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to Rome, as if intending to consult with the senate. But when the famine prevailed to such an extent that the people used chestnuts instead of grain, and some were even suspected of having tasted human flesh, Alaric advised sending five hundred barbarians against Heraclianus, but it seemed best to the senate and .8. to Attalus that Africa should not be entrusted to barbarians. But since it was clear that God was opposing the reign of Attalus, Alaric, perceiving that he was laboring in vain on a matter not resting with him, made an agreement with Honorius concerning the dissolution of his rule, having received promises concerning peace. .8.10 Accordingly, when all had assembled before the city, Attalus laid aside the symbols of the emperor; his magistrates also laid aside their belts, and Honorius granted pardon to all for what had happened, legislating not long after that each should have the honor and rank which he had previously held. .8.11 But Attalus, along with his son, stayed with Alaric, not considering it safe for the time being to live among the Romans. ..1 At these events having turned out this way, both the Hellenes and the Christians of the Arian heresy were not moderately displeased. For the former, judging from Attalus's preference and his former way of life, thought that he would openly embrace Hellenism and restore the ancestral temples and festivals and sacrifices; while the latter thought that they would again take possession of the churches, as in the time of Constantius and Valens, if he should hold the empire securely, inasmuch as he had been baptized by Sigesarius, the bishop of the Goths, and on this account happened to be pleasing to all of them and to Alaric. ..2 Not long afterward, Alaric, having occupied the Alps (a place about sixty stades distant from Ravenna), entered into talks ..3 with the emperor concerning peace. But a certain Sarus, a barbarian by race, but highly skilled in warfare, having around him only about three hundred men, all loyal and excellent, being an object of suspicion to Alaric because of a former enmity, reasoned that the truce between the Romans and Goths would not be advantageous to him, and suddenly ..4 attacking with his own men, he killed some of the barbarians. From this, Alaric, falling into anger and fear, turned back on the same road; and having besieged Rome, he took it by treachery, and permitted his multitudes, each as he was able, to plunder the wealth of the Romans and to pillage all the houses, ordering that the church around the tomb of the apostle Peter be a place of asylum, out of reverence for him, it being large and enclosing a great space ..5. This became the reason that Rome was not utterly destroyed; for those who were saved there (and they were many) resettled the city. .10.1 Since, as is likely in the capture of so great a city, many things happened, I will write down what then seemed to me to have been worthy of ecclesiastical history. For it reveals the pious action of a barbarian man and the courage of a Roman woman in guarding her chastity, both being Christians but not of the same heresy, inasmuch as the one followed the faith of Arius, and the other that of those at Nicaea. .10.2 A certain young man of Alaric's soldiers, seeing that she was very beautiful, was overcome by her beauty and tried to drag her into intercourse. As she resisted and struggled to suffer nothing indecent, he drew his sword and threatened to kill her; and sparingly, as .10.3 one who was amorously disposed, he struck her neck superficially. While much blood flowed around her, she offered her throat to the sword, having reasoned it more preferable to die in chastity than to live having experienced another man after the one .10.4 she was legally married to. But when the barbarian, wrestling and approaching more threateningly, accomplished nothing more, marveling at her for her chastity, he led her to the shrine of the apostle Peter, and handing her over to the guardian of the church along with six gold pieces for her nourishment, he commanded the man to guard her. .11.1 But about this time, as many tyrants were rising up in the western empire, some falling at the hands of one another, and others being captured in extraordinary ways, .11.2 they bore no ordinary witness

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῾Ρώμην ὡς μετὰ τῆς συγκλήτου συμβουλευσόμενος. ἐπικρατήσαντος δὲ τοῦ λιμοῦ ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον ὡς καστάνοις ἀντὶ σίτου κεχρῆσθαι τὸν δῆμον, ὑπονοηθῆναι δέ τινας καὶ ἀνθρωπείων ἀπογεύσασθαι κρεῶν, ᾿Αλάριχος μὲν συνεβούλευεν πεντακοσίους βαρβάρους κατὰ ῾Ηρακλειανοῦ πέμψαι, τῇ δὲ συγκλήτῳ καὶ .8. τῷ ᾿Αττάλῳ ἐδόκει μὴ δεῖν πιστευθῆναι βαρβάροις τὴν ᾿Αφρικήν. ἐπεὶ δὲ δῆλον ἦν τὸν θεὸν ἀντιπράττειν τῇ ᾿Αττάλου βασιλείᾳ, συνιδὼν ᾿Αλάριχος μάτην πονεῖν ἐπὶ πράγματι οὐκ ἐν αὐτῷ κειμένῳ, συντίθεται περὶ καταλύσεως τῆς αὐτοῦ ἀρχῆς πρὸς ᾿Ονώριον, ὑποσχέσεις λαβὼν περὶ εἰρήνης. .8.10 πάντων τοίνυν συνελθόντων πρὸ τῆς πόλεως, ἀποτίθεται ῎Ατταλος τὰ σύμβολα τοῦ βασιλέως· συναποτίθενται δὲ τὰς ζώνας καὶ οἱ αὐτοῦ ἄρχοντες, καὶ συγγνώμην ἐπὶ τοῖς συμβεβηκόσι νέμει πᾶσιν ᾿Ονώριος, μετ' οὐ πολὺ νομοθετήσας ἕκαστον ἔχειν τὴν τιμὴν καὶ τὴν ἀξίαν ἧς πρὸ τοῦ μετελάγχανεν. .8.11 ῎Ατταλος δὲ ἅμα τῷ παιδὶ ᾿Αλαρίχῳ συνῆν οὐκ ἀσφαλὲς τέως ἡγούμενος ἐν ῾Ρωμαίοις διάγειν. ..1 ᾿Επὶ τούτοις δὲ ὧδε ἀποβεβηκόσι οὐ μετρίως ἐδυσφόρουν ῞Ελληνές τε καὶ Χριστιανοὶ οἱ ἀπὸ τῆς ᾿Αρείου αἱρέσεως. οἱ μὲν γὰρ τεκμηράμενοι τῆς ᾿Αττάλου προαιρέσεως καὶ τῆς προτέρας ἀγωγῆς εἰς τὸ προφανὲς ἑλληνίσειν αὐτὸν ἡγοῦντο καὶ τοὺς πατρίους ἀποδιδόναι ναοὺς καὶ ἑορτὰς καὶ θυσίας· οἱ δὲ τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν ὡς ἐπὶ Κωνσταντίου καὶ Οὐάλεντος πάλιν κρατήσειν ᾤοντο, εἰ βεβαίως σχοίη τὴν βασιλείαν, καθότι καὶ βαπτισθεὶς ἦν παρὰ Σιγησαρίου τοῦ ἐπισκόπου τῶν Γότθων καὶ καταθύμιος ἐπὶ τούτῳ πᾶσί τε αὐτοῖς καὶ ᾿Αλαρίχῳ ἐτύγχανεν. ..2 Οὐ πολλῷ δὲ ὕστερον ᾿Αλάριχος καταλαβὼν τὰς ῎Αλπεις (χωρίον δὲ τοῦτο ἀμφὶ τὰ ἑξήκοντα στάδια διεστὼς τῆς ῾Ραβέννης) εἰς λόγους ἦλθε ..3 τῷ βασιλεῖ περὶ τῆς εἰρήνης. Σάρος δέ τις βάρβαρος τὸ γένος, εἰς ἄκρον δὲ τὰ πολέμια ἠσκημένος, ἀμφὶ τριακοσίους μόνους περὶ αὐτὸν ἔχων πάντας εὔνους καὶ ἀρίστους, ὕποπτος ὢν ᾿Αλαρίχῳ διὰ προτέραν ἔχθραν, ἐλογίσατο μὴ συνοίσειν αὐτῷ τὰς μεταξὺ ῾Ρωμαίων καὶ Γότθων σπονδάς, καὶ ἐξαπίνης ..4 μετὰ τῶν ἰδίων ἐπελθὼν ἀναιρεῖ τινας τῶν βαρβάρων. ἐκ τούτου δὲ εἰς ὀργὴν καὶ δέος καταστὰς ᾿Αλάριχος τὴν αὐτὴν ὁδὸν ἀναστρέφει· καὶ περικαθεσθεὶς τὴν ῾Ρώμην εἷλε προδοσίᾳ, καὶ τοῖς αὐτοῦ πλήθεσιν ἐπέτρεψε ἑκάστῳ, ὡς ἂν δύναιτο, τὸν ῾Ρωμαίων πλοῦτον διαρπάζειν καὶ πάντας τοὺς οἴκους ληίζεσθαι, ἄσυλον εἶναι προστάξας αἰδοῖ τῇ πρὸς τὸν ἀπόστολον Πέτρον τὴν περὶ τὴν αὐτοῦ σορὸν ἐκκλησίαν, μεγάλην τε καὶ πολὺν χῶρον ..5 περιέχουσαν. τουτὶ δὲ γέγονεν αἴτιον τοῦ μὴ ἄρδην ἀπολέσθαι τὴν ῾Ρώμην· οἱ γὰρ ἐνθάδε διασωθέντες (πολλοὶ δὲ ἦσαν) πάλιν τὴν πόλιν ᾤκισαν. .10.1 Οἷα δὲ εἰκὸς ὡς ἐν ἁλώσει τοσαύτης πόλεως πολλῶν συμβεβηκότων ὃ τότε μοι ἔδοξεν ἐκκλησιαστικῆς ἱστορίας ἄξιον γεγενῆσθαι ἀναγράψομαι. δηλοῖ γὰρ ἀνδρὸς βαρβάρου πρᾶξιν εὐσεβῆ καὶ γυναικὸς ῾Ρωμαίας ἀνδρείαν ἐπὶ φυλακῇ σωφροσύνης, ἀμφοτέρων δὲ Χριστιανῶν οὐκ ἀπὸ τῆς αὐτῆς αἱρέσεως, καθότι ὁ μὲν τὴν ᾿Αρείου, ἡ δὲ τῶν ἐν Νικαίᾳ τὴν πίστιν ἐζήλου. .10.2 ταύτην δὲ εὖ μάλα καλὴν ἰδών τις νέος τῶν ᾿Αλαρίχου στρατιωτῶν ἡττήθη τοῦ κάλλους καὶ εἰς συνουσίαν εἷλκεν. ἀνθέλκουσαν δὲ καὶ βιαζομένην μηδὲν ἀσελγὲς παθεῖν γυμνώσας τὸ ξίφος ἠπείλησεν ἀναιρεῖν· καὶ μετὰ φειδοῦς, οἷά .10.3 γε ἐρωτικῶς διακείμενος, ἐξ ἐπιπολῆς ἔπληξε τὸν τράχηλον. πολλῷ δὲ περιρρεομένη τῷ αἵματι τὸν αὐχένα τῷ ξίφει ὑπέσχεν, αἱρετώτερον ἐν σωφροσύνῃ λογισαμένη ἀποθανεῖν ἢ ζῆν ἑτέρου πειραθεῖσαν ἀνδρὸς μετὰ τὸν .10.4 νόμῳ συνοικήσαντα. ἐπεὶ δὲ παλαίων ὁ βάρβαρος καὶ φοβερώτερος ἐπιὼν οὐδὲν πλέον ἤνυεν, θαυμάσας αὐτὴν τῆς σωφροσύνης ἤγαγεν εἰς τὸ Πέτρου ἀποστολεῖον, καὶ παραδοὺς τῷ φύλακι τῆς ἐκκλησίας καὶ χρυσοῦς ἓξ εἰς ἀποτροφὴν αὐτῆς ἐκέλευσε τῷ ἀνδρὶ φυλάττειν. .11.1 ῾Υπὸ δὲ τοῦτον τὸν χρόνον πολλῶν ἐπανισταμένων τυράννων ἐν τῇ πρὸς δύσιν ἀρχῇ, οἱ μὲν πρὸς ἀλλήλων πίπτοντες, οἱ δὲ παραδόξως συλλαμβα.11.2 νόμενοι οὐ τὴν τυχοῦσαν ἐπεμαρτύρουν