to benefit yourselves, and you wish to bring upon
your ruler, though he does not so will it and is far
distant from the scene of these actions, the hostility
of the great emperor, whose good-will he has, having
won it with great labour. And yet how could you
but seem to be acting contrary to the ways of men,
it you recently allowed Gelimer to hold the fortress,
but have decided to wrest from the emperor, Gelimer’s
master, the possessions of the slave? You, at
least, should not act thus, most excellent sirs.
But reflect that, while it is the nature of friendship
to cover over many faults, hostility does not brook
even the smallest misdeeds, but searches the past for
every offence, and allows not its enemy to grow rich
on what does not in the least belong to them.[15]
Moreover, the enemy fights to avenge the wrongs which
it says have been done to its ancestors; and whereas,
if friendship thus turned to hostility fails in the
struggle, it suffers no loss of its own possessions,
yet if it succeeds, it teaches the vanquished to take
a new view of the indulgence which has been shewn
them in the past. See to it, then, that you neither
do us further harm nor suffer harm yourselves, and
do not make the great emperor an enemy to the Gothic
nation, when it is your prayer that he be propitious
toward you. For be well assured that, if you lay
claim to this fortress, war will confront you immediately,
and not for Lilybaeum alone, but for all the possessions
you claim as yours, though not one of them belongs
to you.”
Such was the message of the letter. And the Goths
reported these things to the mother[16] of Antalaric,
and at her direction made the following reply:
“The letter which you have written, most excellent
Belisarius, carries sound admonition, but pertinent
to some other men, not to us the Goths. For there
is nothing of the Emperor Justinian’s which we
have taken and hold; may we never be so mad as to
do such a thing! The whole of Sicily we claim
because it is our own, and the fortress of Lilybaeum
is one of its promontories. And if Theoderic gave
his sister, who was the consort of the king of the
Vandals, one of the trading-ports of Sicily for her
use, this is nothing. For this fact could not
afford a basis for any claim on your part. But
you, O General, would be acting justly toward us,
if you should be willing to make the settlement of
the matters in dispute between us, not as an enemy,
but as a friend. And there is this difference,
that friends are accustomed to settle their disagreements
by arbitration, but enemies by battle. We, therefore,
shall commit this matter to the Emperor Justinian,
to arbitrate[17] in whatever manner seems to him lawful
and just. And we desire that the decisions you
make shall be as wise as possible, rather than as hasty
as possible, and that you, therefore, await the decision
of your emperor.” Such was the message
of the letter of the Goths. And Belisarius, reporting
all to the emperor, remained quiet until the emperor
should send him word what his wish was.