Mary Belle Freeley - "Fair to Look Upon"

Brevet Col. J.C. Fremont - "The Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, Oregon and California"

Alexandre Dumas - "Chicot the Jester"

Various - "Georgian Poetry 1918 19"

Annual Bibliography of Commonwealth Literature 2007
This paper argues that discourses of love in Ghanaian market literature for youth offer a view into complex negotiations of agency and empowerment. Drawing on Deborah Durham's notion of youth as "social `shifters'" and Francis Nyamnjoh's conception of the "interconnectedness" of agency, I take Ghanaian market literature as one specific case of how African literature for youth foregrounds questions of continuity and change as African societies enter into increasingly complex global relations. In this literature for youth, received notions of love, often constructed out of impressions from American pop and hip hop music, carry new notions of agency that compete with existing "domesticated" forms. Authors like Ike Tandoh and Evelyn Tay employ discourses of love to offer youth alternative avenues for empowerment in a context of socio-economic disenfranchizement. In a creative process of "straddling", this writing both reveals and reproduces the contradictions that obtain in youth configurations of agency.

Procopius

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Now the aqueduct of Naples is not only covered until it reaches the
wall, but remains covered as it extends to a great distance inside the
city, being carried on a high arch of baked brick. Consequently, when
the men under the command of Magnus and Ennes had got inside the
fortifications, they were one and all unable even to conjecture where
in the world they were. Furthermore, they could not leave the aqueduct
at any point until the foremost of them came to a place where the
aqueduct chanced to be without a roof and where stood a building which
had entirely fallen into neglect. Inside this building a certain woman
had her dwelling, living alone with utter poverty as her only companion;
and an olive tree had grown out over the aqueduct. So when these men saw
the sky and perceived that they were in the midst of the city, they
began to plan how they might get out, but they had no means of leaving
the aqueduct either with or without their arms. For the structure
happened to be very high at that point and, besides, offered no means of
climbing to the top. But as the soldiers were in a state of great
perplexity and were beginning to crowd each other greatly as they
collected there (for already, as the men in the rear kept coming up, a
great throng was beginning to gather), the thought occurred to one of
them to make trial of the ascent. He immediately therefore laid down his
arms, and forcing his way up with hands and feet, reached the woman's
house. And seeing her there, he threatened to kill her unless she should
remain silent. And she was terror-stricken and remained speechless. He
then fastened to the trunk of the olive tree a strong strap, and threw
the other end of it into the aqueduct. So the soldiers, laying hold of
it one at a time, managed with difficulty to make the ascent. And after
all had come up and a fourth part of the night still remained, they
proceeded toward the wall; and they slew the garrison of two of the
towers before the men in them had an inkling of the trouble. These
towers were on the northern portion of the circuit-wall, where
Belisarius was stationed with Bessas and Photius, anxiously awaiting the
progress of events. So while the trumpeters were summoning the army to
the wall, Belisarius was placing the ladders against the fortifications
and commanding the soldiers to mount them. But it so happened that not
one of the ladders reached as far as the parapet. For since the workmen
had not made them in sight of the wall, they had not been able to arrive
at the proper measure. For this reason they bound two together, and it
was only by using both of them for the ascent that the soldiers got
above the level of the parapet. Such was the progress of these events
where Belisarius was engaged.

But on the side of the circuit-wall which faces the sea, where the
forces on guard were not barbarians, but Jews, the soldiers were unable
either to use the ladders or to scale the wall. For the Jews had already
given offence to their enemy by having opposed their efforts to capture
the city without a fight, and for this reason they had no hope if they
should fall into their hands; so they kept fighting stubbornly, although
they could see that the city had already been captured, and held out
beyond all expectation against the assaults of their opponents. But when
day came and some of those who had mounted the wall marched against
them, then at last they also, now that they were being shot at from
behind, took to flight, and Naples was captured by storm. By this time
the gates were thrown open and the whole Roman army came in. [L] But
those who were stationed about the gates which fronted the east, since,
as it happened, they had no ladders at hand, set fire to these gates,
which were altogether unguarded; for that part of the wall had been
deserted, the guards having taken to flight. And then a great slaughter
took place; for all of them were possessed with fury, especially those
who had chanced to have a brother or other relative slain in the
fighting at the wall. And they kept killing all whom they encountered,
sparing neither old nor young, and dashing into the houses they made
slaves of the women and children and secured the valuables as plunder;
and in this the Massagetae outdid all the rest, for they did not even
withhold their hand from the sanctuaries, but slew many of those who had
taken refuge in them, until Belisarius, visiting every part of the city,
put a stop to this, and calling all together, spoke as follows:

DATE:
[L] 536 A.D.

"Inasmuch as God has given us the victory and has permitted us to attain
the greatest height of glory, by putting under our hand a city which has
never been captured before, it behooves us on our part to shew ourselves
not unworthy of His grace, but by our humane treatment of the
vanquished, to make it plain that we have conquered these men justly. Do
not, therefore, hate the Neapolitans with a boundless hatred, and do not
allow your hostility toward them to continue beyond the limits of the
war. For when men have been vanquished, their victors never hate them
any longer. And by killing them you will not be ridding yourselves of
enemies for the future, but you will be suffering a loss through the
death of your subjects. Therefore, do these men no further harm, nor
continue to give way wholly to anger. For it is a disgrace to prevail
over the enemy and then to shew yourselves vanquished by passion. So let
all the possessions of these men suffice for you as the rewards of your
valour, but let their wives, together with the children, be given back
to the men. And let the conquered learn by experience what kind of
friends they have forfeited by reason of foolish counsel."

After speaking thus, Belisarius released to the Neapolitans their women
and children and the slaves, one and all, no insult having been
experienced by them, and he reconciled the soldiers to the citizens. And
thus it came to pass for the Neapolitans that on that day they both
became captives and regained their liberty, and that they recovered the
most precious of their possessions. For those of them who happened to
have gold or anything else of value had previously concealed it by
burying it in the earth, and in this way they succeeded in hiding from
the enemy the fact that in getting back their houses they were
recovering their money also. And the siege, which had lasted about
twenty days, ended thus. As for the Goths who were captured in the city,
not less than eight hundred in number, Belisarius put them under guard
and kept them from all harm, holding them in no less honour than his own
soldiers.

And Pastor, who had been leading the people upon a course of folly, as
has been previously[39] set forth by me, upon seeing the city captured,
fell into a fit of apoplexy and died suddenly, though he had neither
been ill before nor suffered any harm from anyone. But Asclepiodotus,
who was engaged in this intrigue with him, came before Belisarius with
those of the notables who survived. And Stephanus mocked and reviled him
with these words: "See, O basest of all men, what evils you have brought
to your fatherland, by selling the safety of the citizens for loyalty to
the Goths. And furthermore, if things had gone well for the barbarians,
you would have claimed the right to be yourself a hireling in their
service and to bring to court on the charge of trying to betray the city
to the Romans each one of us who have given the better counsel. But now
that the emperor has captured the city, and we have been saved by the
uprightness of this man, and you even so have had the hardihood
recklessly to come into the presence of the general as if you had done
no harm to the Neapolitans or to the emperor's army, you will meet with
the punishment you deserve." Such were the words which Stephanus, who
was deeply grieved by the misfortune of the city, hurled against
Asclepiodotus. And Asclepiodotus replied to him as follows: "Quite
unwittingly, noble Sir, you have been heaping praise upon us, when you
reproach us for our loyalty to the Goths. For no one could ever be loyal
to his masters when they are in danger, except it be by firm conviction.
As for me, then, the victors will have in me as true a guardian of the
state as they lately found in me an enemy, since he whom nature has
endowed with the quality of fidelity does not change his conviction when
he changes his fortune. But you, should their fortunes not continue to
prosper as before, would readily listen to the overtures of their
assailants. For he who has the disease of inconstancy of mind no sooner
takes fright than he denies his pledge to those most dear." Such were
the words of Asclepiodotus. But the populace of the Neapolitans, when
they saw him returning from Belisarius, gathered in a body and began to
charge him with responsibility for all that had befallen them. And they
did not leave him until they had killed him and torn his body into small
pieces. After that they came to the house of Pastor, seeking for the
man. And when the servants insisted that Pastor was dead, they were
quite unwilling to believe them until they were shown the man's body.
And the Neapolitans impaled him in the outskirts of the town. Then they
begged Belisarius to pardon them for what they had done while moved with
just anger, and receiving his forgiveness, they dispersed. Such was the
fate of the Neapolitans.

FOOTNOTES:

[37] Cf. chap. v. 3.

[38] Cf. chap. v. 5.

[39] Chap. viii. 22.




XI


But the Goths who were at Rome and in the country round about had even
before this regarded with great amazement the inactivity of Theodatus,
because, though the enemy was in his neighbourhood, he was unwilling to
engage them in battle, and they felt among themselves much suspicion
toward him, believing that he was betraying the cause of the Goths to
the Emperor Justinian of his own free will, and cared for nothing else
than that he himself might live in quiet, possessed of as much money as
possible. Accordingly, when they heard that Naples had been captured,
they began immediately to make all these charges against him openly and
gathered at a place two hundred and eighty stades distant from Rome,
which the Romans call Regata.[40] And it seemed best to them to make
camp in that place; for there are extensive plains there which furnish
pasture for horses. And a river also flows by the place, which the
inhabitants call Decennovium[41] in the Latin tongue, because it flows
past nineteen milestones, a distance which amounts to one hundred and
thirteen stades, before it empties into the sea near the city of
Taracina; and very near that place is Mt. Circaeum, where they say
Odysseus met Circe, though the story seems to me untrustworthy, for
Homer declares that the habitation of Circe was on an island. This,
however, I am able to say, that this Mt. Circaeum, extending as it does
far into the sea, resembles an island, so that both to those who sail
close to it and to those who walk to the shore in the neighbourhood it
has every appearance of being an island. And only when a man gets on it
does he realize that he was deceived in his former opinion. And for this
reason Homer perhaps called the place an island. But I shall return to
the previous narrative.

The Goths, after gathering at Regata, chose as king over them and the
Italians Vittigis, a man who, though not of a conspicuous house, had
previously won great renown in the battles about Sirmium, when Theoderic
was carrying on the war against the Gepaedes.[42] Theodatus, therefore,
upon hearing this, rushed off in flight and took the road to Ravenna.
But Vittigis quickly sent Optaris, a Goth, instructing him to bring
Theodatus alive or dead. Now it happened that this Optaris was hostile
to Theodatus for the following cause. Optaris was wooing a certain young
woman who was an heiress and also exceedingly beautiful to look upon.
But Theodatus, being bribed to do so, took the woman he was wooing from
him, and betrothed her to another. And so, since he was not only
satisfying his own rage, but rendering a service to Vittigis as well, he
pursued Theodatus with great eagerness and enthusiasm, stopping neither
day nor night. And he overtook him while still on his way, laid him on
his back on the ground, and slew him like a victim for sacrifice. Such
was the end of Theodatus' life and of his rule, which had reached the
third year.[M]

DATE:
[M]Dec. 536 A.D.

And Vittigis, together with the Goths who were with him, marched to
Rome. And when he learned what had befallen Theodatus, he was pleased
and put Theodatus' son Theodegisclus under guard. But it seemed to him
that the preparations of the Goths were by no means complete, and for
this reason he thought it better first to go to Ravenna, and after
making everything ready there in the best possible way, then at length
to enter upon the war. He therefore called all the Goths together and
spoke as follows:

"The success of the greatest enterprises, fellow-soldiers, generally
depends, not upon hasty action at critical moments, but upon careful
planning. For many a time a policy of delay adopted at the opportune
moment has brought more benefit than the opposite course, and haste
displayed at an unseasonable time has upset for many men their hope of
success. For in most cases those who are unprepared, though they fight
on equal terms so far as their forces are concerned, are more easily
conquered than those who, with less strength, enter the struggle with
the best possible preparation. Let us not, therefore, be so lifted up by
the desire to win momentary honour as to do ourselves irreparable harm;
for it is better to suffer shame for a short time and by so doing gain
an undying glory, than to escape insult for the moment and thereby, as
would probably be the case, be left in obscurity for all after time. And
yet you doubtless know as well as I that the great body of the Goths and
practically our whole equipment of arms is in Gaul and Venetia and the
most distant lands. Furthermore, we are carrying on against the nations
of the Franks a war which is no less important than this one, and it is
great folly for us to proceed to another war without first settling that
one satisfactorily. For it is natural that those who become exposed to
attack on two sides and do not confine their attention to a single enemy
should be worsted by their opponents. But I say that we must now go
straight from here to Ravenna, and after bringing the war against the
Franks to an end and settling all our other affairs as well as possible,
then with the whole army of the Goths we must fight it out with
Belisarius. And let no one of you, I say, try to dissemble regarding
this withdrawal, nor hesitate to call it flight. For the title of
coward, fittingly applied, has saved many, while the reputation for
bravery which some men have gained at the wrong time, has afterward led
them to defeat. For it is not the names of things, but the advantage
which comes from what is done, that is worth seeking after. For a man's
worth is revealed by his deeds, not at their commencement, but at their
end. And those do not flee before the enemy who, when they have
increased their preparation, forthwith go against them, but those who
are so anxious to save their own lives for ever that they deliberately
stand aside. And regarding the capture of this city, let no fear come to
any one of you. For if, on the one hand, the Romans are loyal to us,
they will guard the city in security for the Goths, and they will not
experience any hardship, for we shall return to them in a short time.
And if, on the other hand, they harbour any suspicions toward us, they
will harm us less by receiving the enemy into the city; for it is better
to fight in the open against one's enemies. None the less I shall take
care that nothing of this sort shall happen. For we shall leave behind
many men and a most discreet leader, and they will be sufficient to
guard Rome so effectively that not only will the situation here be
favourable for us, but also that no harm may possibly come from this
withdrawal of ours."

Thus spoke Vittigis. And all the Goths expressed approval and prepared
for the journey. After this Vittigis exhorted at length Silverius, the
priest[43] of the city, and the senate and people of the Romans,
reminding them of the rule of Theoderic, and he urged upon all to be
loyal to the nation of the Goths, binding them by the most solemn oaths
to do so; and he chose out no fewer than four thousand men, and set in
command over them Leuderis, a man of mature years who enjoyed a great
reputation for discretion, that they might guard Rome for the Goths.
Then he set out for Ravenna with the rest of the army, keeping the most
of the senators with him as hostages. And when he had reached that
place, he made Matasuntha, the daughter of Amalasuntha, who was a maiden
now of marriageable age, his wedded wife, much against her will, in
order that he might make his rule more secure by marrying into the
family of Theoderic. After this he began to gather all the Goths from
every side and to organize and equip them, duly distributing arms and
horses to each one; and only the Goths who were engaged in garrison duty
in Gaul he was unable to summon, through fear of the Franks. These
Franks were called "Germani" in ancient times. And the manner in which
they first got a foothold in Gaul, and where they had lived before that,
and how they became hostile to the Goths, I shall now proceed to relate.

FOOTNOTES:

[40] Near Terracina.

[41] The name is made from _decem_ and _novem_, "nineteen,"--apparently
a late formation. The "river" was in reality a canal, extending from
Appii Forum to Terracina.

[42] Chap. iii. 15.

[43] Silverius was Pope 536-537 A.D.




XII


As one sails from the ocean into the Mediterranean at Gadira, the land
on the left, as was stated in the preceding narrative,[44] is named
Europe, while the land opposite to this is called Libya, and, farther
on, Asia. Now as to the region beyond Libya[45] I am unable to speak
with accuracy;[46] for it is almost wholly destitute of men, and for
this reason the first source of the Nile, which they say flows from
that land toward Egypt, is quite unknown. But Europe at its very
beginning is exceedingly like the Peloponnesus, and fronts the sea on
either side. And the land which is first toward the ocean and the west
is named Spain, extending as far as the alps of the Pyrenees range. For
the men of this country are accustomed to call a narrow, shut-in pass
"alps." And the land from there on as far as the boundaries of Liguria
is called Gaul. And in that place other alps separate the Gauls and the
Ligurians. Gaul, however, is much broader than Spain, and naturally so,
because Europe, beginning with a narrow peninsula, gradually widens as
one advances until it attains an extraordinary breadth. And this land is
bounded by water on either side, being washed on the north by the ocean,
and having on the south the sea called the Tuscan Sea. And in Gaul there
flow numerous rivers, among which are the Rhone and the Rhine. But the
course of these two being in opposite directions, the one empties into
the Tuscan Sea, while the Rhine empties into the ocean. And there are
many lakes[47] in that region, and this is where the Germans lived of
old, a barbarous nation, not of much consequence in the beginning, who
are now called Franks. Next to these lived the Arborychi,[48] who,
together with all the rest of Gaul, and, indeed, Spain also, were
subjects of the Romans from of old. And beyond them toward the east were
settled the Thuringian barbarians, Augustus, the first emperor, having
given them this country.[49] And the Burgundians lived not far from them
toward the south,[50] and the Suevi[51] also lived beyond the
Thuringians, and the Alamani,[52] powerful nations. All these were
settled there as independent peoples in earlier times.

But as time went on, the Visigoths forced their way into the Roman
empire and seized all Spain and the portion of Gaul lying beyond[53] the
Rhone River and made them subject and tributary to themselves. By that
time it so happened that the Arborychi had become soldiers of the
Romans. And the Germans, wishing to make this people subject to
themselves, since their territory adjoined their own and they had
changed the government under which they had lived from of old, began to
plunder their land and, being eager to make war, marched against them
with their whole people. But the Arborychi proved their valour and
loyalty to the Romans and shewed themselves brave men in this war, and
since the Germans were not able to overcome them by force, they wished
to win them over and make the two peoples kin by intermarriage. This
suggestion the Arborychi received not at all unwillingly; for both, as
it happened, were Christians. And in this way they were united into one
people, and came to have great power.

Now other Roman soldiers, also, had been stationed at the frontiers of
Gaul to serve as guards. And these soldiers, having no means of
returning to Rome, and at the same time being unwilling to yield to
their enemy[54] who were Arians, gave themselves, together with their
military standards and the land which they had long been guarding for
the Romans, to the Arborychi and Germans; and they handed down to their
offspring all the customs of their fathers, which were thus preserved,
and this people has held them in sufficient reverence to guard them even
up to my time. For even at the present day they are clearly recognized
as belonging to the legions to which they were assigned when they served
in ancient times, and they always carry their own standards when they
enter battle, and always follow the customs of their fathers. And they
preserve the dress of the Romans in every particular, even as regards
their shoes.

Now as long as the Roman polity remained unchanged,[55] the emperor held
all Gaul as far as the Rhone River; but when Odoacer changed the
government into a tyranny, [N] then, since the tyrant yielded to them,
the Visigoths took possession of all Gaul as far as the alps which mark
the boundary between Gaul and Liguria. [O]But after the fall of Odoacer,
the Thuringians and the Visigoths began to fear the power of the
Germans, which was now growing greater (for their country had become
exceedingly populous and they were forcing into subjection without any
concealment those who from time to time came in their way), and so they
were eager to win the alliance of the Goths and Theoderic. And since
Theoderic wished to attach these peoples to himself, he did not refuse
to intermarry with them. Accordingly he betrothed to Alaric the younger,
who was then leader of the Visigoths, his own unmarried daughter
Theodichusa, and to Hermenefridus, the ruler of the Thuringians,
Amalaberga, the daughter of his sister Amalafrida. As a result of this
the Franks refrained from violence against these peoples through fear of
Theoderic, but they began a war against the Burgundians. But later on
the Franks and the Goths entered into an offensive alliance against the
Burgundians, agreeing that each of the two should send an army against
them; and it was further agreed that if either army should be absent
when the other took the field against the nation of the Burgundians and
overthrew them and gained the land which they had, then the victors
should receive as a penalty from those who had not joined in the
expedition a fixed sum of gold, and that only on these terms should the
conquered land belong to both peoples in common. So the Germans went
against the Burgundians with a great army according to the agreement
between themselves and the Goths; but Theoderic was still engaged with
his preparations, as he said, and purposely kept putting off the
departure of the army to the following day, and waiting for what would
come to pass. Finally, however, he sent the army, but commanded the
generals to march in a leisurely fashion, and if they should hear that
the Franks had been victorious, they were thenceforth to go quickly, but
if they should learn that any adversity had befallen them, they were to
proceed no farther, but remain where they were. So they proceeded to
carry out the commands of Theoderic, but meanwhile the Germans joined
battle alone with the Burgundians.[P] The battle was stubbornly
contested and a great slaughter took place on both sides, for the
struggle was very evenly matched; but finally the Franks routed their
enemy and drove them to the borders of the land which they inhabited at
that time, where they had many strongholds, while the Franks took
possession of all the rest. And the Goths, upon hearing this, were
quickly at hand. And when they were bitterly reproached by their allies,
they blamed the difficulty of the country, and laying down the amount of
the penalty, they divided the land with the victors according to the
agreement made. And thus the foresight of Theoderic was revealed more
clearly than ever, because, without losing a single one of his subjects,
he had with a little gold acquired half of the land of his enemy. Thus
it was that the Goths and Germans in the beginning got possession of a
certain part of Gaul.

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