Julian, says Ammianus, lying in his tent, addressed his disconsolate and sorrowing companions: “Most opportunely, friends, has the time now come for me to leave this life, which I rejoice to restore to Nature at her demand.” … All present wept, whereupon, even then maintaining his authority, he chided them, saying that it was unbecoming for them to mourn for a prince who was called for a union with heaven and the stars. As this made them all silent, he engaged with the philosophers Maximus and Priscus in an intricate discussion about the nobility of the soul. Suddenly the wound in his side
...more