Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol 4

Note: Le Beau and his Commentator, M. St. Martin, support, though with no very satisfactory evidence, the opposite opinion. But Lord Mahon (Life of Belisarius, p. 19) urges the much stronger argument, the Byzantine education of Theodroic. - M.] [Footnote 4: Statura est quae resignet proceritate regnantem, (Ennodius, p. 1614.) The bishop of Pavia (I mean the ecclesiastic who wished to be a bishop) then proceeds to celebrate the complexion, eyes, hands, &c, of his sovereign.] [Footnote 5: The state of the Ostrogoths, and the first years of Theodoric, are found in Jornandes, (c. 52 - 56, p. 689 - 696) and Malchus, (Excerpt. Legat. p. 78 - 80,) who erroneously styles him the son of Walamir.] A hero, descended from a race of kings, must have despised the base Isaurian who was invested with the Roman purple, without any endowment of mind or body, without any advantages of royal birth, or superior qualifications. After the failure of the Theodosian life, the choice of Pulcheria and of the senate might