194

will punish. For not forced by necessity, but with a will to do evil, you are resorting to treachery. So that to Belisarius also, should he conquer his enemies, we shall probably appear untrustworthy and betrayers of our leaders, and since we will have become deserters, for all time to come we shall likely have a guard set over us by the 5.8.36 emperor. For one who has had the good fortune of a traitor is pleased for the moment with the favour of his victory, but later, with the suspicion arising from what has been done, he hates and fears his benefactor, having in the man himself 5.8.37 the proofs of untrustworthiness. If, however, we prove faithful to the Goths in the present crisis, nobly facing the danger, they, on their part, if they conquer the enemy, will do us great good, and Belisarius, if he should be victorious, will be forgiving to us. 5.8.38 For loyalty that fails is punished by no man, unless 5.8.39 he be a fool. And what have you suffered that you have become terrified of the enemy's siege, you who sit at home, lacking neither provisions nor shut off from any necessity, and having confidence in this circuit-wall and these guards? And we think that Belisarius would not even have agreed to this proposal with us, 5.8.40 if he had any hope of taking the city by force. And yet if he wished to do what is just and what is advantageous for us, he should not have been terrifying the Neapolitans nor trying to secure his own power by a wrong done by us against the Goths, but should have come to grips with Theudatus and the Goths, so that without danger and treachery on our part the 5.8.41 city might pass into the power of the victors.” After saying these things Pastor and Asclepiodotus brought forward the Jews, who insisted that the city would lack none of the necessities, and the Goths also strongly asserted that they would guard the circuit-wall safely. 5.8.42 Persuaded by these men, the Neapolitans ordered Belisarius to depart from there as quickly as possible. 5.8.43 But he set about the siege. And having made an attempt on the circuit-wall many times he was repulsed, losing many of his soldiers, and especially those who happened to lay claim to some valour. 5.8.44 For the wall of Naples was inaccessible partly because of the sea and partly because of some difficult terrain, and for those attacking it, for other reasons and also 5.8.45 because of its steepness, it was nowhere assailable. And yet Belisarius, by cutting the aqueduct which brought water into the city, did not greatly trouble the Neapolitans, since wells being inside the circuit-wall and supplying their need did not give them much awareness of this. 5.9.1 The besieged, therefore, eluding the enemy, were sending to Rome to Theudatus, begging him to help them with all speed. But Theudatus made no preparations for war at all, being both unmanly by nature, 5.9.2 as has been said by me before. And they say that another thing also happened to him, which greatly astounded him and brought him into greater terror, though they tell me things that are not credible; 5.9.3 even so, it will be told. Theudatus even before had not been unpractised in making inquiries of those who professed to foretell something, and at that time, being at a loss about the present situation, a thing which is especially wont to drive men to divination, he enquired of a certain Hebrew, who had a great reputation for this, what the end of this war would be. 5.9.4 And he instructed him to shut up three groups of ten pigs in three huts and, having given a name to each group of ten—of Goths and of Romans and of the emperor's soldiers—to wait quietly for a specified number of days. 5.9.5 Theudatus did accordingly. And when the appointed day was at hand, both went into the huts and observed the pigs, and they found that of those which had the name of the Goths, all were dead except two, and that all were living except a few of those to which the name of the emperor's soldiers had come; as for those, however, who had been called Romans, it befell them that all had shed their bristles, but about half of them had survived. 5.9.6 When Theudatus saw these things and inferred the outcome of the war, they say that a great fear came upon him, since he knew well that it would befall the Romans to die to the number of half their population and to be deprived of their possessions, while for the Goths, being defeated, their race would to

194

κολάσουσιν. οὐ «γὰρ ἀνάγκῃ βιαζόμενοι, ἀλλὰ γνώμῃ ἐθελοκακοῦντες «ἐς τὴν προδοσίαν καθίστασθε. ὥστε καὶ Βελισαρίῳ «κρατήσαντι τῶν πολεμίων ἴσως ἄπιστοί τε φανού»μεθα καὶ τῶν ἡγουμένων προδόται, καὶ ἅτε δραπέται «γεγενημένοι, ἐς πάντα τὸν αἰῶνα φρουρὰν πρὸς βα5.8.36 «σιλέως κατὰ τὸ εἰκὸς ἕξομεν. ὁ γάρ του προδότου «τετυχηκὼς τῇ μὲν χάριτι ἐς τὸ παραυτίκα νικήσας «ἥσθη, ὑποψίᾳ δὲ ὕστερον τῇ ἐκ τῶν πεπραγμένων «μισεῖ καὶ φοβεῖται τὸν εὐεργέτην, αὐτὸς ἐφ' ἑαυτῷ 5.8.37 «τὰ τῆς ἀπιστίας γνωρίσματα ἔχων. ἢν μέντοι πιστοὶ «Γότθοις ἐν τῷ παρόντι γενώμεθα, γενναίως ὑπο»στάντες τὸν κίνδυνον, αὐτοί τε τῶν πολεμίων κρατή»σαντες μεγάλα ἡμᾶς ἀγαθὰ δράσουσι καὶ Βελισάριος «ἡμῖν νενικηκὼς, ἂν οὕτω τύχῃ, συγγνώμων ἔσται. 5.8.38 «εὔνοια γὰρ ἀποτυχοῦσα πρὸς οὐδενὸς ἀνθρώπων ὅτι 5.8.39 «μὴ ἀξυνέτου κολάζεται. τί δὲ καὶ παθόντες κατωρρω»δήκατε τῶν πολεμίων τὴν προσεδρείαν, οἳ οὔτε τῶν «ἐπιτηδείων σπανίζοντες οὔτε του ἀποκεκλεισμένοι τῶν «ἀναγκαίων κάθησθε οἴκοι, τῷ τε περιβόλῳ καὶ φρου»ροῖς τοῖσδε τὸ θαρρεῖν ἔχοντες; οἰόμεθα δὲ οὐδ' ἂν «Βελισάριον ἐς τήνδε ξυμβῆναι τὴν ὁμολογίαν ἡμῖν, 5.8.40 «εἴ τινα βίᾳ τὴν πόλιν αἱρήσειν ἐλπίδα εἶχε. καίτοι «εἰ τὰ δίκαια καὶ ἡμῖν ξυνοίσοντα ποιεῖν ἤθελεν, οὐ «Νεαπολίτας αὐτὸν δεδίσσεσθαι ἐχρῆν οὐδὲ τῇ παρ' «ἡμῶν ἐς Γότθους ἀδικίᾳ τὴν οἰκείαν βεβαιοῦν δύνα»μιν, ἀλλὰ Θευδάτῳ τε καὶ Γότθοις ἐς χεῖρας ἰέναι, «ὅπως κινδύνου τε καὶ προδοσίας ἡμετέρας χωρὶς ἡ 5.8.41 «πόλις ἐς τὸ τῶν νικώντων χωρήσει κράτος.» τοσαῦτα Πάστωρ τε καὶ Ἀσκληπιόδοτος εἰπόντες τοὺς Ἰουδαίουςπαρῆγον ἰσχυριζομένους τὴν πόλιν τῶν ἀναγκαίων οὐδενὸς ἐνδεᾶ ἔσεσθαι, καὶ Γότθοι δὲ φυλάξειν ἀσφαλῶς 5.8.42 τὸν περίβολον ἰσχυρίζοντο. οἷς δὴ Νεαπολῖται ἠγμένοι ἐκέλευον Βελισάριον ἐνθένδε ὅτι τάχιστα ἀπαλλάσσε5.8.43 σθαι. ὁ δὲ ἐς τὴν πολιορκίαν καθίστατο. πολλάκις τε τοῦ περιβόλου ἀποπειρασάμενος ἀπεκρούσθη, τῶν στρατιωτῶν ἀπολέσας πολλοὺς, καὶ μάλιστα οἷς δὴ 5.8.44 ἀρετῆς τι μεταποιεῖσθαι ξυνέβαινε. τὸ γὰρ Νεαπόλεως τεῖχος τὰ μὲν θαλάσσῃ, τὰ δὲ δυσχωρίαις τισὶν ἀπρόσοδόν τε ἦν καὶ τοῖς ἐπιβουλεύουσι τά τε ἄλλα καὶ 5.8.45 διὰ τὸ ἄναντες εἶναι οὐδαμῆ ἐσβατόν. καὶ τὸν ὀχετὸν μέντοι, ὃς ἐς τὴν πόλιν ἐσῆγε τὸ ὕδωρ, διελὼν Βελισάριος, οὐ σφόδρα Νεαπολίτας ἐτάραξεν, ἐπεὶ φρέατα ἐντός τε ὄντα τοῦ περιβόλου καὶ τὴν χρείαν παρεχόμενα αἴσθησιν τούτου σφίσιν οὐ λίαν ἐδίδου. 5.9.1 Οἱ μὲν οὖν πολιορκούμενοι λανθάνοντες τοὺς πολεμίους ἔπεμπον ἐς Ῥώμην παρὰ Θευδάτον βοηθεῖν σφίσι κατὰ τάχος δεόμενοι. Θευδάτος δὲ πολέμου παρασκευήν τινα ἥκιστα ἐποιεῖτο, ὢν μὲν καὶ φύσει 5.9.2 ἄνανδρος, ὥσπερ μοι ἔμπροσθεν εἴρηται. λέγουσι δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ ἕτερόν τι ξυμβῆναι, ὃ μάλιστα αὐτὸν ἐξέπληξέ τε καὶ ἐς ὀρρωδίαν μείζω ἀπήνεγκεν, ἐμοὶ μὲν 5.9.3 οὐ πιστὰ λέγοντες· καὶ ὣς δὲ εἰρήσεται. Θευδάτος καὶ πρότερον μὲν οὐκ ἀμελέτητος ἦν τῶν τι προλέγειν ἐπαγγελλομένων τὰς πύστεις ποιεῖσθαι, τότε δὲ τοῖς παροῦσιν ἀπορούμενος, ὃ δὴ μάλιστα τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἐς μαντείας ὁρμᾶν εἴωθε, τῶν τινος Ἑβραίων, δόξαν ἐπὶ τούτῳ πολλὴν ἔχοντος, ἐπυνθάνετο ὁποῖόν ποτε 5.9.4 τῷ πολέμῳ τῷδε τὸ πέρας ἔσται. ὁ δὲ αὐτῷ ἐπήγγελλε χοίρων δεκάδας τρεῖς καθείρξαντι ἐν οἰκίσκοις τρισὶ καὶ ὄνομα ποιησαμένῳ δεκάδι ἑκάστῃ, Γότθων τε καὶ Ῥωμαίων καὶ τῶν βασιλέως στρατιωτῶν, ἡμέρας ῥητὰς 5.9.5 ἡσυχῆ μένειν. Θευδάτος δὲ κατὰ ταῦτα ἐποίει. καὶ ἐπειδὴ παρῆν ἡ κυρία, ἐν τοῖς οἰκίσκοις ἄμφω γενόμενοι ἐθεῶντο τοὺς χοίρους, εὗρόν τε αὐτῶν οἷς μὲν τὸ Γότθων ἐπῆν ὄνομα δυοῖν ἀπολελειμμένοιν νεκροὺς ἅπαντας, ζῶντας δὲ ὀλίγων χωρὶς ἅπαντας ἐς οὓς τὸ τῶν βασιλέως στρατιωτῶν ὄνομα ἦλθεν· ὅσοι μέντοι Ῥωμαῖοι ἐκλήθησαν, τούτοις δὲ ξυνέβη ἀπορρυῆναι μὲν τὰς τρίχας ἅπασι, περιεῖναι δὲ ἐς ἥμισυ μάλιστα. 5.9.6 ταῦτα Θευδάτῳ θεασαμένῳ καὶ ξυμβαλλομένῳ τὴν τοῦ πολέμου ἀπόβασιν δέος φασὶν ἐπελθεῖν μέγα, εὖ εἰδότι ὡς Ῥωμαίοις μὲν ξυμπεσεῖται πάντως τεθνήξεσθαί τε κατὰ ἡμίσεας καὶ τῶν χρημάτων στερήσεσθαι, Γότθοις δὲ ἡσσωμένοις τὸ γένος ἐς