IN A fairly recent study E. A. thompson analyzed Ammianus' methods and attitudes, observing that in all likelihood the historian was born into the hereditary order of curiales, or municipal senators, in his native city of Antioch, and that his few prejudices may perhaps be ascribed to this cause.' In fact, Thompson is inclined to accept Ensslin's suggestion that Ammianus was actually threatened with conscription for curial service during the reign of Julian.2 The problem is intriguing, and even though it will probably never admit of a final solution, I should like to call attention to a neglected source which may be properly drawn into the orbit of conjecture. For, once inaugurated, a promising line of speculation normally passes through two more stages: all of the pertinent data are brought to bear upon it, and then the assumptions are castigated and, if necessary, revised. Most of my remarks belong to the second of these phases, but the third of course represents an equally imperative duty. Let us first examine the three texts which Ensslin cited in support of his inference: