Relevant to my last few entries, today is the anniversary of the sack of Rome by Alaric and the Visigoths.

The Visigoths departed after their sack. Perhaps Conan would have been happier if he’d done the same thing.

When King Numedides lay dead at my feet and I tore the crown from his gory head and set it on my own, I had reached the ultimate border of my dreams. I had prepared myself to take the crown, not to hold it. In the old free days all I wanted was a sharp sword and a straight path to my enemies. Now no paths are straight and my sword is useless.

— Robert E. Howard, “The Phoenix on the Sword”