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the barbarians, massing against them, were awaiting the attack. The other parts of the circuit wall, however, where indeed no assault by the Romans took place, were entirely destitute of men, with all the Goths gathering wherever the enemy might attack, 8.33.21 just as I have said. And at this moment, by the plan of Narses, Dagisthaeus, having a very great number of soldiers and the standard both of Narses and of John and bringing along many ladders, suddenly attacked a certain section of the circuit wall, it being completely destitute of a garrison. 8.33.22 And since no one was defending, he immediately propped all the ladders against the wall and with no trouble got inside the circuit wall with his followers, and they began to open the gates 8.33.23 at their leisure. As soon as the Goths perceived this, they no longer looked to their defense, but they all fled wherever it was possible for each of them. And some leaped into the fortress, while others indeed proceeded at a run to Portus. 8.33.24 At this point in my narrative a thought has occurred to me in what manner fortune mocks human affairs, not always proceeding in the same way among men nor looking upon them with equal eyes, but changing with time and place, and playing some game with them, altering the worth of the wretched according to the occasion or the place or the manner, if indeed Bessas, who had previously lost Rome, not much later recovered Petra in Lazica for the Romans, and conversely Dagisthaeus, having surrendered Petra to the enemy, won back Rome for the emperor in a short time. 8.33.25 But these things have both happened from the beginning and always will happen, as long as the same fortune is with men. But Narses then went with his whole army to attack the fortress. 8.33.26 And the barbarians, being terrified and having received pledges for their lives, surrendered both themselves and the fortress to him very quickly indeed, it being the twenty-sixth year that the Emperor Justinian held the imperial 8.33.27 power. And thus Rome was captured for the fifth time during his reign, and Narses immediately sent the keys of its gates to the emperor. 8.34.1 Then indeed it was shown most clearly to men that for all for whom it was fated to fare ill, even what seem to be successes are decided for destruction, and departing according to their wish, they are perhaps destroyed along with such good fortune. 8.34.2 For it happened that this victory became a cause of much greater destruction still for the Roman senate and people, 8.34.3 in the following way. The Goths, as they fled and despaired of the mastery of Italy, as a by-work of their journey, treated the Romans they happened to meet 8.34.4 with no mercy. And the barbarians of the Roman army treated as enemies all 8.34.5 whom they might encounter on their entry into the city. And in addition this too happened to them. Many of the senatorial council, this having been decreed by Totila, 8.34.6 had previously been staying in the districts of Campania. Some of whom, when they learned that Rome was held by the emperor's army, setting out from Campania were going to it. And the Goths learning this, as many as happened to be in the strongholds there, searching all the places in that region, killed all the patricians. Among them was also Maximus, whom I mentioned in the previous books. 8.34.7 And Totila also happened, when he was going from there to meet Narses, to have gathered the sons of the notable Romans from each city, and having selected from them about three hundred, whom he thought to be especially handsome in body, suggesting to their parents that they would indeed live with him, but in true fact they would be hostages for him. 8.34.8 And Totila at that time ordered them to be beyond the river Po, but Teias, finding them there now, killed them all. 8.34.9 And Ragnaris, a Goth, who was commanding the garrison in Tarentum, although he had received pledges from Pacurius by the emperor's will, and had agreed to come over to the Romans, as I have said before, and having also provided six Goths as hostages on this very agreement to the Romans, when he heard that Teias had been made king of the Goths and had brought in the Franks as reinforcements and with the whole

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κατ' αὐτοὺς οἱ βάρβαροι ξυνιστάμενοι ἐδέχοντο τὴν ἐπίθεσιν. τὰ μέντοι ἄλλα τοῦ περιβόλου, ἵνα δὴ Ῥωμαίων οὐκ ἐγένετο προσβολὴ, ἀνδρῶν ἔρημα παντάπασιν ἦν, Γότθων ἁπάντων, ὅπη ἂν οἱ πολέμιοι ἐπισκήψαιεν, 8.33.21 ἀγειρομένων, ᾗπέρ μοι εἴρηται. ἐν τούτῳ δὲ γνώμῃ Ναρσοῦ ὁ ∆αγισθαῖος στρατιώτας τε παμπληθεῖς ἔχων καὶ τό τε Ναρσοῦ καὶ τὸ Ἰωάννου σημεῖον καὶ κλίμακας πολλὰς ἐπαγόμενος μοίρᾳ τινὶ τοῦ περιβόλου ἐξαπιναίως ἐπέσκηψε, φρουρᾶς τὸ παράπαν ἐρήμῳ 8.33.22 οὔσῃ. τάς τε κλίμακας εὐθὺς ἁπάσας οὐδενὸς ἀμυνομένου τῷ τείχει ἐρείσας πόνῳ οὐδενὶ ξὺν τοῖς ἑπομένοις ἐντὸς τοῦ περιβόλου ἐγένετο, τάς τε πύλας 8.33.23 κατ' ἐξουσίαν ἀνέῳγον. ὧνπερ αὐτίκα Γότθοι αἰσθόμενοι οὐκέτι ἐς ἀλκὴν ἔβλεπον, ἀλλ' ἔφευγον ἅπαντες ὅπη αὐτῶν ἑκάστῳ δυνατὰ ἐγεγόνει. καὶ οἱ μὲν εἰς τὸ φρούριον εἰσεπήδησαν, οἱ δὲ δὴ ἐς τὸν Πόρτον 8.33.24 ἐχώρησαν δρόμῳ. ἐνταῦθά μοι τοῦ λόγου ἔννοια γέγονεν ὅντινα ἡ τύχη διαχλευάζει τὰ ἀνθρώπεια τρόπον, οὐκ ἀεὶ κατὰ ταὐτὰ παρὰ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἰοῦσα οὐδὲ ἴσοις αὐτοὺς ὀφθαλμοῖς βλέπουσα, ἀλλὰ ξυμμεταβαλλομένη χρόνῳ καὶ τόπῳ, καὶ παίζει ἐς αὐτοὺς παιδιάν τινα παρὰ τὸν καιρὸν ἢ τὸν χῶρον ἢ τὸν τρόπον διαλλάσσουσα τὴν τῶν ταλαιπώρων ἀξίαν, εἴ γε ὁ Ῥώμην μὲν ἀπολωλεκὼς τὰ πρότερα Βέσσας οὐ πολλῷ ὕστερον ἀνεσώσατο Ῥωμαίοις τῆς Λαζικῆς Πέτραν, ἔμπαλιν δὲ ὁ ∆αγισθαῖος Πέτραν τοῖς πολεμίοις μεθεὶς ἀνεκτήσατο ἐν χρόνῳ ὀλίγῳ βασιλεῖ 8.33.25 Ῥώμην. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν γέγονέ τε τὸ ἐξ ἀρχῆς καὶ ἀεὶ ἔσται, ἕως ἂν ἡ αὐτὴ τύχη ἀνθρώποις ᾖ. Ναρσῆς δὲ τότε παντὶ τῷ στρατῷ ἐπὶ τὸ φρούριον πολεμῶν 8.33.26 ᾔει. κατορρωδήσαντές τε οἱ βάρβαροι καὶ τὰ πιστὰ ὑπὲρ τῶν σωμάτων κεκομισμένοι σφᾶς τε αὐτοὺς καὶ τὸ φρούριόν οἱ αὐτίκα δὴ μάλα παρέδοσαν, ἕκτον τε καὶ εἰκοστὸν ἔτος Ἰουστινιανοῦ βασιλέως τὴν αὐτο8.33.27 κράτορα ἀρχὴν ἔχοντος. οὕτω τε Ῥώμη ἐπὶ τούτου βασιλεύοντος τὸ πέμπτον ἑάλω, ἧσπερ εὐθὺς ὁ Ναρσῆς τῶν πυλῶν τὰς κλεῖς βασιλεῖ ἔπεμψε. 8.34.1 Τότε δὴ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις διαφανέστατα ἐπιδέδεικται ὡς ἅπασιν, οἷσπερ ἔδει γενέσθαι κακῶς, καὶ τὰ εὐτυχήματα δοκοῦντα εἶναι εἰς ὄλεθρον ἀποκέκριται, κατὰ νοῦν τε ἀπαλλάξαντες ἴσως τῇ τοιαύτῃ εὐημερίᾳ 8.34.2 ξυνδιαφθείρονται. Ῥωμαίων γὰρ τῇ τε ξυγκλήτῳ βουλῇ καὶ τῷ δήμῳ τὴν νίκην τήνδε πολλῷ ἔτι μᾶλλον φθόρου 8.34.3 αἰτίαν ξυνηνέχθη γενέσθαι τρόπῳ τοιῷδε. Γότθοι μὲν φεύγοντες καὶ τὴν Ἰταλίας ἐπικράτησιν ἀπογνόντες, ὁδοῦ ποιούμενοι πάρεργον, τοὺς παρατυχόντας σφίσι 8.34.4 Ῥωμαίους οὐδεμιᾷ διεχρῶντο φειδοῖ. οἱ δὲ βάρβαροι τοῦ Ῥωμαίων στρατοῦ ὡς πολεμίοις ἐχρῶντο πᾶσιν, 8.34.5 οἷς ἂν ἐντύχοιεν ἐν τῇ ἐς τὴν πόλιν εἰσόδῳ. πρὸς δὲ καὶ τόδε αὐτοῖς ξυνηνέχθη γενέσθαι. πολλοὶ τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς ξυγκλήτου βουλῆς, τοῦτο Τουτίλᾳ δεδογμένον, 8.34.6 τὰ πρότερα ἔμενον ἐς τὰ ἐπὶ Καμπανίας χωρία. ὧνπέρ τινες, ἐπεὶ Ῥώμην ἔχεσθαι πρὸς τοῦ βασιλέως στρατοῦ ἔγνωσαν, ἐκ Καμπανίας ἐξαναστάντες ἐς αὐτὴν ᾔεσαν. ὃ δὴ Γότθοι μαθόντες, ὅσοι ἐν τοῖς ταύτῃ ὀχυρώμασιν ἐτύγχανον ὄντες, ἅπαντα διερευνώμενοι τὰ ἐκείνῃ χωρία τοὺς πατρικίους ἅπαντας ἔκτειναν. ἐν τοῖς καὶ Μάξιμος ἦν, οὗπερ ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν λόγοις ἐμνήσθην. 8.34.7 ἐτύγχανε δὲ καὶ Τουτίλας, ἡνίκα Ναρσῇ ὑπαντιάσων ἐνθένδε ᾔει, τῶν ἐκ πόλεως ἑκάστης δοκίμων Ῥωμαίων τοὺς παῖδας ἀγείρας καὶ αὐτῶν ἐς τριακοσίους ἀπολεξάμενος, οὕσπερ μάλιστα τὸ σῶμα καλοὺς ᾤετο εἶναι, τοῖς μὲν γειναμένοις ὅτι δὴ αὐτῷ ξυνδιαιτήσονται ὑπειπὼν, ὁμήρους δέ οἱ λόγῳ τῷ ἀληθεῖ ἐσομένους. 8.34.8 καὶ αὐτοὺς Τουτίλας μὲν τότε ὑπὲρ ποταμὸν Πάδον ἐκέλευσεν εἶναι, Τεΐας δὲ τανῦν ἐνταῦθα εὑρὼν ἅπαντας ἔκτεινε. 8.34.9 Ῥάγναρίς τε, Γότθος ἀνὴρ, ὅσπερ ἡγεῖτο τοῦ ἐν Ταραντηνοῖς φυλακτηρίου, καίπερ τὰ πιστὰ γνώμῃ βασιλέως πρὸς τοῦ Πακουρίου κεκομισμένος, Ῥωμαίοις τε προσχωρήσειν ὁμολογήσας, ᾗπέρ μοι ἔμπροσθεν εἴρηται, παρασχόμενος δὲ καὶ Γότθους ἓξ ἐν ὁμήρων λόγῳ ἐπὶ ταύτῃ δὴ τῇ ὁμολογίᾳ Ῥωμαίοις, ἐπειδὴ Τεΐαν ἤκουσε βασιλέα καταστάντα Γότθοις τούς τε Φράγγους ἐς ἐπικουρίαν ἐπαγαγέσθαι καὶ παντὶ τῷ