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It remains to discuss the character of Maximinus. He was a very

warlike man, and the armies, being disgusted with the effeminacy

of Alexander, of whom I have already spoken, killed him and

elected Maximinus to the throne. This he did not possess for

long, for two things made him hated and despised; the one, his

having kept sheep in Thrace, which brought him into contempt (it

being well known to all, and considered a great indignity by

every one), and the other, his having at the accession to his

dominions deferred going to Rome and taking possession of the

imperial seat; he had also gained a reputation for the utmost

ferocity by having, through his prefects in Rome and elsewhere in

the empire, practised many cruelties, so that the whole world was

moved to anger at the meanness of his birth and to fear at his

barbarity.