The general, was beautiful and large of body and handsome above all. He showed himself so gentle and accessible to whomever he met that he tended to resemble a very poor and obscure man. There arose a certain unbeatable love for his rule from the soldiers at the time and the rural population, because he had become the most generous of all men to the soldiers. For when they were unlucky in battle, he comforted their wounds with great sums of money and provided to those who distinguished themselves armlets and metal collars as prizes, but when a horse or bow or anything else belonging to a soldier had been lost in battle, another to replace it was immediately supplied by Belisarius. [And he was beloved] among the rural population because he applied such great thrift and forethought that they never in any way suffered violence while Belisarius was serving as general. For they sold all their produce as they wished, and when the crops were ripe for harvest, he maintained strict guard over them, so that the cavalry passing by any of them might not ruin them, and when the fruits were ripe in the trees, it was absolutely forbidden for anyone to touch them. And he was sensible and very virtuous.[1]