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so that “they will arrive there later than the opportune moment, and because of the length of the journey, they will be utterly unable to use their horses against the enemy 6.21.22 when they reach them. But “if these men go to Mediolanum with both Martinus and Uliaris, they will, as is likely, defeat the “barbarians in that region, and they will take Aemilia 6.21.23 again, with no one any longer resisting.” When Narses saw that this letter had been delivered, he himself instructed John and Justinus to go to Mediolanum with the 6.21.24 rest of the army. But a little later, John was sent to the coast, so that he might bring skiffs from there, and thus the army might be able to cross the river. But an illness befell him and prevented what was being done. 6.21.25 And while the men with Martinus were engaged in their hesitation about the crossing and the men with John were awaiting the orders of Narses, in this time a great deal of it happened to be spent 6.21.26 on the siege. But the besieged, being now exceedingly pressed by the famine and as the evil grew overpowering, most of them tasted the flesh of dogs and mice and other animals which had never been used for human food. 6.21.27 The barbarians, therefore, sending envoys to Mundilas, commanded him to surrender the city to them, on the condition that both he himself and the soldiers might remain unharmed by 6.21.28 evils. And he agreed to do this, if they would give pledges for themselves and that they would do nothing 6.21.29 disagreeable to any of the inhabitants. But when the enemy gave pledges to Mundilas and the soldiers, and being possessed with great wrath against the Ligurians were clearly intending to destroy them all, Mundilas called together all the 6.21.30 soldiers and spoke as follows: “If ever any other men, “when it was possible to live shamefully, chose rather to die gloriously, “exchanging a noble end of life for immediate safety, I should wish you also at the present time to be such men, “and not through love of life to pursue a life with shame, “and this, too, after the teaching of Belisarius, having shared in which from of old, it is not holy for you not to be noble 6.21.31 and very daring. For to all “who come into the light, one single fortune comes forth, “to die at the appointed times; but in the manner of their “end men for the most part differ from one another. 6.21.32 “And the difference is this, that the unmanly, as is likely, “first owing insult and ridicule to their enemies, “then at the times appointed from above no less fulfill their destiny, while for noble “men it happens that they suffer this with virtue and an abundance of good repute. 6.21.33 “And apart from these things, “if it were possible for us, by saving these men as well, to serve “the barbarians, this at least would bring “some pardon for this shameful safety of ours. 6.21.34 “But if we are forced to look upon so great a multitude of Romans “being destroyed by the hands of the enemy, “what death could one say would be more bitter than this? 6.21.35 “For we should seem to be doing nothing other than helping the barbarians accomplish “the terrible deed. Therefore, while we are still masters of ourselves “to adorn necessity with valor, let us make 6.21.36 our allotted fortune glorious. And I say that “we must all arm ourselves as best we can and advance upon 6.21.37 the unsuspecting enemy. For one of two things “will be our lot: either fortune will have wrought for us “something better than we hope, or having met a blessed “end, we shall have been gloriously released from our present 6.21.38 evils.” Mundilas said these things, but none of the soldiers was willing to face the danger, but on the terms which the enemy urged, they surrendered both themselves and 6.21.39 the city. And the barbarians, doing them no harm, held them in custody with Mundilas, but they razed the city to the ground, killing all the men of military age, no fewer than three hundred thousand, and reducing the women to the status of slaves, whom indeed they presented to the Burgundians as a gift, paying them a favour for their alliance. 6.21.40 And finding Reparatus, the praetorian prefect, they cut him up little by little, and his

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ὥστε «ὀπίσω τοῦ δέοντος καιροῦ ἐς αὐτὴν ἥξουσι, καὶ τοῖς «ἵπποις ἐπὶ τοῖς πολεμίοις χρῆσθαι διὰ μῆκος ὁδοῦ, 6.21.22 «ἡνίκα ἐς ἐκείνους ἀφίκωνται, οὐδαμῶς ἕξουσιν. ἢν «δέ γε ξύν τε Μαρτίνῳ καὶ Οὐλίαρι οἱ ἄνδρες οὗτοι «ἐς Μεδιόλανον ἴωσι, κρατήσουσί τε, ὡς τὸ εἰκὸς, τῶν «ταύτῃ βαρβάρων, καὶ τὴν Αἰμιλίαν καταλήψονται 6.21.23 «αὖθις, οὐδενὸς ἔτι ἀντιστατοῦντος.» ταῦτα ἐπεὶ Ναρσῆς ἀπενεχθέντα εἶδε τὰ γράμματα, αὐτὸς μὲν Ἰωάννῃ τε καὶ Ἰουστίνῳ ἐπέστελλεν ἐς Μεδιόλανον ξὺν τῷ 6.21.24 ἄλλῳ στρατῷ ἰέναι. ὀλίγῳ δὲ ὕστερον Ἰωάννης μὲν ἐς τὴν παραλίαν ἐστάλη, ὅπως ἀκάτους ἐνθένδε κομίζοι, οὕτω τε διαβαίνειν τὸν ποταμὸν ὁ στρατὸς δύνηται. ἀλλὰ νόσος αὐτῷ ξυμβᾶσα τὰ πρασσόμενα διεκώλυσεν. 6.21.25 Ἐν ᾧ δὲ οἵ τε ἀμφὶ Μαρτῖνον τῇ ἐς τὴν διάβασιν ὀκνήσει ἐχρῶντο καὶ οἱ ἀμφὶ τὸν Ἰωάννην τὰς Ναρσοῦ ἐντολὰς ἔμενον, ἐν τούτῳ χρόνου δαπανᾶσθαι 6.21.26 πολύ τι χρῆμα τῇ πολιορκίᾳ τετύχηκεν. οἱ δὲ πολιορκούμενοι ἤδη ἐς ἄγαν τῷ λιμῷ πιεζόμενοι καὶ τοῦ κακοῦ ὑπερβιαζομένου κυνῶν τε καὶ μυῶν οἱ πλεῖστοι ἐγεύσαντο καὶ ζῴων ἄλλων ὅσα ἐς βρῶσιν ἀνθρώπου 6.21.27 οὔποτε ἦλθον. οἱ μὲν οὖν βάρβαροι πρέσβεις παρὰ Μουνδίλαν πέμψαντες ἐνδοῦναι σφίσι τὴν πόλιν ἐκέλευον, ἐφ' ᾧ ἀπαθεῖς αὐτός τε καὶ οἱ στρατιῶται κα6.21.28 κῶν μείνωσιν. ὁ δὲ ταῦτα ὡμολόγησε πράξειν, ἢν ἐκεῖνοι ὑπέρ τε αὐτῶν τὰ πιστὰ δώσουσι καὶ ὡς οὐδὲν 6.21.29 ἄχαρι ἐς τῶν οἰκητόρων τινὰ δράσουσιν. ὡς δὲ οἱ πολέμιοι Μουνδίλᾳ τε καὶ τοῖς στρατιώταις τὰ πιστὰ ἔδοσαν, θυμῷ τε πολλῷ ἐς Λιγούρους ἐχόμενοι ἅπαντας ἀπολοῦντες ἔνδηλοι ἦσαν, συγκαλέσας Μουνδίλας τοὺς 6.21.30 στρατιώτας ἅπαντας ἔλεξε τοιάδε «Εἴ τινες καὶ ἄλλοι «πώποτε, παρὸν αἰσχρῶς βιῶναι, οἱ δὲ μᾶλλον εὐκλεῶς «ἀποθανεῖν εἵλοντο σωτηρίας τῆς παραυτίκα τὴν εὐ»πρεπῆ τοῦ βίου καταστροφὴν ἀλλαξάμενοι, τοιούτους «δή τινας ἐν τῷ παρόντι βουλοίμην ἂν καὶ ὑμᾶς εἶναι «καὶ μὴ τῷ φιλοψύχῳ τὸν μετὰ τῆς αἰσχύνης βίον «διώκειν, καὶ ταῦτα ἄπο τῆς Βελισαρίου διδασκαλίας, «ἧς ἐκ παλαιοῦ μετασχοῦσιν ὑμῖν μὴ οὐχὶ γενναίοις 6.21.31 «τε καὶ λίαν εὐτόλμοις εἶναι οὐχ ὅσιον. τοῖς μὲν «γὰρ εἰς φῶς ἥκουσι μία τις ἅπασι προέρχεται τύχη, «τοῖς καθήκουσι τεθνήξεσθαι χρόνοις· τρόπῳ δὲ τῆς «τελευτῆς ἄνθρωποι ἀλλήλων ὡς τὰ πολλὰ διαλλάσ6.21.32 «σουσι. διαφέρει δὲ, ὅτι ἄνανδροι μὲν, ὡς τὸ εἰκὸς, «ἅπαντες ὕβριν τε καὶ γέλωτα ὀφείλοντες τοῖς ἐχθροῖς «πρότερον, εἶτα τοῖς ἄνωθεν διωρισμένοις καιροῖς «οὐδὲν ἧσσον ἀναπιμπλᾶσι τὴν πεπρωμένην, γενναίοις «δὲ ἀνδράσι ξύν τε τῇ ἀρετῇ καὶ δόξης ἀγαθῆς 6.21.33 «περιουσίᾳ τοῦτο ξυμβαίνει πάσχειν. ἄνευ δὲ τούτων «εἰ μὲν ἀνθρώπους τούσδε ξυνδιασώζουσιν ἡμῖν δου»λεύειν τοῖς βαρβάροις παρῆν, ἔφερεν ἂν τοῦτο γοῦν «τινα τῆς αἰσχρᾶς ταύτης ἡμῖν σωτηρίας συγγνώμην. 6.21.34 «ἢν δέ γε Ῥωμαίους τοσούτους τὸ πλῆθος ἐπιδεῖν «ἀνάγκη ταῖς τῶν πολεμίων διαφθειρομένους χερσὶν, «ὅτου τις ἂν εἴποι τοῦτο θανάτου πικρότερον ἔσται. 6.21.35 «οὐ γὰρ ἄλλο οὐδὲν ἢ τοῖς βαρβάροις ξυγκατεργάζε»σθαι τὸ δεινὸν δόξαιμεν. ἕως οὖν ἔτι ἐσμὲν ἡμῶν «αὐτῶν κύριοι ἀρετῇ τὴν ἀνάγκην κοσμήσασθαι, εὔ6.21.36 «δοξον τὴν προσπεσοῦσαν θώμεθα τύχην. φημὶ δὲ «χρῆναι ὡς ἄριστα ἐξοπλισαμένους ἡμᾶς ἅπαντας ἐπὶ 6.21.37 «τοὺς πολεμίους οὐ προσδεχομένους χωρεῖν. δυοῖν γὰρ «ἡμῖν περιέσται θάτερον· ἢ τὴν τύχην ἐφ' ἡμῖν εἰργά»σθαι τι κρεῖσσον ἐλπίδος ἢ τελευτῆς τετυχηκότας εὐ»δαίμονος εὐκλεῶς μάλιστα τῶν παρόντων ἀπηλλάχθαι 6.21.38 «κακῶν.» Μουνδίλας μὲν τοσαῦτα εἶπε, τῶν δὲ στρατιωτῶν ὑποστῆναι τὸν κίνδυνον οὐδεὶς ἤθελεν, ἀλλ' ἐφ' οἷς παρεκάλουν οἱ πολέμιοι σφᾶς τε αὐτοὺς καὶ 6.21.39 τὴν πόλιν ἐνέδοσαν. καὶ αὐτοὺς μὲν οἱ βάρβαροι οὐδὲν ἄχαρι ἐργασάμενοι ἐν φυλακῇ ξὺν Μουνδίλᾳ εἶχον, τὴν δὲ πόλιν ἐς ἔδαφος καθεῖλον, ἄνδρας μὲν κτείναντες ἡβηδὸν ἅπαντας οὐχ ἧσσον ἢ μυριάδας τριάκοντα, γυναῖκας δὲ ἐν ἀνδραπόδων ποιησάμενοι λόγῳ, αἷς δὴ Βουργουζίωνας δεδώρηνται χάριν αὐτοῖς 6.21.40 τῆς ξυμμαχίας ἐκτίνοντες. Ῥεπάρατον δὲ εὑρόντες τὸν τῆς αὐλῆς ἔπαρχον, ἔκοψάν τε κατὰ βραχὺ καὶ αὐτοῦ