24

Agrthllr:

The

HLtorlr

trtss ur whnt hncl hnppcnctl, Nnrrer clirl not, rrr rr lerrer mnn woukl hnve
done, allow himself to lrercome dispiritecl unrl tlinheurtenecl. Instend, seeing
his troops demoralized l'ry thc unexpectecl turn of events he decicled to
address some general words of exhortation and encouragement to them, in
order to raise their spirits and dispel their fears.
16. Narses was indeed possessed of a remarkable degtee of shrewdness
and an e>rmaordinary capacity for coping eflectively with any eventuality.
Though he had received little formal educarion and no training in the art
of oratory, he was exceptionally talented and particularly good at putting
his views across. These qualities w.ere all the more remarkable in a eunuch
and in one who had been brought up in the soft and comfortable atmosphere
of the imperial court. z He was moreover of diminutive stature and
abnormal thinness; yet his courage and heroism were absolutely incredib,le.
The fact is that true nobility of soul cannot fail to make its mark, no matter
what obstacles are put in its path. 3 On that occasion then Narses made
his way into the midst of the army and addressed them as follows:
"People who are accustomed to getting the better of their enemies on
eadt and wery occasion and to unfailing and unalloyed success are completely shattered by even the slightest and most momentary reverse. 4 But
I think that if a man has any sense he ought not to let success go to his head
but should bear in mind how easy ir is for things to drange and always be
ready to face the \r7orst. Anyorre who adopts this philosophy will view
success with the greatest pleasure and will not consider it a disaster if his
calculations are upset. 5 Now I perceive that your distress is disproportionate to what has happened, and it is plain to see that the reason for this is
that you have becorne so inordinately conceited through the habitual experience of victory that you imagine you can never go w:rong. ff, therefore,
you v'ere to put a\ay this illusion and consider the case on its own merits,
you would not find it anything as dreadful s you might otherwise suppose.
6 If Fulcaris, and being abatbafian rashness was second nature to him, if
Fulcaris, f say, made a desperate and disorganized attad< against sudr a
heavy concentration of enemy forces with disastrous but predictable ponsequences, that is hardly a reason fo us to shrink from our present responsibilities or review our commitments. 7 rt would indeed be shameful if,
while those Goths who have survived the holocaust of their nation, far from
resigning themselves to their fate, arcbusy forming alliances and stirring up
further trouble for us, we, entertaining the notion that we have been beten
simply because we have not won a resounding victory, shoutrd so lose heart
as to thro'ff away the glory of our pst achievements. 8 7e ought rather
to be pleased about what has happened, since it has resulted in ihe signal
punishment of overweening prosperity and has freed us from the burde of
immoderate envy. Henceforth we may view the prospect of fighting with

Book I

|'

2'

confideuce irr the full nnnurrlnce thnt we are novr' enterittg upon a new phasc
of crtrcltrert, 9 n for thc enemy's vountccl numericnl superiority, we shall
prove very muclr their betters in matters of discipline and organisation, provlcled we l<eep our heads. Moreover we shall be fighting against foteign

will, naturally, be short of provisions, whilst we have an

A number of cities and strongholds will guarantee
our safety if need be, whereas they will have no sudr guarantee to fall back
intnrders who

nmple supply of them.

on. lilhat is more the Almighty

will be on our side, since we are engaged in

wholly just struggle to defend what is ours, whilst they are ravaging the
Iand of others. ro There is every reason, then for extreme confidence on
our part and no possible excuse for faintheartedness. Let us determine,
n

therefore, not to give moment's respite to the beleaguered citizens of Lucca

nnd let each one of you bring all his energies and enthusiasm to bear effectively on the conduct of the entire campaign. "
17. Having put heart into his troops by addressing them in this vein,
Narses immediately set about conducting the siege of Lucca with greater
strictness. At the same time he was extemely angry vrith the other generals.
They had abandoned an advantageous position and were now in Faventia.

All his careful calculations

were being

reversed. z He expected their

forces to be ranged like a continuous fortification and bulwark around the city

of Parma, in order to keep the enemy atbay andleave him free to bring the
situation in Tuscany under control and then set out to join them there. But
nov', as a consequence of theit having left the spot and transferred themselves to a distant location, Narses and his men were exposed to direct
enemy attacl<. 3 Findi this situation intolerable he sent one of his
losest associates, aman called Stephnus, native of the Illyrian town of
Epidamnus, 1e to the generals to upbraid them for their cowardice and to
bring home to them that failure to return to their posts /as tantmount to

of desertion.
4 So Stephanus set o{[ at fu[l speed with two hgndred of the bravest and
besi-armed cavalrymen. Their progress w'as a painful combination of forced
mardres and sleless nights owing to the fact that a detadrment of Franks
was roaming about the plains in that region in seardr of forage and p!undering the loutryside. 5 The Romans, therefore, did most of their
*u"d.irrg by night keeping together in close formation and protecting theif
,.ur, ,o thut if obligeJ to fight it out they, should not be caught ofi their
guard. The anguished cries of the peasantry could be heard and the lowing
an open conviction

f cattle being driven away and the gash of trees being felled. To the dismal
accompaniment of sudr sounds they frnally made their v/ay to Faventia and
the army there.
19

Dffazzo,