Justinian’s chief hope now rested on Belisarius. Assisted by Mundus, the governor of Illyria,* who chanced to be in the capital, he now called upon the guards to rally in defence of the emperor; but these refused to obey him. Meanwhile, by another caprice the party of the Blues, becoming ashamed of their conduct, shrunk one by one away, and left Hypatius to be sustained by the Greens alone.
These were dismayed at seeing Belisarius, issuing with a few troops which he had collected, from the smoking ruins of the palace. Drawing his sword, and commanding his veterans to follow, he fell upon them like a thunderbolt. Mundus, with another division of soldiers, rushed upon them from the opposite direction. The insurgents were panic-struck, and dispersed in every quarter. Hypatius was dragged from the throne which he had ascended a few hours before, and was soon after executed in prison. The Blues now emerged from their concealment, and, falling upon their antagonists, glutted their merciless and ungovernable vengeance. No less than thirty thousand persons were slain in this fearful convulsion.*
Original American spelling
‘Famous Men of Ancient Times (1843) by Samuel Goodrich (1793-1860).
* Mundus (?-536) was a Roman general who since 529 had held the post of magister militum in Illyria, a region on the western side of the Balkans (the eastern shore of the Adriatic), centred on what is now Albania.
* This slaughter took place, appropriately enough, in the Hippodrome, the arena where the chariot races were held.
Précis
The man Theodora turned to was Belisarius, a young general with a rising reputation. Aided by Mundus, Governor of Illyria, he bluffed the rebels into thinking he had more men than he did. Hypatius and the Greens hesitated, the fickle Blues swung back behind the Emperor, and at the cost of thirty thousand lives Justinian regained his throne. (58 / 60 words)
The man Theodora turned to was Belisarius, a young general with a rising reputation. Aided by Mundus, Governor of Illyria, he bluffed the rebels into thinking he had more men than he did. Hypatius and the Greens hesitated, the fickle Blues swung back behind the Emperor, and at the cost of thirty thousand lives Justinian regained his throne.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, because, besides, despite, not, unless, whether, who.
Archive
Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Becoming. Glut. Wrap.
2 Issue. Opposite. Vengeance.
3 Cry. Singular. Vanquish.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
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