified number of those who happened to be there to be killed. From this, the city was filled with many unjust murders; for both strangers who had just sailed in and those arriving from a journey were unexpectedly 7.25.5 seized; and pitiable things occurred, among which was this: a merchant, in place of his two sons who had been seized, brought himself forward and begged to die, and that they be saved; and as a reward for this, he offered the soldiers all the gold he had. But they, pitying the man for his misfortune, accepted his plea in place of one of his sons, whichever he might choose; but to release the two, they said was not without danger for them, as the number would be incomplete. 7.25.6 But the father, looking at both, lamenting and weeping, could not endure the choice of either, but remained in indecision until they were dead, being equally overcome by his love for each. And I learned that a good servant at that time, in place of his master who was being led to 7.25.7 the slaughter, was eagerly killed. And since such and other evils had, as was likely, occurred, Ambrose, holding the emperor responsible, barred him from the church and excommunicated him. And he himself publicly confessed his sin in the church and for the whole time appointed to him for penance, as one mourning, he did not use his royal insignia; and he ordained by law that those who minister to the emperor's commands should postpone until the thirtieth day the punishment of those condemned to death, so that in the intervening time the emperor's anger might soften and when his wrath had abated, there might be opportunity for mercy and regret. 7.25.8 And by this Ambrose many other things worthy of the priesthood were accomplished,

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ἀντιπρόσωπον τοῖς ἐναντίοις ἐμβαλὼν ἄνεμος ἐξαίσιος καὶ οἷον οὔπω πρότερον ἱστορήσαμεν διέλυσε τὰς τῶν πολεμίων τάξεις, βέλη δὲ καὶ ἀκόντια κατὰ τῶν ῾Ρωμαίων πεμπόμενα ὡς ἀντιτύποις προσβάλλοντα εἰς τὰ τῶν ἀκοντιζόντων περιέστρεφε σώματα, καὶ τὰς ἀσπίδας ἐξαρπάζων τῶν χειρῶν σὺν φορυτῷ καὶ κονιορτῷ κατ' αὐτῶν 7.24.7 ἐκύλιε. γυμνωθέντες δὲ τῶν ὅπλων οἱ μὲν πλείους αὐτίκα διεφθάρησαν, οἱ δὲ πρὸς ὀλίγον φυγῇ διασωθέντες μετ' οὐ πολὺ ἥλωσαν. Εὐγένιος δὲ προσδραμὼν τοῖς ποσὶ τοῦ βασιλέως ἐδεῖτο σῴζεσθαι· ἐν ᾧ δὲ ἱκέτευε, πρός του τῶν στρατιωτῶν τὴν κεφαλὴν ἀπετμήθη. ᾿Αρβογάστης δὲ φεύ7.24.8 γων μετὰ τὴν μάχην αὐτόχειρ ἑαυτοῦ γέγονε. λέγεται δέ, καθ' ὃν καιρὸν οὗτος ὁ πόλεμος συνεκροτεῖτο, ὡς ἐν τῷ νεῷ τοῦ θεοῦ τῷ ὄντι ἐν τῷ ῾Εβδόμῳ, οὗ προσηύξατο ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐξιών, δαιμονῶν τις ἀναρπασθεὶς μετάρσιος τὸν βαπτιστὴν ᾿Ιωάννην ἐλοιδορεῖτο καὶ ὡς τῆς κεφαλῆς ἀποτμηθέντα 7.24. ὠνείδιζε καὶ ἀνεβόα· «σύ με νικᾷς καὶ τῇ ἐμῇ στρατιᾷ ἐπιβουλεύεις.» οἱ δὲ περιτυχόντες, ὡς εἰκός, πολλῆς οὔσης περὶ τοῦ πολέμου σπουδῆς νεώτερόν τι ἀκούειν καὶ λέγειν, καταπλαγέντες ἀνεγράψαντο τὴν ἡμέραν, καθ' ἣν γενέσθαι τὰ περὶ τὸν πόλεμον οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν ἔγνωσαν παρὰ τῶν κοινωνησάντων τῇ μάχῃ. καὶ τὰ μὲν ὧδε γενέσθαι λόγος. 7.25.1 Μετὰ δὲ τὴν Εὐγενίου καθαίρεσιν ἀφικόμενος εἰς Μεδιόλανον ὁ βασιλεὺς ἧκεν εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν εὐξόμενος. ὡς δὲ πρὸς ταῖς θύραις ἐγένετο, ὑπήντετο ᾿Αμβρόσιος ὁ τῆς πόλεως ἐπίσκοπος, καὶ λαβόμενος τῆς ἁλουργίδος 7.25.2 ἐπὶ τοῦ πλήθους «ἐπίσχες», ἔφη· «ἀνδρὶ γὰρ ὑπὸ ἁμαρτίας βεβήλῳ καὶ τὰς χεῖρας ᾑμαγμένας οὐκ ἐν δίκῃ ἔχοντι οὐ θεμιτὸν πρὸ μετανοίας τοῦ ἱεροῦ ἐπιβαίνειν οὐδοῦ ἢ μυστηρίων θείων κοινωνεῖν.» ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς θαυμάσας τὸν ἱερέα τῆς παρρησίας, σύννους γεγονὼς ὑπέστρεφεν ὑπὸ μετα7.25.3 νοίας κεντούμενος. ἦν δὲ τῆς ἁμαρτίας πρόφασις τοιάδε· Βουθερίχου τοῦ ἡγουμένου τότε τῶν παρ' ᾿Ιλλυριοῖς στρατιωτῶν ἡνίοχος τὸν οἰνοχόον αἰσχρῶς ἰδὼν ἐπείρασε, καὶ συλληφθεὶς ἐν φρουρᾷ ἦν. ἐπισήμου δὲ ἱπποδρομίας ἐπιτελεῖσθαι μελλούσης ὡς ἀναγκαῖον εἰς τὴν ἀγωνίαν ὁ Θεσσαλονικέων δῆμος ἐξῄτει ἀφίεσθαι· ὡς δὲ οὐδὲν ἤνυεν, εἰς χαλεπὴν κατέστη 7.25.4 στάσιν καὶ τελευταῖον τὸν Βουθερίχαν ἀνεῖλε. καὶ ἐπεὶ τάδε ἐμηνύθη, εἰς ἄμετρον ὀργὴν ἐμπεσὼν ὁ βασιλεὺς ῥητὸν τῶν προστυγχανόντων ἀριθμὸν ἀναιρεθῆναι προσέταξεν. ἐντεῦθεν δὲ πολλῶν ἀδίκων ἐνεπλήσθη φόνων ἡ πόλις· ξένοι τε γὰρ αὐτίκα προσπλεύσαντες καὶ ἐξ ὁδοῦ ἀφικόμενοι ἀδο7.25.5 κήτως ἥλωσαν· καὶ πάθη ἐλεεινὰ συνέβη, ἐν οἷς καὶ τόδε· ἔμπορος ἀντὶ δύο παίδων αὐτοῦ συλληφθέντων προσαγαγὼν ἑαυτὸν ἀποθανεῖν ἐδεῖτο, τοὺς δὲ σῴζεσθαι· καὶ μισθὸν τούτου χρυσίον ὅσον εἶχε προΐσχετο τοῖς στρατιώταις. οἱ δὲ τὸν ἄνθρωπον τῆς συμφορᾶς ἐλεήσαντες ἀντὶ ἑνὸς οὗ ἂν ἕληται τῶν υἱέων τὴν ἱκεσίαν προσίεντο· τοὺς δὲ δύο ἀφιέναι ὡς ἐπιλεί7.25.6 ποντος τοῦ ἀριθμοῦ οὐκ ἀκίνδυνον σφίσιν ἔφασαν. εἰς ἀμφοτέρους δὲ βλέπων ὁ πατήρ, ὀλοφυρόμενός τε καὶ κλαίων, οὐδετέρου τὴν αἵρεσιν ὑπέστη, ἀλλ' ἀπορῶν εἰσότε τεθνήκασιν διετέλεσεν ἑκατέρου τῷ φίλτρῳ ἐπίσης νικώμενος. καὶ οἰκέτην δὲ ἀγαθὸν ἐπυθόμην τότε ἀντὶ δεσπότου ἀγομένου πρὸς 7.25.7 τὴν σφαγὴν ἀναιρεθῆναι προθύμως. τοιούτων δὲ καὶ ἑτέρων ὡς εἰκὸς συγκυρησάντων κακῶν ἐπαιτιώμενος ᾿Αμβρόσιος τὸν βασιλέα τῆς ἐκκλησίας εἷρξε καὶ ἀκοινώνητον ἐποίησε. δημοσίᾳ δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐπὶ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ὡμολόγησεν καὶ πάντα τὸν ὁρισθέντα αὐτῷ χρόνον εἰς μετάνοιαν, οἷά γε πενθῶν, βασιλικῷ κόσμῳ οὐκ ἐχρήσατο· καὶ νόμῳ προσέταξε τοὺς διακονουμένους τοῖς βασιλέως προστάγμασιν εἰς τριακοστὴν ἡμέραν ἀναβάλλεσθαι τὴν τιμωρίαν τῶν ἐπὶ θανάτῳ καταδεδικασμένων, ὥστε καὶ τὸν ἐν μέσῳ χρόνον μαλάσσειν τὴν τοῦ βασιλέως ὀργὴν καὶ τοῦ θυμοῦ παρακμάζοντος ἐλέῳ καὶ μεταμελείᾳ γενέσθαι χώραν. 7.25.8 ᾿Αμβροσίῳ δὲ τούτῳ πολλὰ μὲν καὶ ἄλλα κατώρθωται ἄξια ἱερωσύνης,