The whole army, in gorgeous display, was drawn up on a spacious plain. Thousands of the neighboring people were assembled to witness the splendors of the _fête_. It was a clear and beautiful morning. All eyes were riveted upon the emperor, as, followed by a magnificent retinue, he came galloping upon the field. Suddenly there sprang from the crowd of spectators a gigantic barbarian, a Goth. With the speed of an antelope, he bounded to the side of the emperor’s horse. Apparently without the slightest exertion, or the least loss of breath, he kept pace with the fleet Arabian charger, as, with almost the swiftness of the wind, the magnificent steed careered over the plain. This brawny young savage was eight feet tall, and was as admirably proportioned as the colossal statue of the Apollo Belvedere. Giants have not generally much intellect; but this young Goth had great activity and energy of mind. His courage resembled that of a ferocious wild beast. He could tire out a horse in a race. He could break the leg of a horse with a blow of his hand. He could throw successively, with apparently the greatest ease, thirty of the ablest wrestlers who could be brought against him. He demanded for his daily food forty pounds of meat and twelve quarts of wine. Extraordinary as these statements appear, they seem to be well authenticated. Such was the young barbarian, who, rollicking, leaping, and gambolling around the emperor, attracted the attention of the vast crowd of soldiers and spectators who were spread over the plain. Soon the games were introduced on the model of the world-renowned Olympic games of Greece. They consisted of all athletic sports of leaping, wrestling, boxing. This young Goth, Maximin by name, distanced all competitors. Sixteen of the stoutest wrestlers were brought forward to contend against him. Almost without exertion, he laid them, one after another, upon their backs. Gunpowder has equalized strength. A small man can pull a trigger as well as a large one. The bullet shot from a rifle will accomplish equal execution, let the rifle be held by a dwarf or a giant. But in those days, before the invention of gunpowder, when men fought with clubs and battle-axes, with massive swords and heavy cross-bows, agility and strength were essential to the successful warrior. The emperor gazed upon the feats of Maximin with astonishment and admiration. The giant was an unmitigated barbarian, whose father was a Goth, and whose mother was from a still more savage tribe, called the Alani. The emperor took Maximin into his service, loaded him with honors, and rapidly promoted him from post to post in the army, until he became one of the highest generals. The Roman soldiers, accustomed to do homage to the military prowess of muscles and sinews, regarded Maximin with great veneration.