Desperate to put the population out of its misery, a noblewoman opened the city gates. Alaric's 40,000 Goths burst in. Mansions were plundered, the rich were tortured to give up their treasure. And those who couldn't flee were terrorised or killed, their women raped. The Goths were Arians, a sect of heretical Christians, so they showed some restraint. They respected the sanctity of the holy sites. St Peter's was left unscathed. And by the standards of barbarian sackings, this one was less barbaric than expected. Nevertheless, the psychological effect of the sacking was shattering. The city that had conquered the whole world was believed to have been murdered. A sense of instability pervaded Rome. The great theologian of the day, St Augustine, believed the reason Rome had fallen was because it was still essentially pagan, and steeped in sin. The kingdom of heaven was the only salvation. The Imperial City was doomed.


（因为）急着想解救人民于水深火热，一位贵族女子打开了城门。阿拉里克(Alaric)的四万名哥特人一拥而入。屋宅遭到洗劫；富人们受到拷打被迫交出金银财宝。而那些没能逃走的人不是受到蹂躏，就是被杀戮；他们的女人则遭到凌辱。哥特人是阿里乌斯派信徒——异端基督徒的一个教派，因此他们多多少少有所收敛。圣地的神圣性，他们还是尊重的。圣彼得教堂完好无恙；而以野蛮人大破坏的标准来看，这场掠夺确实没有预期地那么坏。但由此造成的心理影响十分巨大。这座曾经征服了整个世界的城市被糟蹋得面目全非。罗马（的空气中）弥漫着一种不安定感。当时的大神学家圣奥古斯丁认为，罗马之所以陷落，原因在于这座城市从根本上说还是异教性质的（非基督教）并且罪恶累累。天国才是唯一的救赎。这座帝国的城市注定是在劫难逃。