The History of TheDecline and Fall of the

Roman EmpireVolume 2

by Edward Gibbon

Styled by LimpidSoft

Contents

Chapter XVI 1Part I . . . . . . . 2Part II . . . . . . . 17Part III . . . . . . 34Part IV . . . . . . 45Part V. . . . . . . 57Part VI . . . . . . 73Part VII . . . . . . 86Part VIII . . . . . 100

Chapter XVII 105Part I . . . . . . . 106Part II . . . . . . . 120Part III . . . . . . 133Part IV . . . . . . 147Part V . . . . . . . 161Part VI . . . . . . 174

Chapter XVIII 188Part I . . . . . . . 189Part II . . . . . . . 340Part III . . . . . . 355Part IV . . . . . . 373

Chapter XXI 385Part I . . . . . . . 386Part II . . . . . . . 398Part III . . . . . . 408Part IV . . . . . . 423Part V . . . . . . . 438Part III . . . . . . 517Part II . . . . . . . 625Part III . . . . . . 638Part IV . . . . . . 653Part V . . . . . . . 668

Chapter XXV 683Part I . . . . . . . 684Part II . . . . . . . 697Part III . . . . . . 712Part IV . . . . . . 726Part V . . . . . . . 742Part VI . . . . . . 755Part VII . . . . . . 771

Chapter XXVI 776Part I. . . . . . . . 777Part II . . . . . . . 794

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Chapter XVI

CONDUCT TOWARDS THE CHRISTIANS, FROMNERO TO CONSTANTINE

Part I

The Conduct Of The Roman GovernmentTowards The Christians,

From The Reign Of Nero

To That Of Constantine.1

IF we seriously consider the purity of the Christian reli-gion, the sanctity of its moral precepts, and the inno-

cent as well as austere lives of the greater number of thosewho during the first ages embraced the faith of the gospel,we should naturally suppose, that so benevolent a doctrinewould have been received with due reverence, even by theunbelieving world; that the learned and the polite, how-ever they may deride the miracles, would have esteemedthe virtues, of the new sect; and that the magistrates, insteadof persecuting, would have protected an order of men whoyielded the most passive obedience to the laws, though theydeclined the active cares of war and government. If, on the

1The sixteenth chapter I cannot help considering as a very inge-nious and specious, but very disgraceful extenuation of the crueltiesperpetrated by the Roman magistrates against the Christians It is writ-ten in the most contemptibly factious spirit of prejudice against thesufferers; it is unworthy of a philosopher and of humanity Let the nar-rative of Cyprian’s death be examined He had to relate the murder ofan innocent man of advanced age, and in a station deemed venera-ble by a considerable body of the provincials of Africa, put to deathbecause he refused to sacrifice to Jupiter Instead of pointing the indig-nation of posterity against such an atrocious act of tyranny, he dwells,with visible art, on the small circumstances of decorum and politenesswhich attended this murder, and which he relates with as much pa-rade as if they were the most important particulars of the event DrRobertson has been the subject of much blame for his real or supposedlenity towards the Spanish murderers and tyrants in America That thesixteenth chapter of Mr G did not excite the same or greater disappro-bation, is a proof of the unphilosophical and indeed fanatical animos-ity against Christianity, which was so prevalent during the latter partof the eighteenth century–Mackintosh: see Life, i p 244, 245

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other hand, we recollect the universal toleration of Polythe-ism, as it was invariably maintained by the faith of the peo-ple, the incredulity of philosophers, and the policy of theRoman senate and emperors, we are at a loss to discoverwhat new offence the Christians had committed, what newprovocation could exasperate the mild indifference of antiq-uity, and what new motives could urge the Roman princes,who beheld without concern a thousand forms of religionsubsisting in peace under their gentle sway, to inflict a se-vere punishment on any part of their subjects, who had cho-sen for themselves a singular but an inoffensive mode offaith and worship.

The religious policy of the ancient world seems to haveassumed a more stern and intolerant character, to opposethe progress of Christianity. About fourscore years afterthe death of Christ, his innocent disciples were punishedwith death by the sentence of a proconsul of the most ami-able and philosophic character, and according to the lawsof an emperor distinguished by the wisdom and justice ofhis general administration. The apologies which were re-peatedly addressed to the successors of Trajan are filledwith the most pathetic complaints, that the Christians, whoobeyed the dictates, and solicited the liberty, of conscience,were alone, among all the subjects of the Roman empire, ex-cluded from the common benefits of their auspicious gov-ernment. The deaths of a few eminent martyrs have beenrecorded with care; and from the time that Christianitywas invested with the supreme power, the governors of thechurch have been no less diligently employed in displayingthe cruelty, than in imitating the conduct, of their Pagan ad-versaries. To separate (if it be possible) a few authentic aswell as interesting facts from an undigested mass of fictionand error, and to relate, in a clear and rational manner, thecauses, the extent, the duration, and the most important cir-cumstances of the persecutions to which the first Christianswere exposed, is the design of the present chapter.2

2The history of the first age of Christianity is only found in the

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The sectaries of a persecuted religion, depressed by fearanimated with resentment, and perhaps heated by enthu-siasm, are seldom in a proper temper of mind calmly toinvestigate, or candidly to appreciate, the motives of theirenemies, which often escape the impartial and discerningview even of those who are placed at a secure distance fromthe flames of persecution. A reason has been assigned forthe conduct of the emperors towards the primitive Chris-tians, which may appear the more specious and probable asit is drawn from the acknowledged genius of Polytheism. Ithas already been observed, that the religious concord of theworld was principally supported by the implicit assent andreverence which the nations of antiquity expressed for theirrespective traditions and ceremonies. It might therefore beexpected, that they would unite with indignation againstany sect or people which should separate itself from thecommunion of mankind, and claiming the exclusive pos-session of divine knowledge, should disdain every form ofworship, except its own, as impious and idolatrous. Therights of toleration were held by mutual indulgence: theywere justly forfeited by a refusal of the accustomed tribute.As the payment of this tribute was inflexibly refused by theJews, and by them alone, the consideration of the treatmentwhich they experienced from the Roman magistrates, willserve to explain how far these speculations are justified by

Acts of the Apostles, and in order to speak of the first persecutionsexperienced by the Christians, that book should naturally have beenconsulted; those persecutions, then limited to individuals and to a nar-row sphere, interested only the persecuted, and have been related bythem alone Gibbon making the persecutions ascend no higher thanNero, has entirely omitted those which preceded this epoch, and ofwhich St Luke has preserved the memory The only way to justify thisomission was, to attack the authenticity of the Acts of the Apostles;for, if authentic, they must necessarily be consulted and quoted Now,antiquity has left very few works of which the authenticity is so wellestablished as that of the Acts of the Apostles (See Lardner’s Cred ofGospel Hist part iii) It is therefore, without sufficient reason, that Gib-bon has maintained silence concerning the narrative of St Luke, andthis omission is not without importance–G

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facts, and will lead us to discover the true causes of the per-secution of Christianity.

Without repeating what has already been mentioned ofthe reverence of the Roman princes and governors for thetemple of Jerusalem, we shall only observe, that the destruc-tion of the temple and city was accompanied and followedby every circumstance that could exasperate the minds ofthe conquerors, and authorize religious persecution by themost specious arguments of political justice and the publicsafety. From the reign of Nero to that of Antoninus Pius,the Jews discovered a fierce impatience of the dominion ofRome, which repeatedly broke out in the most furious mas-sacres and insurrections. Humanity is shocked at the recitalof the horrid cruelties which they committed in the citiesof Egypt, of Cyprus, and of Cyrene, where they dwelt intreacherous friendship with the unsuspecting natives;3 andwe are tempted to applaud the severe retaliation which wasexercised by the arms of the legions against a race of fanat-ics, whose dire and credulous superstition seemed to ren-der them the implacable enemies not only of the Romangovernment, but of human kind.4 The enthusiasm of theJews was supported by the opinion, that it was unlawfulfor them to pay taxes to an idolatrous master; and by theflattering promise which they derived from their ancient or-acles, that a conquering Messiah would soon arise, destined

3In Cyrene, they massacred 220,000 Greeks; in Cyprus, 240,000; inEgypt, a very great multitude Many of these unhappy victims weresawn asunder, according to a precedent to which David had given thesanction of his example The victorious Jews devoured the flesh, lickedup the blood, and twisted the entrails like a girdle round their bodiesSee Dion Cassius, l lxviii p 1145 (Some commentators, among themReimar, in his notes on Dion Cassius think that the hatred of the Ro-mans against the Jews has led the historian to exaggerate the crueltiescommitted by the latter Don Cass lxviii p 1146–G

4Without repeating the well-known narratives of Josephus, wemay learn from Dion, (l lxix p 1162,) that in Hadrian’s war 580,000Jews were cut off by the sword, besides an infinite number which per-ished by famine, by disease, and by fire

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to break their fetters, and to invest the favorites of heavenwith the empire of the earth. It was by announcing himselfas their long-expected deliverer, and by calling on all thedescendants of Abraham to assert the hope of Israel, thatthe famous Barchochebas collected a formidable army, withwhich he resisted during two years the power of the em-peror Hadrian.5

Notwithstanding these repeated provocations, the resent-ment of the Roman princes expired after the victory; norwere their apprehensions continued beyond the period ofwar and danger. By the general indulgence of polytheism,and by the mild temper of Antoninus Pius, the Jews wererestored to their ancient privileges, and once more obtainedthe permission of circumcising their children, with the easyrestraint, that they should never confer on any foreign pros-elyte that distinguishing mark of the Hebrew race.6 Thenumerous remains of that people, though they were still ex-cluded from the precincts of Jerusalem, were permitted toform and to maintain considerable establishments both inItaly and in the provinces, to acquire the freedom of Rome,to enjoy municipal honors, and to obtain at the same timean exemption from the burdensome and expensive officesof society. The moderation or the contempt of the Romansgave a legal sanction to the form of ecclesiastical policewhich was instituted by the vanquished sect. The patriarch,who had fixed his residence at Tiberias, was empowered toappoint his subordinate ministers and apostles, to exercisea domestic jurisdiction, and to receive from his dispersedbrethren an annual contribution.7 New synagogues were

5For the sect of the Zealots, see Basnage, Histoire des Juifs, l i c17; for the characters of the Messiah, according to the Rabbis, l v c 11,12, 13; for the actions of Barchochebas, l vii c 12 (Hist of Jews iii 115,&c)–M

6It is to Modestinus, a Roman lawyer (l vi regular) that we areindebted for a distinct knowledge of the Edict of Antoninus SeeCasaubon ad Hist August p 27

7See Basnage, Histoire des Juifs, l iii c 2, 3 The office of Patriarch

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frequently erected in the principal cities of the empire; andthe sabbaths, the fasts, and the festivals, which were eithercommanded by the Mosaic law, or enjoined by the tradi-tions of the Rabbis, were celebrated in the most solemn andpublic manner.8 Such gentle treatment insensibly assuagedthe stern temper of the Jews. Awakened from their dreamof prophecy and conquest, they assumed the behavior ofpeaceable and industrious subjects. Their irreconcilable ha-tred of mankind, instead of flaming out in acts of blood andviolence, evaporated in less dangerous gratifications. Theyembraced every opportunity of overreaching the idolatersin trade; and they pronounced secret and ambiguous im-precations against the haughty kingdom of Edom.9

Since the Jews, who rejected with abhorrence the deitiesadored by their sovereign and by their fellow-subjects, en-joyed, however, the free exercise of their unsocial religion,there must have existed some other cause, which exposedthe disciples of Christ to those severities from which theposterity of Abraham was exempt. The difference between

was suppressed by Theodosius the younger8We need only mention the Purim, or deliverance of the Jews from

he rage of Haman, which, till the reign of Theodosius, was celebratedwith insolent triumph and riotous intemperance Basnage, Hist desJuifs, l vi c 17, l viii c 6

9According to the false Josephus, Tsepho, the grandson of Esau,conducted into Italy the army of Eneas, king of Carthage Anothercolony of Idumaeans, flying from the sword of David, took refugein the dominions of Romulus For these, or for other reasons of equalweight, the name of Edom was applied by the Jews to the Roman em-pire (The false Josephus is a romancer of very modern date, thoughsome of these legends are probably more ancient It may be worth con-sidering whether many of the stories in the Talmud are not history ina figurative disguise, adopted from prudence The Jews might dare tosay many things of Rome, under the significant appellation of Edom,which they feared to utter publicly Later and more ignorant ages tookliterally, and perhaps embellished, what was intelligible among thegeneration to which it was addressed Hist of Jews, iii 131 —-The falseJosephus has the inauguration of the emperor, with the seven electorsand apparently the pope assisting at the coronation! Pref page xxvi–M

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them is simple and obvious; but, according to the senti-ments of antiquity, it was of the highest importance. TheJews were a nation; the Christians were a sect: and if itwas natural for every community to respect the sacred in-stitutions of their neighbors, it was incumbent on them topersevere in those of their ancestors. The voice of oracles,the precepts of philosophers, and the authority of the laws,unanimously enforced this national obligation. By theirlofty claim of superior sanctity the Jews might provoke thePolytheists to consider them as an odious and impure race.By disdaining the intercourse of other nations, they mightdeserve their contempt. The laws of Moses might be forthe most part frivolous or absurd; yet, since they had beenreceived during many ages by a large society, his follow-ers were justified by the example of mankind; and it wasuniversally acknowledged, that they had a right to practisewhat it would have been criminal in them to neglect. Butthis principle, which protected the Jewish synagogue, af-forded not any favor or security to the primitive church. Byembracing the faith of the gospel, the Christians incurredthe supposed guilt of an unnatural and unpardonable of-fence. They dissolved the sacred ties of custom and edu-cation, violated the religious institutions of their country,and presumptuously despised whatever their fathers hadbelieved as true, or had reverenced as sacred. Nor was thisapostasy (if we may use the expression) merely of a partialor local kind; since the pious deserter who withdrew him-self from the temples of Egypt or Syria, would equally dis-dain to seek an asylum in those of Athens or Carthage. Ev-ery Christian rejected with contempt the superstitions of hisfamily, his city, and his province. The whole body of Chris-tians unanimously refused to hold any communion with thegods of Rome, of the empire, and of mankind. It was in vainthat the oppressed believer asserted the inalienable rightsof conscience and private judgment. Though his situationmight excite the pity, his arguments could never reach theunderstanding, either of the philosophic or of the believing

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part of the Pagan world. To their apprehensions, it was noless a matter of surprise, that any individuals should enter-tain scruples against complying with the established modeof worship, than if they had conceived a sudden abhorrenceto the manners, the dress, or the language of their nativecountry.1011

The surprise of the Pagans was soon succeeded by re-sentment; and the most pious of men were exposed to theunjust but dangerous imputation of impiety. Malice andprejudice concurred in representing the Christians as a so-ciety of atheists, who, by the most daring attack on the re-ligious constitution of the empire, had merited the sever-est animadversion of the civil magistrate. They had sepa-rated themselves (they gloried in the confession) from ev-ery mode of superstition which was received in any part ofthe globe by the various temper of polytheism: but it wasnot altogether so evident what deity, or what form of wor-ship, they had substituted to the gods and temples of an-tiquity. The pure and sublime idea which they entertainedof the Supreme Being escaped the gross conception of thePagan multitude, who were at a loss to discover a spiritualand solitary God, that was neither represented under anycorporeal figure or visible symbol, nor was adored with theaccustomed pomp of libations and festivals, of altars andsacrifices.12 The sages of Greece and Rome, who had ele-

10From the arguments of Celsus, as they are represented and re-futed by Origen, (l v p 247–259,) we may clearly discover the distinc-tion that was made between the Jewish people and the Christian sectSee, in the Dialogue of Minucius Felix, (c 5, 6,) a fair and not inelegantdescription of the popular sentiments, with regard to the desertion ofthe established worship

11In all this there is doubtless much truth; yet does not the moreimportant difference lie on the surface? The Christians made manyconverts the Jews but few Had the Jewish been equally a proselytingreligion would it not have encountered as violent persecution?–M

12Cur nullas aras habent? templa nulla? nulla nota simulacra!–Unde autem, vel quis ille, aut ubi, Deus unicus, solitarius, desti tutus?Minucius Felix, c 10 The Pagan interlocutor goes on to make a distinc-

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vated their minds to the contemplation of the existence andattributes of the First Cause, were induced by reason or byvanity to reserve for themselves and their chosen disciplesthe privilege of this philosophical devotion.13 They were farfrom admitting the prejudices of mankind as the standardof truth, but they considered them as flowing from the orig-inal disposition of human nature; and they supposed thatany popular mode of faith and worship which presumedto disclaim the assistance of the senses, would, in propor-tion as it receded from superstition, find itself incapable ofrestraining the wanderings of the fancy, and the visions offanaticism. The careless glance which men of wit and learn-ing condescended to cast on the Christian revelation, servedonly to confirm their hasty opinion, and to persuade themthat the principle, which they might have revered, of theDivine Unity, was defaced by the wild enthusiasm, and an-nihilated by the airy speculations, of the new sectaries. Theauthor of a celebrated dialogue, which has been attributedto Lucian, whilst he affects to treat the mysterious subjectof the Trinity in a style of ridicule and contempt, betrays hisown ignorance of the weakness of human reason, and of theinscrutable nature of the divine perfections.14

It might appear less surprising, that the founder of Chris-tianity should not only be revered by his disciples as a sageand a prophet, but that he should be adored as a God. ThePolytheists were disposed to adopt every article of faith,which seemed to offer any resemblance, however distantor imperfect, with the popular mythology; and the legends

tion in favor of the Jews, who had once a temple, altars, victims, &c13It is difficult (says Plato) to attain, and dangerous to publish, the

knowledge of the true God See the Theologie des Philosophes, in theAbbe d’Olivet’s French translation of Tully de Natura Deorum, tom ip 275

14The author of the Philopatris perpetually treats the Christians as acompany of dreaming enthusiasts, &c; and in one place he manifestlyalludes to the vision in which St Paul was transported to the thirdheaven In another place, Triephon, who personates a Christian, afterderiding the gods of Paganism, proposes a mysterious oath

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of Bacchus, of Hercules, and of Aesculapius, had, in somemeasure, prepared their imagination for the appearance ofthe Son of God under a human form.15 But they were as-tonished that the Christians should abandon the temples ofthose ancient heroes, who, in the infancy of the world, hadinvented arts, instituted laws, and vanquished the tyrantsor monsters who infested the earth, in order to choose forthe exclusive object of their religious worship an obscureteacher, who, in a recent age, and among a barbarous peo-ple, had fallen a sacrifice either to the malice of his owncountrymen, or to the jealousy of the Roman government.The Pagan multitude, reserving their gratitude for tempo-ral benefits alone, rejected the inestimable present of lifeand immortality, which was offered to mankind by Jesus ofNazareth. His mild constancy in the midst of cruel and vol-untary sufferings, his universal benevolence, and the sub-lime simplicity of his actions and character, were insuffi-cient, in the opinion of those carnal men, to compensate forthe want of fame, of empire, and of success; and whilst theyrefused to acknowledge his stupendous triumph over thepowers of darkness and of the grave, they misrepresented,or they insulted, the equivocal birth, wandering life, andignominious death, of the divine Author of Christianity.16

The personal guilt which every Christian had contracted,in thus preferring his private sentiment to the national re-ligion, was aggravated in a very high degree by the num-ber and union of the criminals. It is well known, and hasbeen already observed, that Roman policy viewed with the

15According to Justin Martyr, (Apolog Major, c 70-85,) the daemonwho had gained some imperfect knowledge of the prophecies, pur-posely contrived this resemblance, which might deter, though by dif-ferent means, both the people and the philosophers from embracingthe faith of Christ

16In the first and second books of Origen, Celsus treats the birthand character of our Savior with the most impious contempt The or-ator Libanius praises Porphyry and Julian for confuting the folly of asect, which styles a dead man of Palestine, God, and the Son of GodSocrates, Hist Ecclesiast iii 23

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utmost jealousy and distrust any association among its sub-jects; and that the privileges of private corporations, thoughformed for the most harmless or beneficial purposes, werebestowed with a very sparing hand.17 The religious assem-blies of the Christians who had separated themselves fromthe public worship, appeared of a much less innocent na-ture; they were illegal in their principle, and in their conse-quences might become dangerous; nor were the emperorsconscious that they violated the laws of justice, when, forthe peace of society, they prohibited those secret and some-times nocturnal meetings.18 The pious disobedience of theChristians made their conduct, or perhaps their designs, ap-pear in a much more serious and criminal light; and the Ro-man princes, who might perhaps have suffered themselvesto be disarmed by a ready submission, deeming their honorconcerned in the execution of their commands, sometimesattempted, by rigorous punishments, to subdue this inde-pendent spirit, which boldly acknowledged an authoritysuperior to that of the magistrate. The extent and durationof this spiritual conspiracy seemed to render it everydaymore deserving of his animadversion. We have already seenthat the active and successful zeal of the Christians had in-sensibly diffused them through every province and almostevery city of the empire. The new converts seemed to re-nounce their family and country, that they might connectthemselves in an indissoluble band of union with a pecu-liar society, which every where assumed a different char-acter from the rest of mankind. Their gloomy and aus-tere aspect, their abhorrence of the common business andpleasures of life, and their frequent predictions of impend-

17The emperor Trajan refused to incorporate a company of 150 fire-men, for the use of the city of Nicomedia He disliked all associationsSee Plin Epist x 42, 43

18The proconsul Pliny had published a general edict against unlaw-ful meetings The prudence of the Christians suspended their Agapae;but it was impossible for them to omit the exercise of public worship

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ing calamities,19 inspired the Pagans with the apprehensionof some danger, which would arise from the new sect, themore alarming as it was the more obscure. “Whatever,” saysPliny, “may be the principle of their conduct, their inflexibleobstinacy appeared deserving of punishment.”20

The precautions with which the disciples of Christ per-formed the offices of religion were at first dictated by fearand necessity; but they were continued from choice. By im-itating the awful secrecy which reigned in the Eleusinianmysteries, the Christians had flattered themselves that theyshould render their sacred institutions more respectable inthe eyes of the Pagan world.21 But the event, as it oftenhappens to the operations of subtile policy, deceived theirwishes and their expectations. It was concluded, that theyonly concealed what they would have blushed to disclose.Their mistaken prudence afforded an opportunity for mal-ice to invent, and for suspicious credulity to believe, the hor-rid tales which described the Christians as the most wickedof human kind, who practised in their dark recesses everyabomination that a depraved fancy could suggest, and whosolicited the favor of their unknown God by the sacrificeof every moral virtue. There were many who pretendedto confess or to relate the ceremonies of this abhorred so-ciety. It was asserted, “that a new-born infant, entirely cov-ered over with flour, was presented, like some mystic sym-bol of initiation, to the knife of the proselyte, who unknow-ingly inflicted many a secret and mortal wound on the in-nocent victim of his error; that as soon as the cruel deed wasperpetrated, the sectaries drank up the blood, greedily tore

19As the prophecies of the Antichrist, approaching conflagration,&c, provoked those Pagans whom they did not convert, they werementioned with caution and reserve; and the Montanists were cen-sured for disclosing too freely the dangerous secret See Mosheim, 413

20Neque enim dubitabam, quodcunque esset quod faterentur, (suchare the words of Pliny,) pervicacian certe et inflexibilem obstinationemlebere puniri

21See Mosheim’s Ecclesiastical History, vol i p 101, and Spanheim,Remarques sur les Caesars de Julien, p 468, &c

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asunder the quivering members, and pledged themselves toeternal secrecy, by a mutual consciousness of guilt. It wasas confidently affirmed, that this inhuman sacrifice was suc-ceeded by a suitable entertainment, in which intemperanceserved as a provocative to brutal lust; till, at the appointedmoment, the lights were suddenly extinguished, shame wasbanished, nature was forgotten; and, as accident might di-rect, the darkness of the night was polluted by the incestu-ous commerce of sisters and brothers, of sons and of moth-ers.”22

But the perusal of the ancient apologies was sufficient toremove even the slightest suspicion from the mind of a can-did adversary. The Christians, with the intrepid security ofinnocence, appeal from the voice of rumor to the equity ofthe magistrates. They acknowledge, that if any proof canbe produced of the crimes which calumny has imputed tothem, they are worthy of the most severe punishment. Theyprovoke the punishment, and they challenge the proof. Atthe same time they urge, with equal truth and propriety,that the charge is not less devoid of probability, than it isdestitute of evidence; they ask, whether any one can seri-ously believe that the pure and holy precepts of the gospel,which so frequently restrain the use of the most lawful en-joyments, should inculcate the practice of the most abom-inable crimes; that a large society should resolve to dis-honor itself in the eyes of its own members; and that a greatnumber of persons of either sex, and every age and char-acter, insensible to the fear of death or infamy, should con-sent to violate those principles which nature and educationhad imprinted most deeply in their minds.23 Nothing, it

22See Justin Martyr, Apolog i 35, ii 14 Athenagoras, in Legation,c 27 Tertullian, Apolog c 7, 8, 9 Minucius Felix, c 9, 10, 80, 31 Thelast of these writers relates the accusation in the most elegant and cir-cumstantial manner The answer of Tertullian is the boldest and mostvigorous

23In the persecution of Lyons, some Gentile slaves were compelled,by the fear of tortures, to accuse their Christian master The church of

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should seem, could weaken the force or destroy the effectof so unanswerable a justification, unless it were the inju-dicious conduct of the apologists themselves, who betrayedthe common cause of religion, to gratify their devout ha-tred to the domestic enemies of the church. It was some-times faintly insinuated, and sometimes boldly asserted,that the same bloody sacrifices, and the same incestuousfestivals, which were so falsely ascribed to the orthodox be-lievers, were in reality celebrated by the Marcionites, by theCarpocratians, and by several other sects of the Gnostics,who, notwithstanding they might deviate into the paths ofheresy, were still actuated by the sentiments of men, andstill governed by the precepts of Christianity.24 Accusationsof a similar kind were retorted upon the church by the schis-matics who had departed from its communion,25 and it wasconfessed on all sides, that the most scandalous licentious-ness of manners prevailed among great numbers of thosewho affected the name of Christians. A Pagan magistrate,who possessed neither leisure nor abilities to discern the al-most imperceptible line which divides the orthodox faithfrom heretical pravity, might easily have imagined that theirmutual animosity had extorted the discovery of their com-mon guilt. It was fortunate for the repose, or at least for thereputation, of the first Christians, that the magistrates some-

Lyons, writing to their brethren of Asia, treat the horrid charge withproper indignation and contempt Euseb Hist Eccles v i

24See Justin Martyr, Apolog i 35 Irenaeus adv Haeres i 24 ClemensAlexandrin Stromat l iii p 438 Euseb iv 8 It would be tedious and dis-gusting to relate all that the succeeding writers have imagined, all thatEpiphanius has received, and all that Tillemont has copied M de Beau-sobre (Hist du Manicheisme, l ix c 8, 9) has exposed, with great spirit,the disingenuous arts of Augustin and Pope Leo I

25When Tertullian became a Montanist, he aspersed the moralsof the church which he had so resolutely defended “Sed majoris estAgape, quia per hanc adolescentes tui cum sororibus dormiunt, ap-pendices scilicet gulae lascivia et luxuria” De Jejuniis c 17 The 85thcanon of the council of Illiberis provides against the scandals whichtoo often polluted the vigils of the church, and disgraced the Christianname in the eyes of unbelievers

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times proceeded with more temper and moderation thanis usually consistent with religious zeal, and that they re-ported, as the impartial result of their judicial inquiry, thatthe sectaries, who had deserted the established worship, ap-peared to them sincere in their professions, and blameless intheir manners; however they might incur, by their absurdand excessive superstition, the censure of the laws.26

26Tertullian (Apolog c 2) expatiates on the fair and honorable testi-mony of Pliny, with much reason and some declamation

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Part II

HISTORY, which undertakes to record the transactions ofthe past, for the instruction of future ages, would ill

deserve that honorable office, if she condescended to pleadthe cause of tyrants, or to justify the maxims of persecu-tion. It must, however, be acknowledged, that the con-duct of the emperors who appeared the least favorable tothe primitive church, is by no means so criminal as thatof modern sovereigns, who have employed the arm of vi-olence and terror against the religious opinions of any partof their subjects. From their reflections, or even from theirown feelings, a Charles V. or a Lewis XIV. might have ac-quired a just knowledge of the rights of conscience, of theobligation of faith, and of the innocence of error. But theprinces and magistrates of ancient Rome were strangers tothose principles which inspired and authorized the inflex-ible obstinacy of the Christians in the cause of truth, norcould they themselves discover in their own breasts anymotive which would have prompted them to refuse a le-gal, and as it were a natural, submission to the sacred insti-tutions of their country. The same reason which contributesto alleviate the guilt, must have tended to abate the vigor, oftheir persecutions. As they were actuated, not by the furi-ous zeal of bigots, but by the temperate policy of legislators,contempt must often have relaxed, and humanity must fre-quently have suspended, the execution of those laws whichthey enacted against the humble and obscure followers ofChrist. From the general view of their character and mo-tives we might naturally conclude:

I. That a considerable time elapsed before they consideredthe new sectaries as an object deserving of the attention ofgovernment.

II. That in the conviction of any of their subjects who wereaccused of so very singular a crime, they proceeded withcaution and reluctance.

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III. That they were moderate in the use of punishments;and, IV. That the afflicted church enjoyed many intervals ofpeace and tranquility. Notwithstanding the careless indif-ference which the most copious and the most minute of thePagan writers have shown to the affairs of the Christians,27it may still be in our power to confirm each of these proba-ble suppositions, by the evidence of authentic facts.

1. By the wise dispensation of Providence, a mysteri-ous veil was cast over the infancy of the church, which, tillthe faith of the Christians was matured, and their numberswere multiplied, served to protect them not only from themalice but even from the knowledge of the Pagan world.The slow and gradual abolition of the Mosaic ceremonies af-forded a safe and innocent disguise to the more early pros-elytes of the gospel. As they were, for the greater part, ofthe race of Abraham, they were distinguished by the pecu-liar mark of circumcision, offered up their devotions in theTemple of Jerusalem till its final destruction, and receivedboth the Law and the Prophets as the genuine inspirationsof the Deity. The Gentile converts, who by a spiritual adop-tion had been associated to the hope of Israel, were like-wise confounded under the garb and appearance of Jews,28and as the Polytheists paid less regard to articles of faith

27In the various compilation of the Augustan History, (a part ofwhich was composed under the reign of Constantine,) there are not sixlines which relate to the Christians; nor has the diligence of Xiphilindiscovered their name in the large history of Dion Cassius (The greaterpart of the Augustan History is dedicated to Diocletian This may ac-count for the silence of its authors concerning Christianity The noticesthat occur are almost all in the lives composed under the reign of Con-stantine It may fairly be concluded, from the language which he hadinto the mouth of Maecenas, that Dion was an enemy to all innova-tions in religion (See Gibbon, infra, note 105) In fact, when the silenceof Pagan historians is noticed, it should be remembered how meagreand mutilated are all the extant histories of the period–M

28An obscure passage of Suetonius (in Claud c 25) may seem to of-fer a proof how strangely the Jews and Christians of Rome were con-founded with each other

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than to the external worship, the new sect, which carefullyconcealed, or faintly announced, its future greatness andambition, was permitted to shelter itself under the generaltoleration which was granted to an ancient and celebratedpeople in the Roman empire. It was not long, perhaps, be-fore the Jews themselves, animated with a fiercer zeal and amore jealous faith, perceived the gradual separation of theirNazarene brethren from the doctrine of the synagogue; andthey would gladly have extinguished the dangerous heresyin the blood of its adherents. But the decrees of Heavenhad already disarmed their malice; and though they mightsometimes exert the licentious privilege of sedition, they nolonger possessed the administration of criminal justice; nordid they find it easy to infuse into the calm breast of a Ro-man magistrate the rancor of their own zeal and prejudice.The provincial governors declared themselves ready to lis-ten to any accusation that might affect the public safety; butas soon as they were informed that it was a question notof facts but of words, a dispute relating only to the inter-pretation of the Jewish laws and prophecies, they deemedit unworthy of the majesty of Rome seriously to discuss theobscure differences which might arise among a barbarousand superstitious people. The innocence of the first Chris-tians was protected by ignorance and contempt; and the tri-bunal of the Pagan magistrate often proved their most as-sured refuge against the fury of the synagogue.29 If indeedwe were disposed to adopt the traditions of a too credu-lous antiquity, we might relate the distant peregrinations,the wonderful achievements, and the various deaths of thetwelve apostles: but a more accurate inquiry will induceus to doubt, whether any of those persons who had beenwitnesses to the miracles of Christ were permitted, beyondthe limits of Palestine, to seal with their blood the truth of

29See, in the xviiith and xxvth chapters of the Acts of the Apostles,the behavior of Gallio, proconsul of Achaia, and of Festus, procuratorof Judea

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their testimony.30 From the ordinary term of human life,it may very naturally be presumed that most of them weredeceased before the discontent of the Jews broke out intothat furious war, which was terminated only by the ruin ofJerusalem. During a long period, from the death of Christ tothat memorable rebellion, we cannot discover any traces ofRoman intolerance, unless they are to be found in the sud-den, the transient, but the cruel persecution, which was ex-ercised by Nero against the Christians of the capital, thirty-five years after the former, and only two years before thelatter, of those great events. The character of the philo-sophic historian, to whom we are principally indebted forthe knowledge of this singular transaction, would alone besufficient to recommend it to our most attentive considera-tion.

In the tenth year of the reign of Nero, the capital of theempire was afflicted by a fire which raged beyond the mem-ory or example of former ages.31 The monuments of Gre-cian art and of Roman virtue, the trophies of the Punic andGallic wars, the most holy temples, and the most splendidpalaces, were involved in one common destruction. Of thefourteen regions or quarters into which Rome was divided,four only subsisted entire, three were levelled with theground, and the remaining seven, which had experiencedthe fury of the flames, displayed a melancholy prospect ofruin and desolation. The vigilance of government appearsnot to have neglected any of the precautions which might al-leviate the sense of so dreadful a calamity. The Imperial gar-dens were thrown open to the distressed multitude, tempo-rary buildings were erected for their accommodation, and a

30In the time of Tertullian and Clemens of Alexandria, the glory ofmartyrdom was confined to St Peter, St Paul, and St James It was grad-ually bestowed on the rest of the apostles, by the more recent Greeks,who prudently selected for the theatre of their preaching and suffer-ings some remote country beyond the limits of the Roman empire SeeMosheim, p 81; and Tillemont, Memoires Ecclesiastiques, tom i part iii

31Tacit Annal xv 38–44 Sueton in Neron c 38 Dion Cassius, l lxii p1014 Orosius, vii 7

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plentiful supply of corn and provisions was distributed ata very moderate price.32 The most generous policy seemedto have dictated the edicts which regulated the dispositionof the streets and the construction of private houses; and asit usually happens, in an age of prosperity, the conflagra-tion of Rome, in the course of a few years, produced a newcity, more regular and more beautiful than the former. Butall the prudence and humanity affected by Nero on this oc-casion were insufficient to preserve him from the popularsuspicion. Every crime might be imputed to the assassin ofhis wife and mother; nor could the prince who prostitutedhis person and dignity on the theatre be deemed incapableof the most extravagant folly. The voice of rumor accusedthe emperor as the incendiary of his own capital; and as themost incredible stories are the best adapted to the geniusof an enraged people, it was gravely reported, and firmlybelieved, that Nero, enjoying the calamity which he had oc-casioned, amused himself with singing to his lyre the de-struction of ancient Troy.33 To divert a suspicion, which thepower of despotism was unable to suppress, the emperorresolved to substitute in his own place some fictitious crim-inals. “With this view,” continues Tacitus, “he inflicted themost exquisite tortures on those men, who, under the vul-gar appellation of Christians, were already branded withdeserved infamy. They derived their name and origin fromChrist, who in the reign of Tiberius had suffered death bythe sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilate.34 For a while

32The price of wheat (probably of the modius,) was reduced as lowas terni Nummi; which would be equivalent to about fifteen shillingsthe English quarter

33We may observe, that the rumor is mentioned by Tacitus with avery becoming distrust and hesitation, whilst it is greedily transcribedby Suetonius, and solemnly confirmed by Dion

34This testimony is alone sufficient to expose the anachronism ofthe Jews, who place the birth of Christ near a century sooner (Basnage,Histoire des Juifs, l v c 14, 15) We may learn from Josephus, (Antiquitatxviii 3,) that the procuratorship of Pilate corresponded with the lastten years of Tiberius, A D 27–37 As to the particular time of the death

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this dire superstition was checked; but it again burst forth;35and not only spread itself over Judaea, the first seat of thismischievous sect, but was even introduced into Rome, thecommon asylum which receives and protects whatever isimpure, whatever is atrocious. The confessions of thosewho were seized discovered a great multitude of their ac-complices, and they were all convicted, not so much forthe crime of setting fire to the city, as for their hatred ofhuman kind.36 They died in torments, and their tormentswere imbittered by insult and derision. Some were nailedon crosses; others sewn up in the skins of wild beasts, andexposed to the fury of dogs; others again, smeared overwith combustible materials, were used as torches to illumi-

of Christ, a very early tradition fixed it to the 25th of March, A D 29,under the consulship of the two Gemini (Tertullian adv Judaeos, c 8)This date, which is adopted by Pagi, Cardinal Norris, and Le Clerc,seems at least as probable as the vulgar aera, which is placed (I knownot from what conjectures) four years later

35This single phrase, Repressa in praesens exitiabilis superstitio rur-sus erumpebat, proves that the Christians had already attracted theattention of the government; and that Nero was not the first to per-secute them I am surprised that more stress has not been laid on theconfirmation which the Acts of the Apostles derive from these wordsof Tacitus, Repressa in praesens, and rursus erumpebat–G —-I havebeen unwilling to suppress this note, but surely the expression of Tac-itus refers to the expected extirpation of the religion by the death of itsfounder, Christ–M

36Odio humani generis convicti These words may either signify thehatred of mankind towards the Christians, or the hatred of the Chris-tians towards mankind I have preferred the latter sense, as the mostagreeable to the style of Tacitus, and to the popular error, of whicha precept of the gospel (see Luke xiv 26) had been, perhaps, the in-nocent occasion My interpretation is justified by the authority of Lip-sius; of the Italian, the French, and the English translators of Tacitus; ofMosheim, (p 102,) of Le Clerc, (Historia Ecclesiast p 427,) of Dr Lard-ner, (Testimonies, vol i p 345,) and of the Bishop of Gloucester, (DivineLegation, vol iii p 38) But as the word convicti does not unite veryhappily with the rest of the sentence, James Gronovius has preferredthe reading of conjuncti, which is authorized by the valuable MS ofFlorence

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nate the darkness of the night. The gardens of Nero weredestined for the melancholy spectacle, which was accom-panied with a horse-race and honored with the presence ofthe emperor, who mingled with the populace in the dressand attitude of a charioteer. The guilt of the Christiansdeserved indeed the most exemplary punishment, but thepublic abhorrence was changed into commiseration, fromthe opinion that those unhappy wretches were sacrificed,not so much to the public welfare, as to the cruelty of a jeal-ous tyrant.”37 Those who survey with a curious eye therevolutions of mankind, may observe, that the gardens andcircus of Nero on the Vatican, which were polluted with theblood of the first Christians, have been rendered still morefamous by the triumph and by the abuse of the persecutedreligion. On the same spot,38 a temple, which far surpassesthe ancient glories of the Capitol, has been since erected bythe Christian Pontiffs, who, deriving their claim of univer-sal dominion from an humble fisherman of Galilee, havesucceeded to the throne of the Caesars, given laws to thebarbarian conquerors of Rome, and extended their spiritualjurisdiction from the coast of the Baltic to the shores of thePacific Ocean.

But it would be improper to dismiss this account ofNero’s persecution, till we have made some observationsthat may serve to remove the difficulties with which it isperplexed, and to throw some light on the subsequent his-tory of the church.

1. The most sceptical criticism is obliged to respect thetruth of this extraordinary fact, and the integrity of this cel-ebrated passage of Tacitus. The former is confirmed by thediligent and accurate Suetonius, who mentions the punish-ment which Nero inflicted on the Christians, a sect of menwho had embraced a new and criminal superstition.39 The

37Tacit Annal xv 4438Nardini Roma Antica, p 487 Donatus de Roma Antiqua, l iii p 44939Sueton in Nerone, c 16 The epithet of malefica, which some saga-

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latter may be proved by the consent of the most ancientmanuscripts; by the inimitable character of the style of Tac-itus by his reputation, which guarded his text from the in-terpolations of pious fraud; and by the purport of his narra-tion, which accused the first Christians of the most atrociouscrimes, without insinuating that they possessed any mirac-ulous or even magical powers above the rest of mankind.402. Notwithstanding it is probable that Tacitus was bornsome years before the fire of Rome,41 he could derive onlyfrom reading and conversation the knowledge of an eventwhich happened during his infancy. Before he gave himselfto the public, he calmly waited till his genius had attainedits full maturity, and he was more than forty years of age,when a grateful regard for the memory of the virtuous Agri-cola extorted from him the most early of those historicalcompositions which will delight and instruct the most dis-tant posterity. After making a trial of his strength in the lifeof Agricola and the description of Germany, he conceived,

cious commentators have translated magical, is considered by themore rational Mosheim as only synonymous to the exitiabilis of Taci-tus

40The passage concerning Jesus Christ, which was inserted into thetext of Josephus, between the time of Origen and that of Eusebius,may furnish an example of no vulgar forgery The accomplishment ofthe prophecies, the virtues, miracles, and resurrection of Jesus, are dis-tinctly related Josephus acknowledges that he was the Messiah, andhesitates whether he should call him a man If any doubt can stillremain concerning this celebrated passage, the reader may examinethe pointed objections of Le Fevre, (Havercamp Joseph tom ii p 267-273), the labored answers of Daubuz, (p 187-232, and the masterlyreply (Bibliotheque Ancienne et Moderne, tom vii p 237-288) of ananonymous critic, whom I believe to have been the learned Abbe deLonguerue (The modern editor of Eusebius, Heinichen, has adopted,and ably supported, a notion, which had before suggested itself to theeditor, that this passage is not altogether a forgery, but interpolatedwith many additional clauses Heinichen has endeavored to disengagethe original text from the foreign and more recent matter–M

41See the lives of Tacitus by Lipsius and the Abbe de la Bleterie,Dictionnaire de Bayle a l’article Particle Tacite, and Fabricius, BibliothLatin tem Latin tom ii p 386, edit Ernest Ernst

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and at length executed, a more arduous work; the history ofRome, in thirty books, from the fall of Nero to the accessionof Nerva. The administration of Nerva introduced an age ofjustice and propriety, which Tacitus had destined for the oc-cupation of his old age;42 but when he took a nearer view ofhis subject, judging, perhaps, that it was a more honorableor a less invidious office to record the vices of past tyrants,than to celebrate the virtues of a reigning monarch, he choserather to relate, under the form of annals, the actions ofthe four immediate successors of Augustus. To collect, todispose, and to adorn a series of fourscore years, in an im-mortal work, every sentence of which is pregnant with thedeepest observations and the most lively images, was anundertaking sufficient to exercise the genius of Tacitus him-self during the greatest part of his life. In the last years ofthe reign of Trajan, whilst the victorious monarch extendedthe power of Rome beyond its ancient limits, the historianwas describing, in the second and fourth books of his an-nals, the tyranny of Tiberius;43 and the emperor Hadrianmust have succeeded to the throne, before Tacitus, in theregular prosecution of his work, could relate the fire of thecapital, and the cruelty of Nero towards the unfortunateChristians. At the distance of sixty years, it was the duty ofthe annalist to adopt the narratives of contemporaries; but itwas natural for the philosopher to indulge himself in the de-scription of the origin, the progress, and the character of thenew sect, not so much according to the knowledge or prej-udices of the age of Nero, as according to those of the timeof Hadrian. 3 Tacitus very frequently trusts to the curios-ity or reflection of his readers to supply those intermediate

42Principatum Divi Nervae, et imperium Trajani, uberiorem, secu-rioremque materiam senectuti seposui Tacit Hist i

43See Tacit Annal ii 61, iv 4 (The perusal of this passage of Tacitusalone is sufficient, as I have already said, to show that the Christiansect was not so obscure as not already to have been repressed, (re-pressa,) and that it did not pass for innocent in the eyes of the Romans–G

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circumstances and ideas, which, in his extreme conciseness,he has thought proper to suppress. We may therefore pre-sume to imagine some probable cause which could directthe cruelty of Nero against the Christians of Rome, whoseobscurity, as well as innocence, should have shielded themfrom his indignation, and even from his notice. The Jews,who were numerous in the capital, and oppressed in theirown country, were a much fitter object for the suspicions ofthe emperor and of the people: nor did it seem unlikely thata vanquished nation, who already discovered their abhor-rence of the Roman yoke, might have recourse to the mostatrocious means of gratifying their implacable revenge. Butthe Jews possessed very powerful advocates in the palace,and even in the heart of the tyrant; his wife and mistress,the beautiful Poppaea, and a favorite player of the race ofAbraham, who had already employed their intercession inbehalf of the obnoxious people.44 In their room it was nec-essary to offer some other victims, and it might easily besuggested that, although the genuine followers of Moseswere innocent of the fire of Rome, there had arisen amongthem a new and pernicious sect of Galilaeans, which wascapable of the most horrid crimes. Under the appellation ofGalilaeans, two distinctions of men were confounded, themost opposite to each other in their manners and princi-ples; the disciples who had embraced the faith of Jesus ofNazareth,45 and the zealots who had followed the standardof Judas the Gaulonite.46 The former were the friends, the

44The player’s name was Aliturus Through the same channel, Jose-phus, (de vita sua, c 2,) about two years before, had obtained the par-don and release of some Jewish priests, who were prisoners at Rome

45The learned Dr Lardner (Jewish and Heathen Testimonies, vol iip 102, 103) has proved that the name of Galilaeans was a very ancient,and perhaps the primitive appellation of the Christians

46Joseph Antiquitat xviii 1, 2 Tillemont, Ruine des Juifs, p 742 Thesons of Judas were crucified in the time of Claudius His grandsonEleazar, after Jerusalem was taken, defended a strong fortress with960 of his most desperate followers When the battering ram had madea breach, they turned their swords against their wives their children,

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latter were the enemies, of human kind; and the only resem-blance between them consisted in the same inflexible con-stancy, which, in the defence of their cause, rendered theminsensible of death and tortures. The followers of Judas,who impelled their countrymen into rebellion, were soonburied under the ruins of Jerusalem; whilst those of Jesus,known by the more celebrated name of Christians, diffusedthemselves over the Roman empire. How natural was itfor Tacitus, in the time of Hadrian, to appropriate to theChristians the guilt and the sufferings,47 which he might,with far greater truth and justice, have attributed to a sectwhose odious memory was almost extinguished! 4. What-ever opinion may be entertained of this conjecture, (for itis no more than a conjecture,) it is evident that the effect, aswell as the cause, of Nero’s persecution, was confined to thewalls of Rome,4849 that the religious tenets of the Galilaeans

and at length against their own breasts They dies to the last man47This conjecture is entirely devoid, not merely of verisimilitude,

but even of possibility Tacitus could not be deceived in appropriat-ing to the Christians of Rome the guilt and the sufferings which hemight have attributed with far greater truth to the followers of Judasthe Gaulonite, for the latter never went to Rome Their revolt, theirattempts, their opinions, their wars, their punishment, had no othertheatre but Judaea (Basn Hist des Juifs, t i p 491) Moreover the nameof Christians had long been given in Rome to the disciples of Jesus;and Tacitus affirms too positively, refers too distinctly to its etymol-ogy, to allow us to suspect any mistake on his part–G —-M Guizot’sexpressions are not in the least too strong against this strange imagi-nation of Gibbon; it may be doubted whether the followers of Judaswere known as a sect under the name of Galilaeans–M

48See Dodwell Paucitat Mart l xiii The Spanish Inscription in Gruterp 238, No 9, is a manifest and acknowledged forgery contrived by thatnoted imposter Cyriacus of Ancona, to flatter the pride and prejudicesof the Spaniards See Ferreras, Histoire D’Espagne, tom i p 192

49M Guizot, on the authority of Sulpicius Severus, ii 37, and of Oro-sius, viii 5, inclines to the opinion of those who extend the persecutionto the provinces Mosheim rather leans to that side on this much dis-puted question, (c xxxv) Neander takes the view of Gibbon, which is ingeneral that of the most learned writers There is indeed no evidence,which I can discover, of its reaching the provinces; and the apparent

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or Christians, were never made a subject of punishment, oreven of inquiry; and that, as the idea of their sufferings wasfor a long time connected with the idea of cruelty and in-justice, the moderation of succeeding princes inclined themto spare a sect, oppressed by a tyrant, whose rage had beenusually directed against virtue and innocence.

It is somewhat remarkable that the flames of war con-sumed, almost at the same time, the temple of Jerusalemand the Capitol of Rome;50 and it appears no less singu-lar, that the tribute which devotion had destined to the for-mer, should have been converted by the power of an as-saulting victor to restore and adorn the splendor of the lat-ter.51 The emperors levied a general capitation tax on theJewish people; and although the sum assessed on the headof each individual was inconsiderable, the use for which itwas designed, and the severity with which it was exacted,were considered as an intolerable grievance.52 Since the of-ficers of the revenue extended their unjust claim to manypersons who were strangers to the blood or religion of theJews, it was impossible that the Christians, who had so of-ten sheltered themselves under the shade of the synagogue,

security, at least as regards his life, with which St Paul pursued histravels during this period, affords at least a strong inference againsta rigid and general inquisition against the Christians in other parts ofthe empire–M

50The Capitol was burnt during the civil war between Vitellius andVespasian, the 19th of December, A D 69 On the 10th of August, A D70, the temple of Jerusalem was destroyed by the hands of the Jewsthemselves, rather than by those of the Romans

51The new Capitol was dedicated by Domitian Sueton in Domitianc 5 Plutarch in Poplicola, tom i p 230, edit Bryant The gilding alonecost 12,000 talents (above two millions and a half) It was the opinionof Martial, (l ix Epigram 3,) that if the emperor had called in his debts,Jupiter himself, even though he had made a general auction of Olym-pus, would have been unable to pay two shillings in the pound

52With regard to the tribute, see Dion Cassius, l lxvi p 1082, withReimarus’s notes Spanheim, de Usu Numismatum, tom ii p 571; andBasnage, Histoire des Juifs, l vii c 2

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should now escape this rapacious persecution. Anxious asthey were to avoid the slightest infection of idolatry, theirconscience forbade them to contribute to the honor of thatdaemon who had assumed the character of the CapitolineJupiter. As a very numerous though declining party amongthe Christians still adhered to the law of Moses, their ef-forts to dissemble their Jewish origin were detected by thedecisive test of circumcision;53 nor were the Roman mag-istrates at leisure to inquire into the difference of their reli-gious tenets. Among the Christians who were brought be-fore the tribunal of the emperor, or, as it seems more prob-able, before that of the procurator of Judaea, two personsare said to have appeared, distinguished by their extraction,which was more truly noble than that of the greatest monar-chs. These were the grandsons of St. Jude the apostle, whohimself was the brother of Jesus Christ.54 Their natural pre-tensions to the throne of David might perhaps attract therespect of the people, and excite the jealousy of the gover-nor; but the meanness of their garb, and the simplicity oftheir answers, soon convinced him that they were neitherdesirous nor capable of disturbing the peace of the Romanempire. They frankly confessed their royal origin, and theirnear relation to the Messiah; but they disclaimed any tem-poral views, and professed that his kingdom, which they

53Suetonius (in Domitian c 12) had seen an old man of ninety pub-licly examined before the procurator’s tribunal This is what Martialcalls, Mentula tributis damnata

54This appellation was at first understood in the most obvioussense, and it was supposed, that the brothers of Jesus were the law-ful issue of Joseph and Mary A devout respect for the virginity of themother of God suggested to the Gnostics, and afterwards to the ortho-dox Greeks, the expedient of bestowing a second wife on Joseph TheLatins (from the time of Jerome) improved on that hint, asserted theperpetual celibacy of Joseph, and justified by many similar examplesthe new interpretation that Jude, as well as Simon and James, whowere styled the brothers of Jesus Christ, were only his first cousins SeeTillemont, Mem Ecclesiat tom i part iii: and Beausobre, Hist Critiquedu Manicheisme, l ii c 2

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devoutly expected, was purely of a spiritual and angelic na-ture. When they were examined concerning their fortuneand occupation, they showed their hands, hardened withdaily labor, and declared that they derived their whole sub-sistence from the cultivation of a farm near the village ofCocaba, of the extent of about twenty-four English acres,55and of the value of nine thousand drachms, or three hun-dred pounds sterling. The grandsons of St. Jude were dis-missed with compassion and contempt.56

But although the obscurity of the house of David mightprotect them from the suspicions of a tyrant, the presentgreatness of his own family alarmed the pusillanimous tem-per of Domitian, which could only be appeased by theblood of those Romans whom he either feared, or hated, oresteemed. Of the two sons of his uncle Flavius Sabinus,57the elder was soon convicted of treasonable intentions, andthe younger, who bore the name of Flavius Clemens, wasindebted for his safety to his want of courage and ability.58The emperor for a long time, distinguished so harmless akinsman by his favor and protection, bestowed on him hisown niece Domitilla, adopted the children of that marriageto the hope of the succession, and invested their father withthe honors of the consulship.

But he had scarcely finished the term of his annual mag-istracy, when, on a slight pretence, he was condemned andexecuted; Domitilla was banished to a desolate island onthe coast of Campania;59 and sentences either of death or

55Thirty-nine, squares of a hundred feet each, which, if strictly com-puted, would scarcely amount to nine acres

56Eusebius, iii 20 The story is taken from Hegesippus57See the death and character of Sabinus in Tacitus, (Hist iii 74 )

Sabinus was the elder brother, and, till the accession of Vespasian, hadbeen considered as the principal support of the Flavium family

58Flavium Clementem patruelem suum contemptissimoe inerticeex tenuissima suspicione interemit Sueton in Domitian c 15

59The Isle of Pandataria, according to Dion Bruttius Praesens (apudEuseb iii 18) banishes her to that of Pontia, which was not far dis-

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of confiscation were pronounced against a great number ofwho were involved in the same accusation. The guilt im-puted to their charge was that of Atheism and Jewish man-ners;60 a singular association of ideas, which cannot withany propriety be applied except to the Christians, as theywere obscurely and imperfectly viewed by the magistratesand by the writers of that period. On the strength of so prob-able an interpretation, and too eagerly admitting the suspi-cions of a tyrant as an evidence of their honorable crime,the church has placed both Clemens and Domitilla amongits first martyrs, and has branded the cruelty of Domitianwith the name of the second persecution. But this perse-cution (if it deserves that epithet) was of no long duration.A few months after the death of Clemens, and the banish-ment of Domitilla, Stephen, a freedman belonging to thelatter, who had enjoyed the favor, but who had not surelyembraced the faith, of his mistress,61 assassinated the em-peror in his palace.62 The memory of Domitian was con-demned by the senate; his acts were rescinded; his exiles re-called; and under the gentle administration of Nerva, whilethe innocent were restored to their rank and fortunes, eventhe most guilty either obtained pardon or escaped punish-ment.63

II. About ten years afterwards, under the reign of Tra-jan, the younger Pliny was intrusted by his friend and mas-ter with the government of Bithynia and Pontus. He soon

tant from the other That difference, and a mistake, either of Eusebiusor of his transcribers, have given occasion to suppose two Domitillas,the wife and the niece of Clemens See Tillemont, Memoires Ecclesias-tiques, tom ii p 224

60Dion l lxvii p 1112 If the Bruttius Praesens, from whom it is prob-able that he collected this account, was the correspondent of Pliny,(Epistol vii 3,) we may consider him as a contemporary writer

61This is an uncandid sarcasm There is nothing to connect Stephenwith the religion of Domitilla He was a knave detected in the malver-sation of money–interceptarum pecuniaram reus–M

62Suet in Domit c 17 Philostratus in Vit Apollon l viii63Dion l lxviii p 1118 Plin Epistol iv 22

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found himself at a loss to determine by what rule of justiceor of law he should direct his conduct in the execution of anoffice the most repugnant to his humanity. Pliny had neverassisted at any judicial proceedings against the Christians,with whose name alone he seems to be acquainted; and hewas totally uninformed with regard to the nature of theirguilt, the method of their conviction, and the degree of theirpunishment. In this perplexity he had recourse to his usualexpedient, of submitting to the wisdom of Trajan an impar-tial, and, in some respects, a favorable account of the newsuperstition, requesting the emperor, that he would conde-scend to resolve his doubts, and to instruct his ignorance.64The life of Pliny had been employed in the acquisition oflearning, and in the business of the world.

Since the age of nineteen he had pleaded with distinc-tion in the tribunals of Rome,65 filled a place in the senate,had been invested with the honors of the consulship, andhad formed very numerous connections with every orderof men, both in Italy and in the provinces. From his igno-rance therefore we may derive some useful information. Wemay assure ourselves, that when he accepted the govern-ment of Bithynia, there were no general laws or decrees ofthe senate in force against the Christians; that neither Tra-jan nor any of his virtuous predecessors, whose edicts werereceived into the civil and criminal jurisprudence, had pub-licly declared their intentions concerning the new sect; andthat whatever proceedings had been carried on against the

64Plin Epistol x 97 The learned Mosheim expresses himself (p 147,232) with the highest approbation of Pliny’s moderate and candid tem-per Notwithstanding Dr Lardner’s suspicions (see Jewish and Hea-then Testimonies, vol ii p 46,) I am unable to discover any bigotry inhis language or proceedings (Yet the humane Pliny put two female at-tendants, probably deaconesses to the torture, in order to ascertain thereal nature of these suspicious meetings: necessarium credidi, ex du-abus ancillis, quae ministrae dicebantor quid asset veri et per tormentaquaerere–M

65Plin Epist v 8 He pleaded his first cause A D 81; the year after thefamous eruptions of Mount Vesuvius, in which his uncle lost his life

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Christians, there were none of sufficient weight and author-ity to establish a precedent for the conduct of a Roman mag-istrate.

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Part III

THE answer of Trajan, to which the Christians of thesucceeding age have frequently appealed, discovers as

much regard for justice and humanity as could be recon-ciled with his mistaken notions of religious policy.66 In-stead of displaying the implacable zeal of an inquisitor, anx-ious to discover the most minute particles of heresy, and ex-ulting in the number of his victims, the emperor expressesmuch more solicitude to protect the security of the inno-cent, than to prevent the escape of the guilty. He acknowl-edged the difficulty of fixing any general plan; but he laysdown two salutary rules, which often afforded relief andsupport to the distressed Christians. Though he directs themagistrates to punish such persons as are legally convicted,he prohibits them, with a very humane inconsistency, frommaking any inquiries concerning the supposed criminals.Nor was the magistrate allowed to proceed on every kindof information. Anonymous charges the emperor rejects,as too repugnant to the equity of his government; and hestrictly requires, for the conviction of those to whom theguilt of Christianity is imputed, the positive evidence of afair and open accuser. It is likewise probable, that the per-sons who assumed so invidiuous an office, were obliged todeclare the grounds of their suspicions, to specify (both inrespect to time and place) the secret assemblies, which theirChristian adversary had frequented, and to disclose a greatnumber of circumstances, which were concealed with themost vigilant jealousy from the eye of the profane. If theysucceeded in their prosecution, they were exposed to theresentment of a considerable and active party, to the cen-sure of the more liberal portion of mankind, and to the ig-nominy which, in every age and country, has attended the

66Plin Epist x 98 Tertullian (Apolog c 5) considers this rescript as arelaxation of the ancient penal laws, “quas Trajanus exparte frustratusest:” and yet Tertullian, in another part of his Apology, exposes theinconsistency of prohibiting inquiries, and enjoining punishments

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character of an informer. If, on the contrary, they failed intheir proofs, they incurred the severe and perhaps capitalpenalty, which, according to a law published by the em-peror Hadrian, was inflicted on those who falsely attributedto their fellow-citizens the crime of Christianity. The vio-lence of personal or superstitious animosity might some-times prevail over the most natural apprehensions of dis-grace and danger but it cannot surely be imagined, thataccusations of so unpromising an appearance were eitherlightly or frequently undertaken by the Pagan subjects ofthe Roman empire.6768

The expedient which was employed to elude the pru-dence of the laws, affords a sufficient proof how effectu-ally they disappointed the mischievous designs of privatemalice or superstitious zeal. In a large and tumultuous as-sembly, the restraints of fear and shame, so forcible on theminds of individuals, are deprived of the greatest part oftheir influence. The pious Christian, as he was desirous toobtain, or to escape, the glory of martyrdom, expected, ei-ther with impatience or with terror, the stated returns of thepublic games and festivals. On those occasions the inhabi-tants of the great cities of the empire were collected in thecircus or the theatre, where every circumstance of the place,as well as of the ceremony, contributed to kindle their de-votion, and to extinguish their humanity. Whilst the nu-

67Eusebius (Hist Ecclesiast l iv c 9) has preserved the edict ofHadrian He has likewise (c 13) given us one still more favorable, underthe name of Antoninus; the authenticity of which is not so universallyallowed The second Apology of Justin contains some curious partic-ulars relative to the accusations of Christians (Professor Hegelmayerhas proved the authenticity of the edict of Antoninus, in his CommHist Theol in Edict Imp Antonini Tubing 1777, in 4to–G —-Neanderdoubts its authenticity, (vol i p 152) In my opinion, the internal evi-dence is decisive against it–M

68The enactment of this law affords strong presumption, that accu-sations of the “crime of Christianity,” were by no means so uncom-mon, nor received with so much mistrust and caution by the rulingauthorities, as Gibbon would insinuate –M

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merous spectators, crowned with garlands, perfumed withincense, purified with the blood of victims, and surroundedwith the altars and statues of their tutelar deities, resignedthemselves to the enjoyment of pleasures, which they con-sidered as an essential part of their religious worship, theyrecollected, that the Christians alone abhorred the gods ofmankind, and by their absence and melancholy on thesesolemn festivals, seemed to insult or to lament the pub-lic felicity. If the empire had been afflicted by any recentcalamity, by a plague, a famine, or an unsuccessful war; ifthe Tyber had, or if the Nile had not, risen beyond its banks;if the earth had shaken, or if the temperate order of the sea-sons had been interrupted, the superstitious Pagans wereconvinced that the crimes and the impiety of the Christians,who were spared by the excessive lenity of the government,had at length provoked the divine justice. It was not amonga licentious and exasperated populace, that the forms of le-gal proceedings could be observed; it was not in an am-phitheatre, stained with the blood of wild beasts and gladia-tors, that the voice of compassion could be heard. The impa-tient clamors of the multitude denounced the Christians asthe enemies of gods and men, doomed them to the severesttortures, and venturing to accuse by name some of the mostdistinguished of the new sectaries, required with irresistiblevehemence that they should be instantly apprehended andcast to the lions.69 The provincial governors and magis-trates who presided in the public spectacles were usuallyinclined to gratify the inclinations, and to appease the rage,of the people, by the sacrifice of a few obnoxious victims.But the wisdom of the emperors protected the church fromthe danger of these tumultuous clamors and irregular ac-cusations, which they justly censured as repugnant both tothe firmness and to the equity of their administration. Theedicts of Hadrian and of Antoninus Pius expressly declared,

69See Tertullian, (Apolog c 40) The acts of the martyrdom of Poly-carp exhibit a lively picture of these tumults, which were usually fo-mented by the malice of the Jews

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that the voice of the multitude should never be admitted aslegal evidence to convict or to punish those unfortunate per-sons who had embraced the enthusiasm of the Christians.70

III. Punishment was not the inevitable consequence ofconviction, and the Christians, whose guilt was the mostclearly proved by the testimony of witnesses, or even bytheir voluntary confession, still retained in their own powerthe alternative of life or death. It was not so much the pastoffence, as the actual resistance, which excited the indigna-tion of the magistrate. He was persuaded that he offeredthem an easy pardon, since, if they consented to cast a fewgrains of incense upon the altar, they were dismissed fromthe tribunal in safety and with applause. It was esteemedthe duty of a humane judge to endeavor to reclaim, ratherthan to punish, those deluded enthusiasts. Varying his toneaccording to the age, the sex, or the situation of the pris-oners, he frequently condescended to set before their eyesevery circumstance which could render life more pleasing,or death more terrible; and to solicit, nay, to entreat, them,that they would show some compassion to themselves, totheir families, and to their friends.71 If threats and persua-sions proved ineffectual, he had often recourse to violence;the scourge and the rack were called in to supply the defi-ciency of argument, and every art of cruelty was employedto subdue such inflexible, and, as it appeared to the Pagans,such criminal, obstinacy. The ancient apologists of Chris-tianity have censured, with equal truth and severity, the ir-regular conduct of their persecutors who, contrary to ev-ery principle of judicial proceeding, admitted the use of tor-ture, in order to obtain, not a confession, but a denial, of the

70These regulations are inserted in the above mentioned documentof Hadrian and Pius See the apology of Melito, (apud Euseb l iv 26)

71See the rescript of Trajan, and the conduct of Pliny The most au-thentic acts of the martyrs abound in these exhortations Note: Pliny’stest was the worship of the gods, offerings to the statue of the emperor,and blaspheming Christ–praeterea maledicerent Christo–M

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crime which was the object of their inquiry.72 The monksof succeeding ages, who, in their peaceful solitudes, enter-tained themselves with diversifying the deaths and suffer-ings of the primitive martyrs, have frequently invented tor-ments of a much more refined and ingenious nature. Inparticular, it has pleased them to suppose, that the zeal ofthe Roman magistrates, disdaining every consideration ofmoral virtue or public decency, endeavored to seduce thosewhom they were unable to vanquish, and that by their or-ders the most brutal violence was offered to those whomthey found it impossible to seduce. It is related, that fe-males, who were prepared to despise death, were some-times condemned to a more severe trial,73 and called uponto determine whether they set a higher value on their re-ligion or on their chastity. The youths to whose licentiousembraces they were abandoned, received a solemn exhorta-tion from the judge, to exert their most strenuous efforts tomaintain the honor of Venus against the impious virgin whorefused to burn incense on her altars. Their violence, how-ever, was commonly disappointed, and the seasonable in-terposition of some miraculous power preserved the chastespouses of Christ from the dishonor even of an involuntarydefeat. We should not indeed neglect to remark, that themore ancient as well as authentic memorials of the churchare seldom polluted with these extravagant and indecent

72In particular, see Tertullian, (Apolog c 2, 3,) and Lactantius, (In-stitut Divin v 9) Their reasonings are almost the same; but we maydiscover, that one of these apologists had been a lawyer, and the othera rhetorician

73The more ancient as well as authentic memorials of the church,relate many examples of the fact, (of these severe trials,) which thereis nothing to contradict Tertullian, among others, says, Nam proximead lenonem damnando Christianam, potius quam ad leonem, confessiestis labem pudicitiae apud nos atrociorem omni poena et omni mortereputari, Apol cap ult Eusebius likewise says, “Other virgins, draggedto brothels, have lost their life rather than defile their virtue” EusebHist Ecc viii 14–G The miraculous interpositions were the offspring ofthe coarse imaginations of the monks–M

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fictions.74

The total disregard of truth and probability in the rep-resentation of these primitive martyrdoms was occasionedby a very natural mistake. The ecclesiastical writers of thefourth or fifth centuries ascribed to the magistrates of Romethe same degree of implacable and unrelenting zeal whichfilled their own breasts against the heretics or the idolatersof their own times.

It is not improbable that some of those persons who wereraised to the dignities of the empire, might have imbibedthe prejudices of the populace, and that the cruel disposi-tion of others might occasionally be stimulated by motivesof avarice or of personal resentment.75 But it is certain,and we may appeal to the grateful confessions of the firstChristians, that the greatest part of those magistrates whoexercised in the provinces the authority of the emperor, orof the senate, and to whose hands alone the jurisdiction oflife and death was intrusted, behaved like men of polishedmanners and liberal education, who respected the rules ofjustice, and who were conversant with the precepts of phi-losophy. They frequently declined the odious task of per-secution, dismissed the charge with contempt, or suggestedto the accused Christian some legal evasion, by which hemight elude the severity of the laws.76 Whenever they wereinvested with a discretionary power,77 they used it much

74See two instances of this kind of torture in the Acta Sincere Mar-tyrum, published by Ruinart, p 160, 399 Jerome, in his Legend of Paulthe Hermit, tells a strange story of a young man, who was chainednaked on a bed of flowers, and assaulted by a beautiful and wantoncourtesan He quelled the rising temptation by biting off his tongue

75The conversion of his wife provoked Claudius Herminianus, gov-ernor of Cappadocia, to treat the Christians with uncommon severityTertullian ad Scapulam, c 3

76Tertullian, in his epistle to the governor of Africa, mentions sev-eral remarkable instances of lenity and forbearance, which had hap-pened within his knowledge

77Neque enim in universum aliquid quod quasi certam formam

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less for the oppression, than for the relief and benefit of theafflicted church. They were far from condemning all theChristians who were accused before their tribunal, and veryfar from punishing with death all those who were convictedof an obstinate adherence to the new superstition. Con-tenting themselves, for the most part, with the milder chas-tisements of imprisonment, exile, or slavery in the mines,78they left the unhappy victims of their justice some reasonto hope, that a prosperous event, the accession, the mar-riage, or the triumph of an emperor, might speedily restorethem, by a general pardon, to their former state. The mar-tyrs, devoted to immediate execution by the Roman magis-trates, appear to have been selected from the most oppositeextremes. They were either bishops and presbyters, the per-sons the most distinguished among the Christians by theirrank and influence, and whose example might strike terrorinto the whole sect;79 or else they were the meanest and

habeat, constitui potest; an expression of Trajan, which gave a verygreat latitude to the governors of provinces (Gibbon altogether forgetsthat Trajan fully approved of the course pursued by Pliny That coursewas, to order all who persevered in their faith to be led to execution:perseverantes duci jussi–M

78In Metalla damnamur, in insulas relegamur Tertullian, Apolog c12 The mines of Numidia contained nine bishops, with a proportion-able number of their clergy and people, to whom Cyprian addresseda pious epistle of praise and comfort See Cyprian Epistol 76, 77

79Though we cannot receive with entire confidence either the epis-tles, or the acts, of Ignatius, (they may be found in the 2d volume ofthe Apostolic Fathers,) yet we may quote that bishop of Antioch as oneof these exemplary martyrs He was sent in chains to Rome as a publicspectacle, and when he arrived at Troas, he received the pleasing in-telligence, that the persecution of Antioch was already at an end (Theacts of Ignatius are generally received as authentic, as are seven of hisletters Eusebius and St Jerome mention them: there are two editions;in one, the letters are longer, and many passages appear to have beeninterpolated; the other edition is that which contains the real letters ofSt Ignatius; such at least is the opinion of the wisest and most enlight-ened critics (See Lardner Cred of Gospel Hist) Less, uber dis Religion,v i p 529 Usser Diss de Ign Epist Pearson, Vindic, Ignatianae It shouldbe remarked, that it was under the reign of Trajan that the bishop Ig-

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most abject among them, particularly those of the servilecondition, whose lives were esteemed of little value, andwhose sufferings were viewed by the ancients with too care-less an indifference.80 The learned Origen, who, from hisexperience as well as reading, was intimately acquaintedwith the history of the Christians, declares, in the most ex-press terms, that the number of martyrs was very inconsid-erable.81 His authority would alone be sufficient to annihi-late that formidable army of martyrs, whose relics, drawnfor the most part from the catacombs of Rome, have replen-ished so many churches,82 and whose marvellous achieve-

natius was carried from Antioch to Rome, to be exposed to the lionsin the amphitheatre, the year of J C 107, according to some; of 116,according to others–G

80Among the martyrs of Lyons, (Euseb l v c 1,) the slave Blandinawas distinguished by more exquisite tortures Of the five martyrs somuch celebrated in the acts of Felicitas and Perpetua, two were of aservile, and two others of a very mean, condition

81Origen advers Celsum, l iii p 116 His words deserve to be tran-scribed (The words that follow should be quoted “God not permittingthat all his class of men should be exterminated:” which appears toindicate that Origen thought the number put to death inconsiderableonly when compared to the numbers who had survived Besides this,he is speaking of the state of the religion under Caracalla, Elagabalus,Alexander Severus, and Philip, who had not persecuted the ChristiansIt was during the reign of the latter that Origen wrote his books againstCelsus–G

82If we recollect that all the Plebeians of Rome were not Christians,and that all the Christians were not saints and martyrs, we may judgewith how much safety religious honors can be ascribed to bones orurns, indiscriminately taken from the public burial-place After tencenturies of a very free and open trade, some suspicions have arisenamong the more learned Catholics They now require as a proof ofsanctity and martyrdom, the letters BM, a vial full of red liquor sup-posed to be blood, or the figure of a palm-tree But the two former signsare of little weight, and with regard to the last, it is observed by the crit-ics, 1 That the figure, as it is called, of a palm, is perhaps a cypress, andperhaps only a stop, the flourish of a comma used in the monumen-tal inscriptions 2 That the palm was the symbol of victory among thePagans 3 That among the Christians it served as the emblem, not only

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ments have been the subject of so many volumes of HolyRomance.83 But the general assertion of Origen may be ex-plained and confirmed by the particular testimony of hisfriend Dionysius, who, in the immense city of Alexandria,and under the rigorous persecution of Decius, reckons onlyten men and seven women who suffered for the professionof the Christian name.84

During the same period of persecution, the zealous, theeloquent, the ambitious Cyprian governed the church, notonly of Carthage, but even of Africa. He possessed everyquality which could engage the reverence of the faithful, orprovoke the suspicions and resentment of the Pagan magis-trates. His character as well as his station seemed to markout that holy prelate as the most distinguished object ofenvy and danger.85 The experience, however, of the life of

of martyrdom, but in general of a joyful resurrection See the epistle ofP Mabillon, on the worship of unknown saints, and Muratori sopra leAntichita Italiane, Dissertat lviii

83As a specimen of these legends, we may be satisfied with 10,000Christian soldiers crucified in one day, either by Trajan or Hadrian onMount Ararat See Baronius ad Martyrologium Romanum; Tille mont,Mem Ecclesiast tom ii part ii p 438; and Geddes’s Miscellanies, vol iip 203 The abbreviation of Mil, which may signify either soldiers orthousands, is said to have occasioned some extraordinary mistakes

84Dionysius ap Euseb l vi c 41 One of the seventeen was likewiseaccused of robbery (Gibbon ought to have said, was falsely accusedof robbery, for so it is in the Greek text This Christian, named Neme-sion, falsely accused of robbery before the centurion, was acquittedof a crime altogether foreign to his character, but he was led beforethe governor as guilty of being a Christian, and the governor inflictedupon him a double torture (Euseb loc cit) It must be added, that SaintDionysius only makes particular mention of the principal martyrs,[this is very doubtful–M] and that he says, in general, that the furyof the Pagans against the Christians gave to Alexandria the appear-ance of a city taken by storm [This refers to plunder and ill usage, notto actual slaughter–M] Finally it should be observed that Origen wrotebefore the persecution of the emperor Decius–G

85The letters of Cyprian exhibit a very curious and original pictureboth of the man and of the times See likewise the two lives of Cyprian,

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Cyprian, is sufficient to prove that our fancy has exagger-ated the perilous situation of a Christian bishop; and thedangers to which he was exposed were less imminent thanthose which temporal ambition is always prepared to en-counter in the pursuit of honors. Four Roman emperors,with their families, their favorites, and their adherents, per-ished by the sword in the space of ten years, during whichthe bishop of Carthage guided by his authority and elo-quence the councils of the African church. It was only inthe third year of his administration, that he had reason, dur-ing a few months, to apprehend the severe edicts of Decius,the vigilance of the magistrate and the clamors of the multi-tude, who loudly demanded, that Cyprian, the leader of theChristians, should be thrown to the lions. Prudence sug-gested the necessity of a temporary retreat, and the voiceof prudence was obeyed. He withdrew himself into an ob-scure solitude, from whence he could maintain a constantcorrespondence with the clergy and people of Carthage;and, concealing himself till the tempest was past, he pre-served his life, without relinquishing either his power or hisreputation. His extreme caution did not, however, escapethe censure of the more rigid Christians, who lamented, orthe reproaches of his personal enemies, who insulted, a con-duct which they considered as a pusillanimous and crimi-nal desertion of the most sacred duty.86 The propriety of re-serving himself for the future exigencies of the church, theexample of several holy bishops,87 and the divine admoni-tions, which, as he declares himself, he frequently receivedin visions and ecstacies, were the reasons alleged in his jus-

composed with equal accuracy, though with very different views; theone by Le Clerc (Bibliotheque Universelle, tom xii p 208-378,) the otherby Tillemont, Memoires Ecclesiastiques, tom iv part i p 76-459

86See the polite but severe epistle of the clergy of Rome to thebishop of Carthage (Cyprian Epist 8, 9) Pontius labors with the great-est care and diligence to justify his master against the general censure

87In particular those of Dionysius of Alexandria, and GregoryThaumaturgus, of Neo-Caesarea See Euseb Hist Ecclesiast l vi c 40;and Memoires de Tillemont, tom iv part ii p 685

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tification.88 But his best apology may be found in the cheer-ful resolution, with which, about eight years afterwards, hesuffered death in the cause of religion. The authentic historyof his martyrdom has been recorded with unusual candorand impartiality. A short abstract, therefore, of its most im-portant circumstances, will convey the clearest informationof the spirit, and of the forms, of the Roman persecutions.89

88See Cyprian Epist 16, and his life by Pontius89We have an original life of Cyprian by the deacon Pontius, the

companion of his exile, and the spectator of his death; and we likewisepossess the ancient proconsular acts of his martyrdom These two re-lations are consistent with each other, and with probability; and whatis somewhat remarkable, they are both unsullied by any miraculouscircumstances

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Part IV

WHEN Valerian was consul for the third, and Gal-lienus for the fourth time, Paternus, proconsul of

Africa, summoned Cyprian to appear in his private council-chamber. He there acquainted him with the Imperial man-date which he had just received,90 that those who had aban-doned the Roman religion should immediately return tothe practice of the ceremonies of their ancestors. Cyprianreplied without hesitation, that he was a Christian and abishop, devoted to the worship of the true and only Deity,to whom he offered up his daily supplications for the safetyand prosperity of the two emperors, his lawful sovereigns.With modest confidence he pleaded the privilege of a citi-zen, in refusing to give any answer to some invidious andindeed illegal questions which the proconsul had proposed.A sentence of banishment was pronounced as the penalty ofCyprian’s disobedience; and he was conducted without de-lay to Curubis, a free and maritime city of Zeugitania, ina pleasant situation, a fertile territory, and at the distanceof about forty miles from Carthage.91 The exiled bishopenjoyed the conveniences of life and the consciousness ofvirtue. His reputation was diffused over Africa and Italy;an account of his behavior was published for the edification

90It should seem that these were circular orders, sent at the sametime to all the governors Dionysius (ap Euseb l vii c 11) relates the his-tory of his own banishment from Alexandria almost in the same man-ner But as he escaped and survived the persecution, we must accounthim either more or less fortunate than Cyprian

91See Plin Hist Natur v 3 Cellarius, Geograph Antiq part iii p 96Shaw’s Travels, p 90; and for the adjacent country, (which is termi-nated by Cape Bona, or the promontory of Mercury,) l’Afrique de Mar-mol tom ii p 494 There are the remains of an aqueduct near Curubis, orCurbis, at present altered into Gurbes; and Dr Shaw read an inscrip-tion, which styles that city Colonia Fulvia The deacon Pontius (in VitCyprian c 12) calls it “Apricum et competentem locum, hospitium provoluntate secretum, et quicquid apponi eis ante promissum est, quiregnum et justitiam Dei quaerunt”

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of the Christian world;92 and his solitude was frequentlyinterrupted by the letters, the visits, and the congratula-tions of the faithful. On the arrival of a new proconsulin the province the fortune of Cyprian appeared for sometime to wear a still more favorable aspect. He was recalledfrom banishment; and though not yet permitted to returnto Carthage, his own gardens in the neighborhood of thecapital were assigned for the place of his residence.93

92See Cyprian Epistol 77, edit Fell93Upon his conversion, he had sold those gardens for the benefit of

the poor The indulgence of God (most probably the liberality of someChristian friend) restored them to Cyprian See Pontius, c 15At length, exactly one year (KEY:[85) after Cyprian was first appre-hended, Galerius Maximus, proconsul of Africa, received the Impe-rial warrant for the execution of the Christian teachers The bishop ofCarthage was sensible that he should be singled out for one of thefirst victims; and the frailty of nature tempted him to withdraw him-self, by a secret flight, from the danger and the honor of martyrdom;(KEY:[85a) but soon recovering that fortitude which his character re-quired, he returned to his gardens, and patiently expected the minis-ters of death Two officers of rank, who were intrusted with that com-mission, placed Cyprian between them in a chariot, and as the procon-sul was not then at leisure, they conducted him, not to a prison, but toa private house in Carthage, which belonged to one of them An ele-gant supper was provided for the entertainment of the bishop, and hisChristian friends were permitted for the last time to enjoy his society,whilst the streets were filled with a multitude of the faithful, anxiousand alarmed at the approaching fate of their spiritual father (KEY:[86)In the morning he appeared before the tribunal of the proconsul, who,after informing himself of the name and situation of Cyprian, com-manded him to offer sacrifice, and pressed him to reflect on the con-sequences of his disobedience The refusal of Cyprian was firm anddecisive; and the magistrate, when he had taken the opinion of hiscouncil, pronounced with some reluctance the sentence of death It wasconceived in the following terms: “That Thascius Cyprianus should beimmediately beheaded, as the enemy of the gods of Rome, and as thechief and ringleader of a criminal association, which he had seducedinto an impious resistance against the laws of the most holy emperors,Valerian and Gallienus” (KEY:[87) The manner of his execution wasthe mildest and least painful that could be inflicted on a person con-victed of any capital offence; nor was the use of torture admitted to

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As soon as the sentence was proclaimed, a general cry of“We will die with him,” arose at once among the listeningmultitude of Christians who waited before the palace gates.The generous effusions of their zeal and their affection wereneither serviceable to Cyprian nor dangerous to themselves.He was led away under a guard of tribunes and centurions,without resistance and without insult, to the place of his ex-ecution, a spacious and level plain near the city, which wasalready filled with great numbers of spectators. His faithfulpresbyters and deacons were permitted to accompany theirholy bishop.94 They assisted him in laying aside his uppergarment, spread linen on the ground to catch the preciousrelics of his blood, and received his orders to bestow five-and-twenty pieces of gold on the executioner. The martyrthen covered his face with his hands, and at one blow hishead was separated from his body. His corpse remainedduring some hours exposed to the curiosity of the Gentiles:but in the night it was removed, and transported in a tri-umphal procession, and with a splendid illumination, to theburial-place of the Christians. The funeral of Cyprian waspublicly celebrated without receiving any interruption fromthe Roman magistrates; and those among the faithful, whohad performed the last offices to his person and his memory,were secure from the danger of inquiry or of punishment. Itis remarkable, that of so great a multitude of bishops in theprovince of Africa, Cyprian was the first who was esteemed

obtain from the bishop of Carthage either the recantation of his princi-ples or the discovery of his accomplices

94There is nothing in the life of St Cyprian, by Pontius, nor in theancient manuscripts, which can make us suppose that the presbytersand deacons in their clerical character, and known to be such, had thepermission to attend their holy bishop Setting aside all religious con-siderations, it is impossible not to be surprised at the kind of complai-sance with which the historian here insists, in favor of the persecu-tors, on some mitigating circumstances allowed at the death of a manwhose only crime was maintaining his own opinions with franknessand courage–G

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worthy to obtain the crown of martyrdom.95

It was in the choice of Cyprian, either to die a martyr, or tolive an apostate; but on the choice depended the alternativeof honor or infamy. Could we suppose that the bishop ofCarthage had employed the profession of the Christian faithonly as the instrument of his avarice or ambition, it wasstill incumbent on him to support the character he had as-sumed;96 and if he possessed the smallest degree of manlyfortitude, rather to expose himself to the most cruel tortures,than by a single act to exchange the reputation of a wholelife, for the abhorrence of his Christian brethren, and thecontempt of the Gentile world. But if the zeal of Cyprianwas supported by the sincere conviction of the truth of thosedoctrines which he preached, the crown of martyrdom musthave appeared to him as an object of desire rather than ofterror. It is not easy to extract any distinct ideas from thevague though eloquent declamations of the Fathers, or toascertain the degree of immortal glory and happiness whichthey confidently promised to those who were so fortunateas to shed their blood in the cause of religion.97 They incul-

95Pontius, c 19 M de Tillemont (Memoires, tom iv part i p 450, note50) is not pleased with so positive an exclusion of any former martyrof the episcopal rank (M de Tillemont, as an honest writer, explainsthe difficulties which he felt about the text of Pontius, and concludesby distinctly stating, that without doubt there is some mistake, andthat Pontius must have meant only Africa Minor or Carthage; for StCyprian, in his 58th (69th) letter addressed to Pupianus, speaks ex-pressly of many bishops his colleagues, qui proscripti sunt, vel appre-hensi in carcere et catenis fuerunt; aut qui in exilium relegati, illustriitinere ed Dominum profecti sunt; aut qui quibusdam locis animad-versi, coeleses coronas de Domini clarificatione sumpserunt–G

96Whatever opinion we may entertain of the character or principlesof Thomas Becket, we must acknowledge that he suffered death with aconstancy not unworthy of the primitive martyrs See Lord Lyttleton’sHistory of Henry II vol ii p 592, &c

97See in particular the treatise of Cyprian de Lapsis, p 87-98, editFell The learning of Dodwell (Dissertat Cyprianic xii xiii,) and the in-genuity of Middleton, (Free Inquiry, p 162, &c,) have left scarcely anything to add concerning the merit, the honors, and the motives of the

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cated with becoming diligence, that the fire of martyrdomsupplied every defect and expiated every sin; that while thesouls of ordinary Christians were obliged to pass through aslow and painful purification, the triumphant sufferers en-tered into the immediate fruition of eternal bliss, where, inthe society of the patriarchs, the apostles, and the prophets,they reigned with Christ, and acted as his assessors in theuniversal judgment of mankind. The assurance of a lastingreputation upon earth, a motive so congenial to the vanityof human nature, often served to animate the courage of themartyrs.

The honors which Rome or Athens bestowed on those cit-izens who had fallen in the cause of their country, were coldand unmeaning demonstrations of respect, when comparedwith the ardent gratitude and devotion which the primitivechurch expressed towards the victorious champions of thefaith. The annual commemoration of their virtues and suf-ferings was observed as a sacred ceremony, and at lengthterminated in religious worship. Among the Christians whohad publicly confessed their religious principles, those who(as it very frequently happened) had been dismissed fromthe tribunal or the prisons of the Pagan magistrates, ob-tained such honors as were justly due to their imperfectmartyrdom and their generous resolution. The most pi-ous females courted the permission of imprinting kisses onthe fetters which they had worn, and on the wounds whichthey had received. Their persons were esteemed holy, theirdecisions were admitted with deference, and they too of-ten abused, by their spiritual pride and licentious manners,the preeminence which their zeal and intrepidity had ac-quired.98 Distinctions like these, whilst they display the ex-

martyrs98Cyprian Epistol 5, 6, 7, 22, 24; and de Unitat Ecclesiae The number

of pretended martyrs has been very much multiplied, by the customwhich was introduced of bestowing that honorable name on confes-sors Note: M Guizot denies that the letters of Cyprian, to which herefers, bear out the statement in the text I cannot scruple to admit the

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alted merit, betray the inconsiderable number of those whosuffered, and of those who died, for the profession of Chris-tianity.

The sober discretion of the present age will more readilycensure than admire, but can more easily admire than imi-tate, the fervor of the first Christians, who, according to thelively expressions of Sulpicius Severus, desired martyrdomwith more eagerness than his own contemporaries soliciteda bishopric.99 The epistles which Ignatius composed as hewas carried in chains through the cities of Asia, breathe sen-timents the most repugnant to the ordinary feelings of hu-man nature. He earnestly beseeches the Romans, that whenhe should be exposed in the amphitheatre, they would not,by their kind but unseasonable intercession, deprive him ofthe crown of glory; and he declares his resolution to pro-voke and irritate the wild beasts which might be employedas the instruments of his death.100 Some stories are relatedof the courage of martyrs, who actually performed whatIgnatius had intended; who exasperated the fury of the li-ons, pressed the executioner to hasten his office, cheerfullyleaped into the fires which were kindled to consume them,and discovered a sensation of joy and pleasure in the midst

accuracy of Gibbon’s quotation To take only the fifth letter, we findthis passage: Doleo enim quando audio quosdam improbe et insolen-ter discurrere, et ad ineptian vel ad discordias vacare, Christi membraet jam Christum confessa per concubitus illicitos inquinari, nec a dia-conis aut presbyteris regi posse, sed id agere ut per paucorum pravoset malos mores, multorum et bonorum confessorum gloria honestamaculetur Gibbon’s misrepresentation lies in the ambiguous expres-sion “too often” Were the epistles arranged in a different manner inthe edition consulted by M Guizot?–M

99Certatim gloriosa in certamina ruebatur; multique avidius tummartyria gloriosis mortibus quaerebantur, quam nunc Episcopatuspravis ambitionibus appetuntur Sulpicius Severus, l ii He might haveomitted the word nunc

100See Epist ad Roman c 4, 5, ap Patres Apostol tom ii p 27 It suitedthe purpose of Bishop Pearson (see Vindiciae Ignatianae, part ii c 9) tojustify, by a profusion of examples and authorities, the sentiments ofIgnatius

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of the most exquisite tortures. Several examples have beenpreserved of a zeal impatient of those restraints which theemperors had provided for the security of the church. TheChristians sometimes supplied by their voluntary declara-tion the want of an accuser, rudely disturbed the public ser-vice of paganism,101 and rushing in crowds round the tri-bunal of the magistrates, called upon them to pronounceand to inflict the sentence of the law. The behavior of theChristians was too remarkable to escape the notice of the an-cient philosophers; but they seem to have considered it withmuch less admiration than astonishment. Incapable of con-ceiving the motives which sometimes transported the forti-tude of believers beyond the bounds of prudence or reason,they treated such an eagerness to die as the strange resultof obstinate despair, of stupid insensibility, or of supersti-tious frenzy.102 “Unhappy men!” exclaimed the proconsulAntoninus to the Christians of Asia; “unhappy men! if youare thus weary of your lives, is it so difficult for you to findropes and precipices?”103 He was extremely cautious (asit is observed by a learned and picus historian) of punish-ing men who had found no accusers but themselves, theImperial laws not having made any provision for so unex-pected a case: condemning therefore a few as a warningto their brethren, he dismissed the multitude with indigna-

101The story of Polyeuctes, on which Corneille has founded a verybeautiful tragedy, is one of the most celebrated, though not perhapsthe most authentic, instances of this excessive zeal We should observe,that the 60th canon of the council of Illiberis refuses the title of martyrsto those who exposed themselves to death, by publicly destroying theidols

102See Epictetus, l iv c 7, (though there is some doubt whether healludes to the Christians) Marcus Antoninus de Rebus suis, l xi c 3Lucian in Peregrin

103Tertullian ad Scapul c 5 The learned are divided between threepersons of the same name, who were all proconsuls of Asia I am in-clined to ascribe this story to Antoninus Pius, who was afterwardsemperor; and who may have governed Asia under the reign of Trajan

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tion and contempt.104 Notwithstanding this real or affecteddisdain, the intrepid constancy of the faithful was produc-tive of more salutary effects on those minds which nature orgrace had disposed for the easy reception of religious truth.On these melancholy occasions, there were many amongthe Gentiles who pitied, who admired, and who were con-verted. The generous enthusiasm was communicated fromthe sufferer to the spectators; and the blood of martyrs, ac-cording to a well-known observation, became the seed ofthe church.

But although devotion had raised, and eloquence contin-ued to inflame, this fever of the mind, it insensibly gave wayto the more natural hopes and fears of the human heart, tothe love of life, the apprehension of pain, and the horror ofdissolution. The more prudent rulers of the church foundthemselves obliged to restrain the indiscreet ardor of theirfollowers, and to distrust a constancy which too often aban-doned them in the hour of trial.105 As the lives of the faith-ful became less mortified and austere, they were every dayless ambitious of the honors of martyrdom; and the soldiersof Christ, instead of distinguishing themselves by volun-tary deeds of heroism, frequently deserted their post, andfled in confusion before the enemy whom it was their dutyto resist. There were three methods, however, of escapingthe flames of persecution, which were not attended with anequal degree of guilt: first, indeed, was generally allowed

104Mosheim, de Rebus Christ, ante Constantin p 235105See the Epistle of the Church of Smyrna, ap Euseb Hist Eccles Liv

c 15 (The 15th chapter of the 10th book of the Eccles History of Euse-bius treats principally of the martyrdom of St Polycarp, and mentionssome other martyrs A single example of weakness is related; it is thatof a Phrygian named Quintus, who, appalled at the sight of the wildbeasts and the tortures, renounced his faith This example proves littleagainst the mass of Christians, and this chapter of Eusebius furnishedmuch stronger evidence of their courage than of their timidity–G—-This Quintus had, however, rashly and of his own accord appearedbefore the tribunal; and the church of Smyrna condemn “his indiscreetardor,” coupled as it was with weakness in the hour of trial–M

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to be innocent; the second was of a doubtful, or at least ofa venial, nature; but the third implied a direct and criminalapostasy from the Christian faith.

I. A modern inquisitor would hear with surprise, thatwhenever an information was given to a Roman magistrateof any person within his jurisdiction who had embraced thesect of the Christians, the charge was communicated to theparty accused, and that a convenient time was allowed himto settle his domestic concerns, and to prepare an answer tothe crime which was imputed to him.106 If he entertainedany doubt of his own constancy, such a delay afforded himthe opportunity of preserving his life and honor by flight, ofwithdrawing himself into some obscure retirement or somedistant province, and of patiently expecting the return ofpeace and security. A measure so consonant to reason was

106In the second apology of Justin, there is a particular and very cu-rious instance of this legal delay The same indulgence was grantedto accused Christians, in the persecution of Decius: and Cyprian (deLapsis) expressly mentions the “Dies negantibus praestitutus” (Theexamples drawn by the historian from Justin Martyr and Cyprian re-late altogether to particular cases, and prove nothing as to the generalpractice adopted towards the accused; it is evident, on the contrary,from the same apology of St Justin, that they hardly ever obtained de-lay “A man named Lucius, himself a Christian, present at an unjustsentence passed against a Christian by the judge Urbicus, asked himwhy he thus punished a man who was neither adulterer nor robber,nor guilty of any other crime but that of avowing himself a Christian”Urbicus answered only in these words: “Thou also hast the appear-ance of being a Christian” “Yes, without doubt,” replied Lucius Thejudge ordered that he should be put to death on the instant A third,who came up, was condemned to be beaten with rods Here, then, arethree examples where no delay was granted—-[Surely these acts of asingle passionate and irritated judge prove the general practice as littleas those quoted by Gibbon–M] There exist a multitude of others, suchas those of Ptolemy, Marcellus, &c Justin expressly charges the judgeswith ordering the accused to be executed without hearing the causeThe words of St Cyprian are as particular, and simply say, that he hadappointed a day by which the Christians must have renounced theirfaith; those who had not done it by that time were condemned–G Thisconfirms the statement in the text–M

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soon authorized by the advice and example of the most holyprelates; and seems to have been censured by few except bythe Montanists, who deviated into heresy by their strict andobstinate adherence to the rigor of ancient discipline.107

II.The provincial governors, whose zeal was less preva-lent than their avarice, had countenanced the practice ofselling certificates, (or libels, as they were called,) whichattested, that the persons therein mentioned had compliedwith the laws, and sacrificed to the Roman deities. Byproducing these false declarations, the opulent and timidChristians were enabled to silence the malice of an informer,and to reconcile in some measure their safety with their re-ligion. A slight penance atoned for this profane dissimula-tion.108109

III. In every persecution there were great numbers of un-worthy Christians who publicly disowned or renounced thefaith which they had professed; and who confirmed the sin-cerity of their abjuration, by the legal acts of burning incenseor of offering sacrifices. Some of these apostates had yieldedon the first menace or exhortation of the magistrate; whilstthe patience of others had been subdued by the length andrepetition of tortures. The affrighted countenances of somebetrayed their inward remorse, while others advanced withconfidence and alacrity to the altars of the gods.110 But thedisguise which fear had imposed, subsisted no longer than

107Tertullian considers flight from persecution as an imperfect, butvery criminal, apostasy, as an impious attempt to elude the will ofGod, &c, &c He has written a treatise on this subject, (see p 536–544,edit Rigalt,) which is filled with the wildest fanaticism and the mostincoherent declamation It is, however, somewhat remarkable, that Ter-tullian did not suffer martyrdom himself

108The libellatici, who are chiefly known by the writings of Cyprian,are described with the utmost precision, in the copious commentaryof Mosheim, p 483–489

109The penance was not so slight, for it was exactly the same withthat of apostates who had sacrificed to idols; it lasted several years SeeFleun Hist Ecc v ii p 171–G

110Plin Epist x 97 Dionysius Alexandrin ap Euseb l vi c 41 Ad prima

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the present danger. As soon as the severity of the perse-cution was abated, the doors of the churches were assailedby the returning multitude of penitents who detested theiridolatrous submission, and who solicited with equal ardor,but with various success, their readmission into the societyof Christians.111112

IV. Notwithstanding the general rules established for theconviction and punishment of the Christians, the fate ofthose sectaries, in an extensive and arbitrary government,must still in a great measure, have depended on their ownbehavior, the circumstances of the times, and the temperof their supreme as well as subordinate rulers. Zeal mightsometimes provoke, and prudence might sometimes avertor assuage, the superstitious fury of the Pagans. A varietyof motives might dispose the provincial governors either toenforce or to relax the execution of the laws; and of thesemotives the most forcible was their regard not only for thepublic edicts, but for the secret intentions of the emperor, aglance from whose eye was sufficient to kindle or to extin-

statim verba minantis inimici maximus fratrum numerus fidem suamprodidit: nec prostratus est persecutionis impetu, sed voluntario lapsuseipsum prostravit Cyprian Opera, p 89 Among these deserters weremany priests, and even bishops

111It was on this occasion that Cyprian wrote his treatise De Lapsis,and many of his epistles The controversy concerning the treatment ofpenitent apostates, does not occur among the Christians of the preced-ing century Shall we ascribe this to the superiority of their faith andcourage, or to our less intimate knowledge of their history!

112Pliny says, that the greater part of the Christians persisted inavowing themselves to be so; the reason for his consulting Trajan wasthe periclitantium numerus Eusebius (l vi c 41) does not permit usto doubt that the number of those who renounced their faith was in-finitely below the number of those who boldly confessed it The prefect,he says and his assessors present at the council, were alarmed at see-ing the crowd of Christians; the judges themselves trembled Lastly, StCyprian informs us, that the greater part of those who had appearedweak brethren in the persecution of Decius, signalized their couragein that of Gallius Steterunt fortes, et ipso dolore poenitentiae facti adpraelium fortiores Epist lx p 142–G

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guish the flames of persecution. As often as any occasionalseverities were exercised in the different parts of the empire,the primitive Christians lamented and perhaps magnifiedtheir own sufferings; but the celebrated number of ten per-secutions has been determined by the ecclesiastical writersof the fifth century, who possessed a more distinct view ofthe prosperous or adverse fortunes of the church, from theage of Nero to that of Diocletian. The ingenious parallels ofthe ten plagues of Egypt, and of the ten horns of the Apoc-alypse, first suggested this calculation to their minds; andin their application of the faith of prophecy to the truth ofhistory, they were careful to select those reigns which wereindeed the most hostile to the Christian cause.113 But thesetransient persecutions served only to revive the zeal and torestore the discipline of the faithful; and the moments of ex-traordinary rigor were compensated by much longer inter-vals of peace and security. The indifference of some princes,and the indulgence of others, permitted the Christians toenjoy, though not perhaps a legal, yet an actual and public,toleration of their religion.

113See Mosheim, p 97 Sulpicius Severus was the first author of thiscomputation; though he seemed desirous of reserving the tenth andgreatest persecution for the coming of the Antichrist

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THE apology of Tertullian contains two very ancient,very singular, but at the same time very suspicious,

instances of Imperial clemency; the edicts published byTiberius, and by Marcus Antoninus, and designed not onlyto protect the innocence of the Christians, but even to pro-claim those stupendous miracles which had attested thetruth of their doctrine. The first of these examples is at-tended with some difficulties which might perplex a scepti-cal mind.114 We are required to believe, that Pontius Pilateinformed the emperor of the unjust sentence of death whichhe had pronounced against an innocent, and, as it appeared,a divine, person; and that, without acquiring the merit, heexposed himself to the danger of martyrdom; that Tiberius,who avowed his contempt for all religion, immediately con-ceived the design of placing the Jewish Messiah among thegods of Rome; that his servile senate ventured to disobeythe commands of their master; that Tiberius, instead of re-senting their refusal, contented himself with protecting theChristians from the severity of the laws, many years beforesuch laws were enacted, or before the church had assumedany distinct name or existence; and lastly, that the memoryof this extraordinary transaction was preserved in the mostpublic and authentic records, which escaped the knowledgeof the historians of Greece and Rome, and were only visibleto the eyes of an African Christian, who composed his apol-ogy one hundred and sixty years after the death of Tiberius.The edict of Marcus Antoninus is supposed to have been theeffect of his devotion and gratitude for the miraculous de-liverance which he had obtained in the Marcomannic war.

114The testimony given by Pontius Pilate is first mentioned byJustin The successive improvements which the story acquired (as ifhas passed through the hands of Tertullian, Eusebius, Epiphanius,Chrysostom, Orosius, Gregory of Tours, and the authors of the sev-eral editions of the acts of Pilate) are very fairly stated by Dom CalmetDissertat sur l’Ecriture, tom iii p 651, &c

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The distress of the legions, the seasonable tempest of rainand hail, of thunder and of lightning, and the dismay anddefeat of the barbarians, have been celebrated by the elo-quence of several Pagan writers. If there were any Chris-tians in that army, it was natural that they should ascribesome merit to the fervent prayers, which, in the momentof danger, they had offered up for their own and the pub-lic safety. But we are still assured by monuments of brassand marble, by the Imperial medals, and by the Antoninecolumn, that neither the prince nor the people entertainedany sense of this signal obligation, since they unanimouslyattribute their deliverance to the providence of Jupiter, andto the interposition of Mercury. During the whole course ofhis reign, Marcus despised the Christians as a philosopher,and punished them as a sovereign.115 (KEY:[5-106a)

By a singular fatality, the hardships which they had en-dured under the government of a virtuous prince, immedi-ately ceased on the accession of a tyrant; and as none ex-cept themselves had experienced the injustice of Marcus, sothey alone were protected by the lenity of Commodus. Thecelebrated Marcia, the most favored of his concubines, andwho at length contrived the murder of her Imperial lover,entertained a singular affection for the oppressed church;and though it was impossible that she could reconcile thepractice of vice with the precepts of the gospel, she mighthope to atone for the frailties of her sex and profession bydeclaring herself the patroness of the Christians.116 Underthe gracious protection of Marcia, they passed in safety thethirteen years of a cruel tyranny; and when the empire wasestablished in the house of Severus, they formed a domesticbut more honorable connection with the new court. The em-

115On this miracle, as it is commonly called, of the thundering le-gion, see the admirable criticism of Mr Moyle, in his Works, vol ii p81–390

116Dion Cassius, or rather his abbreviator Xiphilin, l lxxii p 1206 MrMoyle (p 266) has explained the condition of the church under thereign of Commodus

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peror was persuaded, that in a dangerous sickness, he hadderived some benefit, either spiritual or physical, from theholy oil, with which one of his slaves had anointed him. Healways treated with peculiar distinction several persons ofboth sexes who had embraced the new religion. The nurseas well as the preceptor of Caracalla were Christians;117 andif that young prince ever betrayed a sentiment of humanity,it was occasioned by an incident, which, however trifling,bore some relation to the cause of Christianity.118 Underthe reign of Severus, the fury of the populace was checked;the rigor of ancient laws was for some time suspended; andthe provincial governors were satisfied with receiving anannual present from the churches within their jurisdiction,as the price, or as the reward, of their moderation.119 Thecontroversy concerning the precise time of the celebrationof Easter, armed the bishops of Asia and Italy against eachother, and was considered as the most important businessof this period of leisure and tranquillity.120 Nor was thepeace of the church interrupted, till the increasing numbersof proselytes seem at length to have attracted the attention,and to have alienated the mind of Severus. With the designof restraining the progress of Christianity, he published anedict, which, though it was designed to affect only the newconverts, could not be carried into strict execution, with-

117It is with good reason that this massacre has been called a per-secution, for it lasted during the whole reign of Maximin, as may beseen in Eusebius (l vi c 28) Rufinus expressly confirms it: Tribus annisa Maximino persecutione commota, in quibus finem et persecutionisfecit et vitas Hist l vi c 19–G

118Compare the life of Caracalla in the Augustan History, with theepistle of Tertullian to Scapula Dr Jortin (Remarks on EcclesiasticalHistory, vol ii p 5, &c) considers the cure of Severus by the meansof holy oil, with a strong desire to convert it into a miracle

119Tertullian de Fuga, c 13 The present was made during the feast ofthe Saturnalia; and it is a matter of serious concern to Tertullian, thatthe faithful should be confounded with the most infamous professionswhich purchased the connivance of the government

120Euseb l v c 23, 24 Mosheim, p 435–447

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out exposing to danger and punishment the most zealousof their teachers and missionaries. In this mitigated perse-cution we may still discover the indulgent spirit of Romeand of Polytheism, which so readily admitted every excusein favor of those who practised the religious ceremonies oftheir fathers.121

But the laws which Severus had enacted soon expiredwith the authority of that emperor; and the Christians, af-ter this accidental tempest, enjoyed a calm of thirty-eightyears.122 Till this period they had usually held their as-semblies in private houses and sequestered places. Theywere now permitted to erect and consecrate convenient ed-ifices for the purpose of religious worship;123 to purchaselands, even at Rome itself, for the use of the community;and to conduct the elections of their ecclesiastical minis-ters in so public, but at the same time in so exemplary amanner, as to deserve the respectful attention of the Gen-tiles.124 This long repose of the church was accompaniedwith dignity. The reigns of those princes who derived theirextraction from the Asiatic provinces, proved the most fa-vorable to the Christians; the eminent persons of the sect,instead of being reduced to implore the protection of a slaveor concubine, were admitted into the palace in the honor-able characters of priests and philosophers; and their mys-terious doctrines, which were already diffused among the

121Judaeos fieri sub gravi poena vetuit Idem etiam de Christianissanxit Hist August p 70

122Sulpicius Severus, l ii p 384 This computation (allowing for a sin-gle exception) is confirmed by the history of Eusebius, and by the writ-ings of Cyprian

123The antiquity of Christian churches is discussed by Tillemont,(Memoires Ecclesiastiques, tom iii part ii p 68-72,) and by Mr Moyle,(vol i p 378-398) The former refers the first construction of them to thepeace of Alexander Severus; the latter, to the peace of Gallienus

124See the Augustan History, p 130 The emperor Alexander adoptedtheir method of publicly proposing the names of those persons whowere candidates for ordination It is true that the honor of this practiceis likewise attributed to the Jews

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people, insensibly attracted the curiosity of their sovereign.When the empress Mammaea passed through Antioch, sheexpressed a desire of conversing with the celebrated Origen,the fame of whose piety and learning was spread over theEast. Origen obeyed so flattering an invitation, and thoughhe could not expect to succeed in the conversion of an artfuland ambitious woman, she listened with pleasure to his elo-quent exhortations, and honorably dismissed him to his re-tirement in Palestine.125 The sentiments of Mammaea wereadopted by her son Alexander, and the philosophic devo-tion of that emperor was marked by a singular but inju-dicious regard for the Christian religion. In his domesticchapel he placed the statues of Abraham, of Orpheus, ofApollonius, and of Christ, as an honor justly due to thoserespectable sages who had instructed mankind in the vari-ous modes of addressing their homage to the supreme anduniversal Deity.126 A purer faith, as well as worship, wasopenly professed and practised among his household. Bish-ops, perhaps for the first time, were seen at court; and, afterthe death of Alexander, when the inhuman Maximin dis-charged his fury on the favorites and servants of his un-fortunate benefactor, a great number of Christians of everyrank and of both sexes, were involved in the promiscuousmassacre, which, on their account, has improperly receivedthe name of Persecution.127 (KEY:[5-117a)

125Euseb Hist Ecclesiast l vi c 21 Hieronym de Script Eccles c 54Mammaea was styled a holy and pious woman, both by the Christiansand the Pagans From the former, therefore, it was impossible that sheshould deserve that honorable epithet

126See the Augustan History, p 123 Mosheim (p 465) seems to refinetoo much on the domestic religion of Alexander His design of buildinga public temple to Christ, (Hist August p 129,) and the objection whichwas suggested either to him, or in similar circumstances to Hadrian,appear to have no other foundation than an improbable report, in-vented by the Christians, and credulously adopted by an historian ofthe age of Constantine

127Euseb l vi c 28 It may be presumed that the success of the Chris-tians had exasperated the increasing bigotry of the Pagans Dion Cas-

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Notwithstanding the cruel disposition of Maximin, theeffects of his resentment against the Christians were of avery local and temporary nature, and the pious Origen, whohad been proscribed as a devoted victim, was still reservedto convey the truths of the gospel to the ear of monar-chs.128 He addressed several edifying letters to the em-peror Philip, to his wife, and to his mother; and as soon asthat prince, who was born in the neighborhood of Palestine,had usurped the Imperial sceptre, the Christians acquireda friend and a protector. The public and even partial fa-vor of Philip towards the sectaries of the new religion, andhis constant reverence for the ministers of the church, gavesome color to the suspicion, which prevailed in his owntimes, that the emperor himself was become a convert tothe faith;129 and afforded some grounds for a fable which

sius, who composed his history under the former reign, had mostprobably intended for the use of his master those counsels of perse-cution, which he ascribes to a better age, and to and to the favoriteof Augustus Concerning this oration of Maecenas, or rather of Dion,I may refer to my own unbiased opinion, (vol i c 1, note 25,) and tothe Abbe de la Bleterie (Memoires de l’Academie, tom xxiv p 303 tomxxv p 432) (If this be the case, Dion Cassius must have known theChristians they must have been the subject of his particular attention,since the author supposes that he wished his master to profit by these“counsels of persecution” How are we to reconcile this necessary con-sequence with what Gibbon has said of the ignorance of Dion Cassiuseven of the name of the Christians? (c xvi n 24) (Gibbon speaks ofDion’s silence, not of his ignorance–M) The supposition in this note issupported by no proof; it is probable that Dion Cassius has often des-ignated the Christians by the name of Jews See Dion Cassius, l lxvii c14, lxviii l–G On this point I should adopt the view of Gibbon ratherthan that of M Guizot–M

128Orosius, l vii c 19, mentions Origen as the object of Maximin’sresentment; and Firmilianus, a Cappadocian bishop of that age, givesa just and confined idea of this persecution, (apud Cyprian Epist 75)

129The mention of those princes who were publicly supposed to beChristians, as we find it in an epistle of Dionysius of Alexandria, (apEuseb l vii c 10,) evidently alludes to Philip and his family, and formsa contemporary evidence, that such a report had prevailed; but theEgyptian bishop, who lived at an humble distance from the court of

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was afterwards invented, that he had been purified by con-fession and penance from the guilt contracted by the mur-der of his innocent predecessor.130 The fall of Philip intro-duced, with the change of masters, a new system of govern-ment, so oppressive to the Christians, that their former con-dition, ever since the time of Domitian, was represented asa state of perfect freedom and security, if compared with therigorous treatment which they experienced under the shortreign of Decius.131 The virtues of that prince will scarcelyallow us to suspect that he was actuated by a mean resent-ment against the favorites of his predecessor; and it is morereasonable to believe, that in the prosecution of his generaldesign to restore the purity of Roman manners, he was de-sirous of delivering the empire from what he condemned asa recent and criminal superstition. The bishops of the mostconsiderable cities were removed by exile or death: the vig-ilance of the magistrates prevented the clergy of Rome dur-ing sixteen months from proceeding to a new election; and itwas the opinion of the Christians, that the emperor wouldmore patiently endure a competitor for the purple, than abishop in the capital.132 Were it possible to suppose that thepenetration of Decius had discovered pride under the dis-guise of humility, or that he could foresee the temporal do-

Rome, expresses himself with a becoming diffidence concerning thetruth of the fact The epistles of Origen (which were extant in the timeof Eusebius, see l vi c 36) would most probably decide this curiousrather than important question

130Euseb l vi c 34 The story, as is usual, has been embellished bysucceeding writers, and is confuted, with much superfluous learning,by Frederick Spanheim, (Opera Varia, tom ii p 400, &c)

131Lactantius, de Mortibus Persecutorum, c 3, 4 After celebrating thefelicity and increase of the church, under a long succession of goodprinces, he adds, “Extitit post annos plurimos, execrabile animal, De-cius, qui vexaret Ecclesiam”

132Euseb l vi c 39 Cyprian Epistol 55 The see of Rome remained va-cant from the martyrdom of Fabianus, the 20th of January, A D 259, tillthe election of Cornelius, the 4th of June, A D 251 Decius had probablyleft Rome, since he was killed before the end of that year

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minion which might insensibly arise from the claims of spir-itual authority, we might be less surprised, that he shouldconsider the successors of St. Peter, as the most formidablerivals to those of Augustus.

The administration of Valerian was distinguished by alevity and inconstancy ill suited to the gravity of the Ro-man Censor. In the first part of his reign, he surpassedin clemency those princes who had been suspected of anattachment to the Christian faith. In the last three yearsand a half, listening to the insinuations of a minister ad-dicted to the superstitions of Egypt, he adopted the max-ims, and imitated the severity, of his predecessor Decius.133The accession of Gallienus, which increased the calamitiesof the empire, restored peace to the church; and the Chris-tians obtained the free exercise of their religion by an edictaddressed to the bishops, and conceived in such terms asseemed to acknowledge their office and public character.134The ancient laws, without being formally repealed, weresuffered to sink into oblivion; and (excepting only somehostile intentions which are attributed to the emperor Au-relian135 the disciples of Christ passed above forty years in

133Euseb l vii c 10 Mosheim (p 548) has very clearly shown that thepraefect Macrianus, and the Egyptian Magus, are one and the sameperson

134Eusebius (l vii c 13) gives us a Greek version of this Latin edict,which seems to have been very concise By another edict, he directedthat the Coemeteria should be restored to the Christians

135Euseb l vii c 30 Lactantius de M P c 6 Hieronym in Chron p 177Orosius, l vii c 23 Their language is in general so ambiguous and in-correct, that we are at a loss to determine how far Aurelian had car-ried his intentions before he was assassinated Most of the moderns(except Dodwell, Dissertat Cyprian vi 64) have seized the occasion ofgaining a few extraordinary martyrs (Dr Lardner has detailed, withhis usual impartiality, all that has come down to us relating to thepersecution of Aurelian, and concludes by saying, “Upon more care-fully examining the words of Eusebius, and observing the accounts ofother authors, learned men have generally, and, as I think, very judi-ciously, determined, that Aurelian not only intended, but did actually

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a state of prosperity, far more dangerous to their virtue thanthe severest trials of persecution.

The story of Paul of Samosata, who filled the metropoli-tan see of Antioch, while the East was in the hands of Ode-nathus and Zenobia, may serve to illustrate the conditionand character of the times. The wealth of that prelate wasa sufficient evidence of his guilt, since it was neither de-rived from the inheritance of his fathers, nor acquired bythe arts of honest industry. But Paul considered the serviceof the church as a very lucrative profession.136 His eccle-siastical jurisdiction was venal and rapacious; he extortedfrequent contributions from the most opulent of the faith-ful, and converted to his own use a considerable part of thepublic revenue. By his pride and luxury, the Christian reli-gion was rendered odious in the eyes of the Gentiles. Hiscouncil chamber and his throne, the splendor with whichhe appeared in public, the suppliant crowd who solicitedhis attention, the multitude of letters and petitions to whichhe dictated his answers, and the perpetual hurry of businessin which he was involved, were circumstances much bettersuited to the state of a civil magistrate,137 than to the hu-mility of a primitive bishop. When he harangued his peo-

persecute: but his persecution was short, he having died soon afterthe publication of his edicts” Heathen Test c xxxvi–Basmage positivelypronounces the same opinion: Non intentatum modo, sed executumquoque brevissimo tempore mandatum, nobis infixum est in aniasisBasn Ann 275, No 2 and compare Pagi Ann 272, Nos 4, 12, 27–G

136Paul was better pleased with the title of Ducenarius, than withthat of bishop The Ducenarius was an Imperial procurator, so calledfrom his salary of two hundred Sestertia, or 1600l a year (See Salmatiusad Hist August p 124) Some critics suppose that the bishop of Antiochhad actually obtained such an office from Zenobia, while others con-sider it only as a figurative expression of his pomp and insolence

137Simony was not unknown in those times; and the clergy sometimes bought what they intended to sell It appears that the bishopricof Carthage was purchased by a wealthy matron, named Lucilla, forher servant Majorinus The price was 400 Folles (Monument Antiq adcalcem Optati, p 263) Every Follis contained 125 pieces of silver, andthe whole sum may be computed at about 2400l

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ple from the pulpit, Paul affected the figurative style andthe theatrical gestures of an Asiatic sophist, while the cathe-dral resounded with the loudest and most extravagant ac-clamations in the praise of his divine eloquence. Againstthose who resisted his power, or refused to flatter his vanity,the prelate of Antioch was arrogant, rigid, and inexorable;but he relaxed the discipline, and lavished the treasuresof the church on his dependent clergy, who were permit-ted to imitate their master in the gratification of every sen-sual appetite. For Paul indulged himself very freely in thepleasures of the table, and he had received into the episco-pal palace two young and beautiful women as the constantcompanions of his leisure moments.138

Notwithstanding these scandalous vices, if Paul ofSamosata had preserved the purity of the orthodox faith,his reign over the capital of Syria would have ended onlywith his life; and had a seasonable persecution intervened,an effort of courage might perhaps have placed him in therank of saints and martyrs.139

Some nice and subtle errors, which he imprudentlyadopted and obstinately maintained, concerning the doc-trine of the Trinity, excited the zeal and indignation of theEastern churches.140

138If we are desirous of extenuating the vices of Paul, we must sus-pect the assembled bishops of the East of publishing the most mali-cious calumnies in circular epistles addressed to all the churches ofthe empire, (ap Euseb l vii c 30)

139It appears, nevertheless, that the vices and immoralities of Paul ofSamosata had much weight in the sentence pronounced against himby the bishops The object of the letter, addressed by the synod to thebishops of Rome and Alexandria, was to inform them of the change inthe faith of Paul, the altercations and discussions to which it had givenrise, as well as of his morals and the whole of his conduct Euseb HistEccl l vii c xxx–G

140His heresy (like those of Noetus and Sabellius, in the same cen-tury) tended to confound the mysterious distinction of the divine per-sons See Mosheim, p 702, &c

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From Egypt to the Euxine Sea, the bishops were in armsand in motion. Several councils were held, confutationswere published, excommunications were pronounced, am-biguous explanations were by turns accepted and refused,treaties were concluded and violated, and at length Paul ofSamosata was degraded from his episcopal character, by thesentence of seventy or eighty bishops, who assembled forthat purpose at Antioch, and who, without consulting therights of the clergy or people, appointed a successor by theirown authority. The manifest irregularity of this proceedingincreased the numbers of the discontented faction; and asPaul, who was no stranger to the arts of courts, had insinu-ated himself into the favor of Zenobia, he maintained abovefour years the possession of the episcopal house and of-fice.141 The victory of Aurelian changed the face of the East,and the two contending parties, who applied to each otherthe epithets of schism and heresy, were either commandedor permitted to plead their cause before the tribunal of theconqueror. This public and very singular trial affords a con-vincing proof that the existence, the property, the privileges,and the internal policy of the Christians, were acknowl-edged, if not by the laws, at least by the magistrates, ofthe empire. As a Pagan and as a soldier, it could scarcelybe expected that Aurelian should enter into the discussion,whether the sentiments of Paul or those of his adversarieswere most agreeable to the true standard of the orthodoxfaith. His determination, however, was founded on the gen-eral principles of equity and reason. He considered the bish-ops of Italy as the most impartial and respectable judgesamong the Christians, and as soon as he was informed thatthey had unanimously approved the sentence of the coun-

141“Her favorite, (Zenobia’s,) Paul of Samosata, seems to have enter-tained some views of attempting a union between Judaism and Chris-tianity; both parties rejected the unnatural alliance” Hist of Jews, iii175, and Jost Geschichte der Israeliter, iv 167 The protection of the se-vere Zenobia is the only circumstance which may raise a doubt of thenotorious immorality of Paul–M

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cil, he acquiesced in their opinion, and immediately gaveorders that Paul should be compelled to relinquish the tem-poral possessions belonging to an office, of which, in thejudgment of his brethren, he had been regularly deprived.But while we applaud the justice, we should not overlookthe policy, of Aurelian, who was desirous of restoring andcementing the dependence of the provinces on the capital,by every means which could bind the interest or prejudicesof any part of his subjects.142

Amidst the frequent revolutions of the empire, the Chris-tians still flourished in peace and prosperity; and notwith-standing a celebrated aera of martyrs has been deducedfrom the accession of Diocletian,143 the new system ofpolicy, introduced and maintained by the wisdom of thatprince, continued, during more than eighteen years, tobreathe the mildest and most liberal spirit of religious tol-eration. The mind of Diocletian himself was less adaptedindeed to speculative inquiries, than to the active labors ofwar and government. His prudence rendered him averse toany great innovation, and though his temper was not verysusceptible of zeal or enthusiasm, he always maintained anhabitual regard for the ancient deities of the empire. Butthe leisure of the two empresses, of his wife Prisca, and ofValeria, his daughter, permitted them to listen with moreattention and respect to the truths of Christianity, which inevery age has acknowledged its important obligations to

142Euseb Hist Ecclesiast l vii c 30 We are entirely indebted to him forthe curious story of Paul of Samosata

143The Aera of Martyrs, which is still in use among the Copts andthe Abyssinians, must be reckoned from the 29th of August, A D 284;as the beginning of the Egyptian year was nineteen days earlier thanthe real accession of Diocletian See Dissertation Preliminaire a l’Art deverifier les Dates (On the aera of martyrs see the very curious disser-tations of Mons Letronne on some recently discovered inscriptions inEgypt and Nubis, p 102, &c–M

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female devotion.144 The principal eunuchs, Lucian145 andDorotheus, Gorgonius and Andrew, who attended the per-son, possessed the favor, and governed the household ofDiocletian, protected by their powerful influence the faithwhich they had embraced. Their example was imitated bymany of the most considerable officers of the palace, who,in their respective stations, had the care of the Imperial or-naments, of the robes, of the furniture, of the jewels, andeven of the private treasury; and, though it might some-times be incumbent on them to accompany the emperorwhen he sacrificed in the temple,146 they enjoyed, with theirwives, their children, and their slaves, the free exercise ofthe Christian religion. Diocletian and his colleagues fre-quently conferred the most important offices on those per-sons who avowed their abhorrence for the worship of thegods, but who had displayed abilities proper for the ser-vice of the state. The bishops held an honorable rank intheir respective provinces, and were treated with distinctionand respect, not only by the people, but by the magistratesthemselves. Almost in every city, the ancient churches werefound insufficient to contain the increasing multitude ofproselytes; and in their place more stately and capacious ed-ifices were erected for the public worship of the faithful. Thecorruption of manners and principles, so forcibly lamentedby Eusebius,147 may be considered, not only as a conse-quence, but as a proof, of the liberty which the Christiansenjoyed and abused under the reign of Diocletian. Prosper-

144The expression of Lactantius, (de M P c 15,) “sacrificio pollui co-egit,” implies their antecedent conversion to the faith, but does notseem to justify the assertion of Mosheim, (p 912,) that they had beenprivately baptized

145M de Tillemont (Memoires Ecclesiastiques, tom v part i p 11, 12)has quoted from the Spicilegium of Dom Luc d’Archeri a very curiousinstruction which Bishop Theonas composed for the use of Lucian

146Lactantius, de M P c 10147Eusebius, Hist Ecclesiast l viii c 1 The reader who consults the

original will not accuse me of heightening the picture Eusebius wasabout sixteen years of age at the accession of the emperor Diocletian

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ity had relaxed the nerves of discipline. Fraud, envy, andmalice prevailed in every congregation. The presbyters as-pired to the episcopal office, which every day became anobject more worthy of their ambition. The bishops, whocontended with each other for ecclesiastical preeminence,appeared by their conduct to claim a secular and tyrannicalpower in the church; and the lively faith which still distin-guished the Christians from the Gentiles, was shown muchless in their lives, than in their controversial writings.

Notwithstanding this seeming security, an attentive ob-server might discern some symptoms that threatened thechurch with a more violent persecution than any which shehad yet endured. The zeal and rapid progress of the Chris-tians awakened the Polytheists from their supine indiffer-ence in the cause of those deities, whom custom and edu-cation had taught them to revere. The mutual provocationsof a religious war, which had already continued above twohundred years, exasperated the animosity of the contend-ing parties. The Pagans were incensed at the rashness ofa recent and obscure sect, which presumed to accuse theircountrymen of error, and to devote their ancestors to eter-nal misery. The habits of justifying the popular mythologyagainst the invectives of an implacable enemy, produced intheir minds some sentiments of faith and reverence for asystem which they had been accustomed to consider withthe most careless levity. The supernatural powers assumedby the church inspired at the same time terror and emula-tion. The followers of the established religion intrenchedthemselves behind a similar fortification of prodigies; in-vented new modes of sacrifice, of expiation, and of initia-tion;148 attempted to revive the credit of their expiring ora-

148We might quote, among a great number of instances, the mys-terious worship of Mythras, and the Taurobolia; the latter of whichbecame fashionable in the time of the Antonines, (see a Dissertation ofM de Boze, in the Memoires de l’Academie des Inscriptions, tom ii p443) The romance of Apuleius is as full of devotion as of satire (On theextraordinary progress of the Mahriac rites, in the West, see De Guig-

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cles;149 and listened with eager credulity to every impostor,who flattered their prejudices by a tale of wonders.150 Bothparties seemed to acknowledge the truth of those miracleswhich were claimed by their adversaries; and while theywere contented with ascribing them to the arts of magic,and to the power of daemons, they mutually concurred inrestoring and establishing the reign of superstition.151 Phi-losophy, her most dangerous enemy, was now convertedinto her most useful ally. The groves of the academy, thegardens of Epicurus, and even the portico of the Stoics, werealmost deserted, as so many different schools of scepticismor impiety;152 and many among the Romans were desirousthat the writings of Cicero should be condemned and sup-pressed by the authority of the senate.153 The prevailing

niaud’s translation of Creuzer, vol i p 365, and Note 9, tom i part 2, p738, &c–M

149The impostor Alexander very strongly recommended the oracleof Trophonius at Mallos, and those of Apollo at Claros and Miletus,(Lucian, tom ii p 236, edit Reitz) The last of these, whose singular his-tory would furnish a very curious episode, was consulted by Diocle-tian before he published his edicts of persecution, (Lactantius, de M Pc 11)

150Besides the ancient stories of Pythagoras and Aristeas, the curesperformed at the shrine of Aesculapius, and the fables related of Apol-lonius of Tyana, were frequently opposed to the miracles of Christ;though I agree with Dr Lardner, (see Testimonies, vol iii p 253, 352,)that when Philostratus composed the life of Apollonius, he had nosuch intention

151It is seriously to be lamented, that the Christian fathers, by ac-knowledging the supernatural, or, as they deem it, the infernal part ofPaganism, destroy with their own hands the great advantage whichwe might otherwise derive from the liberal concessions of our adver-saries

152Julian (p 301, edit Spanheim) expresses a pious joy, that the provi-dence of the gods had extinguished the impious sects, and for the mostpart destroyed the books of the Pyrrhonians and Epicuraeans, whichhad been very numerous, since Epicurus himself composed no lessthan 300 volumes See Diogenes Laertius, l x c 26

153Cumque alios audiam mussitare indignanter, et dicere opporterestatui per Senatum, aboleantur ut haec scripta, quibus Christiana Reli-

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sect of the new Platonicians judged it prudent to connectthemselves with the priests, whom perhaps they despised,against the Christians, whom they had reason to fear. Thesefashionable Philosophers prosecuted the design of extract-ing allegorical wisdom from the fictions of the Greek poets;instituted mysterious rites of devotion for the use of theirchosen disciples; recommended the worship of the ancientgods as the emblems or ministers of the Supreme Deity, andcomposed against the faith of the gospel many elaboratetreatises,154 which have since been committed to the flamesby the prudence of orthodox emperors.155

gio comprobetur, et vetustatis opprimatur auctoritas Arnobius adver-sus Gentes, l iii p 103, 104 He adds very properly, Erroris convincite Ci-ceronem nam intercipere scripta, et publicatam velle submergere lec-tionem, non est Deum defendere sed veritatis testificationem timere

154Lactantius (Divin Institut l v c 2, 3) gives a very clear and spiritedaccount of two of these philosophic adversaries of the faith The largetreatise of Porphyry against the Christians consisted of thirty books,and was composed in Sicily about the year 270

155See Socrates, Hist Ecclesiast l i c 9, and Codex Justinian l i i l s

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ALTHOUGH the policy of Diocletian and the humanityof Constantius inclined them to preserve inviolate the

maxims of toleration, it was soon discovered that their twoassociates, Maximian and Galerius, entertained the mostimplacable aversion for the name and religion of the Chris-tians. The minds of those princes had never been enlight-ened by science; education had never softened their tem-per. They owed their greatness to their swords, and in theirmost elevated fortune they still retained their superstitiousprejudices of soldiers and peasants. In the general admin-istration of the provinces they obeyed the laws which theirbenefactor had established; but they frequently found occa-sions of exercising within their camp and palaces a secretpersecution,156 for which the imprudent zeal of the Chris-tians sometimes offered the most specious pretences. A sen-tence of death was executed upon Maximilianus, an Africanyouth, who had been produced by his own father157 before

156Eusebius, l viii c 4, c 17 He limits the number of military mar-tyrs, by a remarkable expression, of which neither his Latin nor Frenchtranslator have rendered the energy Notwithstanding the authority ofEusebius, and the silence of Lactantius, Ambrose, Sulpicius, Orosius,&c, it has been long believed, that the Thebaean legion, consisting of6000 Christians, suffered martyrdom by the order of Maximian, in thevalley of the Pennine Alps The story was first published about themiddle of the 5th century, by Eucherius, bishop of Lyons, who re-ceived it from certain persons, who received it from Isaac, bishop ofGeneva, who is said to have received it from Theodore, bishop of Oc-todurum The abbey of St Maurice still subsists, a rich monument ofthe credulity of Sigismund, king of Burgundy See an excellent Disser-tation in xxxvith volume of the Bibliotheque Raisonnee, p 427-454

157M Guizot criticizes Gibbon’s account of this incident He supposesthat Maximilian was not “produced by his father as a recruit,” but wasobliged to appear by the law, which compelled the sons of soldiers toserve at 21 years old Was not this a law of Constantine? Neither doesthis circumstance appear in the acts His father had clearly expectedhim to serve, as he had bought him a new dress for the occasion; yethe refused to force the conscience of his son and when Maximilian was

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the magistrate as a sufficient and legal recruit, but who ob-stinately persisted in declaring, that his conscience wouldnot permit him to embrace the profession of a soldier.158It could scarcely be expected that any government shouldsuffer the action of Marcellus the Centurion to pass withimpunity. On the day of a public festival, that officer threwaway his belt, his arms, and the ensigns of his office, andexclaimed with a loud voice, that he would obey none butJesus Christ the eternal King, and that he renounced foreverthe use of carnal weapons, and the service of an idolatrousmaster. The soldiers, as soon as they recovered from theirastonishment, secured the person of Marcellus. He was ex-amined in the city of Tingi by the president of that part ofMauritania; and as he was convicted by his own confession,he was condemned and beheaded for the crime of deser-tion.159 Examples of such a nature savor much less of re-ligious persecution than of martial or even civil law; butthey served to alienate the mind of the emperors, to justifythe severity of Galerius, who dismissed a great number ofChristian officers from their employments; and to authorizethe opinion, that a sect of enthusiastics, which avowed prin-ciples so repugnant to the public safety, must either remainuseless, or would soon become dangerous, subjects of theempire.

After the success of the Persian war had raised the hopesand the reputation of Galerius, he passed a winter with Dio-cletian in the palace of Nicomedia; and the fate of Christian-ity became the object of their secret consultations.160 Theexperienced emperor was still inclined to pursue measures

condemned to death, the father returned home in joy, blessing God forhaving bestowed upon him such a son–M

158See the Acta Sincera, p 299 The accounts of his martyrdom andthat of Marcellus, bear every mark of truth and authenticity

159Acta Sincera, p 302 (M Guizot here justly observes, that it was thenecessity of sacrificing to the gods, which induced Marcellus to act inthis manner–M

160De M P c 11 Lactantius (or whoever was the author of this littletreatise) was, at that time, an inhabitant of Nicomedia; but it seems

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of lenity; and though he readily consented to exclude theChristians from holding any employments in the householdor the army, he urged in the strongest terms the danger aswell as cruelty of shedding the blood of those deluded fa-natics. Galerius at length extorted161 from him the permis-sion of summoning a council, composed of a few personsthe most distinguished in the civil and military departmentsof the state.

The important question was agitated in their presence,and those ambitious courtiers easily discerned, that it wasincumbent on them to second, by their eloquence, the im-portunate violence of the Caesar. It may be presumed, thatthey insisted on every topic which might interest the pride,the piety, or the fears, of their sovereign in the destructionof Christianity. Perhaps they represented, that the gloriouswork of the deliverance of the empire was left imperfect,as long as an independent people was permitted to subsist

difficult to conceive how he could acquire so accurate a knowledgeof what passed in the Imperial cabinet Note: * Lactantius, who wassubsequently chosen by Constantine to educate Crispus, might easilyhave learned these details from Constantine himself, already of suffi-cient age to interest himself in the affairs of the government, and in aposition to obtain the best information–G This assumes the doubtfulpoint of the authorship of the Treatise–M

161This permission was not extorted from Diocletian; he took thestep of his own accord Lactantius says, in truth, Nec tamen deflecterepotuit (Diocletianus) praecipitis hominis insaniam; placuit ergo ami-corum sententiam experiri (De Mort Pers c 11) But this measure wasin accordance with the artificial character of Diocletian, who wishedto have the appearance of doing good by his own impulse and evilby the impulse of others Nam erat hujus malitiae, cum bonum quidfacere decrevisse sine consilio faciebat, ut ipse laudaretur Cum autemmalum quoniam id reprehendendum sciebat, in consilium multos ad-vocabat, ut alioram culpao adscriberetur quicquid ipse deliquerat Lactib Eutropius says likewise, Miratus callide fuit, sagax praeterea et ad-modum subtilis ingenio, et qui severitatem suam aliena invidia velletexplere Eutrop ix c 26–G—-The manner in which the coarse and un-friendly pencil of the author of the Treatise de Mort Pers has drawn thecharacter of Diocletian, seems inconsistent with this profound subtiltyMany readers will perhaps agree with Gibbon–M

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and multiply in the heart of the provinces. The Christians,(it might specially be alleged,) renouncing the gods and theinstitutions of Rome, had constituted a distinct republic,which might yet be suppressed before it had acquired anymilitary force; but which was already governed by its ownlaws and magistrates, was possessed of a public treasure,and was intimately connected in all its parts by the frequentassemblies of the bishops, to whose decrees their numer-ous and opulent congregations yielded an implicit obedi-ence. Arguments like these may seem to have determinedthe reluctant mind of Diocletian to embrace a new systemof persecution; but though we may suspect, it is not in ourpower to relate, the secret intrigues of the palace, the privateviews and resentments, the jealousy of women or eunuchs,and all those trifling but decisive causes which so often in-fluence the fate of empires, and the councils of the wisestmonarchs.162

The pleasure of the emperors was at length signified tothe Christians, who, during the course of this melancholywinter, had expected, with anxiety, the result of so manysecret consultations. The twenty-third of February, whichcoincided with the Roman festival of the Terminalia,163 wasappointed (whether from accident or design) to set boundsto the progress of Christianity. At the earliest dawn of day,

162The only circumstance which we can discover, is the devotion andjealousy of the mother of Galerius She is described by Lactantius, asDeorum montium cultrix; mulier admodum superstitiosa She had agreat influence over her son, and was offended by the disregard ofsome of her Christian servants (This disregard consisted in the Chris-tians fasting and praying instead of participating in the banquets andsacrifices which she celebrated with the Pagans Dapibus sacrificabatpoene quotidie ac vicariis suis epulis exhibebat Christiani abstinebant,et illa cum gentibus epulante, jejuniis hi et oratiomibus insisteban; hineconcepit odium Lact de Hist Pers c 11–G

163The worship and festival of the god Terminus are elegantly illus-trated by M de Boze, Mem de l’Academie des Inscriptions, tom i p50

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the Praetorian praefect,164 accompanied by several gener-als, tribunes, and officers of the revenue, repaired to theprincipal church of Nicomedia, which was situated on aneminence in the most populous and beautiful part of thecity. The doors were instantly broke open; they rushed intothe sanctuary; and as they searched in vain for some visi-ble object of worship, they were obliged to content them-selves with committing to the flames the volumes of theholy Scripture. The ministers of Diocletian were followedby a numerous body of guards and pioneers, who marchedin order of battle, and were provided with all the instru-ments used in the destruction of fortified cities. By theirincessant labor, a sacred edifice, which towered above theImperial palace, and had long excited the indignation andenvy of the Gentiles, was in a few hours levelled with theground.165

The next day the general edict of persecution was pub-lished;166 and though Diocletian, still averse to the effusionof blood, had moderated the fury of Galerius, who pro-posed, that every one refusing to offer sacrifice should im-mediately be burnt alive, the penalties inflicted on the obsti-nacy of the Christians might be deemed sufficiently rigor-ous and effectual. It was enacted, that their churches, in allthe provinces of the empire, should be demolished to theirfoundations; and the punishment of death was denouncedagainst all who should presume to hold any secret assem-blies for the purpose of religious worship. The philoso-phers, who now assumed the unworthy office of directingthe blind zeal of persecution, had diligently studied the na-

164In our only MS of Lactantius, we read profectus; but reason, andthe authority of all the critics, allow us, instead of that word, whichdestroys the sense of the passage, to substitute proefectus

165Lactantius, de M P c 12, gives a very lively picture of the destruc-tion of the church

166Mosheim, (p 922–926,) from man scattered passages of Lactantiusand Eusebius, has collected a very just and accurate notion of this edictthough he sometimes deviates into conjecture and refinement

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ture and genius of the Christian religion; and as they werenot ignorant that the speculative doctrines of the faith weresupposed to be contained in the writings of the prophets,of the evangelists, and of the apostles, they most probablysuggested the order, that the bishops and presbyters shoulddeliver all their sacred books into the hands of the magis-trates; who were commanded, under the severest penalties,to burn them in a public and solemn manner. By the sameedict, the property of the church was at once confiscated;and the several parts of which it might consist were eithersold to the highest bidder, united to the Imperial domain,bestowed on the cities and corporations, or granted to thesolicitations of rapacious courtiers. After taking such effec-tual measures to abolish the worship, and to dissolve thegovernment of the Christians, it was thought necessary tosubject to the most intolerable hardships the condition ofthose perverse individuals who should still reject the reli-gion of nature, of Rome, and of their ancestors. Persons of aliberal birth were declared incapable of holding any honorsor employments; slaves were forever deprived of the hopesof freedom, and the whole body of the people were put outof the protection of the law. The judges were authorizedto hear and to determine every action that was broughtagainst a Christian. But the Christians were not permittedto complain of any injury which they themselves had suf-fered; and thus those unfortunate sectaries were exposed tothe severity, while they were excluded from the benefits, ofpublic justice. This new species of martyrdom, so painfuland lingering, so obscure and ignominious, was, perhaps,the most proper to weary the constancy of the faithful: norcan it be doubted that the passions and interest of mankindwere disposed on this occasion to second the designs ofthe emperors. But the policy of a well-ordered governmentmust sometimes have interposed in behalf of the oppressedChristians;167 nor was it possible for the Roman princes en-

167This wants proof The edict of Diocletian was executed in all itsright during the rest of his reign Euseb Hist Eccl l viii c 13–G

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tirely to remove the apprehension of punishment, or to con-nive at every act of fraud and violence, without exposingtheir own authority and the rest of their subjects to the mostalarming dangers.168

This edict was scarcely exhibited to the public view, inthe most conspicuous place of Nicomedia, before it wastorn down by the hands of a Christian, who expressed atthe same time, by the bitterest invectives, his contempt aswell as abhorrence for such impious and tyrannical gover-nors. His offence, according to the mildest laws, amountedto treason, and deserved death. And if it be true that hewas a person of rank and education, those circumstancescould serve only to aggravate his guilt. He was burnt, orrather roasted, by a slow fire; and his executioners, zealousto revenge the personal insult which had been offered to theemperors, exhausted every refinement of cruelty, withoutbeing able to subdue his patience, or to alter the steady andinsulting smile which in his dying agonies he still preservedin his countenance. The Christians, though they confessedthat his conduct had not been strictly conformable to thelaws of prudence, admired the divine fervor of his zeal; andthe excessive commendations which they lavished on thememory of their hero and martyr, contributed to fix a deepimpression of terror and hatred in the mind of Diocletian.169

His fears were soon alarmed by the view of a danger fromwhich he very narrowly escaped. Within fifteen days thepalace of Nicomedia, and even the bed-chamber of Dio-cletian, were twice in flames; and though both times theywere extinguished without any material damage, the singu-

168Many ages afterwards, Edward J practised, with great success, thesame mode of persecution against the clergy of England See Hume’sHistory of England, vol ii p 300, last 4to edition

169Lactantius only calls him quidam, et si non recte, magno tameranimo, &c, c 12 Eusebius (l viii c 5) adorns him with secular honoraNeither have condescended to mention his name; but the Greeks cele-brate his memory under that of John See Tillemont, Memones Ecclesi-astiques, tom v part ii p 320

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lar repetition of the fire was justly considered as an evidentproof that it had not been the effect of chance or negligence.The suspicion naturally fell on the Christians; and it wassuggested, with some degree of probability, that those des-perate fanatics, provoked by their present sufferings, andapprehensive of impending calamities, had entered into aconspiracy with their faithful brethren, the eunuchs of thepalace, against the lives of two emperors, whom they de-tested as the irreconcilable enemies of the church of God.

Jealousy and resentment prevailed in every breast, but es-pecially in that of Diocletian. A great number of persons,distinguished either by the offices which they had filled,or by the favor which they had enjoyed, were thrown intoprison. Every mode of torture was put in practice, and thecourt, as well as city, was polluted with many bloody ex-ecutions.170 But as it was found impossible to extort anydiscovery of this mysterious transaction, it seems incum-bent on us either to presume the innocence, or to admirethe resolution, of the sufferers. A few days afterwards Ga-lerius hastily withdrew himself from Nicomedia, declaring,that if he delayed his departure from that devoted palace,he should fall a sacrifice to the rage of the Christians.

The ecclesiastical historians, from whom alone we derivea partial and imperfect knowledge of this persecution, areat a loss how to account for the fears and dangers of theemperors. Two of these writers, a prince and a rhetorician,were eye-witnesses of the fire of Nicomedia. The one as-cribes it to lightning, and the divine wrath; the other af-firms, that it was kindled by the malice of Galerius him-self.171

170Lactantius de M P c 13, 14 Potentissimi quondam Eunuchi necati,per quos Palatium et ipse constabat Eusebius (l viii c 6) mentions thecruel executions of the eunuchs, Gorgonius and Dorotheus, and of An-thimius, bishop of Nicomedia; and both those writers describe, in avague but tragical manner, the horrid scenes which were acted even inthe Imperial presence

171See Lactantius, Eusebius, and Constantine, ad Coetum Sancto-

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As the edict against the Christians was designed for ageneral law of the whole empire, and as Diocletian and Ga-lerius, though they might not wait for the consent, were as-sured of the concurrence, of the Western princes, it wouldappear more consonant to our ideas of policy, that the gov-ernors of all the provinces should have received secret in-structions to publish, on one and the same day, this decla-ration of war within their respective departments. It was atleast to be expected, that the convenience of the public high-ways and established posts would have enabled the emper-ors to transmit their orders with the utmost despatch fromthe palace of Nicomedia to the extremities of the Romanworld; and that they would not have suffered fifty days toelapse, before the edict was published in Syria, and nearfour months before it was signified to the cities of Africa.172

This delay may perhaps be imputed to the cautious tem-per of Diocletian, who had yielded a reluctant consent tothe measures of persecution, and who was desirous of try-ing the experiment under his more immediate eye, beforehe gave way to the disorders and discontent which it mustinevitably occasion in the distant provinces. At first, in-deed, the magistrates were restrained from the effusion ofblood; but the use of every other severity was permitted,and even recommended to their zeal; nor could the Chris-tians, though they cheerfully resigned the ornaments oftheir churches, resolve to interrupt their religious assem-

rum, c xxv Eusebius confesses his ignorance of the cause of this fireNote: As the history of these times affords us no example of any at-tempts made by the Christians against their persecutors, we have noreason, not the slightest probability, to attribute to them the fire in thepalace; and the authority of Constantine and Lactantius remains to ex-plain it M de Tillemont has shown how they can be reconciled Histdes Empereurs, Vie de Diocletian, xix–G Had it been done by a Chris-tian, it would probably have been a fanatic, who would have avowedand gloried in it Tillemont’s supposition that the fire was first causedby lightning, and fed and increased by the malice of Galerius, seemssingularly improbable–M

172Tillemont, Memoires Ecclesiast tom v part i p 43

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blies, or to deliver their sacred books to the flames. Thepious obstinacy of Felix, an African bishop, appears to haveembarrassed the subordinate ministers of the government.The curator of his city sent him in chains to the proconsul.The proconsul transmitted him to the Praetorian praefectof Italy; and Felix, who disdained even to give an evasiveanswer, was at length beheaded at Venusia, in Lucania, aplace on which the birth of Horace has conferred fame.173This precedent, and perhaps some Imperial rescript, whichwas issued in consequence of it, appeared to authorize thegovernors of provinces, in punishing with death the refusalof the Christians to deliver up their sacred books. Therewere undoubtedly many persons who embraced this oppor-tunity of obtaining the crown of martyrdom; but there werelikewise too many who purchased an ignominious life, bydiscovering and betraying the holy Scripture into the handsof infidels. A great number even of bishops and presbytersacquired, by this criminal compliance, the opprobrious epi-thet of Traditors; and their offence was productive of muchpresent scandal and of much future discord in the Africanchurch.174

The copies as well as the versions of Scripture, were al-ready so multiplied in the empire, that the most severe in-quisition could no longer be attended with any fatal conse-quences; and even the sacrifice of those volumes, which, inevery congregation, were preserved for public use, requiredthe consent of some treacherous and unworthy Christians.But the ruin of the churches was easily effected by theauthority of the government, and by the labor of the Pa-gans. In some provinces, however, the magistrates con-tented themselves with shutting up the places of religiousworship. In others, they more literally complied with the

173See the Acta Sincera of Ruinart, p 353; those of Felix of Thibara, orTibiur, appear much less corrupted than in the other editions, whichafford a lively specimen of legendary license

174See the first book of Optatus of Milevis against the Donatiste,Paris, 1700, edit Dupin He lived under the reign of Valens

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terms of the edict; and after taking away the doors, thebenches, and the pulpit, which they burnt as it were in a fu-neral pile, they completely demolished the remainder of theedifice.175 It is perhaps to this melancholy occasion that weshould apply a very remarkable story, which is related withso many circumstances of variety and improbability, that itserves rather to excite than to satisfy our curiosity. In a smalltown in Phrygia, of whose names as well as situation we areleft ignorant, it should seem that the magistrates and thebody of the people had embraced the Christian faith; andas some resistance might be apprehended to the executionof the edict, the governor of the province was supported bya numerous detachment of legionaries. On their approachthe citizens threw themselves into the church, with the res-olution either of defending by arms that sacred edifice, orof perishing in its ruins. They indignantly rejected the no-tice and permission which was given them to retire, till thesoldiers, provoked by their obstinate refusal, set fire to thebuilding on all sides, and consumed, by this extraordinarykind of martyrdom, a great number of Phrygians, with theirwives and children.176

Some slight disturbances, though they were suppressedalmost as soon as excited, in Syria and the frontiers of Ar-

175The ancient monuments, published at the end of Optatus, p 261,&c describe, in a very circumstantial manner, the proceedings of thegovernors in the destruction of churches They made a minute inven-tory of the plate, &c, which they found in them That of the churchof Cirta, in Numidia, is still extant It consisted of two chalices of gold,and six of silver; six urns, one kettle, seven lamps, all likewise of silver;besides a large quantity of brass utensils, and wearing apparel

176Lactantius (Institut Divin v 11) confines the calamity to the con-venticulum, with its congregation Eusebius (viii 11) extends it to awhole city, and introduces something very like a regular siege His an-cient Latin translator, Rufinus, adds the important circumstance of thepermission given to the inhabitants of retiring from thence As Phrygiareached to the confines of Isauria, it is possible that the restless temperof those independent barbarians may have contributed to this misfor-tune Note: Universum populum Lact Inst Div v 11–G

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menia, afforded the enemies of the church a very plausibleoccasion to insinuate, that those troubles had been secretlyfomented by the intrigues of the bishops, who had alreadyforgotten their ostentatious professions of passive and un-limited obedience.177

The resentment, or the fears, of Diocletian, at length trans-ported him beyond the bounds of moderation, which hehad hitherto preserved, and he declared, in a series of crueledicts,178 his intention of abolishing the Christian name. Bythe first of these edicts, the governors of the provinces weredirected to apprehend all persons of the ecclesiastical or-der; and the prisons, destined for the vilest criminals, weresoon filled with a multitude of bishops, presbyters, dea-cons, readers, and exorcists. By a second edict, the magis-trates were commanded to employ every method of sever-ity, which might reclaim them from their odious supersti-tion, and oblige them to return to the established worshipof the gods. This rigorous order was extended, by a sub-sequent edict, to the whole body of Christians, who were

177Eusebius, l viii c 6 M de Valois (with some probability) thinks thathe has discovered the Syrian rebellion in an oration of Libanius; andthat it was a rash attempt of the tribune Eugenius, who with only fivehundred men seized Antioch, and might perhaps allure the Christiansby the promise of religious toleration From Eusebius, (l ix c 8,) as wellas from Moses of Chorene, (Hist Armen l ii 77, &c,) it may be inferred,that Christianity was already introduced into Armenia

178He had already passed them in his first edict It does not appearthat resentment or fear had any share in the new persecutions: per-haps they originated in superstition, and a specious apparent respectfor its ministers The oracle of Apollo, consulted by Diocletian, gave noanswer; and said that just men hindered it from speaking Constantine,who assisted at the ceremony, affirms, with an oath, that when ques-tioned about these men, the high priest named the Christians “TheEmperor eagerly seized on this answer; and drew against the innocenta sword, destined only to punish the guilty: he instantly issued edicts,written, if I may use the expression, with a poniard; and ordered thejudges to employ all their skill to invent new modes of punishmentEuseb Vit Constant l ii c 54”–G

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exposed to a violent and general persecution.179

Instead of those salutary restraints, which had requiredthe direct and solemn testimony of an accuser, it becamethe duty as well as the interest of the Imperial officersto discover, to pursue, and to torment the most obnox-ious among the faithful. Heavy penalties were denouncedagainst all who should presume to save a prescribed sectaryfrom the just indignation of the gods, and of the emperors.Yet, notwithstanding the severity of this law, the virtuouscourage of many of the Pagans, in concealing their friendsor relations, affords an honorable proof, that the rage ofsuperstition had not extinguished in their minds the sen-timents of nature and humanity.180

179See Mosheim, p 938: the text of Eusebius very plainly shows thatthe governors, whose powers were enlarged, not restrained, by thenew laws, could punish with death the most obstinate Christians asan example to their brethren

180Athanasius, p 833, ap Tillemont, Mem Ecclesiast tom v part i 90

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DIOCLETIAN had no sooner published his edicts againstthe Christians, than, as if he had been desirous of com-

mitting to other hands the work of persecution, he divestedhimself of the Imperial purple. The character and situationof his colleagues and successors sometimes urged them toenforce and sometimes inclined them to suspend, the exe-cution of these rigorous laws; nor can we acquire a just anddistinct idea of this important period of ecclesiastical his-tory, unless we separately consider the state of Christianity,in the different parts of the empire, during the space of tenyears, which elapsed between the first edicts of Diocletianand the final peace of the church.

The mild and humane temper of Constantius was averseto the oppression of any part of his subjects. The princi-pal offices of his palace were exercised by Christians. Heloved their persons, esteemed their fidelity, and entertainednot any dislike to their religious principles. But as long asConstantius remained in the subordinate station of Caesar,it was not in his power openly to reject the edicts of Diocle-tian, or to disobey the commands of Maximian. His author-ity contributed, however, to alleviate the sufferings whichhe pitied and abhorred. He consented with reluctance tothe ruin of the churches; but he ventured to protect theChristians themselves from the fury of the populace, andfrom the rigor of the laws. The provinces of Gaul (underwhich we may probably include those of Britain) were in-debted for the singular tranquillity which they enjoyed, tothe gentle interposition of their sovereign.181 But Datianus,the president or governor of Spain, actuated either by zealor policy, chose rather to execute the public edicts of the

181Eusebius, l viii c 13 Lactantius de M P c 15 Dodwell (DissertatCyprian xi 75) represents them as inconsistent with each other But theformer evidently speaks of Constantius in the station of Caesar, andthe latter of the same prince in the rank of Augustus

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emperors, than to understand the secret intentions of Con-stantius; and it can scarcely be doubted, that his provincialadministration was stained with the blood of a few mar-tyrs.182

The elevation of Constantius to the supreme and inde-pendent dignity of Augustus, gave a free scope to the exer-cise of his virtues, and the shortness of his reign did not pre-vent him from establishing a system of toleration, of whichhe left the precept and the example to his son Constantine.His fortunate son, from the first moment of his accession,declaring himself the protector of the church, at length de-served the appellation of the first emperor who publiclyprofessed and established the Christian religion. The mo-tives of his conversion, as they may variously be deducedfrom benevolence, from policy, from conviction, or from re-morse, and the progress of the revolution, which, under hispowerful influence and that of his sons, rendered Christian-ity the reigning religion of the Roman empire, will form avery interesting and important chapter in the present vol-ume of this history. At present it may be sufficient to ob-serve, that every victory of Constantine was productive ofsome relief or benefit to the church.

The provinces of Italy and Africa experienced a shortbut violent persecution. The rigorous edicts of Diocletianwere strictly and cheerfully executed by his associate Max-imian, who had long hated the Christians, and who de-lighted in acts of blood and violence. In the autumn of thefirst year of the persecution, the two emperors met at Rome

182Datianus is mentioned, in Gruter’s Inscriptions, as having de-termined the limits between the territories of Pax Julia, and those ofEbora, both cities in the southern part of Lusitania If we recollect theneighborhood of those places to Cape St Vincent, we may suspect thatthe celebrated deacon and martyr of that name had been inaccuratelyassigned by Prudentius, &c, to Saragossa, or Valentia See the pompoushistory of his sufferings, in the Memoires de Tillemont, tom v part iip 58-85 Some critics are of opinion, that the department of Constan-tius, as Caesar, did not include Spain, which still continued under theimmediate jurisdiction of Maximian

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to celebrate their triumph; several oppressive laws appearto have issued from their secret consultations, and the dili-gence of the magistrates was animated by the presence oftheir sovereigns. After Diocletian had divested himself ofthe purple, Italy and Africa were administered under thename of Severus, and were exposed, without defence, to theimplacable resentment of his master Galerius. Among themartyrs of Rome, Adauctus deserves the notice of posterity.He was of a noble family in Italy, and had raised himself,through the successive honors of the palace, to the impor-tant office of treasurer of the private Jemesnes. Adauctus isthe more remarkable for being the only person of rank anddistinction who appears to have suffered death, during thewhole course of this general persecution.183

The revolt of Maxentius immediately restored peace tothe churches of Italy and Africa; and the same tyrant whooppressed every other class of his subjects, showed him-self just, humane, and even partial, towards the afflictedChristians. He depended on their gratitude and affection,and very naturally presumed, that the injuries which theyhad suffered, and the dangers which they still apprehendedfrom his most inveterate enemy, would secure the fidelityof a party already considerable by their numbers and opu-lence.184 Even the conduct of Maxentius towards the bish-

183Eusebius, l viii c 11 Gruter, Inscrip p 1171, No 18 Rufinus hasmistaken the office of Adauctus, as well as the place of his martyrdom(M Guizot suggests the powerful cunuchs of the palace Dorotheus,Gorgonius, and Andrew, admitted by Gibbon himself to have beenput to death, p 66

184Eusebius, l viii c 14 But as Maxentius was vanquished by Con-stantine, it suited the purpose of Lactantius to place his death amongthose of the persecutors (M Guizot directly contradicts this statementof Gibbon, and appeals to Eusebius Maxentius, who assumed thepower in Italy, pretended at first to be a Christian, to gain the favor ofthe Roman people; he ordered his ministers to cease to persecute theChristians, affecting a hypocritical piety, in order to appear more mildthan his predecessors; but his actions soon proved that he was verydifferent from what they had at first hoped The actions of Maxentius

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ops of Rome and Carthage may be considered as the proofof his toleration, since it is probable that the most ortho-dox princes would adopt the same measures with regardto their established clergy. Marcellus, the former of theseprelates, had thrown the capital into confusion, by the se-vere penance which he imposed on a great number of Chris-tians, who, during the late persecution, had renounced ordissembled their religion. The rage of faction broke outin frequent and violent seditions; the blood of the faithfulwas shed by each other’s hands, and the exile of Marcellus,whose prudence seems to have been less eminent than hiszeal, was found to be the only measure capable of restoringpeace to the distracted church of Rome.185 The behavior ofMensurius, bishop of Carthage, appears to have been stillmore reprehensible. A deacon of that city had published alibel against the emperor. The offender took refuge in theepiscopal palace; and though it was somewhat early to ad-vance any claims of ecclesiastical immunities, the bishop re-fused to deliver him up to the officers of justice. For thistreasonable resistance, Mensurius was summoned to court,and instead of receiving a legal sentence of death or ban-ishment, he was permitted, after a short examination, to re-

were those of a cruel tyrant, but not those of a persecutor: the Chris-tians, like the rest of his subjects, suffered from his vices, but they werenot oppressed as a sect Christian females were exposed to his lusts, aswell as to the brutal violence of his colleague Maximian, but they werenot selected as Christians–M

185The epitaph of Marcellus is to be found in Gruter, Inscrip p 1172,No 3, and it contains all that we know of his history Marcellinusand Marcellus, whose names follow in the list of popes, are sup-posed by many critics to be different persons; but the learned Abbede Longuerue was convinced that they were one and the same Veridi-cus rector lapsis quia crimina flere Praedixit miseris, fuit omnibushostis amarus Hinc furor, hinc odium; sequitur discordia, lites, Sedi-tio, caedes; solvuntur foedera pacis Crimen ob alterius, Christum quiin pace negavit Finibus expulsus patriae est feritate Tyranni Haec bre-viter Damasus voluit comperta referre: Marcelli populus meritumcognoscere posset—-We may observe that Damasus was made Bishopof Rome, A D 366

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turn to his diocese.186 Such was the happy condition of theChristian subjects of Maxentius, that whenever they weredesirous of procuring for their own use any bodies of mar-tyrs, they were obliged to purchase them from the most dis-tant provinces of the East. A story is related of Aglae, a Ro-man lady, descended from a consular family, and possessedof so ample an estate, that it required the management ofseventy-three stewards. Among these Boniface was the fa-vorite of his mistress; and as Aglae mixed love with devo-tion, it is reported that he was admitted to share her bed.Her fortune enabled her to gratify the pious desire of ob-taining some sacred relics from the East. She intrusted Boni-face with a considerable sum of gold, and a large quantityof aromatics; and her lover, attended by twelve horsemenand three covered chariots, undertook a remote pilgrimage,as far as Tarsus in Cilicia.187

The sanguinary temper of Galerius, the first and principalauthor of the persecution, was formidable to those Chris-tians whom their misfortunes had placed within the lim-its of his dominions; and it may fairly be presumed thatmany persons of a middle rank, who were not confined bythe chains either of wealth or of poverty, very frequentlydeserted their native country, and sought a refuge in themilder climate of the West.188 As long as he commanded

186Optatus contr Donatist l i c 17, 18 (The words of Optatus are, Pro-fectus (Roman) causam dixit; jussus con reverti Carthaginem; perhaps,in pleading his cause, he exculpated himself, since he received an or-der to return to Carthage–G

187The Acts of the Passion of St Boniface, which abound in miraclesand declamation, are published by Ruinart, (p 283–291,) both in Greekand Latin, from the authority of very ancient manuscripts Note: Weare ignorant whether Aglae and Boniface were Christians at the timeof their unlawful connection See Tillemont Mem, Eccles Note on thePersecution of Domitian, tom v note 82 M de Tillemont proves alsothat the history is doubtful–G —-Sir D Dalrymple (Lord Hailes) callsthe story of Aglae and Boniface as of equal authority with our popularhistories of Whittington and Hickathrift Christian Antiquities, ii 64–M

188A little after this, Christianity was propagated to the north of the

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only the armies and provinces of Illyricum, he could withdifficulty either find or make a considerable number of mar-tyrs, in a warlike country, which had entertained the mis-sionaries of the gospel with more coldness and reluctancethan any other part of the empire.189 But when Galeriushad obtained the supreme power, and the government ofthe East, he indulged in their fullest extent his zeal and cru-elty, not only in the provinces of Thrace and Asia, whichacknowledged his immediate jurisdiction, but in those ofSyria, Palestine, and Egypt, where Maximin gratified hisown inclination, by yielding a rigorous obedience to thestern commands of his benefactor.190 The frequent disap-

Roman provinces, among the tribes of Germany: a multitude of Chris-tians, forced by the persecutions of the Emperors to take refuge amongthe Barbarians, were received with kindness Euseb de Vit Constant ii53 Semler Select cap H E p 115 The Goths owed their first knowledgeof Christianity to a young girl, a prisoner of war; she continued in themidst of them her exercises of piety; she fasted, prayed, and praisedGod day and night When she was asked what good would come of somuch painful trouble she answered, “It is thus that Christ, the Son ofGod, is to be honored” Sozomen, ii c 6–G

189During the four first centuries, there exist few traces of eitherbishops or bishoprics in the western Illyricum It has been thoughtprobable that the primate of Milan extended his jurisdiction over Sir-mium, the capital of that great province See the Geographia Sacra ofCharles de St Paul, p 68-76, with the observations of Lucas Holstenius

190The viiith book of Eusebius, as well as the supplement concern-ing the martyrs of Palestine, principally relate to the persecution ofGalerius and Maximin The general lamentations with which Lactan-tius opens the vth book of his Divine Institutions allude to their cru-elty] “Among the important cares which have occupied our mind forthe utility and preservation of the empire, it was our intention to cor-rect and reestablish all things according to the ancient laws and publicdiscipline of the Romans We were particularly desirous of reclaiminginto the way of reason and nature, the deluded Christians who hadrenounced the religion and ceremonies instituted by their fathers; andpresumptuously despising the practice of antiquity, had invented ex-travagant laws and opinions, according to the dictates of their fancy,and had collected a various society from the different provinces of ourempire The edicts, which we have published to enforce the worship of

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pointments of his ambitious views, the experience of sixyears of persecution, and the salutary reflections which alingering and painful distemper suggested to the mind ofGalerius, at length convinced him that the most violent ef-forts of despotism are insufficient to extirpate a whole peo-ple, or to subdue their religious prejudices. Desirous of re-pairing the mischief that he had occasioned, he published inhis own name, and in those of Licinius and Constantine, ageneral edict, which, after a pompous recital of the Imperialtitles, proceeded in the following manner:–

When Galerius subscribed this edict of toleration, he waswell assured that Licinius would readily comply with theinclinations of his friend and benefactor, and that any mea-sures in favor of the Christians would obtain the approba-tion of Constantine. But the emperor would not venture toinsert in the preamble the name of Maximin, whose con-sent was of the greatest importance, and who succeededa few days afterwards to the provinces of Asia. In thefirst six months, however, of his new reign, Maximin af-fected to adopt the prudent counsels of his predecessor;and though he never condescended to secure the tranquil-lity of the church by a public edict, Sabinus, his Praetorianpraefect, addressed a circular letter to all the governors and

the gods, having exposed many of the Christians to danger and dis-tress, many having suffered death, and many more, who still persistin their impious folly, being left destitute of any public exercise of re-ligion, we are disposed to extend to those unhappy men the effects ofour wonted clemency We permit them therefore freely to profess theirprivate opinions, and to assemble in their conventicles without fear ormolestation, provided always that they preserve a due respect to theestablished laws and government By another rescript we shall signifyour intentions to the judges and magistrates; and we hope that ourindulgence will engage the Christians to offer up their prayers to theDeity whom they adore, for our safety and prosperity for their own,and for that of the republic” (KEY:[174) It is not usually in the languageof edicts and manifestos that we should search for the real character orthe secret motives of princes; but as these were the words of a dyingemperor, his situation, perhaps, may be admitted as a pledge of hissincerity

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magistrates of the provinces, expatiating on the Imperialclemency, acknowledging the invincible obstinacy of theChristians, and directing the officers of justice to cease theirineffectual prosecutions, and to connive at the secret assem-blies of those enthusiasts. In consequence of these orders,great numbers of Christians were released from prison, ordelivered from the mines. The confessors, singing hymns oftriumph, returned into their own countries; and those whohad yielded to the violence of the tempest, solicited withtears of repentance their readmission into the bosom of thechurch.191

But this treacherous calm was of short duration; norcould the Christians of the East place any confidence inthe character of their sovereign. Cruelty and superstitionwere the ruling passions of the soul of Maximin. The for-mer suggested the means, the latter pointed out the objectsof persecution. The emperor was devoted to the worshipof the gods, to the study of magic, and to the belief of or-acles. The prophets or philosophers, whom he revered asthe favorites of Heaven, were frequently raised to the gov-ernment of provinces, and admitted into his most secretcouncils. They easily convinced him that the Christians hadbeen indebted for their victories to their regular discipline,and that the weakness of polytheism had principally flowedfrom a want of union and subordination among the min-isters of religion. A system of government was thereforeinstituted, which was evidently copied from the policy ofthe church. In all the great cities of the empire, the templeswere repaired and beautified by the order of Maximin, andthe officiating priests of the various deities were subjectedto the authority of a superior pontiff destined to oppose thebishop, and to promote the cause of paganism. These pon-tiffs acknowledged, in their turn, the supreme jurisdictionof the metropolitans or high priests of the province, whoacted as the immediate vicegerents of the emperor himself.A white robe was the ensign of their dignity; and these

191Eusebius, l ix c 1 He inserts the epistle of the praefect

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new prelates were carefully selected from the most nobleand opulent families. By the influence of the magistrates,and of the sacerdotal order, a great number of dutiful ad-dresses were obtained, particularly from the cities of Nico-media, Antioch, and Tyre, which artfully represented thewell-known intentions of the court as the general sense ofthe people; solicited the emperor to consult the laws of jus-tice rather than the dictates of his clemency; expressed theirabhorrence of the Christians, and humbly prayed that thoseimpious sectaries might at least be excluded from the lim-its of their respective territories. The answer of Maximin tothe address which he obtained from the citizens of Tyre isstill extant. He praises their zeal and devotion in terms ofthe highest satisfaction, descants on the obstinate impietyof the Christians, and betrays, by the readiness with whichhe consents to their banishment, that he considered himselfas receiving, rather than as conferring, an obligation. Thepriests as well as the magistrates were empowered to en-force the execution of his edicts, which were engraved ontables of brass; and though it was recommended to them toavoid the effusion of blood, the most cruel and ignominiouspunishments were inflicted on the refractory Christians.192

192See Eusebius, l viii c 14, l ix c 2–8 Lactantius de M P c 36 Thesewriters agree in representing the arts of Maximin; but the formerrelates the execution of several martyrs, while the latter expresslyaffirms, occidi servos Dei vetuit (It is easy to reconcile them; it issufficient to quote the entire text of Lactantius: Nam cum clemen-tiam specie tenus profiteretur, occidi servos Dei vetuit, debilitari jussitItaque confessoribus effodiebantur oculi, amputabantur manus, naresvel auriculae desecabantur Haec ille moliens Constantini litteris deter-retur Dissimulavit ergo, et tamen, si quis inciderit mari occulte merge-batur This detail of torments inflicted on the Christians easily recon-ciles Lactantius and Eusebius Those who died in consequence of theirtortures, those who were plunged into the sea, might well pass formartyrs The mutilation of the words of Lactantius has alone given riseto the apparent contradiction–G —-Eusebius ch vi, relates the publicmartyrdom of the aged bishop of Emesa, with two others, who werethrown to the wild beasts, the beheading of Peter, bishop of Alexan-dria, with several others, and the death of Lucian, presbyter of Anti-

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The Asiatic Christians had every thing to dread from theseverity of a bigoted monarch who prepared his measuresof violence with such deliberate policy. But a few monthshad scarcely elapsed before the edicts published by the twoWestern emperors obliged Maximin to suspend the pros-ecution of his designs: the civil war which he so rashlyundertook against Licinius employed all his attention; andthe defeat and death of Maximin soon delivered the churchfrom the last and most implacable of her enemies.193

In this general view of the persecution, which was firstauthorized by the edicts of Diocletian, I have purposely re-frained from describing the particular sufferings and deathsof the Christian martyrs. It would have been an easy task,from the history of Eusebius, from the declamations of Lac-tantius, and from the most ancient acts, to collect a long se-ries of horrid and disgustful pictures, and to fill many pageswith racks and scourges, with iron hooks and red-hot beds,and with all the variety of tortures which fire and steel,savage beasts, and more savage executioners, could inflictupon the human body. These melancholy scenes might beenlivened by a crowd of visions and miracles destined ei-ther to delay the death, to celebrate the triumph, or to dis-cover the relics of those canonized saints who suffered forthe name of Christ. But I cannot determine what I ought totranscribe, till I am satisfied how much I ought to believe.The gravest of the ecclesiastical historians, Eusebius him-self, indirectly confesses, that he has related whatever might

och, who was carried to Numidia, and put to death in prison The con-tradiction is direct and undeniable, for although Eusebius may havemisplaced the former martyrdoms, it may be doubted whether the au-thority of Maximin extended to Nicomedia till after the death of Ga-lerius The last edict of toleration issued by Maximin and published byEusebius himself, Eccl Hist ix 9 confirms the statement of Lactantius–M

193A few days before his death, he published a very ample edict oftoleration, in which he imputes all the severities which the Christianssuffered to the judges and governors, who had misunderstood his in-tentionsSee the edict of Eusebius, l ix c 10

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redound to the glory, and that he has suppressed all thatcould tend to the disgrace, of religion.194 Such an acknowl-edgment will naturally excite a suspicion that a writer whohas so openly violated one of the fundamental laws of his-tory, has not paid a very strict regard to the observance ofthe other; and the suspicion will derive additional creditfrom the character of Eusebius,195 which was less tinctured

194Such is the fair deduction from two remarkable passages in Eu-sebius, l viii c 2, and de Martyr Palestin c 12 The prudence of the his-torian has exposed his own character to censure and suspicion It waswell known that he himself had been thrown into prison; and it wassuggested that he had purchased his deliverance by some dishonor-able compliance The reproach was urged in his lifetime, and even inhis presence, at the council of Tyre See Tillemont, Memoires Ecclesias-tiques, tom viii part i p 67

195Historical criticism does not consist in rejecting indiscriminatelyall the facts which do not agree with a particular system, as Gibbondoes in this chapter, in which, except at the last extremity, he will notconsent to believe a martyrdom Authorities are to be weighed, notexcluded from examination Now, the Pagan historians justify in manyplaces the detail which have been transmitted to us by the historians ofthe church, concerning the tortures endured by the Christians Celsusreproaches the Christians with holding their assemblies in secret, onaccount of the fear inspired by their sufferings, “for when you are ar-rested,” he says, “you are dragged to punishment: and, before you areput to death, you have to suffer all kinds of tortures” Origen cont Cels li ii vi viii passing Libanius, the panegyrist of Julian, says, while speak-ing of the Christians “Those who followed a corrupt religion were incontinual apprehensions; they feared lest Julian should invent torturesstill more refined than those to which they had been exposed before,as mutilation, burning alive, &c; for the emperors had inflicted uponthem all these barbarities” Lib Parent in Julian ap Fab Bib Graec No9, No 58, p 283–G —-This sentence of Gibbon has given rise to sev-eral learned dissertation: Moller, de Fide Eusebii Caesar, &c, Havniae,1813 Danzius, de Eusebio Caes Hist Eccl Scriptore, ejusque tide histor-ica recte aestimanda, &c, Jenae, 1815 Kestner Commentatio de EusebiiHist Eccles conditoris auctoritate et fide, &c See also Reuterdahl, deFontibus Historiae Eccles Eusebianae, Lond Goth, 1826 Gibbon’s infer-ence may appear stronger than the text will warrant, yet it is difficult,after reading the passages, to dismiss all suspicion of partiality fromthe mind–M

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with credulity, and more practised in the arts of courts, thanthat of almost any of his contemporaries. On some partic-ular occasions, when the magistrates were exasperated bysome personal motives of interest or resentment, the rulesof prudence, and perhaps of decency, to overturn the altars,to pour out imprecations against the emperors, or to strikethe judge as he sat on his tribunal, it may be presumed,that every mode of torture which cruelty could invent, orconstancy could endure, was exhausted on those devotedvictims.196 Two circumstances, however, have been unwar-

196The ancient, and perhaps authentic, account of the sufferingsof Tarachus and his companions, (Acta Sincera Ruinart, p 419–448,)is filled with strong expressions of resentment and contempt, whichcould not fail of irritating the magistrate The behavior of Aedesius toHierocles, praefect of Egypt, was still more extraordinary Euseb deMartyr Palestin c 5 (M Guizot states, that the acts of Tarachus and hiscompanion contain nothing that appears dictated by violent feelings,(sentiment outre) Nothing can be more painful than the constant at-tempt of Gibbon throughout this discussion, to find some flaw in thevirtue and heroism of the martyrs, some extenuation for the cruelty ofthe persecutors But truth must not be sacrificed even to well-groundedmoral indignation Though the language of these martyrs is in greatpart that of calm de fiance, of noble firmness, yet there are many ex-pressions which betray “resentment and contempt” “Children of Sa-tan, worshippers of Devils,” is their common appellation of the hea-then One of them calls the judge another, one curses, and declares thathe will curse the Emperors, as pestilential and bloodthirsty tyrants,whom God will soon visit in his wrath On the other hand, though atfirst they speak the milder language of persuasion, the cold barbarityof the judges and officers might surely have called forth one sentenceof abhorrence from Gibbon On the first unsatisfactory answer, “Breakhis jaw,” is the order of the judge They direct and witness the most ex-cruciating tortures; the people, as M Guizot observers, were so muchrevolted by the cruelty of Maximus that when the martyrs appearedin the amphitheatre, fear seized on all hearts, and general murmursagainst the unjust judge rank through the assembly It is singular, atleast, that Gibbon should have quoted “as probably authentic,” actsso much embellished with miracle as these of Tarachus are, particu-larly towards the end–M (Scarcely were the authorities informed ofthis, than the president of the province, a man, says Eusebius, harshand cruel, banished the confessors, some to Cyprus, others to differ-

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ily mentioned, which insinuate that the general treatmentof the Christians, who had been apprehended by the offi-cers of justice, was less intolerable than it is usually imag-ined to have been. 1. The confessors who were condemnedto work in the mines were permitted by the humanity orthe negligence of their keepers to build chapels, and freelyto profess their religion in the midst of those dreary habi-tations.197 2. The bishops were obliged to check and tocensure the forward zeal of the Christians, who voluntarilythrew themselves into the hands of the magistrates. Someof these were persons oppressed by poverty and debts, whoblindly sought to terminate a miserable existence by a glo-rious death. Others were allured by the hope that a shortconfinement would expiate the sins of a whole life; andothers again were actuated by the less honorable motiveof deriving a plentiful subsistence, and perhaps a consid-erable profit, from the alms which the charity of the faith-ful bestowed on the prisoners.198 After the church had tri-umphed over all her enemies, the interest as well as van-ity of the captives prompted them to magnify the merit oftheir respective sufferings. A convenient distance of time orplace gave an ample scope to the progress of fiction; and thefrequent instances which might be alleged of holy martyrs,whose wounds had been instantly healed, whose strengthhad been renewed, and whose lost members had mirac-ulously been restored, were extremely convenient for thepurpose of removing every difficulty, and of silencing every

ent parts of Palestine, and ordered them to be tormented by being setto the most painful labors Four of them, whom he required to abjuretheir faith and refused, were burnt alive Euseb de Mart Palest c xiii–GTwo of these were bishops; a fifth, Silvanus, bishop of Gaza, was thelast martyr; another, named John was blinded, but used to officiate,and recite from memory long passages of the sacred writings–M

197Euseb de Martyr Palestin c 13198Augustin Collat Carthagin Dei, iii c 13, ap Tillanant, Memoires

Ecclesiastiques, tom v part i p 46 The controversy with the Donatists,has reflected some, though perhaps a partial, light on the history of theAfrican church

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objection. The most extravagant legends, as they conducedto the honor of the church, were applauded by the credu-lous multitude, countenanced by the power of the clergy,and attested by the suspicious evidence of ecclesiastical his-tory.

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Part VIII

THE vague descriptions of exile and imprisonment, ofpain and torture, are so easily exaggerated or softened

by the pencil of an artful orator,199 that we are naturallyinduced to inquire into a fact of a more distinct and stub-born kind; the number of persons who suffered death inconsequence of the edicts published by Diocletian, his as-sociates, and his successors. The recent legendaries recordwhole armies and cities, which were at once swept away bythe undistinguishing rage of persecution. The more ancientwriters content themselves with pouring out a liberal effu-sion of loose and tragical invectives, without condescend-ing to ascertain the precise number of those persons whowere permitted to seal with their blood their belief of thegospel. From the history of Eusebius, it may, however, becollected, that only nine bishops were punished with death;and we are assured, by his particular enumeration of themartyrs of Palestine, that no more than ninety-two Chris-

199Perhaps there never was an instance of an author committing sodeliberately the fault which he reprobates so strongly in others What isthe dexterous management of the more inartificial historians of Chris-tianity, in exaggerating the numbers of the martyrs, compared to theunfair address with which Gibbon here quietly dismisses from theaccount all the horrible and excruciating tortures which fell short ofdeath? The reader may refer to the xiith chapter (book viii) of Euse-bius for the description and for the scenes of these tortures–M

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tians were entitled to that honorable appellation.200201 As

200Eusebius de Martyr Palestin c 13 He closes his narration by as-suring us that these were the martyrdoms inflicted in Palestine, dur-ing the whole course of the persecution The 9th chapter of his viiithbook, which relates to the province of Thebais in Egypt, may seem tocontradict our moderate computation; but it will only lead us to ad-mire the artful management of the historian Choosing for the scene ofthe most exquisite cruelty the most remote and sequestered country ofthe Roman empire, he relates that in Thebais from ten to one hundredpersons had frequently suffered martyrdom in the same day But whenhe proceeds to mention his own journey into Egypt, his language in-sensibly becomes more cautious and moderate Instead of a large, butdefinite number, he speaks of many Christians, and most artfully se-lects two ambiguous words, which may signify either what he hadseen, or what he had heard; either the expectation, or the execution ofthe punishment Having thus provided a secure evasion, he commitsthe equivocal passage to his readers and translators; justly conceivingthat their piety would induce them to prefer the most favorable senseThere was perhaps some malice in the remark of Theodorus Metochita,that all who, like Eusebius, had been conversant with the Egyptians,delighted in an obscure and intricate style (See Valesius ad loc)

201This calculation is made from the martyrs, of whom Eusebiusspeaks by name; but he recognizes a much greater number Thus theninth and tenth chapters of his work are entitled, “Of Antoninus, Ze-binus, Germanus, and other martyrs; of Peter the monk of Asclepiusthe Maroionite, and other martyrs” [Are these vague contents of chap-ters very good authority?–M] Speaking of those who suffered underDiocletian, he says, “I will only relate the death of one of these, fromwhich, the reader may divine what befell the rest” Hist Eccl viii 6 [Thisrelates only to the martyrs in the royal household–M] Dodwell hadmade, before Gibbon, this calculation and these objections; but Ru-inart (Act Mart Pref p 27, et seq) has answered him in a peremptorymanner: Nobis constat Eusebium in historia infinitos passim martyresadmisisse quamvis revera paucorum nomina recensuerit Nec aliumEusebii interpretem quam ipsummet Eusebium proferimus, qui (l iii c33) ait sub Trajano plurimosa ex fidelibus martyrii certamen subiisse (lv init) sub Antonino et Vero innumerabiles prope martyres per univer-sum orbem enituisse affirmat (L vi c 1) Severum persecutionem conci-tasse refert, in qua per omnes ubique locorum Ecclesias, ab athletis propietate certantibus, illustria confecta fuerunt martyria Sic de Decii, sicde Valeriani, persecutionibus loquitur, quae an Dodwelli faveant con-jectionibus judicet aequus lector Even in the persecutions which Gib-bon has represented as much more mild than that of Diocletian, the

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we are unacquainted with the degree of episcopal zeal andcourage which prevailed at that time, it is not in our powerto draw any useful inferences from the former of these facts:but the latter may serve to justify a very important andprobable conclusion. According to the distribution of Ro-man provinces, Palestine may be considered as the sixteenthpart of the Eastern empire:202 and since there were somegovernors, who from a real or affected clemency had pre-served their hands unstained with the blood of the faith-ful,203 it is reasonable to believe, that the country whichhad given birth to Christianity, produced at least the six-teenth part of the martyrs who suffered death within the do-minions of Galerius and Maximin; the whole might conse-quently amount to about fifteen hundred, a number which,if it is equally divided between the ten years of the per-secution, will allow an annual consumption of one hun-dred and fifty martyrs. Allotting the same proportion tothe provinces of Italy, Africa, and perhaps Spain, where, atthe end of two or three years, the rigor of the penal lawswas either suspended or abolished, the multitude of Chris-tians in the Roman empire, on whom a capital punishmentwas inflicted by a judicia, sentence, will be reduced to some-what less than two thousand persons. Since it cannot be

number of martyrs appears much greater than that to which he limitsthe martyrs of the latter: and this number is attested by incontestablemonuments I will quote but one example We find among the lettersof St Cyprian one from Lucianus to Celerinus, written from the depthof a prison, in which Lucianus names seventeen of his brethren dead,some in the quarries, some in the midst of tortures some of starvationin prison Jussi sumus (he proceeds) secundum prae ceptum impera-toris, fame et siti necari, et reclusi sumus in duabus cellis, ta ut nosafficerent fame et siti et ignis vapore–G

202When Palestine was divided into three, the praefecture of the Eastcontained forty-eight provinces As the ancient distinctions of nationswere long since abolished, the Romans distributed the provinces ac-cording to a general proportion of their extent and opulence

203Ut gloriari possint nullam se innocentium poremisse, nam et ipseaudivi aloquos gloriantes, quia administratio sua, in hac paris meritincruenta Lactant Institur Divin v 11

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doubted that the Christians were more numerous, and theirenemies more exasperated, in the time of Diocletian, thanthey had ever been in any former persecution, this proba-ble and moderate computation may teach us to estimate thenumber of primitive saints and martyrs who sacrificed theirlives for the important purpose of introducing Christianityinto the world.

We shall conclude this chapter by a melancholy truth,which obtrudes itself on the reluctant mind; that even ad-mitting, without hesitation or inquiry, all that history hasrecorded, or devotion has feigned, on the subject of mar-tyrdoms, it must still be acknowledged, that the Christians,in the course of their intestine dissensions, have inflictedfar greater severities on each other, than they had experi-enced from the zeal of infidels. During the ages of ignorancewhich followed the subversion of the Roman empire in theWest, the bishops of the Imperial city extended their domin-ion over the laity as well as clergy of the Latin church. Thefabric of superstition which they had erected, and whichmight long have defied the feeble efforts of reason, was atlength assaulted by a crowd of daring fanatics, who fromthe twelfth to the sixteenth century assumed the popularcharacter of reformers. The church of Rome defended byviolence the empire which she had acquired by fraud; a sys-tem of peace and benevolence was soon disgraced by pro-scriptions, war, massacres, and the institution of the holyoffice. And as the reformers were animated by the love ofcivil as well as of religious freedom, the Catholic princesconnected their own interest with that of the clergy, and en-forced by fire and the sword the terrors of spiritual censures.In the Netherlands alone, more than one hundred thousandof the subjects of Charles V. are said to have suffered bythe hand of the executioner; and this extraordinary num-ber is attested by Grotius,204 a man of genius and learning,who preserved his moderation amidst the fury of contend-ing sects, and who composed the annals of his own age and

204Grot Annal de Rebus Belgicis, l i p 12, edit fol

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country, at a time when the invention of printing had facili-tated the means of intelligence, and increased the danger ofdetection.

If we are obliged to submit our belief to the authority ofGrotius, it must be allowed, that the number of Protestants,who were executed in a single province and a single reign,far exceeded that of the primitive martyrs in the space ofthree centuries, and of the Roman empire. But if the im-probability of the fact itself should prevail over the weightof evidence; if Grotius should be convicted of exaggerat-ing the merit and sufferings of the Reformers;205 we shallbe naturally led to inquire what confidence can be placed inthe doubtful and imperfect monuments of ancient credulity;what degree of credit can be assigned to a courtly bishop,and a passionate declaimer,206 who, under the protectionof Constantine, enjoyed the exclusive privilege of record-ing the persecutions inflicted on the Christians by the van-quished rivals or disregarded predecessors of their gracioussovereign.

205Fra Paola (Istoria del Concilio Tridentino, l iii) reduces the num-ber of the Belgic martyrs to 50,000 In learning and moderation FraPaola was not inferior to Grotius The priority of time gives some ad-vantage to the evidence of the former, which he loses, on the otherhand, by the distance of Venice from the Netherlands

206Eusebius and the author of the Treatise de Mortibus Persecuto-rum It is deeply to be regretted that the history of this period rest somuch on the loose and, it must be admitted, by no means scrupulousauthority of Eusebius Ecclesiastical history is a solemn and melan-choly lesson that the best, even the most sacred, cause will eventuallythe least departure from truth!–M

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Chapter XVII

FOUNDATION OF CONSTANTINOPLE

Part I

Foundation Of Constantinople.–Political System Constantine,And His Successors.–

Military Discipline.–The Palace.–The Finances.

THE unfortunate Licinius was the last rival who opposedthe greatness, and the last captive who adorned the

triumph, of Constantine. After a tranquil and prosperousreign, the conquerer bequeathed to his family the inheri-tance of the Roman empire; a new capital, a new policy, anda new religion; and the innovations which he establishedhave been embraced and consecrated by succeeding gener-ations. The age of the great Constantine and his sons is filledwith important events; but the historian must be oppressedby their number and variety, unless he diligently separatesfrom each other the scenes which are connected only by theorder of time. He will describe the political institutions thatgave strength and stability to the empire, before he proceedsto relate the wars and revolutions which hastened its de-cline. He will adopt the division unknown to the ancientsof civil and ecclesiastical affairs: the victory of the Chris-tians, and their intestine discord, will supply copious anddistinct materials both for edification and for scandal.

After the defeat and abdication of Licinius, his victoriousrival proceeded to lay the foundations of a city destined toreign in future times, the mistress of the East, and to sur-vive the empire and religion of Constantine. The motives,whether of pride or of policy, which first induced Diocletianto withdraw himself from the ancient seat of government,had acquired additional weight by the example of his suc-cessors, and the habits of forty years. Rome was insensiblyconfounded with the dependent kingdoms which had once

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acknowledged her supremacy; and the country of the Cae-sars was viewed with cold indifference by a martial prince,born in the neighborhood of the Danube, educated in thecourts and armies of Asia, and invested with the purple bythe legions of Britain. The Italians, who had received Con-stantine as their deliverer, submissively obeyed the edictswhich he sometimes condescended to address to the senateand people of Rome; but they were seldom honored withthe presence of their new sovereign. During the vigor ofhis age, Constantine, according to the various exigencies ofpeace and war, moved with slow dignity, or with activediligence, along the frontiers of his extensive dominions;and was always prepared to take the field either against aforeign or a domestic enemy. But as he gradually reachedthe summit of prosperity and the decline of life, he beganto meditate the design of fixing in a more permanent sta-tion the strength as well as majesty of the throne. In thechoice of an advantageous situation, he preferred the con-fines of Europe and Asia; to curb with a powerful arm thebarbarians who dwelt between the Danube and the Tanais;to watch with an eye of jealousy the conduct of the Persianmonarch, who indignantly supported the yoke of an igno-minious treaty. With these views, Diocletian had selectedand embellished the residence of Nicomedia: but the mem-ory of Diocletian was justly abhorred by the protector of thechurch: and Constantine was not insensible to the ambitionof founding a city which might perpetuate the glory of hisown name. During the late operations of the war againstLicinius, he had sufficient opportunity to contemplate, bothas a soldier and as a statesman, the incomparable positionof Byzantium; and to observe how strongly it was guardedby nature against a hostile attack, whilst it was accessible onevery side to the benefits of commercial intercourse. Manyages before Constantine, one of the most judicious histori-ans of antiquity [1 had described the advantages of a situ-ation, from whence a feeble colony of Greeks derived thecommand of the sea, and the honors of a flourishing and

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independent republic.207

If we survey Byzantium in the extent which it acquiredwith the august name of Constantinople, the figure of theImperial city may be represented under that of an unequaltriangle. The obtuse point, which advances towards theeast and the shores of Asia, meets and repels the wavesof the Thracian Bosphorus. The northern side of the cityis bounded by the harbor; and the southern is washed bythe Propontis, or Sea of Marmara. The basis of the trian-gle is opposed to the west, and terminates the continent ofEurope. But the admirable form and division of the circum-jacent land and water cannot, without a more ample expla-nation, be clearly or sufficiently understood. The windingchannel through which the waters of the Euxine flow with arapid and incessant course towards the Mediterranean, re-ceived the appellation of Bosphorus, a name not less cele-brated in the history, than in the fables, of antiquity.208 Acrowd of temples and of votive altars, profusely scatteredalong its steep and woody banks, attested the unskilful-ness, the terrors, and the devotion of the Grecian naviga-tors, who, after the example of the Argonauts, explored thedangers of the inhospitable Euxine. On these banks tradi-tion long preserved the memory of the palace of Phineus,

207The navigator Byzas, who was styled the son of Neptune,founded the city 656 years before the Christian aera His followerswere drawn from Argos and Megara Byzantium was afterwards re-build and fortified by the Spartan general Pausanias See Scaliger An-imadvers ad Euseb p 81 Ducange, Constantinopolis, l i part i cap 15,16 With regard to the wars of the Byzantines against Philip, the Gauls,and the kings of Bithynia, we should trust none but the ancient writerswho lived before the greatness of the Imperial city had excited a spiritof flattery and fiction

208The Bosphorus has been very minutely described by Dionysiusof Byzantium, who lived in the time of Domitian, (Hudson, GeographMinor, tom iii,) and by Gilles or Gyllius, a French traveller of the XVIthcentury Tournefort (Lettre XV) seems to have used his own eyes, andthe learning of Gyllius Add Von Hammer, Constantinopolis und derBosphoros, 8vo–M

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infested by the obscene harpies;209 and of the sylvan reignof Amycus, who defied the son of Leda to the combat ofthe cestus.210 The straits of the Bosphorus are terminatedby the Cyanean rocks, which, according to the descriptionof the poets, had once floated on the face of the waters;and were destined by the gods to protect the entrance ofthe Euxine against the eye of profane curiosity.211 Fromthe Cyanean rocks to the point and harbor of Byzantium,the winding length of the Bosphorus extends about sixteenmiles,212 and its most ordinary breadth may be computedat about one mile and a half. The new castles of Europe andAsia are constructed, on either continent, upon the founda-tions of two celebrated temples, of Serapis and of JupiterUrius. The old castles, a work of the Greek emperors, com-mand the narrowest part of the channel in a place wherethe opposite banks advance within five hundred paces ofeach other. These fortresses were destroyed and strength-ened by Mahomet the Second, when he meditated the siegeof Constantinople:213 but the Turkish conqueror was most

209There are very few conjectures so happy as that of Le Clere, (Bib-liotehque Universelle, tom i p 148,) who supposes that the harpieswere only locusts The Syriac or Phoenician name of those insects, theirnoisy flight, the stench and devastation which they occasion, and thenorth wind which drives them into the sea, all contribute to form thestriking resemblance

210The residence of Amycus was in Asia, between the old and thenew castles, at a place called Laurus Insana That of Phineus was inEurope, near the village of Mauromole and the Black Sea See Gylliusde Bosph l ii c 23 Tournefort, Lettre XV

211The deception was occasioned by several pointed rocks, alter-nately sovered and abandoned by the waves At present there are twosmall islands, one towards either shore; that of Europe is distinguishedby the column of Pompey

212The ancients computed one hundred and twenty stadia, or fifteenRoman miles They measured only from the new castles, but they car-ried the straits as far as the town of Chalcedon

213Ducas Hist c 34 Leunclavius Hist Turcica Mussulmanica, l xv p577 Under the Greek empire these castles were used as state prisons,under the tremendous name of Lethe, or towers of oblivion

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probably ignorant, that near two thousand years before hisreign, Darius had chosen the same situation to connect thetwo continents by a bridge of boats.214 At a small distancefrom the old castles we discover the little town of Chrysopo-lis, or Scutari, which may almost be considered as the Asi-atic suburb of Constantinople. The Bosphorus, as it be-gins to open into the Propontis, passes between Byzantiumand Chalcedon. The latter of those cities was built by theGreeks, a few years before the former; and the blindnessof its founders, who overlooked the superior advantages ofthe opposite coast, has been stigmatized by a proverbial ex-pression of contempt.215

The harbor of Constantinople, which may be consideredas an arm of the Bosphorus, obtained, in a very remoteperiod, the denomination of the Golden Horn. The curvewhich it describes might be compared to the horn of a stag,or as it should seem, with more propriety, to that of an ox.216The epithet of golden was expressive of the riches whichevery wind wafted from the most distant countries into thesecure and capacious port of Constantinople. The River Ly-cus, formed by the conflux of two little streams, pours intothe harbor a perpetual supply of fresh water, which servesto cleanse the bottom, and to invite the periodical shoals offish to seek their retreat in that convenient recess. As the

214Darius engraved in Greek and Assyrian letters, on two marblecolumns, the names of his subject nations, and the amazing numbersof his land and sea forces The Byzantines afterwards transported thesecolumns into the city, and used them for the altars of their tutelardeities Herodotus, l iv c 87

215Namque arctissimo inter Europam Asiamque divortio Byzantiumin extrema Europa posuere Greci, quibus, Pythium Apollinem con-sulentibus ubi conderent urbem, redditum oraculum est, quaererentsedem oecerum terris adversam Ea ambage Chalcedonii monstraban-tur quod priores illuc advecti, praevisa locorum utilitate pejora legis-sent Tacit Annal xii 63

216Strabo, l vii p 492, [edit Casaub] Most of the antlers are now bro-ken off; or, to speak less figuratively, most of the recesses of the harborare filled up See Gill de Bosphoro Thracio, l i c 5

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vicissitudes of tides are scarcely felt in those seas, the con-stant depth of the harbor allows goods to be landed on thequays without the assistance of boats; and it has been ob-served, that in many places the largest vessels may rest theirprows against the houses, while their sterns are floating inthe water.217 From the mouth of the Lycus to that of theharbor, this arm of the Bosphorus is more than seven milesin length. The entrance is about five hundred yards broad,and a strong chain could be occasionally drawn across it, toguard the port and city from the attack of a hostile navy.218

Between the Bosphorus and the Hellespont, the shores ofEurope and Asia, receding on either side, enclose the sea ofMarmara, which was known to the ancients by the denom-ination of Propontis. The navigation from the issue of theBosphorus to the entrance of the Hellespont is about onehundred and twenty miles.

Those who steer their westward course through the mid-dle of the Propontis, may at once descry the high landsof Thrace and Bithynia, and never lose sight of the loftysummit of Mount Olympus, covered with eternal snows.219They leave on the left a deep gulf, at the bottom of whichNicomedia was seated, the Imperial residence of Diocletian;and they pass the small islands of Cyzicus and Proconnesusbefore they cast anchor at Gallipoli; where the sea, which

217Procopius de Aedificiis, l i c 5 His description is confirmed bymodern travellers See Thevenot, part i l i c 15 Tournefort, Lettre XIINiebuhr, Voyage d’Arabie, p 22

218See Ducange, C P l i part i c 16, and his Observations sur Ville-hardouin, p 289 The chain was drawn from the Acropolis near themodern Kiosk, to the tower of Galata; and was supported at conve-nient distances by large wooden piles

219Thevenot (Voyages au Levant, part i l i c 14) contracts the mea-sure to 125 small Greek miles Belon (Observations, l ii c 1) gives a gooddescription of the Propontis, but contents himself with the vague ex-pression of one day and one night’s sail When Sandy’s (Travels, p 21)talks of 150 furlongs in length, as well as breadth we can only supposesome mistake of the press in the text of that judicious traveller

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separates Asia from Europe, is again contracted into a nar-row channel.

The geographers who, with the most skilful accuracy,have surveyed the form and extent of the Hellespont, as-sign about sixty miles for the winding course, and aboutthree miles for the ordinary breadth of those celebratedstraits.220 But the narrowest part of the channel is foundto the northward of the old Turkish castles between thecities of Sestus and Abydus. It was here that the adven-turous Leander braved the passage of the flood for the pos-session of his mistress.221 It was here likewise, in a placewhere the distance between the opposite banks cannot ex-ceed five hundred paces, that Xerxes imposed a stupen-dous bridge of boats, for the purpose of transporting intoEurope a hundred and seventy myriads of barbarians.222A sea contracted within such narrow limits may seem butill to deserve the singular epithet of broad, which Homer,as well as Orpheus, has frequently bestowed on the Helle-

220See an admirable dissertation of M d’Anville upon the Hellespontor Dardanelles, in the Memoires tom xxviii p 318–346 Yet even that in-genious geographer is too fond of supposing new, and perhaps imag-inary measures, for the purpose of rendering ancient writers as accu-rate as himself The stadia employed by Herodotus in the descriptionof the Euxine, the Bosphorus, &c, (l iv c 85,) must undoubtedly be allof the same species; but it seems impossible to reconcile them eitherwith truth or with each other

221The oblique distance between Sestus and Abydus was thirtystadia The improbable tale of Hero and Leander is exposed by MMahudel, but is defended on the authority of poets and medals by Mde la Nauze See the Academie des Inscriptions, tom vii Hist p 74 elemp 240 Note: The practical illustration of the possibility of Leander’sfeat by Lord Byron and other English swimmers is too well known toneed particularly reference–M

222See the seventh book of Herodotus, who has erected an eleganttrophy to his own fame and to that of his country The review appearsto have been made with tolerable accuracy; but the vanity, first of thePersians, and afterwards of the Greeks, was interested to magnify thearmament and the victory I should much doubt whether the invadershave ever outnumbered the men of any country which they attacked

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spont.223 But our ideas of greatness are of a relative na-ture: the traveller, and especially the poet, who sailed alongthe Hellespont, who pursued the windings of the stream,and contemplated the rural scenery, which appeared on ev-ery side to terminate the prospect, insensibly lost the re-membrance of the sea; and his fancy painted those cele-brated straits, with all the attributes of a mighty river flow-ing with a swift current, in the midst of a woody and in-land country, and at length, through a wide mouth, dis-charging itself into the Aegean or Archipelago.224 AncientTroy,225 seated on a an eminence at the foot of Mount Ida,overlooked the mouth of the Hellespont, which scarcely re-ceived an accession of waters from the tribute of those im-mortal rivulets the Simois and Scamander. The Grecian

223Gibbon does not allow greater width between the two nearestpoints of the shores of the Hellespont than between those of theBosphorus; yet all the ancient writers speak of the Hellespontic straitas broader than the other: they agree in giving it seven stadia in its nar-rowest width, (Herod in Melp c 85 Polym c 34 Strabo, p 591 Plin iv c 12)which make 875 paces It is singular that Gibbon, who in the fifteenthnote of this chapter reproaches d’Anville with being fond of supposingnew and perhaps imaginary measures, has here adopted the peculiarmeasurement which d’Anville has assigned to the stadium This greatgeographer believes that the ancients had a stadium of fifty-one toises,and it is that which he applies to the walls of Babylon Now, seven ofthese stadia are equal to about 500 paces, 7 stadia = 2142 feet: 500 paces= 2135 feet 5 inches–G See Rennell, Geog of Herod p 121 Add Ukert,Geographie der Griechen und Romer, v i p 2, 71–M

224See Wood’s Observations on Homer, p 320 I have, with pleasure,selected this remark from an author who in general seems to have dis-appointed the expectation of the public as a critic, and still more asa traveller He had visited the banks of the Hellespont; and had readStrabo; he ought to have consulted the Roman itineraries How wasit possible for him to confound Ilium and Alexandria Troas, (Observa-tions, p 340, 341,) two cities which were sixteen miles distant from eachother? (Compare Walpole’s Memoirs on Turkey, v i p 101 Dr Clarkeadopted Mr Walpole’s interpretation of the salt Hellespont But the oldinterpretation is more graphic and Homeric Clarke’s Travels, ii 70–M

225Demetrius of Scepsis wrote sixty books on thirty lines of Homer’scatalogue The XIIIth Book of Strabo is sufficient for our curiosity

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camp had stretched twelve miles along the shore from theSigaean to the Rhaetean promontory; and the flanks of thearmy were guarded by the bravest chiefs who fought underthe banners of Agamemnon. The first of those promontorieswas occupied by Achilles with his invincible myrmidons,and the dauntless Ajax pitched his tents on the other. Af-ter Ajax had fallen a sacrifice to his disappointed pride, andto the ingratitude of the Greeks, his sepulchre was erectedon the ground where he had defended the navy against therage of Jove and of Hector; and the citizens of the risingtown of Rhaeteum celebrated his memory with divine hon-ors.226 Before Constantine gave a just preference to the sit-uation of Byzantium, he had conceived the design of erect-ing the seat of empire on this celebrated spot, from whencethe Romans derived their fabulous origin. The extensiveplain which lies below ancient Troy, towards the Rhaeteanpromontory and the tomb of Ajax, was first chosen for hisnew capital; and though the undertaking was soon relin-quished the stately remains of unfinished walls and towersattracted the notice of all who sailed through the straits ofthe Hellespont.227

We are at present qualified to view the advantageousposition of Constantinople; which appears to have beenformed by nature for the centre and capital of a great monar-chy. Situated in the forty-first degree of latitude, the Impe-

226Strabo, l xiii p 595, [890, edit Casaub] The disposition of the ships,which were drawn upon dry land, and the posts of Ajax and Achilles,are very clearly described by Homer See Iliad, ix 220

227Zosim l ii [c 30,] p 105 Sozomen, l ii c 3 Theophanes, p 18 Nicepho-rus Callistus, l vii p 48 Zonaras, tom ii l xiii p 6 Zosimus places the newcity between Ilium and Alexandria, but this apparent difference maybe reconciled by the large extent of its circumference Before the foun-dation of Constantinople, Thessalonica is mentioned by Cedrenus, (p283,) and Sardica by Zonaras, as the intended capital They both sup-pose with very little probability, that the emperor, if he had not beenprevented by a prodigy, would have repeated the mistake of the blindChalcedonians

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rial city commanded, from her seven hills,228 the oppositeshores of Europe and Asia; the climate was healthy and tem-perate, the soil fertile, the harbor secure and capacious; andthe approach on the side of the continent was of small ex-tent and easy defence. The Bosphorus and the Hellespontmay be considered as the two gates of Constantinople; andthe prince who possessed those important passages couldalways shut them against a naval enemy, and open themto the fleets of commerce. The preservation of the easternprovinces may, in some degree, be ascribed to the policyof Constantine, as the barbarians of the Euxine, who in thepreceding age had poured their armaments into the heartof the Mediterranean, soon desisted from the exercise ofpiracy, and despaired of forcing this insurmountable bar-rier. When the gates of the Hellespont and Bosphorus wereshut, the capital still enjoyed within their spacious enclo-sure every production which could supply the wants, orgratify the luxury, of its numerous inhabitants. The sea-coasts of Thrace and Bithynia, which languish under theweight of Turkish oppression, still exhibit a rich prospectof vineyards, of gardens, and of plentiful harvests; andthe Propontis has ever been renowned for an inexhaustiblestore of the most exquisite fish, that are taken in their statedseasons, without skill, and almost without labor.229 Butwhen the passages of the straits were thrown open for trade,they alternately admitted the natural and artificial richesof the north and south, of the Euxine, and of the Mediter-ranean. Whatever rude commodities were collected in theforests of Germany and Scythia, and far as the sources of theTanais and the Borysthenes; whatsoever was manufacturedby the skill of Europe or Asia; the corn of Egypt, and the

228Pocock’s Description of the East, vol ii part ii p 127 His plan of theseven hills is clear and accurate That traveller is seldom unsatisfactory

229See Belon, Observations, c 72–76 Among a variety of differentspecies, the Pelamides, a sort of Thunnies, were the most celebratedWe may learn from Polybius, Strabo, and Tacitus, that the profits ofthe fishery constituted the principal revenue of Byzantium

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gems and spices of the farthest India, were brought by thevarying winds into the port of Constantinople, which formany ages attracted the commerce of the ancient world.230

[See Basilica Of Constantinople]

The prospect of beauty, of safety, and of wealth, unitedin a single spot, was sufficient to justify the choice of Con-stantine. But as some decent mixture of prodigy and fa-ble has, in every age, been supposed to reflect a becom-ing majesty on the origin of great cities,231 the emperorwas desirous of ascribing his resolution, not so much tothe uncertain counsels of human policy, as to the infallibleand eternal decrees of divine wisdom. In one of his lawshe has been careful to instruct posterity, that in obedienceto the commands of God, he laid the everlasting founda-tions of Constantinople:232 and though he has not conde-scended to relate in what manner the celestial inspirationwas communicated to his mind, the defect of his modestsilence has been liberally supplied by the ingenuity of suc-ceeding writers; who describe the nocturnal vision whichappeared to the fancy of Constantine, as he slept within thewalls of Byzantium. The tutelar genius of the city, a ven-erable matron sinking under the weight of years and infir-mities, was suddenly transformed into a blooming maid,whom his own hands adorned with all the symbols of Im-perial greatness.233 The monarch awoke, interpreted the

230See the eloquent description of Busbequius, epistol i p 64 Est inEuropa; habet in conspectu Asiam, Egyptum Africamque a dextra:quae tametsi contiguae non sunt, maris tamen navigandique commod-itate veluti junguntur A sinistra vero Pontus est Euxinus, &c

231Datur haec venia antiquitati, ut miscendo humana divinis, pri-mordia urbium augustiora faciat T Liv in prooem

232He says in one of his laws, pro commoditate urbis quam aeterasnomine, jubente Deo, donavimus Cod Theodos l xiii tit v leg 7

233The Greeks, Theophanes, Cedrenus, and the author of the Alexan-drian Chronicle, confine themselves to vague and general expressionsFor a more particular account of the vision, we are obliged to have re-course to such Latin writers as William of Malmesbury See Ducange,

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auspicious omen, and obeyed, without hesitation, the willof Heaven The day which gave birth to a city or colony wascelebrated by the Romans with such ceremonies as had beenordained by a generous superstition;234 and though Con-stantine might omit some rites which savored too stronglyof their Pagan origin, yet he was anxious to leave a deepimpression of hope and respect on the minds of the specta-tors. On foot, with a lance in his hand, the emperor him-self led the solemn procession; and directed the line, whichwas traced as the boundary of the destined capital: till thegrowing circumference was observed with astonishment bythe assistants, who, at length, ventured to observe, that hehad already exceeded the most ample measure of a greatcity. “I shall still advance,” replied Constantine, “till He,the invisible guide who marches before me, thinks properto stop.”235 Without presuming to investigate the nature ormotives of this extraordinary conductor, we shall contentourselves with the more humble task of describing the ex-tent and limits of Constantinople.236

In the actual state of the city, the palace and gardens ofthe Seraglio occupy the eastern promontory, the first of theseven hills, and cover about one hundred and fifty acres ofour own measure. The seat of Turkish jealousy and despo-tism is erected on the foundations of a Grecian republic;but it may be supposed that the Byzantines were tempted

C P l i p 24, 25234See Plutarch in Romul tom i p 49, edit Bryan Among other cere-

monies, a large hole, which had been dug for that purpose, was filledup with handfuls of earth, which each of the settlers brought from theplace of his birth, and thus adopted his new country

235Philostorgius, l ii c 9 This incident, though borrowed from a sus-pected writer, is characteristic and probable

236See in the Memoires de l’Academie, tom xxxv p 747-758, a disser-tation of M d’Anville on the extent of Constantinople He takes the planinserted in the Imperium Orientale of Banduri as the most complete;but, by a series of very nice observations, he reduced the extravagantproportion of the scale, and instead of 9500, determines the circumfer-ence of the city as consisting of about 7800 French toises

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by the conveniency of the harbor to extend their habita-tions on that side beyond the modern limits of the Seraglio.The new walls of Constantine stretched from the port tothe Propontis across the enlarged breadth of the triangle,at the distance of fifteen stadia from the ancient fortifica-tion; and with the city of Byzantium they enclosed five ofthe seven hills, which, to the eyes of those who approachConstantinople, appear to rise above each other in beautifulorder.237 About a century after the death of the founder, thenew buildings, extending on one side up the harbor, and onthe other along the Propontis, already covered the narrowridge of the sixth, and the broad summit of the seventh hill.The necessity of protecting those suburbs from the inces-sant inroads of the barbarians engaged the younger Theo-dosius to surround his capital with an adequate and perma-nent enclosure of walls.238 From the eastern promontory tothe golden gate, the extreme length of Constantinople wasabout three Roman miles;239 the circumference measuredbetween ten and eleven; and the surface might be computedas equal to about two thousand English acres. It is impossi-ble to justify the vain and credulous exaggerations of mod-ern travellers, who have sometimes stretched the limits ofConstantinople over the adjacent villages of the European,

237Codinus, Antiquitat Const p 12 He assigns the church of St An-thony as the boundary on the side of the harbor It is mentioned inDucange, l iv c 6; but I have tried, without success, to discover theexact place where it was situated

238The new wall of Theodosius was constructed in the year 413 In447 it was thrown down by an earthquake, and rebuilt in three monthsby the diligence of the praefect Cyrus The suburb of the Blanchernaewas first taken into the city in the reign of Heraclius Ducange, Const li c 10, 11

239The measurement is expressed in the Notitia by 14,075 feet It isreasonable to suppose that these were Greek feet, the proportion ofwhich has been ingeniously determined by M d’Anville He comparesthe 180 feet with 78 Hashemite cubits, which in different writers areassigned for the heights of St Sophia Each of these cubits was equal to27 French inches

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and even of the Asiatic coast.240 But the suburbs of Peraand Galata, though situate beyond the harbor, may deserveto be considered as a part of the city;241 and this additionmay perhaps authorize the measure of a Byzantine histo-rian, who assigns sixteen Greek (about fourteen Roman)miles for the circumference of his native city.242 Such an ex-tent may not seem unworthy of an Imperial residence. YetConstantinople must yield to Babylon and Thebes,243 to an-cient Rome, to London, and even to Paris.244

240The accurate Thevenot (l i c 15) walked in one hour and threequarters round two of the sides of the triangle, from the Kiosk of theSeraglio to the seven towers D’Anville examines with care, and re-ceives with confidence, this decisive testimony, which gives a circum-ference of ten or twelve miles The extravagant computation of Tourne-fort (Lettre XI) of thirty-tour or thirty miles, without including Scutari,is a strange departure from his usual character

241The sycae, or fig-trees, formed the thirteenth region, and werevery much embellished by Justinian It has since borne the names ofPera and Galata The etymology of the former is obvious; that of thelatter is unknown See Ducange, Const l i c 22, and Gyllius de Byzant liv c 10

242One hundred and eleven stadia, which may be translated intomodern Greek miles each of seven stadia, or 660, sometimes only 600French toises See D’Anville, Mesures Itineraires, p 53

243When the ancient texts, which describe the size of Babylon andThebes, are settled, the exaggerations reduced, and the measures as-certained, we find that those famous cities filled the great but not in-credible circumference of about twenty-five or thirty miles CompareD’Anville, Mem de l’Academie, tom xxviii p 235, with his Descriptionde l’Egypte, p 201, 202

244If we divide Constantinople and Paris into equal squares of 50French toises, the former contains 850, and the latter 1160, of thosedivisions

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THE master of the Roman world, who aspired to erectan eternal monument of the glories of his reign could

employ in the prosecution of that great work, the wealth,the labor, and all that yet remained of the genius of obe-dient millions. Some estimate may be formed of the ex-pense bestowed with Imperial liberality on the foundationof Constantinople, by the allowance of about two millionsfive hundred thousand pounds for the construction of thewalls, the porticos, and the aqueducts.245 The forests thatovershadowed the shores of the Euxine, and the celebratedquarries of white marble in the little island of Proconnesus,supplied an inexhaustible stock of materials, ready to beconveyed, by the convenience of a short water carriage, tothe harbor of Byzantium.246 A multitude of laborers and ar-tificers urged the conclusion of the work with incessant toil:but the impatience of Constantine soon discovered, that, inthe decline of the arts, the skill as well as numbers of his ar-chitects bore a very unequal proportion to the greatness ofhis designs. The magistrates of the most distant provinceswere therefore directed to institute schools, to appoint pro-fessors, and by the hopes of rewards and privileges, to en-gage in the study and practice of architecture a sufficientnumber of ingenious youths, who had received a liberal ed-ucation.247 The buildings of the new city were executed bysuch artificers as the reign of Constantine could afford; but

245Six hundred centenaries, or sixty thousand pounds’ weight ofgold This sum is taken from Codinus, Antiquit Const p 11; but un-less that contemptible author had derived his information from somepurer sources, he would probably have been unacquainted with so ob-solete a mode of reckoning

246For the forests of the Black Sea, consult Tournefort, Lettre XVI forthe marble quarries of Proconnesus, see Strabo, l xiii p 588, (881, editCasaub) The latter had already furnished the materials of the statelybuildings of Cyzicus

247See the Codex Theodos l xiii tit iv leg 1 This law is dated in theyear 334, and was addressed to the praefect of Italy, whose jurisdiction

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they were decorated by the hands of the most celebratedmasters of the age of Pericles and Alexander. To revivethe genius of Phidias and Lysippus, surpassed indeed thepower of a Roman emperor; but the immortal productionswhich they had bequeathed to posterity were exposed with-out defence to the rapacious vanity of a despot. By hiscommands the cities of Greece and Asia were despoiled oftheir most valuable ornaments.248 The trophies of memo-rable wars, the objects of religious veneration, the most fin-ished statues of the gods and heroes, of the sages and po-ets, of ancient times, contributed to the splendid triumph ofConstantinople; and gave occasion to the remark of the his-torian Cedrenus,249 who observes, with some enthusiasm,that nothing seemed wanting except the souls of the illustri-ous men whom these admirable monuments were intendedto represent. But it is not in the city of Constantine, nor inthe declining period of an empire, when the human mindwas depressed by civil and religious slavery, that we shouldseek for the souls of Homer and of Demosthenes.

During the siege of Byzantium, the conqueror hadpitched his tent on the commanding eminence of the sec-ond hill. To perpetuate the memory of his success, he chosethe same advantageous position for the principal Forum;250

extended over Africa The commentary of Godefroy on the whole titlewell deserves to be consulted

248Constantinopolis dedicatur poene omnium urbium nuditate Hi-eronym Chron p 181 See Codinus, p 8, 9 The author of the AntiquitatConst l iii (apud Banduri Imp Orient tom i p 41) enumerates Rome,Sicily, Antioch, Athens, and a long list of other cities The provinces ofGreece and Asia Minor may be supposed to have yielded the richestbooty

249Hist Compend p 369 He describes the statue, or rather bust, ofHomer with a degree of taste which plainly indicates that Cadrenuscopied the style of a more fortunate age

250Zosim l ii p 106 Chron Alexandrin vel Paschal p 284, Ducange,Const l i c 24 Even the last of those writers seems to confound theForum of Constantine with the Augusteum, or court of the palace Iam not satisfied whether I have properly distinguished what belongs

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which appears to have been of a circular, or rather ellip-tical form. The two opposite entrances formed triumphalarches; the porticos, which enclosed it on every side, werefilled with statues; and the centre of the Forum was occu-pied by a lofty column, of which a mutilated fragment isnow degraded by the appellation of the burnt pillar. Thiscolumn was erected on a pedestal of white marble twentyfeet high; and was composed of ten pieces of porphyry,each of which measured about ten feet in height, and aboutthirty-three in circumference.251 On the summit of the pil-lar, above one hundred and twenty feet from the ground,stood the colossal statue of Apollo. It was a bronze, hadbeen transported either from Athens or from a town ofPhrygia, and was supposed to be the work of Phidias. Theartist had represented the god of day, or, as it was after-wards interpreted, the emperor Constantine himself, witha sceptre in his right hand, the globe of the world in hisleft, and a crown of rays glittering on his head.252 TheCircus, or Hippodrome, was a stately building about fourhundred paces in length, and one hundred in breadth.253

to the one and the other251The most tolerable account of this column is given by Pocock De-

scription of the East, vol ii part ii p 131 But it is still in many instancesperplexed and unsatisfactory

252Ducange, Const l i c 24, p 76, and his notes ad Alexiad p 382 Thestatue of Constantine or Apollo was thrown down under the reign ofAlexius Comnenus (On this column (says M von Hammer) Constan-tine, with singular shamelessness, placed his own statue with the at-tributes of Apollo and Christ He substituted the nails of the Passionfor the rays of the sun Such is the direct testimony of the author of theAntiquit Constantinop apud Banduri Constantine was replaced by the“great and religious” Julian, Julian, by Theodosius A D 1412, the keystone was loosened by an earthquake The statue fell in the reign ofAlexius Comnenus, and was replaced by the cross The Palladium wassaid to be buried under the pillar Von Hammer, Constantinopolis undder Bosporos, i 162–M

253Tournefort (Lettre XII) computes the Atmeidan at four hundredpaces If he means geometrical paces of five feet each, it was three hun-dred toises in length, about forty more than the great circus of Rome

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The space between the two metoe or goals were filled withstatues and obelisks; and we may still remark a very sin-gular fragment of antiquity; the bodies of three serpents,twisted into one pillar of brass. Their triple heads hadonce supported the golden tripod which, after the defeat ofXerxes, was consecrated in the temple of Delphi by the vic-torious Greeks.254 The beauty of the Hippodrome has beenlong since defaced by the rude hands of the Turkish con-querors;255 but, under the similar appellation of Atmeidan,it still serves as a place of exercise for their horses. From thethrone, whence the emperor viewed the Circensian games,a winding staircase256 descended to the palace; a magnifi-cent edifice, which scarcely yielded to the residence of Romeitself, and which, together with the dependent courts, gar-dens, and porticos, covered a considerable extent of ground

See D’Anville, Mesures Itineraires, p 73254The guardians of the most holy relics would rejoice if they were

able to produce such a chain of evidence as may be alleged on thisoccasion See Banduri ad Antiquitat Const p 668 Gyllius de Byzant lii c 13 1 The original consecration of the tripod and pillar in the tem-ple of Delphi may be proved from Herodotus and Pausanias 2 ThePagan Zosimus agrees with the three ecclesiastical historians, Euse-bius, Socrates, and Sozomen, that the sacred ornaments of the tem-ple of Delphi were removed to Constantinople by the order of Con-stantine; and among these the serpentine pillar of the Hippodrome isparticularly mentioned 3 All the European travellers who have visitedConstantinople, from Buondelmonte to Pocock, describe it in the sameplace, and almost in the same manner; the differences between themare occasioned only by the injuries which it has sustained from theTurks Mahomet the Second broke the under jaw of one of the serpentswith a stroke of his battle axe Thevenot, l i c 17 (See note 75, ch lxviii forDr Clarke’s rejection of Thevenot’s authority Von Hammer, however,repeats the story of Thevenot without questioning its authenticity–M

255In 1808 the Janizaries revolted against the vizier Mustapha Bais-actar, who wished to introduce a new system of military organization,besieged the quarter of the Hippodrome, in which stood the palace ofthe viziers, and the Hippodrome was consumed in the conflagration–G

256The Latin name Cochlea was adopted by the Greeks, and veryfrequently occurs in the Byzantine history Ducange, Const i c l, p 104

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upon the banks of the Propontis between the Hippodromeand the church of St. Sophia.257 We might likewise cele-brate the baths, which still retained the name of Zeuxippus,after they had been enriched, by the munificence of Con-stantine, with lofty columns, various marbles, and abovethreescore statues of bronze.258 But we should deviate fromthe design of this history, if we attempted minutely to de-scribe the different buildings or quarters of the city. It maybe sufficient to observe, that whatever could adorn the dig-nity of a great capital, or contribute to the benefit or plea-sure of its numerous inhabitants, was contained within thewalls of Constantinople. A particular description, com-posed about a century after its foundation, enumerates acapitol or school of learning, a circus, two theatres, eightpublic, and one hundred and fifty-three private baths, fifty-two porticos, five granaries, eight aqueducts or reservoirsof water, four spacious halls for the meetings of the sen-ate or courts of justice, fourteen churches, fourteen palaces,and four thousand three hundred and eighty-eight houses,which, for their size or beauty, deserved to be distinguished

257There are three topographical points which indicate the situationof the palace 1 The staircase which connected it with the Hippodromeor Atmeidan 2 A small artificial port on the Propontis, from whencethere was an easy ascent, by a flight of marble steps, to the gardens ofthe palace 3 The Augusteum was a spacious court, one side of whichwas occupied by the front of the palace, and another by the church ofSt Sophia

258Zeuxippus was an epithet of Jupiter, and the baths were a part ofold Byzantium The difficulty of assigning their true situation has notbeen felt by Ducange History seems to connect them with St Sophiaand the palace; but the original plan inserted in Banduri places themon the other side of the city, near the harbor For their beauties, seeChron Paschal p 285, and Gyllius de Byzant l ii c 7 Christodorus (seeAntiquitat Const l vii) composed inscriptions in verse for each of thestatues He was a Theban poet in genius as well as in birth:–Baeotumin crasso jurares aere natum (Yet, for his age, the description of thestatues of Hecuba and of Homer are by no means without merit SeeAntholog Palat (edit Jacobs) i 37–M

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from the multitude of plebeian inhabitants.259

The populousness of his favored city was the next andmost serious object of the attention of its founder. In thedark ages which succeeded the translation of the empire,the remote and the immediate consequences of that memo-rable event were strangely confounded by the vanity of theGreeks and the credulity of the Latins.260 It was asserted,and believed, that all the noble families of Rome, the sen-ate, and the equestrian order, with their innumerable atten-dants, had followed their emperor to the banks of the Pro-pontis; that a spurious race of strangers and plebeians wasleft to possess the solitude of the ancient capital; and thatthe lands of Italy, long since converted into gardens, wereat once deprived of cultivation and inhabitants.261 In thecourse of this history, such exaggerations will be reducedto their just value: yet, since the growth of Constantinoplecannot be ascribed to the general increase of mankind andof industry, it must be admitted that this artificial colonywas raised at the expense of the ancient cities of the em-pire. Many opulent senators of Rome, and of the easternprovinces, were probably invited by Constantine to adoptfor their country the fortunate spot, which he had chosen forhis own residence. The invitations of a master are scarcely

259See the Notitia Rome only reckoned 1780 large houses, domus;but the word must have had a more dignified signification No insu-lae are mentioned at Constantinople The old capital consisted of 42streets, the new of 322

260Liutprand, Legatio ad Imp Nicephornm, p 153 The modernGreeks have strangely disfigured the antiquities of Constantinople Wemight excuse the errors of the Turkish or Arabian writers; but it issomewhat astonishing, that the Greeks, who had access to the authen-tic materials preserved in their own language, should prefer fiction totruth, and loose tradition to genuine history In a single page of Cod-inus we may detect twelve unpardonable mistakes; the reconciliationof Severus and Niger, the marriage of their son and daughter, the siegeof Byzantium by the Macedonians, the invasion of the Gauls, which re-called Severus to Rome, the sixty years which elapsed from his deathto the foundation of Constantinople, &c

261Montesquieu, Grandeur et Decadence des Romains, c 17

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to be distinguished from commands; and the liberality ofthe emperor obtained a ready and cheerful obedience. Hebestowed on his favorites the palaces which he had builtin the several quarters of the city, assigned them lands andpensions for the support of their dignity,262 and alienatedthe demesnes of Pontus and Asia to grant hereditary estatesby the easy tenure of maintaining a house in the capital.263But these encouragements and obligations soon became su-perfluous, and were gradually abolished. Wherever the seatof government is fixed, a considerable part of the public rev-enue will be expended by the prince himself, by his minis-ters, by the officers of justice, and by the domestics of thepalace. The most wealthy of the provincials will be attractedby the powerful motives of interest and duty, of amusementand curiosity. A third and more numerous class of inhab-itants will insensibly be formed, of servants, of artificers,and of merchants, who derive their subsistence from theirown labor, and from the wants or luxury of the superiorranks. In less than a century, Constantinople disputed withRome itself the preeminence of riches and numbers. Newpiles of buildings, crowded together with too little regardto health or convenience, scarcely allowed the intervals ofnarrow streets for the perpetual throng of men, of horses,and of carriages. The allotted space of ground was insuf-ficient to contain the increasing people; and the additional

262Themist Orat iii p 48, edit Hardouin Sozomen, l ii c 3 Zosim lii p 107 Anonym Valesian p 715 If we could credit Codinus, (p 10,)Constantine built houses for the senators on the exact model of theirRoman palaces, and gratified them, as well as himself, with the plea-sure of an agreeable surprise; but the whole story is full of fictions andinconsistencies

263The law by which the younger Theodosius, in the year 438, abol-ished this tenure, may be found among the Novellae of that emperor atthe end of the Theodosian Code, tom vi nov 12 M de Tillemont (Histdes Empereurs, tom iv p 371) has evidently mistaken the nature ofthese estates With a grant from the Imperial demesnes, the same con-dition was accepted as a favor, which would justly have been deemeda hardship, if it had been imposed upon private property

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foundations, which, on either side, were advanced into thesea, might alone have composed a very considerable city.264

The frequent and regular distributions of wine and oil,of corn or bread, of money or provisions, had almost ex-empted the poorest citizens of Rome from the necessity oflabor. The magnificence of the first Caesars was in somemeasure imitated by the founder of Constantinople:265 buthis liberality, however it might excite the applause of thepeople, has in curred the censure of posterity. A nation oflegislators and conquerors might assert their claim to theharvests of Africa, which had been purchased with theirblood; and it was artfully contrived by Augustus, that, inthe enjoyment of plenty, the Romans should lose the mem-ory of freedom. But the prodigality of Constantine couldnot be excused by any consideration either of public or pri-vate interest; and the annual tribute of corn imposed uponEgypt for the benefit of his new capital, was applied to feeda lazy and insolent populace, at the expense of the husband-

264The passages of Zosimus, of Eunapius, of Sozomen, and of Agath-ias, which relate to the increase of buildings and inhabitants at Con-stantinople, are collected and connected by Gyllius de Byzant l i c 3Sidonius Apollinaris (in Panegyr Anthem 56, p 279, edit Sirmond) de-scribes the moles that were pushed forwards into the sea, they con-sisted of the famous Puzzolan sand, which hardens in the water

265Sozomen, l ii c 3 Philostorg l ii c 9 Codin Antiquitat Const p 8 It ap-pears by Socrates, l ii c 13, that the daily allowance of the city consistedof eight myriads of which we may either translate, with Valesius, bythe words modii of corn, or consider us expressive of the number ofloaves of bread (At Rome the poorer citizens who received these gra-tuities were inscribed in a register; they had only a personal right Con-stantine attached the right to the houses in his new capital, to engagethe lower classes of the people to build their houses with expeditionCodex Therodos l xiv–G

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men of an industrious province.266267 Some other regula-tions of this emperor are less liable to blame, but they areless deserving of notice. He divided Constantinople intofourteen regions or quarters,268 dignified the public councilwith the appellation of senate,269 communicated to the cit-izens the privileges of Italy,270 and bestowed on the rising

266See Cod Theodos l xiii and xiv, and Cod Justinian Edict xii tom iip 648, edit Genev See the beautiful complaint of Rome in the poem ofClaudian de Bell Gildonico, ver 46-64—-Cum subiit par Roma mihi,divisaque sumsit Aequales aurora togas; Aegyptia rura In partemcessere novam

267This was also at the expense of Rome The emperor ordered thatthe fleet of Alexandria should transport to Constantinople the grainof Egypt which it carried before to Rome: this grain supplied Romeduring four months of the year Claudian has described with force thefamine occasioned by this measure:–

268The regions of Constantinople are mentioned in the code of Jus-tinian, and particularly described in the Notitia of the younger Theo-dosius; but as the four last of them are not included within the wallof Constantine, it may be doubted whether this division of the cityshould be referred to the founder

269Senatum constituit secundi ordinis; Claros vocavit Anonym Vale-sian p 715 The senators of old Rome were styled Clarissimi See a cu-rious note of Valesius ad Ammian Marcellin xxii 9 From the eleventhepistle of Julian, it should seem that the place of senator was consid-ered as a burden, rather than as an honor; but the Abbe de la Bleterie(Vie de Jovien, tom ii p 371) has shown that this epistle could not relateto Constantinople Might we not read, instead of the celebrated nameof the obscure but more probable word Bisanthe or Rhoedestus, nowRhodosto, was a small maritime city of Thrace See Stephan Byz deUrbibus, p 225, and Cellar Geograph tom i p 849

270Cod Theodos l xiv 13 The commentary of Godefroy (tom v p 220)is long, but perplexed; nor indeed is it easy to ascertain in what the JusItalicum could consist, after the freedom of the city had been commu-nicated to the whole empire (“This right, (the Jus Italicum,) which bymost writers is referred with out foundation to the personal conditionof the citizens, properly related to the city as a whole, and containedtwo parts First, the Roman or quiritarian property in the soil, (com-mercium,) and its capability of mancipation, usucaption, and vindica-tion; moreover, as an inseparable consequence of this, exemption fromland-tax Then, secondly, a free constitution in the Italian form, with

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city the title of Colony, the first and most favored daugh-ter of ancient Rome. The venerable parent still maintainedthe legal and acknowledged supremacy, which was due toher age, her dignity, and to the remembrance of her formergreatness.271

Haec nobis, haec ante dabas; nunc pabula tan-tum

Roma precor: miserere tuae; pater optime, gen-tis:

Extremam defende famem.Claud. de Bell. Gildon. v. 34.–G.

(It was scarcely this measure. Gildo had cut off the Africanas well as the Egyptian supplies.–M.)

As Constantine urged the progress of the work with theimpatience of a lover, the walls, the porticos, and the princi-pal edifices were completed in a few years, or, accordingto another account, in a few months;272 but this extraor-dinary diligence should excite the less admiration, since

Duumvirs, Quinquennales and Aediles, and especially with Jurisdic-tion” Savigny, Geschichte des Rom Rechts i p 51–M

271Julian (Orat i p 8) celebrates Constantinople as not less superiorto all other cities than she was inferior to Rome itself His learned com-mentator (Spanheim, p 75, 76) justifies this language by several paral-lel and contemporary instances Zosimus, as well as Socrates and So-zomen, flourished after the division of the empire between the twosons of Theodosius, which established a perfect equality between theold and the new capital

272Codinus (Antiquitat p 8) affirms, that the foundations of Con-stantinople were laid in the year of the world 5837, (A D 329,) on the26th of September, and that the city was dedicated the 11th of May,5838, (A D 330) He connects those dates with several characteristicepochs, but they contradict each other; the authority of Codinus is oflittle weight, and the space which he assigns must appear insufficientThe term of ten years is given us by Julian, (Orat i p 8;) and Spanheimlabors to establish the truth of it, (p 69-75,) by the help of two passagesfrom Themistius, (Orat iv p 58,) and of Philostorgius, (l ii c 9,) whichform a period from the year 324 to the year 334 Modern critics are

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many of the buildings were finished in so hasty and im-perfect a manner, that under the succeeding reign, theywere preserved with difficulty from impending ruin.273 Butwhile they displayed the vigor and freshness of youth, thefounder prepared to celebrate the dedication of his city.274The games and largesses which crowned the pomp of thismemorable festival may easily be supposed; but there isone circumstance of a more singular and permanent na-ture, which ought not entirely to be overlooked. As often asthe birthday of the city returned, the statute of Constantine,framed by his order, of gilt wood, and bearing in his righthand a small image of the genius of the place, was erectedon a triumphal car. The guards, carrying white tapers, andclothed in their richest apparel, accompanied the solemnprocession as it moved through the Hippodrome. When itwas opposite to the throne of the reigning emperor, he rosefrom his seat, and with grateful reverence adored the mem-ory of his predecessor.275 At the festival of the dedication,an edict, engraved on a column of marble, bestowed the ti-tle of Second or New Rome on the city of Constantine.276

But the name of Constantinople277 has prevailed over that

divided concerning this point of chronology and their different senti-ments are very accurately described by Tillemont, Hist des Empereurs,tom iv p 619-625

273Themistius Orat iii p 47 Zosim l ii p 108 Constantine himself, inone of his laws, (Cod Theod l xv tit i,) betrays his impatience

274Cedrenus and Zonaras, faithful to the mode of superstition whichprevailed in their own times, assure us that Constantinople was con-secrated to the virgin Mother of God

275The earliest and most complete account of this extraordinary cer-emony may be found in the Alexandrian Chronicle, p 285 Tillemont,and the other friends of Constantine, who are offended with the airof Paganism which seems unworthy of a Christian prince, had a rightto consider it as doubtful, but they were not authorized to omit themention of it

276Sozomen, l ii c 2 Ducange C P l i c 6 Velut ipsius Romae filiam, isthe expression of Augustin de Civitat Dei, l v c 25

277Eutropius, l x c 8 Julian Orat i p 8 Ducange C P l i c 5 The name of

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honorable epithet; and after the revolution of fourteen cen-turies, still perpetuates the fame of its author.278

The foundation of a new capital is naturally connectedwith the establishment of a new form of civil and militaryadministration. The distinct view of the complicated systemof policy, introduced by Diocletian, improved by Constan-tine, and completed by his immediate successors, may notonly amuse the fancy by the singular picture of a great em-pire, but will tend to illustrate the secret and internal causesof its rapid decay. In the pursuit of any remarkable insti-tution, we may be frequently led into the more early or themore recent times of the Roman history; but the proper lim-its of this inquiry will be included within a period of aboutone hundred and thirty years, from the accession of Con-stantine to the publication of the Theodosian code;279 fromwhich, as well as from the Notitia280 of the East and West,281

Constantinople is extant on the medals of Constantine278The lively Fontenelle (Dialogues des Morts, xii) affects to deride

the vanity of human ambition, and seems to triumph in the disap-pointment of Constantine, whose immortal name is now lost in thevulgar appellation of Istambol, a Turkish corruption of Yet the origi-nal name is still preserved, 1 By the nations of Europe 2 By the modernGreeks 3 By the Arabs, whose writings are diffused over the wide ex-tent of their conquests in Asia and Africa See D’Herbelot, BibliothequeOrientale, p 275 4 By the more learned Turks, and by the emperor him-self in his public mandates Cantemir’s History of the Othman Empire,p 51

279The Theodosian code was promulgated A D 438 See the Prole-gomena of Godefroy, c i p 185

280The Notitia Dignitatum Imperii is a description of all the officesin the court and the state, of the legions, &c It resembles our courtalmanacs, (Red Books,) with this single difference, that our almanacsname the persons in office, the Notitia only the offices It is of the timeof the emperor Theodosius II, that is to say, of the fifth century, whenthe empire was divided into the Eastern and Western It is probablethat it was not made for the first time, and that descriptions of thesame kind existed before–G

281Pancirolus, in his elaborate Commentary, assigns to the Notitia adate almost similar to that of the Theodosian Code; but his proofs, or

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we derive the most copious and authentic information ofthe state of the empire. This variety of objects will suspend,for some time, the course of the narrative; but the interrup-tion will be censured only by those readers who are insen-sible to the importance of laws and manners, while they pe-ruse, with eager curiosity, the transient intrigues of a court,or the accidental event of a battle.

rather conjectures, are extremely feeble I should be rather inclined toplace this useful work between the final division of the empire (A D395) and the successful invasion of Gaul by the barbarians, (A D 407)See Histoire des Anciens Peuples de l’Europe, tom vii p 40

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THE manly pride of the Romans, content with substan-tial power, had left to the vanity of the East the forms

and ceremonies of ostentatious greatness.282 But when theylost even the semblance of those virtues which were de-rived from their ancient freedom, the simplicity of Romanmanners was insensibly corrupted by the stately affectationof the courts of Asia. The distinctions of personal meritand influence, so conspicuous in a republic, so feeble andobscure under a monarchy, were abolished by the despo-tism of the emperors; who substituted in their room a se-vere subordination of rank and office from the titled slaveswho were seated on the steps of the throne, to the mean-est instruments of arbitrary power. This multitude of ab-ject dependants was interested in the support of the actualgovernment from the dread of a revolution, which might atonce confound their hopes and intercept the reward of theirservices. In this divine hierarchy (for such it is frequentlystyled) every rank was marked with the most scrupulousexactness, and its dignity was displayed in a variety of tri-fling and solemn ceremonies, which it was a study to learn,and a sacrilege to neglect.283 The purity of the Latin lan-guage was debased, by adopting, in the intercourse of prideand flattery, a profusion of epithets, which Tully wouldscarcely have understood, and which Augustus would haverejected with indignation. The principal officers of the em-pire were saluted, even by the sovereign himself, with the

282Scilicet externae superbiae sueto, non inerat notitia nostri, (per-haps nostroe;) apud quos vis Imperii valet, inania transmittuntur TacitAnnal xv 31 The gradation from the style of freedom and simplicity, tothat of form and servitude, may be traced in the Epistles of Cicero, ofPliny, and of Symmachus

283The emperor Gratian, after confirming a law of precedency pub-lished by Valentinian, the father of his Divinity, thus continues: Siquisigitur indebitum sibi locum usurpaverit, nulla se ignoratione defen-dat; sitque plane sacrilegii reus, qui divina praecepta neglexerit CodTheod l vi tit v leg 2

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deceitful titles of your Sincerity, your Gravity, your Excel-lency, your Eminence, your sublime and wonderful Mag-nitude, your illustrious and magnificent Highness.284 Thecodicils or patents of their office were curiously emblazonedwith such emblems as were best adapted to explain its na-ture and high dignity; the image or portrait of the reigningemperors; a triumphal car; the book of mandates placed ona table, covered with a rich carpet, and illuminated by fourtapers; the allegorical figures of the provinces which theygoverned; or the appellations and standards of the troopswhom they commanded Some of these official ensigns werereally exhibited in their hall of audience; others precededtheir pompous march whenever they appeared in public;and every circumstance of their demeanor, their dress, theirornaments, and their train, was calculated to inspire a deepreverence for the representatives of supreme majesty. Bya philosophic observer, the system of the Roman govern-ment might have been mistaken for a splendid theatre, filledwith players of every character and degree, who repeatedthe language, and imitated the passions, of their originalmodel.285

All the magistrates of sufficient importance to find a placein the general state of the empire, were accurately dividedinto three classes. 1. The Illustrious. 2. The Spectabiles, orRespectable. And, 3. the Clarissimi; whom we may trans-late by the word Honorable. In the times of Roman sim-plicity, the last-mentioned epithet was used only as a vague

284Consult the Notitia Dignitatum at the end of the Theodosian code,tom vi p 316 (Constantin, qui remplaca le grand Patriciat par une no-blesse titree et qui changea avec d’autres institutions la nature de lasociete Latine, est le veritable fondateur de la royaute moderne, dansce quelle conserva de Romain Chateaubriand, Etud Histor Preface, i151 Manso, (Leben Constantins des Grossen,) p 153, &c, has given alucid view of the dignities and duties of the officers in the Imperialcourt–M

285Pancirolus ad Notitiam utriusque Imperii, p 39 But his explana-tions are obscure, and he does not sufficiently distinguish the paintedemblems from the effective ensigns of office

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expression of deference, till it became at length the pecu-liar and appropriated title of all who were members of thesenate,286 and consequently of all who, from that venerablebody, were selected to govern the provinces. The vanity ofthose who, from their rank and office, might claim a supe-rior distinction above the rest of the senatorial order, waslong afterwards indulged with the new appellation of Re-spectable; but the title of Illustrious was always reserved tosome eminent personages who were obeyed or reverencedby the two subordinate classes. It was communicated only,I. To the consuls and patricians; II. To the Praetorian prae-fects, with the praefects of Rome and Constantinople; III. Tothe masters-general of the cavalry and the infantry; and IV.To the seven ministers of the palace, who exercised their sa-cred functions about the person of the emperor.287 Amongthose illustrious magistrates who were esteemed coordinatewith each other, the seniority of appointment gave placeto the union of dignities.288 By the expedient of honorarycodicils, the emperors, who were fond of multiplying theirfavors, might sometimes gratify the vanity, though not theambition, of impatient courtiers.289

I. As long as the Roman consuls were the first magistratesof a free state, they derived their right to power from thechoice of the people. As long as the emperors condescendedto disguise the servitude which they imposed, the consulswere still elected by the real or apparent suffrage of the sen-ate. From the reign of Diocletian, even these vestiges ofliberty were abolished, and the successful candidates who

286In the Pandects, which may be referred to the reigns of the An-tonines, Clarissimus is the ordinary and legal title of a senator

287Pancirol p 12-17 I have not taken any notice of the two inferiorranks, Prefectissimus and Egregius, which were given to many per-sons who were not raised to the senatorial dignity

288Cod Theodos l vi tit vi The rules of precedency are ascertainedwith the most minute accuracy by the emperors, and illustrated withequal prolixity by their learned interpreter

289Cod Theodos l vi tit xxii

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were invested with the annual honors of the consulship,affected to deplore the humiliating condition of their pre-decessors. The Scipios and the Catos had been reduced tosolicit the votes of plebeians, to pass through the tediousand expensive forms of a popular election, and to exposetheir dignity to the shame of a public refusal; while theirown happier fate had reserved them for an age and govern-ment in which the rewards of virtue were assigned by theunerring wisdom of a gracious sovereign.290 In the epis-tles which the emperor addressed to the two consuls elect,it was declared, that they were created by his sole author-ity.291 Their names and portraits, engraved on gilt tablesof ivory, were dispersed over the empire as presents to theprovinces, the cities, the magistrates, the senate, and thepeople.292 Their solemn inauguration was performed at theplace of the Imperial residence; and during a period of onehundred and twenty years, Rome was constantly deprivedof the presence of her ancient magistrates.293

(Montfaucon has represented some of these tablets ordypticks see Supplement a l’Antiquite expliquee, tom. iii.p. 220.)

From the reign of Carus to the sixth consulship of Hono-rius, there was an interval of one hundred and twenty years,during which the emperors were always absent from Rome

290Ausonius (in Gratiarum Actione) basely expatiates on this unwor-thy topic, which is managed by Mamertinus (Panegyr Vet xi [x] 16, 19)with somewhat more freedom and ingenuity

291Cum de Consulibus in annum creandis, solus mecum volutaremte Consulem et designavi, et declaravi, et priorem nuncupavi; aresome of the expressions employed by the emperor Gratian to his pre-ceptor, the poet Ausonius

292Immanesque dentes Qui secti ferro in tabulas auroque micantes,Inscripti rutilum coelato Consule nomen Per proceres et vulgus eant–Claud in ii Cons Stilichon 456

293Consule laetatur post plurima seculo viso Pallanteus apex: agnos-cunt rostra curules Auditas quondam proavis: desuetaque cingitRegius auratis Fora fascibus Ulpia lictor –Claud in vi Cons Honorii,643

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on the first day of January. See the Chronologie de Tille-monte, tom. iii. iv. and v.]

On the morning of the first of January, the consuls as-sumed the ensigns of their dignity. Their dress was a robe ofpurple, embroidered in silk and gold, and sometimes orna-mented with costly gems.294 On this solemn occasion theywere attended by the most eminent officers of the state andarmy, in the habit of senators; and the useless fasces, armedwith the once formidable axes, were borne before themby the lictors.(KEY:[11-86) The procession moved from thepalace295 to the Forum or principal square of the city; wherethe consuls ascended their tribunal, and seated themselvesin the curule chairs, which were framed after the fashion ofancient times. They immediately exercised an act of juris-diction, by the manumission of a slave, who was broughtbefore them for that purpose; and the ceremony was in-tended to represent the celebrated action of the elder Brutus,the author of liberty and of the consulship, when he admit-ted among his fellow-citizens the faithful Vindex, who hadrevealed the conspiracy of the Tarquins.(KEY:[11-88) Thepublic festival was continued during several days in all theprincipal cities in Rome, from custom; in Constantinople,from imitation in Carthage, Antioch, and Alexandria, fromthe love of pleasure, and the superfluity of wealth.296 Inthe two capitals of the empire the annual games of the the-atre, the circus, and the amphitheatre,297 cost four thousandpounds of gold, (about) one hundred and sixty thousand

294See Claudian in Cons Prob et Olybrii, 178, &c; and in iv ConsHonorii, 585, &c; though in the latter it is not easy to separate the orna-ments of the emperor from those of the consul Ausonius received fromthe liberality of Gratian a vestis palmata, or robe of state, in which thefigure of the emperor Constantius was embroidered

295See Valesius ad Ammian Marcellin l xxii c 7296Celebrant quidem solemnes istos dies omnes ubique urbes quae

sub legibus agunt; et Roma de more, et Constantinopolis de imita-tione, et Antiochia pro luxu, et discincta Carthago, et domus fluminisAlexandria, sed Treviri Principis beneficio Ausonius in Grat Actione

297Claudian (in Cons Mall Theodori, 279-331) describes, in a lively

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pounds sterling: and if so heavy an expense surpassed thefaculties or the inclinations of the magistrates themselves,the sum was supplied from the Imperial treasury.298 Assoon as the consuls had discharged these customary du-ties, they were at liberty to retire into the shade of privatelife, and to enjoy, during the remainder of the year, theundisturbed contemplation of their own greatness. They nolonger presided in the national councils; they no longer exe-cuted the resolutions of peace or war. Their abilities (unlessthey were employed in more effective offices) were of littlemoment; and their names served only as the legal date ofthe year in which they had filled the chair of Marius andof Cicero. Yet it was still felt and acknowledged, in the lastperiod of Roman servitude, that this empty name might becompared, and even preferred, to the possession of substan-tial power. The title of consul was still the most splendidobject of ambition, the noblest reward of virtue and loyalty.The emperors themselves, who disdained the faint shadowof the republic, were conscious that they acquired an addi-tional splendor and majesty as often as they assumed theannual honors of the consular dignity.299

Cernis et armorum proceres legumque potentes:Patricios sumunt habitus; et more GabinoDiscolor incedit legio, positisque parumperBellorum signis, sequitur vexilla Quirini. Lictori

cedunt aquilae, ridetquetogatus Miles, et in mediis effulget curia castris.

and fanciful manner, the various games of the circus, the theatre, andthe amphitheatre, exhibited by the new consul The sanguinary com-bats of gladiators had already been prohibited

298Procopius in Hist Arcana, c 26299In Consulatu honos sine labore suscipitur (Mamertin in Panegyr

Vet xi [x] 2) This exalted idea of the consulship is borrowed from anoration (iii p 107) pronounced by Julian in the servile court of Constan-tius See the Abbe de la Bleterie, (Memoires de l’Academie, tom xxiv p289,) who delights to pursue the vestiges of the old constitution, andwho sometimes finds them in his copious fancy

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–Claud. in iv. Cons. Honorii, 5.–strictaque procul radiare secures.–In Cons. Prob. 229.

Auspice mox laeto sonuit clamore tribunal;Te fastos ineunte quater; solemnia luditOmina libertas; deductum Vindice moremLex servat, famulusque jugo laxatus heriliDucitur, et grato remeat securior ictu.–Claud. in iv Cons. Honorii, 611.

THE proudest and most perfect separation which can befound in any age or country, between the nobles and the

people, is perhaps that of the Patricians and the Plebeians,as it was established in the first age of the Roman repub-lic. Wealth and honors, the offices of the state, and the cer-emonies of religion, were almost exclusively possessed bythe former who, preserving the purity of their blood withthe most insulting jealousy,300 held their clients in a con-dition of specious vassalage. But these distinctions, so in-compatible with the spirit of a free people, were removed,after a long struggle, by the persevering efforts of the Tri-bunes. The most active and successful of the Plebeians accu-mulated wealth, aspired to honors, deserved triumphs, con-tracted alliances, and, after some generations, assumed thepride of ancient nobility.301 The Patrician families, on the

300Intermarriages between the Patricians and Plebeians were pro-hibited by the laws of the XII Tables; and the uniform operations of hu-man nature may attest that the custom survived the law See in Livy (iv1-6) the pride of family urged by the consul, and the rights of mankindasserted by the tribune Canuleius

301See the animated picture drawn by Sallust, in the Jugurthine war,of the pride of the nobles, and even of the virtuous Metellus, who wasunable to brook the idea that the honor of the consulship should be be-stowed on the obscure merit of his lieutenant Marius (c 64) Two hun-dred years before, the race of the Metelli themselves were confoundedamong the Plebeians of Rome; and from the etymology of their nameof Coecilius, there is reason to believe that those haughty nobles de-rived their origin from a sutler

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other hand, whose original number was never recruited tillthe end of the commonwealth, either failed in the ordinarycourse of nature, or were extinguished in so many foreignand domestic wars, or, through a want of merit or fortune,insensibly mingled with the mass of the people.302 Very fewremained who could derive their pure and genuine originfrom the infancy of the city, or even from that of the repub-lic, when Caesar and Augustus, Claudius and Vespasian,created from the body of the senate a competent number ofnew Patrician families, in the hope of perpetuating an order,which was still considered as honorable and sacred.303 Butthese artificial supplies (in which the reigning house wasalways included) were rapidly swept away by the rage oftyrants, by frequent revolutions, by the change of manners,and by the intermixture of nations.304 Little more was leftwhen Constantine ascended the throne, than a vague andimperfect tradition, that the Patricians had once been thefirst of the Romans. To form a body of nobles, whose in-fluence may restrain, while it secures the authority of themonarch, would have been very inconsistent with the char-

302In the year of Rome 800, very few remained, not only of the oldPatrician families, but even of those which had been created by Cae-sar and Augustus (Tacit Annal xi 25) The family of Scaurus (a branchof the Patrician Aemilii) was degraded so low that his father, whoexercised the trade of a charcoal merchant, left him only teu slaves,and somewhat less than three hundred pounds sterling (Valerius Max-imus, l iv c 4, n 11 Aurel Victor in Scauro) The family was saved fromoblivion by the merit of the son

303Tacit Annal xi 25 Dion Cassius, l iii p 698 The virtues of Agricola,who was created a Patrician by the emperor Vespasian, reflected honoron that ancient order; but his ancestors had not any claim beyond anEquestrian nobility

304This failure would have been almost impossible if it were true,as Casaubon compels Aurelius Victor to affirm (ad Sueton, in Caesarv 24 See Hist August p 203 and Casaubon Comment, p 220) that Ves-pasian created at once a thousand Patrician families But this extrava-gant number is too much even for the whole Senatorial order unlesswe should include all the Roman knights who were distinguished bythe permission of wearing the laticlave

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acter and policy of Constantine; but had he seriously enter-tained such a design, it might have exceeded the measureof his power to ratify, by an arbitrary edict, an institutionwhich must expect the sanction of time and of opinion. Herevived, indeed, the title of Patricians, but he revived it asa personal, not as an hereditary distinction. They yieldedonly to the transient superiority of the annual consuls; butthey enjoyed the pre-eminence over all the great officersof state, with the most familiar access to the person of theprince. This honorable rank was bestowed on them for life;and as they were usually favorites, and ministers who hadgrown old in the Imperial court, the true etymology of theword was perverted by ignorance and flattery; and the Pa-tricians of Constantine were reverenced as the adopted Fa-thers of the emperor and the republic.305

II. The fortunes of the Praetorian praefects were essen-tially different from those of the consuls and Patricians. Thelatter saw their ancient greatness evaporate in a vain title.

The former, rising by degrees from the most humble con-dition, were invested with the civil and military adminis-tration of the Roman world. From the reign of Severus tothat of Diocletian, the guards and the palace, the laws andthe finances, the armies and the provinces, were intrusted totheir superintending care; and, like the Viziers of the East,they held with one hand the seal, and with the other thestandard, of the empire. The ambition of the praefects, al-ways formidable, and sometimes fatal to the masters whomthey served, was supported by the strength of the Praeto-rian bands; but after those haughty troops had been weak-ened by Diocletian, and finally suppressed by Constantine,the praefects, who survived their fall, were reduced with-out difficulty to the station of useful and obedient minis-ters. When they were no longer responsible for the safety ofthe emperor’s person, they resigned the jurisdiction whichthey had hitherto claimed and exercised over all the depart-

305Zosimus, l ii p 118; and Godefroy ad Cod Theodos l vi tit vi

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ments of the palace. They were deprived by Constantine ofall military command, as soon as they had ceased to leadinto the field, under their immediate orders, the flower ofthe Roman troops; and at length, by a singular revolution,the captains of the guards were transformed into the civilmagistrates of the provinces. According to the plan of gov-ernment instituted by Diocletian, the four princes had eachtheir Praetorian praefect; and after the monarchy was oncemore united in the person of Constantine, he still contin-ued to create the same number of Four Praefects, and in-trusted to their care the same provinces which they alreadyadministered. 1. The praefect of the East stretched his am-ple jurisdiction into the three parts of the globe which weresubject to the Romans, from the cataracts of the Nile to thebanks of the Phasis, and from the mountains of Thrace tothe frontiers of Persia. 2. The important provinces of Pan-nonia, Dacia, Macedonia, and Greece, once acknowledgedthe authority of the praefect of Illyricum. 3. The power ofthe praefect of Italy was not confined to the country fromwhence he derived his title; it extended over the additionalterritory of Rhaetia as far as the banks of the Danube, overthe dependent islands of the Mediterranean, and over thatpart of the continent of Africa which lies between the con-fines of Cyrene and those of Tingitania. 4. The praefect ofthe Gauls comprehended under that plural denominationthe kindred provinces of Britain and Spain, and his author-ity was obeyed from the wall of Antoninus to the foot ofMount Atlas.306

After the Praetorian praefects had been dismissed fromall military command, the civil functions which they wereordained to exercise over so many subject nations, were ad-equate to the ambition and abilities of the most consummate

306Zosimus, l ii p 109, 110 If we had not fortunately possessed thissatisfactory account of the division of the power and provinces ofthe Praetorian praefects, we should frequently have been perplexedamidst the copious details of the Code, and the circumstantial minute-ness of the Notitia

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ministers. To their wisdom was committed the supreme ad-ministration of justice and of the finances, the two objectswhich, in a state of peace, comprehend almost all the re-spective duties of the sovereign and of the people; of theformer, to protect the citizens who are obedient to the laws;of the latter, to contribute the share of their property whichis required for the expenses of the state. The coin, the high-ways, the posts, the granaries, the manufactures, whatevercould interest the public prosperity, was moderated by theauthority of the Praetorian praefects. As the immediaterepresentatives of the Imperial majesty, they were empow-ered to explain, to enforce, and on some occasions to mod-ify, the general edicts by their discretionary proclamations.They watched over the conduct of the provincial governors,removed the negligent, and inflicted punishments on theguilty. From all the inferior jurisdictions, an appeal in ev-ery matter of importance, either civil or criminal, might bebrought before the tribunal of the praefect; but his sentencewas final and absolute; and the emperors themselves re-fused to admit any complaints against the judgment or theintegrity of a magistrate whom they honored with such un-bounded confidence.307 His appointments were suitable tohis dignity;308 and if avarice was his ruling passion, he en-joyed frequent opportunities of collecting a rich harvest offees, of presents, and of perquisites. Though the emperorsno longer dreaded the ambition of their praefects, they wereattentive to counterbalance the power of this great office bythe uncertainty and shortness of its duration.309

307See a law of Constantine himself A praefectis autem praetorioprovocare, non sinimus Cod Justinian l vii tit lxii leg 19 Charisius, alawyer of the time of Constantine, (Heinec Hist Romani, p 349,) whoadmits this law as a fundamental principle of jurisprudence, comparesthe Praetorian praefects to the masters of the horse of the ancient dic-tators Pandect l i tit xi

308When Justinian, in the exhausted condition of the empire, insti-tuted a Praetorian praefect for Africa, he allowed him a salary of onehundred pounds of gold Cod Justinian l i tit xxvii leg i

309For this, and the other dignities of the empire, it may be sufficient

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From their superior importance and dignity, Rome andConstantinople were alone excepted from the jurisdictionof the Praetorian praefects. The immense size of the city,and the experience of the tardy, ineffectual operation of thelaws, had furnished the policy of Augustus with a speciouspretence for introducing a new magistrate, who alone couldrestrain a servile and turbulent populace by the strong armof arbitrary power.310 Valerius Messalla was appointed thefirst praefect of Rome, that his reputation might counte-nance so invidious a measure; but, at the end of a few days,that accomplished citizen311 resigned his office, declaring,with a spirit worthy of the friend of Brutus, that he foundhimself incapable of exercising a power incompatible withpublic freedom.312 As the sense of liberty became lessexquisite, the advantages of order were more clearly under-stood; and the praefect, who seemed to have been designedas a terror only to slaves and vagrants, was permitted to ex-

to refer to the ample commentaries of Pancirolus and Godefroy, whohave diligently collected and accurately digested in their proper or-der all the legal and historical materials From those authors, Dr How-ell (History of the World, vol ii p 24-77) has deduced a very distinctabridgment of the state of the Roman empire

310Tacit Annal vi 11 Euseb in Chron p 155 Dion Cassius, in the ora-tion of Maecenas, (l lvii p 675,) describes the prerogatives of the prae-fect of the city as they were established in his own time

311The fame of Messalla has been scarcely equal to his merit In theearliest youth he was recommended by Cicero to the friendship of Bru-tus He followed the standard of the republic till it was broken in thefields of Philippi; he then accepted and deserved the favor of the mostmoderate of the conquerors; and uniformly asserted his freedom anddignity in the court of Augustus The triumph of Messalla was justi-fied by the conquest of Aquitain As an orator, he disputed the palmof eloquence with Cicero himself Messalla cultivated every muse, andwas the patron of every man of genius He spent his evenings in philo-sophic conversation with Horace; assumed his place at table betweenDelia and Tibullus; and amused his leisure by encouraging the poeti-cal talents of young Ovid

312Incivilem esse potestatem contestans, says the translator of Eu-sebius Tacitus expresses the same idea in other words; quasi nesciusexercendi

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tend his civil and criminal jurisdiction over the equestrianand noble families of Rome. The praetors, annually createdas the judges of law and equity, could not long dispute thepossession of the Forum with a vigorous and permanentmagistrate, who was usually admitted into the confidenceof the prince. Their courts were deserted, their number,which had once fluctuated between twelve and eighteen,313was gradually reduced to two or three, and their importantfunctions were confined to the expensive obligation314 ofexhibiting games for the amusement of the people. Afterthe office of the Roman consuls had been changed into avain pageant, which was rarely displayed in the capital, thepraefects assumed their vacant place in the senate, and weresoon acknowledged as the ordinary presidents of that ven-erable assembly. They received appeals from the distance ofone hundred miles; and it was allowed as a principle of ju-risprudence, that all municipal authority was derived fromthem alone.315 In the discharge of his laborious employ-ment, the governor of Rome was assisted by fifteen officers,some of whom had been originally his equals, or even hissuperiors. The principal departments were relative to thecommand of a numerous watch, established as a safeguardagainst fires, robberies, and nocturnal disorders; the cus-tody and distribution of the public allowance of corn andprovisions; the care of the port, of the aqueducts, of the com-mon sewers, and of the navigation and bed of the Tyber;the inspection of the markets, the theatres, and of the pri-

313See Lipsius, Excursus D ad 1 lib Tacit Annal314Heineccii Element Juris Civilis secund ordinem Pandect i p 70 See,

likewise, Spanheim de Usu Numismatum, tom ii dissertat x p 119 Inthe year 450, Marcian published a law, that three citizens should be an-nually created Praetors of Constantinople by the choice of the senate,but with their own consent Cod Justinian li i tit xxxix leg 2

315Quidquid igitur intra urbem admittitur, ad P U videtur pertinere;sed et siquid intra contesimum milliarium Ulpian in Pandect l i tit xiiin 1 He proceeds to enumerate the various offices of the praefect, who,in the code of Justinian, (l i tit xxxix leg 3,) is declared to precede andcommand all city magistrates sine injuria ac detrimento honoris alieni

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vate as well as the public works. Their vigilance insured thethree principal objects of a regular police, safety, plenty, andcleanliness; and as a proof of the attention of government topreserve the splendor and ornaments of the capital, a partic-ular inspector was appointed for the statues; the guardian,as it were, of that inanimate people, which, according to theextravagant computation of an old writer, was scarcely in-ferior in number to the living inhabitants of Rome. Aboutthirty years after the foundation of Constantinople, a simi-lar magistrate was created in that rising metropolis, for thesame uses and with the same powers. A perfect equalitywas established between the dignity of the two municipal,and that of the four Praetorian praefects.316

316Besides our usual guides, we may observe that Felix Canteloriushas written a separate treatise, De Praefecto Urbis; and that many cu-rious details concerning the police of Rome and Constantinople arecontained in the fourteenth book of the Theodosian Code

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THOSE who, in the imperial hierarchy, were distinguishedby the title of Respectable, formed an intermediate class

between the illustrious praefects, and the honorable mag-istrates of the provinces. In this class the proconsuls ofAsia, Achaia, and Africa, claimed a preeminence, whichwas yielded to the remembrance of their ancient dignity;and the appeal from their tribunal to that of the praefectswas almost the only mark of their dependence.317 But thecivil government of the empire was distributed into thirteengreat Dioceses, each of which equalled the just measure of apowerful kingdom. The first of these dioceses was subject tothe jurisdiction of the count of the east; and we may conveysome idea of the importance and variety of his functions,by observing, that six hundred apparitors, who would bestyled at present either secretaries, or clerks, or ushers, ormessengers, were employed in his immediate office.318 Theplace of Augustal proefect of Egypt was no longer filled bya Roman knight; but the name was retained; and the ex-traordinary powers which the situation of the country, andthe temper of the inhabitants, had once made indispensable,were still continued to the governor. The eleven remainingdioceses, of Asiana, Pontica, and Thrace; of Macedonia, Da-cia, and Pannonia, or Western Illyricum; of Italy and Africa;of Gaul, Spain, and Britain; were governed by twelve vi-cars or vice-proefects,319 whose name sufficiently explains

317Eunapius affirms, that the proconsul of Asia was independentof the praefect; which must, however, be understood with some al-lowance the jurisdiction of the vice-praefect he most assuredly dis-claimed Pancirolus, p 161

318The proconsul of Africa had four hundred apparitors; and theyall received large salaries, either from the treasury or the province SeePancirol p 26, and Cod Justinian l xii tit lvi lvii

319In Italy there was likewise the Vicar of Rome It has been muchdisputed whether his jurisdiction measured one hundred miles fromthe city, or whether it stretched over the ten thousand provinces of

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the nature and dependence of their office. It may be added,that the lieutenant-generals of the Roman armies, the mil-itary counts and dukes, who will be hereafter mentioned,were allowed the rank and title of Respectable.

As the spirit of jealousy and ostentation prevailed in thecouncils of the emperors, they proceeded with anxious dili-gence to divide the substance and to multiply the titles ofpower. The vast countries which the Roman conquerorshad united under the same simple form of administration,were imperceptibly crumbled into minute fragments; till atlength the whole empire was distributed into one hundredand sixteen provinces, each of which supported an expen-sive and splendid establishment. Of these, three were gov-erned by proconsuls, thirty-seven by consulars, five by cor-rectors, and seventy-one by presidents. The appellations ofthese magistrates were different; they ranked in successiveorder, the ensigns of and their situation, from accidental cir-cumstances, might be more or less agreeable or advanta-geous. But they were all (excepting only the pro-consuls)alike included in the class of honorable persons; and theywere alike intrusted, during the pleasure of the prince, andunder the authority of the praefects or their deputies, withthe administration of justice and the finances in their re-spective districts. The ponderous volumes of the Codes andPandects320 would furnish ample materials for a minute in-quiry into the system of provincial government, as in thespace of six centuries it was approved by the wisdom of theRoman statesmen and lawyers.

It may be sufficient for the historian to select two singularand salutary provisions, intended to restrain the abuse ofauthority.

Italy320Among the works of the celebrated Ulpian, there was one in ten

books, concerning the office of a proconsul, whose duties in the mostessential articles were the same as those of an ordinary governor of aprovince

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1. For the preservation of peace and order, the gover-nors of the provinces were armed with the sword of jus-tice. They inflicted corporal punishments, and they exer-cised, in capital offences, the power of life and death. Butthey were not authorized to indulge the condemned crim-inal with the choice of his own execution, or to pronouncea sentence of the mildest and most honorable kind of ex-ile. These prerogatives were reserved to the praefects, whoalone could impose the heavy fine of fifty pounds of gold:their vicegerents were confined to the trifling weight of afew ounces.321 This distinction, which seems to grant thelarger, while it denies the smaller degree of authority, wasfounded on a very rational motive. The smaller degree wasinfinitely more liable to abuse. The passions of a provincialmagistrate might frequently provoke him into acts of op-pression, which affected only the freedom or the fortunesof the subject; though, from a principle of prudence, per-haps of humanity, he might still be terrified by the guiltof innocent blood. It may likewise be considered, that ex-ile, considerable fines, or the choice of an easy death, relatemore particularly to the rich and the noble; and the personsthe most exposed to the avarice or resentment of a provin-cial magistrate, were thus removed from his obscure per-secution to the more august and impartial tribunal of thePraetorian praefect. 2. As it was reasonably apprehendedthat the integrity of the judge might be biased, if his in-terest was concerned, or his affections were engaged, thestrictest regulations were established, to exclude any per-son, without the special dispensation of the emperor, fromthe government of the province where he was born;322 and

321The presidents, or consulars, could impose only two ounces; thevice-praefects, three; the proconsuls, count of the east, and praefect ofEgypt, six See Heineccii Jur Civil tom i p 75 Pandect l xlviii tit xix n 8Cod Justinian l i tit liv leg 4, 6

322Ut nulli patriae suae administratio sine speciali principis per-missu permittatur Cod Justinian l i tit xli This law was first enactedby the emperor Marcus, after the rebellion of Cassius (Dion l lxxi) The

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to prohibit the governor or his son from contracting mar-riage with a native, or an inhabitant;323 or from purchasingslaves, lands, or houses, within the extent of his jurisdic-tion.324 Notwithstanding these rigorous precautions, theemperor Constantine, after a reign of twenty-five years, stilldeplores the venal and oppressive administration of justice,and expresses the warmest indignation that the audience ofthe judge, his despatch of business, his seasonable delays,and his final sentence, were publicly sold, either by himselfor by the officers of his court. The continuance, and perhapsthe impunity, of these crimes, is attested by the repetition ofimpotent laws and ineffectual menaces.325

All the civil magistrates were drawn from the professionof the law. The celebrated Institutes of Justinian are ad-dressed to the youth of his dominions, who had devotedthemselves to the study of Roman jurisprudence; and thesovereign condescends to animate their diligence, by theassurance that their skill and ability would in time be re-warded by an adequate share in the government of therepublic.326 The rudiments of this lucrative science were

same regulation is observed in China, with equal strictness, and withequal effect

323Pandect l xxiii tit ii n 38, 57, 63324In jure continetur, ne quis in administratione constitutus aliquid

compararet Cod Theod l viii tit xv leg l This maxim of common lawwas enforced by a series of edicts (see the remainder of the title) fromConstantine to Justin From this prohibition, which is extended to themeanest officers of the governor, they except only clothes and provi-sions The purchase within five years may be recovered; after which oninformation, it devolves to the treasury

325Cessent rapaces jam nunc officialium manus; cessent, inquamnam si moniti non cessaverint, gladiis praecidentur, &c Cod Theodl i tit vii leg l Zeno enacted that all governors should remain in theprovince, to answer any accusations, fifty days after the expiration oftheir power Cod Justinian l ii tit xlix leg l

326Summa igitur ope, et alacri studio has leges nostras accipite; etvosmetipsos sic eruditos ostendite, ut spes vos pulcherrima foveat;toto legitimo opere perfecto, posse etiam nostram rempublicam in par

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taught in all the considerable cities of the east and west;but the most famous school was that of Berytus,327 on thecoast of Phoenicia; which flourished above three centuriesfrom the time of Alexander Severus, the author perhaps ofan institution so advantageous to his native country. Af-ter a regular course of education, which lasted five years,the students dispersed themselves through the provinces,in search of fortune and honors; nor could they want aninexhaustible supply of business in a great empire alreadycorrupted by the multiplicity of laws, of arts, and of vices.The court of the Praetorian praefect of the east could alonefurnish employment for one hundred and fifty advocates,sixty-four of whom were distinguished by peculiar privi-leges, and two were annually chosen, with a salary of sixtypounds of gold, to defend the causes of the treasury. Thefirst experiment was made of their judicial talents, by ap-pointing them to act occasionally as assessors to the magis-trates; from thence they were often raised to preside in thetribunals before which they had pleaded. They obtainedthe government of a province; and, by the aid of merit, ofreputation, or of favor, they ascended, by successive steps,to the illustrious dignities of the state.328 In the practice

tibus ejus vobis credendis gubernari Justinian in proem Institutionum327The splendor of the school of Berytus, which preserved in the east

the language and jurisprudence of the Romans, may be computed tohave lasted from the third to the middle of the sixth century HeineccJur Rom Hist p 351-356

328As in a former period I have traced the civil and military pro-motion of Pertinax, I shall here insert the civil honors of MalliusTheodorus 1 He was distinguished by his eloquence, while he pleadedas an advocate in the court of the Praetorian praefect 2 He governedone of the provinces of Africa, either as president or consular, and de-served, by his administration, the honor of a brass statue 3 He was ap-pointed vicar, or vice-praefect, of Macedonia 4 Quaestor 5 Count of thesacred largesses 6 Praetorian praefect of the Gauls; whilst he might yetbe represented as a young man 7 After a retreat, perhaps a disgrace ofmany years, which Mallius (confounded by some critics with the poetManilius; see Fabricius Bibliothec Latin Edit Ernest tom ic 18, p 501)employed in the study of the Grecian philosophy he was named Prae-

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of the bar, these men had considered reason as the instru-ment of dispute; they interpreted the laws according to thedictates of private interest and the same pernicious habitsmight still adhere to their characters in the public admin-istration of the state. The honor of a liberal profession hasindeed been vindicated by ancient and modern advocates,who have filled the most important stations, with pure in-tegrity and consummate wisdom: but in the decline of Ro-man jurisprudence, the ordinary promotion of lawyers waspregnant with mischief and disgrace. The noble art, whichhad once been preserved as the sacred inheritance of thepatricians, was fallen into the hands of freedmen and ple-beians,329 who, with cunning rather than with skill, exer-cised a sordid and pernicious trade. Some of them procuredadmittance into families for the purpose of fomenting dif-ferences, of encouraging suits, and of preparing a harvestof gain for themselves or their brethren. Others, recluse intheir chambers, maintained the dignity of legal professors,by furnishing a rich client with subtleties to confound theplainest truths, and with arguments to color the most un-justifiable pretensions. The splendid and popular class wascomposed of the advocates, who filled the Forum with thesound of their turgid and loquacious rhetoric. Careless offame and of justice, they are described, for the most part, asignorant and rapacious guides, who conducted their clientsthrough a maze of expense, of delay, and of disappoint-ment; from whence, after a tedious series of years, they wereat length dismissed, when their patience and fortune were

torian praefect of Italy, in the year 397 8 While he still exercised thatgreat office, he was created, it the year 399, consul for the West; and hisname, on account of the infamy of his colleague, the eunuch Eutropius,often stands alone in the Fasti 9 In the year 408, Mallius was appointeda second time Praetorian praefect of Italy Even in the venal panegyricof Claudian, we may discover the merit of Mallius Theodorus, who,by a rare felicity, was the intimate friend, both of Symmachus and ofSt Augustin See Tillemont, Hist des Emp tom v p 1110-1114

329Mamertinus in Panegyr Vet xi [x] 20 Asterius apud Photium, p1500

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almost exhausted.330

III. In the system of policy introduced by Augustus, thegovernors, those at least of the Imperial provinces, were in-vested with the full powers of the sovereign himself. Min-isters of peace and war, the distribution of rewards andpunishments depended on them alone, and they succes-sively appeared on their tribunal in the robes of civil mag-istracy, and in complete armor at the head of the Romanlegions.331 The influence of the revenue, the authority oflaw, and the command of a military force, concurred to ren-der their power supreme and absolute; and whenever theywere tempted to violate their allegiance, the loyal provincewhich they involved in their rebellion was scarcely sensi-ble of any change in its political state. From the time ofCommodus to the reign of Constantine, near one hundredgovernors might be enumerated, who, with various suc-cess, erected the standard of revolt; and though the inno-cent were too often sacrificed, the guilty might be some-times prevented, by the suspicious cruelty of their mas-ter.332 To secure his throne and the public tranquillity fromthese formidable servants, Constantine resolved to dividethe military from the civil administration, and to estab-lish, as a permanent and professional distinction, a prac-

330The curious passage of Ammianus, (l xxx c 4,) in which he paintsthe manners of contemporary lawyers, affords a strange mixture ofsound sense, false rhetoric, and extravagant satire Godefroy (Prole-gom ad Cod Theod c i p 185) supports the historian by similar com-plaints and authentic facts In the fourth century, many camels mighthave been laden with law-books Eunapius in Vit Aedesii, p 72

331See a very splendid example in the life of Agricola, particularlyc 20, 21 The lieutenant of Britain was intrusted with the same powerswhich Cicero, proconsul of Cilicia, had exercised in the name of thesenate and people

332The Abbe Dubos, who has examined with accuracy (see Hist dela Monarchie Francoise, tom i p 41-100, edit 1742) the institutions ofAugustus and of Constantine, observes, that if Otho had been put todeath the day before he executed his conspiracy, Otho would now ap-pear in history as innocent as Corbulo

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tice which had been adopted only as an occasional expedi-ent. The supreme jurisdiction exercised by the Praetorianpraefects over the armies of the empire, was transferred tothe two masters-general whom he instituted, the one for thecavalry, the other for the infantry; and though each of theseillustrious officers was more peculiarly responsible for thediscipline of those troops which were under his immedi-ate inspection, they both indifferently commanded in thefield the several bodies, whether of horse or foot, whichwere united in the same army.333 Their number was soondoubled by the division of the east and west; and as sep-arate generals of the same rank and title were appointedon the four important frontiers of the Rhine, of the Up-per and the Lower Danube, and of the Euphrates, the de-fence of the Roman empire was at length committed to eightmasters-general of the cavalry and infantry. Under their or-ders, thirty-five military commanders were stationed in theprovinces: three in Britain, six in Gaul, one in Spain, onein Italy, five on the Upper, and four on the Lower Danube;in Asia, eight, three in Egypt, and four in Africa. The ti-tles of counts, and dukes,334 by which they were properlydistinguished, have obtained in modern languages so verydifferent a sense, that the use of them may occasion somesurprise. But it should be recollected, that the second ofthose appellations is only a corruption of the Latin word,which was indiscriminately applied to any military chief.All these provincial generals were therefore dukes; but nomore than ten among them were dignified with the rankof counts or companions, a title of honor, or rather of fa-vor, which had been recently invented in the court of Con-

333Zosimus, l ii p 110 Before the end of the reign of Constantius,the magistri militum were already increased to four See Velesius adAmmian l xvi c 7

334Though the military counts and dukes are frequently mentioned,both in history and the codes, we must have recourse to the Notitia forthe exact knowledge of their number and stations For the institution,rank, privileges, &c, of the counts in general see Cod Theod l vi titxii–xx, with the commentary of Godefroy

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stantine. A gold belt was the ensign which distinguishedthe office of the counts and dukes; and besides their pay,they received a liberal allowance sufficient to maintain onehundred and ninety servants, and one hundred and fifty-eight horses. They were strictly prohibited from interferingin any matter which related to the administration of justiceor the revenue; but the command which they exercised overthe troops of their department, was independent of the au-thority of the magistrates. About the same time that Con-stantine gave a legal sanction to the ecclesiastical order, heinstituted in the Roman empire the nice balance of the civiland the military powers. The emulation, and sometimesthe discord, which reigned between two professions of op-posite interests and incompatible manners, was productiveof beneficial and of pernicious consequences. It was sel-dom to be expected that the general and the civil governorof a province should either conspire for the disturbance, orshould unite for the service, of their country. While the onedelayed to offer the assistance which the other disdainedto solicit, the troops very frequently remained without or-ders or without supplies; the public safety was betrayed,and the defenceless subjects were left exposed to the fury ofthe Barbarians. The divided administration which had beenformed by Constantine, relaxed the vigor of the state, whileit secured the tranquillity of the monarch.

The memory of Constantine has been deservedly cen-sured for another innovation, which corrupted military dis-cipline and prepared the ruin of the empire. The nine-teen years which preceded his final victory over Licinius,had been a period of license and intestine war. The rivalswho contended for the possession of the Roman world, hadwithdrawn the greatest part of their forces from the guard ofthe general frontier; and the principal cities which formedthe boundary of their respective dominions were filled withsoldiers, who considered their countrymen as their mostimplacable enemies. After the use of these internal gar-risons had ceased with the civil war, the conqueror wanted

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either wisdom or firmness to revive the severe discipline ofDiocletian, and to suppress a fatal indulgence, which habithad endeared and almost confirmed to the military order.From the reign of Constantine, a popular and even legaldistinction was admitted between the Palatines335 and theBorderers; the troops of the court, as they were improperlystyled, and the troops of the frontier. The former, elevatedby the superiority of their pay and privileges, were permit-ted, except in the extraordinary emergencies of war, to oc-cupy their tranquil stations in the heart of the provinces.The most flourishing cities were oppressed by the intoler-able weight of quarters. The soldiers insensibly forgot thevirtues of their profession, and contracted only the vices ofcivil life. They were either degraded by the industry of me-chanic trades, or enervated by the luxury of baths and the-atres. They soon became careless of their martial exercises,curious in their diet and apparel; and while they inspiredterror to the subjects of the empire, they trembled at thehostile approach of the Barbarians.336 The chain of fortifi-cations which Diocletian and his colleagues had extendedalong the banks of the great rivers, was no longer main-tained with the same care, or defended with the same vig-ilance. The numbers which still remained under the nameof the troops of the frontier, might be sufficient for the ordi-nary defence; but their spirit was degraded by the humiliat-ing reflection, that they who were exposed to the hardshipsand dangers of a perpetual warfare, were rewarded onlywith about two thirds of the pay and emoluments whichwere lavished on the troops of the court. Even the bands orlegions that were raised the nearest to the level of those un-

335Zosimus, l ii p 111 The distinction between the two classes ofRoman troops, is very darkly expressed in the historians, the laws,and the Notitia Consult, however, the copious paratitlon, or abstract,which Godefroy has drawn up of the seventh book, de Re Militari, ofthe Theodosian Code, l vii tit i leg 18, l viii tit i leg 10

336Ferox erat in suos miles et rapax, ignavus vero in hostes et fractusAmmian l xxii c 4 He observes, that they loved downy beds and housesof marble; and that their cups were heavier than their swords

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worthy favorites, were in some measure disgraced by thetitle of honor which they were allowed to assume. It wasin vain that Constantine repeated the most dreadful men-aces of fire and sword against the Borderers who shoulddare desert their colors, to connive at the inroads of theBarbarians, or to participate in the spoil.337 The mischiefswhich flow from injudicious counsels are seldom removedby the application of partial severities; and though succeed-ing princes labored to restore the strength and numbers ofthe frontier garrisons, the empire, till the last moment of itsdissolution, continued to languish under the mortal woundwhich had been so rashly or so weakly inflicted by the handof Constantine.

The same timid policy, of dividing whatever is united,of reducing whatever is eminent, of dreading every activepower, and of expecting that the most feeble will prove themost obedient, seems to pervade the institutions of severalprinces, and particularly those of Constantine. The martialpride of the legions, whose victorious camps had so oftenbeen the scene of rebellion, was nourished by the mem-ory of their past exploits, and the consciousness of theiractual strength. As long as they maintained their ancientestablishment of six thousand men, they subsisted, underthe reign of Diocletian, each of them singly, a visible andimportant object in the military history of the Roman em-pire. A few years afterwards, these gigantic bodies wereshrunk to a very diminutive size; and when seven legions,with some auxiliaries, defended the city of Amida againstthe Persians, the total garrison, with the inhabitants of bothsexes, and the peasants of the deserted country, did not ex-ceed the number of twenty thousand persons.338 From this

337Cod Theod l vii tit i leg 1, tit xii leg i See Howell’s Hist ofthe World, vol ii p 19 That learned historian, who is not sufficientlyknown, labors to justify the character and policy of Constantine

338Ammian l xix c 2 He observes, (c 5,) that the desperate salliesof two Gallic legions were like a handful of water thrown on a greatconflagration

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fact, and from similar examples, there is reason to believe,that the constitution of the legionary troops, to which theypartly owed their valor and discipline, was dissolved byConstantine; and that the bands of Roman infantry, whichstill assumed the same names and the same honors, con-sisted only of one thousand or fifteen hundred men.339 Theconspiracy of so many separate detachments, each of whichwas awed by the sense of its own weakness, could easily bechecked; and the successors of Constantine might indulgetheir love of ostentation, by issuing their orders to one hun-dred and thirty-two legions, inscribed on the muster-roll oftheir numerous armies. The remainder of their troops wasdistributed into several hundred cohorts of infantry, andsquadrons of cavalry. Their arms, and titles, and ensigns,were calculated to inspire terror, and to display the varietyof nations who marched under the Imperial standard. Andnot a vestige was left of that severe simplicity, which, in theages of freedom and victory, had distinguished the line ofbattle of a Roman army from the confused host of an Asiaticmonarch.340 A more particular enumeration, drawn fromthe Notitia, might exercise the diligence of an antiquary; butthe historian will content himself with observing, that thenumber of permanent stations or garrisons established onthe frontiers of the empire, amounted to five hundred andeighty-three; and that, under the successors of Constantine,the complete force of the military establishment was com-puted at six hundred and forty-five thousand soldiers.341An effort so prodigious surpassed the wants of a more an-cient, and the faculties of a later, period.

339Pancirolus ad Notitiam, p 96 Memoires de l’Academie des In-scriptions, tom xxv p 491

340Romana acies unius prope formae erat et hominum et armorumgenere–Regia acies varia magis multis gentibus dissimilitudine armo-rum auxiliorumque erat T Liv l xxxvii c 39, 40 Flaminius, even beforethe event, had compared the army of Antiochus to a supper in whichthe flesh of one vile animal was diversified by the skill of the cooks Seethe Life of Flaminius in Plutarch

341Agathias, l v p 157, edit Louvre

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In the various states of society, armies are recruited fromvery different motives. Barbarians are urged by the love ofwar; the citizens of a free republic may be prompted by aprinciple of duty; the subjects, or at least the nobles, of amonarchy, are animated by a sentiment of honor; but thetimid and luxurious inhabitants of a declining empire mustbe allured into the service by the hopes of profit, or com-pelled by the dread of punishment. The resources of theRoman treasury were exhausted by the increase of pay, bythe repetition of donatives, and by the invention of newemolument and indulgences, which, in the opinion of theprovincial youth might compensate the hardships and dan-gers of a military life. Yet, although the stature was low-ered,342 although slaves, least by a tacit connivance, wereindiscriminately received into the ranks, the insurmount-able difficulty of procuring a regular and adequate supplyof volunteers, obliged the emperors to adopt more effectualand coercive methods. The lands bestowed on the veterans,as the free reward of their valor were henceforward grantedunder a condition which contain the first rudiments of thefeudal tenures; that their sons, who succeeded to the inher-itance, should devote themselves to the profession of arms,as soon as they attained the age of manhood; and their cow-ardly refusal was punished by the loss of honor, of fortune,or even of life.343 But as the annual growth of the sons ofthe veterans bore a very small proportion to the demandsof the service, levies of men were frequently required fromthe provinces, and every proprietor was obliged either to

342Valentinian (Cod Theodos l vii tit xiii leg 3) fixes the standardat five feet seven inches, about five feet four inches and a half, Englishmeasure It had formerly been five feet ten inches, and in the best corps,six Roman feet Sed tunc erat amplior multitude se et plures sequeban-tur militiam armatam Vegetius de Re Militari l i c v

343See the two titles, De Veteranis and De Filiis Veteranorum, in theseventh book of the Theodosian Code The age at which their militaryservice was required, varied from twenty-five to sixteen If the sons ofthe veterans appeared with a horse, they had a right to serve in thecavalry; two horses gave them some valuable privileges

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take up arms, or to procure a substitute, or to purchase hisexemption by the payment of a heavy fine. The sum offorty-two pieces of gold, to which it was reduced ascertainsthe exorbitant price of volunteers, and the reluctance withwhich the government admitted of this alterative.344 Suchwas the horror for the profession of a soldier, which had af-fected the minds of the degenerate Romans, that many ofthe youth of Italy and the provinces chose to cut off the fin-gers of their right hand, to escape from being pressed intothe service; and this strange expedient was so commonlypractised, as to deserve the severe animadversion of thelaws,345 and a peculiar name in the Latin language.346

344Cod Theod l vii tit xiii leg 7 According to the historian Socrates,(see Godefroy ad loc,) the same emperor Valens sometimes requiredeighty pieces of gold for a recruit In the following law it is faintly ex-pressed, that slaves shall not be admitted inter optimas lectissimorummilitum turmas

345The person and property of a Roman knight, who had mutilatedhis two sons, were sold at public auction by order of Augustus (Sue-ton in August c 27) The moderation of that artful usurper proves, thatthis example of severity was justified by the spirit of the times Am-mianus makes a distinction between the effeminate Italians and thehardy Gauls (L xv c 12) Yet only 15 years afterwards, Valentinian, ina law addressed to the praefect of Gaul, is obliged to enact that thesecowardly deserters shall be burnt alive (Cod Theod l vii tit xiii leg 5)Their numbers in Illyricum were so considerable, that the provincecomplained of a scarcity of recruits (Id leg 10)

346They were called Murci Murcidus is found in Plautus and Festus,to denote a lazy and cowardly person, who, according to Arnobius andAugustin, was under the immediate protection of the goddess MurciaFrom this particular instance of cowardice, murcare is used as syn-onymous to mutilare, by the writers of the middle Latinity See Linderbrogius and Valesius ad Ammian Marcellin, l xv c 12

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THE introduction of Barbarians into the Roman armies be-came every day more universal, more necessary, and

more fatal. The most daring of the Scythians, of the Goths,and of the Germans, who delighted in war, and who foundit more profitable to defend than to ravage the provinces,were enrolled, not only in the auxiliaries of their respectivenations, but in the legions themselves, and among the mostdistinguished of the Palatine troops. As they freely min-gled with the subjects of the empire, they gradually learnedto despise their manners, and to imitate their arts. Theyabjured the implicit reverence which the pride of Romehad exacted from their ignorance, while they acquired theknowledge and possession of those advantages by whichalone she supported her declining greatness. The Barbar-ian soldiers, who displayed any military talents, were ad-vanced, without exception, to the most important com-mands; and the names of the tribunes, of the counts anddukes, and of the generals themselves, betray a foreign ori-gin, which they no longer condescended to disguise. Theywere often intrusted with the conduct of a war against theircountrymen; and though most of them preferred the tiesof allegiance to those of blood, they did not always avoidthe guilt, or at least the suspicion, of holding a treasonablecorrespondence with the enemy, of inviting his invasion,or of sparing his retreat. The camps and the palace of theson of Constantine were governed by the powerful factionof the Franks, who preserved the strictest connection witheach other, and with their country, and who resented ev-ery personal affront as a national indignity.347 When thetyrant Caligula was suspected of an intention to invest avery extraordinary candidate with the consular robes, thesacrilegious profanation would have scarcely excited less

347Malarichus–adhibitis Francis quorum ea tempestate in palatiomultitudo florebat, erectius jam loquebatur tumultuabaturque Am-mian l xv c 5

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astonishment, if, instead of a horse, the noblest chieftain ofGermany or Britain had been the object of his choice. Therevolution of three centuries had produced so remarkable achange in the prejudices of the people, that, with the publicapprobation, Constantine showed his successors the exam-ple of bestowing the honors of the consulship on the Bar-barians, who, by their merit and services, had deserved tobe ranked among the first of the Romans.348 But as thesehardy veterans, who had been educated in the ignorance orcontempt of the laws, were incapable of exercising any civiloffices, the powers of the human mind were contracted bythe irreconcilable separation of talents as well as of profes-sions. The accomplished citizens of the Greek and Romanrepublics, whose characters could adapt themselves to thebar, the senate, the camp, or the schools, had learned towrite, to speak, and to act with the same spirit, and withequal abilities.

IV. Besides the magistrates and generals, who at a dis-tance from the court diffused their delegated authority overthe provinces and armies, the emperor conferred the rankof Illustrious on seven of his more immediate servants, towhose fidelity he intrusted his safety, or his counsels, or histreasures. 1. The private apartments of the palace were gov-erned by a favorite eunuch, who, in the language of thatage, was styled the proepositus, or praefect of the sacredbed-chamber. His duty was to attend the emperor in hishours of state, or in those of amusement, and to performabout his person all those menial services, which can onlyderive their splendor from the influence of royalty. Undera prince who deserved to reign, the great chamberlain (for

348Barbaros omnium primus, ad usque fasces auxerat et trabeas con-sulares Ammian l xx c 10 Eusebius (in Vit Constantin l iv c7) andAurelius Victor seem to confirm the truth of this assertion yet in thethirty-two consular Fasti of the reign of Constantine cannot discoverthe name of a single Barbarian I should therefore interpret the liberal-ity of that prince as relative to the ornaments rather than to the office,of the consulship

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such we may call him) was a useful and humble domes-tic; but an artful domestic, who improves every occasion ofunguarded confidence, will insensibly acquire over a fee-ble mind that ascendant which harsh wisdom and uncom-plying virtue can seldom obtain. The degenerate grand-sons of Theodosius, who were invisible to their subjects,and contemptible to their enemies, exalted the praefects oftheir bed-chamber above the heads of all the ministers of thepalace;349 and even his deputy, the first of the splendid trainof slaves who waited in the presence, was thought worthyto rank before the respectable proconsuls of Greece or Asia.The jurisdiction of the chamberlain was acknowledged bythe counts, or superintendents, who regulated the two im-portant provinces of the magnificence of the wardrobe, andof the luxury of the Imperial table.350 2. The principaladministration of public affairs was committed to the dili-gence and abilities of the master of the offices.351 He wasthe supreme magistrate of the palace, inspected the disci-pline of the civil and military schools, and received appealsfrom all parts of the empire, in the causes which related tothat numerous army of privileged persons, who, as the ser-vants of the court, had obtained for themselves and familiesa right to decline the authority of the ordinary judges. Thecorrespondence between the prince and his subjects wasmanaged by the four scrinia, or offices of this minister of

349Cod Theod l vi tit 8350By a very singular metaphor, borrowed from the military char-

acter of the first emperors, the steward of their household was styledthe count of their camp, (comes castrensis) Cassiodorus very seriouslyrepresents to him, that his own fame, and that of the empire, must de-pend on the opinion which foreign ambassadors may conceive of theplenty and magnificence of the royal table (Variar l vi epistol 9)

351Gutherius (de Officiis Domus Augustae, l ii c 20, l iii) has veryaccurately explained the functions of the master of the offices, and theconstitution of the subordinate scrinia But he vainly attempts, on themost doubtful authority, to deduce from the time of the Antonines, oreven of Nero, the origin of a magistrate who cannot be found in historybefore the reign of Constantine

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state. The first was appropriated to memorials, the secondto epistles, the third to petitions, and the fourth to papersand orders of a miscellaneous kind. Each of these was di-rected by an inferior master of respectable dignity, and thewhole business was despatched by a hundred and forty-eight secretaries, chosen for the most part from the profes-sion of the law, on account of the variety of abstracts of re-ports and references which frequently occurred in the exer-cise of their several functions. From a condescension, whichin former ages would have been esteemed unworthy theRoman majesty, a particular secretary was allowed for theGreek language; and interpreters were appointed to receivethe ambassadors of the Barbarians; but the department offoreign affairs, which constitutes so essential a part of mod-ern policy, seldom diverted the attention of the master of theoffices. His mind was more seriously engaged by the gen-eral direction of the posts and arsenals of the empire. Therewere thirty-four cities, fifteen in the East, and nineteen inthe West, in which regular companies of workmen were per-petually employed in fabricating defensive armor, offensiveweapons of all sorts, and military engines, which were de-posited in the arsenals, and occasionally delivered for theservice of the troops. 3. In the course of nine centuries, theoffice of quaestor had experienced a very singular revolu-tion. In the infancy of Rome, two inferior magistrates wereannually elected by the people, to relieve the consuls fromthe invidious management of the public treasure;352 a sim-ilar assistant was granted to every proconsul, and to everypraetor, who exercised a military or provincial command;with the extent of conquest, the two quaestors were grad-ually multiplied to the number of four, of eight, of twenty,

352Tacitus (Annal xi 22) says, that the first quaestors were elected bythe people, sixty-four years after the foundation of the republic; buthe is of opinion, that they had, long before that period, been annuallyappointed by the consuls, and even by the kings But this obscure pointof antiquity is contested by other writers

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and, for a short time, perhaps, of forty;353 and the noblestcitizens ambitiously solicited an office which gave them aseat in the senate, and a just hope of obtaining the hon-ors of the republic. Whilst Augustus affected to maintainthe freedom of election, he consented to accept the annualprivilege of recommending, or rather indeed of nominat-ing, a certain proportion of candidates; and it was his cus-tom to select one of these distinguished youths, to read hisorations or epistles in the assemblies of the senate.354 Thepractice of Augustus was imitated by succeeding princes;the occasional commission was established as a permanentoffice; and the favored quaestor, assuming a new and moreillustrious character, alone survived the suppression of hisancient and useless colleagues.355 As the orations whichhe composed in the name of the emperor,356 acquired the

353Tacitus (Annal xi 22) seems to consider twenty as the highestnumber of quaestors; and Dion (l xliii p 374) insinuates, that if thedictator Caesar once created forty, it was only to facilitate the paymentof an immense debt of gratitude Yet the augmentation which he madeof praetors subsisted under the succeeding reigns

354Sueton in August c 65, and Torrent ad loc Dion Cas p 755355The youth and inexperience of the quaestors, who entered on that

important office in their twenty-fifth year, (Lips Excurs ad Tacit l iii D,)engaged Augustus to remove them from the management of the trea-sury; and though they were restored by Claudius, they seem to havebeen finally dismissed by Nero (Tacit Annal xiii 29 Sueton in Aug c36, in Claud c 24 Dion, p 696, 961, &c Plin Epistol x 20, et alibi) Inthe provinces of the Imperial division, the place of the quaestors wasmore ably supplied by the procurators, (Dion Cas p 707 Tacit in VitAgricol c 15;) or, as they were afterwards called, rationales (Hist Au-gust p 130) But in the provinces of the senate we may still discover aseries of quaestors till the reign of Marcus Antoninus (See the Inscrip-tions of Gruter, the Epistles of Pliny, and a decisive fact in the Augus-tan History, p 64) From Ulpian we may learn, (Pandect l i tit 13,) thatunder the government of the house of Severus, their provincial admin-istration was abolished; and in the subsequent troubles, the annual ortriennial elections of quaestors must have naturally ceased

356Cum patris nomine et epistolas ipse dictaret, et edicta conscriberet, orationesque in senatu recitaret, etiam quaestoris vice Sueton, inTit c 6 The office must have acquired new dignity, which was occasion-

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force, and, at length, the form, of absolute edicts, he wasconsidered as the representative of the legislative power, theoracle of the council, and the original source of the civil ju-risprudence. He was sometimes invited to take his seat inthe supreme judicature of the Imperial consistory, with thePraetorian praefects, and the master of the offices; and hewas frequently requested to resolve the doubts of inferiorjudges: but as he was not oppressed with a variety of sub-ordinate business, his leisure and talents were employed tocultivate that dignified style of eloquence, which, in the cor-ruption of taste and language, still preserves the majesty ofthe Roman laws.357 In some respects, the office of the Impe-rial quaestor may be compared with that of a modern chan-cellor; but the use of a great seal, which seems to have beenadopted by the illiterate barbarians, was never introducedto attest the public acts of the emperors. 4. The extraor-dinary title of count of the sacred largesses was bestowedon the treasurer-general of the revenue, with the intentionperhaps of inculcating, that every payment flowed from thevoluntary bounty of the monarch. To conceive the almostinfinite detail of the annual and daily expense of the civiland military administration in every part of a great empire,would exceed the powers of the most vigorous imagination.

The actual account employed several hundred persons,distributed into eleven different offices, which were artfullycontrived to examine and control their respective opera-tions. The multitude of these agents had a natural tendencyto increase; and it was more than once thought expedientto dismiss to their native homes the useless supernumer-aries, who, deserting their honest labors, had pressed with

ally executed by the heir apparent of the empire Trajan intrusted thesame care to Hadrian, his quaestor and cousin See Dodwell, Praelec-tion Cambden, x xi p 362-394

357Terris edicta daturus; Supplicibus responsa–Oracula regis Elo-quio crevere tuo; nec dignius unquam Majestas meminit sese Romanalocutam—-Claudian in Consulat Mall Theodor 33 See likewise Sym-machus (Epistol i 17) and Cassiodorus (Variar iv 5)

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too much eagerness into the lucrative profession of the fi-nances.358 Twenty-nine provincial receivers, of whom eigh-teen were honored with the title of count, correspondedwith the treasurer; and he extended his jurisdiction overthe mines from whence the precious metals were extracted,over the mints, in which they were converted into the cur-rent coin, and over the public treasuries of the most im-portant cities, where they were deposited for the service ofthe state. The foreign trade of the empire was regulatedby this minister, who directed likewise all the linen andwoollen manufactures, in which the successive operationsof spinning, weaving, and dyeing were executed, chieflyby women of a servile condition, for the use of the palaceand army. Twenty-six of these institutions are enumeratedin the West, where the arts had been more recently intro-duced, and a still larger proportion may be allowed for theindustrious provinces of the East.359 5. Besides the pub-lic revenue, which an absolute monarch might levy andexpend according to his pleasure, the emperors, in the ca-pacity of opulent citizens, possessed a very extensive prop-erty, which was administered by the count or treasurer ofthe private estate. Some part had perhaps been the ancientdemesnes of kings and republics; some accessions mightbe derived from the families which were successively in-vested with the purple; but the most considerable portionflowed from the impure source of confiscations and for-feitures. The Imperial estates were scattered through theprovinces, from Mauritania to Britain; but the rich and fer-tile soil of Cappadocia tempted the monarch to acquire in

358Cod Theod l vi tit 30 Cod Justinian l xii tit 24359In the departments of the two counts of the treasury, the eastern

part of the Notitia happens to be very defective It may be observed,that we had a treasury chest in London, and a gyneceum or manufac-ture at Winchester But Britain was not thought worthy either of a mintor of an arsenal Gaul alone possessed three of the former, and eight ofthe latter

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that country his fairest possessions,360 and either Constan-tine or his successors embraced the occasion of justifyingavarice by religious zeal. They suppressed the rich templeof Comana, where the high priest of the goddess of war sup-ported the dignity of a sovereign prince; and they appliedto their private use the consecrated lands, which were in-habited by six thousand subjects or slaves of the deity andher ministers.361 But these were not the valuable inhabi-tants: the plains that stretch from the foot of Mount Ar-gaeus to the banks of the Sarus, bred a generous race ofhorses, renowned above all others in the ancient world fortheir majestic shape and incomparable swiftness. These sa-cred animals, destined for the service of the palace and theImperial games, were protected by the laws from the profa-nation of a vulgar master.362 The demesnes of Cappado-cia were important enough to require the inspection of acount;363 officers of an inferior rank were stationed in theother parts of the empire; and the deputies of the private, aswell as those of the public, treasurer were maintained in theexercise of their independent functions, and encouraged tocontrol the authority of the provincial magistrates.364 6, 7.The chosen bands of cavalry and infantry, which guarded

360Cod Theod l vi tit xxx leg 2, and Godefroy ad loc361Strabon Geograph l xxii p 809, [edit Casaub] The other temple of

Comana, in Pontus, was a colony from that of Cappadocia, l xii p 835The President Des Brosses (see his Saluste, tom ii p 21, [edit Causub])conjectures that the deity adored in both Comanas was Beltis, theVenus of the east, the goddess of generation; a very different beingindeed from the goddess of war

362Cod Theod l x tit vi de Grege Dominico Godefroy has collectedevery circumstance of antiquity relative to the Cappadocian horsesOne of the finest breeds, the Palmatian, was the forfeiture of a rebel,whose estate lay about sixteen miles from Tyana, near the great roadbetween Constantinople and Antioch

363Justinian (Novell 30) subjected the province of the count of Cap-padocia to the immediate authority of the favorite eunuch, whopresided over the sacred bed-chamber

364Cod Theod l vi tit xxx leg 4, &c

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the person of the emperor, were under the immediate com-mand of the two counts of the domestics. The whole num-ber consisted of three thousand five hundred men, dividedinto seven schools, or troops, of five hundred each; and inthe East, this honorable service was almost entirely appro-priated to the Armenians. Whenever, on public ceremonies,they were drawn up in the courts and porticos of the palace,their lofty stature, silent order, and splendid arms of sil-ver and gold, displayed a martial pomp not unworthy ofthe Roman majesty.365 From the seven schools two com-panies of horse and foot were selected, of the protectors,whose advantageous station was the hope and reward ofthe most deserving soldiers. They mounted guard in the in-terior apartments, and were occasionally despatched intothe provinces, to execute with celerity and vigor the or-ders of their master.366 The counts of the domestics hadsucceeded to the office of the Praetorian praefects; like thepraefects, they aspired from the service of the palace to thecommand of armies.

The perpetual intercourse between the court and theprovinces was facilitated by the construction of roads andthe institution of posts. But these beneficial establishmentswere accidentally connected with a pernicious and intoler-able abuse. Two or three hundred agents or messengerswere employed, under the jurisdiction of the master of theoffices, to announce the names of the annual consuls, andthe edicts or victories of the emperors. They insensibly as-sumed the license of reporting whatever they could observeof the conduct either of magistrates or of private citizens;and were soon considered as the eyes of the monarch,367

365Pancirolus, p 102, 136 The appearance of these military domesticsis described in the Latin poem of Corippus, de Laudibus Justin l iii157-179 p 419, 420 of the Appendix Hist Byzantin Rom 177

366Ammianus Marcellinus, who served so many years, obtainedonly the rank of a protector The first ten among these honorable sol-diers were Clarissimi

367Xenophon, Cyropaed l viii Brisson, de Regno Persico, l i No 190,

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and the scourge of the people. Under the warm influenceof a feeble reign, they multiplied to the incredible numberof ten thousand, disdained the mild though frequent ad-monitions of the laws, and exercised in the profitable man-agement of the posts a rapacious and insolent oppression.These official spies, who regularly corresponded with thepalace, were encouraged by favor and reward, anxiouslyto watch the progress of every treasonable design, fromthe faint and latent symptoms of disaffection, to the actualpreparation of an open revolt. Their careless or criminal vi-olation of truth and justice was covered by the consecratedmask of zeal; and they might securely aim their poisoned ar-rows at the breast either of the guilty or the innocent, whohad provoked their resentment, or refused to purchase theirsilence. A faithful subject, of Syria perhaps, or of Britain,was exposed to the danger, or at least to the dread, of beingdragged in chains to the court of Milan or Constantinople,to defend his life and fortune against the malicious chargeof these privileged informers. The ordinary administrationwas conducted by those methods which extreme necessitycan alone palliate; and the defects of evidence were dili-gently supplied by the use of torture.368

The deceitful and dangerous experiment of the criminalquaestion, as it is emphatically styled, was admitted, ratherthan approved, in the jurisprudence of the Romans. Theyapplied this sanguinary mode of examination only to servilebodies, whose sufferings were seldom weighed by thosehaughty republicans in the scale of justice or humanity; butthey would never consent to violate the sacred person ofa citizen, till they possessed the clearest evidence of his

p 264 The emperors adopted with pleasure this Persian metaphor368For the Agentes in Rebus, see Ammian l xv c 3, l xvi c 5, l xxii c 7,

with the curious annotations of Valesius Cod Theod l vi tit xxvii xxviiixxix Among the passages collected in the Commentary of Godefroy,the most remarkable is one from Libanius, in his discourse concerningthe death of Julian

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guilt.369 The annals of tyranny, from the reign of Tiberiusto that of Domitian, circumstantially relate the executions ofmany innocent victims; but, as long as the faintest remem-brance was kept alive of the national freedom and honor,the last hours of a Roman were secured from the danger ofignominions torture.370 The conduct of the provincial mag-istrates was not, however, regulated by the practice of thecity, or the strict maxims of the civilians. They found theuse of torture established not only among the slaves of ori-ental despotism, but among the Macedonians, who obeyeda limited monarch; among the Rhodians, who flourished bythe liberty of commerce; and even among the sage Atheni-ans, who had asserted and adorned the dignity of humankind.371 The acquiescence of the provincials encouragedtheir governors to acquire, or perhaps to usurp, a discre-tionary power of employing the rack, to extort from va-grants or plebeian criminals the confession of their guilt,till they insensibly proceeded to confound the distinctionof rank, and to disregard the privileges of Roman citizens.The apprehensions of the subjects urged them to solicit, andthe interest of the sovereign engaged him to grant, a vari-ety of special exemptions, which tacitly allowed, and evenauthorized, the general use of torture. They protected allpersons of illustrious or honorable rank, bishops and theirpresbyters, professors of the liberal arts, soldiers and their

369The Pandects (l xlviii tit xviii) contain the sentiments of the mostcelebrated civilians on the subject of torture They strictly confine itto slaves; and Ulpian himself is ready to acknowledge that Res estfragilis, et periculosa, et quae veritatem fallat

370In the conspiracy of Piso against Nero, Epicharis (libertina mulier)was the only person tortured; the rest were intacti tormentis It wouldbe superfluous to add a weaker, and it would be difficult to find astronger, example Tacit Annal xv 57

371Dicendum de Institutis Atheniensium, Rhodiorum, doctissimo-rum hominum, apud quos etiam (id quod acerbissimum est) liberi,civesque torquentur Cicero, Partit Orat c 34 We may learn from thetrial of Philotas the practice of the Macedonians (Diodor Sicul l xvii p604 Q Curt l vi c 11)

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families, municipal officers, and their posterity to the thirdgeneration, and all children under the age of puberty.372 Buta fatal maxim was introduced into the new jurisprudence ofthe empire, that in the case of treason, which included ev-ery offence that the subtlety of lawyers could derive from ahostile intention towards the prince or republic,373 all priv-ileges were suspended, and all conditions were reduced tothe same ignominious level. As the safety of the emperorwas avowedly preferred to every consideration of justice orhumanity, the dignity of age and the tenderness of youthwere alike exposed to the most cruel tortures; and the ter-rors of a malicious information, which might select them asthe accomplices, or even as the witnesses, perhaps, of animaginary crime, perpetually hung over the heads of theprincipal citizens of the Roman world.374

These evils, however terrible they may appear, were con-fined to the smaller number of Roman subjects, whose dan-gerous situation was in some degree compensated by theenjoyment of those advantages, either of nature or of for-tune, which exposed them to the jealousy of the monarch.The obscure millions of a great empire have much less todread from the cruelty than from the avarice of their mas-ters, and their humble happiness is principally affected bythe grievance of excessive taxes, which, gently pressing onthe wealthy, descend with accelerated weight on the meanerand more indigent classes of society. An ingenious philoso-

372Heineccius (Element Jur Civil part vii p 81) has collected theseexemptions into one view

373This definition of the sage Ulpian (Pandect l xlviii tit iv) seemsto have been adapted to the court of Caracalla, rather than to that ofAlexander Severus See the Codes of Theodosius and ad leg Juliam ma-jestatis

374Arcadius Charisius is the oldest lawyer quoted to justify the uni-versal practice of torture in all cases of treason; but this maxim oftyranny, which is admitted by Ammianus with the most respectfulterror, is enforced by several laws of the successors of Constantine SeeCod Theod l ix tit xxxv majestatis crimine omnibus aequa est conditio

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pher375 has calculated the universal measure of the publicimpositions by the degrees of freedom and servitude; andventures to assert, that, according to an invariable law of na-ture, it must always increase with the former, and diminishin a just proportion to the latter. But this reflection, whichwould tend to alleviate the miseries of despotism, is contra-dicted at least by the history of the Roman empire; whichaccuses the same princes of despoiling the senate of its au-thority, and the provinces of their wealth. Without abol-ishing all the various customs and duties on merchandises,which are imperceptibly discharged by the apparent choiceof the purchaser, the policy of Constantine and his succes-sors preferred a simple and direct mode of taxation, morecongenial to the spirit of an arbitrary government.376

375Montesquieu, Esprit des Loix, l xii c 13376Mr Hume (Essays, vol i p 389) has seen this importance with some

degree of perplexity

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THE name and use of the indictions,377 which serve toascertain the chronology of the middle ages, were de-

rived from the regular practice of the Roman tributes.378The emperor subscribed with his own hand, and in purpleink, the solemn edict, or indiction, which was fixed up inthe principal city of each diocese, during two months pre-vious to the first day of September. And by a very easyconnection of ideas, the word indiction was transferred tothe measure of tribute which it prescribed, and to the an-nual term which it allowed for the payment. This generalestimate of the supplies was proportioned to the real andimaginary wants of the state; but as often as the expense ex-ceeded the revenue, or the revenue fell short of the compu-tation, an additional tax, under the name of superindiction,was imposed on the people, and the most valuable attributeof sovereignty was communicated to the Praetorian prae-fects, who, on some occasions, were permitted to providefor the unforeseen and extraordinary exigencies of the pub-lic service. The execution of these laws (which it would be

377The cycle of indictions, which may be traced as high as the reignof Constantius, or perhaps of his father, Constantine, is still employedby the Papal court; but the commencement of the year has been veryreasonably altered to the first of January See l’Art de Verifier les Dates,p xi; and Dictionnaire Raison de la Diplomatique, tom ii p 25; two ac-curate treatises, which come from the workshop of the Benedictines—- It does not appear that the establishment of the indiction is to be attributed to Constantine: it existed before he had been created Augus-tus at Rome, and the remission granted by him to the city of Autun isthe proof He would not have ventured while only Caesar, and underthe necessity of courting popular favor, to establish such an odious im-post Aurelius Victor and Lactantius agree in designating Diocletian asthe author of this despotic institution Aur Vict de Caes c 39 Lactant deMort Pers c 7–G

378The first twenty-eight titles of the eleventh book of the Theo-dosian Code are filled with the circumstantial regulations on the im-portant subject of tributes; but they suppose a clearer knowledge offundamental principles than it is at present in our power to attain

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tedious to pursue in their minute and intricate detail) con-sisted of two distinct operations: the resolving the generalimposition into its constituent parts, which were assessedon the provinces, the cities, and the individuals of the Ro-man world; and the collecting the separate contributionsof the individuals, the cities, and the provinces, till the ac-cumulated sums were poured into the Imperial treasuries.But as the account between the monarch and the subjectwas perpetually open, and as the renewal of the demandanticipated the perfect discharge of the preceding obliga-tion, the weighty machine of the finances was moved bythe same hands round the circle of its yearly revolution.Whatever was honorable or important in the administra-tion of the revenue, was committed to the wisdom of thepraefects, and their provincia. representatives; the lucrativefunctions were claimed by a crowd of subordinate officers,some of whom depended on the treasurer, others on thegovernor of the province; and who, in the inevitable con-flicts of a perplexed jurisdiction, had frequent opportunitiesof disputing with each other the spoils of the people. Thelaborious offices, which could be productive only of envyand reproach, of expense and danger, were imposed on theDecurions, who formed the corporations of the cities, andwhom the severity of the Imperial laws had condemned tosustain the burdens of civil society.379 The whole landedproperty of the empire (without excepting the patrimonial

379The title concerning the Decurions (l xii tit i) is the most ample inthe whole Theodosian Code; since it contains not less than one hun-dred and ninety-two distinct laws to ascertain the duties and priv-ileges of that useful order of citizens (The Decurions were chargedwith assessing, according to the census of property prepared by thetabularii, the payment due from each proprietor This odious officewas authoritatively imposed on the richest citizens of each town; theyhad no salary, and all their compensation was, to be exempt from cer-tain corporal punishments, in case they should have incurred themThe Decurionate was the ruin of all the rich Hence they tried everyway of avoiding this dangerous honor; they concealed themselves,they entered into military service; but their efforts were unavailing;they were seized, they were compelled to become Decurions, and the

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estates of the monarch) was the object of ordinary taxation;and every new purchaser contracted the obligations of theformer proprietor. An accurate census,380 or survey, was theonly equitable mode of ascertaining the proportion whichevery citizen should be obliged to contribute for the pub-lic service; and from the well-known period of the indic-tions, there is reason to believe that this difficult and ex-pensive operation was repeated at the regular distance offifteen years. The lands were measured by surveyors, whowere sent into the provinces; their nature, whether arableor pasture, or vineyards or woods, was distinctly reported;and an estimate was made of their common value from theaverage produce of five years. The numbers of slaves andof cattle constituted an essential part of the report; an oathwas administered to the proprietors, which bound them todisclose the true state of their affairs; and their attempts toprevaricate, or elude the intention of the legislator, wereseverely watched, and punished as a capital crime, whichincluded the double guilt of treason and sacrilege.381 Alarge portion of the tribute was paid in money; and of thecurrent coin of the empire, gold alone could be legally ac-cepted.382 The remainder of the taxes, according to the pro-portions determined by the annual indiction, was furnished

dread inspired by this title was termed Impiety–G —-The Decurionswere mutually responsible; they were obliged to undertake for piecesof ground abandoned by their owners on account of the pressure ofthe taxes, and, finally, to make up all deficiencies Savigny chichte desRom Rechts, i 25–M

380Habemus enim et hominum numerum qui delati sunt, et agrunmodum Eumenius in Panegyr Vet viii 6 See Cod Theod l xiii tit x xi,with Godefroy’s Commentary

381Siquis sacrilega vitem falce succiderit, aut feracium ramorum foe-tus hebetaverit, quo delinet fidem Censuum, et mentiatur callide pau-pertatis ingenium, mox detectus capitale subibit exitium, et bona ejusin Fisci jura migrabunt Cod Theod l xiii tit xi leg 1 Although this law isnot without its studied obscurity, it is, however clear enough to provethe minuteness of the inquisition, and the disproportion of the penalty

382The astonishment of Pliny would have ceased Equidem miror PR victis gentibus argentum semper imperitasse non aurum Hist Natur

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in a manner still more direct, and still more oppressive. Ac-cording to the different nature of lands, their real producein the various articles of wine or oil, corn or barley, wood oriron, was transported by the labor or at the expense of theprovincials383 to the Imperial magazines, from whence theywere occasionally distributed for the use of the court, of thearmy, and of two capitals, Rome and Constantinople. Thecommissioners of the revenue were so frequently obligedto make considerable purchases, that they were strictly pro-hibited from allowing any compensation, or from receivingin money the value of those supplies which were exacted inkind. In the primitive simplicity of small communities, thismethod may be well adapted to collect the almost volun-tary offerings of the people; but it is at once susceptible ofthe utmost latitude, and of the utmost strictness, which ina corrupt and absolute monarchy must introduce a perpet-ual contest between the power of oppression and the arts offraud.384 The agriculture of the Roman provinces was in-sensibly ruined, and, in the progress of despotism whichtends to disappoint its own purpose, the emperors were

xxxiii 15383The proprietors were not charged with the expense of this trans-

port in the provinces situated on the sea-shore or near the great rivers,there were companies of boatmen, and of masters of vessels, who hadthis commission, and furnished the means of transport at their own ex-pense In return, they were themselves exempt, altogether, or in part,from the indiction and other imposts They had certain privileges; par-ticular regulations determined their rights and obligations (Cod Theodl xiii tit v ix) The transports by land were made in the same manner, bythe intervention of a privileged company called Bastaga; the memberswere called Bastagarii Cod Theod l viii tit v–G

384Some precautions were taken (see Cod Theod l xi tit ii and CodJustinian l x tit xxvii leg 1, 2, 3) to restrain the magistrates from theabuse of their authority, either in the exaction or in the purchase ofcorn: but those who had learning enough to read the orations of Ciceroagainst Verres, (iii de Frumento,) might instruct themselves in all thevarious arts of oppression, with regard to the weight, the price, thequality, and the carriage The avarice of an unlettered governor wouldsupply the ignorance of precept or precedent

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obliged to derive some merit from the forgiveness of debts,or the remission of tributes, which their subjects were ut-terly incapable of paying. According to the new division ofItaly, the fertile and happy province of Campania, the sceneof the early victories and of the delicious retirements of thecitizens of Rome, extended between the sea and the Apen-nine, from the Tiber to the Silarus. Within sixty years afterthe death of Constantine, and on the evidence of an actualsurvey, an exemption was granted in favor of three hun-dred and thirty thousand English acres of desert and uncul-tivated land; which amounted to one eighth of the wholesurface of the province. As the footsteps of the Barbarianshad not yet been seen in Italy, the cause of this amazing des-olation, which is recorded in the laws, can be ascribed onlyto the administration of the Roman emperors.385

Either from design or from accident, the mode of assess-ment seemed to unite the substance of a land tax with theforms of a capitation.386 The returns which were sent of ev-ery province or district, expressed the number of tributarysubjects, and the amount of the public impositions. The lat-ter of these sums was divided by the former; and the es-timate, that such a province contained so many capita, orheads of tribute; and that each head was rated at such aprice, was universally received, not only in the popular, buteven in the legal computation. The value of a tributary headmust have varied, according to many accidental, or at leastfluctuating circumstances; but some knowledge has beenpreserved of a very curious fact, the more important, since itrelates to one of the richest provinces of the Roman empire,

385Cod Theod l xi tit xxviii leg 2, published the 24th of March, A D395, by the emperor Honorius, only two months after the death of hisfather, Theodosius He speaks of 528,042 Roman jugera, which I havereduced to the English measure The jugerum contained 28,800 squareRoman feet

386Godefroy (Cod Theod tom vi p 116) argues with weight andlearning on the subject of the capitation; but while he explains the ca-put, as a share or measure of property, he too absolutely excludes theidea of a personal assessment

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and which now flourishes as the most splendid of the Eu-ropean kingdoms. The rapacious ministers of Constantiushad exhausted the wealth of Gaul, by exacting twenty-fivepieces of gold for the annual tribute of every head. The hu-mane policy of his successor reduced the capitation to sevenpieces.387 A moderate proportion between these oppositeextremes of extraordinary oppression and of transient in-dulgence, may therefore be fixed at sixteen pieces of gold,or about nine pounds sterling, the common standard, per-haps, of the impositions of Gaul.388 But this calculation, orrather, indeed, the facts from whence it is deduced, cannotfail of suggesting two difficulties to a thinking mind, whowill be at once surprised by the equality, and by the enor-mity, of the capitation. An attempt to explain them mayperhaps reflect some light on the interesting subject of thefinances of the declining empire.

I. It is obvious, that, as long as the immutable constitution387Quid profuerit (Julianus) anhelantibus extrema penuria Gal-

lis, hinc maxime claret, quod primitus partes eas ingressus, procapitibusingulis tributi nomine vicenos quinos aureos reperit flagitari;discedens vero septenos tantum numera universa complentes Am-mian l xvi c 5

388In the calculation of any sum of money under Constantine and hissuccessors, we need only refer to the excellent discourse of Mr Greaveson the Denarius, for the proof of the following principles; 1 That theancient and modern Roman pound, containing 5256 grains of Troyweight, is about one twelfth lighter than the English pound, which iscomposed of 5760 of the same grains 2 That the pound of gold, whichhad once been divided into forty-eight aurei, was at this time coinedinto seventy-two smaller pieces of the same denomination 3 That fiveof these aurei were the legal tender for a pound of silver, and that con-sequently the pound of gold was exchanged for fourteen pounds eightounces of silver, according to the Roman, or about thirteen pounds ac-cording to the English weight 4 That the English pound of silver iscoined into sixty-two shillings From these elements we may computethe Roman pound of gold, the usual method of reckoning large sums,at forty pounds sterling, and we may fix the currency of the aureusat somewhat more than eleven shillings (See, likewise, a Dissertationof M Letronne, “Considerations Generales sur l’Evaluation des Mon-naies Grecques et Romaines” Paris, 1817–M

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of human nature produces and maintains so unequal a divi-sion of property, the most numerous part of the communitywould be deprived of their subsistence, by the equal assess-ment of a tax from which the sovereign would derive a verytrifling revenue. Such indeed might be the theory of the Ro-man capitation; but in the practice, this unjust equality wasno longer felt, as the tribute was collected on the principleof a real, not of a personal imposition.389 Several indigentcitizens contributed to compose a single head, or share oftaxation; while the wealthy provincial, in proportion to hisfortune, alone represented several of those imaginary be-ings. In a poetical request, addressed to one of the last andmost deserving of the Roman princes who reigned in Gaul,Sidonius Apollinaris personifies his tribute under the figureof a triple monster, the Geryon of the Grecian fables, andentreats the new Hercules that he would most graciously bepleased to save his life by cutting off three of his heads.390The fortune of Sidonius far exceeded the customary wealth

389Two masterly dissertations of M Savigny, in the Mem of the BerlinAcademy (1822 and 1823) have thrown new light on the taxation sys-tem of the Empire Gibbon, according to M Savigny, is mistaken in sup-posing that there was but one kind of capitation tax; there was a landtax, and a capitation tax, strictly so called The land tax was, in its op-eration, a proprietor’s or landlord’s tax But, besides this, there was adirect capitation tax on all who were not possessed of landed propertyThis tax dates from the time of the Roman conquests; its amount isnot clearly known Gradual exemptions released different persons andclasses from this tax One edict exempts painters In Syria, all undertwelve or fourteen, or above sixty-five, were exempted; at a later pe-riod, all under twenty, and all unmarried females; still later, all undertwenty-five, widows and nuns, soldiers, veterani and clerici–wholedioceses, that of Thrace and Illyricum Under Galerius and Licinius,the plebs urbana became exempt; though this, perhaps, was only anordinance for the East By degrees, however, the exemption was ex-tended to all the inhabitants of towns; and as it was strictly capitatioplebeia, from which all possessors were exempted it fell at length al-together on the coloni and agricultural slaves These were registered inthe same cataster (capitastrum) with the land tax It was paid by theproprietor, who raised it again from his coloni and laborers–M

390Geryones nos esse puta, monstrumque tributum,

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of a poet; but if he had pursued the allusion, he might havepainted many of the Gallic nobles with the hundred headsof the deadly Hydra, spreading over the face of the country,and devouring the substance of a hundred families. II. Thedifficulty of allowing an annual sum of about nine poundssterling, even for the average of the capitation of Gaul, maybe rendered more evident by the comparison of the presentstate of the same country, as it is now governed by the ab-solute monarch of an industrious, wealthy, and affectionatepeople. The taxes of France cannot be magnified, either byfear or by flattery, beyond the annual amount of eighteenmillions sterling, which ought perhaps to be shared amongfour and twenty millions of inhabitants.391 Seven millionsof these, in the capacity of fathers, or brothers, or husbands,may discharge the obligations of the remaining multitude ofwomen and children; yet the equal proportion of each trib-utary subject will scarcely rise above fifty shillings of ourmoney, instead of a proportion almost four times as con-siderable, which was regularly imposed on their Gallic an-

391This assertion, however formidable it may seem, is founded onthe original registers of births, deaths, and marriages, collected bypublic authority, and now deposited in the Controlee General at ParisThe annual average of births throughout the whole kingdom, takenin five years, (from 1770 to 1774, both inclusive,) is 479,649 boys, and449,269 girls, in all 928,918 children The province of French Hainaultalone furnishes 9906 births; and we are assured, by an actual enumer-ation of the people, annually repeated from the year 1773 to the year1776, that upon an average, Hainault contains 257,097 inhabitants Bythe rules of fair analogy, we might infer, that the ordinary proportionof annual births to the whole people, is about 1 to 26; and that the king-dom of France contains 24,151,868 persons of both sexes and of everyage If we content ourselves with the more moderate proportion of 1 to25, the whole population will amount to 23,222,950 From the diligentresearches of the French Government, (which are not unworthy of ourown imitation,) we may hope to obtain a still greater degree of cer-tainty on this important subject (On no subject has so much valuableinformation been collected since the time of Gibbon, as the statisticsof the different countries of Europe but much is still wanting as to ourown–M

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cestors. The reason of this difference may be found, not somuch in the relative scarcity or plenty of gold and silver, asin the different state of society, in ancient Gaul and in mod-ern France. In a country where personal freedom is the priv-ilege of every subject, the whole mass of taxes, whether theyare levied on property or on consumption, may be fairlydivided among the whole body of the nation. But the fargreater part of the lands of ancient Gaul, as well as of theother provinces of the Roman world, were cultivated byslaves, or by peasants, whose dependent condition was aless rigid servitude.392 In such a state the poor were main-tained at the expense of the masters who enjoyed the fruitsof their labor; and as the rolls of tribute were filled only withthe names of those citizens who possessed the means of anhonorable, or at least of a decent subsistence, the compar-ative smallness of their numbers explains and justifies thehigh rate of their capitation. The truth of this assertion maybe illustrated by the following example: The Aedui, one ofthe most powerful and civilized tribes or cities of Gaul, oc-cupied an extent of territory, which now contains about fivehundred thousand inhabitants, in the two ecclesiastical dio-ceses of Autun and Nevers;393 and with the probable ac-cession of those of Chalons and Macon,394 the population

392Cod Theod l v tit ix x xi Cod Justinian l xi tit lxiii Coloni appel-lantur qui conditionem debent genitali solo, propter agriculturum subdominio possessorum Augustin de Civitate Dei, l x c i

393The ancient jurisdiction of (Augustodunum) Autun in Burgundy,the capital of the Aedui, comprehended the adjacent territory of(Noviodunum) Nevers See D’Anville, Notice de l’Ancienne Gaule, p491 The two dioceses of Autun and Nevers are now composed, theformer of 610, and the latter of 160 parishes The registers of births,taken during eleven years, in 476 parishes of the same province ofBurgundy, and multiplied by the moderate proportion of 25, (see Mes-sance Recherches sur la Population, p 142,) may authorizes us to as-sign an average number of 656 persons for each parish, which beingagain multiplied by the 770 parishes of the dioceses of Nevers and Au-tun, will produce the sum of 505,120 persons for the extent of countrywhich was once possessed by the Aedui

394We might derive an additional supply of 301,750 inhabitants from

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would amount to eight hundred thousand souls. In the timeof Constantine, the territory of the Aedui afforded no morethan twenty-five thousand heads of capitation, of whomseven thousand were discharged by that prince from the in-tolerable weight of tribute.395 A just analogy would seem tocountenance the opinion of an ingenious historian,396 thatthe free and tributary citizens did not surpass the number ofhalf a million; and if, in the ordinary administration of gov-ernment, their annual payments may be computed at aboutfour millions and a half of our money, it would appear, thatalthough the share of each individual was four times as con-siderable, a fourth part only of the modern taxes of Francewas levied on the Imperial province of Gaul. The exactionsof Constantius may be calculated at seven millions sterling,which were reduced to two millions by the humanity or thewisdom of Julian.

Hic capita ut vivam, tu mihi tolle tria.Sidon. Apollinar. Carm. xiii.

The reputation of Father Sirmond led me to expect moresatisfaction than I have found in his note (p. 144) on thisremarkable passage. The words, suo vel suorum nomine,betray the perplexity of the commentator.]

the dioceses of Chalons (Cabillonum) and of Macon, (Matisco,) sincethey contain, the one 200, and the other 260 parishes This accessionof territory might be justified by very specious reasons 1 Chalons andMacon were undoubtedly within the original jurisdiction of the Aedui(See D’Anville, Notice, p 187, 443) 2 In the Notitia of Gaul, they areenumerated not as Civitates, but merely as Castra 3 They do not ap-pear to have been episcopal seats before the fifth and sixth centuriesYet there is a passage in Eumenius (Panegyr Vet viii 7) which veryforcibly deters me from extending the territory of the Aedui, in thereign of Constantine, along the beautiful banks of the navigable Saone(In this passage of Eumenius, Savigny supposes the original numberto have been 32,000: 7000 being discharged, there remained 25,000 li-able to the tribute See Mem quoted above–M

395Eumenius in Panegyr Vet viii 11396L’Abbe du Bos, Hist Critique de la M F tom i p 121

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But this tax, or capitation, on the proprietors of land,would have suffered a rich and numerous class of free cit-izens to escape. With the view of sharing that species ofwealth which is derived from art or labor, and which existsin money or in merchandise, the emperors imposed a dis-tinct and personal tribute on the trading part of their sub-jects.397 Some exemptions, very strictly confined both intime and place, were allowed to the proprietors who dis-posed of the produce of their own estates. Some indulgencewas granted to the profession of the liberal arts: but everyother branch of commercial industry was affected by theseverity of the law. The honorable merchant of Alexandria,who imported the gems and spices of India for the use ofthe western world; the usurer, who derived from the inter-est of money a silent and ignominious profit; the ingeniousmanufacturer, the diligent mechanic, and even the most ob-scure retailer of a sequestered village, were obliged to ad-mit the officers of the revenue into the partnership of theirgain; and the sovereign of the Roman empire, who toler-ated the profession, consented to share the infamous salary,of public prostitutes.398 As this general tax upon industrywas collected every fourth year, it was styled the LustralContribution: and the historian Zosimus399 laments that theapproach of the fatal period was announced by the tearsand terrors of the citizens, who were often compelled by the

397See Cod Theod l xiii tit i and iv398The emperor Theodosius put an end, by a law to this disgrace-

ful source of revenue (Godef ad Cod Theod xiii tit i c 1) But beforehe deprived himself of it, he made sure of some way of replacing thisdeficit A rich patrician, Florentius, indignant at this legalized licen-tiousness, had made representations on the subject to the emperor Toinduce him to tolerate it no longer, he offered his own property to sup-ply the diminution of the revenue The emperor had the baseness toaccept his offer–G

399Zosimus, l ii p 115 There is probably as much passion and preju-dice in the attack of Zosimus, as in the elaborate defence of the mem-ory of Constantine by the zealous Dr Howell Hist of the World, vol iip 20

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impending scourge to embrace the most abhorred and un-natural methods of procuring the sum at which their prop-erty had been assessed. The testimony of Zosimus cannotindeed be justified from the charge of passion and preju-dice; but, from the nature of this tribute it seems reason-able to conclude, that it was arbitrary in the distribution,and extremely rigorous in the mode of collecting. The se-cret wealth of commerce, and the precarious profits of artor labor, are susceptible only of a discretionary valuation,which is seldom disadvantageous to the interest of the trea-sury; and as the person of the trader supplies the want ofa visible and permanent security, the payment of the impo-sition, which, in the case of a land tax, may be obtained bythe seizure of property, can rarely be extorted by any othermeans than those of corporal punishments. The cruel treat-ment of the insolvent debtors of the state, is attested, andwas perhaps mitigated by a very humane edict of Constan-tine, who, disclaiming the use of racks and of scourges, al-lots a spacious and airy prison for the place of their confine-ment.400

These general taxes were imposed and levied by the abso-lute authority of the monarch; but the occasional offeringsof the coronary gold still retained the name and semblanceof popular consent. It was an ancient custom that the al-lies of the republic, who ascribed their safety or deliveranceto the success of the Roman arms, and even the cities ofItaly, who admired the virtues of their victorious general,adorned the pomp of his triumph by their voluntary giftsof crowns of gold, which after the ceremony were conse-crated in the temple of Jupiter, to remain a lasting monu-ment of his glory to future ages. The progress of zeal andflattery soon multiplied the number, and increased the size,of these popular donations; and the triumph of Caesar wasenriched with two thousand eight hundred and twenty-twomassy crowns, whose weight amounted to twenty thou-sand four hundred and fourteen pounds of gold. This trea-

400Cod Theod l xi tit vii leg 3

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sure was immediately melted down by the prudent dictator,who was satisfied that it would be more serviceable to hissoldiers than to the gods: his example was imitated by hissuccessors; and the custom was introduced of exchangingthese splendid ornaments for the more acceptable presentof the current gold coin of the empire.401 The spontaneousoffering was at length exacted as the debt of duty; and in-stead of being confined to the occasion of a triumph, it wassupposed to be granted by the several cities and provincesof the monarchy, as often as the emperor condescended toannounce his accession, his consulship, the birth of a son,the creation of a Caesar, a victory over the Barbarians, orany other real or imaginary event which graced the annalsof his reign. The peculiar free gift of the senate of Romewas fixed by custom at sixteen hundred pounds of gold, orabout sixty-four thousand pounds sterling. The oppressedsubjects celebrated their own felicity, that their sovereignshould graciously consent to accept this feeble but volun-tary testimony of their loyalty and gratitude.402

A people elated by pride, or soured by discontent, areseldom qualified to form a just estimate of their actual sit-uation. The subjects of Constantine were incapable of dis-cerning the decline of genius and manly virtue, which sofar degraded them below the dignity of their ancestors; butthey could feel and lament the rage of tyranny, the relax-ation of discipline, and the increase of taxes. The impar-tial historian, who acknowledges the justice of their com-plaints, will observe some favorable circumstances which

401See Lipsius de Magnitud Romana, l ii c 9 The Tarragonese Spainpresented the emperor Claudius with a crown of gold of seven, andGaul with another of nine, hundred pounds weight I have followedthe rational emendation of Lipsius (This custom is of still earlier date,the Romans had borrowed it from Greece Who is not acquainted withthe famous oration of Demosthenes for the golden crown, which hiscitizens wished to bestow, and Aeschines to deprive him of?–G

402Cod Theod l xii tit xiii The senators were supposed to be exemptfrom the Aurum Coronarium; but the Auri Oblatio, which was re-quired at their hands, was precisely of the same nature

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tended to alleviate the misery of their condition. The threat-ening tempest of Barbarians, which so soon subverted thefoundations of Roman greatness, was still repelled, or sus-pended, on the frontiers. The arts of luxury and litera-ture were cultivated, and the elegant pleasures of societywere enjoyed, by the inhabitants of a considerable portionof the globe. The forms, the pomp, and the expense of thecivil administration contributed to restrain the irregular li-cense of the soldiers; and although the laws were violatedby power, or perverted by subtlety, the sage principles ofthe Roman jurisprudence preserved a sense of order andequity, unknown to the despotic governments of the East.The rights of mankind might derive some protection fromreligion and philosophy; and the name of freedom, whichcould no longer alarm, might sometimes admonish, the suc-cessors of Augustus, that they did not reign over a nation ofSlaves or Barbarians.403

403The great Theodosius, in his judicious advice to his son, (Clau-dian in iv Consulat Honorii, 214, &c,) distinguishes the station of aRoman prince from that of a Parthian monarch Virtue was necessaryfor the one; birth might suffice for the other

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CHARACTER OF CONSTANTINE AND HISSONS

Part I

Character Of Constantine.–Gothic War.

–Death Of Constantine.–Division Of The Empire Among His Three

Sons.–Persian War.–Tragic Deaths Of Constantine The Younger

And Constans.–Usurpation Of Magnentius.

–Civil War.–Victory Of Constantius.

THE character of the prince who removedthe seat of empire, and introduced such

important changes into the civil and reli-gious constitution of his country, has fixedthe attention, and divided the opinions, ofmankind. By the grateful zeal of the Chris-tians, the deliverer of the church has beendecorated with every attribute of a hero, andeven of a saint; while the discontent of thevanquished party has compared Constantineto the most abhorred of those tyrants, who,by their vice and weakness, dishonored theImperial purple. The same passions have insome degree been perpetuated to succeedinggenerations, and the character of Constan-tine is considered, even in the present age,as an object either of satire or of panegyric.By the impartial union of those defects whichare confessed by his warmest admirers, andof those virtues which are acknowledged byhis most-implacable enemies, we might hope

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to delineate a just portrait of that extraordi-nary man, which the truth and candor of his-tory should adopt without a blush.404 Butit would soon appear, that the vain attemptto blend such discordant colors, and to rec-oncile such inconsistent qualities, must pro-duce a figure monstrous rather than human,unless it is viewed in its proper and distinctlights, by a careful separation of the differentperiods of the reign of Constantine.The person, as well as the mind, of Constan-

tine, had been enriched by nature withher choices endowments. His stature waslofty, his countenance majestic, his deport-ment graceful; his strength and activity weredisplayed in every manly exercise, and fromhis earliest youth, to a very advanced seasonof life, he preserved the vigor of his consti-tution by a strict adherence to the domes-tic virtues of chastity and temperance. Hedelighted in the social intercourse of famil-iar conversation; and though he might some-times indulge his disposition to raillery withless reserve than was required by the severedignity of his station, the courtesy and lib-erality of his manners gained the hearts ofall who approached him. The sincerity ofhis friendship has been suspected; yet heshowed, on some occasions, that he was notincapable of a warm and lasting attachment.The disadvantage of an illiterate education

404On ne se trompera point sur Constantin, en croyant tout le malru’en dit Eusebe, et tout le bien qu’en dit Zosime Fleury, Hist Ecclesi-astique, tom iii p 233 Eusebius and Zosimus form indeed the two ex-tremes of flattery and invective The intermediate shades are expressedby those writers, whose character or situation variously tempered theinfluence of their religious zeal

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had not prevented him from forming a justestimate of the value of learning; and the artsand sciences derived some encouragementfrom the munificent protection of Constan-tine. In the despatch of business, his dili-gence was indefatigable; and the active pow-ers of his mind were almost continually ex-ercised in reading, writing, or meditating, ingiving audiences to ambassadors, and in ex-amining the complaints of his subjects. Eventhose who censured the propriety of his mea-sures were compelled to acknowledge, thathe possessed magnanimity to conceive, andpatience to execute, the most arduous de-signs, without being checked either by theprejudices of education, or by the clamors ofthe multitude. In the field, he infused hisown intrepid spirit into the troops, whom heconducted with the talents of a consummategeneral; and to his abilities, rather than to hisfortune, we may ascribe the signal victorieswhich he obtained over the foreign and do-mestic foes of the republic. He loved gloryas the reward, perhaps as the motive, of hislabors. The boundless ambition, which, fromthe moment of his accepting the purple atYork, appears as the ruling passion of hissoul, may be justified by the dangers of hisown situation, by the character of his rivals,by the consciousness of superior merit, andby the prospect that his success would en-able him to restore peace and order to thedistracted empire. In his civil wars againstMaxentius and Licinius, he had engaged onhis side the inclinations of the people, whocompared the undissembled vices of thosetyrants with the spirit of wisdom and justice

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which seemed to direct the general tenor ofthe administration of Constantine.405

Had Constantine fallen on the banks of theTyber, or even in the plains of Hadri-

anople, such is the character which, with afew exceptions, he might have transmittedto posterity. But the conclusion of his reign(according to the moderate and indeed ten-der sentence of a writer of the same age)degraded him from the rank which he hadacquired among the most deserving of theRoman princes.406 In the life of Augus-tus, we behold the tyrant of the republic,converted, almost by imperceptible degrees,into the father of his country, and of hu-man kind. In that of Constantine, we maycontemplate a hero, who had so long in-spired his subjects with love, and his ene-mies with terror, degenerating into a crueland dissolute monarch, corrupted by his for-tune, or raised by conquest above the ne-cessity of dissimulation. The general peacewhich he maintained during the last four-teen years of his reign, was a period of ap-parent splendor rather than of real prosper-ity; and the old age of Constantine was dis-

405The virtues of Constantine are collected for the most part fromEutropius and the younger Victor, two sincere pagans, who wrote afterthe extinction of his family Even Zosimus, and the Emperor Julian,acknowledge his personal courage and military achievements

406See Eutropius, x 6 In primo Imperii tempore optimis principibus,ultimo mediis comparandus From the ancient Greek version of Poea-nius, (edit Havercamp p 697,) I am inclined to suspect that Eutropiushad originally written vix mediis; and that the offensive monosylla-ble was dropped by the wilful inadvertency of transcribers AureliusVictor expresses the general opinion by a vulgar and indeed obscureproverb Trachala decem annis praestantissimds; duodecim sequen-tibus latro; decem novissimis pupillus ob immouicas profusiones

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graced by the opposite yet reconcilable vicesof rapaciousness and prodigality. The ac-cumulated treasures found in the palaces ofMaxentius and Licinius, were lavishly con-sumed; the various innovations introducedby the conqueror, were attended with an in-creasing expense; the cost of his buildings,his court, and his festivals, required an im-mediate and plentiful supply; and the op-pression of the people was the only fundwhich could support the magnificence of thesovereign.407 His unworthy favorites, en-riched by the boundless liberality of theirmaster, usurped with impunity the privi-lege of rapine and corruption.408 A secretbut universal decay was felt in every part ofthe public administration, and the emperorhimself, though he still retained the obedi-ence, gradually lost the esteem, of his sub-jects. The dress and manners, which, to-wards the decline of life, he chose to affect,served only to degrade him in the eyes ofmankind. The Asiatic pomp, which had beenadopted by the pride of Diocletian, assumedan air of softness and effeminacy in the per-son of Constantine. He is represented withfalse hair of various colors, laboriously ar-ranged by the skilful artists to the times; a di-adem of a new and more expensive fashion;

407Julian, Orat i p 8, in a flattering discourse pronounced beforethe son of Constantine; and Caesares, p 336 Zosimus, p 114, 115 Thestately buildings of Constantinople, &c, may be quoted as a lastingand unexceptionable proof of the profuseness of their founder

408The impartial Ammianus deserves all our confidence Proximo-rum fauces aperuit primus omnium Constantinus L xvi c 8 Eusebiushimself confesses the abuse, (Vit Constantin l iv c 29, 54;) and some ofthe Imperial laws feebly point out the remedy See above, p 146 of thisvolume

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a profusion of gems and pearls, of collars andbracelets, and a variegated flowing robe ofsilk, most curiously embroidered with flow-ers of gold. In such apparel, scarcely to be ex-cused by the youth and folly of Elagabalus,we are at a loss to discover the wisdom ofan aged monarch, and the simplicity of aRoman veteran.409 A mind thus relaxed byprosperity and indulgence, was incapable ofrising to that magnanimity which disdainssuspicion, and dares to forgive. The deathsof Maximian and Licinius may perhaps bejustified by the maxims of policy, as they aretaught in the schools of tyrants; but an im-partial narrative of the executions, or rathermurders, which sullied the declining age ofConstantine, will suggest to our most candidthoughts the idea of a prince who could sac-rifice without reluctance the laws of justice,and the feelings of nature, to the dictates ei-ther of his passions or of his interest.

The same fortune which so invariably fol-lowed the standard of Constantine,

seemed to secure the hopes and comfortsof his domestic life. Those among his pre-decessors who had enjoyed the longest andmost prosperous reigns, Augustus Trajan,and Diocletian, had been disappointed ofposterity; and the frequent revolutions hadnever allowed sufficient time for any Impe-rial family to grow up and multiply under

409Julian, in the Caesars, attempts to ridicule his uncle His suspi-cious testimony is confirmed, however, by the learned Spanheim, withthe authority of medals, (see Commentaire, p 156, 299, 397, 459) Euse-bius (Orat c 5) alleges, that Constantine dressed for the public, not forhimself Were this admitted, the vainest coxcomb could never want anexcuse

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the shade of the purple. But the royalty ofthe Flavian line, which had been first en-nobled by the Gothic Claudius, descendedthrough several generations; and Constan-tine himself derived from his royal father thehereditary honors which he transmitted tohis children. The emperor had been twicemarried. Minervina, the obscure but lawfulobject of his youthful attachment,410 had lefthim only one son, who was called Crispus.By Fausta, the daughter of Maximian, he hadthree daughters, and three sons known bythe kindred names of Constantine, Constan-tius, and Constans. The unambitious broth-ers of the great Constantine, Julius Constan-tius, Dalmatius, and Hannibalianus,411 werepermitted to enjoy the most honorable rank,and the most affluent fortune, that couldbe consistent with a private station. Theyoungest of the three lived without a name,and died without posterity. His two elderbrothers obtained in marriage the daughtersof wealthy senators, and propagated newbranches of the Imperial race. Gallus and Ju-lian afterwards became the most illustriousof the children of Julius Constantius, the Pa-trician.The two sons of Dalmatius, who had been

decorated with the vain title of Censor,410Zosimus and Zonaras agree in representing Minervina as the con-

cubine of Constantine; but Ducange has very gallantly rescued hercharacter, by producing a decisive passage from one of the panegyrics:“Ab ipso fine pueritiae te matrimonii legibus dedisti”

411Ducange (Familiae Byzantinae, p 44) bestows on him, afterZosimus, the name of Constantine; a name somewhat unlikely, as itwas already occupied by the elder brother That of Hannibalianus ismentioned in the Paschal Chronicle, and is approved by Tillemont Histdes Empereurs, tom iv p 527

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were named Dalmatius and Hannibalianus.The two sisters of the great Constantine,Anastasia and Eutropia, were bestowed onOptatus and Nepotianus, two senators ofnoble birth and of consular dignity. Histhird sister, Constantia, was distinguished byher preeminence of greatness and of misery.She remained the widow of the vanquishedLicinius; and it was by her entreaties, thatan innocent boy, the offspring of their mar-riage, preserved, for some time, his life, thetitle of Caesar, and a precarious hope of thesuccession. Besides the females, and the al-lies of the Flavian house, ten or twelve males,to whom the language of modern courtswould apply the title of princes of the blood,seemed, according to the order of their birth,to be destined either to inherit or to supportthe throne of Constantine. But in less thanthirty years, this numerous and increasingfamily was reduced to the persons of Con-stantius and Julian, who alone had surviveda series of crimes and calamities, such as thetragic poets have deplored in the devotedlines of Pelops and of Cadmus.Crispus, the eldest son of Constantine, and

the presumptive heir of the empire, isrepresented by impartial historians as anamiable and accomplished youth. The careof his education, or at least of his studies, wasintrusted to Lactantius, the most eloquent ofthe Christians; a preceptor admirably qual-ified to form the taste, and the excite thevirtues, of his illustrious disciple.412 At

412Jerom in Chron The poverty of Lactantius may be applied eitherto the praise of the disinterested philosopher, or to the shame of theunfeeling patron See Tillemont, Mem Ecclesiast tom vi part 1 p 345

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the age of seventeen, Crispus was investedwith the title of Caesar, and the administra-tion of the Gallic provinces, where the in-roads of the Germans gave him an early oc-casion of signalizing his military prowess.In the civil war which broke out soon after-wards, the father and son divided their pow-ers; and this history has already celebratedthe valor as well as conduct displayed bythe latter, in forcing the straits of the Helle-spont, so obstinately defended by the supe-rior fleet of Lacinius. This naval victory con-tributed to determine the event of the war;and the names of Constantine and of Cris-pus were united in the joyful acclamationsof their eastern subjects; who loudly pro-claimed, that the world had been subdued,and was now governed, by an emperor en-dowed with every virtue; and by his illus-trious son, a prince beloved of Heaven, andthe lively image of his father’s perfections.The public favor, which seldom accompaniesold age, diffused its lustre over the youthof Crispus. He deserved the esteem, andhe engaged the affections, of the court, thearmy, and the people. The experienced meritof a reigning monarch is acknowledged byhis subjects with reluctance, and frequentlydenied with partial and discontented mur-murs; while, from the opening virtues of hissuccessor, they fondly conceive the most un-bounded hopes of private as well as publicfelicity.413

Dupin, Bibliotheque Ecclesiast tom i p 205 Lardner’s Credibility of theGospel History, part ii vol vii p 66

413Euseb Hist Ecclesiast l x c 9 Eutropius (x 6) styles him “egregiumvirum;” and Julian (Orat i) very plainly alludes to the exploits of Cris-

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This dangerous popularity soon excited theattention of Constantine, who, both as

a father and as a king, was impatient of anequal. Instead of attempting to secure theallegiance of his son by the generous tiesof confidence and gratitude, he resolved toprevent the mischiefs which might be ap-prehended from dissatisfied ambition. Cris-pus soon had reason to complain, that whilehis infant brother Constantius was sent, withthe title of Caesar, to reign over his peculiardepartment of the Gallic provinces,414 he, aprince of mature years, who had performedsuch recent and signal services, instead ofbeing raised to the superior rank of Augus-tus, was confined almost a prisoner to hisfather’s court; and exposed, without poweror defence, to every calumny which the mal-ice of his enemies could suggest. Undersuch painful circumstances, the royal youthmight not always be able to compose his be-havior, or suppress his discontent; and wemay be assured, that he was encompassedby a train of indiscreet or perfidious follow-ers, who assiduously studied to inflame, andwho were perhaps instructed to betray, theunguarded warmth of his resentment. Anedict of Constantine, published about thistime, manifestly indicates his real or affectedsuspicions, that a secret conspiracy had been

pus in the civil war See Spanheim, Comment p 92414Compare Idatius and the Paschal Chronicle, with Ammianus, (l,

xiv c 5) The year in which Constantius was created Caesar seems to bemore accurately fixed by the two chronologists; but the historian wholived in his court could not be ignorant of the day of the anniversaryFor the appointment of the new Caesar to the provinces of Gaul, seeJulian, Orat i p 12, Godefroy, Chronol Legum, p 26 and Blondel, dePrimaute de l’Eglise, p 1183

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formed against his person and government.By all the allurements of honors and re-wards, he invites informers of every degreeto accuse without exception his magistratesor ministers, his friends or his most intimatefavorites, protesting, with a solemn assever-ation, that he himself will listen to the charge,that he himself will revenge his injuries; andconcluding with a prayer, which discoverssome apprehension of danger, that the prov-idence of the Supreme Being may still con-tinue to protect the safety of the emperor andof the empire.415

The informers, who complied with so liberalan invitation, were sufficiently versed in

the arts of courts to select the friends andadherents of Crispus as the guilty persons;nor is there any reason to distrust the ve-racity of the emperor, who had promisedan ample measure of revenge and punish-ment. The policy of Constantine maintained,however, the same appearances of regardand confidence towards a son, whom he be-gan to consider as his most irreconcilable en-emy. Medals were struck with the custom-ary vows for the long and auspicious reignof the young Caesar;416 and as the people,who were not admitted into the secrets of thepalace, still loved his virtues, and respectedhis dignity, a poet who solicits his recall fromexile, adores with equal devotion the majestyof the father and that of the son.417 The time

415Cod Theod l ix tit iv Godefroy suspected the secret motives of thislaw Comment tom iii p 9

416Ducange, Fam Byzant p 28 Tillemont, tom iv p 610417His name was Porphyrius Optatianus The date of his panegyric,

written, according to the taste of the age, in vile acrostics, is settled

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was now arrived for celebrating the augustceremony of the twentieth year of the reignof Constantine; and the emperor, for thatpurpose, removed his court from Nicomediato Rome, where the most splendid prepara-tions had been made for his reception. Ev-ery eye, and every tongue, affected to ex-press their sense of the general happiness,and the veil of ceremony and dissimulationwas drawn for a while over the darkest de-signs of revenge and murder.418 In the midstof the festival, the unfortunate Crispus wasapprehended by order of the emperor, wholaid aside the tenderness of a father, with-out assuming the equity of a judge. The ex-amination was short and private;419 and asit was thought decent to conceal the fate ofthe young prince from the eyes of the Romanpeople, he was sent under a strong guard toPola, in Istria, where, soon afterwards, hewas put to death, either by the hand of theexecutioner, or by the more gentle operationsof poison.420 The Caesar Licinius, a youth ofamiable manners, was involved in the ruin

by Scaliger ad Euseb p 250, Tillemont, tom iv p 607, and Fabricius,Biblioth Latin, l iv c 1

418Zosim l ii p 103 Godefroy, Chronol Legum, p 28419The elder Victor, who wrote under the next reign, speaks with be-

coming caution “Natu grandior incertum qua causa, patris judicio oc-cidisset” If we consult the succeeding writers, Eutropius, the youngerVictor, Orosius, Jerom, Zosimus, Philostorgius, and Gregory of Tours,their knowledge will appear gradually to increase, as their means ofinformation must have diminished–a circumstance which frequentlyoccurs in historical disquisition

420Ammianus (l xiv c 11) uses the general expression of peremptumCodinus (p 34) beheads the young prince; but Sidonius Apollinaris(Epistol v 8,) for the sake perhaps of an antithesis to Fausta’s warmbath, chooses to administer a draught of cold poison

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of Crispus:421 and the stern jealousy of Con-stantine was unmoved by the prayers andtears of his favorite sister, pleading for thelife of a son, whose rank was his only crime,and whose loss she did not long survive. Thestory of these unhappy princes, the natureand evidence of their guilt, the forms of theirtrial, and the circumstances of their death,were buried in mysterious obscurity; andthe courtly bishop, who has celebrated in anelaborate work the virtues and piety of hishero, observes a prudent silence on the sub-ject of these tragic events.422 Such haughtycontempt for the opinion of mankind, whilstit imprints an indelible stain on the mem-ory of Constantine, must remind us of thevery different behavior of one of the greatestmonarchs of the present age. The Czar Peter,in the full possession of despotic power, sub-mitted to the judgment of Russia, of Europe,and of posterity, the reasons which had com-pelled him to subscribe the condemnation ofa criminal, or at least of a degenerate son.423

The innocence of Crispus was so universally

421Sororis filium, commodae indolis juvenem Eutropius, x 6 May Inot be permitted to conjecture that Crispus had married Helena thedaughter of the emperor Licinius, and that on the happy delivery ofthe princess, in the year 322, a general pardon was granted by Con-stantine? See Ducange, Fam Byzant p 47, and the law (l ix tit xxxvii) ofthe Theodosian code, which has so much embarrassed the interpretersGodefroy, tom iii p 267 (This conjecture is very doubtful The obscurityof the law quoted from the Theodosian code scarcely allows any in-ference, and there is extant but one meda which can be attributed to aHelena, wife of Crispus

422See the life of Constantine, particularly l ii c 19, 20 Two hundredand fifty years afterwards Evagrius (l iii c 41) deduced from the silenceof Eusebius a vain argument against the reality of the fact

423Histoire de Pierre le Grand, par Voltaire, part ii c 10

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acknowledged, that the modern Greeks,who adore the memory of their founder,are reduced to palliate the guilt of a parri-cide, which the common feelings of humannature forbade them to justify. They pre-tend, that as soon as the afflicted father dis-covered the falsehood of the accusation bywhich his credulity had been so fatally mis-led, he published to the world his repen-tance and remorse; that he mourned fortydays, during which he abstained from theuse of the bath, and all the ordinary com-forts of life; and that, for the lasting instruc-tion of posterity, he erected a golden statueof Crispus, with this memorable inscription:To my son, whom I unjustly condemned.424A tale so moral and so interesting woulddeserve to be supported by less exception-able authority; but if we consult the moreancient and authentic writers, they will in-form us, that the repentance of Constantinewas manifested only in acts of blood and re-venge; and that he atoned for the murderof an innocent son, by the execution, per-haps, of a guilty wife. They ascribe the mis-fortunes of Crispus to the arts of his step-mother Fausta, whose implacable hatred, orwhose disappointed love, renewed in thepalace of Constantine the ancient tragedyof Hippolitus and of Phaedra.425 Like the

424In order to prove that the statue was erected by Constantine,and afterwards concealed by the malice of the Arians, Codinus veryreadily creates (p 34) two witnesses, Hippolitus, and the youngerHerodotus, to whose imaginary histories he appeals with unblushingconfidence

425Zosimus (l ii p 103) may be considered as our original The inge-nuity of the moderns, assisted by a few hints from the ancients, has

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daughter of Minos, the daughter of Max-imian accused her son-in-law of an incestu-ous attempt on the chastity of his father’swife; and easily obtained, from the jealousyof the emperor, a sentence of death againsta young prince, whom she considered withreason as the most formidable rival of herown children. But Helena, the aged motherof Constantine, lamented and revenged theuntimely fate of her grandson Crispus; norwas it long before a real or pretended dis-covery was made, that Fausta herself enter-tained a criminal connection with a slave be-longing to the Imperial stables.426 Her con-demnation and punishment were the instantconsequences of the charge; and the adulter-ess was suffocated by the steam of a bath,which, for that purpose, had been heated toan extraordinary degree.427 By some it willperhaps be thought, that the remembranceof a conjugal union of twenty years, and thehonor of their common offspring, the des-tined heirs of the throne, might have soft-ened the obdurate heart of Constantine, andpersuaded him to suffer his wife, howeverguilty she might appear, to expiate her of-fences in a solitary prison. But it seems a su-perfluous labor to weigh the propriety, un-

illustrated and improved his obscure and imperfect narrative426Philostorgius, l ii c 4 Zosimus (l ii p 104, 116) imputes to Constan-

tine the death of two wives, of the innocent Fausta, and of an adulter-ess, who was the mother of his three successors According to Jerom,three or four years elapsed between the death of Crispus and that ofFausta The elder Victor is prudently silent

427If Fausta was put to death, it is reasonable to believe that the pri-vate apartments of the palace were the scene of her execution Theorator Chrysostom indulges his fancy by exposing the naked desertmountain to be devoured by wild beasts

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less we could ascertain the truth, of this sin-gular event, which is attended with some cir-cumstances of doubt and perplexity. Thosewho have attacked, and those who have de-fended, the character of Constantine, havealike disregarded two very remarkable pas-sages of two orations pronounced under thesucceeding reign. The former celebrates thevirtues, the beauty, and the fortune of theempress Fausta, the daughter, wife, sister,and mother of so many princes.428 The lat-ter asserts, in explicit terms, that the motherof the younger Constantine, who was slainthree years after his father’s death, survivedto weep over the fate of her son.429 Notwith-standing the positive testimony of severalwriters of the Pagan as well as of the Chris-tian religion, there may still remain some rea-son to believe, or at least to suspect, thatFausta escaped the blind and suspicious cru-elty of her husband.430 The deaths of a sonand a nephew, with the execution of a greatnumber of respectable, and perhaps innocentfriends,431 who were involved in their fall,may be sufficient, however, to justify the dis-content of the Roman people, and to explainthe satirical verses affixed to the palace gate,

428Julian Orat i He seems to call her the mother of Crispus Shemight assume that title by adoption At least, she was not consideredas his mortal enemy Julian compares the fortune of Fausta with thatof Parysatis, the Persian queen A Roman would have more naturallyrecollected the second Agrippina:

429Monod in Constantin Jun c 4, ad Calcem Eutrop edit HavercampThe orator styles her the most divine and pious of queens

430Manso (Leben Constantins, p 65) treats this inference o: Gibbon,and the authorities to which he appeals, with too much contempt, con-sidering the general scantiness of proof on this curious question–M

431Interfecit numerosos amicos Eutrop xx 6

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comparing the splendid and bloody reigns ofConstantine and Nero.432

_V=Et moi, qui sur le trone ai suivi mes ance-

tres:Moi, fille, femme,soeur, et mere de vos

maitres....Part II

BY the death of Crispus, the inheritanceof the empire seemed to devolve on the

three sons of Fausta, who have been al-ready mentioned under the names of Con-stantine, of Constantius, and of Constans.These young princes were successively in-vested with the title of Caesar; and the datesof their promotion may be referred to thetenth, the twentieth, and the thirtieth yearsof the reign of their father.433 This conduct,though it tended to multiply the future mas-ters of the Roman world, might be excusedby the partiality of paternal affection; but itis not so easy to understand the motives ofthe emperor, when he endangered the safetyboth of his family and of his people, by theunnecessary elevation of his two nephews,Dalmatius and Hannibalianus. The formerwas raised, by the title of Caesar, to an equal-ity with his cousins. In favor of the latter,

432Saturni aurea saecula quis requirat? Sunt haec gemmea, sedNeroniana Sidon Apollinar v 8 —-It is somewhat singular that thesesatirical lines should be attributed, not to an obscure libeller, or a dis-appointed patriot, but to Ablavius, prime minister and favorite of theemperor We may now perceive that the imprecations of the Romanpeople were dictated by humanity, as well as by superstition Zosim lii p 105

433Euseb Orat in Constantin c 3 These dates are sufficiently correctto justify the orator

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Constantine invented the new and singularappellation of Nobilissimus;434 to which heannexed the flattering distinction of a robeof purple and gold. But of the whole seriesof Roman princes in any age of the empire,Hannibalianus alone was distinguished bythe title of King; a name which the subjects ofTiberius would have detested, as the profaneand cruel insult of capricious tyranny. Theuse of such a title, even as it appears underthe reign of Constantine, is a strange and un-connected fact, which can scarcely be admit-ted on the joint authority of Imperial medalsand contemporary writers.435436The whole empire was deeply interested

in the education of these five youths,the acknowledged successors of Constan-tine. The exercise of the body prepared themfor the fatigues of war and the duties of ac-tive life. Those who occasionally mentionthe education or talents of Constantius, al-low that he excelled in the gymnastic arts ofleaping and running that he was a dexterous

434Zosim l ii p 117 Under the predecessors of Constantine, No bilis-simus was a vague epithet, rather than a legal and determined title

435Adstruunt nummi veteres ac singulares Spanheim de Usu Nu-mismat Dissertat xii vol ii p 357 Ammianus speaks of this Roman king(l xiv c l, and Valesius ad loc) The Valesian fragment styles him King ofkings; and the Paschal Chronicle acquires the weight of Latin evidence

436Hannibalianus is always designated in these authors by the ti-tle of king There still exist medals struck to his honor, on which thesame title is found, Fl Hannibaliano Regi See Eckhel, Doct Num t viii204 Armeniam nationesque circum socias habebat, says Aur Victor, p225 The writer means the Lesser Armenia Though it is not possible toquestion a fact supported by such respectable authorities, Gibbon con-siders it inexplicable and incredible It is a strange abuse of the privi-lege of doubting, to refuse all belief in a fact of such little importance initself, and attested thus formally by contemporary authors and publicmonuments St Martin note to Le Beau i 341–M

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archer, a skilful horseman, and a master of allthe different weapons used in the service ei-ther of the cavalry or of the infantry.437 Thesame assiduous cultivation was bestowed,though not perhaps with equal success, toimprove the minds of the sons and nephewsof Constantine.438 The most celebrated pro-fessors of the Christian faith, of the Grecianphilosophy, and of the Roman jurisprudence,were invited by the liberality of the emperor,who reserved for himself the important taskof instructing the royal youths in the sci-ence of government, and the knowledge ofmankind. But the genius of Constantine him-self had been formed by adversity and expe-rience. In the free intercourse of private life,and amidst the dangers of the court of Ga-lerius, he had learned to command his ownpassions, to encounter those of his equals,and to depend for his present safety andfuture greatness on the prudence and firm-ness of his personal conduct. His destinedsuccessors had the misfortune of being bornand educated in the imperial purple. Inces-santly surrounded with a train of flatterers,they passed their youth in the enjoyment ofluxury, and the expectation of a throne; norwould the dignity of their rank permit themto descend from that elevated station fromwhence the various characters of human na-ture appear to wear a smooth and uniform

437His dexterity in martial exercises is celebrated by Julian, (Orat i p11, Orat ii p 53,) and allowed by Ammianus, (l xxi c 16)

438Euseb in Vit Constantin l iv c 51 Julian, Orat i p 11-16, with Span-heim’s elaborate Commentary Libanius, Orat iii p 109 Constantiusstudied with laudable diligence; but the dulness of his fancy preventedhim from succeeding in the art of poetry, or even of rhetoric

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aspect. The indulgence of Constantine ad-mitted them, at a very tender age, to sharethe administration of the empire; and theystudied the art of reigning, at the expenseof the people intrusted to their care. Theyounger Constantine was appointed to holdhis court in Gaul; and his brother Constan-tius exchanged that department, the ancientpatrimony of their father, for the more opu-lent, but less martial, countries of the East.Italy, the Western Illyricum, and Africa, wereaccustomed to revere Constans, the third ofhis sons, as the representative of the greatConstantine. He fixed Dalmatius on theGothic frontier, to which he annexed the gov-ernment of Thrace, Macedonia, and Greece.The city of Caesarea was chosen for the res-idence of Hannibalianus; and the provincesof Pontus, Cappadocia, and the Lesser Ar-menia, were destined to form the extent ofhis new kingdom. For each of these princesa suitable establishment was provided. Ajust proportion of guards, of legions, andof auxiliaries, was allotted for their respec-tive dignity and defence. The ministers andgenerals, who were placed about their per-sons, were such as Constantine could trustto assist, and even to control, these youth-ful sovereigns in the exercise of their del-egated power. As they advanced in yearsand experience, the limits of their authoritywere insensibly enlarged: but the emperoralways reserved for himself the title of Au-gustus; and while he showed the Caesars tothe armies and provinces, he maintained ev-ery part of the empire in equal obedience to

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its supreme head.439 The tranquillity of thelast fourteen years of his reign was scarcelyinterrupted by the contemptible insurrectionof a camel-driver in the Island of Cyprus,440or by the active part which the policy of Con-stantine engaged him to assume in the warsof the Goths and Sarmatians.Among the different branches of the human

race, the Sarmatians form a very remark-able shade; as they seem to unite the man-ners of the Asiatic barbarians with the figureand complexion of the ancient inhabitants ofEurope. According to the various accidentsof peace and war, of alliance or conquest,the Sarmatians were sometimes confined tothe banks of the Tanais; and they some-times spread themselves over the immenseplains which lie between the Vistula and theVolga.441 The care of their numerous flocksand herds, the pursuit of game, and the ex-ercises of war, or rather of rapine, directedthe vagrant motions of the Sarmatians. Themovable camps or cities, the ordinary resi-dence of their wives and children, consistedonly of large wagons drawn by oxen, and

439Eusebius, (l iv c 51, 52,) with a design of exalting the authorityand glory of Constantine, affirms, that he divided the Roman empireas a private citizen might have divided his patrimony His distributionof the provinces may be collected from Eutropius, the two Victors andthe Valesian fragment

440Calocerus, the obscure leader of this rebellion, or rather tumult,was apprehended and burnt alive in the market-place of Tarsus, bythe vigilance of Dalmatius See the elder Victor, the Chronicle of Jerom,and the doubtful traditions of Theophanes and Cedrenus

441Cellarius has collected the opinions of the ancients concerning theEuropean and Asiatic Sarmatia; and M D’Anville has applied them tomodern geography with the skill and accuracy which always distin-guish that excellent writer

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covered in the form of tents. The militarystrength of the nation was composed of cav-alry; and the custom of their warriors, to leadin their hand one or two spare horses, en-abled them to advance and to retreat witha rapid diligence, which surprised the se-curity, and eluded the pursuit, of a distantenemy.442 Their poverty of iron promptedtheir rude industry to invent a sort of cuirass,which was capable of resisting a sword orjavelin, though it was formed only of horses’hoofs, cut into thin and polished slices, care-fully laid over each other in the manner ofscales or feathers, and strongly sewed uponan under garment of coarse linen.443 The of-fensive arms of the Sarmatians were shortdaggers, long lances, and a weighty bowwith a quiver of arrows. They were reducedto the necessity of employing fish-bones forthe points of their weapons; but the customof dipping them in a venomous liquor, thatpoisoned the wounds which they inflicted,is alone sufficient to prove the most savagemanners, since a people impressed with asense of humanity would have abhorred socruel a practice, and a nation skilled in thearts of war would have disdained so impo-tent a resource.444 Whenever these Barbar-

442Ammian l xvii c 12 The Sarmatian horses were castrated to pre-vent the mischievous accidents which might happen from the noisyand ungovernable passions of the males

443Pausanius, l i p 50, edit Kuhn That inquisitive traveller had care-fully examined a Sarmatian cuirass, which was preserved in the tem-ple of Aesculapius at Athens

444Aspicis et mitti sub adunco toxica ferro, Et telum causas mortishabere duas Ovid, ex Ponto, l iv ep 7, ver 7—-See in the Recherches surles Americains, tom ii p 236–271, a very curious dissertation on poi-soned darts The venom was commonly extracted from the vegetable

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ians issued from their deserts in quest ofprey, their shaggy beards, uncombed locks,the furs with which they were covered fromhead to foot, and their fierce countenances,which seemed to express the innate crueltyof their minds, inspired the more civilizedprovincials of Rome with horror and dismay.The use of poisoned arms, which has been

spread over both worlds, never pre-served a savage tribe from the arms of adisciplined enemy. The tender Ovid, af-ter a youth spent in the enjoyment of fameand luxury, was condemned to a hopelessexile on the frozen banks of the Danube,where he was exposed, almost without de-fence, to the fury of these monsters of thedesert, with whose stern spirits he fearedthat his gentle shade might hereafter be con-founded. In his pathetic, but sometimes un-manly lamentations,445 he describes in themost lively colors the dress and manners,the arms and inroads, of the Getae and Sar-matians, who were associated for the pur-poses of destruction; and from the accountsof history there is some reason to believethat these Sarmatians were the Jazygae, oneof the most numerous and warlike tribes ofthe nation. The allurements of plenty en-

reign: but that employed by the Scythians appears to have been drawnfrom the viper, and a mixture of human blood

445The nine books of Poetical Epistles which Ovid composed duringthe seven first years of his melancholy exile, possess, beside the meritof elegance, a double value They exhibit a picture of the human mindunder very singular circumstances; and they contain many curious ob-servations, which no Roman except Ovid, could have an opportunityof making Every circumstance which tends to illustrate the history ofthe Barbarians, has been drawn together by the very accurate Countde Buat Hist Ancienne des Peuples de l’Europe, tom iv c xvi p 286-317

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gaged them to seek a permanent establish-ment on the frontiers of the empire. Soon af-ter the reign of Augustus, they obliged theDacians, who subsisted by fishing on thebanks of the River Teyss or Tibiscus, to re-tire into the hilly country, and to abandonto the victorious Sarmatians the fertile plainsof the Upper Hungary, which are boundedby the course of the Danube and the semi-circular enclosure of the Carpathian Moun-tains.446 In this advantageous position, theywatched or suspended the moment of attack,as they were provoked by injuries or ap-peased by presents; they gradually acquiredthe skill of using more dangerous weapons,and although the Sarmatians did not illus-trate their name by any memorable exploits,they occasionally assisted their eastern andwestern neighbors, the Goths and the Ger-mans, with a formidable body of cavalry.They lived under the irregular aristocracyof their chieftains:447 but after they had re-ceived into their bosom the fugitive Vandals,who yielded to the pressure of the Gothicpower, they seem to have chosen a king fromthat nation, and from the illustrious race ofthe Astingi, who had formerly dwelt on thehores of the northern ocean.448

446The Sarmatian Jazygae were settled on the banks of Pathissus orTibiscus, when Pliny, in the year 79, published his Natural History Seel iv c 25 In the time of Strabo and Ovid, sixty or seventy years before,they appear to have inhabited beyond the Getae, along the coast of theEuxine

447Principes Sarmaturum Jazygum penes quos civitatis regimenplebem quoque et vim equitum, qua sola valent, offerebant Tacit Histiii p 5 This offer was made in the civil war between Vitellino and Ves-pasian

448This hypothesis of a Vandal king reigning over Sarmatian sub-

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This motive of enmity must have inflamedthe subjects of contention, which perpet-

ually arise on the confines of warlike and in-dependent nations. The Vandal princes werestimulated by fear and revenge; the Gothickings aspired to extend their dominion fromthe Euxine to the frontiers of Germany; andthe waters of the Maros, a small river whichfalls into the Teyss, were stained with theblood of the contending Barbarians. Af-ter some experience of the superior strengthand numbers of their adversaries, the Sar-matians implored the protection of the Ro-man monarch, who beheld with pleasure thediscord of the nations, but who was justlyalarmed by the progress of the Gothic arms.As soon as Constantine had declared him-self in favor of the weaker party, the haughtyAraric, king of the Goths, instead of expect-ing the attack of the legions, boldly passedthe Danube, and spread terror and devasta-tion through the province of Maesia.

To oppose the inroad of this destroying host,the aged emperor took the field in per-

jects, seems necessary to reconcile the Goth Jornandes with the Greekand Latin historians of Constantine It may be observed that Isidore,who lived in Spain under the dominion of the Goths, gives them forenemies, not the Vandals, but the Sarmatians See his Chronicle inGrotius, p 709 Note: I have already noticed the confusion which mustnecessarily arise in history, when names purely geographical, as thisof Sarmatia, are taken for historical names belonging to a single nationWe perceive it here; it has forced Gibbon to suppose, without any rea-son but the necessity of extricating himself from his perplexity, that theSarmatians had taken a king from among the Vandals; a suppositionentirely contrary to the usages of Barbarians Dacia, at this period, wasoccupied, not by Sarmatians, who have never formed a distinct race,but by Vandals, whom the ancients have often confounded under thegeneral term Sarmatians See Gatterer’s Welt-Geschiehte p 464–G

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son; but on this occasion either his conductor his fortune betrayed the glory which hehad acquired in so many foreign and do-mestic wars. He had the mortification ofseeing his troops fly before an inconsider-able detachment of the Barbarians, who pur-sued them to the edge of their fortified camp,and obliged him to consult his safety by aprecipitate and ignominious retreat.449 Theevent of a second and more successful ac-tion retrieved the honor of the Roman name;and the powers of art and discipline pre-vailed, after an obstinate contest, over theefforts of irregular valor. The broken armyof the Goths abandoned the field of battle,the wasted province, and the passage of theDanube: and although the eldest of the sonsof Constantine was permitted to supply theplace of his father, the merit of the victory,which diffused universal joy, was ascribed tothe auspicious counsels of the emperor him-self.

He contributed at least to improve this ad-vantage, by his negotiations with the

free and warlike people of Chersonesus,450

449Gibbon states, that Constantine was defeated by the Goths in afirst battle No ancient author mentions such an event It is, no doubt, amistake in Gibbon St Martin, note to Le Beau i 324–M

450I may stand in need of some apology for having used, withoutscruple, the authority of Constantine Porphyrogenitus, in all that re-lates to the wars and negotiations of the Chersonites I am aware thathe was a Greek of the tenth century, and that his accounts of ancienthistory are frequently confused and fabulous But on this occasion hisnarrative is, for the most part, consistent and probable nor is theremuch difficulty in conceiving that an emperor might have access tosome secret archives, which had escaped the diligence of meaner his-torians For the situation and history of Chersone, see Peyssonel, desPeuples barbares qui ont habite les Bords du Danube, c xvi 84-90 —

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whose capital, situate on the western coastof the Tauric or Crimaean peninsula, still re-tained some vestiges of a Grecian colony, andwas governed by a perpetual magistrate, as-sisted by a council of senators, emphaticallystyled the Fathers of the City.

The Chersonites were animated against theGoths, by the memory of the wars,

which, in the preceding century, they hadmaintained with unequal forces against theinvaders of their country. They were con-nected with the Romans by the mutual ben-efits of commerce; as they were suppliedfrom the provinces of Asia with corn andmanufactures, which they purchased withtheir only productions, salt, wax, and hides.Obedient to the requisition of Constantine,they prepared, under the conduct of theirmagistrate Diogenes, a considerable army,of which the principal strength consistedin cross-bows and military chariots. Thespeedy march and intrepid attack of theChersonites, by diverting the attention of theGoths, assisted the operations of the Impe-rial generals. The Goths, vanquished on ev-

-Gibbon has confounded the inhabitants of the city of Cherson, theancient Chersonesus, with the people of the Chersonesus Taurica Ifhe had read with more attention the chapter of Constantius Porphyro-genitus, from which this narrative is derived, he would have seen thatthe author clearly distinguishes the republic of Cherson from the restof the Tauric Peninsula, then possessed by the kings of the Cimme-rian Bosphorus, and that the city of Cherson alone furnished succorsto the Romans The English historian is also mistaken in saying that theStephanephoros of the Chersonites was a perpetual magistrate; sinceit is easy to discover from the great number of Stephanephoroi men-tioned by Constantine Porphyrogenitus, that they were annual mag-istrates, like almost all those which governed the Grecian republics StMartin, note to Le Beau i 326–M

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ery side, were driven into the mountains,where, in the course of a severe campaign,above a hundred thousand were computedto have perished by cold and hunger Peacewas at length granted to their humble suppli-cations; the eldest son of Araric was acceptedas the most valuable hostage; and Constan-tine endeavored to convince their chiefs, bya liberal distribution of honors and rewards,how far the friendship of the Romans waspreferable to their enmity. In the expressionsof his gratitude towards the faithful Cher-sonites, the emperor was still more magnif-icent. The pride of the nation was gratifiedby the splendid and almost royal decorationsbestowed on their magistrate and his succes-sors. A perpetual exemption from all dutieswas stipulated for their vessels which tradedto the ports of the Black Sea. A regular sub-sidy was promised, of iron, corn, oil, and ofevery supply which could be useful either inpeace or war. But it was thought that the Sar-matians were sufficiently rewarded by theirdeliverance from impending ruin; and theemperor, perhaps with too strict an economy,deducted some part of the expenses of thewar from the customary gratifications whichwere allowed to that turbulent nation.

Exasperated by this apparent neglect, theSarmatians soon forgot, with the levity

of barbarians, the services which they had solately received, and the dangers which stillthreatened their safety. Their inroads on theterritory of the empire provoked the indig-nation of Constantine to leave them to theirfate; and he no longer opposed the ambitionof Geberic, a renowned warrior, who had re-

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cently ascended the Gothic throne. Wisumar,the Vandal king, whilst alone, and unas-sisted, he defended his dominions with un-daunted courage, was vanquished and slainin a decisive battle, which swept away theflower of the Sarmatian youth.451 The re-mainder of the nation embraced the desper-ate expedient of arming their slaves, a hardyrace of hunters and herdsmen, by whosetumultuary aid they revenged their defeat,and expelled the invader from their con-fines. But they soon discovered that theyhad exchanged a foreign for a domestic en-emy, more dangerous and more implacable.Enraged by their former servitude, elatedby their present glory, the slaves, under thename of Limigantes, claimed and usurpedthe possession of the country which they hadsaved. Their masters, unable to withstandthe ungoverned fury of the populace, pre-ferred the hardships of exile to the tyrannyof their servants. Some of the fugitive Sar-matians solicited a less ignominious depen-dence, under the hostile standard of theGoths. A more numerous band retired be-yond the Carpathian Mountains, among theQuadi, their German allies, and were easilyadmitted to share a superfluous waste of un-cultivated land. But the far greater part of thedistressed nation turned their eyes towardsthe fruitful provinces of Rome. Imploring

451Gibbon supposes that this war took place because Constantinehad deducted a part of the customary gratifications, granted by hispredecessors to the Sarmatians Nothing of this kind appears in theauthors We see, on the contrary, that after his victory, and to punishthe Sarmatia is for the ravages they had committed, he withheld thesums which it had been the custom to bestow St Martin, note to LeBeau, i 327–M

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the protection and forgiveness of the em-peror, they solemnly promised, as subjects inpeace, and as soldiers in war, the most invio-lable fidelity to the empire which should gra-ciously receive them into its bosom. Accord-ing to the maxims adopted by Probus and hissuccessors, the offers of this barbarian colonywere eagerly accepted; and a competent por-tion of lands in the provinces of Pannonia,Thrace, Macedonia, and Italy, were imme-diately assigned for the habitation and sub-sistence of three hundred thousand Sarma-tians.452453

By chastising the pride of the Goths, andby accepting the homage of a suppliant

nation, Constantine asserted the majesty ofthe Roman empire; and the ambassadors ofAethiopia, Persia, and the most remote coun-tries of India, congratulated the peace andprosperity of his government.454 If he reck-oned, among the favors of fortune, the death

452The Gothic and Sarmatian wars are related in so broken and im-perfect a manner, that I have been obliged to compare the followingwriters, who mutually supply, correct, and illustrate each other Thosewho will take the same trouble, may acquire a right of criticizing mynarrative Ammianus, l xvii c 12 Anonym Valesian p 715 Eutropius, x 7Sextus Rufus de Provinciis, c 26 Julian Orat i p 9, and Spanheim, Com-ment p 94 Hieronym in Chron Euseb in Vit Constantin l iv c 6 Socrates,l i c 18 Sozomen, l i c 8 Zosimus, l ii p 108 Jornandes de Reb Geticis, c22 Isidorus in Chron p 709; in Hist Gothorum Grotii Constantin Por-phyrogenitus de Administrat Imperii, c 53, p 208, edit Meursii

453Compare, on this very obscure but remarkable war, Manso, LebenCoa xantius, p 195–M

454Eusebius (in Vit Const l iv c 50) remarks three circumstances rela-tive to these Indians 1 They came from the shores of the eastern ocean;a description which might be applied to the coast of China or Coro-mandel 2 They presented shining gems, and unknown animals 3 Theyprotested their kings had erected statues to represent the suprememajesty of Constantine

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of his eldest son, of his nephew, and perhapsof his wife, he enjoyed an uninterrupted flowof private as well as public felicity, till thethirtieth year of his reign; a period whichnone of his predecessors, since Augustus,had been permitted to celebrate. Constan-tine survived that solemn festival about tenmonths; and at the mature age of sixty-four,after a short illness, he ended his memorablelife at the palace of Aquyrion, in the suburbsof Nicomedia, whither he had retired for thebenefit of the air, and with the hope of re-cruiting his exhausted strength by the useof the warm baths. The excessive demon-strations of grief, or at least of mourning,surpassed whatever had been practised onany former occasion. Notwithstanding theclaims of the senate and people of ancientRome, the corpse of the deceased emperor,according to his last request, was transportedto the city, which was destined to preservethe name and memory of its founder. Thebody of Constantine adorned with the vainsymbols of greatness, the purple and di-adem, was deposited on a golden bed inone of the apartments of the palace, whichfor that purpose had been splendidly fur-nished and illuminated. The forms of thecourt were strictly maintained. Every day, atthe appointed hours, the principal officers ofthe state, the army, and the household, ap-proaching the person of their sovereign withbended knees and a composed countenance,offered their respectful homage as seriouslyas if he had been still alive. From motives ofpolicy, this theatrical representation was forsome time continued; nor could flattery ne-

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glect the opportunity of remarking that Con-stantine alone, by the peculiar indulgence ofHeaven, had reigned after his death.455

But this reign could subsist only in emptypageantry; and it was soon discovered

that the will of the most absolute monarchis seldom obeyed, when his subjects haveno longer anything to hope from his fa-vor, or to dread from his resentment. Thesame ministers and generals, who bowedwith such referential awe before the inan-imate corpse of their deceased sovereign,were engaged in secret consultations to ex-clude his two nephews, Dalmatius and Han-nibalianus, from the share which he had as-signed them in the succession of the empire.We are too imperfectly acquainted with thecourt of Constantine to form any judgmentof the real motives which influenced theleaders of the conspiracy; unless we shouldsuppose that they were actuated by a spiritof jealousy and revenge against the praefectAblavius, a proud favorite, who had longdirected the counsels and abused the confi-dence of the late emperor. The arguments,by which they solicited the concurrence ofthe soldiers and people, are of a more ob-vious nature; and they might with decency,as well as truth, insist on the superior rankof the children of Constantine, the danger ofmultiplying the number of sovereigns, andthe impending mischiefs which threatened

455Funus relatum in urbem sui nominis, quod sane P R aegerrimetulit Aurelius Victor Constantine prepared for himself a stately tombin the church of the Holy Apostles Euseb l iv c 60 The best, and indeedalmost the only account of the sickness, death, and funeral of Constan-tine, is contained in the fourth book of his Life by Eusebius

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the republic, from the discord of so manyrival princes, who were not connected bythe tender sympathy of fraternal affection.The intrigue was conducted with zeal andsecrecy, till a loud and unanimous declara-tion was procured from the troops, that theywould suffer none except the sons of theirlamented monarch to reign over the Romanempire.456 The younger Dalmatius, who wasunited with his collateral relations by the tiesof friendship and interest, is allowed to haveinherited a considerable share of the abili-ties of the great Constantine; but, on thisoccasion, he does not appear to have con-certed any measure for supporting, by arms,the just claims which himself and his royalbrother derived from the liberality of theiruncle. Astonished and overwhelmed by thetide of popular fury, they seem to have re-mained, without the power of flight or of re-sistance, in the hands of their implacable en-emies. Their fate was suspended till the ar-rival of Constantius, the second, and perhapsthe most favored, of the sons of Constantine.

...Part III

THE voice of the dying emperor had rec-ommended the care of his funeral to the

piety of Constantius; and that prince, by thevicinity of his eastern station, could easilyprevent the diligence of his brothers, whoresided in their distant government of Italyand Gaul. As soon as he had taken pos-session of the palace of Constantinople, his

456Eusebius (l iv c 6) terminates his narrative by this loyal declara-tion of the troops, and avoids all the invidious circumstances of thesubsequent massacre

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first care was to remove the apprehensionsof his kinsmen, by a solemn oath which hepledged for their security. His next employ-ment was to find some specious pretencewhich might release his conscience from theobligation of an imprudent promise. The artsof fraud were made subservient to the de-signs of cruelty; and a manifest forgery wasattested by a person of the most sacred char-acter. From the hands of the Bishop of Nico-media, Constantius received a fatal scroll, af-firmed to be the genuine testament of hisfather; in which the emperor expressed hissuspicions that he had been poisoned by hisbrothers; and conjured his sons to revengehis death, and to consult their own safety, bythe punishment of the guilty.457 Whateverreasons might have been alleged by theseunfortunate princes to defend their life andhonor against so incredible an accusation,they were silenced by the furious clamorsof the soldiers, who declared themselves, atonce, their enemies, their judges, and theirexecutioners. The spirit, and even the formsof legal proceedings were repeatedly vio-lated in a promiscuous massacre; which in-volved the two uncles of Constantius, sevenof his cousins, of whom Dalmatius and Han-nibalianus were the most illustrious, the Pa-trician Optatus, who had married a sister of

457I have related this singular anecdote on the authority ofPhilostorgius, l ii c 16 But if such a pretext was ever used by Con-stantius and his adherents, it was laid aside with contempt, as soon asit served their immediate purpose Athanasius (tom i p 856) mentionthe oath which Constantius had taken for the security of his kinsmen—-The authority of Philostorgius is so suspicious, as not to be suffi-cient to establish this fact, which Gibbon has inserted in his history ascertain, while in the note he appears to doubt it–G

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the late emperor, and the Praefect Ablavius,whose power and riches had inspired himwith some hopes of obtaining the purple. Ifit were necessary to aggravate the horrors ofthis bloody scene, we might add, that Con-stantius himself had espoused the daugh-ter of his uncle Julius, and that he had be-stowed his sister in marriage on his cousinHannibalianus. These alliances, which thepolicy of Constantine, regardless of the pub-lic prejudice,458 had formed between the sev-eral branches of the Imperial house, servedonly to convince mankind, that these princeswere as cold to the endearments of conju-gal affection, as they were insensible to theties of consanguinity, and the moving en-treaties of youth and innocence. Of so nu-merous a family, Gallus and Julian alone, thetwo youngest children of Julius Constantius,were saved from the hands of the assassins,till their rage, satiated with slaughter, had insome measure subsided. The emperor Con-stantius, who, in the absence of his broth-ers, was the most obnoxious to guilt andreproach, discovered, on some future occa-

458Conjugia sobrinarum diu ignorata, tempore addito percrebuisseTacit Annal xii 6, and Lipsius ad loc The repeal of the ancient law,and the practice of five hundred years, were insufficient to eradicatethe prejudices of the Romans, who still considered the marriages ofcousins-german as a species of imperfect incest (Augustin de CivitateDei, xv 6;) and Julian, whose mind was biased by superstition andresentment, stigmatizes these unnatural alliances between his owncousins with the opprobrious epithet (Orat vii p 228) The jurispru-dence of the canons has since received and enforced this prohibition,without being able to introduce it either into the civil or the commonlaw of Europe See on the subject of these marriages, Taylor’s Civil Law,p 331 Brouer de Jure Connub l ii c 12 Hericourt des Loix Ecclesias-tiques, part iii c 5 Fleury, Institutions du Droit Canonique, tom i p 331Paris, 1767, and Fra Paolo, Istoria del Concilio Trident, l viii

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sions, a faint and transient remorse for thosecruelties which the perfidious counsels of hisministers, and the irresistible violence of thetroops, had extorted from his unexperiencedyouth.459The massacre of the Flavian race was

succeeded by a new division of theprovinces; which was ratified in a personalinterview of the three brothers. Constantine,the eldest of the Caesars, obtained, with acertain preeminence of rank, the possessionof the new capital, which bore his own nameand that of his father. Thrace, and the coun-tries of the East, were allotted for the pat-rimony of Constantius; and Constans wasacknowledged as the lawful sovereign ofItaly, Africa, and the Western Illyricum. Thearmies submitted to their hereditary right;and they condescended, after some delay, toaccept from the Roman senate the title of Au-gustus. When they first assumed the reins ofgovernment, the eldest of these princes wastwenty-one, the second twenty, and the thirdonly seventeen, years of age.460

While the martial nations of Europe followedthe standards of his brothers, Constan-

tius, at the head of the effeminate troops of

459Julian (ad S P Q Athen p 270) charges his cousin Constantius withthe whole guilt of a massacre, from which he himself so narrowly es-caped His assertion is confirmed by Athanasius, who, for reasons of avery different nature, was not less an enemy of Constantius, (tom i p856) Zosimus joins in the same accusation But the three abbreviators,Eutropius and the Victors, use very qualifying expressions: “sinentepotius quam jubente;” “incertum quo suasore;” “vi militum”

460Euseb in Vit Constantin l iv c 69 Zosimus, l ii p 117 Idat in ChronSee two notes of Tillemont, Hist des Empereurs, tom iv p 1086-1091The reign of the eldest brother at Constantinople is noticed only in theAlexandrian Chronicle

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Asia, was left to sustain the weight of thePersian war. At the decease of Constantine,the throne of the East was filled by Sapor,son of Hormouz, or Hormisdas, and grand-son of Narses, who, after the victory of Ga-lerius, had humbly confessed the superior-ity of the Roman power. Although Saporwas in the thirtieth year of his long reign, hewas still in the vigor of youth, as the date ofhis accession, by a very strange fatality, hadpreceded that of his birth. The wife of Hor-mouz remained pregnant at the time of herhusband’s death; and the uncertainty of thesex, as well as of the event, excited the am-bitious hopes of the princes of the house ofSassan. The apprehensions of civil war wereat length removed, by the positive assuranceof the Magi, that the widow of Hormouz hadconceived, and would safely produce a son.Obedient to the voice of superstition, the Per-sians prepared, without delay, the ceremonyof his coronation.A royal bed, on which the queen lay in

state, was exhibited in the midst of thepalace; the diadem was placed on the spot,which might be supposed to conceal the fu-ture heir of Artaxerxes, and the prostratesatraps adored the majesty of their invisi-ble and insensible sovereign.461 If any creditcan be given to this marvellous tale, which

461Agathias, who lived in the sixth century, is the author of this story,(l iv p 135, edit Louvre) He derived his information from some ex-tracts of the Persian Chronicles, obtained and translated by the inter-preter Sergius, during his embassy at that country The coronation ofthe mother of Sapor is likewise mentioned by Snikard, (Tarikh p 116,)and D’Herbelot (Bibliotheque Orientale, p 703) —-The author of theZenut-ul-Tarikh states, that the lady herself affirmed her belief of thisfrom the extraordinary liveliness of the infant, and its lying on the

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seems, however, to be countenanced by themanners of the people, and by the extraor-dinary duration of his reign, we must ad-mire not only the fortune, but the genius, ofSapor. In the soft, sequestered education ofa Persian harem, the royal youth could dis-cover the importance of exercising the vigorof his mind and body; and, by his personalmerit, deserved a throne, on which he hadbeen seated, while he was yet unconsciousof the duties and temptations of absolutepower. His minority was exposed to the al-most inevitable calamities of domestic dis-cord; his capital was surprised and plun-dered by Thair, a powerful king of Yemen, orArabia; and the majesty of the royal familywas degraded by the captivity of a princess,the sister of the deceased king. But as soon asSapor attained the age of manhood, the pre-sumptuous Thair, his nation, and his coun-try, fell beneath the first effort of the youngwarrior; who used his victory with so judi-cious a mixture of rigor and clemency, thathe obtained from the fears and gratitude ofthe Arabs the title of Dhoulacnaf, or protec-tor of the nation.462463

The ambition of the Persian, to whom his

right side Those who are sage on such subjects must determine whatright she had to be positive from these symptoms Malcolm, Hist ofPersia, i 83–M

462D’Herbelot, Bibliotheque Orientale, p 764463Gibbon, according to Sir J Malcolm, has greatly mistaken the

derivation of this name; it means Zoolaktaf, the Lord of the Shoul-ders, from his directing the shoulders of his captives to be pierced andthen dislocated by a string passed through them Eastern authors areagreed with respect to the origin of this title Malcolm, i 84 Gibbon tookhis derivation from D’Herbelot, who gives both, the latter on the au-thority of the Leb Tarikh–M

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enemies ascribe the virtues of a soldierand a statesman, was animated by the de-sire of revenging the disgrace of his fathers,and of wresting from the hands of the Ro-mans the five provinces beyond the Tigris.The military fame of Constantine, and thereal or apparent strength of his government,suspended the attack; and while the hos-tile conduct of Sapor provoked the resent-ment, his artful negotiations amused the pa-tience of the Imperial court. The death ofConstantine was the signal of war,464 andthe actual condition of the Syrian and Arme-nian frontier seemed to encourage the Per-sians by the prospect of a rich spoil and aneasy conquest. The example of the massacresof the palace diffused a spirit of licentious-ness and sedition among the troops of theEast, who were no longer restrained by theirhabits of obedience to a veteran comman-der. By the prudence of Constantius, who,from the interview with his brothers in Pan-nonia, immediately hastened to the banksof the Euphrates, the legions were gradu-ally restored to a sense of duty and disci-pline; but the season of anarchy had per-mitted Sapor to form the siege of Nisibis,and to occupy several of the mo st impor-

464Sextus Rufus, (c 26,) who on this occasion is no contemptible au-thority, affirms, that the Persians sued in vain for peace, and that Con-stantine was preparing to march against them: yet the superior weightof the testimony of Eusebius obliges us to admit the preliminaries, ifnot the ratification, of the treaty See Tillemont, Hist des Empereurs,tom iv p 420 —-Constantine had endeavored to allay the fury of theprosecutions, which, at the instigation of the Magi and the Jews, Saporhad commenced against the Christians Euseb Vit Hist Theod i 25 So-zom ii c 8, 15–M

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tant fortresses of Mesopotamia.465 In Ar-menia, the renowned Tiridates had long en-joyed the peace and glory which he de-served by his valor and fidelity to the causeof Rome.466 The firm alliance which hemaintained with Constantine was produc-tive of spiritual as well as of temporal ben-efits; by the conversion of Tiridates, the char-acter of a saint was applied to that of a hero,the Christian faith was preached and estab-lished from the Euphrates to the shores ofthe Caspian, and Armenia was attached tothe empire by the double ties of policy andreligion. But as many of the Armenian no-bles still refused to abandon the pluralityof their gods and of their wives, the pub-lic tranquillity was disturbed by a discon-tented faction, which insulted the feeble ageof their sovereign, and impatiently expectedthe hour of his death. He died at length af-ter a reign of fifty-six years, and the fortuneof the Armenian monarchy expired with Tiri-dates. His lawful heir was driven into ex-ile, the Christian priests were either mur-dered or expelled from their churches, thebarbarous tribes of Albania were solicited todescend from their mountains; and two ofthe most powerful governors, usurping theensigns or the powers of royalty, imploredthe assistance of Sapor, and opened the gatesof their cities to the Persian garrisons. The

465Julian Orat i p 20466Tiridates had sustained a war against Maximin caused by the

hatred of the latter against Christianity Armenia was the first nationwhich embraced Christianity About the year 276 it was the religion ofthe king, the nobles, and the people of Armenia From St Martin, Sup-plement to Le Beau, v i p 78—-Compare Preface to History of Vartanby Professor Neumann, p ix–M

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Christian party, under the guidance of theArchbishop of Artaxata, the immediate suc-cessor of St. Gregory the Illuminator, hadrecourse to the piety of Constantius. Af-ter the troubles had continued about threeyears, Antiochus, one of the officers of thehousehold, executed with success the Impe-rial commission of restoring Chosroes,467 theson of Tiridates, to the throne of his fathers,of distributing honors and rewards amongthe faithful servants of the house of Arsaces,and of proclaiming a general amnesty, whichwas accepted by the greater part of the re-

467Chosroes was restored probably by Licinius, between 314 and 319There was an Antiochus who was praefectus vigilum at Rome, as ap-pears from the Theodosian Code, (l iii de inf his quae sub ty,) in 326,and from a fragment of the same work published by M Amedee Pey-ron, in 319 He may before this have been sent into Armenia St M p 407[Is it not more probable that Antiochus was an officer in the service ofthe Caesar who ruled in the East?–M] Chosroes was succeeded in theyear 322 by his son Diran Diran was a weak prince, and in the sixteenthyear of his reign A D 337 was betrayed into the power of the Persiansby the treachery of his chamberlain and the Persian governor of At-ropatene or Aderbidjan He was blinded: his wife and his son Arsacesshared his captivity, but the princes and nobles of Armenia claimedthe protection of Rome; and this was the cause of Constantine’s dec-laration of war against the Persians–The king of Persia attempted tomake himself master of Armenia; but the brave resistance of the peo-ple, the advance of Constantius, and a defeat which his army sufferedat Oskha in Armenia, and the failure before Nisibis, forced Shahpourto submit to terms of peace Varaz-Shahpour, the perfidious governorof Atropatene, was flayed alive; Diran and his son were released fromcaptivity; Diran refused to ascend the throne, and retired to an obscureretreat: his son Arsaces was crowned king of Armenia Arsaces pur-sued a vacillating policy between the influence of Rome and Persia,and the war recommenced in the year 345 At least, that was the periodof the expedition of Constantius to the East See St Martin, additions toLe Beau, i 442 The Persians have made an extraordinary romance outof the history of Shahpour, who went as a spy to Constantinople, wastaken, harnessed like a horse, and carried to witness the devastationof his kingdom Malcolm 84–M

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bellious satraps. But the Romans derivedmore honor than advantage from this rev-olution. Chosroes was a prince of a punystature and a pusillanimous spirit. Unequalto the fatigues of war, averse to the societyof mankind, he withdrew from his capital toa retired palace, which he built on the banksof the River Eleutherus, and in the centre ofa shady grove; where he consumed his va-cant hours in the rural sports of hunting andhawking. To secure this inglorious ease, hesubmitted to the conditions of peace whichSapor condescended to impose; the paymentof an annual tribute, and the restitution ofthe fertile province of Atropatene, which thecourage of Tiridates, and the victorious armsof Galerius, had annexed to the Armenianmonarchy.468469

468Julian Orat i p 20, 21 Moses of Chorene, l ii c 89, l iii c 1–9, p226–240 The perfect agreement between the vague hints of the con-temporary orator, and the circumstantial narrative of the national his-torian, gives light to the former, and weight to the latter For the creditof Moses, it may be likewise observed, that the name of Antiochus isfound a few years before in a civil office of inferior dignity See Gode-froy, Cod Theod tom vi p 350

469Gibbon has endeavored, in his History, to make use of the infor-mation furnished by Moses of Chorene, the only Armenian historianthen translated into Latin Gibbon has not perceived all the chronolog-ical difficulties which occur in the narrative of that writer He has notthought of all the critical discussions which his text ought to undergobefore it can be combined with the relations of the western writersFrom want of this attention, Gibbon has made the facts which he hasdrawn from this source more erroneous than they are in the originalThis judgment applies to all which the English historian has derivedfrom the Armenian author I have made the History of Moses a subjectof particular attention; and it is with confidence that I offer the results,which I insert here, and which will appear in the course of my notesIn order to form a judgment of the difference which exists betweenme and Gibbon, I will content myself with remarking, that throughouthe has committed an anachronism of thirty years, from whence it fol-

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During the long period of the reign of Con-stantius, the provinces of the East were

afflicted by the calamities of the Persianwar.470 The irregular incursions of the lighttroops alternately spread terror and devasta-tion beyond the Tigris and beyond the Eu-phrates, from the gates of Ctesiphon to thoseof Antioch; and this active service was per-formed by the Arabs of the desert, whowere divided in their interest and affections;some of their independent chiefs being en-listed in the party of Sapor, whilst othershad engaged their doubtful fidelity to theemperor.471 The more grave and impor-tant operations of the war were conductedwith equal vigor; and the armies of Rome

lows, that he assigns to the reign of Constantius many events whichtook place during that of Constantine He could not, therefore, discernthe true connection which exists between the Roman history and thatof Armenia, or form a correct notion of the reasons which inducedConstantine, at the close of his life, to make war upon the Persians, orof the motives which detained Constantius so long in the East; he doesnot even mention them St Martin, note on Le Beau, i 406 I have in-serted M St Martin’s observations, but I must add, that the chronologywhich he proposes, is not generally received by Armenian scholars,not, I believe, by Professor Neumann–M

470It was during this war that a bold flatterer (whose name is un-known) published the Itineraries of Alexander and Trajan, in order todirect the victorious Constantius in the footsteps of those great con-querors of the East The former of these has been published for the firsttime by M Angelo Mai (Milan, 1817, reprinted at Frankfort, 1818) Itadds so little to our knowledge of Alexander’s campaigns, that it onlyexcites our regret that it is not the Itinerary of Trajan, of whose easternvictories we have no distinct record–M

471Ammianus (xiv 4) gives a lively description of the wandering andpredatory life of the Saracens, who stretched from the confines of As-syria to the cataracts of the Nile It appears from the adventures ofMalchus, which Jerom has related in so entertaining a manner, thatthe high road between Beraea and Edessa was infested by these rob-bers See Hieronym tom i p 256

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and Persia encountered each other in ninebloody fields, in two of which Constantiushimself commanded in person.472 The eventof the day was most commonly adverse tothe Romans, but in the battle of Singara,their imprudent valor had almost achieveda signal and decisive victory. The station-ary troops of Singara473 retired on the ap-proach of Sapor, who passed the Tigris overthree bridges, and occupied near the villageof Hilleh an advantageous camp, which, bythe labor of his numerous pioneers, he sur-rounded in one day with a deep ditch and alofty rampart. His formidable host, when itwas drawn out in order of battle, covered thebanks of the river, the adjacent heights, andthe whole extent of a plain of above twelvemiles, which separated the two armies. Bothwere alike impatient to engage; but the Bar-barians, after a slight resistance, fled in disor-der; unable to resist, or desirous to weary, thestrength of the heavy legions, who, faintingwith heat and thirst, pursued them acrossthe plain, and cut in pieces a line of cav-alry, clothed in complete armor, which had

472We shall take from Eutropius the general idea of the war A Per-sis enim multa et gravia perpessus, saepe captis, oppidis, obsessisurbibus, caesis exercitibus, nullumque ei contra Saporem prosperumpraelium fuit, nisi quod apud Singaram, &c This honest account isconfirmed by the hints of Ammianus, Rufus, and Jerom The two firstorations of Julian, and the third oration of Libanius, exhibit a more flat-tering picture; but the recantation of both those orators, after the deathof Constantius, while it restores us to the possession of the truth, de-grades their own character, and that of the emperor The Commentaryof Spanheim on the first oration of Julian is profusely learned See like-wise the judicious observations of Tillemont, Hist des Empereurs, tomiv p 656

473Now Sinjar, or the River Claboras–M

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been posted before the gates of the campto protect their retreat. Constantius, whowas hurried along in the pursuit, attempted,without effect, to restrain the ardor of histroops, by representing to them the dangersof the approaching night, and the certaintyof completing their success with the returnof day. As they depended much more ontheir own valor than on the experience orthe abilities of their chief, they silenced bytheir clamors his timid remonstrances; andrushing with fury to the charge, filled upthe ditch, broke down the rampart, and dis-persed themselves through the tents to re-cruit their exhausted strength, and to enjoythe rich harvest of their labors. But the pru-dent Sapor had watched the moment of vic-tory. His army, of which the greater part, se-curely posted on the heights, had been spec-tators of the action, advanced in silence, andunder the shadow of the night; and his Per-sian archers, guided by the illumination ofthe camp, poured a shower of arrows on adisarmed and licentious crowd. The sincer-ity of history474 declares, that the Romanswere vanquished with a dreadful slaugh-ter, and that the flying remnant of the le-gions was exposed to the most intolerablehardships. Even the tenderness of pane-gyric, confessing that the glory of the em-peror was sullied by the disobedience of his

474Acerrima nocturna concertatione pugnatum est, nostrorum copiisngenti strage confossis Ammian xviii 5 See likewise Eutropius, x 10,and S Rufus, c 27 —-The Persian historians, or romancers, do not men-tion the battle of Singara, but make the captive Shahpour escape, de-feat, and take prisoner, the Roman emperor The Roman captives wereforced to repair all the ravages they had committed, even to replantingthe smallest trees Malcolm i 82–M

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soldiers, chooses to draw a veil over the cir-cumstances of this melancholy retreat. Yetone of those venal orators, so jealous of thefame of Constantius, relates, with amazingcoolness, an act of such incredible cruelty, as,in the judgment of posterity, must imprint afar deeper stain on the honor of the Impe-rial name. The son of Sapor, the heir of hiscrown, had been made a captive in the Per-sian camp. The unhappy youth, who mighthave excited the compassion of the most sav-age enemy, was scourged, tortured, and pub-licly executed by the inhuman Romans.475

Whatever advantages might attend the armsof Sapor in the field, though nine re-

peated victories diffused among the nationsthe fame of his valor and conduct, he couldnot hope to succeed in the execution ofhis designs, while the fortified towns ofMesopotamia, and, above all, the strong andancient city of Nisibis, remained in the pos-session of the Romans. In the space of twelveyears, Nisibis, which, since the time of Lu-cullus, had been deservedly esteemed thebulwark of the East, sustained three memo-rable sieges against the power of Sapor; andthe disappointed monarch, after urging hisattacks above sixty, eighty, and a hundreddays, was thrice repulsed with loss and ig-nominy.476 This large and populous city

475Libanius, Orat iii p 133, with Julian Orat i p 24, and Spanneism’sCommentary, p 179

476See Julian Orat i p 27, Orat ii p 62, &c, with the Commentary ofSpanheim, (p 188-202,) who illustrates the circumstances, and ascer-tains the time of the three sieges of Nisibis Their dates are likewiseexamined by Tillemont, (Hist des Empereurs, tom iv p 668, 671, 674)Something is added from Zosimus, l iii p 151, and the Alexandrine

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was situate about two days’ journey from theTigris, in the midst of a pleasant and fertileplain at the foot of Mount Masius. A trebleenclosure of brick walls was defended by adeep ditch;477 and the intrepid resistance ofCount Lucilianus, and his garrison, was sec-onded by the desperate courage of the peo-ple. The citizens of Nisibis were animatedby the exhortations of their bishop,478 inuredto arms by the presence of danger, and con-vinced of the intentions of Sapor to plant aPersian colony in their room, and to leadthem away into distant and barbarous cap-tivity. The event of the two former siegeselated their confidence, and exasperated thehaughty spirit of the Great King, who ad-vanced a third time towards Nisibis, at thehead of the united forces of Persia and In-dia. The ordinary machines, invented to bat-ter or undermine the walls, were renderedineffectual by the superior skill of the Ro-mans; and many days had vainly elapsed,when Sapor embraced a resolution worthyof an eastern monarch, who believed thatthe elements themselves were subject to hispower. At the stated season of the meltingof the snows in Armenia, the River Mygdo-

Chronicle, p 290477Sallust Fragment lxxxiv edit Brosses, and Plutarch in Lucull tom

iii p 184 Nisibis is now reduced to one hundred and fifty houses: themarshy lands produce rice, and the fertile meadows, as far as Mosuland the Tigris, are covered with the ruins of towns and allages SeeNiebuhr, Voyages, tom ii p 300-309

478The miracles which Theodoret (l ii c 30) ascribes to St James,Bishop of Edessa, were at least performed in a worthy cause, the de-fence of his couutry He appeared on the walls under the figure of theRoman emperor, and sent an army of gnats to sting the trunks of theelephants, and to discomfit the host of the new Sennacherib

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nius, which divides the plain and the cityof Nisibis, forms, like the Nile,479 an inun-dation over the adjacent country. By the la-bor of the Persians, the course of the riverwas stopped below the town, and the waterswere confined on every side by solid moundsof earth. On this artificial lake, a fleet ofarmed vessels filled with soldiers, and withengines which discharged stones of five hun-dred pounds weight, advanced in order ofbattle, and engaged, almost upon a level,the troops which defended the ramparts.480The irresistible force of the waters was alter-nately fatal to the contending parties, till atlength a portion of the walls, unable to sus-tain the accumulated pressure, gave way atonce, and exposed an ample breach of onehundred and fifty feet. The Persians wereinstantly driven to the assault, and the fateof Nisibis depended on the event of the day.The heavy-armed cavalry, who led the vanof a deep column, were embarrassed in themud, and great numbers were drowned inthe unseen holes which had been filled by therushing waters. The elephants, made furi-ous by their wounds, increased the disorder,

479Julian Orat i p 27 Though Niebuhr (tom ii p 307) allows a veryconsiderable swell to the Mygdonius, over which he saw a bridge oftwelve arches: it is difficult, however, to understand this parallel of atrifling rivulet with a mighty river There are many circumstances ob-scure, and almost unintelligible, in the description of these stupendouswater-works

480Macdonald Kinnier observes on these floating batteries, “As theelevation of place is considerably above the level of the country in itsimmediate vicinity, and the Mygdonius is a very insignificant stream,it is difficult to imagine how this work could have been accomplished,even with the wonderful resources which the king must have had athis disposal” Geographical Memoir p 262–M

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and trampled down thousands of the Persianarchers. The Great King, who, from an ex-alted throne, beheld the misfortunes of hisarms, sounded, with reluctant indignation,the signal of the retreat, and suspended forsome hours the prosecution of the attack. Butthe vigilant citizens improved the opportu-nity of the night; and the return of day dis-covered a new wall of six feet in height, ris-ing every moment to fill up the interval ofthe breach. Notwithstanding the disappoint-ment of his hopes, and the loss of more thantwenty thousand men, Sapor still pressed thereduction of Nisibis, with an obstinate firm-ness, which could have yielded only to thenecessity of defending the eastern provincesof Persia against a formidable invasion ofthe Massagetae.481 Alarmed by this intelli-gence, he hastily relinquished the siege, andmarched with rapid diligence from the banksof the Tigris to those of the Oxus. The dangerand difficulties of the Scythian war engagedhim soon afterwards to conclude, or at leastto observe, a truce with the Roman emperor,which was equally grateful to both princes;as Constantius himself, after the death of histwo brothers, was involved, by the revolu-tions of the West, in a civil contest, which re-quired and seemed to exceed the most vigor-ous exertion of his undivided strength.After the partition of the empire, three years

had scarcely elapsed before the sonsof Constantine seemed impatient to con-vince mankind that they were incapable of

481We are obliged to Zonaras (tom ii l xiii p 11) for this invasion ofthe Massagetae, which is perfectly consistent with the general series ofevents to which we are darkly led by the broken history of Ammianus

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contenting themselves with the dominionswhich they were unqualified to govern. Theeldest of those princes soon complained,that he was defrauded of his just propor-tion of the spoils of their murdered kinsmen;and though he might yield to the superiorguilt and merit of Constantius, he exactedfrom Constans the cession of the Africanprovinces, as an equivalent for the rich coun-tries of Macedonia and Greece, which hisbrother had acquired by the death of Dal-matius. The want of sincerity, which Con-stantine experienced in a tedious and fruit-less negotiation, exasperated the fiercenessof his temper; and he eagerly listened tothose favorites, who suggested to him thathis honor, as well as his interest, was con-cerned in the prosecution of the quarrel. Atthe head of a tumultuary band, suited forrapine rather than for conquest, he suddenlybroke onto the dominions of Constans, bythe way of the Julian Alps, and the countryround Aquileia felt the first effects of his re-sentment. The measures of Constans, whothen resided in Dacia, were directed withmore prudence and ability. On the news ofhis brother’s invasion, he detached a selectand disciplined body of his Illyrian troops,proposing to follow them in person, with theremainder of his forces. But the conduct ofhis lieutenants soon terminated the unnatu-ral contest.

By the artful appearances of flight, Constan-tine was betrayed into an ambuscade,

which had been concealed in a wood, wherethe rash youth, with a few attendants, wassurprised, surrounded, and slain. His body,

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after it had been found in the obscure streamof the Alsa, obtained the honors of an Impe-rial sepulchre; but his provinces transferredtheir allegiance to the conqueror, who, refus-ing to admit his elder brother Constantius toany share in these new acquisitions, main-tained the undisputed possession of morethan two thirds of the Roman empire.482

...Part IV

THE fate of Constans himself was delayedabout ten years longer, and the revenge

of his brother’s death was reserved for themore ignoble hand of a domestic traitor.The pernicious tendency of the system in-troduced by Constantine was displayed inthe feeble administration of his sons; who,by their vices and weakness, soon lost theesteem and affections of their people. Thepride assumed by Constans, from the un-merited success of his arms, was renderedmore contemptible by his want of abilitiesand application. His fond partiality towardssome German captives, distinguished onlyby the charms of youth, was an object ofscandal to the people;483 and Magnentius,an ambitious soldier, who was himself of

482The causes and the events of this civil war are related with muchperplexity and contradiction I have chiefly followed Zonaras and theyounger Victor The monody (ad Calcem Eutrop edit Havercamp) pro-nounced on the death of Constantine, might have been very instruc-tive; but prudence and false taste engaged the orator to involve himselfin vague declamation

483Quarum (gentium) obsides pretio quaesitos pueros venustiorequod cultius habuerat libidine hujusmodi arsisse pro certo habet Hadnot the depraved taste of Constans been publicly avowed, the elderVictor, who held a considerable office in his brother’s reign, would nothave asserted it in such positive terms

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Barbarian extraction, was encouraged by thepublic discontent to assert the honor of theRoman name.484 The chosen bands of Jo-vians and Herculians, who acknowledgedMagnentius as their leader, maintained themost respectable and important station in theImperial camp. The friendship of Marcelli-nus, count of the sacred largesses, suppliedwith a liberal hand the means of seduction.The soldiers were convinced by the mostspecious arguments, that the republic sum-moned them to break the bonds of hereditaryservitude; and, by the choice of an active andvigilant prince, to reward the same virtueswhich had raised the ancestors of the degen-erate Constans from a private condition tothe throne of the world. As soon as the con-spiracy was ripe for execution, Marcellinus,under the pretence of celebrating his son’sbirthday, gave a splendid entertainment tothe illustrious and honorable persons of thecourt of Gaul, which then resided in the cityof Autun. The intemperance of the feast wasartfully protracted till a very late hour ofthe night; and the unsuspecting guests weretempted to indulge themselves in a danger-ous and guilty freedom of conversation. Ona sudden the doors were thrown open, andMagnentius, who had retired for a few mo-ments, returned into the apartment, investedwith the diadem and purple. The conspira-

484Julian Orat i and ii Zosim l ii p 134 Victor in Epitome There isreason to believe that Magnentius was born in one of those Barbariancolonies which Constantius Chlorus had established in Gaul, (see thisHistory, vol i p 414) His behavior may remind us of the patriot earlof Leicester, the famous Simon de Montfort, who could persuade thegood people of England, that he, a Frenchman by birth had taken armsto deliver them from foreign favorites

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tors instantly saluted him with the titles ofAugustus and Emperor. The surprise, theterror, the intoxication, the ambitious hopes,and the mutual ignorance of the rest of theassembly, prompted them to join their voicesto the general acclamation. The guards has-tened to take the oath of fidelity; the gatesof the town were shut; and before the dawnof day, Magnentius became master of thetroops and treasure of the palace and city ofAutun. By his secrecy and diligence he enter-tained some hopes of surprising the personof Constans, who was pursuing in the adja-cent forest his favorite amusement of hunt-ing, or perhaps some pleasures of a more pri-vate and criminal nature. The rapid progressof fame allowed him, however, an instant forflight, though the desertion of his soldiersand subjects deprived him of the power ofresistance. Before he could reach a seaport inSpain, where he intended to embark, he wasovertaken near Helena,485 at the foot of thePyrenees, by a party of light cavalry, whosechief, regardless of the sanctity of a temple,executed his commission by the murder ofthe son of Constantine.486As soon as the death of Constans had de-

cided this easy but important revolu-tion, the example of the court of Autun

485This ancient city had once flourished under the name of Illiberis(Pomponius Mela, ii 5) The munificence of Constantine gave it newsplendor, and his mother’s name Helena (it is still called Elne) becamethe seat of a bishop, who long afterwards transferred his residence toPerpignan, the capital of modern Rousillon See D’Anville Notice del’Ancienne Gaule, p 380 Longuerue, Description de la France, p 223,and the Marca Hispanica, l i c 2

486Zosimus, l ii p 119, 120 Zonaras, tom ii l xiii p 13, and the Abbre-viators

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was imitated by the provinces of the West.The authority of Magnentius was acknowl-edged through the whole extent of the twogreat praefectures of Gaul and Italy; andthe usurper prepared, by every act of op-pression, to collect a treasure, which mightdischarge the obligation of an immense do-native, and supply the expenses of a civilwar. The martial countries of Illyricum, fromthe Danube to the extremity of Greece, hadlong obeyed the government of Vetranio, anaged general, beloved for the simplicity ofhis manners, and who had acquired somereputation by his experience and services inwar.487 Attached by habit, by duty, and bygratitude, to the house of Constantine, heimmediately gave the strongest assurancesto the only surviving son of his late mas-ter, that he would expose, with unshaken fi-delity, his person and his troops, to inflict ajust revenge on the traitors of Gaul. But thelegions of Vetranio were seduced, rather thanprovoked, by the example of rebellion; theirleader soon betrayed a want of firmness, ora want of sincerity; and his ambition deriveda specious pretence from the approbation ofthe princess Constantina. That cruel and as-piring woman, who had obtained from thegreat Constantine, her father, the rank ofAugusta, placed the diadem with her ownhands on the head of the Illyrian general;and seemed to expect from his victory the

487Eutropius (x 10) describes Vetranio with more temper, and prob-ably with more truth, than either of the two Victors Vetranio was bornof obscure parents in the wildest parts of Maesia; and so much hadhis education been neglected, that, after his elevation, he studied thealphabet

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accomplishment of those unbounded hopes,of which she had been disappointed by thedeath of her husband Hannibalianus. Per-haps it was without the consent of Con-stantina, that the new emperor formed a nec-essary, though dishonorable, alliance withthe usurper of the West, whose purple was sorecently stained with her brother’s blood.488

The intelligence of these important events,which so deeply affected the honor and

safety of the Imperial house, recalled thearms of Constantius from the ingloriousprosecution of the Persian war. He rec-ommended the care of the East to his lieu-tenants, and afterwards to his cousin Gallus,whom he raised from a prison to a throne;and marched towards Europe, with a mindagitated by the conflict of hope and fear,of grief and indignation. On his arrival atHeraclea in Thrace, the emperor gave au-dience to the ambassadors of Magnentiusand Vetranio. The first author of the con-spiracy Marcellinus, who in some measurehad bestowed the purple on his new mas-ter, boldly accepted this dangerous commis-sion; and his three colleagues were selectedfrom the illustrious personages of the stateand army. These deputies were instructedto soothe the resentment, and to alarm thefears, of Constantius. They were empoweredto offer him the friendship and alliance ofthe western princes, to cement their unionby a double marriage; of Constantius withthe daughter of Magnentius, and of Magnen-

488The doubtful, fluctuating conduct of Vetranio is described by Ju-lian in his first oration, and accurately explained by Spanheim, whodiscusses the situation and behavior of Constantina

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tius himself with the ambitious Constantina;and to acknowledge in the treaty the preemi-nence of rank, which might justly be claimedby the emperor of the East. Should prideand mistaken piety urge him to refuse theseequitable conditions, the ambassadors wereordered to expatiate on the inevitable ruinwhich must attend his rashness, if he ven-tured to provoke the sovereigns of the Westto exert their superior strength; and to em-ploy against him that valor, those abilities,and those legions, to which the house ofConstantine had been indebted for so manytriumphs. Such propositions and such ar-guments appeared to deserve the most se-rious attention; the answer of Constantiuswas deferred till the next day; and as hehad reflected on the importance of justify-ing a civil war in the opinion of the peo-ple, he thus addressed his council, who lis-tened with real or affected credulity: “Lastnight,” said he, “after I retired to rest, theshade of the great Constantine, embracingthe corpse of my murdered brother, rose be-fore my eyes; his well-known voice awak-ened me to revenge, forbade me to despair ofthe republic, and assured me of the successand immortal glory which would crown thejustice of my arms.” The authority of sucha vision, or rather of the prince who allegedit, silenced every doubt, and excluded all ne-gotiation. The ignominious terms of peacewere rejected with disdain. One of the am-bassadors of the tyrant was dismissed withthe haughty answer of Constantius; his col-leagues, as unworthy of the privileges of thelaw of nations, were put in irons; and the

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contending powers prepared to wage an im-placable war.489

Such was the conduct, and such perhaps wasthe duty, of the brother of Constans to-

wards the perfidious usurper of Gaul. Thesituation and character of Vetranio admittedof milder measures; and the policy of theEastern emperor was directed to disunite hisantagonists, and to separate the forces of Il-lyricum from the cause of rebellion. It wasan easy task to deceive the frankness andsimplicity of Vetranio, who, fluctuating sometime between the opposite views of honorand interest, displayed to the world the in-sincerity of his temper, and was insensiblyengaged in the snares of an artful negotia-tion. Constantius acknowledged him as a le-gitimate and equal colleague in the empire,on condition that he would renounce his dis-graceful alliance with Magnentius, and ap-point a place of interview on the frontiers oftheir respective provinces; where they mightpledge their friendship by mutual vows of fi-delity, and regulate by common consent thefuture operations of the civil war. In conse-quence of this agreement, Vetranio advancedto the city of Sardica,490 at the head of twentythousand horse, and of a more numerousbody of infantry; a power so far superiorto the forces of Constantius, that the Illyr-ian emperor appeared to command the lifeand fortunes of his rival, who, depending

489See Peter the Patrician, in the Excerpta Legationem p 27490Zonaras, tom ii l xiii p 16 The position of Sardica, near the modern

city of Sophia, appears better suited to this interview than the situationof either Naissus or Sirmium, where it is placed by Jerom, Socrates,and Sozomen

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on the success of his private negotiations,had seduced the troops, and undermined thethrone, of Vetranio. The chiefs, who hadsecretly embraced the party of Constantius,prepared in his favor a public spectacle, cal-culated to discover and inflame the passionsof the multitude.491 The united armies werecommanded to assemble in a large plain nearthe city. In the centre, according to the rulesof ancient discipline, a military tribunal, orrather scaffold, was erected, from whencethe emperors were accustomed, on solemnand important occasions, to harangue thetroops. The well-ordered ranks of Romansand Barbarians, with drawn swords, or witherected spears, the squadrons of cavalry, andthe cohorts of infantry, distinguished by thevariety of their arms and ensigns, formedan immense circle round the tribunal; andthe attentive silence which they preservedwas sometimes interrupted by loud burstsof clamor or of applause. In the presenceof this formidable assembly, the two emper-ors were called upon to explain the situa-tion of public affairs: the precedency of rankwas yielded to the royal birth of Constantius;and though he was indifferently skilled inthe arts of rhetoric, he acquitted himself, un-der these difficult circumstances, with firm-ness, dexterity, and eloquence. The first partof his oration seemed to be pointed onlyagainst the tyrant of Gaul; but while he tragi-cally lamented the cruel murder of Constans,he insinuated, that none, except a brother,

491See the two first orations of Julian, particularly p 31; and Zosimus,l ii p 122 The distinct narrative of the historian serves to illustrate thediffuse but vague descriptions of the orator

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could claim a right to the succession of hisbrother. He displayed, with some compla-cency, the glories of his Imperial race; and re-called to the memory of the troops the valor,the triumphs, the liberality of the great Con-stantine, to whose sons they had engagedtheir allegiance by an oath of fidelity, whichthe ingratitude of his most favored servantshad tempted them to violate. The officers,who surrounded the tribunal, and were in-structed to act their part in this extraordi-nary scene, confessed the irresistible powerof reason and eloquence, by saluting the em-peror Constantius as their lawful sovereign.The contagion of loyalty and repentance wascommunicated from rank to rank; till theplain of Sardica resounded with the univer-sal acclamation of “Away with these upstartusurpers! Long life and victory to the sonof Constantine! Under his banners alone wewill fight and conquer.” The shout of thou-sands, their menacing gestures, the fierceclashing of their arms, astonished and sub-dued the courage of Vetranio, who stood,amidst the defection of his followers, in anx-ious and silent suspense. Instead of embrac-ing the last refuge of generous despair, hetamely submitted to his fate; and taking thediadem from his head, in the view of botharmies fell prostrate at the feet of his con-queror. Constantius used his victory withprudence and moderation; and raising fromthe ground the aged suppliant, whom he af-fected to style by the endearing name of Fa-ther, he gave him his hand to descend fromthe throne. The city of Prusa was assignedfor the exile or retirement of the abdicated

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monarch, who lived six years in the enjoy-ment of ease and affluence. He often ex-pressed his grateful sense of the goodness ofConstantius, and, with a very amiable sim-plicity, advised his benefactor to resign thesceptre of the world, and to seek for content(where alone it could be found) in the peace-ful obscurity of a private condition.492

The behavior of Constantius on this memo-rable occasion was celebrated with some

appearance of justice; and his courtiers com-pared the studied orations which a Periclesor a Demosthenes addressed to the pop-ulace of Athens, with the victorious elo-quence which had persuaded an armed mul-titude to desert and depose the object oftheir partial choice.493 The approaching con-test with Magnentius was of a more seri-ous and bloody kind. The tyrant advancedby rapid marches to encounter Constan-tius, at the head of a numerous army, com-posed of Gauls and Spaniards, of Franksand Saxons; of those provincials who sup-plied the strength of the legions, and of thosebarbarians who were dreaded as the mostformidable enemies of the republic. Thefertile plains494 of the Lower Pannonia, be-

492The younger Victor assigns to his exile the emphatical appella-tion of “Voluptarium otium” Socrates (l ii c 28) is the voucher for thecorrespondence with the emperor, which would seem to prove thatVetranio was indeed, prope ad stultitiam simplicissimus

493Eum Constantius facundiae vi dejectum Imperio in pri vatumotium removit Quae gloria post natum Imperium soli proces sit elo-quio clementiaque, &c Aurelius Victor, Julian, and Themistius (Orat iiiand iv) adorn this exploit with all the artificial and gaudy coloring oftheir rhetoric

494Busbequius (p 112) traversed the Lower Hungary and Sclavonia

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tween the Drave, the Save, and the Danube,presented a spacious theatre; and the opera-tions of the civil war were protracted duringthe summer months by the skill or timidity ofthe combatants.495 Constantius had declaredhis intention of deciding the quarrel in thefields of Cibalis, a name that would animatehis troops by the remembrance of the victory,which, on the same auspicious ground, hadbeen obtained by the arms of his father Con-stantine. Yet by the impregnable fortifica-tions with which the emperor encompassedhis camp, he appeared to decline, rather thanto invite, a general engagement.It was the object of Magnentius to tempt or to

compel his adversary to relinquish thisadvantageous position; and he employed,with that view, the various marches, evo-lutions, and stratagems, which the knowl-edge of the art of war could suggest to anexperienced officer. He carried by assaultthe important town of Siscia; made an at-tack on the city of Sirmium, which lay inthe rear of the Imperial camp, attempted toforce a passage over the Save into the east-ern provinces of Illyricum; and cut in piecesa numerous detachment, which he had al-lured into the narrow passes of Adarne. Dur-ing the greater part of the summer, the tyrant

at a time when they were reduced almost to a desert, by the reciprocalhostilities of the Turks and Christians Yet he mentions with admirationthe unconquerable fertility of the soil; and observes that the height ofthe grass was sufficient to conceal a loaded wagon from his sight Seelikewise Browne’s Travels, in Harris’s Collection, vol ii p 762 &c

495Zosimus gives a very large account of the war, and the negotia-tion, (l ii p 123-130) But as he neither shows himself a soldier nor apolitician, his narrative must be weighed with attention, and receivedwith caution

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of Gaul showed himself master of the field.The troops of Constantius were harassedand dispirited; his reputation declined inthe eye of the world; and his pride conde-scended to solicit a treaty of peace, whichwould have resigned to the assassin of Con-stans the sovereignty of the provinces be-yond the Alps. These offers were enforcedby the eloquence of Philip the Imperial am-bassador; and the council as well as the armyof Magnentius were disposed to accept them.But the haughty usurper, careless of the re-monstrances of his friends, gave orders thatPhilip should be detained as a captive, or,at least, as a hostage; while he despatchedan officer to reproach Constantius with theweakness of his reign, and to insult him bythe promise of a pardon if he would instantlyabdicate the purple. “That he should con-fide in the justice of his cause, and the protec-tion of an avenging Deity,” was the only an-swer which honor permitted the emperor toreturn. But he was so sensible of the difficul-ties of his situation, that he no longer daredto retaliate the indignity which had been of-fered to his representative. The negotiationof Philip was not, however, ineffectual, sincehe determined Sylvanus the Frank, a generalof merit and reputation, to desert with a con-siderable body of cavalry, a few days beforethe battle of Mursa.The city of Mursa, or Essek, celebrated in

modern times for a bridge of boats, fivemiles in length, over the River Drave, andthe adjacent morasses,496 has been alwaysconsidered as a place of importance in the

496This remarkable bridge, which is flanked with towers, and sup-

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wars of Hungary. Magnentius, directing hismarch towards Mursa, set fire to the gates,and, by a sudden assault, had almost scaledthe walls of the town. The vigilance of thegarrison extinguished the flames; the ap-proach of Constantius left him no time tocontinue the operations of the siege; and theemperor soon removed the only obstacle thatcould embarrass his motions, by forcing abody of troops which had taken post in anadjoining amphitheatre. The field of battleround Mursa was a naked and level plain: onthis ground the army of Constantius formed,with the Drave on their right; while theirleft, either from the nature of their dispo-sition, or from the superiority of their cav-alry, extended far beyond the right flank ofMagnentius.497 The troops on both sides re-mained under arms, in anxious expectation,during the greatest part of the morning; andthe son of Constantine, after animating hissoldiers by an eloquent speech, retired into achurch at some distance from the field of bat-tle, and committed to his generals the con-duct of this decisive day.498 They deservedhis confidence by the valor and military skillwhich they exerted. They wisely began the

ported on large wooden piles, was constructed A D 1566, by SultanSoliman, to facilitate the march of his armies into Hungary

497This position, and the subsequent evolutions, are clearly, thoughconcisely, described by Julian, Orat i p 36

498Sulpicius Severus, l ii p 405 The emperor passed the day in prayerwith Valens, the Arian bishop of Mursa, who gained his confidence byannouncing the success of the battle M de Tillemont (Hist des Em-pereurs, tom iv p 1110) very properly remarks the silence of Julianwith regard to the personal prowess of Constantius in the battle ofMursa The silence of flattery is sometimes equal to the most positiveand authentic evidence

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action upon the left; and advancing theirwhole wing of cavalry in an oblique line,they suddenly wheeled it on the right flankof the enemy, which was unprepared to resistthe impetuosity of their charge. But the Ro-mans of the West soon rallied, by the habitsof discipline; and the Barbarians of Germanysupported the renown of their national brav-ery. The engagement soon became general;was maintained with various and singularturns of fortune; and scarcely ended withthe darkness of the night. The signal victorywhich Constantius obtained is attributed tothe arms of his cavalry. His cuirassiers aredescribed as so many massy statues of steel,glittering with their scaly armor, and break-ing with their ponderous lances the firm ar-ray of the Gallic legions. As soon as the le-gions gave way, the lighter and more activesquadrons of the second line rode sword inhand into the intervals, and completed thedisorder. In the mean while, the huge bodiesof the Germans were exposed almost nakedto the dexterity of the Oriental archers; andwhole troops of those Barbarians were urgedby anguish and despair to precipitate them-selves into the broad and rapid stream ofthe Drave.499 The number of the slain wascomputed at fifty-four thousand men, andthe slaughter of the conquerors was moreconsiderable than that of the vanquished;500

499Julian Orat i p 36, 37; and Orat ii p 59, 60 Zonaras, tom ii l xiii p 17Zosimus, l ii p 130-133 The last of these celebrates the dexterity of thearcher Menelaus, who could discharge three arrows at the same time;an advantage which, according to his apprehension of military affairs,materially contributed to the victory of Constantius

500According to Zonaras, Constantius, out of 80,000 men, lost 30,000;

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a circumstance which proves the obstinacyof the contest, and justifies the observationof an ancient writer, that the forces of theempire were consumed in the fatal battle ofMursa, by the loss of a veteran army, suffi-cient to defend the frontiers, or to add newtriumphs to the glory of Rome.501 Notwith-standing the invectives of a servile orator,there is not the least reason to believe thatthe tyrant deserted his own standard in thebeginning of the engagement. He seems tohave displayed the virtues of a general andof a soldier till the day was irrecoverably lost,and his camp in the possession of the en-emy. Magnentius then consulted his safety,and throwing away the Imperial ornaments,escaped with some difficulty from the pur-suit of the light horse, who incessantly fol-lowed his rapid flight from the banks of theDrave to the foot of the Julian Alps.502

The approach of winter supplied the indo-lence of Constantius with specious rea-

and Magnentius lost 24,000 out of 36,000 The other articles of this ac-count seem probable and authentic, but the numbers of the tyrant’sarmy must have been mistaken, either by the author or his transcribersMagnentius had collected the whole force of the West, Romans andBarbarians, into one formidable body, which cannot fairly be esti-mated at less than 100,000 men Julian Orat i p 34, 35

501Ingentes R I vires ea dimicatione consumptae sunt, ad quaeli-bet bella externa idoneae, quae multum triumphorum possent securi-tatisque conferre Eutropius, x 13 The younger Victor expresses himselfto the same effect

502On this occasion, we must prefer the unsuspected testimony ofZosimus and Zonaras to the flattering assertions of Julian The youngerVictor paints the character of Magnentius in a singular light: “Sermo-nis acer, animi tumidi, et immodice timidus; artifex tamen ad occul-tandam audaciae specie formidinem” Is it most likely that in the battleof Mursa his behavior was governed by nature or by art should inclinefor the latter

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sons for deferring the prosecution of the wartill the ensuing spring. Magnentius hadfixed his residence in the city of Aquileia,and showed a seeming resolution to disputethe passage of the mountains and morasseswhich fortified the confines of the Venetianprovince. The surprisal of a castle in the Alpsby the secret march of the Imperialists, couldscarcely have determined him to relinquishthe possession of Italy, if the inclinations ofthe people had supported the cause of theirtyrant.503 But the memory of the crueltiesexercised by his ministers, after the unsuc-cessful revolt of Nepotian, had left a deepimpression of horror and resentment on theminds of the Romans. That rash youth, theson of the princess Eutropia, and the nephewof Constantine, had seen with indignationthe sceptre of the West usurped by a perfid-ious barbarian. Arming a desperate troop ofslaves and gladiators, he overpowered thefeeble guard of the domestic tranquillity ofRome, received the homage of the senate,and assuming the title of Augustus, precar-iously reigned during a tumult of twenty-eight days. The march of some regular forcesput an end to his ambitious hopes: the rebel-lion was extinguished in the blood of Nepo-tian, of his mother Eutropia, and of his ad-herents; and the proscription was extendedto all who had contracted a fatal alliancewith the name and family of Constantine.504

503Julian Orat i p 38, 39 In that place, however, as well as in Orationii p 97, he insinuates the general disposition of the senate, the people,and the soldiers of Italy, towards the party of the emperor

504The elder Victor describes, in a pathetic manner, the miserablecondition of Rome: “Cujus stolidum ingenium adeo P R patribusque

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But as soon as Constantius, after the battleof Mursa, became master of the sea-coast ofDalmatia, a band of noble exiles, who hadventured to equip a fleet in some harbor ofthe Adriatic, sought protection and revengein his victorious camp. By their secret in-telligence with their countrymen, Rome andthe Italian cities were persuaded to displaythe banners of Constantius on their walls.The grateful veterans, enriched by the lib-erality of the father, signalized their grati-tude and loyalty to the son. The cavalry,the legions, and the auxiliaries of Italy, re-newed their oath of allegiance to Constan-tius; and the usurper, alarmed by the generaldesertion, was compelled, with the remainsof his faithful troops, to retire beyond theAlps into the provinces of Gaul. The detach-ments, however, which were ordered eitherto press or to intercept the flight of Magnen-tius, conducted themselves with the usualimprudence of success; and allowed him, inthe plains of Pavia, an opportunity of turningon his pursuers, and of gratifying his despairby the carnage of a useless victory.505

The pride of Magnentius was reduced, by re-peated misfortunes, to sue, and to sue in

vain, for peace. He first despatched a sen-ator, in whose abilities he confided, and af-terwards several bishops, whose holy char-

exitio fuit, uti passim domus, fora, viae, templaque, cruore, cadav-eri busque opplerentur bustorum modo” Athanasius (tom i p 677) de-plores the fate of several illustrious victims, and Julian (Orat ii p 58) ex-ecrates the cruelty of Marcellinus, the implacable enemy of the houseof Constantine

505Zosim l ii p 133 Victor in Epitome The panegyrists of Constantius,with their usual candor, forget to mention this accidental defeat

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acter might obtain a more favorable audi-ence, with the offer of resigning the purple,and the promise of devoting the remainderof his life to the service of the emperor. ButConstantius, though he granted fair terms ofpardon and reconciliation to all who aban-doned the standard of rebellion,506 avowedhis inflexible resolution to inflict a just pun-ishment on the crimes of an assassin, whomhe prepared to overwhelm on every side bythe effort of his victorious arms. An Im-perial fleet acquired the easy possession ofAfrica and Spain, confirmed the waveringfaith of the Moorish nations, and landed aconsiderable force, which passed the Pyre-nees, and advanced towards Lyons, the lastand fatal station of Magnentius.507 The tem-per of the tyrant, which was never inclinedto clemency, was urged by distress to exer-cise every act of oppression which could ex-tort an immediate supply from the cities ofGaul.508 Their patience was at length ex-hausted; and Treves, the seat of Praetoriangovernment, gave the signal of revolt, byshutting her gates against Decentius, whohad been raised by his brother to the rankeither of Caesar or of Augustus.509 From

506Zonaras, tom ii l xiii p 17 Julian, in several places of the two ora-tions, expatiates on the clemency of Constantius to the rebels

507Zosim l ii p 133 Julian Orat i p 40, ii p 74508Ammian xv 6 Zosim l ii p 123 Julian, who (Orat i p 40) un-

veighs against the cruel effects of the tyrant’s despair, mentions (Orati p 34) the oppressive edicts which were dictated by his necessities,or by his avarice His subjects were compelled to purchase the Impe-rial demesnes; a doubtful and dangerous species of property, which,in case of a revolution, might be imputed to them as a treasonableusurpation

509The medals of Magnentius celebrate the victories of the two Au-

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Treves, Decentius was obliged to retire toSens, where he was soon surrounded by anarmy of Germans, whom the pernicious artsof Constantius had introduced into the civildissensions of Rome.510 In the mean time,the Imperial troops forced the passages ofthe Cottian Alps, and in the bloody combatof Mount Seleucus irrevocably fixed the ti-tle of rebels on the party of Magnentius.511He was unable to bring another army intothe field; the fidelity of his guards was cor-rupted; and when he appeared in public toanimate them by his exhortations, he wassaluted with a unanimous shout of “Longlive the emperor Constantius!” The tyrant,who perceived that they were preparing todeserve pardon and rewards by the sacrificeof the most obnoxious criminal, preventedtheir design by falling on his sword;512 a

gusti, and of the Caesar The Caesar was another brother, namedDesiderius See Tillemont, Hist des Empereurs, tom iv p 757

510Julian Orat i p 40, ii p 74; with Spanheim, p 263 His Commentaryillustrates the transactions of this civil war Mons Seleuci was a smallplace in the Cottian Alps, a few miles distant from Vapincum, or Gap,an episcopal city of Dauphine See D’Anville, Notice de la Gaule, p464; and Longuerue, Description de la France, p 327—- The Itineraryof Antoninus (p 357, ed Wess) places Mons Seleucu twenty-four milesfrom Vapinicum, (Gap,) and twenty-six from Lucus (le Luc,) on theroad to Die, (Dea Vocontiorum) The situation answers to Mont Saleon,a little place on the right of the small river Buech, which falls into theDurance Roman antiquities have been found in this place St MartinNote to Le Beau, ii 47–M

511Zosimus, l ii p 134 Liban Orat x p 268, 269 The latter most vehe-mently arraigns this cruel and selfish policy of Constantius

512Julian Orat i p 40 Zosimus, l ii p 134 Socrates, l ii c 32 Sozomen, liv c 7 The younger Victor describes his death with some horrid circum-stances: Transfosso latere, ut erat vasti corporis, vulnere naribusque etore cruorem effundens, exspiravit If we can give credit to Zonaras, thetyrant, before he expired, had the pleasure of murdering, with his own

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death more easy and more honorable thanhe could hope to obtain from the hands ofan enemy, whose revenge would have beencolored with the specious pretence of justiceand fraternal piety. The example of suicidewas imitated by Decentius, who strangledhimself on the news of his brother’s death.The author of the conspiracy, Marcellinus,had long since disappeared in the battle ofMursa,513 and the public tranquillity wasconfirmed by the execution of the surviv-ing leaders of a guilty and unsuccessful fac-tion. A severe inquisition was extended overall who, either from choice or from compul-sion, had been involved in the cause of rebel-lion. Paul, surnamed Catena from his supe-rior skill in the judicial exercise of tyranny,514was sent to explore the latent remains of theconspiracy in the remote province of Britain.The honest indignation expressed by Martin,vice-praefect of the island, was interpreted asan evidence of his own guilt; and the gov-ernor was urged to the necessity of turningagainst his breast the sword with which hehad been provoked to wound the Imperialminister. The most innocent subjects of theWest were exposed to exile and confiscation,to death and torture; and as the timid are al-ways cruel, the mind of Constantius was in-

hand, his mother and his brother Desiderius513Julian (Orat i p 58, 59) seems at a loss to determine, whether he

inflicted on himself the punishment of his crimes, whether he wasdrowned in the Drave, or whether he was carried by the avengingdaemons from the field of battle to his destined place of eternal tor-tures

514This is scarcely correct, ut erat in complicandis negotiis artifexdirum made ei Catenae inditum est cognomentum Amm Mar loc cit–M

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accessible to mercy.515

..Chapter XIX=Constantius Sole Emperor

...Part I_VConstantius Sole Emperor–

Elevation And Death Of Gallus.–Danger And Elevation Of Julian.–

Sarmatian And Persian Wars.–Victories Of Julian In Gaul.

THE divided provinces of the empire were again unitedby the victory of Constantius; but as that feeble prince

was destitute of personal merit, either in peace or war; ashe feared his generals, and distrusted his ministers; the tri-umph of his arms served only to establish the reign of theeunuchs over the Roman world. Those unhappy beings, theancient production of Oriental jealousy and despotism,516were introduced into Greece and Rome by the contagionof Asiatic luxury.517 Their progress was rapid; and the eu-nuchs, who, in the time of Augustus, had been abhorred, asthe monstrous retinue of an Egyptian queen,518 were grad-ually admitted into the families of matrons, of senators, and

515Ammian xiv 5, xxi 16516Ammianus (l xiv c 6) imputes the first practice of castration to the

cruel ingenuity of Semiramis, who is supposed to have reigned abovenineteen hundred years before Christ The use of eunuchs is of highantiquity, both in Asia and Egypt They are mentioned in the law ofMoses, Deuteron xxxiii 1 See Goguet, Origines des Loix, &c, Part i l i c3

517Eunuchum dixti velle te; Quia solae utuntur his reginae–TerentEunuch act i scene 2 This play is translated from Meander, andthe original must have appeared soon after the eastern conquests ofAlexander

518Miles spadonibus Servire rugosis potest Horat Carm v 9, andDacier ad loe By the word spado, the Romans very forcibly expressedtheir abhorrence of this mutilated condition The Greek appellation of

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of the emperors themselves.519 Restrained by the severeedicts of Domitian and Nerva, cherished by the pride ofDiocletian, reduced to an humble station by the prudenceof Constantine,520 they multiplied in the palaces of his de-generate sons, and insensibly acquired the knowledge, andat length the direction, of the secret councils of Constan-tius. The aversion and contempt which mankind had souniformly entertained for that imperfect species, appears tohave degraded their character, and to have rendered themalmost as incapable as they were supposed to be, of conceiv-ing any generous sentiment, or of performing any worthyaction.521 But the eunuchs were skilled in the arts of flat-tery and intrigue; and they alternately governed the mind

eunuchs, which insensibly prevailed, had a milder sound, and a moreambiguous sense

519We need only mention Posides, a freedman and eunuch ofClaudius, in whose favor the emperor prostituted some of the mosthonorable rewards of military valor See Sueton in Claudio, c 28 Po-sides employed a great part of his wealth in building

520There is a passage in the Augustan History, p 137, in which Lam-pridius, whilst he praises Alexander Severus and Constantine for re-straining the tyranny of the eunuchs, deplores the mischiefs whichthey occasioned in other reigns Huc accedit quod eunuchos nec inconsiliis nec in ministeriis habuit; qui soli principes perdunt, dum eosmore gentium aut regum Persarum volunt vivere; qui a populo etiamamicissimum semovent; qui internuntii sunt, aliud quam respondetur,referentes; claudentes principem suum, et agentes ante omnia ne quidsciat

521Xenophon (Cyropaedia, l viii p 540) has stated the specious rea-sons which engaged Cyrus to intrust his person to the guard of eu-nuchs He had observed in animals, that although the practice of cas-tration might tame their ungovernable fierceness, it did not diminishtheir strength or spirit; and he persuaded himself, that those who wereseparated from the rest of human kind, would be more firmly attachedto the person of their benefactor But a long experience has contra-dicted the judgment of Cyrus Some particular instances may occur ofeunuchs distinguished by their fidelity, their valor, and their abilities;but if we examine the general history of Persia, India, and China, weshall find that the power of the eunuchs has uniformly marked thedecline and fall of every dynasty

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of Constantius by his fears, his indolence, and his vanity.522Whilst he viewed in a deceitful mirror the fair appearanceof public prosperity, he supinely permitted them to inter-cept the complaints of the injured provinces, to accumulateimmense treasures by the sale of justice and of honors; todisgrace the most important dignities, by the promotion ofthose who had purchased at their hands the powers of op-pression,523 and to gratify their resentment against the fewindependent spirits, who arrogantly refused to solicit theprotection of slaves. Of these slaves the most distinguishedwas the chamberlain Eusebius, who ruled the monarch andthe palace with such absolute sway, that Constantius, ac-cording to the sarcasm of an impartial historian, possessedsome credit with this haughty favorite.524 By his artful sug-gestions, the emperor was persuaded to subscribe the con-demnation of the unfortunate Gallus, and to add a newcrime to the long list of unnatural murders which pollutethe honor of the house of Constantine.

=Ut Spado vincebat Capitolia NostraPosides.

Juvenal. Sat. xiv.When the two nephews of Constantine, Gallus

and Julian, were saved from the fury of thesoldiers, the former was about twelve, andthe latter about six, years of age; and, as the

522See Ammianus Marcellinus, l xxi c 16, l xxii c 4 The whole tenorof his impartial history serves to justify the invectives of Mamertinus,of Libanius, and of Julian himself, who have insulted the vices of thecourt of Constantius

523Aurelius Victor censures the negligence of his sovereign in choos-ing the governors of the provinces, and the generals of the army, andconcludes his history with a very bold observation, as it is much moredangerous under a feeble reign to attack the ministers than the mas-ter himself “Uti verum absolvam brevi, ut Imperatore ipso clarius itaapparitorum plerisque magis atrox nihil”

524Apud quem (si vere dici debeat) multum Constantius potuit Am-mian l xviii c 4

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eldest was thought to be of a sickly constitu-tion, they obtained with the less difficulty aprecarious and dependent life, from the af-fected pity of Constantius, who was sensiblethat the execution of these helpless orphanswould have been esteemed, by all mankind,an act of the most deliberate cruelty.525 Dif-ferent cities of Ionia and Bithynia were as-signed for the places of their exile and edu-cation; but as soon as their growing years ex-cited the jealousy of the emperor, he judgedit more prudent to secure those unhappyyouths in the strong castle of Macellum, nearCaesarea. The treatment which they experi-enced during a six years’ confinement, waspartly such as they could hope from a care-ful guardian, and partly such as they mightdread from a suspicious tyrant.526 Theirprison was an ancient palace, the residenceof the kings of Cappadocia; the situation waspleasant, the buildings of stately, the enclo-sure spacious. They pursued their studies,and practised their exercises, under the tu-ition of the most skilful masters; and the nu-

525Gregory Nazianzen (Orat iii p 90) reproaches the apostate withhis ingratitude towards Mark, bishop of Arethusa, who had con-tributed to save his life; and we learn, though from a less respectableauthority, (Tillemont, Hist des Empereurs, tom iv p 916,) that Julianwas concealed in the sanctuary of a church (Gallus and Julian werenot sons of the same mother Their father, Julius Constantius, had hadGallus by his first wife, named Galla: Julian was the son of Basilina,whom he had espoused in a second marriage Tillemont Hist des EmpVie de Constantin art 3–G

526The most authentic account of the education and adventures ofJulian is contained in the epistle or manifesto which he himself ad-dressed to the senate and people of Athens Libanius, (Orat Parentalis,)on the side of the Pagans, and Socrates, (l iii c 1,) on that of the Chris-tians, have preserved several interesting circumstances

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merous household appointed to attend, orrather to guard, the nephews of Constan-tine, was not unworthy of the dignity of theirbirth. But they could not disguise to them-selves that they were deprived of fortune, offreedom, and of safety; secluded from thesociety of all whom they could trust or es-teem, and condemned to pass their melan-choly hours in the company of slaves de-voted to the commands of a tyrant who hadalready injured them beyond the hope of rec-onciliation. At length, however, the emer-gencies of the state compelled the emperor,or rather his eunuchs, to invest Gallus, in thetwenty-fifth year of his age, with the title ofCaesar, and to cement this political connec-tion by his marriage with the princess Con-stantina. After a formal interview, in whichthe two princes mutually engaged their faithnever to undertake any thing to the prejudiceof each other, they repaired without delay totheir respective stations. Constantius contin-ued his march towards the West, and Gallusfixed his residence at Antioch; from whence,with a delegated authority, he administeredthe five great dioceses of the eastern prae-fecture.527 In this fortunate change, the newCaesar was not unmindful of his brother Ju-lian, who obtained the honors of his rank, theappearances of liberty, and the restitution of

527For the promotion of Gallus, see Idatius, Zosimus, and the twoVictors According to Philostorgius, (l iv c 1,) Theophilus, an Arianbishop, was the witness, and, as it were, the guarantee of this solemnengagement He supported that character with generous firmness; butM de Tillemont (Hist des Empereurs, tom iv p 1120) thinks it very im-probable that a heretic should have possessed such virtue

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an ample patrimony.528

The writers the most indulgent to the memoryof Gallus, and even Julian himself, though hewished to cast a veil over the frailties of hisbrother, are obliged to confess that the Cae-sar was incapable of reigning. Transportedfrom a prison to a throne, he possessedneither genius nor application, nor docilityto compensate for the want of knowledgeand experience. A temper naturally mo-rose and violent, instead of being corrected,was soured by solitude and adversity; theremembrance of what he had endured dis-posed him to retaliation rather than to sym-pathy; and the ungoverned sallies of his ragewere often fatal to those who approachedhis person, or were subject to his power.529Constantina, his wife, is described, not asa woman, but as one of the infernal furiestormented with an insatiate thirst of humanblood.530 Instead of employing her influenceto insinuate the mild counsels of prudenceand humanity, she exasperated the fierce

528Julian was at first permitted to pursue his studies at Constantino-ple, but the reputation which he acquired soon excited the jealousy ofConstantius; and the young prince was advised to withdraw himselfto the less conspicuous scenes of Bithynia and Ionia

529See Julian ad S P Q A p 271 Jerom in Chron Aurelius Victor, Eu-tropius, x 14 I shall copy the words of Eutropius, who wrote his abridg-ment about fifteen years after the death of Gallus, when there was nolonger any motive either to flatter or to depreciate his character “Mul-tis incivilibus gestis Gallus Caesar vir natura ferox et ad tyrannidempronior, si suo jure imperare licuisset”

530Megaera quidem mortalis, inflammatrix saevientis assidua, hu-mani cruoris avida, &c Ammian Marcellin l xiv c 1 The sincerity ofAmmianus would not suffer him to misrepresent facts or characters,but his love of ambitious ornaments frequently betrayed him into anunnatural vehemence of expression

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passions of her husband; and as she retainedthe vanity, though she had renounced, thegentleness of her sex, a pearl necklace wasesteemed an equivalent price for the murderof an innocent and virtuous nobleman.531The cruelty of Gallus was sometimes dis-played in the undissembled violence of pop-ular or military executions; and was some-times disguised by the abuse of law, and theforms of judicial proceedings. The privatehouses of Antioch, and the places of publicresort, were besieged by spies and informers;and the Caesar himself, concealed in a a ple-beian habit, very frequently condescended toassume that odious character. Every apart-ment of the palace was adorned with the in-struments of death and torture, and a generalconsternation was diffused through the cap-ital of Syria. The prince of the East, as if hehad been conscious how much he had to fear,and how little he deserved to reign, selectedfor the objects of his resentment the provin-cials accused of some imaginary treason, andhis own courtiers, whom with more reasonhe suspected of incensing, by their secret cor-respondence, the timid and suspicious mindof Constantius. But he forgot that he was de-priving himself of his only support, the af-fection of the people; whilst he furnished themalice of his enemies with the arms of truth,and afforded the emperor the fairest pretenceof exacting the forfeit of his purple, and of hislife.532

531His name was Clematius of Alexandria, and his only crime wasa refusal to gratify the desires of his mother-in-law; who solicited hisdeath, because she had been disappointed of his love Ammian xiv c i

532See in Ammianus (l xiv c 1, 7) a very ample detail of the cruelties

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As long as the civil war suspended the fate ofthe Roman world, Constantius dissembledhis knowledge of the weak and cruel admin-istration to which his choice had subjectedthe East; and the discovery of some assas-sins, secretly despatched to Antioch by thetyrant of Gaul, was employed to convincethe public, that the emperor and the Caesarwere united by the same interest, and pur-sued by the same enemies.533 But when thevictory was decided in favor of Constantius,his dependent colleague became less usefuland less formidable. Every circumstance ofhis conduct was severely and suspiciouslyexamined, and it was privately resolved, ei-ther to deprive Gallus of the purple, or atleast to remove him from the indolent lux-ury of Asia to the hardships and dangers ofa German war. The death of Theophilus,consular of the province of Syria, who ina time of scarcity had been massacred bythe people of Antioch, with the connivance,and almost at the instigation, of Gallus, wasjustly resented, not only as an act of wan-ton cruelty, but as a dangerous insult on thesupreme majesty of Constantius. Two min-isters of illustrious rank, Domitian the Ori-ental praefect, and Montius, quaestor of thepalace, were empowered by a special com-mission534 to visit and reform the state of

of Gallus His brother Julian (p 272) insinuates, that a secret conspiracyhad been formed against him; and Zosimus names (l ii p 135) the per-sons engaged in it; a minister of considerable rank, and two obscureagents, who were resolved to make their fortune

533Zonaras, l xiii tom ii p 17, 18 The assassins had seduced a greatnumber of legionaries; but their designs were discovered and revealedby an old woman in whose cottage they lodged

534The commission seems to have been granted to Domitian alone

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the East. They were instructed to behave to-wards Gallus with moderation and respect,and, by the gentlest arts of persuasion, toengage him to comply with the invitationof his brother and colleague. The rashnessof the praefect disappointed these prudentmeasures, and hastened his own ruin, aswell as that of his enemy. On his arrival atAntioch, Domitian passed disdainfully be-fore the gates of the palace, and alleging aslight pretence of indisposition, continuedseveral days in sullen retirement, to preparean inflammatory memorial, which he trans-mitted to the Imperial court. Yielding atlength to the pressing solicitations of Gal-lus, the praefect condescended to take hisseat in council; but his first step was to sig-nify a concise and haughty mandate, import-ing that the Caesar should immediately re-pair to Italy, and threatening that he himselfwould punish his delay or hesitation, by sus-pending the usual allowance of his house-hold. The nephew and daughter of Con-stantine, who could ill brook the insolence ofa subject, expressed their resentment by in-stantly delivering Domitian to the custodyof a guard. The quarrel still admitted ofsome terms of accommodation. They wererendered impracticable by the imprudent be-havior of Montius, a statesman whose artsand experience were frequently betrayed bythe levity of his disposition.535 The quaestor

Montius interfered to support his authority Amm Marc loc cit–M535In the present text of Ammianus, we read Asper, quidem, sed ad

lenitatem propensior; which forms a sentence of contradictory non-sense With the aid of an old manuscript, Valesius has rectified the firstof these corruptions, and we perceive a ray of light in the substitution

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reproached Gallus in a haughty language,that a prince who was scarcely authorized toremove a municipal magistrate, should pre-sume to imprison a Praetorian praefect; con-voked a meeting of the civil and military offi-cers; and required them, in the name of theirsovereign, to defend the person and dignityof his representatives. By this rash declara-tion of war, the impatient temper of Galluswas provoked to embrace the most desperatecounsels. He ordered his guards to stand totheir arms, assembled the populace of Anti-och, and recommended to their zeal the careof his safety and revenge. His commandswere too fatally obeyed. They rudely seizedthe praefect and the quaestor, and tying theirlegs together with ropes, they dragged themthrough the streets of the city, inflicted athousand insults and a thousand wounds onthese unhappy victims, and at last precipi-tated their mangled and lifeless bodies intothe stream of the Orontes.536

After such a deed, whatever might have beenthe designs of Gallus, it was only in a fieldof battle that he could assert his innocencewith any hope of success. But the mind ofthat prince was formed of an equal mixtureof violence and weakness. Instead of assum-ing the title of Augustus, instead of employ-

of the word vafer If we venture to change lenitatem into lexitatem,this alteration of a single letter will render the whole passage clearand consistent

536Instead of being obliged to collect scattered and imperfect hintsfrom various sources, we now enter into the full stream of the historyof Ammianus, and need only refer to the seventh and ninth Chaptersof his fourteenth book Philostorgius, however, (l iii c 28) though partialto Gallus, should not be entirely overlooked

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ing in his defence the troops and treasures ofthe East, he suffered himself to be deceivedby the affected tranquillity of Constantius,who, leaving him the vain pageantry of acourt, imperceptibly recalled the veteran le-gions from the provinces of Asia. But as itstill appeared dangerous to arrest Gallus inhis capital, the slow and safer arts of dissim-ulation were practised with success. The fre-quent and pressing epistles of Constantiuswere filled with professions of confidenceand friendship; exhorting the Caesar to dis-charge the duties of his high station, to re-lieve his colleague from a part of the publiccares, and to assist the West by his presence,his counsels, and his arms. After so manyreciprocal injuries, Gallus had reason to fearand to distrust. But he had neglected the op-portunities of flight and of resistance; he wasseduced by the flattering assurances of thetribune Scudilo, who, under the semblanceof a rough soldier, disguised the most artfulinsinuation; and he depended on the creditof his wife Constantina, till the unseasonabledeath of that princess completed the ruin inwhich he had been involved by her impetu-ous passions.537

...Part II

AFTER a long delay, the reluctant Caesarset forwards on his journey to the Im-

perial court. From Antioch to Hadrianople,he traversed the wide extent of his domin-ions with a numerous and stately train; andas he labored to conceal his apprehensions

537She had preceded her husband, but died of a fever on the road ata little place in Bithynia, called Coenum Gallicanum

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from the world, and perhaps from himself,he entertained the people of Constantinoplewith an exhibition of the games of the circus.The progress of the journey might, however,have warned him of the impending danger.In all the principal cities he was met by min-isters of confidence, commissioned to seizethe offices of government, to observe his mo-tions, and to prevent the hasty sallies of hisdespair. The persons despatched to securethe provinces which he left behind, passedhim with cold salutations, or affected dis-dain; and the troops, whose station lay alongthe public road, were studiously removed onhis approach, lest they might be tempted tooffer their swords for the service of a civilwar.538 After Gallus had been permitted torepose himself a few days at Hadrianople, hereceived a mandate, expressed in the mosthaughty and absolute style, that his splen-did retinue should halt in that city, while theCaesar himself, with only ten post-carriages,should hasten to the Imperial residence atMilan.In this rapid journey, the profound re-

spect which was due to the brotherand colleague of Constantius, was insensi-bly changed into rude familiarity; and Gal-lus, who discovered in the countenances ofthe attendants that they already consideredthemselves as his guards, and might soon be

538The Thebaean legions, which were then quartered at Hadri-anople, sent a deputation to Gallus, with a tender of their services Am-mian l xiv c 11 The Notitia (s 6, 20, 38, edit Labb) mentions three severallegions which bore the name of Thebaean The zeal of M de Voltaire todestroy a despicable though celebrated legion, has tempted him onthe slightest grounds to deny the existence of a Thenaean legion in theRoman armies See Oeuvres de Voltaire, tom xv p 414, quarto edition

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employed as his executioners, began to ac-cuse his fatal rashness, and to recollect, withterror and remorse, the conduct by whichhe had provoked his fate. The dissimula-tion which had hitherto been preserved, waslaid aside at Petovio,539 in Pannonia. He wasconducted to a palace in the suburbs, wherethe general Barbatio, with a select band ofsoldiers, who could neither be moved bypity, nor corrupted by rewards, expected thearrival of his illustrious victim. In the close ofthe evening he was arrested, ignominiouslystripped of the ensigns of Caesar, and hur-ried away to Pola,540 in Istria, a sequesteredprison, which had been so recently pollutedwith royal blood. The horror which he feltwas soon increased by the appearance ofhis implacable enemy the eunuch Eusebius,who, with the assistance of a notary and atribune, proceeded to interrogate him con-cerning the administration of the East. TheCaesar sank under the weight of shame andguilt, confessed all the criminal actions andall the treasonable designs with which hewas charged; and by imputing them to theadvice of his wife, exasperated the indig-nation of Constantius, who reviewed withpartial prejudice the minutes of the exami-nation. The emperor was easily convinced,that his own safety was incompatible withthe life of his cousin: the sentence of deathwas signed, despatched, and executed; andthe nephew of Constantine, with his handstied behind his back, was beheaded in prison

539Pettau in Styria–M540Rather to Flanonia now Fianone, near Pola St Martin–M

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like the vilest malefactor.541 Those who areinclined to palliate the cruelties of Constan-tius, assert that he soon relented, and en-deavored to recall the bloody mandate; butthat the second messenger, intrusted withthe reprieve, was detained by the eunuchs,who dreaded the unforgiving temper of Gal-lus, and were desirous of reuniting to theirempire the wealthy provinces of the East.542

Besides the reigning emperor, Julian alonesurvived, of all the numerous posterity

of Constantius Chlorus. The misfortune ofhis royal birth involved him in the disgraceof Gallus. From his retirement in the happycountry of Ionia, he was conveyed under astrong guard to the court of Milan; where helanguished above seven months, in the con-tinual apprehension of suffering the same ig-nominious death, which was daily inflictedalmost before his eyes, on the friends and ad-herents of his persecuted family. His looks,his gestures, his silence, were scrutinizedwith malignant curiosity, and he was per-petually assaulted by enemies whom he hadnever offended, and by arts to which he wasa stranger.543 But in the school of adversity,

541See the complete narrative of the journey and death of Gallus inAmmianus, l xiv c 11 Julian complains that his brother was put todeath without a trial; attempts to justify, or at least to excuse, the cruelrevenge which he had inflicted on his enemies; but seems at last toacknowledge that he might justly have been deprived of the purple

542Philostorgius, l iv c 1 Zonaras, l xiii tom ii p 19 But the former waspartial towards an Arian monarch, and the latter transcribed, withoutchoice or criticism, whatever he found in the writings of the ancients

543See Ammianus Marcellin l xv c 1, 3, 8 Julian himself in his epis-tle to the Athenians, draws a very lively and just picture of his owndanger, and of his sentiments He shows, however, a tendency to ex-aggerate his sufferings, by insinuating, though in obscure terms, that

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Julian insensibly acquired the virtues of firm-ness and discretion. He defended his honor,as well as his life, against the insnaring sub-tleties of the eunuchs, who endeavored to ex-tort some declaration of his sentiments; andwhilst he cautiously suppressed his grief andresentment, he nobly disdained to flatter thetyrant, by any seeming approbation of hisbrother’s murder. Julian most devoutly as-cribes his miraculous deliverance to the pro-tection of the gods, who had exempted hisinnocence from the sentence of destructionpronounced by their justice against the im-pious house of Constantine.544 As the mosteffectual instrument of their providence, hegratefully acknowledges the steady and gen-erous friendship of the empress Eusebia,545a woman of beauty and merit, who, by theascendant which she had gained over themind of her husband, counterbalanced, insome measure, the powerful conspiracy ofthe eunuchs. By the intercession of his pa-troness, Julian was admitted into the Impe-rial presence: he pleaded his cause with adecent freedom, he was heard with favor;and, notwithstanding the efforts of his ene-

they lasted above a year; a period which cannot be reconciled with thetruth of chronology

544Julian has worked the crimes and misfortunes of the family ofConstantine into an allegorical fable, which is happily conceived andagreeably related It forms the conclusion of the seventh Oration, fromwhence it has been detached and translated by the Abbe de la Bleterie,Vie de Jovien, tom ii p 385-408

545She was a native of Thessalonica, in Macedonia, of a noble family,and the daughter, as well as sister, of consuls Her marriage with theemperor may be placed in the year 352 In a divided age, the historiansof all parties agree in her praises See their testimonies collected byTillemont, Hist des Empereurs, tom iv p 750-754

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mies, who urged the danger of sparing anavenger of the blood of Gallus, the mildersentiment of Eusebia prevailed in the coun-cil. But the effects of a second interview weredreaded by the eunuchs; and Julian was ad-vised to withdraw for a while into the neigh-borhood of Milan, till the emperor thoughtproper to assign the city of Athens for theplace of his honorable exile. As he had dis-covered, from his earliest youth, a propen-sity, or rather passion, for the language, themanners, the learning, and the religion ofthe Greeks, he obeyed with pleasure an or-der so agreeable to his wishes. Far from thetumult of arms, and the treachery of courts,he spent six months under the groves ofthe academy, in a free intercourse with thephilosophers of the age, who studied to cul-tivate the genius, to encourage the vanity,and to inflame the devotion of their royalpupil. Their labors were not unsuccessful;and Julian inviolably preserved for Athensthat tender regard which seldom fails to arisein a liberal mind, from the recollection of theplace where it has discovered and exercisedits growing powers. The gentleness and af-fability of manners, which his temper sug-gested and his situation imposed, insensiblyengaged the affections of the strangers, aswell as citizens, with whom he conversed.Some of his fellow-students might perhapsexamine his behavior with an eye of preju-dice and aversion; but Julian established, inthe schools of Athens, a general preposses-sion in favor of his virtues and talents, whichwas soon diffused over the Roman world.546

546Libanius and Gregory Nazianzen have exhausted the arts as well

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Whilst his hours were passed in studiousretirement, the empress, resolute to

achieve the generous design which she hadundertaken, was not unmindful of the careof his fortune. The death of the late Cae-sar had left Constantius invested with thesole command, and oppressed by the accu-mulated weight, of a mighty empire. Beforethe wounds of civil discord could be healed,the provinces of Gaul were overwhelmed bya deluge of Barbarians. The Sarmatians nolonger respected the barrier of the Danube.The impunity of rapine had increased theboldness and numbers of the wild Isaurians:those robbers descended from their craggymountains to ravage the adjacent country,and had even presumed, though withoutsuccess, to besiege the important city of Se-leucia, which was defended by a garrison ofthree Roman legions. Above all, the Persianmonarch, elated by victory, again threatenedthe peace of Asia, and the presence of theemperor was indispensably required, bothin the West and in the East. For the firsttime, Constantius sincerely acknowledged,that his single strength was unequal to suchan extent of care and of dominion.547 Insen-sible to the voice of flattery, which assured

as the powers of their eloquence, to represent Julian as the first ofheroes, or the worst of tyrants Gregory was his fellow-student atAthens; and the symptoms which he so tragically describes, of thefuture wickedness of the apostate, amount only to some bodily im-perfections, and to some peculiarities in his speech and manner Heprotests, however, that he then foresaw and foretold the calamities ofthe church and state (Greg Nazianzen, Orat iv p 121, 122)

547Succumbere tot necessitatibus tamque crebris unum se, quodnunquam fecerat, aperte demonstrans Ammian l xv c 8 He then ex-presses, in their own words, the fattering assurances of the courtiers

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him that his all-powerful virtue, and celes-tial fortune, would still continue to triumphover every obstacle, he listened with compla-cency to the advice of Eusebia, which grati-fied his indolence, without offending his sus-picious pride. As she perceived that theremembrance of Gallus dwelt on the em-peror’s mind, she artfully turned his atten-tion to the opposite characters of the twobrothers, which from their infancy had beencompared to those of Domitian and of Ti-tus.548 She accustomed her husband to con-sider Julian as a youth of a mild, unambi-tious disposition, whose allegiance and grat-itude might be secured by the gift of thepurple, and who was qualified to fill withhonor a subordinate station, without aspir-ing to dispute the commands, or to shade theglories, of his sovereign and benefactor. Af-ter an obstinate, though secret struggle, theopposition of the favorite eunuchs submit-ted to the ascendency of the empress; and itwas resolved that Julian, after celebrating hisnuptials with Helena, sister of Constantius,should be appointed, with the title of Cae-sar, to reign over the countries beyond theAlps.549

Although the order which recalled him tocourt was probably accompanied by

some intimation of his approaching great-ness, he appeals to the people of Athens to

548Tantum a temperatis moribus Juliani differens fratris quantum in-ter Vespasiani filios fuit, Domitianum et Titum Ammian l xiv c 11 Thecircumstances and education of the two brothers, were so nearly thesame, as to afford a strong example of the innate difference of charac-ters

549Ammianus, l xv c 8 Zosimus, l iii p 137, 138

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witness his tears of undissembled sorrow,when he was reluctantly torn away from hisbeloved retirement.550 He trembled for hislife, for his fame, and even for his virtue;and his sole confidence was derived from thepersuasion, that Minerva inspired all his ac-tions, and that he was protected by an invis-ible guard of angels, whom for that purposeshe had borrowed from the Sun and Moon.He approached, with horror, the palace ofMilan; nor could the ingenuous youth con-ceal his indignation, when he found himselfaccosted with false and servile respect by theassassins of his family. Eusebia, rejoicing inthe success of her benevolent schemes, em-braced him with the tenderness of a sister;and endeavored, by the most soothing ca-resses, to dispel his terrors, and reconcile himto his fortune. But the ceremony of shav-ing his beard, and his awkward demeanor,when he first exchanged the cloak of a Greekphilosopher for the military habit of a Romanprince, amused, during a few days, the levityof the Imperial court.551

The emperors of the age of Constantine nolonger deigned to consult with the sen-

ate in the choice of a colleague; but they wereanxious that their nomination should be rat-ified by the consent of the army. On thissolemn occasion, the guards, with the other

550Julian ad S P Q A p 275, 276 Libanius, Orat x p 268 Julian didnot yield till the gods had signified their will by repeated visions andomens His piety then forbade him to resist

551Julian himself relates, (p 274) with some humor, the circumstancesof his own metamorphoses, his downcast looks, and his perplexity atbeing thus suddenly transported into a new world, where every objectappeared strange and hostile

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troops whose stations were in the neigh-borhood of Milan, appeared under arms;and Constantius ascended his lofty tribunal,holding by the hand his cousin Julian, whoentered the same day into the twenty-fifthyear of his age.552 In a studied speech, con-ceived and delivered with dignity, the em-peror represented the various dangers whichthreatened the prosperity of the republic, thenecessity of naming a Caesar for the admin-istration of the West, and his own intention,if it was agreeable to their wishes, of reward-ing with the honors of the purple the promis-ing virtues of the nephew of Constantine.The approbation of the soldiers was testifiedby a respectful murmur; they gazed on themanly countenance of Julian, and observedwith pleasure, that the fire which sparkled inhis eyes was tempered by a modest blush, onbeing thus exposed, for the first time, to thepublic view of mankind. As soon as the cere-mony of his investiture had been performed,Constantius addressed him with the tone ofauthority which his superior age and sta-tion permitted him to assume; and exhortingthe new Caesar to deserve, by heroic deeds,that sacred and immortal name, the emperorgave his colleague the strongest assurancesof a friendship which should never be im-paired by time, nor interrupted by their sep-aration into the most distant climes. As soonas the speech was ended, the troops, as a to-ken of applause, clashed their shields againsttheir knees;553 while the officers who sur-

552See Ammian Marcellin l xv c 8 Zosimus, l iii p 139 Aurelius VictorVictor Junior in Epitom Eutrop x 14

553Militares omnes horrendo fragore scuta genibus illidentes; quod

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rounded the tribunal expressed, with decentreserve, their sense of the merits of the repre-sentative of Constantius.

The two princes returned to the palace in thesame chariot; and during the slow pro-

cession, Julian repeated to himself a verse ofhis favorite Homer, which he might equallyapply to his fortune and to his fears.554The four-and-twenty days which the Caesarspent at Milan after his investiture, and thefirst months of his Gallic reign, were devotedto a splendid but severe captivity; nor couldthe acquisition of honor compensate for theloss of freedom.555 His steps were watched,his correspondence was intercepted; and hewas obliged, by prudence, to decline the vis-its of his most intimate friends. Of his for-mer domestics, four only were permitted toattend him; two pages, his physician, and hislibrarian; the last of whom was employed inthe care of a valuable collection of books, thegift of the empress, who studied the inclina-tions as well as the interest of her friend. Inthe room of these faithful servants, a house-

est prosperitatis indicium plenum; nam contra cum hastis clypei feri-untur, irae documentum est et doloris Ammianus adds, with anice distinction, Eumque ut potiori reverentia servaretur, nec supramodum laudabant nec infra quam decebat

554The word purple which Homer had used as a vague but commonepithet for death, was applied by Julian to express, very aptly, the na-ture and object of his own apprehensions

555He represents, in the most pathetic terms, (p 277,) the distress ofhis new situation The provision for his table was, however, so elegantand sumptuous, that the young philosopher rejected it with disdainQuum legeret libellum assidue, quem Constantius ut privignum adstudia mittens manu sua conscripserat, praelicenter disponens quid inconvivio Caesaris impendi deberit: Phasianum, et vulvam et sumenexigi vetuit et inferri Ammian Marcellin l xvi c 5

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hold was formed, such indeed as became thedignity of a Caesar; but it was filled with acrowd of slaves, destitute, and perhaps inca-pable, of any attachment for their new mas-ter, to whom, for the most part, they wereeither unknown or suspected. His want ofexperience might require the assistance ofa wise council; but the minute instructionswhich regulated the service of his table, andthe distribution of his hours, were adaptedto a youth still under the discipline of hispreceptors, rather than to the situation of aprince intrusted with the conduct of an im-portant war. If he aspired to deserve the es-teem of his subjects, he was checked by thefear of displeasing his sovereign; and eventhe fruits of his marriage-bed were blastedby the jealous artifices of Eusebia556 her-self, who, on this occasion alone, seems tohave been unmindful of the tenderness ofher sex, and the generosity of her charac-ter. The memory of his father and of hisbrothers reminded Julian of his own danger,and his apprehensions were increased by therecent and unworthy fate of Sylvanus. Inthe summer which preceded his own eleva-

556If we recollect that Constantine, the father of Helena, died aboveeighteen years before, in a mature old age, it will appear probable, thatthe daughter, though a virgin, could not be very young at the time ofher marriage She was soon afterwards delivered of a son, who diedimmediately, quod obstetrix corrupta mercede, mox natum praesectoplusquam convenerat umbilico necavit She accompanied the emperorand empress in their journey to Rome, and the latter, quaesitum ve-nenum bibere per fraudem illexit, ut quotiescunque concepisset, im-maturum abjicerit partum Ammian l xvi c 10 Our physicians will de-termine whether there exists such a poison For my own part I am in-clined to hope that the public malignity imputed the effects of accidentas the guilt of Eusebia

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tion, that general had been chosen to deliverGaul from the tyranny of the Barbarians; butSylvanus soon discovered that he had lefthis most dangerous enemies in the Imperialcourt. A dexterous informer, countenancedby several of the principal ministers, pro-cured from him some recommendatory let-ters; and erasing the whole of the contents,except the signature, filled up the vacantparchment with matters of high and treason-able import. By the industry and courageof his friends, the fraud was however de-tected, and in a great council of the civil andmilitary officers, held in the presence of theemperor himself, the innocence of Sylvanuswas publicly acknowledged. But the discov-ery came too late; the report of the calumny,and the hasty seizure of his estate, had al-ready provoked the indignant chief to the re-bellion of which he was so unjustly accused.He assumed the purple at his head- quartersof Cologne, and his active powers appearedto menace Italy with an invasion, and Milanwith a siege. In this emergency, Ursicinus, ageneral of equal rank, regained, by an act oftreachery, the favor which he had lost by hiseminent services in the East. Exasperated, ashe might speciously allege, by the injuries ofa similar nature, he hastened with a few fol-lowers to join the standard, and to betray theconfidence, of his too credulous friend. Af-ter a reign of only twenty-eight days, Syl-vanus was assassinated: the soldiers who,without any criminal intention, had blindlyfollowed the example of their leader, imme-diately returned to their allegiance; and theflatterers of Constantius celebrated the wis-

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dom and felicity of the monarch who had ex-tinguished a civil war without the hazard ofa battle.557

The protection of the Rhaetian frontier, andthe persecution of the Catholic church,

detained Constantius in Italy above eighteenmonths after the departure of Julian. Beforethe emperor returned into the East, he in-dulged his pride and curiosity in a visit to theancient capital.558 He proceeded from Milanto Rome along the Aemilian and Flaminianways, and as soon as he approached withinforty miles of the city, the march of a princewho had never vanquished a foreign enemy,assumed the appearance of a triumphal pro-cession. His splendid train was composed ofall the ministers of luxury; but in a time ofprofound peace, he was encompassed by theglittering arms of the numerous squadronsof his guards and cuirassiers. Their stream-ing banners of silk, embossed with gold, andshaped in the form of dragons, waved roundthe person of the emperor. Constantius satalone in a lofty car, resplendent with goldand precious gems; and, except when hebowed his head to pass under the gates ofthe cities, he affected a stately demeanor ofinflexible, and, as it might seem, of insensiblegravity. The severe discipline of the Persianyouth had been introduced by the eunuchs

557Ammianus (xv v) was perfectly well informed of the conduct andfate of Sylvanus He himself was one of the few followers who attendedUrsicinus in his dangerous enterprise

558For the particulars of the visit of Constantius to Rome, see Ammi-anus, l xvi c 10 We have only to add, that Themistius was appointeddeputy from Constantinople, and that he composed his fourth orationfor his ceremony

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into the Imperial palace; and such were thehabits of patience which they had inculcated,that during a slow and sultry march, he wasnever seen to move his hand towards hisface, or to turn his eyes either to the right orto the left. He was received by the magis-trates and senate of Rome; and the emperorsurveyed, with attention, the civil honors ofthe republic, and the consular images of thenoble families. The streets were lined withan innumerable multitude. Their repeatedacclamations expressed their joy at behold-ing, after an absence of thirty-two years, thesacred person of their sovereign, and Con-stantius himself expressed, with some pleas-antry, he affected surprise that the humanrace should thus suddenly be collected onthe same spot. The son of Constantine waslodged in the ancient palace of Augustus: hepresided in the senate, harangued the peo-ple from the tribunal which Cicero had sooften ascended, assisted with unusual cour-tesy at the games of the Circus, and acceptedthe crowns of gold, as well as the Panegyricswhich had been prepared for the ceremonyby the deputies of the principal cities. Hisshort visit of thirty days was employed inviewing the monuments of art and powerwhich were scattered over the seven hills andthe interjacent valleys. He admired the aw-ful majesty of the Capitol, the vast extent ofthe baths of Caracalla and Diocletian, the se-vere simplicity of the Pantheon, the massygreatness of the amphitheatre of Titus, the el-egant architecture of the theatre of Pompeyand the Temple of Peace, and, above all, thestately structure of the Forum and column

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of Trajan; acknowledging that the voice offame, so prone to invent and to magnify, hadmade an inadequate report of the metropolisof the world. The traveller, who has contem-plated the ruins of ancient Rome, may con-ceive some imperfect idea of the sentimentswhich they must have inspired when theyreared their heads in the splendor of unsul-lied beauty.

[See The Pantheon: The severe simplicity ofthe Pantheon]

The satisfaction which Constantius had re-ceived from this journey excited him

to the generous emulation of bestowing onthe Romans some memorial of his own grat-itude and munificence. His first idea wasto imitate the equestrian and colossal statuewhich he had seen in the Forum of Trajan;but when he had maturely weighed the diffi-culties of the execution,559 he chose rather toembellish the capital by the gift of an Egyp-tian obelisk. In a remote but polished age,which seems to have preceded the inventionof alphabetical writing, a great number ofthese obelisks had been erected, in the citiesof Thebes and Heliopolis, by the ancientsovereigns of Egypt, in a just confidence thatthe simplicity of their form, and the hard-ness of their substance, would resist the in-

559Hormisdas, a fugitive prince of Persia, observed to the emperor,that if he made such a horse, he must think of preparing a similarstable, (the Forum of Trajan) Another saying of Hormisdas is recorded,“that one thing only had displeased him, to find that men died at Romeas well as elsewhere” If we adopt this reading of the text of Ammianus,(displicuisse, instead of placuisse,) we may consider it as a reproof ofRoman vanity The contrary sense would be that of a misanthrope

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juries of time and violence.560 Several ofthese extraordinary columns had been trans-ported to Rome by Augustus and his succes-sors, as the most durable monuments of theirpower and victory;561 but there remainedone obelisk, which, from its size or sanctity,escaped for a long time the rapacious van-ity of the conquerors. It was designed byConstantine to adorn his new city;562 and,after being removed by his order from thepedestal where it stood before the Temple ofthe Sun at Heliopolis, was floated down theNile to Alexandria. The death of Constan-tine suspended the execution of his purpose,and this obelisk was destined by his son tothe ancient capital of the empire. A vessel ofuncommon strength and capaciousness wasprovided to convey this enormous weight ofgranite, at least a hundred and fifteen feet inlength, from the banks of the Nile to thoseof the Tyber. The obelisk of Constantius waslanded about three miles from the city, andelevated, by the efforts of art and labor, in

560When Germanicus visited the ancient monuments of Thebes, theeldest of the priests explained to him the meaning of these hiero glyph-ics Tacit Annal ii c 60 But it seems probable, that before the useful in-vention of an alphabet, these natural or arbitrary signs were the com-mon characters of the Egyptian nation See Warburton’s Divine Lega-tion of Moses, vol iii p 69-243

561See Plin Hist Natur l xxxvi c 14, 15562Ammian Marcellin l xvii c 4 He gives us a Greek interpretation of

the hieroglyphics, and his commentator Lindenbrogius adds a Latininscription, which, in twenty verses of the age of Constantius, containa short history of the obelisk

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the great Circus of Rome.563564

The departure of Constantius from Romewas hastened by the alarming intelli-

gence of the distress and danger of the Illyr-ian provinces. The distractions of civil war,and the irreparable loss which the Roman le-gions had sustained in the battle of Mursa,exposed those countries, almost without de-fence, to the light cavalry of the Barbar-ians; and particularly to the inroads of theQuadi, a fierce and powerful nation, whoseem to have exchanged the institutions ofGermany for the arms and military arts oftheir Sarmatian allies.565 The garrisons ofthe frontiers were insufficient to check theirprogress; and the indolent monarch was atlength compelled to assemble, from the ex-tremities of his dominions, the flower of thePalatine troops, to take the field in person,and to employ a whole campaign, with thepreceding autumn and the ensuing spring,in the serious prosecution of the war. Theemperor passed the Danube on a bridge of

563See Donat Roma Antiqua, l iii c 14, l iv c 12, and the learned,though confused, Dissertation of Bargaeus on Obelisks, inserted in thefourth volume of Graevius’s Roman Antiquities, p 1897- 1936 This dis-sertation is dedicated to Pope Sixtus V, who erected the obelisk of Con-stantius in the square before the patriarchal church of at John Lateran

564It is doubtful whether the obelisk transported by Constantius toRome now exists Even from the text of Ammianus, it is uncertainwhether the interpretation of Hermapion refers to the older obelisk,(obelisco incisus est veteri quem videmus in Circo,) raised, as he him-self states, in the Circus Maximus, long before, by Augustus, or tothe one brought by Constantius The obelisk in the square before thechurch of St John Lateran is ascribed not to Rameses the Great but toThoutmos II Champollion, 1 Lettre a M de Blacas, p 32–M

565The events of this Quadian and Sarmatian war are related by Am-mianus, xvi 10, xvii 12, 13, xix 11

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boats, cut in pieces all that encountered hismarch, penetrated into the heart of the coun-try of the Quadi, and severely retaliated thecalamities which they had inflicted on theRoman province. The dismayed Barbarianswere soon reduced to sue for peace: they of-fered the restitution of his captive subjectsas an atonement for the past, and the no-blest hostages as a pledge of their futureconduct. The generous courtesy which wasshown to the first among their chieftains whoimplored the clemency of Constantius, en-couraged the more timid, or the more obsti-nate, to imitate their example; and the Impe-rial camp was crowded with the princes andambassadors of the most distant tribes, whooccupied the plains of the Lesser Poland,and who might have deemed themselves se-cure behind the lofty ridge of the CarpathianMountains. While Constantius gave laws tothe Barbarians beyond the Danube, he distin-guished, with specious compassion, the Sar-matian exiles, who had been expelled fromtheir native country by the rebellion of theirslaves, and who formed a very considerableaccession to the power of the Quadi. The em-peror, embracing a generous but artful sys-tem of policy, released the Sarmatians fromthe bands of this humiliating dependence,and restored them, by a separate treaty, to thedignity of a nation united under the govern-ment of a king, the friend and ally of the re-public. He declared his resolution of assert-ing the justice of their cause, and of securingthe peace of the provinces by the extirpation,or at least the banishment, of the Limigantes,whose manners were still infected with the

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vices of their servile origin. The executionof this design was attended with more diffi-culty than glory. The territory of the Limi-gantes was protected against the Romans bythe Danube, against the hostile Barbariansby the Teyss. The marshy lands which laybetween those rivers, and were often cov-ered by their inundations, formed an intri-cate wilderness, pervious only to the inhab-itants, who were acquainted with its secretpaths and inaccessible fortresses. On the ap-proach of Constantius, the Limigantes triedthe efficacy of prayers, of fraud, and of arms;but he sternly rejected their supplications,defeated their rude stratagems, and repelledwith skill and firmness the efforts of theirirregular valor. One of their most warliketribes, established in a small island towardsthe conflux of the Teyss and the Danube, con-sented to pass the river with the intention ofsurprising the emperor during the security ofan amicable conference. They soon becamethe victims of the perfidy which they med-itated. Encompassed on every side, tram-pled down by the cavalry, slaughtered by theswords of the legions, they disdained to askfor mercy; and with an undaunted counte-nance, still grasped their weapons in the ag-onies of death. After this victory, a consid-erable body of Romans was landed on theopposite banks of the Danube; the Taifalae,a Gothic tribe engaged in the service of theempire, invaded the Limigantes on the sideof the Teyss; and their former masters, thefree Sarmatians, animated by hope and re-venge, penetrated through the hilly coun-try, into the heart of their ancient posses-

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sions. A general conflagration revealed thehuts of the Barbarians, which were seated inthe depth of the wilderness; and the soldierfought with confidence on marshy ground,which it was dangerous for him to tread. Inthis extremity, the bravest of the Limiganteswere resolved to die in arms, rather than toyield: but the milder sentiment, enforced bythe authority of their elders, at length pre-vailed; and the suppliant crowd, followedby their wives and children, repaired to theImperial camp, to learn their fate from themouth of the conqueror. After celebratinghis own clemency, which was still inclinedto pardon their repeated crimes, and to sparethe remnant of a guilty nation, Constantiusassigned for the place of their exile a remotecountry, where they might enjoy a safe andhonorable repose. The Limigantes obeyedwith reluctance; but before they could reach,at least before they could occupy, their des-tined habitations, they returned to the banksof the Danube, exaggerating the hardshipsof their situation, and requesting, with fer-vent professions of fidelity, that the emperorwould grant them an undisturbed settlementwithin the limits of the Roman provinces.Instead of consulting his own experience oftheir incurable perfidy, Constantius listenedto his flatterers, who were ready to repre-sent the honor and advantage of acceptinga colony of soldiers, at a time when it wasmuch easier to obtain the pecuniary contri-butions than the military service of the sub-jects of the empire. The Limigantes were per-mitted to pass the Danube; and the emperorgave audience to the multitude in a large

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plain near the modern city of Buda. Theysurrounded the tribunal, and seemed to hearwith respect an oration full of mildness anddignity when one of the Barbarians, castinghis shoe into the air, exclaimed with a loudvoice, Marha! Marha!566 a word of defiance,which was received as a signal of the tumult.They rushed with fury to seize the personof the emperor; his royal throne and goldencouch were pillaged by these rude hands; butthe faithful defence of his guards, who diedat his feet, allowed him a moment to mounta fleet horse, and to escape from the confu-sion. The disgrace which had been incurredby a treacherous surprise was soon retrievedby the numbers and discipline of the Ro-mans; and the combat was only terminatedby the extinction of the name and nation ofthe Limigantes. The free Sarmatians werereinstated in the possession of their ancientseats; and although Constantius distrustedthe levity of their character, he entertainedsome hopes that a sense of gratitude mightinfluence their future conduct. He had re-marked the lofty stature and obsequious de-meanor of Zizais, one of the noblest of theirchiefs. He conferred on him the title of King;and Zizais proved that he was not unworthyto reign, by a sincere and lasting attachmentto the interests of his benefactor, who, afterthis splendid success, received the name ofSarmaticus from the acclamations of his vic-torious army.567

566Reinesius reads Warrha, Warrha, Guerre, War Wagner note as amm Marc xix ll–M

567Genti Sarmatarum magno decori confidens apud eos regem deditAurelius Victor In a pompous oration pronounced by Constantius

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...Part III

WHILE the Roman emperor and the Per-sian monarch, at the distance of three

thousand miles, defended their extreme lim-its against the Barbarians of the Danube andof the Oxus, their intermediate frontier expe-rienced the vicissitudes of a languid war, anda precarious truce. Two of the eastern min-isters of Constantius, the Praetorian praefectMusonian, whose abilities were disgraced bythe want of truth and integrity, and Cassian,duke of Mesopotamia, a hardy and veteransoldier, opened a secret negotiation with thesatrap Tamsapor.568569 These overtures ofpeace, translated into the servile and flatter-ing language of Asia, were transmitted tothe camp of the Great King; who resolved tosignify, by an ambassador, the terms whichhe was inclined to grant to the suppliantRomans. Narses, whom he invested withthat character, was honorably received in hispassage through Antioch and Constantino-ple: he reached Sirmium after a long jour-ney, and, at his first audience, respectfullyunfolded the silken veil which covered thehaughty epistle of his sovereign. Sapor, Kingof Kings, and Brother of the Sun and Moon,(such were the lofty titles affected by Orien-tal vanity,) expressed his satisfaction that hisbrother, Constantius Caesar, had been taughtwisdom by adversity. As the lawful suc-cessor of Darius Hystaspes, Sapor asserted,that the River Strymon, in Macedonia, was

himself, he expatiates on his own exploits with much vanity, and sometruth

568Ammian xvi 9569In Persian, Ten-schah-pour St Martin, ii 177–M

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the true and ancient boundary of his empire;declaring, however, that as an evidence of hismoderation, he would content himself withthe provinces of Armenia and Mesopotamia,which had been fraudulently extorted fromhis ancestors. He alleged, that, withoutthe restitution of these disputed countries,it was impossible to establish any treaty ona solid and permanent basis; and he arro-gantly threatened, that if his ambassador re-turned in vain, he was prepared to take thefield in the spring, and to support the jus-tice of his cause by the strength of his in-vincible arms. Narses, who was endowedwith the most polite and amiable manners,endeavored, as far as was consistent withhis duty, to soften the harshness of the mes-sage.570 Both the style and substance werematurely weighed in the Imperial council,and he was dismissed with the following an-swer: “Constantius had a right to disclaimthe officiousness of his ministers, who hadacted without any specific orders from thethrone: he was not, however, averse to anequal and honorable treaty; but it was highlyindecent, as well as absurd, to propose to thesole and victorious emperor of the Romanworld, the same conditions of peace whichhe had indignantly rejected at the time whenhis power was contracted within the narrowlimits of the East: the chance of arms wasuncertain; and Sapor should recollect, that ifthe Romans had sometimes been vanquished

570Ammianus (xvii 5) transcribes the haughty letter Themistius(Orat iv p 57, edit Petav) takes notice of the silken covering Idatiusand Zonaras mention the journey of the ambassador; and Peter thePatrician (in Excerpt Legat p 58) has informed us of his behavior

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in battle, they had almost always been suc-cessful in the event of the war.” A few daysafter the departure of Narses, three ambas-sadors were sent to the court of Sapor, whowas already returned from the Scythian ex-pedition to his ordinary residence of Cte-siphon. A count, a notary, and a sophist, hadbeen selected for this important commission;and Constantius, who was secretly anxiousfor the conclusion of the peace, entertainedsome hopes that the dignity of the first ofthese ministers, the dexterity of the second,and the rhetoric of the third,571 would per-suade the Persian monarch to abate of therigor of his demands. But the progress oftheir negotiation was opposed and defeatedby the hostile arts of Antoninus,572 a Romansubject of Syria, who had fled from oppres-sion, and was admitted into the councils ofSapor, and even to the royal table, where,according to the custom of the Persians, themost important business was frequently dis-cussed.573 The dexterous fugitive promoted

571Ammianus, xvii 5, and Valesius ad loc The sophist, or philoso-pher, (in that age these words were almost synonymous,) was Eu-stathius the Cappadocian, the disciple of Jamblichus, and the friendof St Basil Eunapius (in Vit Aedesii, p 44-47) fondly attributes to thisphilosophic ambassador the glory of enchanting the Barbarian king bythe persuasive charms of reason and eloquence See Tillemont, Hist desEmpereurs, tom iv p 828, 1132

572Ammian xviii 5, 6, 8 The decent and respectful behavior of Anton-inus towards the Roman general, sets him in a very interesting light;and Ammianus himself speaks of the traitor with some compassionand esteem

573This circumstance, as it is noticed by Ammianus, serves to provethe veracity of Herodotus, (l i c 133,) and the permanency of the Per-sian manners In every age the Persians have been addicted to intem-perance, and the wines of Shiraz have triumphed over the law of Ma-

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his interest by the same conduct which grat-ified his revenge. He incessantly urged theambition of his new master to embrace thefavorable opportunity when the bravest ofthe Palatine troops were employed with theemperor in a distant war on the Danube. Hepressed Sapor to invade the exhausted anddefenceless provinces of the East, with thenumerous armies of Persia, now fortified bythe alliance and accession of the fiercest Bar-barians. The ambassadors of Rome retiredwithout success, and a second embassy, ofa still more honorable rank, was detainedin strict confinement, and threatened eitherwith death or exile.

The military historian,574 who was himselfdespatched to observe the army of the

Persians, as they were preparing to constructa bridge of boats over the Tigris, beheld froman eminence the plain of Assyria, as far asthe edge of the horizon, covered with men,with horses, and with arms. Sapor appearedin the front, conspicuous by the splendor ofhis purple. On his left hand, the place ofhonor among the Orientals, Grumbates, kingof the Chionites, displayed the stern coun-tenance of an aged and renowned warrior.The monarch had reserved a similar placeon his right hand for the king of the Alba-nians, who led his independent tribes fromthe shores of the Caspian.575 The satraps and

homet Brisson de Regno Pers l ii p 462-472, and Voyages en Perse, tom,iii p 90

574Ammian lxviii 6, 7, 8, 10575These perhaps were the barbarous tribes who inhabit the north-

ern part of the present Schirwan, the Albania of the ancients This coun-try, now inhabited by the Lezghis, the terror of the neighboring dis-

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generals were distributed according to theirseveral ranks, and the whole army, besidesthe numerous train of Oriental luxury, con-sisted of more than one hundred thousandeffective men, inured to fatigue, and selectedfrom the bravest nations of Asia. The Ro-man deserter, who in some measure guidedthe councils of Sapor, had prudently advised,that, instead of wasting the summer in te-dious and difficult sieges, he should marchdirectly to the Euphrates, and press for-wards without delay to seize the feeble andwealthy metropolis of Syria. But the Persianswere no sooner advanced into the plains ofMesopotamia, than they discovered that ev-ery precaution had been used which couldretard their progress, or defeat their design.The inhabitants, with their cattle, were se-cured in places of strength, the green foragethroughout the country was set on fire, thefords of the rivers were fortified by sharpstakes; military engines were planted on theopposite banks, and a seasonable swell ofthe waters of the Euphrates deterred the Bar-barians from attempting the ordinary pas-sage of the bridge of Thapsacus. Their skil-ful guide, changing his plan of operations,then conducted the army by a longer cir-cuit, but through a fertile territory, towardsthe head of the Euphrates, where the infantriver is reduced to a shallow and accessiblestream. Sapor overlooked, with prudent dis-

tricts, was then occupied by the same people, called by the ancientsLegae, by the Armenians Gheg, or Leg The latter represent them asconstant allies of the Persians in their wars against Armenia and theEmpire A little after this period, a certain Schergir was their king, andit is of him doubtless Ammianus Marcellinus speaks St Martin, ii 285–M

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dain, the strength of Nisibis; but as he passedunder the walls of Amida, he resolved to trywhether the majesty of his presence wouldnot awe the garrison into immediate submis-sion. The sacrilegious insult of a randomdart, which glanced against the royal tiara,convinced him of his error; and the indignantmonarch listened with impatience to the ad-vice of his ministers, who conjured him notto sacrifice the success of his ambition to thegratification of his resentment. The follow-ing day Grumbates advanced towards thegates with a select body of troops, and re-quired the instant surrender of the city, asthe only atonement which could be acceptedfor such an act of rashness and insolence.His proposals were answered by a generaldischarge, and his only son, a beautiful andvaliant youth, was pierced through the heartby a javelin, shot from one of the balistae.The funeral of the prince of the Chioniteswas celebrated according to the rites of thecountry; and the grief of his aged father wasalleviated by the solemn promise of Sapor,that the guilty city of Amida should serve asa funeral pile to expiate the death, and to per-petuate the memory, of his son.

The ancient city of Amid or Amida,576which sometimes assumes the provin-

576For the description of Amida, see D’Herbelot, Bebliotheque Ori-entale, p Bibliotheque Orientale, p 108 Histoire de Timur Bec, parCherefeddin Ali, l iii c 41 Ahmed Arabsiades, tom i p 331, c 43 Voy-ages de Tavernier, tom i p 301 Voyages d’Otter, tom ii p 273, and Voy-ages de Niebuhr, tom ii p 324-328 The last of these travellers, a learnedand accurate Dane, has given a plan of Amida, which illustrates theoperations of the siege

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cial appellation of Diarbekir,577 is advanta-geously situate in a fertile plain, wateredby the natural and artificial channels ofthe Tigris, of which the least inconsiderablestream bends in a semicircular form roundthe eastern part of the city. The emperor Con-stantius had recently conferred on Amidathe honor of his own name, and the addi-tional fortifications of strong walls and loftytowers. It was provided with an arsenalof military engines, and the ordinary garri-son had been reenforced to the amount ofseven legions, when the place was investedby the arms of Sapor.578 His first and mostsanguine hopes depended on the success ofa general assault. To the several nationswhich followed his standard, their respectiveposts were assigned; the south to the Vertae;the north to the Albanians; the east to theChionites, inflamed with grief and indigna-

577Diarbekir, which is styled Amid, or Kara Amid, in the public writ-ings of the Turks, contains above 16,000 houses, and is the residenceof a pacha with three tails The epithet of Kara is derived from theblackness of the stone which composes the strong and ancient wall ofAmida —-In my Mem Hist sur l’Armenie, l i p 166, 173, I conceive thatI have proved this city, still called, by the Armenians, Dirkranagerd,the city of Tigranes, to be the same with the famous Tigranocerta, ofwhich the situation was unknown St Martin, i 432 On the siege ofAmida, see St Martin’s Notes, ii 290 Faustus of Byzantium, nearly acontemporary, (Armenian,) states that the Persians, on becoming mas-ters of it, destroyed 40,000 houses though Ammianus describes the cityas of no great extent, (civitatis ambitum non nimium amplae) Besidesthe ordinary population, and those who took refuge from the coun-try, it contained 20,000 soldiers St Martin, ii 290 This interpretation isextremely doubtful Wagner (note on Ammianus) considers the wholepopulation to amount only to–M

578The operations of the siege of Amida are very minutely describedby Ammianus, (xix 1-9,) who acted an honorable part in the defence,and escaped with difficulty when the city was stormed by the Persians

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tion; the west to the Segestans, the bravest ofhis warriors, who covered their front with aformidable line of Indian elephants.579 ThePersians, on every side, supported their ef-forts, and animated their courage; and themonarch himself, careless of his rank andsafety, displayed, in the prosecution of thesiege, the ardor of a youthful soldier. Af-ter an obstinate combat, the Barbarians wererepulsed; they incessantly returned to thecharge; they were again driven back witha dreadful slaughter, and two rebel legionsof Gauls, who had been banished into theEast, signalized their undisciplined courageby a nocturnal sally into the heart of the Per-sian camp. In one of the fiercest of these re-peated assaults, Amida was betrayed by thetreachery of a deserter, who indicated to theBarbarians a secret and neglected staircase,scooped out of the rock that hangs over the

579Of these four nations, the Albanians are too well known to re-quire any description The Segestans [Sacastene St Martin] inhabited alarge and level country, which still preserves their name, to the southof Khorasan, and the west of Hindostan (See Geographia Nubiensisp 133, and D’Herbelot, Biblitheque Orientale, p 797) Notwithstand-ing the boasted victory of Bahram, (vol i p 410,) the Segestans, abovefourscore years afterwards, appear as an independent nation, the allyof Persia We are ignorant of the situation of the Vertae and Chionites,but I am inclined to place them (at least the latter) towards the con-fines of India and Scythia See Ammian —-Klaproth considers the realAlbanians the same with the ancient Alani, and quotes a passage of theemperor Julian in support of his opinion They are the Ossetae, now in-habiting part of Caucasus Tableaux Hist de l’Asie, p 179, 180–M —-TheVertae are still unknown It is possible that the Chionites are the sameas the Huns These people were already known; and we find from Ar-menian authors that they were making, at this period, incursions intoAsia They were often at war with the Persians The name was perhapspronounced differently in the East and in the West, and this preventsus from recognizing it St Martin, ii 177–M

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stream of the Tigris. Seventy chosen archersof the royal guard ascended in silence tothe third story of a lofty tower, which com-manded the precipice; they elevated on highthe Persian banner, the signal of confidenceto the assailants, and of dismay to the be-sieged; and if this devoted band could havemaintained their post a few minutes longer,the reduction of the place might have beenpurchased by the sacrifice of their lives. Af-ter Sapor had tried, without success, the ef-ficacy of force and of stratagem, he had re-course to the slower but more certain oper-ations of a regular siege, in the conduct ofwhich he was instructed by the skill of theRoman deserters. The trenches were openedat a convenient distance, and the troops des-tined for that service advanced under theportable cover of strong hurdles, to fill up theditch, and undermine the foundations of thewalls. Wooden towers were at the same timeconstructed, and moved forwards on wheels,till the soldiers, who were provided with ev-ery species of missile weapons, could engagealmost on level ground with the troops whodefended the rampart. Every mode of re-sistance which art could suggest, or couragecould execute, was employed in the defenceof Amida, and the works of Sapor were morethan once destroyed by the fire of the Ro-mans. But the resources of a besieged citymay be exhausted. The Persians repairedtheir losses, and pushed their approaches; alarge preach was made by the battering-ram,and the strength of the garrison, wasted bythe sword and by disease, yielded to the furyof the assault. The soldiers, the citizens, their

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wives, their children, all who had not timeto escape through the opposite gate, were in-volved by the conquerors in a promiscuousmassacre.

But the ruin of Amida was the safety of theRoman provinces.

As soon as the first transports of victoryhad subsided, Sapor was at leisure to

reflect, that to chastise a disobedient city,he had lost the flower of his troops, andthe most favorable season for conquest.580Thirty thousand of his veterans had fallenunder the walls of Amida, during the con-tinuance of a siege, which lasted seventy-three days; and the disappointed monarchreturned to his capital with affected triumphand secret mortification. It is more thanprobable, that the inconstancy of his Barbar-ian allies was tempted to relinquish a warin which they had encountered such unex-pected difficulties; and that the aged king ofthe Chionites, satiated with revenge, turnedaway with horror from a scene of actionwhere he had been deprived of the hope of

580Ammianus has marked the chronology of this year by three signs,which do not perfectly coincide with each other, or with the series ofthe history 1 The corn was ripe when Sapor invaded Mesopotamia;“Cum jam stipula flaveate turgerent;” a circumstance, which, in thelatitude of Aleppo, would naturally refer us to the month of April orMay See Harmer’s Observations on Scripture vol i p 41 Shaw’s Travels,p 335, edit 4to 2 The progress of Sapor was checked by the overflowingof the Euphrates, which generally happens in July and August PlinHist Nat v 21 Viaggi di Pietro della Valle, tom i p 696 3 When Sapor hadtaken Amida, after a siege of seventy-three days, the autumn was faradvanced “Autumno praecipiti haedorumque improbo sidere exorto”To reconcile these apparent contradictions, we must allow for somedelay in the Persian king, some inaccuracy in the historian, and somedisorder in the seasons

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his family and nation. The strength as wellas the spirit of the army with which Saportook the field in the ensuing spring was nolonger equal to the unbounded views of hisambition. Instead of aspiring to the con-quest of the East, he was obliged to con-tent himself with the reduction of two forti-fied cities of Mesopotamia, Singara and Bez-abde;581 the one situate in the midst of asandy desert, the other in a small peninsula,surrounded almost on every side by the deepand rapid stream of the Tigris. Five Romanlegions, of the diminutive size to which theyhad been reduced in the age of Constantine,were made prisoners, and sent into remotecaptivity on the extreme confines of Persia.After dismantling the walls of Singara, theconqueror abandoned that solitary and se-questered place; but he carefully restored thefortifications of Bezabde, and fixed in thatimportant post a garrison or colony of vet-erans; amply supplied with every means ofdefence, and animated by high sentimentsof honor and fidelity. Towards the close ofthe campaign, the arms of Sapor incurredsome disgrace by an unsuccessful enterpriseagainst Virtha, or Tecrit, a strong, or, as it wasuniversally esteemed till the age of Tamer-lane, an impregnable fortress of the indepen-

581The account of these sieges is given by Ammianus, xx 6, 7 —-TheChristian bishop of Bezabde went to the camp of the king of Persia, topersuade him to check the waste of human blood Amm Mare xx 7–M

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dent Arabs.582583

The defence of the East against the armsof Sapor required and would have ex-

ercised, the abilities of the most consum-mate general; and it seemed fortunate forthe state, that it was the actual provinceof the brave Ursicinus, who alone deservedthe confidence of the soldiers and people.In the hour of danger,584 Ursicinus was re-moved from his station by the intrigues ofthe eunuchs; and the military command ofthe East was bestowed, by the same in-fluence, on Sabinian, a wealthy and sub-tle veteran, who had attained the infirmi-ties, without acquiring the experience, ofage. By a second order, which issued fromthe same jealous and inconstant councils, Ur-sicinus was again despatched to the fron-tier of Mesopotamia, and condemned to sus-tain the labors of a war, the honors of whichhad been transferred to his unworthy rival.Sabinian fixed his indolent station under thewalls of Edessa; and while he amused him-self with the idle parade of military exer-cise, and moved to the sound of flutes in thePyrrhic dance, the public defence was aban-

582For the identity of Virtha and Tecrit, see D’Anville, GeographieFor the siege of that castle by Timur Bec or Tamerlane, see Cherefed-din, l iii c 33 The Persian biographer exaggerates the merit and diffi-culty of this exploit, which delivered the caravans of Bagdad from aformidable gang of robbers

583St Martin doubts whether it lay so much to the south “The wordGirtha means in Syriac a castle or fortress, and might be applied tomany places”

584Ammianus (xviii 5, 6, xix 3, xx 2) represents the merit and dis-grace of Ursicinus with that faithful attention which a soldier owed tohis general Some partiality may be suspected, yet the whole accountis consistent and probable

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doned to the boldness and diligence of theformer general of the East. But whenever Ur-sicinus recommended any vigorous plan ofoperations; when he proposed, at the head ofa light and active army, to wheel round thefoot of the mountains, to intercept the con-voys of the enemy, to harass the wide extentof the Persian lines, and to relieve the dis-tress of Amida; the timid and envious com-mander alleged, that he was restrained by hispositive orders from endangering the safetyof the troops. Amida was at length taken;its bravest defenders, who had escaped thesword of the Barbarians, died in the Romancamp by the hand of the executioner: andUrsicinus himself, after supporting the dis-grace of a partial inquiry, was punished forthe misconduct of Sabinian by the loss ofhis military rank. But Constantius soon ex-perienced the truth of the prediction whichhonest indignation had extorted from his in-jured lieutenant, that as long as such max-ims of government were suffered to prevail,the emperor himself would find it is no easytask to defend his eastern dominions fromthe invasion of a foreign enemy. When hehad subdued or pacified the Barbarians ofthe Danube, Constantius proceeded by slowmarches into the East; and after he had weptover the smoking ruins of Amida, he formed,with a powerful army, the siege of Becabde.The walls were shaken by the reiterated ef-forts of the most enormous of the battering-rams; the town was reduced to the last ex-tremity; but it was still defended by the pa-tient and intrepid valor of the garrison, tillthe approach of the rainy season obliged the

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emperor to raise the siege, and ingloviouslyto retreat into his winter quarters at Anti-och.585 The pride of Constantius, and theingenuity of his courtiers, were at a loss todiscover any materials for panegyric in theevents of the Persian war; while the gloryof his cousin Julian, to whose military com-mand he had intrusted the provinces of Gaul,was proclaimed to the world in the simpleand concise narrative of his exploits.

In the blind fury of civil discord, Constan-tius had abandoned to the Barbarians

of Germany the countries of Gaul, which stillacknowledged the authority of his rival. Anumerous swarm of Franks and Alemanniwere invited to cross the Rhine by presentsand promises, by the hopes of spoil, and bya perpetual grant of all the territories whichthey should be able to subdue.586 But theemperor, who for a temporary service hadthus imprudently provoked the rapaciousspirit of the Barbarians, soon discovered andlamented the difficulty of dismissing theseformidable allies, after they had tasted therichness of the Roman soil. Regardless ofthe nice distinction of loyalty and rebellion,

585Ammian xx 11 Omisso vano incepto, hiematurus Antiochiae reditin Syriam aerumnosam, perpessus et ulcerum sed et atrocia, diuquedeflenda It is thus that James Gronovius has restored an obscure pas-sage; and he thinks that this correction alone would have deserved anew edition of his author: whose sense may now be darkly perceivedI expected some additional light from the recent labors of the learnedErnestus (Lipsiae, 1773) (The late editor (Wagner) has nothing betterto suggest, and le menta with Gibbon, the silence of Ernesti–M

586The ravages of the Germans, and the distress of Gaul, may becollected from Julian himself Orat ad S P Q Athen p 277 Ammian xv llLibanius, Orat x Zosimus, l iii p 140 Sozomen, l iii c l (Mamertin GratArt c iv)

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these undisciplined robbers treated as theirnatural enemies all the subjects of the em-pire, who possessed any property whichthey were desirous of acquiring Forty-fiveflourishing cities, Tongres, Cologne, Treves,Worms, Spires, Strasburgh, &c., besides afar greater number of towns and villages,were pillaged, and for the most part reducedto ashes. The Barbarians of Germany, stillfaithful to the maxims of their ancestors, ab-horred the confinement of walls, to whichthey applied the odious names of prisonsand sepulchres; and fixing their independenthabitations on the banks of rivers, the Rhine,the Moselle, and the Meuse, they securedthemselves against the danger of a surprise,by a rude and hasty fortification of largetrees, which were felled and thrown acrossthe roads. The Alemanni were established inthe modern countries of Alsace and Lorraine;the Franks occupied the island of the Bata-vians, together with an extensive district ofBrabant, which was then known by the ap-pellation of Toxandria,587 and may deserveto be considered as the original seat of theirGallic monarchy.588 From the sources, to the

587Ammianus, xvi 8 This name seems to be derived from the Toxan-dri of Pliny, and very frequently occurs in the histories of the middleage Toxandria was a country of woods and morasses, which extendedfrom the neighborhood of Tongres to the conflux of the Vahal and theRhine See Valesius, Notit Galliar p 558

588The paradox of P Daniel, that the Franks never obtained any per-manent settlement on this side of the Rhine before the time of Clovis, isrefuted with much learning and good sense by M Biet, who has provedby a chain of evidence, their uninterrupted possession of Toxandria,one hundred and thirty years before the accession of Clovis The Dis-sertation of M Biet was crowned by the Academy of Soissons, in theyear 1736, and seems to have been justly preferred to the discourse

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mouth, of the Rhine, the conquests of theGermans extended above forty miles to thewest of that river, over a country peopledby colonies of their own name and nation:and the scene of their devastations was threetimes more extensive than that of their con-quests. At a still greater distance the opentowns of Gaul were deserted, and the in-habitants of the fortified cities, who trustedto their strength and vigilance, were obligedto content themselves with such supplies ofcorn as they could raise on the vacant landwithin the enclosure of their walls. The di-minished legions, destitute of pay and pro-visions, of arms and discipline, trembled atthe approach, and even at the name, of theBarbarians.

..Part IV

UNDER these melancholy circumstances,an unexperienced youth was appointed

to save and to govern the provinces of Gaul,or rather, as he expressed it himself, to ex-hibit the vain image of Imperial greatness.The retired scholastic education of Julian, inwhich he had been more conversant withbooks than with arms, with the dead thanwith the living, left him in profound igno-rance of the practical arts of war and gov-ernment; and when he awkwardly repeatedsome military exercise which it was neces-sary for him to learn, he exclaimed witha sigh, “O Plato, Plato, what a task for aphilosopher!” Yet even this speculative phi-losophy, which men of business are too apt

of his more celebrated competitor, the Abbe le Boeuf, an antiquarian,whose name was happily expressive of his talents

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to despise, had filled the mind of Julian withthe noblest precepts and the most shining ex-amples; had animated him with the love ofvirtue, the desire of fame, and the contemptof death. The habits of temperance recom-mended in the schools, are still more essen-tial in the severe discipline of a camp. Thesimple wants of nature regulated the mea-sure of his food and sleep. Rejecting withdisdain the delicacies provided for his ta-ble, he satisfied his appetite with the coarseand common fare which was allotted to themeanest soldiers. During the rigor of a Gal-lic winter, he never suffered a fire in his bed-chamber; and after a short and interruptedslumber, he frequently rose in the middle ofthe night from a carpet spread on the floor,to despatch any urgent business, to visit hisrounds, or to steal a few moments for theprosecution of his favorite studies.589 Theprecepts of eloquence, which he had hithertopractised on fancied topics of declamation,were more usefully applied to excite or to as-suage the passions of an armed multitude:and although Julian, from his early habitsof conversation and literature, was more fa-miliarly acquainted with the beauties of theGreek language, he had attained a competentknowledge of the Latin tongue.590 Since Ju-

589The private life of Julian in Gaul, and the severe discipline whichhe embraced, are displayed by Ammianus, (xvi 5,) who professes topraise, and by Julian himself, who affects to ridicule, (Misopogon, p340,) a conduct, which, in a prince of the house of Constantine, mightjustly excite the surprise of mankind

590Aderat Latine quoque disserenti sufficiens sermo Ammianus xvi5 But Julian, educated in the schools of Greece, always considered thelanguage of the Romans as a foreign and popular dialect which hemight use on necessary occasions

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lian was not originally designed for the char-acter of a legislator, or a judge, it is proba-ble that the civil jurisprudence of the Romanshad not engaged any considerable share ofhis attention: but he derived from his philo-sophic studies an inflexible regard for jus-tice, tempered by a disposition to clemency;the knowledge of the general principles ofequity and evidence, and the faculty of pa-tiently investigating the most intricate andtedious questions which could be proposedfor his discussion. The measures of policy,and the operations of war, must submit to thevarious accidents of circumstance and char-acter, and the unpractised student will oftenbe perplexed in the application of the mostperfect theory.But in the acquisition of this important sci-

ence, Julian was assisted by the activevigor of his own genius, as well as by thewisdom and experience of Sallust, and of-ficer of rank, who soon conceived a sin-cere attachment for a prince so worthy ofhis friendship; and whose incorruptible in-tegrity was adorned by the talent of insinu-ating the harshest truths without woundingthe delicacy of a royal ear.591

Immediately after Julian had received thepurple at Milan, he was sent into Gaul

with a feeble retinue of three hundred and

591We are ignorant of the actual office of this excellent minister,whom Julian afterwards created praefect of Gaul Sallust was speedlyrecalled by the jealousy of the emperor; and we may still read a sensi-ble but pedantic discourse, (p 240-252,) in which Julian deplores theloss of so valuable a friend, to whom he acknowledges himself in-debted for his reputation See La Bleterie, Preface a la Vie de lovien,p 20

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sixty soldiers. At Vienna, where he passeda painful and anxious winter in the hands ofthose ministers to whom Constantius had in-trusted the direction of his conduct, the Cae-sar was informed of the siege and deliver-ance of Autun. That large and ancient city,protected only by a ruined wall and pusil-lanimous garrison, was saved by the gen-erous resolution of a few veterans, who re-sumed their arms for the defence of theircountry. In his march from Autun, throughthe heart of the Gallic provinces, Julian em-braced with ardor the earliest opportunityof signalizing his courage. At the head of asmall body of archers and heavy cavalry, hepreferred the shorter but the more dangerousof two roads;592 and sometimes eluding, andsometimes resisting, the attacks of the Bar-barians, who were masters of the field, hearrived with honor and safety at the campnear Rheims, where the Roman troops hadbeen ordered to assemble. The aspect of theiryoung prince revived the drooping spirits ofthe soldiers, and they marched from Rheimsin search of the enemy, with a confidencewhich had almost proved fatal to them. TheAlemanni, familiarized to the knowledge ofthe country, secretly collected their scatteredforces, and seizing the opportunity of a darkand rainy day, poured with unexpected furyon the rear-guard of the Romans. Before

592Aliis per Arbor–quibusdam per Sedelaucum et Coram in deberefirrantibus Amm Marc xvi 2 I do not know what place can be meantby the mutilated name Arbor Sedelanus is Saulieu, a small town of thedepartment of the Cote d’Or, six leagues from Autun Cora answersto the village of Cure, on the river of the same name, between Autunand Nevera 4; Martin, ii 162–M —-Note: At Brocomages, Brumat, nearStrasburgh St Martin, ii 184–M

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the inevitable disorder could be remedied,two legions were destroyed; and Julian wastaught by experience that caution and vigi-lance are the most important lessons of theart of war. In a second and more successfulaction, he recovered and established his mili-tary fame; but as the agility of the Barbarianssaved them from the pursuit, his victory wasneither bloody nor decisive. He advanced,however, to the banks of the Rhine, surveyedthe ruins of Cologne, convinced himself ofthe difficulties of the war, and retreated onthe approach of winter, discontented withthe court, with his army, and with his ownsuccess.593 The power of the enemy was yetunbroken; and the Caesar had no sooner sep-arated his troops, and fixed his own quar-ters at Sens, in the centre of Gaul, than hewas surrounded and besieged, by a numer-ous host of Germans. Reduced, in this ex-tremity, to the resources of his own mind, hedisplayed a prudent intrepidity, which com-pensated for all the deficiencies of the placeand garrison; and the Barbarians, at the endof thirty days, were obliged to retire with dis-appointed rage.The conscious pride of Julian, who was in-

debted only to his sword for this sig-nal deliverance, was imbittered by the re-flection, that he was abandoned, betrayed,and perhaps devoted to destruction, by thosewho were bound to assist him, by every tieof honor and fidelity. Marcellus, master-general of the cavalry in Gaul, interpreting

593Ammianus (xvi 2, 3) appears much better satisfied with the suc-cess of his first campaign than Julian himself; who very fairly ownsthat he did nothing of consequence, and that he fled before the enemy

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too strictly the jealous orders of the court, be-held with supine indifference the distress ofJulian, and had restrained the troops underhis command from marching to the relief ofSens. If the Caesar had dissembled in silenceso dangerous an insult, his person and au-thority would have been exposed to the con-tempt of the world; and if an action so crimi-nal had been suffered to pass with impunity,the emperor would have confirmed the sus-picions, which received a very specious colorfrom his past conduct towards the princes ofthe Flavian family. Marcellus was recalled,and gently dismissed from his office.594 Inhis room Severus was appointed general ofthe cavalry; an experienced soldier, of ap-proved courage and fidelity, who could ad-vise with respect, and execute with zeal; andwho submitted, without reluctance to thesupreme command which Julian, by the in-rerest of his patroness Eusebia, at length ob-tained over the armies of Gaul.595 A very ju-dicious plan of operations was adopted forthe approaching campaign. Julian himself,at the head of the remains of the veteranbands, and of some new levies which he hadbeen permitted to form, boldly penetratedinto the centre of the German cantonments,and carefully reestablished the fortificationsof Saverne, in an advantageous post, which

594Ammian xvi 7 Libanius speaks rather more advantageously of themilitary talents of Marcellus, Orat x p 272 And Julian insinuates, thathe would not have been so easily recalled, unless he had given otherreasons of offence to the court, p 278

595Severus, non discors, non arrogans, sed longa militiae frugalitatecompertus; et eum recta praeeuntem secuturus, ut duetorem morig-eran miles Ammian xvi 11 Zosimus, l iii p 140

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would either check the incursions, or inter-cept the retreat, of the enemy. At the sametime, Barbatio, general of the infantry, ad-vanced from Milan with an army of thirtythousand men, and passing the mountains,prepared to throw a bridge over the Rhine,in the neighborhood of Basil. It was reason-able to expect that the Alemanni, pressed oneither side by the Roman arms, would soonbe forced to evacuate the provinces of Gaul,and to hasten to the defence of their nativecountry. But the hopes of the campaign weredefeated by the incapacity, or the envy, or thesecret instructions, of Barbatio; who acted asif he had been the enemy of the Caesar, andthe secret ally of the Barbarians. The negli-gence with which he permitted a troop of pil-lagers freely to pass, and to return almost be-fore the gates of his camp, may be imputedto his want of abilities; but the treasonableact of burning a number of boats, and a su-perfluous stock of provisions, which wouldhave been of the most essential service to thearmy of Gaul, was an evidence of his hos-tile and criminal intentions. The Germansdespised an enemy who appeared destituteeither of power or of inclination to offendthem; and the ignominious retreat of Barba-tio deprived Julian of the expected support;and left him to extricate himself from a haz-ardous situation, where he could neither re-main with safety, nor retire with honor.596

As soon as they were delivered from the

596On the design and failure of the cooperation between Julian andBarbatio, see Ammianus (xvi 11) and Libanius, (Orat x p 273) Note:Barbatio seems to have allowed himself to be surprised and defeated–M

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fears of invasion, the Alemanni pre-pared to chastise the Roman youth, whopresumed to dispute the possession of thatcountry, which they claimed as their own bythe right of conquest and of treaties. Theyemployed three days, and as many nights,in transporting over the Rhine their militarypowers. The fierce Chnodomar, shaking theponderous javelin which he had victoriouslywielded against the brother of Magnentius,led the van of the Barbarians, and moderatedby his experience the martial ardor which hisexample inspired.597 He was followed by sixother kings, by ten princes of regal extrac-tion, by a long train of high-spirited nobles,and by thirty-five thousand of the bravestwarriors of the tribes of Germany. The con-fidence derived from the view of their ownstrength, was increased by the intelligencewhich they received from a deserter, that theCaesar, with a feeble army of thirteen thou-sand men, occupied a post about one-and-twenty miles from their camp of Strasburgh.With this inadequate force, Julian resolvedto seek and to encounter the Barbarian host;and the chance of a general action was pre-ferred to the tedious and uncertain operationof separately engaging the dispersed partiesof the Alemanni. The Romans marched inclose order, and in two columns; the cavalryon the right, the infantry on the left; and the

597Ammianus (xvi 12) describes with his inflated eloquence the fig-ure and character of Chnodomar Audax et fidens ingenti robore lac-ertorum, ubi ardor proelii sperabatur immanis, equo spumante sub-limior, erectus in jaculum formidandae vastitatis, armorumque nitoreconspicuus: antea strenuus et miles, et utilis praeter caeteros ductorDecentium Caesarem superavit aequo marte congressus

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day was so far spent when they appeared insight of the enemy, that Julian was desirousof deferring the battle till the next morning,and of allowing his troops to recruit theirexhausted strength by the necessary refresh-ments of sleep and food. Yielding, how-ever, with some reluctance, to the clamors ofthe soldiers, and even to the opinion of hiscouncil, he exhorted them to justify by theirvalor the eager impatience, which, in caseof a defeat, would be universally brandedwith the epithets of rashness and presump-tion. The trumpets sounded, the militaryshout was heard through the field, and thetwo armies rushed with equal fury to thecharge. The Caesar, who conducted in per-son his right wing, depended on the dex-terity of his archers, and the weight of hiscuirassiers. But his ranks were instantly bro-ken by an irregular mixture of light horseand of light infantry, and he had the mor-tification of beholding the flight of six hun-dred of his most renowned cuirassiers.598The fugitives were stopped and rallied by thepresence and authority of Julian, who, care-less of his own safety, threw himself beforethem, and urging every motive of shame andhonor, led them back against the victoriousenemy. The conflict between the two lines ofinfantry was obstinate and bloody. The Ger-mans possessed the superiority of strengthand stature, the Romans that of disciplineand temper; and as the Barbarians, who

598After the battle, Julian ventured to revive the rigor of ancient dis-cipline, by exposing these fugitives in female apparel to the derisionof the whole camp In the next campaign, these troops nobly retrievedtheir honor Zosimus, l iii p 142

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served under the standard of the empire,united the respective advantages of both par-ties, their strenuous efforts, guided by a skil-ful leader, at length determined the event ofthe day. The Romans lost four tribunes, andtwo hundred and forty-three soldiers, in thismemorable battle of Strasburgh, so gloriousto the Caesar,599 and so salutary to the af-flicted provinces of Gaul. Six thousand ofthe Alemanni were slain in the field, with-out including those who were drowned inthe Rhine, or transfixed with darts while theyattempted to swim across the river.600 Chn-odomar himself was surrounded and takenprisoner, with three of his brave companions,who had devoted themselves to follow in lifeor death the fate of their chieftain. Julian re-ceived him with military pomp in the coun-cil of his officers; and expressing a generouspity for the fallen state, dissembled his in-ward contempt for the abject humiliation, ofhis captive. Instead of exhibiting the van-quished king of the Alemanni, as a gratefulspectacle to the cities of Gaul, he respectfullylaid at the feet of the emperor this splendid

599Julian himself (ad S P Q Athen p 279) speaks of the battle of Stras-burgh with the modesty of conscious merit; Zosimus compares it withthe victory of Alexander over Darius; and yet we are at a loss to dis-cover any of those strokes of military genius which fix the attention ofages on the conduct and success of a single day

600Ammianus, xvi 12 Libanius adds 2000 more to the number of theslain, (Orat x p 274) But these trifling differences disappear before the60,000 Barbarians, whom Zosimus has sacrificed to the glory of hishero, (l iii p 141) We might attribute this extravagant number to thecarelessness of transcribers, if this credulous or partial historian hadnot swelled the army of 35,000 Alemanni to an innumerable multitudeof Barbarians, It is our own fault if this detection does not inspire uswith proper distrust on similar occasions

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trophy of his victory. Chnodomar experi-enced an honorable treatment: but the im-patient Barbarian could not long survive hisdefeat, his confinement, and his exile.601

After Julian had repulsed the Alemannifrom the provinces of the Upper Rhine,

he turned his arms against the Franks, whowere seated nearer to the ocean, on the con-fines of Gaul and Germany; and who, fromtheir numbers, and still more from their in-trepid valor, had ever been esteemed themost formidable of the Barbarians.602 Al-though they were strongly actuated by theallurements of rapine, they professed a dis-interested love of war; which they consid-ered as the supreme honor and felicity ofhuman nature; and their minds and bod-ies were so completely hardened by perpet-ual action, that, according to the lively ex-pression of an orator, the snows of winterwere as pleasant to them as the flowers ofspring. In the month of December, whichfollowed the battle of Strasburgh, Julian at-tacked a body of six hundred Franks, whohad thrown themselves into two castles onthe Meuse.603 In the midst of that severeseason they sustained, with inflexible con-stancy, a siege of fifty-four days; till at length,exhausted by hunger, and satisfied that the

601Ammian xvi 12 Libanius, Orat x p 276602Libanius (Orat iii p 137) draws a very lively picture of the man-

ners of the Franks603Ammianus, xvii 2 Libanius, Orat x p 278 The Greek orator, by mis-

apprehending a passage of Julian, has been induced to represent theFranks as consisting of a thousand men; and as his head was alwaysfull of the Peloponnesian war, he compares them to the Lacedaemoni-ans, who were besieged and taken in the Island of Sphatoria

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vigilance of the enemy, in breaking the iceof the river, left them no hopes of escape,the Franks consented, for the first time, todispense with the ancient law which com-manded them to conquer or to die. The Cae-sar immediately sent his captives to the courtof Constantius, who, accepting them as avaluable present,604 rejoiced in the opportu-nity of adding so many heroes to the choic-est troops of his domestic guards. The ob-stinate resistance of this handful of Franksapprised Julian of the difficulties of the ex-pedition which he meditated for the ensu-ing spring, against the whole body of thenation. His rapid diligence surprised andastonished the active Barbarians. Orderinghis soldiers to provide themselves with bis-cuit for twenty days, he suddenly pitchedhis camp near Tongres, while the enemy stillsupposed him in his winter quarters of Paris,expecting the slow arrival of his convoysfrom Aquitain. Without allowing the Franksto unite or deliberate, he skilfully spread hislegions from Cologne to the ocean; and bythe terror, as well as by the success, of hisarms, soon reduced the suppliant tribes toimplore the clemency, and to obey the com-mands, of their conqueror. The Chamavianssubmissively retired to their former habita-tions beyond the Rhine; but the Salians werepermitted to possess their new establishment

604Julian ad S P Q Athen p 280 Libanius, Orat x p 278 Accordingto the expression of Libanius, the emperor, which La Bleterie under-stands (Vie de Julien, p 118) as an honest confession, and Valesius (adAmmian xvii 2) as a mean evasion, of the truth Dom Bouquet, (His-toriens de France, tom i p 733,) by substituting another word, wouldsuppress both the difficulty and the spirit of this passage

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of Toxandria, as the subjects and auxiliariesof the Roman empire.605 The treaty wasratified by solemn oaths; and perpetual in-spectors were appointed to reside among theFranks, with the authority of enforcing thestrict observance of the conditions. An inci-dent is related, interesting enough in itself,and by no means repugnant to the charac-ter of Julian, who ingeniously contrived boththe plot and the catastrophe of the tragedy.When the Chamavians sued for peace, herequired the son of their king, as the onlyhostage on whom he could rely. A mourn-ful silence, interrupted by tears and groans,declared the sad perplexity of the Barbarians;and their aged chief lamented in pathetic lan-guage, that his private loss was now imbit-tered by a sense of public calamity. Whilethe Chamavians lay prostrate at the foot ofhis throne, the royal captive, whom they be-lieved to have been slain, unexpectedly ap-peared before their eyes; and as soon as thetumult of joy was hushed into attention, theCaesar addressed the assembly in the fol-lowing terms: “Behold the son, the prince,whom you wept. You had lost him by yourfault. God and the Romans have restored

605Ammian xvii 8 Zosimus, l iii p 146-150, (his narrative is darkenedby a mixture of fable,) and Julian ad S P Q Athen p 280 His expres-sion This difference of treatment confirms the opinion that the SalianFranks were permitted to retain the settlements in Toxandria Note:A newly discovered fragment of Eunapius, whom Zosimus proba-bly transcribed, illustrates this transaction “Julian commanded the Ro-mans to abstain from all hostile measures against the Salians, neitherto waste or ravage their own country, for he called every country theirown which was surrendered without resistance or toil on the part ofthe conquerors” Mai, Script Vez Nov Collect ii 256, and Eunapius inNiebuhr, Byzant Hist

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him to you. I shall still preserve and edu-cate the youth, rather as a monument of myown virtue, than as a pledge of your sincer-ity. Should you presume to violate the faithwhich you have sworn, the arms of the re-public will avenge the perfidy, not on the in-nocent, but on the guilty.” The Barbarianswithdrew from his presence, impressed withthe warmest sentiments of gratitude and ad-miration.606

It was not enough for Julian to have de-livered the provinces of Gaul from the

Barbarians of Germany. He aspired to em-ulate the glory of the first and most illustri-ous of the emperors; after whose example,he composed his own commentaries of theGallic war.607 Caesar has related, with con-scious pride, the manner in which he twicepassed the Rhine. Julian could boast, thatbefore he assumed the title of Augustus, hehad carried the Roman eagles beyond thatgreat river in three successful expeditions.608The consternation of the Germans, after thebattle of Strasburgh, encouraged him to thefirst attempt; and the reluctance of the troopssoon yielded to the persuasive eloquence of

606This interesting story, which Zosimus has abridged, is related byEunapius, (in Excerpt Legationum, p 15, 16, 17,) with all the amplifi-cations of Grecian rhetoric: but the silence of Libanius, of Ammianus,and of Julian himself, renders the truth of it extremely suspicious

607Libanius, the friend of Julian, clearly insinuates (Orat ix p 178)that his hero had composed the history of his Gallic campaigns ButZosimus (l iii p, 140) seems to have derived his information onlyfrom the Orations and the Epistles of Julian The discourse which isaddressed to the Athenians contains an accurate, though general, ac-count of the war against the Germans

608See Ammian xvii 1, 10, xviii 2, and Zosim l iii p 144 Julian ad S PQ Athen p 280

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a leader, who shared the fatigues and dan-gers which he imposed on the meanest of thesoldiers. The villages on either side of theMeyn, which were plentifully stored withcorn and cattle, felt the ravages of an in-vading army. The principal houses, con-structed with some imitation of Roman el-egance, were consumed by the flames; andthe Caesar boldly advanced about ten miles,till his progress was stopped by a dark andimpenetrable forest, undermined by subter-raneous passages, which threatened with se-cret snares and ambush every step of the as-sailants. The ground was already coveredwith snow; and Julian, after repairing an an-cient castle which had been erected by Tra-jan, granted a truce of ten months to the sub-missive Barbarians. At the expiration of thetruce, Julian undertook a second expeditionbeyond the Rhine, to humble the pride ofSurmar and Hortaire, two of the kings of theAlemanni, who had been present at the bat-tle of Strasburgh. They promised to restoreall the Roman captives who yet remainedalive; and as the Caesar had procured anexact account from the cities and villagesof Gaul, of the inhabitants whom they hadlost, he detected every attempt to deceivehim, with a degree of readiness and accuracy,which almost established the belief of his su-pernatural knowledge. His third expeditionwas still more splendid and important thanthe two former. The Germans had collectedtheir military powers, and moved along theopposite banks of the river, with a design ofdestroying the bridge, and of preventing thepassage of the Romans. But this judicious

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plan of defence was disconcerted by a skilfuldiversion. Three hundred light-armed andactive soldiers were detached in forty smallboats, to fall down the stream in silence, andto land at some distance from the posts ofthe enemy. They executed their orders withso much boldness and celerity, that they hadalmost surprised the Barbarian chiefs, whoreturned in the fearless confidence of intox-ication from one of their nocturnal festivals.Without repeating the uniform and disgust-ing tale of slaughter and devastation, it issufficient to observe, that Julian dictated hisown conditions of peace to six of the haugh-tiest kings of the Alemanni, three of whomwere permitted to view the severe disciplineand martial pomp of a Roman camp. Fol-lowed by twenty thousand captives, whomhe had rescued from the chains of the Bar-barians, the Caesar repassed the Rhine, afterterminating a war, the success of which hasbeen compared to the ancient glories of thePunic and Cimbric victories.As soon as the valor and conduct of Julian

had secured an interval of peace, he ap-plied himself to a work more congenial tohis humane and philosophic temper. Thecities of Gaul, which had suffered from theinroads of the Barbarians, he diligently re-paired; and seven important posts, betweenMentz and the mouth of the Rhine, are par-ticularly mentioned, as having been rebuiltand fortified by the order of Julian.609 The

609Ammian xviii 2 Libanius, Orat x p 279, 280 Of these seven posts,four are at present towns of some consequence; Bingen, Andernach,Bonn, and Nuyss The other three, Tricesimae, Quadriburgium, andCastra Herculis, or Heraclea, no longer subsist; but there is room to

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vanquished Germans had submitted to thejust but humiliating condition of preparingand conveying the necessary materials. Theactive zeal of Julian urged the prosecutionof the work; and such was the spirit whichhe had diffused among the troops, that theauxiliaries themselves, waiving their exemp-tion from any duties of fatigue, contendedin the most servile labors with the diligenceof the Roman soldiers. It was incumbent onthe Caesar to provide for the subsistence, aswell as for the safety, of the inhabitants andof the garrisons. The desertion of the for-mer, and the mutiny of the latter, must havebeen the fatal and inevitable consequencesof famine. The tillage of the provinces ofGaul had been interrupted by the calamitiesof war; but the scanty harvests of the con-tinent were supplied, by his paternal care,from the plenty of the adjacent island. Sixhundred large barks, framed in the forest ofthe Ardennes, made several voyages to thecoast of Britain; and returning from thence,laden with corn, sailed up the Rhine, anddistributed their cargoes to the several townsand fortresses along the banks of the river.610

believe, that on the ground of Quadriburgium the Dutch have con-structed the fort of Schenk, a name so offensive to the fastidious del-icacy of Boileau See D’Anville, Notice de l’Ancienne Gaule, p 183Boileau, Epitre iv and the notes Note: Tricesimae, Kellen, Mannert,quoted by Wagner Heraclea, Erkeleus in the district of Juliers St Mar-tin, ii 311–M

610We may credit Julian himself, (Orat ad S P Q Atheniensem, p 280,)who gives a very particular account of the transaction Zosimus addstwo hundred vessels more, (l iii p 145) If we compute the 600 cornships of Julian at only seventy tons each, they were capable of export-ing 120,000 quarters, (see Arbuthnot’s Weights and Measures, p 237;)and the country which could bear so large an exportation, must al-

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The arms of Julian had restored a free andsecure navigation, which Constantinius hadoffered to purchase at the expense of his dig-nity, and of a tributary present of two thou-sand pounds of silver. The emperor parsi-moniously refused to his soldiers the sumswhich he granted with a lavish and trem-bling hand to the Barbarians. The dexterity,as well as the firmness, of Julian was put to asevere trial, when he took the field with a dis-contented army, which had already servedtwo campaigns, without receiving any reg-ular pay or any extraordinary donative.611

A tender regard for the peace and happi-ness of his subjects was the ruling prin-

ciple which directed, or seemed to direct,the administration of Julian.612 He devotedthe leisure of his winter quarters to the of-fices of civil government; and affected to as-sume, with more pleasure, the character ofa magistrate than that of a general. Beforehe took the field, he devolved on the provin-cial governors most of the public and pri-vate causes which had been referred to histribunal; but, on his return, he carefully re-vised their proceedings, mitigated the rigorof the law, and pronounced a second judg-ment on the judges themselves. Superior tothe last temptation of virtuous minds, an in-discreet and intemperate zeal for justice, herestrained, with calmness and dignity, thewarmth of an advocate, who prosecuted, forextortion, the president of the Narbonnese

ready have attained an improved state of agriculture611The troops once broke out into a mutiny, immediately before the

second passage of the Rhine Ammian xvii 9612Ammian xvi 5, xviii 1 Mamertinus in Panegyr Vet xi 4

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province. “Who will ever be found guilty,”exclaimed the vehement Delphidius, “if it beenough to deny?” “And who,” replied Ju-lian, “will ever be innocent, if it be sufficientto affirm?” In the general administration ofpeace and war, the interest of the sovereignis commonly the same as that of his people;but Constantius would have thought him-self deeply injured, if the virtues of Julianhad defrauded him of any part of the trib-ute which he extorted from an oppressedand exhausted country. The prince who wasinvested with the ensigns of royalty, mightsometimes presume to correct the rapaciousinsolence of his inferior agents, to exposetheir corrupt arts, and to introduce an equaland easier mode of collection. But the man-agement of the finances was more safely in-trusted to Florentius, praetorian praefect ofGaul, an effeminate tyrant, incapable of pityor remorse: and the haughty minister com-plained of the most decent and gentle op-position, while Julian himself was rather in-clined to censure the weakness of his ownbehavior. The Caesar had rejected, with ab-horrence, a mandate for the levy of an ex-traordinary tax; a new superindiction, whichthe praefect had offered for his signature;and the faithful picture of the public mis-ery, by which he had been obliged to jus-tify his refusal, offended the court of Con-stantius. We may enjoy the pleasure of read-ing the sentiments of Julian, as he expressesthem with warmth and freedom in a letter toone of his most intimate friends. After stat-ing his own conduct, he proceeds in the fol-lowing terms: “Was it possible for the dis-

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ciple of Plato and Aristotle to act otherwisethan I have done? Could I abandon the un-happy subjects intrusted to my care? WasI not called upon to defend them from therepeated injuries of these unfeeling robbers?A tribune who deserts his post is punishedwith death, and deprived of the honors ofburial. With what justice could I pronouncehis sentence, if, in the hour of danger, I my-self neglected a duty far more sacred and farmore important? God has placed me in thiselevated post; his providence will guard andsupport me. Should I be condemned to suf-fer, I shall derive comfort from the testimonyof a pure and upright conscience. Would toHeaven that I still possessed a counsellor likeSallust! If they think proper to send me asuccessor, I shall submit without reluctance;and had much rather improve the short op-portunity of doing good, than enjoy a longand lasting impunity of evil.”613 The precar-ious and dependent situation of Julian dis-played his virtues and concealed his defects.The young hero who supported, in Gaul, thethrone of Constantius, was not permitted toreform the vices of the government; but hehad courage to alleviate or to pity the dis-tress of the people. Unless he had been ableto revive the martial spirit of the Romans, orto introduce the arts of industry and refine-ment among their savage enemies, he couldnot entertain any rational hopes of securingthe public tranquillity, either by the peace or

613Ammian xvii 3 Julian Epistol xv edit Spanheim Such a conductalmost justifies the encomium of Mamertinus Ita illi anni spatia divisasunt, ut aut Barbaros domitet, aut civibus jura restituat, perpetuumprofessus, aut contra hostem, aut contra vitia, certamen

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conquest of Germany. Yet the victories of Ju-lian suspended, for a short time, the inroadsof the Barbarians, and delayed the ruin of theWestern Empire.

His salutary influence restored the cities ofGaul, which had been so long exposed

to the evils of civil discord, Barbarian war,and domestic tyranny; and the spirit of in-dustry was revived with the hopes of en-joyment. Agriculture, manufactures, andcommerce, again flourished under the pro-tection of the laws; and the curioe, or civilcorporations, were again filled with usefuland respectable members: the youth were nolonger apprehensive of marriage; and mar-ried persons were no longer apprehensiveof posterity: the public and private festivalswere celebrated with customary pomp; andthe frequent and secure intercourse of theprovinces displayed the image of nationalprosperity.614 A mind like that of Julian musthave felt the general happiness of which hewas the author; but he viewed, with partic-ular satisfaction and complacency, the cityof Paris; the seat of his winter residence,and the object even of his partial affection.615That splendid capital, which now embracesan ample territory on either side of the Seine,was originally confined to the small island

614Libanius, Orat Parental in Imp Julian c 38, in Fabricius BibliothecGraec tom vii p 263, 264

615See Julian in Misopogon, p 340, 341 The primitive state of Paris isillustrated by Henry Valesius, (ad Ammian xx 4,) his brother HadrianValesius, or de Valois, and M D’Anville, (in their respective Notitias ofancient Gaul,) the Abbe de Longuerue, (Description de la France, tom ip 12, 13,) and M Bonamy, (in the Mem de l’Aca demie des Inscriptions,tom xv p 656-691)

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in the midst of the river, from whence theinhabitants derived a supply of pure andsalubrious water. The river bathed the footof the walls; and the town was accessibleonly by two wooden bridges. A forest over-spread the northern side of the Seine, but onthe south, the ground, which now bears thename of the University, was insensibly cov-ered with houses, and adorned with a palaceand amphitheatre, baths, an aqueduct, anda field of Mars for the exercise of the Ro-man troops. The severity of the climate wastempered by the neighborhood of the ocean;and with some precautions, which experi-ence had taught, the vine and fig-tree weresuccessfully cultivated. But in remarkablewinters, the Seine was deeply frozen; andthe huge pieces of ice that floated down thestream, might be compared, by an Asiatic, tothe blocks of white marble which were ex-tracted from the quarries of Phrygia. The li-centiousness and corruption of Antioch re-called to the memory of Julian the severe andsimple manners of his beloved Lutetia;616where the amusements of the theatre wereunknown or despised. He indignantly con-trasted the effeminate Syrians with the braveand honest simplicity of the Gauls, and al-most forgave the intemperance, which wasthe only stain of the Celtic character.617 If Ju-lian could now revisit the capital of France,he might converse with men of science andgenius, capable of understanding and of in-

616Julian, in Misopogon, p 340 Leuce tia, or Lutetia, was the ancientname of the city, which, according to the fashion of the fourth century,assumed the territorial appellation of Parisii

617Julian in Misopogon, p 359, 360

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structing a disciple of the Greeks; he mightexcuse the lively and graceful follies of a na-tion, whose martial spirit has never been en-ervated by the indulgence of luxury; andhe must applaud the perfection of that in-estimable art, which softens and refines andembellishes the intercourse of social life...Chapter XX=Conversion Of Constantine...Part I_VThe Motives, Progress,

And Effects Of The Conversion OfConstantine.–

Legal Establishment And ConstitutionOf The Christian Or Catholic Church

THE public establishment of Christianity may be consid-ered as one of those important and domestic revolu-

tions which excite the most lively curiosity, and afford themost valuable instruction. The victories and the civil policyof Constantine no longer influence the state of Europe; buta considerable portion of the globe still retains the impres-sion which it received from the conversion of that monarch;and the ecclesiastical institutions of his reign are still con-nected, by an indissoluble chain, with the opinions, the pas-sions, and the interests of the present generation. In theconsideration of a subject which may be examined with im-partiality, but cannot be viewed with indifference, a diffi-culty immediately arises of a very unexpected nature; thatof ascertaining the real and precise date of the conversionof Constantine. The eloquent Lactantius, in the midst of hiscourt, seems impatient618 to proclaim to the world the glori-

618The date of the Divine Institutions of Lactantius has been accu-rately discussed, difficulties have been started, solutions proposed,

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ous example of the sovereign of Gaul; who, in the first mo-ments of his reign, acknowledged and adored the majestyof the true and only God.619 The learned Eusebius has as-cribed the faith of Constantine to the miraculous sign whichwas displayed in the heavens whilst he meditated and pre-pared the Italian expedition.620 The historian Zosimus ma-liciously asserts, that the emperor had imbrued his hands inthe blood of his eldest son, before he publicly renounced thegods of Rome and of his ancestors.621 The perplexity pro-duced by these discordant authorities is derived from thebehavior of Constantine himself. According to the strict-ness of ecclesiastical language, the first of the Christian em-perors was unworthy of that name, till the moment of hisdeath; since it was only during his last illness that he re-ceived, as a catechumen, the imposition of hands,622 andwas afterwards admitted, by the initiatory rites of baptism,

and an expedient imagined of two original editions; the former pub-lished during the persecution of Diocletian, the latter under that ofLicinius See Dufresnoy, Prefat p v Tillemont, Mem Ecclesiast tom vip 465-470 Lardner’s Credibility, part ii vol vii p 78-86 For my ownpart, I am almost convinced that Lactantius dedicated his Institutionsto the sovereign of Gaul, at a time when Galerius, Maximin, and evenLicinius, persecuted the Christians; that is, between the years 306 and311

619Lactant Divin Instit i l vii 27 The first and most important ofthese passages is indeed wanting in twenty-eight manuscripts; butit is found in nineteen If we weigh the comparative value of thesemanuscripts, one of 900 years old, in the king of France’s librarymay be alleged in its favor; but the passage is omitted in the correctmanuscript of Bologna, which the P de Montfaucon ascribes to thesixth or seventh century (Diarium Italic p 489) The taste of most of theeditors (except Isaeus; see Lactant edit Dufresnoy, tom i p 596) has feltthe genuine style of Lactantius

620Euseb in Vit Constant l i c 27-32621Zosimus, l ii p 104622That rite was always used in making a catechumen, (see Bing-

ham’s Antiquities l x c i p 419 Dom Chardon, Hist des Sacramens,tom i p 62,) and Constantine received it for the first time (Euseb in VitConstant l iv c 61) immediately before his baptism and death Fromthe connection of these two facts, Valesius (ad loc Euseb) has drawn

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into the number of the faithful.623 The Christianity of Con-stantine must be allowed in a much more vague and qual-ified sense; and the nicest accuracy is required in tracingthe slow and almost imperceptible gradations by which themonarch declared himself the protector, and at length theproselyte, of the church. It was an arduous task to eradicatethe habits and prejudices of his education, to acknowledgethe divine power of Christ, and to understand that the truthof his revelation was incompatible with the worship of thegods. The obstacles which he had probably experienced inhis own mind, instructed him to proceed with caution inthe momentous change of a national religion; and he insen-sibly discovered his new opinions, as far as he could enforcethem with safety and with effect. During the whole courseof his reign, the stream of Christianity flowed with a gentle,though accelerated, motion: but its general direction wassometimes checked, and sometimes diverted, by the acci-dental circumstances of the times, and by the prudence, orpossibly by the caprice, of the monarch. His ministers werepermitted to signify the intentions of their master in the var-ious language which was best adapted to their respectiveprinciples;624 and he artfully balanced the hopes and fears

the conclusion which is reluctantly admitted by Tillemont, (Hist desEmpereurs, tom iv p 628,) and opposed with feeble arguments byMosheim, (p 968)

623Euseb in Vit Constant l iv c 61, 62, 63 The legend of Constantine’sbaptism at Rome, thirteen years before his death, was invented in theeighth century, as a proper motive for his donation Such has been thegradual progress of knowledge, that a story, of which Cardinal Baro-nius (Annual Ecclesiast A D 324, No 43-49) declared himself the un-blushing advocate, is now feebly supported, even within the vergeof the Vatican See the Antiquitates Christianae, tom ii p 232; a workpublished with six approbations at Rome, in the year 1751 by FatherMamachi, a learned Dominican

624The quaestor, or secretary, who composed the law of the Theo-dosian Code, makes his master say with indifference, “hominibussupradictae religionis,” (l xvi tit ii leg 1) The minister of ecclesiasti-cal affairs was allowed a more devout and respectful style, the legal,most holy, and Catholic worship

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of his subjects, by publishing in the same year two edicts;the first of which enjoined the solemn observance of Sun-day,625 and the second directed the regular consultation ofthe Aruspices.626 While this important revolution yet re-mained in suspense, the Christians and the Pagans watchedthe conduct of their sovereign with the same anxiety, butwith very opposite sentiments. The former were promptedby every motive of zeal, as well as vanity, to exaggerate themarks of his favor, and the evidences of his faith. The latter,till their just apprehensions were changed into despair andresentment, attempted to conceal from the world, and fromthemselves, that the gods of Rome could no longer reckonthe emperor in the number of their votaries. The same pas-sions and prejudices have engaged the partial writers of thetimes to connect the public profession of Christianity withthe most glorious or the most ignominious aera of the reignof Constantine.

Whatever symptoms of Christian piety might transpire inthe discourses or actions of Constantine, he persevered tillhe was near forty years of age in the practice of the estab-lished religion;627 and the same conduct which in the courtof Nicomedia might be imputed to his fear, could be as-cribed only to the inclination or policy of the sovereign ofGaul. His liberality restored and enriched the temples ofthe gods; the medals which issued from his Imperial mintare impressed with the figures and attributes of Jupiter andApollo, of Mars and Hercules; and his filial piety increased

625Cod Theodos l ii viii tit leg 1 Cod Justinian l iii tit xii leg 3 Con-stantine styles the Lord’s day dies solis, a name which could not offendthe ears of his pagan subjects

626Cod Theodos l xvi tit x leg l Godefroy, in the character of a com-mentator, endeavors (tom vi p 257) to excuse Constantine; but themore zealous Baronius (Annal Eccles A D 321, No 17) censures hisprofane conduct with truth and asperity

627Theodoret (l i c 18) seems to insinuate that Helena gave her son aChristian education; but we may be assured, from the superior author-ity of Eusebius, (in Vit Constant l iii c 47,) that she herself was indebtedto Constantine for the knowledge of Christianity

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the council of Olympus by the solemn apotheosis of his fa-ther Constantius.628 But the devotion of Constantine wasmore peculiarly directed to the genius of the Sun, the Apolloof Greek and Roman mythology; and he was pleased to berepresented with the symbols of the God of Light and Po-etry. The unerring shafts of that deity, the brightness of hiseyes, his laurel wreath, immortal beauty, and elegant ac-complishments, seem to point him out as the patron of ayoung hero. The altars of Apollo were crowned with the vo-tive offerings of Constantine; and the credulous multitudewere taught to believe, that the emperor was permitted tobehold with mortal eyes the visible majesty of their tutelardeity; and that, either walking or in a vision, he was blessedwith the auspicious omens of a long and victorious reign.The Sun was universally celebrated as the invincible guideand protector of Constantine; and the Pagans might reason-ably expect that the insulted god would pursue with unre-lenting vengeance the impiety of his ungrateful favorite.629

As long as Constantine exercised a limited sovereigntyover the provinces of Gaul, his Christian subjects were pro-tected by the authority, and perhaps by the laws, of a prince,who wisely left to the gods the care of vindicating their ownhonor. If we may credit the assertion of Constantine him-self, he had been an indignant spectator of the savage cru-elties which were inflicted, by the hands of Roman soldiers,on those citizens whose religion was their only crime.630 Inthe East and in the West, he had seen the different effects

628See the medals of Constantine in Ducange and Banduri As fewcities had retained the privilege of coining, almost all the medals ofthat age issued from the mint under the sanction of the Imperial au-thority

629The panegyric of Eumenius, (vii inter Panegyr Vet,) which waspronounced a few months before the Italian war, abounds with themost unexceptionable evidence of the Pagan superstition of Constan-tine, and of his particular veneration for Apollo, or the Sun; to whichJulian alludes

630Constantin Orat ad Sanctos, c 25 But it might easily be shown, thatthe Greek translator has improved the sense of the Latin original; and

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of severity and indulgence; and as the former was renderedstill more odious by the example of Galerius, his implaca-ble enemy, the latter was recommended to his imitation bythe authority and advice of a dying father. The son of Con-stantius immediately suspended or repealed the edicts ofpersecution, and granted the free exercise of their religiousceremonies to all those who had already professed them-selves members of the church. They were soon encouragedto depend on the favor as well as on the justice of theirsovereign, who had imbibed a secret and sincere reverencefor the name of Christ, and for the God of the Christians.631

About five months after the conquest of Italy, the emperormade a solemn and authentic declaration of his sentimentsby the celebrated edict of Milan, which restored peace tothe Catholic church. In the personal interview of the twowestern princes, Constantine, by the ascendant of geniusand power, obtained the ready concurrence of his colleague,Licinius; the union of their names and authority disarmedthe fury of Maximin; and after the death of the tyrant ofthe East, the edict of Milan was received as a general andfundamental law of the Roman world.632

The wisdom of the emperors provided for the restitutionof all the civil and religious rights of which the Christianshad been so unjustly deprived. It was enacted that theplaces of worship, and public lands, which had been con-fiscated, should be restored to the church, without dispute,without delay, and without expense; and this severe injunc-tion was accompanied with a gracious promise, that if anyof the purchasers had paid a fair and adequate price, they

the aged emperor might recollect the persecution of Diocletian witha more lively abhorrence than he had actually felt to the days of hisyouth and Paganism

631See Euseb Hist Eccles l viii 13, l ix 9, and in Vit Const l i c 16, 17Lactant Divin Institut i l Caecilius de Mort Persecut c 25

632Caecilius (de Mort Persecut c 48) has preserved the Latin original;and Eusebius (Hist Eccles l x c 5) has given a Greek translation of thisperpetual edict, which refers to some provisional regulations

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should be indemnified from the Imperial treasury. The salu-tary regulations which guard the future tranquillity of thefaithful are framed on the principles of enlarged and equaltoleration; and such an equality must have been interpretedby a recent sect as an advantageous and honorable distinc-tion. The two emperors proclaim to the world, that theyhave granted a free and absolute power to the Christians,and to all others, of following the religion which each in-dividual thinks proper to prefer, to which he has addictedhis mind, and which he may deem the best adapted to hisown use. They carefully explain every ambiguous word, re-move every exception, and exact from the governors of theprovinces a strict obedience to the true and simple mean-ing of an edict, which was designed to establish and se-cure, without any limitation, the claims of religious liberty.They condescend to assign two weighty reasons which haveinduced them to allow this universal toleration: the hu-mane intention of consulting the peace and happiness oftheir people; and the pious hope, that, by such a conduct,they shall appease and propitiate the Deity, whose seat isin heaven. They gratefully acknowledge the many signalproofs which they have received of the divine favor; andthey trust that the same Providence will forever continueto protect the prosperity of the prince and people. Fromthese vague and indefinite expressions of piety, three sup-positions may be deduced, of a different, but not of an in-compatible nature. The mind of Constantine might fluctu-ate between the Pagan and the Christian religions. Accord-ing to the loose and complying notions of Polytheism, hemight acknowledge the God of the Christians as one of themany deities who compose the hierarchy of heaven. Or per-haps he might embrace the philosophic and pleasing idea,that, notwithstanding the variety of names, of rites, and ofopinions, all the sects, and all the nations of mankind, areunited in the worship of the common Father and Creator ofthe universe.633

633A panegyric of Constantine, pronounced seven or eight months

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But the counsels of princes are more frequently influ-enced by views of temporal advantage, than by consider-ations of abstract and speculative truth. The partial andincreasing favor of Constantine may naturally be referredto the esteem which he entertained for the moral charac-ter of the Christians; and to a persuasion, that the propa-gation of the gospel would inculcate the practice of privateand public virtue. Whatever latitude an absolute monarchmay assume in his own conduct, whatever indulgence hemay claim for his own passions, it is undoubtedly his in-terest that all his subjects should respect the natural andcivil obligations of society. But the operation of the wis-est laws is imperfect and precarious. They seldom inspirevirtue, they cannot always restrain vice. Their power is in-sufficient to prohibit all that they condemn, nor can theyalways punish the actions which they prohibit. The legis-lators of antiquity had summoned to their aid the powersof education and of opinion. But every principle which hadonce maintained the vigor and purity of Rome and Sparta,was long since extinguished in a declining and despotic em-pire. Philosophy still exercised her temperate sway overthe human mind, but the cause of virtue derived very fee-ble support from the influence of the Pagan superstition.Under these discouraging circumstances, a prudent magis-trate might observe with pleasure the progress of a religionwhich diffused among the people a pure, benevolent, anduniversal system of ethics, adapted to every duty and everycondition of life; recommended as the will and reason of thesupreme Deity, and enforced by the sanction of eternal re-wards or punishments. The experience of Greek and Romanhistory could not inform the world how far the system ofnational manners might be reformed and improved by the

after the edict of Milan, (see Gothofred Chronolog Legum, p 7, andTillemont, Hist des Empereurs, tom iv p 246,) uses the following re-markable expression: “Summe rerum sator, cujus tot nomina sant,quot linguas gentium esse voluisti, quem enim te ipse dici velin,scire non possumus” (Panegyr Vet ix 26) In explaining Constantine’sprogress in the faith, Mosheim (p 971, &c) is ingenious, subtle, prolix

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precepts of a divine revelation; and Constantine might lis-ten with some confidence to the flattering, and indeed rea-sonable, assurances of Lactantius. The eloquent apologistseemed firmly to expect, and almost ventured to promise,that the establishment of Christianity would restore the in-nocence and felicity of the primitive age; that the worship ofthe true God would extinguish war and dissension amongthose who mutually considered themselves as the childrenof a common parent; that every impure desire, every an-gry or selfish passion, would be restrained by the knowl-edge of the gospel; and that the magistrates might sheaththe sword of justice among a people who would be univer-sally actuated by the sentiments of truth and piety, of equityand moderation, of harmony and universal love.634

The passive and unresisting obedience, which bows un-der the yoke of authority, or even of oppression, must haveappeared, in the eyes of an absolute monarch, the most con-spicuous and useful of the evangelic virtues.635 The prim-itive Christians derived the institution of civil government,not from the consent of the people, but from the decreesof Heaven. The reigning emperor, though he had usurpedthe sceptre by treason and murder, immediately assumedthe sacred character of vicegerent of the Deity. To the Deityalone he was accountable for the abuse of his power; and hissubjects were indissolubly bound, by their oath of fidelity,to a tyrant, who had violated every law of nature and so-ciety. The humble Christians were sent into the world assheep among wolves; and since they were not permittedto employ force even in the defence of their religion, theyshould be still more criminal if they were tempted to shed

634See the elegant description of Lactantius, (Divin Institut v 8,)who is much more perspicuous and positive than becomes a discreetprophet

635The political system of the Christians is explained by Grotius, deJure Belli et Pacis, l i c 3, 4 Grotius was a republican and an exile,but the mildness of his temper inclined him to support the establishedpowers

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the blood of their fellow-creatures in disputing the vainprivileges, or the sordid possessions, of this transitory life.Faithful to the doctrine of the apostle, who in the reign ofNero had preached the duty of unconditional submission,the Christians of the three first centuries preserved theirconscience pure and innocent of the guilt of secret conspir-acy, or open rebellion. While they experienced the rigor ofpersecution, they were never provoked either to meet theirtyrants in the field, or indignantly to withdraw themselvesinto some remote and sequestered corner of the globe.636The Protestants of France, of Germany, and of Britain, whoasserted with such intrepid courage their civil and religiousfreedom, have been insulted by the invidious comparisonbetween the conduct of the primitive and of the reformedChristians.637 Perhaps, instead of censure, some applausemay be due to the superior sense and spirit of our ancestors,who had convinced themselves that religion cannot abolishthe unalienable rights of human nature.638 Perhaps the pa-tience of the primitive church may be ascribed to its weak-ness, as well as to its virtue.

A sect of unwarlike plebeians, without leaders, with-out arms, without fortifications, must have encountered in-evitable destruction in a rash and fruitless resistance to themaster of the Roman legions. But the Christians, when theydeprecated the wrath of Diocletian, or solicited the favor of

636Tertullian Apolog c 32, 34, 35, 36 Tamen nunquam Albiniani, necNigriani vel Cassiani inveniri potuerunt Christiani Ad Scapulam, c 2If this assertion be strictly true, it excludes the Christians of that agefrom all civil and military employments, which would have compelledthem to take an active part in the service of their respective governorsSee Moyle’s Works, vol ii p 349

637See the artful Bossuet, (Hist des Variations des Eglises Protes-tantes, tom iii p 210-258) and the malicious Bayle, (tom ii p 820) I nameBayle, for he was certainly the author of the Avis aux Refugies; consultthe Dictionnaire Critique de Chauffepie, tom i part ii p 145

638Buchanan is the earliest, or at least the most celebrated, of thereformers, who has justified the theory of resistance See his Dialoguede Jure Regni apud Scotos, tom ii p 28, 30, edit fol Rudiman

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Constantine, could allege, with truth and confidence, thatthey held the principle of passive obedience, and that, inthe space of three centuries, their conduct had always beenconformable to their principles. They might add, that thethrone of the emperors would be established on a fixed andpermanent basis, if all their subjects, embracing the Chris-tian doctrine, should learn to suffer and to obey.

In the general order of Providence, princes and tyrantsare considered as the ministers of Heaven, appointed torule or to chastise the nations of the earth. But sacred his-tory affords many illustrious examples of the more immedi-ate interposition of the Deity in the government of his cho-sen people. The sceptre and the sword were committed tothe hands of Moses, of Joshua, of Gideon, of David, of theMaccabees; the virtues of those heroes were the motive orthe effect of the divine favor, the success of their arms wasdestined to achieve the deliverance or the triumph of thechurch. If the judges of Israel were occasional and tempo-rary magistrates, the kings of Judah derived from the royalunction of their great ancestor an hereditary and indefeasi-ble right, which could not be forfeited by their own vices,nor recalled by the caprice of their subjects. The same ex-traordinary providence, which was no longer confined tothe Jewish people, might elect Constantine and his familyas the protectors of the Christian world; and the devoutLactantius announces, in a prophetic tone, the future glo-ries of his long and universal reign.639 Galerius and Max-imin, Maxentius and Licinius, were the rivals who sharedwith the favorite of heaven the provinces of the empire.The tragic deaths of Galerius and Maximin soon gratifiedthe resentment, and fulfilled the sanguine expectations, ofthe Christians. The success of Constantine against Maxen-tius and Licinius removed the two formidable competitorswho still opposed the triumph of the second David, and

639Lactant Divin Institut i l Eusebius in the course of his history, hislife, and his oration, repeatedly inculcates the divine right of Constan-tine to the empire

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his cause might seem to claim the peculiar interposition ofProvidence. The character of the Roman tyrant disgracedthe purple and human nature; and though the Christiansmight enjoy his precarious favor, they were exposed, withthe rest of his subjects, to the effects of his wanton and capri-cious cruelty. The conduct of Licinius soon betrayed the re-luctance with which he had consented to the wise and hu-mane regulations of the edict of Milan. The convocationof provincial synods was prohibited in his dominions; hisChristian officers were ignominiously dismissed; and if heavoided the guilt, or rather danger, of a general persecu-tion, his partial oppressions were rendered still more odiousby the violation of a solemn and voluntary engagement.640While the East, according to the lively expression of Euse-bius, was involved in the shades of infernal darkness, theauspicious rays of celestial light warmed and illuminatedthe provinces of the West. The piety of Constantine wasadmitted as an unexceptionable proof of the justice of hisarms; and his use of victory confirmed the opinion of theChristians, that their hero was inspired, and conducted, bythe Lord of Hosts. The conquest of Italy produced a gen-eral edict of toleration; and as soon as the defeat of Liciniushad invested Constantine with the sole dominion of the Ro-man world, he immediately, by circular letters, exhorted allhis subjects to imitate, without delay, the example of theirsovereign, and to embrace the divine truth of Christian-ity.641

640Our imperfect knowledge of the persecution of Licinius is derivedfrom Eusebius, (Hist l x c 8 Vit Constantin l i c 49-56, l ii c 1, 2) AureliusVictor mentions his cruelty in general terms

641Euseb in Vit Constant l ii c 24-42 48-60

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THE assurance that the elevation of Constantine was in-timately connected with the designs of Providence, in-

stilled into the minds of the Christians two opinions, which,by very different means, assisted the accomplishment of theprophecy. Their warm and active loyalty exhausted in hisfavor every resource of human industry; and they confi-dently expected that their strenuous efforts would be sec-onded by some divine and miraculous aid. The enemies ofConstantine have imputed to interested motives the alliancewhich he insensibly contracted with the Catholic church,and which apparently contributed to the success of his am-bition. In the beginning of the fourth century, the Christiansstill bore a very inadequate proportion to the inhabitants ofthe empire; but among a degenerate people, who viewedthe change of masters with the indifference of slaves, thespirit and union of a religious party might assist the popularleader, to whose service, from a principle of conscience, theyhad devoted their lives and fortunes.642 The example of hisfather had instructed Constantine to esteem and to rewardthe merit of the Christians; and in the distribution of pub-lic offices, he had the advantage of strengthening his gov-ernment, by the choice of ministers or generals, in whosefidelity he could repose a just and unreserved confidence.By the influence of these dignified missionaries, the pros-elytes of the new faith must have multiplied in the courtand army; the Barbarians of Germany, who filled the ranksof the legions, were of a careless temper, which acquiescedwithout resistance in the religion of their commander; and

642In the beginning of the last century, the Papists of England wereonly a thirtieth, and the Protestants of France only a fifteenth, part ofthe respective nations, to whom their spirit and power were a constantobject of apprehension See the relations which Bentivoglio (who wasthen nuncio at Brussels, and afterwards cardinal) transmitted to thecourt of Rome, (Relazione, tom ii p 211, 241) Bentivoglio was curious,well informed, but somewhat partial

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when they passed the Alps, it may fairly be presumed, thata great number of the soldiers had already consecrated theirswords to the service of Christ and of Constantine.643 Thehabits of mankind and the interests of religion graduallyabated the horror of war and bloodshed, which had so longprevailed among the Christians; and in the councils whichwere assembled under the gracious protection of Constan-tine, the authority of the bishops was seasonably employedto ratify the obligation of the military oath, and to inflict thepenalty of excommunication on those soldiers who threwaway their arms during the peace of the church.644 WhileConstantine, in his own dominions, increased the numberand zeal of his faithful adherents, he could depend on thesupport of a powerful faction in those provinces which werestill possessed or usurped by his rivals. A secret disaffectionwas diffused among the Christian subjects of Maxentiusand Licinius; and the resentment, which the latter did notattempt to conceal, served only to engage them still moredeeply in the interest of his competitor. The regular cor-respondence which connected the bishops of the most dis-tant provinces, enabled them freely to communicate theirwishes and their designs, and to transmit without dangerany useful intelligence, or any pious contributions, whichmight promote the service of Constantine, who publicly de-clared that he had taken up arms for the deliverance of thechurch.645

643This careless temper of the Germans appears almost uniformlyon the history of the conversion of each of the tribes The legions ofConstantine were recruited with Germans, (Zosimus, l ii p 86;) andthe court even of his father had been filled with Christians See the firstbook of the Life of Constantine, by Eusebius

644De his qui arma projiciunt in pace, placuit eos abstinere a com-munione Council Arelat Canon iii The best critics apply these wordsto the peace of the church

645Eusebius always considers the second civil war against Liciniusas a sort of religious crusade At the invitation of the tyrant, someChristian officers had resumed their zones; or, in other words, had re-turned to the military service Their conduct was afterwards censured

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The enthusiasm which inspired the troops, and perhapsthe emperor himself, had sharpened their swords whileit satisfied their conscience. They marched to battle withthe full assurance, that the same God, who had formerlyopened a passage to the Israelites through the waters of Jor-dan, and had thrown down the walls of Jericho at the soundof the trumpets of Joshua, would display his visible majestyand power in the victory of Constantine. The evidence ofecclesiastical history is prepared to affirm, that their expec-tations were justified by the conspicuous miracle to whichthe conversion of the first Christian emperor has been al-most unanimously ascribed. The real or imaginary cause ofso important an event, deserves and demands the attentionof posterity; and I shall endeavor to form a just estimateof the famous vision of Constantine, by a distinct consid-eration of the standard, the dream, and the celestial sign;by separating the historical, the natural, and the marvellousparts of this extraordinary story, which, in the compositionof a specious argument, have been artfully confounded inone splendid and brittle mass.

I. An instrument of the tortures which were inflicted onlyon slaves and strangers, became on object of horror in theeyes of a Roman citizen; and the ideas of guilt, of pain,and of ignominy, were closely united with the idea of thecross.646 The piety, rather than the humanity, of Constan-tine soon abolished in his dominions the punishment which

by the twelfth canon of the Council of Nice; if this particular appli-cation may be received, instead of the lo se and general sense of theGreek interpreters, Balsamor Zonaras, and Alexis Aristenus See Bev-eridge, Pandect Eccles Graec tom i p 72, tom ii p 73 Annotation

646Nomen ipsum crucis absit non modo a corpore civium Romanorum, sed etiam a cogitatione, oculis, auribus Cicero pro Raberio, c 5The Christian writers, Justin, Minucius Felix, Tertullian, Jerom, andMaximus of Turin, have investigated with tolerable success the figureor likeness of a cross in almost every object of nature or art; in theintersection of the meridian and equator, the human face, a bird flying,a man swimming, a mast and yard, a plough, a standard, &c, &c, &cSee Lipsius de Cruce, l i c 9

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the Savior of mankind had condescended to suffer;647 butthe emperor had already learned to despise the prejudicesof his education, and of his people, before he could erectin the midst of Rome his own statue, bearing a cross in itsright hand; with an inscription which referred the victoryof his arms, and the deliverance of Rome, to the virtue ofthat salutary sign, the true symbol of force and courage.648The same symbol sanctified the arms of the soldiers of Con-stantine; the cross glittered on their helmet, was engravedon their shields, was interwoven into their banners; andthe consecrated emblems which adorned the person of theemperor himself, were distinguished only by richer mate-rials and more exquisite workmanship.649 But the prin-cipal standard which displayed the triumph of the crosswas styled the Labarum,650 an obscure, though celebratedname, which has been vainly derived from almost all the

647See Aurelius Victor, who considers this law as one of the examplesof Constantine’s piety An edict so honorable to Christianity deserveda place in the Theodosian Code, instead of the indirect mention of it,which seems to result from the comparison of the fifth and eighteenthtitles of the ninth book

648Eusebius, in Vit Constantin l i c 40 This statue, or at least the crossand inscription, may be ascribed with more probability to the second,or even third, visit of Constantine to Rome Immediately after the de-feat of Maxentius, the minds of the senate and people were scarcelyripe for this public monument

649Agnoscas, regina, libens mea signa necesse est; In quibus effigiescrucis aut gemmata refulget Aut longis solido ex auro praefertur inhastis Hoc signo invictus, transmissis Alpibus Ultor Servitium solvitmiserabile Constantinus Christus purpureum gemmanti textus in auroSignabat Labarum, clypeorum insignia Christus Scripserat; ardebatsummis crux addita cristis Prudent in Symmachum, l ii 464, 486

650The derivation and meaning of the word Labarum or Laborum,which is employed by Gregory Nazianzen, Ambrose, Prudentius, &c,still remain totally unknown, in spite of the efforts of the critics, whohave ineffectually tortured the Latin, Greek, Spanish, Celtic, Teutonic,Illyric, Armenian, &c, in search of an etymology See Ducange, in GlossMed et infim Latinitat sub voce Labarum, and Godefroy, ad Cod Theo-dos tom ii p 143

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languages of the world. It is described651 as a long pike in-tersected by a transversal beam. The silken veil, which hungdown from the beam, was curiously inwrought with the im-ages of the reigning monarch and his children. The summitof the pike supported a crown of gold which enclosed themysterious monogram, at once expressive of the figure ofthe cross, and the initial letters, of the name of Christ.652The safety of the labarum was intrusted to fifty guards,of approved valor and fidelity; their station was markedby honors and emoluments; and some fortunate accidentssoon introduced an opinion, that as long as the guards ofthe labarum were engaged in the execution of their office,they were secure and invulnerable amidst the darts of theenemy. In the second civil war, Licinius felt and dreaded thepower of this consecrated banner, the sight of which, in thedistress of battle, animated the soldiers of Constantine withan invincible enthusiasm, and scattered terror and dismaythrough the ranks of the adverse legions.653 The Christianemperors, who respected the example of Constantine, dis-played in all their military expeditions the standard of thecross; but when the degenerate successors of Theodosiushad ceased to appear in person at the head of their armies,the labarum was deposited as a venerable but useless relicin the palace of Constantinople.654 Its honors are still pre-

651Euseb in Vit Constantin l i c 30, 31 Baronius (Annal Eccles A D312, No 26) has engraved a representation of the Labarum

652Transversa X litera, summo capite circumflexo, Christum in scutisnotat Caecilius de M P c 44, Cuper, (ad M P in edit Lactant tom iip 500,) and Baronius (A D 312, No 25) have engraved from ancientmonuments several specimens (as thus of these monograms) whichbecame extremely fashionable in the Christian world

653Euseb in Vit Constantin l ii c 7, 8, 9 He introduces the Labarumbefore the Italian expedition; but his narrative seems to indicate thatit was never shown at the head of an army till Constantine above tenyears afterwards, declared himself the enemy of Licinius, and the de-liverer of the church

654See Cod Theod l vi tit xxv Sozomen, l i c 2 Theophan Chrono-graph p 11 Theophanes lived towards the end of the eighth century,

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served on the medals of the Flavian family. Their gratefuldevotion has placed the monogram of Christ in the midstof the ensigns of Rome. The solemn epithets of, safety ofthe republic, glory of the army, restoration of public happi-ness, are equally applied to the religious and military tro-phies; and there is still extant a medal of the emperor Con-stantius, where the standard of the labarum is accompaniedwith these memorable words, By This Sign Thou Shalt Con-quer.655

II. In all occasions of danger and distress, it was the prac-tice of the primitive Christians to fortify their minds andbodies by the sign of the cross, which they used, in all theirecclesiastical rites, in all the daily occurrences of life, as aninfallible preservative against every species of spiritual ortemporal evil.656 The authority of the church might alonehave had sufficient weight to justify the devotion of Con-stantine, who in the same prudent and gradual progress ac-knowledged the truth, and assumed the symbol, of Chris-tianity. But the testimony of a contemporary writer, whoin a formal treatise has avenged the cause of religion, be-stows on the piety of the emperor a more awful and sublimecharacter. He affirms, with the most perfect confidence, thatin the night which preceded the last battle against Maxen-tius, Constantine was admonished in a dream657 to inscribe

almost five hundred years after Constantine The modern Greeks werenot inclined to display in the field the standard of the empire and ofChristianity; and though they depended on every superstitious hopeof defence, the promise of victory would have appeared too bold afiction

655The Abbe du Voisin, p 103, &c, alleges several of these medals,and quotes a particular dissertation of a Jesuit the Pere de Grainville,on this subject

656Tertullian de Corona, c 3 Athanasius, tom i p 101 The learned Je-suit Petavius (Dogmata Theolog l xv c 9, 10) has collected many similarpassages on the virtues of the cross, which in the last age embarrassedour Protestant disputants

657Manso has observed, that Gibbon ought not to have separatedthe vision of Constantine from the wonderful apparition in the sky,

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the shields of his soldiers with the celestial sign of God, thesacred monogram of the name of Christ; that he executedthe commands of Heaven, and that his valor and obedi-ence were rewarded by the decisive victory of the MilvianBridge. Some considerations might perhaps incline a scep-tical mind to suspect the judgment or the veracity of therhetorician, whose pen, either from zeal or interest, was de-voted to the cause of the prevailing faction.658 He appearsto have published his deaths of the persecutors at Nicome-dia about three years after the Roman victory; but the inter-val of a thousand miles, and a thousand days, will allow anample latitude for the invention of declaimers, the credulityof party, and the tacit approbation of the emperor himselfwho might listen without indignation to a marvellous tale,which exalted his fame, and promoted his designs. In favorof Licinius, who still dissembled his animosity to the Chris-tians, the same author has provided a similar vision, of aform of prayer, which was communicated by an angel, andrepeated by the whole army before they engaged the legionsof the tyrant Maximin. The frequent repetition of miraclesserves to provoke, where it does not subdue, the reason ofmankind;659 but if the dream of Constantine is separately

as the two wonders are closely connected in Eusebius Manso, LebenConstantine, p 82–M

658Caecilius de M P c 44 It is certain, that this historical declamationwas composed and published while Licinius, sovereign of the East,still preserved the friendship of Constantine and of the Christians Ev-ery reader of taste must perceive that the style is of a very different andinferior character to that of Lactantius; and such indeed is the judg-ment of Le Clerc and Lardner, (Bibliotheque Ancienne et Moderne,tom iii p 438 Credibility of the Gospel, &c, part ii vol vii p 94) Threearguments from the title of the book, and from the names of Donatusand Caecilius, are produced by the advocates for Lactantius (See theP Lestocq, tom ii p 46-60) Each of these proofs is singly weak and de-fective; but their concurrence has great weight I have often fluctuated,and shall tamely follow the Colbert Ms in calling the author (whoeverhe was) Caecilius

659Caecilius de M P c 46 There seems to be some reason in the ob-servation of M de Voltaire, (Euvres, tom xiv p 307) who ascribes to

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considered, it may be naturally explained either by the pol-icy or the enthusiasm of the emperor. Whilst his anxiety forthe approaching day, which must decide the fate of the em-pire, was suspended by a short and interrupted slumber, thevenerable form of Christ, and the well-known symbol of hisreligion, might forcibly offer themselves to the active fancyof a prince who reverenced the name, and had perhaps se-cretly implored the power, of the God of the Christians. Asreadily might a consummate statesman indulge himself inthe use of one of those military stratagems, one of those pi-ous frauds, which Philip and Sertorius had employed withsuch art and effect.660 The praeternatural origin of dreamswas universally admitted by the nations of antiquity, and aconsiderable part of the Gallic army was already preparedto place their confidence in the salutary sign of the Chris-tian religion. The secret vision of Constantine could be dis-proved only by the event; and the intrepid hero who hadpassed the Alps and the Apennine, might view with care-less despair the consequences of a defeat under the walls ofRome. The senate and people, exulting in their own deliver-ance from an odious tyrant, acknowledged that the victoryof Constantine surpassed the powers of man, without dar-ing to insinuate that it had been obtained by the protectionof the gods. The triumphal arch, which was erected aboutthree years after the event, proclaims, in ambiguous lan-

the success of Constantine the superior fame of his Labarum abovethe angel of Licinius Yet even this angel is favorably entertained byPagi, Tillemont, Fleury, &c, who are fond of increasing their stock ofmiracles

660Besides these well-known examples, Tollius (Preface to Boileau’stranslation of Longinus) has discovered a vision of Antigonus, whoassured his troops that he had seen a pentagon (the symbol of safety)with these words, “In this conquer” But Tollius has most inexcusablyomitted to produce his authority, and his own character, literary aswell as moral, is not free from reproach (See Chauffepie, DictionnaireCritique, tom iv p 460) Without insisting on the silence of DiodorusPlutarch, Justin, &c, it may be observed that Polyaenus, who in a sep-arate chapter (l iv c 6) has collected nineteen military stratagems ofAntigonus, is totally ignorant of this remarkable vision

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guage, that by the greatness of his own mind, and by an in-stinct or impulse of the Divinity, he had saved and avengedthe Roman republic.661 The Pagan orator, who had seizedan earlier opportunity of celebrating the virtues of the con-queror, supposes that he alone enjoyed a secret and intimatecommerce with the Supreme Being, who delegated the careof mortals to his subordinate deities; and thus assigns a veryplausible reason why the subjects of Constantine should notpresume to embrace the new religion of their sovereign.662

III. The philosopher, who with calm suspicion examinesthe dreams and omens, the miracles and prodigies, of pro-fane or even of ecclesiastical history, will probably conclude,that if the eyes of the spectators have sometimes been de-ceived by fraud, the understanding of the readers has muchmore frequently been insulted by fiction. Every event, orappearance, or accident, which seems to deviate from theordinary course of nature, has been rashly ascribed to theimmediate action of the Deity; and the astonished fancy ofthe multitude has sometimes given shape and color, lan-guage and motion, to the fleeting but uncommon meteorsof the air.663 Nazarius and Eusebius are the two most cele-brated orators, who, in studied panegyrics, have labored to

661Instinctu Divinitatis, mentis magnitudine The inscription on thetriumphal arch of Constantine, which has been copied by Baronius,Gruter, &c, may still be perused by every curious traveller

662Habes profecto aliquid cum illa mente Divina secretum; qua dele-gata nostra Diis Minoribus cura uni se tibi dignatur ostendere PanegyrVet ix 2

663M Freret (Memoires de l’Academie des Inscriptions, tom iv p 411-437) explains, by physical causes, many of the prodigies of antiquity;and Fabricius, who is abused by both parties, vainly tries to intro-duce the celestial cross of Constantine among the solar halos Biblio-thec Graec tom iv p 8-29 (The great difficulty in resolving it into a nat-ural phenomenon, arises from the inscription; even the most heatedor awe-struck imagination would hardly discover distinct and legibleletters in a solar halo But the inscription may have been a later em-bellishment, or an interpretation of the meaning which the sign wasconstrued to convey Compare Heirichen, Excur in locum Eusebii, andthe authors quoted

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exalt the glory of Constantine. Nine years after the Romanvictory, Nazarius664 describes an army of divine warriors,who seemed to fall from the sky: he marks their beauty,their spirit, their gigantic forms, the stream of light whichbeamed from their celestial armor, their patience in suffer-ing themselves to be heard, as well as seen, by mortals; andtheir declaration that they were sent, that they flew, to theassistance of the great Constantine. For the truth of thisprodigy, the Pagan orator appeals to the whole Gallic na-tion, in whose presence he was then speaking; and seemsto hope that the ancient apparitions665 would now obtaincredit from this recent and public event. The Christian fableof Eusebius, which, in the space of twenty-six years, mightarise from the original dream, is cast in a much more cor-rect and elegant mould. In one of the marches of Constan-tine, he is reported to have seen with his own eyes the lu-minous trophy of the cross, placed above the meridian sunand inscribed with the following words: By This Conquer.This amazing object in the sky astonished the whole army,as well as the emperor himself, who was yet undeterminedin the choice of a religion: but his astonishment was con-verted into faith by the vision of the ensuing night. Christappeared before his eyes; and displaying the same celes-tial sign of the cross, he directed Constantine to frame asimilar standard, and to march, with an assurance of vic-tory, against Maxentius and all his enemies.666 The learnedbishop of Caesarea appears to be sensible, that the recent

664Nazarius inter Panegyr Vet x 14, 15 It is unnecessary to name themoderns, whose undistinguishing and ravenous appetite has swal-lowed even the Pagan bait of Nazarius

665The apparitions of Castor and Pollux, particularly to announcethe Macedonian victory, are attested by historians and public monu-ments See Cicero de Natura Deorum, ii 2, iii 5, 6 Florus, ii 12 ValeriusMaximus, l i c 8, No 1 Yet the most recent of these miracles is omitted,and indirectly denied, by Livy, (xlv i)

666Eusebius, l i c 28, 29, 30 The silence of the same Eusebius, in hisEcclesiastical History, is deeply felt by those advocates for the miraclewho are not absolutely callous

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discovery of this marvellous anecdote would excite somesurprise and distrust among the most pious of his read-ers. Yet, instead of ascertaining the precise circumstancesof time and place, which always serve to detect falsehoodor establish truth;667 instead of collecting and recording theevidence of so many living witnesses who must have beenspectators of this stupendous miracle;668 Eusebius contentshimself with alleging a very singular testimony; that of thedeceased Constantine, who, many years after the event, inthe freedom of conversation, had related to him this extraor-dinary incident of his own life, and had attested the truthof it by a solemn oath. The prudence and gratitude of thelearned prelate forbade him to suspect the veracity of hisvictorious master; but he plainly intimates, that in a factof such a nature, he should have refused his assent to anymeaner authority. This motive of credibility could not sur-vive the power of the Flavian family; and the celestial sign,which the Infidels might afterwards deride,669 was disre-garded by the Christians of the age which immediately fol-lowed the conversion of Constantine.670 But the Catholicchurch, both of the East and of the West, has adopted aprodigy which favors, or seems to favor, the popular wor-

667The narrative of Constantine seems to indicate, that he saw thecross in the sky before he passed the Alps against Maxentius The scenehas been fixed by provincial vanity at Treves, Besancon, &c See Tille-mont, Hist des Empereurs, tom iv p 573

668The pious Tillemont (Mem Eccles tom vii p 1317) rejects with asigh the useful Acts of Artemius, a veteran and a martyr, who attestsas an eye-witness to the vision of Constantine

669Gelasius Cyzic in Act Concil Nicen l i c 4670The advocates for the vision are unable to produce a single testi-

mony from the Fathers of the fourth and fifth centuries, who, in theirvoluminous writings, repeatedly celebrate the triumph of the churchand of Constantine As these venerable men had not any dislike to amiracle, we may suspect, (and the suspicion is confirmed by the igno-rance of Jerom,) that they were all unacquainted with the life of Con-stantine by Eusebius This tract was recovered by the diligence of thosewho translated or continued his Ecclesiastical History, and who haverepresented in various colors the vision of the cross

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ship of the cross. The vision of Constantine maintained anhonorable place in the legend of superstition, till the boldand sagacious spirit of criticism presumed to depreciate thetriumph, and to arraign the truth, of the first Christian em-peror.671

The Protestant and philosophic readers of the present agewill incline to believe, that in the account of his own con-version, Constantine attested a wilful falsehood by a solemnand deliberate perjury. They may not hesitate to pronounce,that in the choice of a religion, his mind was determinedonly by a sense of interest; and that (according to the expres-sion of a profane poet)(KEY:[24-54) he used the altars of thechurch as a convenient footstool to the throne of the empire.A conclusion so harsh and so absolute is not, however, war-ranted by our knowledge of human nature, of Constantine,or of Christianity. In an age of religious fervor, the mostartful statesmen are observed to feel some part of the en-thusiasm which they inspire, and the most orthodox saintsassume the dangerous privilege of defending the cause oftruth by the arms of deceit and falsehood.

Personal interest is often the standard of our belief, aswell as of our practice; and the same motives of temporal

671Godefroy was the first, who, in the year 1643, (Not adPhilostorgium, l i c 6, p 16,) expressed any doubt of a miracle whichhad been supported with equal zeal by Cardinal Baronius, and theCenturiators of Magdeburgh Since that time, many of the Protestantcritics have inclined towards doubt and disbelief The objections areurged, with great force, by M Chauffepie, (Dictionnaire Critique, tomiv p 6–11;) and, in the year 1774, a doctor of Sorbonne, the Abbe duVeisin published an apology, which deserves the praise of learningand moderation (The first Excursus of Heinichen (in Vitam Constan-tini, p 507) contains a full summary of the opinions and argumentsof the later writers who have discussed this interminable subject Asto his conversion, where interest and inclination, state policy, and, ifnot a sincere conviction of its truth, at least a respect, an esteem, anawe of Christianity, thus coincided, Constantine himself would proba-bly have been unable to trace the actual history of the workings of hisown mind, or to assign its real influence to each concurrent motive–M

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advantage which might influence the public conduct andprofessions of Constantine, would insensibly dispose hismind to embrace a religion so propitious to his fame andfortunes. His vanity was gratified by the flattering assur-ance, that he had been chosen by Heaven to reign over theearth; success had justified his divine title to the throne, andthat title was founded on the truth of the Christian revela-tion. As real virtue is sometimes excited by undeserved ap-plause, the specious piety of Constantine, if at first it wasonly specious, might gradually, by the influence of praise,of habit, and of example, be matured into serious faith andfervent devotion. The bishops and teachers of the new sect,whose dress and manners had not qualified them for theresidence of a court, were admitted to the Imperial table;they accompanied the monarch in his expeditions; and theascendant which one of them, an Egyptian or a Spaniard,672acquired over his mind, was imputed by the Pagans to theeffect of magic.673 Lactantius, who has adorned the pre-cepts of the gospel with the eloquence of Cicero,674 and Eu-sebius, who has consecrated the learning and philosophy ofthe Greeks to the service of religion,675 were both receivedinto the friendship and familiarity of their sovereign; andthose able masters of controversy could patiently watch thesoft and yielding moments of persuasion, and dexterously

672This favorite was probably the great Osius, bishop of Cordova,who preferred the pastoral care of the whole church to the governmentof a particular diocese His character is magnificently, though concisely,expressed by Athanasius, (tom i p 703) See Tillemont, Mem Eccles tomvii p 524-561 Osius was accused, perhaps unjustly, of retiring fromcourt with a very ample fortune

673See Eusebius (in Vit Constant passim) and Zosimus, l ii p 104674The Christianity of Lactantius was of a moral rather than of a

mysterious cast “Erat paene rudis (says the orthodox Bull) disciplinaeChristianae, et in rhetorica melius quam in theologia versatus” Defen-sio Fidei Nicenae, sect ii c 14

675Fabricius, with his usual diligence, has collected a list of betweenthree and four hundred authors quoted in the Evangelical Preparationof Eusebius See Bibl Graec l v c 4, tom vi p 37-56

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apply the arguments which were the best adapted to hischaracter and understanding. Whatever advantages mightbe derived from the acquisition of an Imperial proselyte,he was distinguished by the splendor of his purple, ratherthan by the superiority of wisdom, or virtue, from the manythousands of his subjects who had embraced the doctrinesof Christianity. Nor can it be deemed incredible, that themind of an unlettered soldier should have yielded to theweight of evidence, which, in a more enlightened age, hassatisfied or subdued the reason of a Grotius, a Pascal, or aLocke. In the midst of the incessant labors of his great of-fice, this soldier employed, or affected to employ, the hoursof the night in the diligent study of the Scriptures, and thecomposition of theological discourses; which he afterwardspronounced in the presence of a numerous and applaud-ing audience. In a very long discourse, which is still ex-tant, the royal preacher expatiates on the various proofs stillextant, the royal preacher expatiates on the various proofsof religion; but he dwells with peculiar complacency onthe Sibylline verses,676 and the fourth eclogue of Virgil.677Forty years before the birth of Christ, the Mantuan bard,as if inspired by the celestial muse of Isaiah, had celebrated,with all the pomp of oriental metaphor, the return of the Vir-gin, the fall of the serpent, the approaching birth of a god-like child, the offspring of the great Jupiter, who should ex-piate the guilt of human kind, and govern the peaceful uni-verse with the virtues of his father; the rise and appearanceof a heavenly race, primitive nation throughout the world;and the gradual restoration of the innocence and felicity ofthe golden age. The poet was perhaps unconscious of the

676See Constantin Orat ad Sanctos, c 19 20 He chiefly depends on amysterious acrostic, composed in the sixth age after the Deluge, by theErythraean Sibyl, and translated by Cicero into Latin The initial let-ters of the thirty-four Greek verses form this prophetic sentence: JesusChrist, Son of God, Savior of the World

677In his paraphrase of Virgil, the emperor has frequently assistedand improved the literal sense of the Latin ext See Blondel des Sibylles,l i c 14, 15, 16

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secret sense and object of these sublime predictions, whichhave been so unworthily applied to the infant son of a con-sul, or a triumvir;678 but if a more splendid, and indeedspecious interpretation of the fourth eclogue contributed tothe conversion of the first Christian emperor, Virgil may de-serve to be ranked among the most successful missionariesof the gospel.679

Lors Constantin dit ces propres paroles:J’ai renverse le culte des idoles:Sur les debris de leurs temples fumansAu Dieu du Ciel j’ai prodigue l’encens.Mais tous mes soins pour sa grandeur supremeN’eurent jamais d’autre objet que moi-meme;Les saints autels n’etoient a mes regardsQu’un marchepie du trone des Cesars.L’ambition, la fureur, les delicesEtoient mes Dieux, avoient mes sacrifices.L’or des Chretiens, leur intrigues, leur sangOnt cimente ma fortune et mon rang.

(The poem which contains these lines may be read with pleasure,but cannot be named with decency.)

678The different claims of an elder and younger son of Pollio, of Julia,of Drusus, of Marcellus, are found to be incompatible with chronology,history, and the good sense of Virgil

679See Lowth de Sacra Poesi Hebraeorum Praelect xxi p 289- 293 Inthe examination of the fourth eclogue, the respectable bishop of Lon-don has displayed learning, taste, ingenuity, and a temperate enthusi-asm, which exalts his fancy without degrading his judgment

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THE awful mysteries of the Christian faith and worshipwere concealed from the eyes of strangers, and even

of catechu mens, with an affected secrecy, which served toexcite their wonder and curiosity.680 But the severe rules ofdiscipline which the prudence of the bishops had instituted,were relaxed by the same prudence in favor of an Imperialproselyte, whom it was so important to allure, by every gen-tle condescension, into the pale of the church; and Constan-tine was permitted, at least by a tacit dispensation, to enjoymost of the privileges, before he had contracted any of theobligations, of a Christian. Instead of retiring from the con-gregation, when the voice of the deacon dismissed the pro-fane multitude, he prayed with the faithful, disputed withthe bishops, preached on the most sublime and intricatesubjects of theology, celebrated with sacred rites the vigil ofEaster, and publicly declared himself, not only a partaker,but, in some measure, a priest and hierophant of the Chris-tian mysteries.681 The pride of Constantine might assume,and his services had deserved, some extraordinary distinc-tion: and ill-timed rigor might have blasted the unripenedfruits of his conversion; and if the doors of the church hadbeen strictly closed against a prince who had deserted thealtars of the gods, the master of the empire would have been

680The distinction between the public and the secret parts of divineservice, the missa catechumenorum and the missa fidelium, and themysterious veil which piety or policy had cast over the latter, are veryjudiciously explained by Thiers, Exposition du Saint Sacrament, l i c8- 12, p 59-91: but as, on this subject, the Papists may reasonably besuspected, a Protestant reader will depend with more confidence onthe learned Bingham, Antiquities, l x c 5

681See Eusebius in Vit Const l iv c 15-32, and the whole tenor of Con-stantine’s Sermon The faith and devotion of the emperor has furnishedBatonics with a specious argument in favor of his early baptism Note:Compare Heinichen, Excursus iv et v, where these questions are ex-amined with candor and acuteness, and with constant reference to theopinions of more modern writers–M

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left destitute of any form of religious worship. In his lastvisit to Rome, he piously disclaimed and insulted the su-perstition of his ancestors, by refusing to lead the militaryprocession of the equestrian order, and to offer the publicvows to the Jupiter of the Capitoline Hill.682 Many yearsbefore his baptism and death, Constantine had proclaimedto the world, that neither his person nor his image shouldever more be seen within the walls of an idolatrous tem-ple; while he distributed through the provinces a variety ofmedals and pictures, which represented the emperor in anhumble and suppliant posture of Christian devotion.683

The pride of Constantine, who refused the privileges ofa catechumen, cannot easily be explained or excused; butthe delay of his baptism may be justified by the maximsand the practice of ecclesiastical antiquity. The sacrament ofbaptism684 was regularly administered by the bishop him-self, with his assistant clergy, in the cathedral church of thediocese, during the fifty days between the solemn festivalsof Easter and Pentecost; and this holy term admitted a nu-merous band of infants and adult persons into the bosomof the church. The discretion of parents often suspendedthe baptism of their children till they could understand theobligations which they contracted: the severity of ancientbishops exacted from the new converts a novitiate of twoor three years; and the catechumens themselves, from dif-ferent motives of a temporal or a spiritual nature, were sel-dom impatient to assume the character of perfect and ini-tiated Christians. The sacrament of baptism was supposed

682Zosimus, l ii p 105683Eusebius in Vit Constant l iv c 15, 16684The theory and practice of antiquity, with regard to the sacrament

of baptism, have been copiously explained by Dom Chardon, Hist desSacremens, tom i p 3-405; Dom Martenne de Ritibus Ecclesiae An-tiquis, tom i; and by Bingham, in the tenth and eleventh books of hisChristian Antiquities One circumstance may be observed, in which themodern churches have materially departed from the ancient customThe sacrament of baptism (even when it was administered to infants)was immediately followed by confirmation and the holy communion

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to contain a full and absolute expiation of sin; and the soulwas instantly restored to its original purity, and entitled tothe promise of eternal salvation. Among the proselytes ofChristianity, there are many who judged it imprudent toprecipitate a salutary rite, which could not be repeated; tothrow away an inestimable privilege, which could never berecovered. By the delay of their baptism, they could ven-ture freely to indulge their passions in the enjoyments ofthis world, while they still retained in their own hands themeans of a sure and easy absolution.685 The sublime theoryof the gospel had made a much fainter impression on theheart than on the understanding of Constantine himself. Hepursued the great object of his ambition through the darkand bloody paths of war and policy; and, after the victory,he abandoned himself, without moderation, to the abuse ofhis fortune. Instead of asserting his just superiority abovethe imperfect heroism and profane philosophy of Trajan andthe Antonines, the mature age of Constantine forfeited thereputation which he had acquired in his youth. As he grad-

685The Fathers, who censured this criminal delay, could not deny thecertain and victorious efficacy even of a death-bed baptism The inge-nious rhetoric of Chrysostom could find only three arguments againstthese prudent Christians 1 That we should love and pursue virtue forher own sake, and not merely for the reward 2 That we may be sur-prised by death without an opportunity of baptism 3 That althoughwe shall be placed in heaven, we shall only twinkle like little stars,when compared to the suns of righteousness who have run their ap-pointed course with labor, with success, and with glory Chrysos tomin Epist ad Hebraeos, Homil xiii apud Chardon, Hist des Sacremens,tom i p 49 I believe that this delay of baptism, though attended withthe most pernicious consequences, was never condemned by any gen-eral or provincial council, or by any public act or declaration of thechurch The zeal of the bishops was easily kindled on much slighteroccasion (This passage of Chrysostom, though not in his more forciblemanner, is not quite fairly represented He is stronger in other places,in Act Hom xxiii–and Hom i Compare, likewise, the sermon of Gre-gory of Nysea on this subject, and Gregory Nazianzen After all, tothose who believed in the efficacy of baptism, what argument couldbe more conclusive, than the danger of dying without it? Orat xl–M

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ually advanced in the knowledge of truth, he proportionallydeclined in the practice of virtue; and the same year of hisreign in which he convened the council of Nice, was pol-luted by the execution, or rather murder, of his eldest son.This date is alone sufficient to refute the ignorant and mali-cious suggestions of Zosimus,686 who affirms, that, after thedeath of Crispus, the remorse of his father accepted from theministers of christianity the expiation which he had vainlysolicited from the Pagan pontiffs. At the time of the death ofCrispus, the emperor could no longer hesitate in the choiceof a religion; he could no longer be ignorant that the churchwas possessed of an infallible remedy, though he chose todefer the application of it till the approach of death had re-moved the temptation and danger of a relapse. The bish-ops whom he summoned, in his last illness, to the palaceof Nicomedia, were edified by the fervor with which herequested and received the sacrament of baptism, by thesolemn protestation that the remainder of his life should beworthy of a disciple of Christ, and by his humble refusalto wear the Imperial purple after he had been clothed inthe white garment of a Neophyte. The example and repu-tation of Constantine seemed to countenance the delay ofbaptism.687 Future tyrants were encouraged to believe, thatthe innocent blood which they might shed in a long reign

686Zosimus, l ii p 104 For this disingenuous falsehood he has de-served and experienced the harshest treatment from all the ecclesias-tical writers, except Cardinal Baronius, (A D 324, No 15-28,) who hadoccasion to employ the infidel on a particular service against the ArianEusebius Note: Heyne, in a valuable note on this passage of Zosimus,has shown decisively that this malicious way of accounting for theconversion of Constantine was not an invention of Zosimus It appearsto have been the current calumny eagerly adopted and propagatedby the exasperated Pagan party Reitemeter, a later editor of Zosimus,whose notes are retained in the recent edition, in the collection of theByzantine historians, has a disquisition on the passage, as candid, butnot more conclusive than some which have preceded him–M

687Eusebius, l iv c 61, 62, 63 The bishop of Caesarea supposes thesalvation of Constantine with the most perfect confidence

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would instantly be washed away in the waters of regenera-tion; and the abuse of religion dangerously undermined thefoundations of moral virtue.

The gratitude of the church has exalted the virtues andexcused the failings of a generous patron, who seated Chris-tianity on the throne of the Roman world; and the Greeks,who celebrate the festival of the Imperial saint, seldom men-tion the name of Constantine without adding the title ofequal to the Apostles.688 Such a comparison, if it allude tothe character of those divine missionaries, must be imputedto the extravagance of impious flattery. But if the parallel beconfined to the extent and number of their evangelic victo-ries the success of Constantine might perhaps equal that ofthe Apostles themselves. By the edicts of toleration, he re-moved the temporal disadvantages which had hitherto re-tarded the progress of Christianity; and its active and nu-merous ministers received a free permission, a liberal en-couragement, to recommend the salutary truths of revela-tion by every argument which could affect the reason orpiety of mankind. The exact balance of the two religionscontinued but a moment; and the piercing eye of ambitionand avarice soon discovered, that the profession of Chris-tianity might contribute to the interest of the present, aswell as of a future life.689 The hopes of wealth and hon-ors, the example of an emperor, his exhortations, his ir-resistible smiles, diffused conviction among the venal andobsequious crowds which usually fill the apartments of apalace. The cities which signalized a forward zeal by thevoluntary destruction of their temples, were distinguishedby municipal privileges, and rewarded with popular dona-tives; and the new capital of the East gloried in the singular

688See Tillemont, Hist des Empereurs, tom iv p 429 The Greeks, theRussians, and, in the darker ages, the Latins themselves, have beendesirous of placing Constantine in the catalogue of saints

689See the third and fourth books of his life He was accustomedto say, that whether Christ was preached in pretence, or in truth, heshould still rejoice, (l iii c 58)

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advantage that Constantinople was never profaned by theworship of idols.690 As the lower ranks of society are gov-erned by imitation, the conversion of those who possessedany eminence of birth, of power, or of riches, was soon fol-lowed by dependent multitudes.691 The salvation of thecommon people was purchased at an easy rate, if it be truethat, in one year, twelve thousand men were baptized atRome, besides a proportionable number of women and chil-dren, and that a white garment, with twenty pieces of gold,had been promised by the emperor to every convert.692 Thepowerful influence of Constantine was not circumscribedby the narrow limits of his life, or of his dominions. Theeducation which he bestowed on his sons and nephews se-cured to the empire a race of princes, whose faith was stillmore lively and sincere, as they imbibed, in their earliestinfancy, the spirit, or at least the doctrine, of Christianity.War and commerce had spread the knowledge of the gospelbeyond the confines of the Roman provinces; and the Bar-barians, who had disdained as humble and proscribed sect,

690M de Tillemont (Hist des Empereurs, tom iv p 374, 616) has de-fended, with strength and spirit, the virgin purity of Constantinopleagainst some malevolent insinuations of the Pagan Zosimus

691The author of the Histoire Politique et Philosophique des deuxIndes (tom i p 9) condemns a law of Constantine, which gave freedomto all the slaves who should embrace Christianity The emperor didindeed publish a law, which restrained the Jews from circumcising,perhaps from keeping, any Christian slave (See Euseb in Vit Constantl iv c 27, and Cod Theod l xvi tit ix, with Godefroy’s Commentary, tomvi p 247) But this imperfect exception related only to the Jews, andthe great body of slaves, who were the property of Christian or Paganmasters, could not improve their temporal condition by changing theirreligion I am ignorant by what guides the Abbe Raynal was deceived;as the total absence of quotations is the unpardonable blemish of hisentertaining history

692See Acta S Silvestri, and Hist Eccles Nicephor Callist l vii c 34,ap Baronium Annal Eccles A D 324, No 67, 74 Such evidence is con-temptible enough; but these circumstances are in themselves so prob-able, that the learned Dr Howell (History of the World, vol iii p 14) hasnot scrupled to adopt them

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soon learned to esteem a religion which had been so latelyembraced by the greatest monarch, and the most civilizednation, of the globe.693 The Goths and Germans, who en-listed under the standard of Rome, revered the cross whichglittered at the head of the legions, and their fierce country-men received at the same time the lessons of faith and of hu-manity. The kings of Iberia and Armenia694 worshipped thegod of their protector; and their subjects, who have invari-ably preserved the name of Christians, soon formed a sa-cred and perpetual connection with their Roman brethren.The Christians of Persia were suspected, in time of war,of preferring their religion to their country; but as long aspeace subsisted between the two empires, the persecutingspirit of the Magi was effectually restrained by the interpo-

693The conversion of the Barbarians under the reign of Constantineis celebrated by the ecclesiastical historians (See Sozomen, l ii c 6, andTheodoret, l i c 23, 24) But Rufinus, the Latin translator of Eusebius,deserves to be considered as an original authority His informationwas curiously collected from one of the companions of the Apostleof Aethiopia, and from Bacurius, an Iberian prince, who was count ofthe domestics Father Mamachi has given an ample compilation on theprogress of Christianity, in the first and second volumes of his greatbut imperfect work

694According to the Georgian chronicles, Iberia (Georgia) was con-verted by the virgin Nino, who effected an extraordinary cure on thewife of the king Mihran The temple of the god Aramazt, or Armaz, notfar from the capital Mtskitha, was destroyed, and the cross erected inits place Le Beau, i 202, with St Martin’s Notes —-St Martin has like-wise clearly shown (St Martin, Add to Le Beau, i 291) Armenia wasthe first nation w hich embraced Christianity, (Addition to Le Beau, i76 and Memoire sur l’Armenie, i 305) Gibbon himself suspected thistruth–“Instead of maintaining that the conversion of Armenia was notattempted with any degree of success, till the sceptre was in the handsof an orthodox emperor,” I ought to have said, that the seeds of thefaith were deeply sown during the season of the last and greatest per-secution, that many Roman exiles might assist the labors of Gregory,and that the renowned Tiridates, the hero of the East, may disputewith Constantine the honor of being the first sovereign who embracedthe Christian religion Vindication

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sition of Constantine.695 The rays of the gospel illuminatedthe coast of India. The colonies of Jews, who had pene-trated into Arabia and Ethiopia,696 opposed the progress ofChristianity; but the labor of the missionaries was in somemeasure facilitated by a previous knowledge of the Mosaicrevelation; and Abyssinia still reveres the memory of Fru-mentius,697 who, in the time of Constantine, devoted hislife to the conversion of those sequestered regions. Underthe reign of his son Constantius, Theophilus,698 who washimself of Indian extraction, was invested with the doublecharacter of ambassador and bishop. He embarked on theRed Sea with two hundred horses of the purest breed ofCappadocia, which were sent by the emperor to the princeof the Sabaeans, or Homerites. Theophilus was intrustedwith many other useful or curious presents, which mightraise the admiration, and conciliate the friendship, of theBarbarians; and he successfully employed several years in apastoral visit to the churches of the torrid zone.699

695See, in Eusebius, (in Vit l iv c 9,) the pressing and pathetic epistleof Constantine in favor of his Christian brethren of Persia

696See Basnage, Hist des Juifs, tom vii p 182, tom viii p 333, tom ixp 810 The curious diligence of this writer pursues the Jewish exiles tothe extremities of the globe

697Abba Salama, or Fremonatus, is mentioned in the Tareek Ne-gushti, chronicle of the kings of Abyssinia Salt’s Travels, vol ii p 464–M

698Theophilus had been given in his infancy as a hostage by hiscountrymen of the Isle of Diva, and was educated by the Romans inlearning and piety The Maldives, of which Male, or Diva, may be thecapital, are a cluster of 1900 or 2000 minute islands in the Indian OceanThe ancients were imperfectly acquainted with the Maldives; but theyare described in the two Mahometan travellers of the ninth century,published by Renaudot, Geograph Nubiensis, p 30, 31 D’Herbelot,Bibliotheque Orientale p 704 Hist Generale des Voy ages, tom viii —-See the dissertation of M Letronne on this question He conceives thatTheophilus was born in the island of Dahlak, in the Arabian Gulf Hisembassy was to Abyssinia rather than to India Letronne, Materiauxpour l’Hist du Christianisme en Egypte Indie, et Abyssinie Paris, 18323d Dissert–M

699Philostorgius, l iii c 4, 5, 6, with Godefroy’s learned observations

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The irresistible power of the Roman emperors was dis-played in the important and dangerous change of the na-tional religion. The terrors of a military force silenced thefaint and unsupported murmurs of the Pagans, and therewas reason to expect, that the cheerful submission of theChristian clergy, as well as people, would be the result ofconscience and gratitude. It was long since established, asa fundamental maxim of the Roman constitution, that ev-ery rank of citizens was alike subject to the laws, and thatthe care of religion was the right as well as duty of the civilmagistrate. Constantine and his successors could not easilypersuade themselves that they had forfeited, by their con-version, any branch of the Imperial prerogatives, or thatthey were incapable of giving laws to a religion which theyhad protected and embraced. The emperors still continuedto exercise a supreme jurisdiction over the ecclesiastical or-der, and the sixteenth book of the Theodosian code repre-sents, under a variety of titles, the authority which they as-sumed in the government of the Catholic church. But thedistinction of the spiritual and temporal powers,700 whichhad never been imposed on the free spirit of Greece andRome, was introduced and confirmed by the legal establish-ment of Christianity. The office of supreme pontiff, which,from the time of Numa to that of Augustus, had alwaysbeen exercised by one of the most eminent of the senators,was at length united to the Imperial dignity. The first mag-istrate of the state, as often as he was prompted by supersti-tion or policy, performed with his own hands the sacerdotalfunctions;701 nor was there any order of priests, either at

The historical narrative is soon lost in an inquiry concerning the seatof Paradise, strange monsters, &c

700See the epistle of Osius, ap Athanasium, vol i p 840 The publicremonstrance which Osius was forced to address to the son, containedthe same principles of ecclesiastical and civil government which hehad secretly instilled into the mind of the father

701M de la Bastiel has evidently proved, that Augustus and his suc-cessors exercised in person all the sacred functions of pontifex max-imus, of high priest, of the Roman empire

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Rome or in the provinces, who claimed a more sacred char-acter among men, or a more intimate communication withthe gods. But in the Christian church, which instrusts theservice of the altar to a perpetual succession of consecratedministers, the monarch, whose spiritual rank is less honor-able than that of the meanest deacon, was seated below therails of the sanctuary, and confounded with the rest of thefaithful multitude.702 The emperor might be saluted as thefather of his people, but he owed a filial duty and reverenceto the fathers of the church; and the same marks of respect,which Constantine had paid to the persons of saints andconfessors, were soon exacted by the pride of the episcopalorder.703 A secret conflict between the civil and ecclesias-tical jurisdictions embarrassed the operation of the Romangovernment; and a pious emperor was alarmed by the guiltand danger of touching with a profane hand the ark of thecovenant. The separation of men into the two orders of theclergy and of the laity was, indeed, familiar to many nationsof antiquity; and the priests of India, of Persia, of Assyria, ofJudea, of Aethiopia, of Egypt, and of Gaul, derived from acelestial origin the temporal power and possessions whichthey had acquired. These venerable institutions had gradu-ally assimilated themselves to the manners and government

702Something of a contrary practice had insensibly prevailed in thechurch of Constantinople; but the rigid Ambrose commanded Theo-dosius to retire below the rails, and taught him to know the differencebetween a king and a priest See Theodoret, l v c 18

703At the table of the emperor Maximus, Martin, bishop of Tours, re-ceived the cup from an attendant, and gave it to the presbyter, his com-panion, before he allowed the emperor to drink; the empress waited onMartin at table Sulpicius Severus, in Vit S Martin, c 23, and Dialogueii 7 Yet it may be doubted, whether these extraordinary complimentswere paid to the bishop or the saint The honors usually granted to theformer character may be seen in Bingham’s Antiquities, l ii c 9, andVales ad Theodoret, l iv c 6 See the haughty ceremonial which Leon-tius, bishop of Tripoli, imposed on the empress Tillemont, Hist desEmpereurs, tom iv p 754 (Patres Apostol tom ii p 179)

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of their respective countries;704 but the opposition or con-tempt of the civil power served to cement the discipline ofthe primitive church. The Christians had been obliged toelect their own magistrates, to raise and distribute a pecu-liar revenue, and to regulate the internal policy of their re-public by a code of laws, which were ratified by the consentof the people and the practice of three hundred years. WhenConstantine embraced the faith of the Christians, he seemedto contract a perpetual alliance with a distinct and indepen-dent society; and the privileges granted or confirmed bythat emperor, or by his successors, were accepted, not as theprecarious favors of the court, but as the just and inalienablerights of the ecclesiastical order.

The Catholic church was administered by the spiritualand legal jurisdiction of eighteen hundred bishops;705 ofwhom one thousand were seated in the Greek, and eighthundred in the Latin, provinces of the empire. The extentand boundaries of their respective dioceses had been vari-ously and accidentally decided by the zeal and success ofthe first missionaries, by the wishes of the people, and bythe propagation of the gospel. Episcopal churches wereclosely planted along the banks of the Nile, on the sea-coastof Africa, in the proconsular Asia, and through the southernprovinces of Italy. The bishops of Gaul and Spain, of Thraceand Pontus, reigned over an ample territory, and delegatedtheir rural suffragans to execute the subordinate duties ofthe pastoral office.706 A Christian diocese might be spread

704Plutarch, in his treatise of Isis and Osiris, informs us that the kingsof Egypt, who were not already priests, were initiated, after their elec-tion, into the sacerdotal order

705The numbers are not ascertained by any ancient writer or origi-nal catalogue; for the partial lists of the eastern churches are compar-atively modern The patient diligence of Charles a Sto Paolo, of LukeHolstentius, and of Bingham, has laboriously investigated all the epis-copal sees of the Catholic church, which was almost commensuratewith the Roman empire The ninth book of the Christian antiquities isa very accurate map of ecclesiastical geography

706On the subject of rural bishops, or Chorepiscopi, who voted in

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over a province, or reduced to a village; but all the bishopspossessed an equal and indelible character: they all derivedthe same powers and privileges from the apostles, from thepeople, and from the laws. While the civil and militaryprofessions were separated by the policy of Constantine, anew and perpetual order of ecclesiastical ministers, alwaysrespectable, sometimes dangerous, was established in thechurch and state. The important review of their station andattributes may be distributed under the following heads: I.Popular Election. II. Ordination of the Clergy. III. Property.IV. Civil Jurisdiction. V. Spiritual censures. VI. Exercise ofpublic oratory. VII. Privilege of legislative assemblies.

I. The freedom of election subsisted long after the legalestablishment of Christianity;707 and the subjects of Romeenjoyed in the church the privilege which they had lost inthe republic, of choosing the magistrates whom they werebound to obey. As soon as a bishop had closed his eyes, themetropolitan issued a commission to one of his suffragansto administer the vacant see, and prepare, within a limited

tynods, and conferred the minor orders, See Thomassin, Discipline del’Eglise, tom i p 447, &c, and Chardon, Hist des Sacremens, tom v p395, &c They do not appear till the fourth century; and this equivocalcharacter, which had excited the jealousy of the prelates, was abolishedbefore the end of the tenth, both in the East and the West

707Thomassin (Discipline de l’Eglise, tom, ii l ii c 1-8, p 673-721) hascopiously treated of the election of bishops during the five first cen-turies, both in the East and in the West; but he shows a very partial biasin favor of the episcopal aristocracy Bingham, (l iv c 2) is moderate;and Chardon (Hist des Sacremens tom v p 108-128) is very clear andconcise (This freedom was extremely limited, and soon annihilated; al-ready, from the third century, the deacons were no longer nominatedby the members of the community, but by the bishops Although it ap-pears by the letters of Cyprian, that even in his time, no priest couldbe elected without the consent of the community (Ep 68,) that electionwas far from being altogether free The bishop proposed to his parish-ioners the candidate whom he had chosen, and they were permitted tomake such objections as might be suggested by his conduct and morals(St Cyprian, Ep 33) They lost this last right towards the middle of thefourth century–G

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time, the future election. The right of voting was vested inthe inferior clergy, who were best qualified to judge of themerit of the candidates; in the senators or nobles of the city,all those who were distinguished by their rank or property;and finally in the whole body of the people, who, on theappointed day, flocked in multitudes from the most remoteparts of the diocese,708 and sometimes silenced by their tu-multuous acclamations, the voice of reason and the lawsof discipline. These acclamations might accidentally fix onthe head of the most deserving competitor; of some ancientpresbyter, some holy monk, or some layman, conspicuousfor his zeal and piety. But the episcopal chair was solicited,especially in the great and opulent cities of the empire, asa temporal rather than as a spiritual dignity. The interestedviews, the selfish and angry passions, the arts of perfidyand dissimulation, the secret corruption, the open and evenbloody violence which had formerly disgraced the freedomof election in the commonwealths of Greece and Rome, toooften influenced the choice of the successors of the apostles.While one of the candidates boasted the honors of his fam-ily, a second allured his judges by the delicacies of a plenti-ful table, and a third, more guilty than his rivals, offered toshare the plunder of the church among the accomplices ofhis sacrilegious hopes709 The civil as well as ecclesiasticallaws attempted to exclude the populace from this solemnand important transaction. The canons of ancient discipline,by requiring several episcopal qualifications, of age, station,&c., restrained, in some measure, the indiscriminate capriceof the electors. The authority of the provincial bishops,who were assembled in the vacant church to consecrate the

708Incredibilis multitudo, non solum ex eo oppido, (Tours,) sedetiam ex vicinis urbibus ad suffragia ferenda convenerat, &c SulpiciusSeverus, in Vit Martin c 7 The council of Laodicea, (canon xiii) pro-hibits mobs and tumults; and Justinian confines confined the right ofelection to the nobility Novel cxxiii l

709The epistles of Sidonius Apollinaris (iv 25, vii 5, 9) exhibit someof the scandals of the Gallican church; and Gaul was less polished andless corrupt than the East

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choice of the people, was interposed to moderate their pas-sions and to correct their mistakes. The bishops could refuseto ordain an unworthy candidate, and the rage of contend-ing factions sometimes accepted their impartial mediation.The submission, or the resistance, of the clergy and people,on various occasions, afforded different precedents, whichwere insensibly converted into positive laws and provincialcustoms;710 but it was every where admitted, as a funda-mental maxim of religious policy, that no bishop could beimposed on an orthodox church, without the consent of itsmembers. The emperors, as the guardians of the publicpeace, and as the first citizens of Rome and Constantino-ple, might effectually declare their wishes in the choice ofa primate; but those absolute monarchs respected the free-dom of ecclesiastical elections; and while they distributedand resumed the honors of the state and army, they allowedeighteen hundred perpetual magistrates to receive their im-portant offices from the free suffrages of the people.711 Itwas agreeable to the dictates of justice, that these magis-trates should not desert an honorable station from whichthey could not be removed; but the wisdom of councils en-deavored, without much success, to enforce the residence,and to prevent the translation, of bishops. The disciplineof the West was indeed less relaxed than that of the East;

710A compromise was sometimes introduced by law or by consent;either the bishops or the people chose one of the three candidates whohad been named by the other party

711All the examples quoted by Thomassin (Discipline de l’Eglise,tom ii l iii c vi p 704-714) appear to be extraordinary acts of power,and even of oppression The confirmation of the bishop of Alexan-dria is mentioned by Philostorgius as a more regular proceeding (HistEccles l ii ll) (The statement of Planck is more consistent with his-tory: “From the middle of the fourth century, the bishops of someof the larger churches, particularly those of the Imperial residence,were almost always chosen under the influence of the court, andoften directly and immediately nominated by the emperor” Planck,Geschichte der Christlich-kirchlichen Gesellschafteverfassung, verfas-sung, vol i p 263–M

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but the same passions which made those regulations neces-sary, rendered them ineffectual. The reproaches which an-gry prelates have so vehemently urged against each other,serve only to expose their common guilt, and their mutualindiscretion.

II. The bishops alone possessed the faculty of spiritualgeneration: and this extraordinary privilege might compen-sate, in some degree, for the painful celibacy712 which wasimposed as a virtue, as a duty, and at length as a positiveobligation. The religions of antiquity, which established aseparate order of priests, dedicated a holy race, a tribe orfamily, to the perpetual service of the gods.713 Such insti-tutions were founded for possession, rather than conquest.The children of the priests enjoyed, with proud and indo-lent security, their sacred inheritance; and the fiery spiritof enthusiasm was abated by the cares, the pleasures, andthe endearments of domestic life. But the Christian sanctu-ary was open to every ambitious candidate, who aspired toits heavenly promises or temporal possessions. This officeof priests, like that of soldiers or magistrates, was strenu-

712The celibacy of the clergy during the first five or six centuries,is a subject of discipline, and indeed of controversy, which has beenvery diligently examined See in particular, Thomassin, Discipline del’Eglise, tom i l ii c lx lxi p 886-902, and Bingham’s Antiquities, l iv c5 By each of these learned but partial critics, one half of the truth isproduced, and the other is concealed —-Note: Compare Planck, (voli p 348) This century, the third, first brought forth the monks, or thespirit of monkery, the celibacy of the clergy Planck likewise observes,that from the history of Eusebius alone, names of married bishops andpresbyters may be adduced by dozens–M

713Diodorus Siculus attests and approves the hereditary successionof the priesthood among the Egyptians, the Chaldeans, and the Indi-ans, (l i p 84, l ii p 142, 153, edit Wesseling) The magi are described byAmmianus as a very numerous family: “Per saecula multa ad prae-sens una eademque prosapia multitudo creata, Deorum cultibus ded-icata” (xxiii 6) Ausonius celebrates the Stirps Druidarum, (De Profes-sorib Burdigal iv;) but we may infer from the remark of Caesar, (vi 13,)that in the Celtic hierarchy, some room was left for choice and emula-tion

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ously exercised by those men, whose temper and abilitieshad prompted them to embrace the ecclesiastical profes-sion, or who had been selected by a discerning bishop, asthe best qualified to promote the glory and interest of thechurch. The bishops714 (till the abuse was restrained bythe prudence of the laws) might constrain the reluctant, andprotect the distressed; and the imposition of hands foreverbestowed some of the most valuable privileges of civil soci-ety. The whole body of the Catholic clergy, more numerousperhaps than the legions, was exempted715 by the emper-ors from all service, private or public, all municipal offices,and all personal taxes and contributions, which pressed ontheir fellow- citizens with intolerable weight; and the dutiesof their holy profession were accepted as a full discharge oftheir obligations to the republic.716 Each bishop acquired an

714The subject of the vocation, ordination, obedience, &c, of theclergy, is laboriously discussed by Thomassin (Discipline de l’Eglise,tom ii p 1-83) and Bingham, (in the 4th book of his Antiquities, moreespecially the 4th, 6th, and 7th chapters) When the brother of St Jeromwas ordained in Cyprus, the deacons forcibly stopped his mouth, lesthe should make a solemn protestation, which might invalidate theholy rites

715This exemption was very much limited The municipal officeswere of two kinds; the one attached to the individual in his characterof inhabitant, the other in that of proprietor Constantine had exemptedecclesiastics from offices of the first description (Cod Theod xvi t ii leg1, 2 Eusebius, Hist Eccles l x c vii) They sought, also, to be exemptedfrom those of the second, (munera patrimoniorum) The rich, to obtainthis privilege, obtained subordinate situations among the clergy Con-stantine published in 320 an edict, by which he prohibited the moreopulent citizens (decuriones and curiales) from embracing the eccle-siastical profession, and the bishops from admitting new ecclesiastics,before a place should be vacant by the death of the occupant, (Gode-froy ad Cod Theodt xii t i de Decur) Valentinian the First, by a rescriptstill more general enacted that no rich citizen should obtain a situa-tion in the church, (De Episc 1 lxvii) He also enacted that ecclesiastics,who wished to be exempt from offices which they were bound to dis-charge as proprietors, should be obliged to give up their property totheir relations Cod Theodos l xii t i leb 49–G

716The charter of immunities, which the clergy obtained from the

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absolute and indefeasible right to the perpetual obedienceof the clerk whom he ordained: the clergy of each episco-pal church, with its dependent parishes, formed a regularand permanent society; and the cathedrals of Constantino-ple717 and Carthage718 maintained their peculiar establish-ment of five hundred ecclesiastical ministers. Their ranks719and numbers were insensibly multiplied by the superstitionof the times, which introduced into the church the splendidceremonies of a Jewish or Pagan temple; and a long trainof priests, deacons, sub-deacons, acolythes, exorcists, read-ers, singers, and doorkeepers, contributed, in their respec-tive stations, to swell the pomp and harmony of religiousworship. The clerical name and privileges were extended tomany pious fraternities, who devoutly supported the eccle-siastical throne.720 Six hundred parabolani, or adventurers,visited the sick at Alexandria; eleven hundred copiatoe, orgrave-diggers, buried the dead at Constantinople; and theswarms of monks, who arose from the Nile, overspread and

Christian emperors, is contained in the 16th book of the Theodosiancode; and is illustrated with tolerable candor by the learned Godefroy,whose mind was balanced by the opposite prejudices of a civilian anda Protestant

717Justinian Novell ciii Sixty presbyters, or priests, one hundred dea-cons, forty deaconesses, ninety sub-deacons, one hundred and tenreaders, twenty-five chanters, and one hundred door-keepers; in all,five hundred and twenty-five This moderate number was fixed by theemperor to relieve the distress of the church, which had been involvedin debt and usury by the expense of a much higher establishment

718Universus clerus ecclesiae Carthaginiensis fere quingenti vei am-plius; inter quos quamplurima erant lectores infantuli Victor Vitensis,de Persecut Vandal v 9, p 78, edit Ruinart This remnant of a more pros-perous state still subsisted under the oppression of the Vandals

719The number of seven orders has been fixed in the Latin church,exclusive of the episcopal character But the four inferior ranks, theminor orders, are now reduced to empty and useless titles

720See Cod Theodos l xvi tit ii leg 42, 43 Godefroy’s Commentary,and the Ecclesiastical History of Alexandria, show the danger of thesepious institutions, which often disturbed the peace of that turbulentcapital

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darkened the face of the Christian world.

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III. The edict of Milan secured the revenue as well as thepeace of the church.721 The Christians not only recoveredthe lands and houses of which they had been stripped bythe persecuting laws of Diocletian, but they acquired a per-fect title to all the possessions which they had hitherto en-joyed by the connivance of the magistrate. As soon asChristianity became the religion of the emperor and the em-pire, the national clergy might claim a decent and honor-able maintenance; and the payment of an annual tax mighthave delivered the people from the more oppressive trib-ute, which superstition imposes on her votaries. But asthe wants and expenses of the church increased with herprosperity, the ecclesiastical order was still supported andenriched by the voluntary oblations of the faithful. Eightyears after the edict of Milan, Constantine granted to all hissubjects the free and universal permission of bequeathingtheir fortunes to the holy Catholic church;722 and their de-vout liberality, which during their lives was checked by lux-ury or avarice, flowed with a profuse stream at the hourof their death. The wealthy Christians were encouragedby the example of their sovereign. An absolute monarch,who is rich without patrimony, may be charitable withoutmerit; and Constantine too easily believed that he shouldpurchase the favor of Heaven, if he maintained the idle atthe expense of the industrious; and distributed among thesaints the wealth of the republic. The same messenger who

721The edict of Milan (de M P c 48) acknowledges, by reciting, thatthere existed a species of landed property, ad jus corporis eorum, idest, ecclesiarum non hominum singulorum pertinentia Such a solemndeclaration of the supreme magistrate must have been received in allthe tribunals as a maxim of civil law

722Habeat unusquisque licentiam sanctissimo Catholicae (ecclesioe)venerabilique concilio, decedens bonorum quod optavit relinquereCod Theodos l xvi tit ii leg 4 This law was published at Rome, A D 321,at a time when Constantine might foresee the probability of a rupturewith the emperor of the East

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carried over to Africa the head of Maxentius, might be in-trusted with an epistle to Caecilian, bishop of Carthage. Theemperor acquaints him, that the treasurers of the provinceare directed to pay into his hands the sum of three thou-sand folles, or eighteen thousand pounds sterling, and toobey his further requisitions for the relief of the churches ofAfrica, Numidia, and Mauritania.723 The liberality of Con-stantine increased in a just proportion to his faith, and tohis vices. He assigned in each city a regular allowance ofcorn, to supply the fund of ecclesiastical charity; and thepersons of both sexes who embraced the monastic life be-came the peculiar favorites of their sovereign. The Christiantemples of Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem, Constantinople&c., displayed the ostentatious piety of a prince, ambitiousin a declining age to equal the perfect labors of antiquity.724The form of these religious edifices was simple and ob-long; though they might sometimes swell into the shape of adome, and sometimes branch into the figure of a cross. Thetimbers were framed for the most part of cedars of Libanus;the roof was covered with tiles, perhaps of gilt brass; andthe walls, the columns, the pavement, were encrusted withvariegated marbles. The most precious ornaments of goldand silver, of silk and gems, were profusely dedicated to theservice of the altar; and this specious magnificence was sup-ported on the solid and perpetual basis of landed property.In the space of two centuries, from the reign of Constantineto that of Justinian, the eighteen hundred churches of theempire were enriched by the frequent and unalienable giftsof the prince and people. An annual income of six hundred

723Eusebius, Hist Eccles l x 6; in Vit Constantin l iv c 28 He repeat-edly expatiates on the liberality of the Christian hero, which the bishophimself had an opportunity of knowing, and even of lasting

724Eusebius, Hist Eccles l x c 2, 3, 4 The bishop of Caesarea whostudied and gratified the taste of his master, pronounced in public anelaborate description of the church of Jerusalem, (in Vit Cons l vi c 46)It no longer exists, but he has inserted in the life of Constantine (l iiic 36) a short account of the architecture and ornaments He likewisementions the church of the Holy Apostles at Constantinople, (l iv c 59)

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pounds sterling may be reasonably assigned to the bish-ops, who were placed at an equal distance between richesand poverty,725 but the standard of their wealth insensiblyrose with the dignity and opulence of the cities which theygoverned. An authentic but imperfect726 rent-roll specifiessome houses, shops, gardens, and farms, which belonged tothe three Basilicoe of Rome, St. Peter, St. Paul, and St. JohnLateran, in the provinces of Italy, Africa, and the East. Theyproduce, besides a reserved rent of oil, linen, paper, aro-matics, &c., a clear annual revenue of twenty-two thousandpieces of gold, or twelve thousand pounds sterling. In theage of Constantine and Justinian, the bishops no longer pos-sessed, perhaps they no longer deserved, the unsuspectingconfidence of their clergy and people. The ecclesiastical rev-enues of each diocese were divided into four parts for the re-spective uses of the bishop himself, of his inferior clergy, ofthe poor, and of the public worship; and the abuse of this sa-cred trust was strictly and repeatedly checked.727 The pat-rimony of the church was still subject to all the public com-positions of the state.728 The clergy of Rome, Alexandria,

725See Justinian Novell cxxiii 3 The revenue of the patriarchs, and themost wealthy bishops, is not expressed: the highest annual valuationof a bishopric is stated at thirty, and the lowest at two, pounds of gold;the medium might be taken at sixteen, but these valuations are muchbelow the real value

726See Baronius, (Annal Eccles A D 324, No 58, 65, 70, 71) Everyrecord which comes from the Vatican is justly suspected; yet these rent-rolls have an ancient and authentic color; and it is at least evident, that,if forged, they were forged in a period when farms not kingdoms, werethe objects of papal avarice

727See Thomassin, Discipline de l’Eglise, tom iii l ii c 13, 14, 15, p689-706 The legal division of the ecclesiastical revenue does not ap-pear to have been established in the time of Ambrose and ChrysostomSimplicius and Gelasius, who were bishops of Rome in the latter partof the fifth century, mention it in their pastoral letters as a general law,which was already confirmed by the custom of Italy

728Ambrose, the most strenuous assertor of ecclesiastical privileges,submits without a murmur to the payment of the land tax “Si tri bu-tum petit Imperator, non negamus; agri ecclesiae solvunt tributum

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Chessaionica, &c., might solicit and obtain some partial ex-emptions; but the premature attempt of the great council ofRimini, which aspired to universal freedom, was success-fully resisted by the son of Constantine.729

IV. The Latin clergy, who erected their tribunal on the ru-ins of the civil and common law, have modestly accepted,as the gift of Constantine,730 the independent jurisdiction,which was the fruit of time, of accident, and of their ownindustry. But the liberality of the Christian emperors had ac-tually endowed them with some legal prerogatives, whichsecured and dignified the sacerdotal character.731 1. Un-

solvimus quae sunt Caesaris Caesari, et quae sunt Dei Deo; tributumCaesaris est; non negatur” Baronius labors to interpret this tribute asan act of charity rather than of duty, (Annal Eccles A D 387;) but thewords, if not the intentions of Ambrose are more candidly explainedby Thomassin, Discipline de l’Eglise, tom iii l i c 34 p 668

729In Ariminense synodo super ecclesiarum et clericorum privilegiistractatu habito, usque eo dispositio progressa est, ut juqa quae vider-entur ad ecclesiam pertinere, a publica functione cessarent inquietu-dine desistente; quod nostra videtur dudum sanctio repulsisse CodTheod l xvi tit ii leg 15 Had the synod of Rimini carried this point,such practical merit might have atoned for some speculative heresies

730From Eusebius (in Vit Constant l iv c 27) and Sozomen (l i c 9)we are assured that the episcopal jurisdiction was extended and con-firmed by Constantine; but the forgery of a famous edict, which wasnever fairly inserted in the Theodosian Code (see at the end, tom vip 303,) is demonstrated by Godefroy in the most satisfactory mannerIt is strange that M de Montesquieu, who was a lawyer as well as aphilosopher, should allege this edict of Constantine (Esprit des Loix, lxxix c 16) without intimating any suspicion

731The subject of ecclesiastical jurisdiction has been involved in amist of passion, of prejudice, and of interest Two of the fairest bookswhich have fallen into my hands, are the Institutes of Canon Law,by the Abbe de Fleury, and the Civil History of Naples, by GiannoneTheir moderation was the effect of situation as well as of temper Fleurywas a French ecclesiastic, who respected the authority of the parlia-ments; Giannone was an Italian lawyer, who dreaded the power ofthe church And here let me observe, that as the general propositionswhich I advance are the result of many particular and imperfect facts,I must either refer the reader to those modern authors who have ex-

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der a despotic government, the bishops alone enjoyed andasserted the inestimable privilege of being tried only bytheir peers; and even in a capital accusation, a synod oftheir brethren were the sole judges of their guilt or inno-cence. Such a tribunal, unless it was inflamed by personalresentment or religious discord, might be favorable, or evenpartial, to the sacerdotal order: but Constantine was satis-fied,732 that secret impunity would be less pernicious thanpublic scandal: and the Nicene council was edited by hispublic declaration, that if he surprised a bishop in the actof adultery, he should cast his Imperial mantle over theepiscopal sinner. 2. The domestic jurisdiction of the bish-ops was at once a privilege and a restraint of the ecclesi-astical order, whose civil causes were decently withdrawnfrom the cognizance of a secular judge. Their venial of-fences were not exposed to the shame of a public trial orpunishment; and the gentle correction which the tender-ness of youth may endure from its parents or instructors,was inflicted by the temperate severity of the bishops. Butif the clergy were guilty of any crime which could not besufficiently expiated by their degradation from an honor-able and beneficial profession, the Roman magistrate drewthe sword of justice, without any regard to ecclesiastical im-munities. 3. The arbitration of the bishops was ratified bya positive law; and the judges were instructed to execute,without appeal or delay, the episcopal decrees, whose va-lidity had hitherto depended on the consent of the parties.The conversion of the magistrates themselves, and of thewhole empire, might gradually remove the fears and scru-ples of the Christians. But they still resorted to the tribunalof the bishops, whose abilities and integrity they esteemed;and the venerable Austin enjoyed the satisfaction of com-plaining that his spiritual functions were perpetually inter-rupted by the invidious labor of deciding the claim or the

pressly treated the subject, or swell these notes disproportioned size732Tillemont has collected from Rufinus, Theodoret, &c, the senti-

ments and language of Constantine Mem Eccles tom iii p 749, 759

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possession of silver and gold, of lands and cattle. 4. The an-cient privilege of sanctuary was transferred to the Christiantemples, and extended, by the liberal piety of the youngerTheodosius, to the precincts of consecrated ground.733 Thefugitive, and even guilty suppliants,were permitted to im-plore either the justice, or the mercy, of the Deity and hisministers. The rash violence of despotism was suspendedby the mild interposition of the church; and the lives or for-tunes of the most eminent subjects might be protected bythe mediation of the bishop.

V. The bishop was the perpetual censor of the morals ofhis people The discipline of penance was digested into asystem of canonical jurisprudence,734 which accurately de-fined the duty of private or public confession, the rules ofevidence, the degrees of guilt, and the measure of punish-ment. It was impossible to execute this spiritual censure, ifthe Christian pontiff, who punished the obscure sins of themultitude, respected the conspicuous vices and destructivecrimes of the magistrate: but it was impossible to arraignthe conduct of the magistrate, without, controlling the ad-ministration of civil government. Some considerations ofreligion, or loyalty, or fear, protected the sacred persons ofthe emperors from the zeal or resentment of the bishops;but they boldly censured and excommunicated the subor-

733See Cod Theod l ix tit xlv leg 4 In the works of Fra Paolo (tom ivp 192, &c,) there is an excellent discourse on the origin, claims, abuses,and limits of sanctuaries He justly observes, that ancient Greece mightperhaps contain fifteen or twenty axyla or sanctuaries; a numberwhich at present may be found in Italy within the walls of a singlecity

734The penitential jurisprudence was continually improved by thecanons of the councils But as many cases were still left to the discretionof the bishops, they occasionally published, after the example of theRoman Praetor, the rules of discipline which they proposed to observeAmong the canonical epistles of the fourth century, those of Basil theGreat were the most celebrated They are inserted in the Pandects ofBeveridge, (tom ii p 47-151,) and are translated by Chardon, Hist desSacremens, tom iv p 219-277

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dinate tyrants, who were not invested with the majesty ofthe purple. St. Athanasius excommunicated one of the min-isters of Egypt; and the interdict which he pronounced, offire and water, was solemnly transmitted to the churches ofCappadocia.735 Under the reign of the younger Theodosius,the polite and eloquent Synesius, one of the descendants ofHercules,736 filled the episcopal seat of Ptolemais, near theruins of ancient Cyrene,737 and the philosophic bishop sup-ported with dignity the character which he had assumedwith reluctance.738 He vanquished the monster of Libya,the president Andronicus, who abused the authority of avenal office, invented new modes of rapine and torture, andaggravated the guilt of oppression by that of sacrilege.739After a fruitless attempt to reclaim the haughty magistrate

735Basil, Epistol xlvii in Baronius, (Annal Eccles A D 370 N 91,) whodeclares that he purposely relates it, to convince govern that they werenot exempt from a sentence of excommunication his opinion, even aroyal head is not safe from the thunders of the Vatican; and the cardi-nal shows himself much more consistent than the lawyers and theolo-gians of the Gallican church

736The long series of his ancestors, as high as Eurysthenes, the firstDoric king of Sparta, and the fifth in lineal descent from Hercules, wasinscribed in the public registers of Cyrene, a Lacedaemonian colony(Synes Epist lvii p 197, edit Petav) Such a pure and illustrious pedi-gree of seventeen hundred years, without adding the royal ancestorsof Hercules, cannot be equalled in the history of mankind

737Synesius (de Regno, p 2) pathetically deplores the fallen and ru-ined state of Cyrene Ptolemais, a new city, 82 miles to the westward ofCyrene, assumed the metropolitan honors of the Pentapolis, or UpperLibya, which were afterwards transferred to Sozusa

738Synesius had previously represented his own disqualificationsHe loved profane studies and profane sports; he was incapable ofsupporting a life of celibacy; he disbelieved the resurrection; and herefused to preach fables to the people unless he might be permittedto philosophize at home Theophilus primate of Egypt, who knew hismerit, accepted this extraordinary compromise

739The promotion of Andronicus was illegal; since he was a native ofBerenice, in the same province The instruments of torture are curiouslyspecified; the press that variously pressed on distended the fingers, thefeet, the nose, the ears, and the lips of the victims

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by mild and religious admonition, Synesius proceeds to in-flict the last sentence of ecclesiastical justice,740 which de-votes Andronicus, with his associates and their families, tothe abhorrence of earth and heaven. The impenitent sinners,more cruel than Phalaris or Sennacherib, more destructivethan war, pestilence, or a cloud of locusts, are deprived ofthe name and privileges of Christians, of the participationof the sacraments, and of the hope of Paradise. The bishopexhorts the clergy, the magistrates, and the people, to re-nounce all society with the enemies of Christ; to excludethem from their houses and tables; and to refuse them thecommon offices of life, and the decent rites of burial. Thechurch of Ptolemais, obscure and contemptible as she mayappear, addresses this declaration to all her sister churchesof the world; and the profane who reject her decrees, willbe involved in the guilt and punishment of Andronicus andhis impious followers. These spiritual terrors were enforcedby a dexterous application to the Byzantine court; the trem-bling president implored the mercy of the church; and thedescendants of Hercules enjoyed the satisfaction of raisinga prostrate tyrant from the ground.741 Such principles andsuch examples insensibly prepared the triumph of the Ro-man pontiffs, who have trampled on the necks of kings.

VI. Every popular government has experienced the ef-fects of rude or artificial eloquence. The coldest nature isanimated, the firmest reason is moved, by the rapid com-munication of the prevailing impulse; and each hearer is af-fected by his own passions, and by those of the surroundingmultitude. The ruin of civil liberty had silenced the dema-gogues of Athens, and the tribunes of Rome; the custom ofpreaching which seems to constitute a considerable part of

740The sentence of excommunication is expressed in a rhetoricalstyle (Synesius, Epist lviii p 201-203) The method of involving wholefamilies, though somewhat unjust, was improved into national inter-dicts

741See Synesius, Epist xlvii p 186, 187 Epist lxxii p 218, 219 Epistlxxxix p 230, 231

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Christian devotion, had not been introduced into the tem-ples of antiquity; and the ears of monarchs were never in-vaded by the harsh sound of popular eloquence, till the pul-pits of the empire were filled with sacred orators, who pos-sessed some advantages unknown to their profane prede-cessors.742 The arguments and rhetoric of the tribune wereinstantly opposed with equal arms, by skilful and resoluteantagonists; and the cause of truth and reason might derivean accidental support from the conflict of hostile passions.The bishop, or some distinguished presbyter, to whom hecautiously delegated the powers of preaching, harangued,without the danger of interruption or reply, a submissivemultitude, whose minds had been prepared and subduedby the awful ceremonies of religion. Such was the strict sub-ordination of the Catholic church, that the same concertedsounds might issue at once from a hundred pulpits of Italyor Egypt, if they were tuned743 by the master hand of theRoman or Alexandrian primate. The design of this insti-tution was laudable, but the fruits were not always salu-tary. The preachers recommended the practice of the socialduties; but they exalted the perfection of monastic virtue,which is painful to the individual, and useless to mankind.Their charitable exhortations betrayed a secret wish that theclergy might be permitted to manage the wealth of the faith-ful, for the benefit of the poor. The most sublime represen-tations of the attributes and laws of the Deity were sulliedby an idle mixture of metaphysical subleties, puerile rites,

742See Thomassin (Discipline de l’Eglise, tom ii l iii c 83, p 1761-1770,) and Bingham, (Antiquities, vol i l xiv c 4, p 688- 717) Preach-ing was considered as the most important office of the bishop but thisfunction was sometimes intrusted to such presbyters as Chrysoetomand Augustin

743Queen Elizabeth used this expression, and practised this artwhenever she wished to prepossess the minds of her people in favorof any extraordinary measure of government The hostile effects of thismusic were apprehended by her successor, and severely felt by his son“When pulpit, drum ecclesiastic,” &c See Heylin’s Life of ArchbishopLaud, p 153

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and fictitious miracles: and they expatiated, with the mostfervent zeal, on the religious merit of hating the adversaries,and obeying the ministers of the church. When the publicpeace was distracted by heresy and schism, the sacred ora-tors sounded the trumpet of discord, and, perhaps, of sedi-tion. The understandings of their congregations were per-plexed by mystery, their passions were inflamed by invec-tives; and they rushed from the Christian temples of Anti-och or Alexandria, prepared either to suffer or to inflict mar-tyrdom. The corruption of taste and language is stronglymarked in the vehement declamations of the Latin bishops;but the compositions of Gregory and Chrysostom have beencompared with the most splendid models of Attic, or at leastof Asiatic, eloquence.744

VII. The representatives of the Christian republic wereregularly assembled in the spring and autumn of eachyear; and these synods diffused the spirit of ecclesias-tical discipline and legislation through the hundred andtwenty provinces of the Roman world.745 The archbishopor metropolitan was empowered, by the laws, to summonthe suffragan bishops of his province; to revise their con-duct, to vindicate their rights, to declare their faith, and toexamine the merits of the candidates who were elected bythe clergy and people to supply the vacancies of the epis-copal college. The primates of Rome, Alexandria, Antioch,Carthage, and afterwards Constantinople, who exercised amore ample jurisdiction, convened the numerous assemblyof their dependent bishops. But the convocation of greatand extraordinary synods was the prerogative of the em-

744Those modest orators acknowledged, that, as they were destituteof the gift of miracles, they endeavored to acquire the arts of eloquence

745The council of Nice, in the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventhcanons, has made some fundamental regulations concerning synods,metropolitan, and primates The Nicene canons have been variouslytortured, abused, interpolated, or forged, according to the interest ofthe clergy The Suburbicarian churches, assigned (by Rufinus) to thebishop of Rome, have been made the subject of vehement controversy(See Sirmond, Opera, tom iv p 1-238)

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peror alone. Whenever the emergencies of the church re-quired this decisive measure, he despatched a peremptorysummons to the bishops, or the deputies of each province,with an order for the use of post-horses, and a competentallowance for the expenses of their journey. At an early pe-riod, when Constantine was the protector, rather than theproselyte, of Christianity, he referred the African contro-versy to the council of Arles; in which the bishops of Yorkof Treves, of Milan, and of Carthage, met as friends andbrethren, to debate in their native tongue on the commoninterest of the Latin or Western church.746 Eleven years af-terwards, a more numerous and celebrated assembly wasconvened at Nice in Bithynia, to extinguish, by their finalsentence, the subtle disputes which had arisen in Egypt onthe subject of the Trinity. Three hundred and eighteen bish-ops obeyed the summons of their indulgent master; the ec-clesiastics of every rank, and sect, and denomination, havebeen computed at two thousand and forty-eight persons;747the Greeks appeared in person; and the consent of the Latinswas expressed by the legates of the Roman pontiff. The ses-sion, which lasted about two months, was frequently hon-ored by the presence of the emperor. Leaving his guardsat the door, he seated himself (with the permission of thecouncil) on a low stool in the midst of the hall. Constan-tine listened with patience, and spoke with modesty: andwhile he influenced the debates, he humbly professed thathe was the minister, not the judge, of the successors ofthe apostles, who had been established as priests and asgods upon earth.748 Such profound reverence of an abso-

746We have only thirty-three or forty-seven episcopal subscriptions:but Addo, a writer indeed of small account, reckons six hundred bish-ops in the council of Arles Tillemont, Mem Eccles tom vi p 422

747See Tillemont, tom vi p 915, and Beausobre, Hist du Manicheisme, tom i p 529 The name of bishop, which is given by Eusy-chius to the 2048 ecclesiastics, (Annal tom i p 440, vers Pocock,) mustbe extended far beyond the limits of an orthodox or even episcopalordination

748See Euseb in Vit Constantin l iii c 6-21 Tillemont, Mem Ecclesias-

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lute monarch towards a feeble and unarmed assembly ofhis own subjects, can only be compared to the respect withwhich the senate had been treated by the Roman princeswho adopted the policy of Augustus. Within the space offifty years, a philosophic spectator of the vicissitudes of hu-man affairs might have contemplated Tacitus in the senateof Rome, and Constantine in the council of Nice. The fathersof the Capitol and those of the church had alike degener-ated from the virtues of their founders; but as the bishopswere more deeply rooted in the public opinion, they sus-tained their dignity with more decent pride, and sometimesopposed with a manly spirit the wishes of their sovereign.The progress of time and superstition erased the memoryof the weakness, the passion, the ignorance, which dis-graced these ecclesiastical synods; and the Catholic worldhas unanimously submitted749 to the infallible decrees ofthe general councils.750

tiques, tom vi p 669-759749Sancimus igitur vicem legum obtinere, quae a quatuor Sanctis

Coueiliis expositae sunt act firmatae Praedictarum enim quat uor syn-odorum dogmata sicut sanctas Scripturas et regulas sicut leges obser-vamus Justinian Novell cxxxi Beveridge (ad Pandect proleg p 2) re-marks, that the emperors never made new laws in ecclesiastical mat-ters; and Giannone observes, in a very different spirit, that they gavea legal sanction to the canons of councils Istoria Civile di Napoli, tomi p 136

750See the article Concile in the Eucyclopedie, tom iii p 668-879, edi-tion de Lucques The author, M de docteur Bouchaud, has discussed,according to the principles of the Gallican church, the principal ques-tions which relate to the form and constitution of general, national,and provincial councils The editors (see Preface, p xvi) have reason tobe proud of this article Those who consult their immense compilation,seldom depart so well satisfied

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PERSECUTION OF HERESY, STATE OF THECHURCH

Part I

Persecution Of Heresy.–The Schism Of The Donatists.–The Arian Controversy.–Athanasius.–

Distracted State Of The ChurchAnd Empire Under ConstantineAnd His Sons.–

Toleration Of Paganism.

THE grateful applause of the clergy has consecrated thememory of a prince who indulged their passions and

promoted their interest. Constantine gave them security,wealth, honors, and revenge; and the support of the ortho-dox faith was considered as the most sacred and importantduty of the civil magistrate. The edict of Milan, the greatcharter of toleration, had confirmed to each individual ofthe Roman world the privilege of choosing and professinghis own religion. But this inestimable privilege was soonviolated; with the knowledge of truth, the emperor imbibedthe maxims of persecution; and the sects which dissentedfrom the Catholic church were afflicted and oppressed bythe triumph of Christianity. Constantine easily believedthat the Heretics, who presumed to dispute his opinions,or to oppose his commands, were guilty of the most absurdand criminal obstinacy; and that a seasonable applicationof moderate severities might save those unhappy men fromthe danger of an everlasting condemnation. Not a momentwas lost in excluding the ministers and teachers of the sepa-rated congregations from any share of the rewards and im-munities which the emperor had so liberally bestowed onthe orthodox clergy. But as the sectaries might still exist un-der the cloud of royal disgrace, the conquest of the East was

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immediately followed by an edict which announced theirtotal destruction.751 After a preamble filled with passionand reproach, Constantine absolutely prohibits the assem-blies of the Heretics, and confiscates their public propertyto the use either of the revenue or of the Catholic church.The sects against whom the Imperial severity was directed,appear to have been the adherents of Paul of Samosata; theMontanists of Phrygia, who maintained an enthusiastic suc-cession of prophecy; the Novatians, who sternly rejected thetemporal efficacy of repentance; the Marcionites and Valen-tinians, under whose leading banners the various Gnos-tics of Asia and Egypt had insensibly rallied; and perhapsthe Manichaeans, who had recently imported from Persiaa more artful composition of Oriental and Christian theol-ogy.752 The design of extirpating the name, or at least ofrestraining the progress, of these odious Heretics, was pros-ecuted with vigor and effect. Some of the penal regulationswere copied from the edicts of Diocletian; and this methodof conversion was applauded by the same bishops who hadfelt the hand of oppression, and pleaded for the rights ofhumanity. Two immaterial circumstances may serve, how-ever, to prove that the mind of Constantine was not entirelycorrupted by the spirit of zeal and bigotry. Before he con-demned the Manichaeans and their kindred sects, he re-solved to make an accurate inquiry into the nature of theirreligious principles. As if he distrusted the impartiality ofhis ecclesiastical counsellors, this delicate commission wasintrusted to a civil magistrate, whose learning and mod-eration he justly esteemed, and of whose venal character

751Eusebius in Vit Constantin l iii c 63, 64, 65, 66752After some examination of the various opinions of Tillemont,

Beausobre, Lardner, &c, I am convinced that Manes did not propa-gate his sect, even in Persia, before the year 270 It is strange, that aphilosophic and foreign heresy should have penetrated so rapidly intothe African provinces; yet I cannot easily reject the edict of Diocletianagainst the Manichaeans, which may be found in Baronius (Annal EcclA D 287)

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he was probably ignorant.753 The emperor was soon con-vinced, that he had too hastily proscribed the orthodox faithand the exemplary morals of the Novatians, who had dis-sented from the church in some articles of discipline whichwere not perhaps essential to salvation. By a particularedict, he exempted them from the general penalties of thelaw;754 allowed them to build a church at Constantinople,respected the miracles of their saints, invited their bishopAcesius to the council of Nice; and gently ridiculed the nar-row tenets of his sect by a familiar jest; which, from themouth of a sovereign, must have been received with ap-plause and gratitude.755

The complaints and mutual accusations which assailedthe throne of Constantine, as soon as the death of Maxen-tius had submitted Africa to his victorious arms, were illadapted to edify an imperfect proselyte. He learned, withsurprise, that the provinces of that great country, from theconfines of Cyrene to the columns of Hercules, were dis-tracted with religious discord.756 The source of the divi-

753Constantinus enim, cum limatius superstitionum quaeroret sec-tas, Manichaeorum et similium, &c Ammian xv 15 Strategius, whofrom this commission obtained the surname of Musonianus, was aChristian of the Arian sect He acted as one of the counts at the councilof Sardica Libanius praises his mildness and prudence Vales ad locumAmmian

754Cod Theod l xvi tit 5, leg 2 As the general law is not inserted inthe Theodosian Code, it probable that, in the year 438, the sects whichit had condemned were already extinct

755Sozomen, l i c 22 Socrates, l i c 10 These historians have been sus-pected, but I think without reason, of an attachment to the Novatiandoctrine The emperor said to the bishop, “Acesius, take a ladder, andget up to heaven by yourself” Most of the Christian sects have, byturns, borrowed the ladder of Acesius

756The best materials for this part of ecclesiastical history may befound in the edition of Optatus Milevitanus, published (Paris, 1700)by M Dupin, who has enriched it with critical notes, geographical dis-cussions, original records, and an accurate abridgment of the wholecontroversy M de Tillemont has bestowed on the Donatists the great-est part of a volume, (tom vi part i;) and I am indebted to him for an

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sion was derived from a double election in the church ofCarthage; the second, in rank and opulence, of the ecclesi-astical thrones of the West. Caecilian and Majorinus werethe two rival prelates of Africa; and the death of the lattersoon made room for Donatus, who, by his superior abilitiesand apparent virtues, was the firmest support of his party.The advantage which Caecilian might claim from the pri-ority of his ordination, was destroyed by the illegal, or atleast indecent, haste, with which it had been performed,without expecting the arrival of the bishops of Numidia.The authority of these bishops, who, to the number of sev-enty, condemned Caecilian, and consecrated Majorinus, isagain weakened by the infamy of some of their personalcharacters; and by the female intrigues, sacrilegious bar-gains, and tumultuous proceedings, which are imputed tothis Numidian council.757 The bishops of the contendingfactions maintained, with equal ardor and obstinacy, thattheir adversaries were degraded, or at least dishonored, bythe odious crime of delivering the Holy Scriptures to the of-ficers of Diocletian. From their mutual reproaches, as wellas from the story of this dark transaction, it may justly beinferred, that the late persecution had imbittered the zeal,without reforming the manners, of the African Christians.That divided church was incapable of affording an impar-tial judicature; the controversy was solemnly tried in fivesuccessive tribunals, which were appointed by the emperor;and the whole proceeding, from the first appeal to the fi-

ample collection of all the passages of his favorite St Augustin, whichrelate to those heretics

757Schisma igitur illo tempore confusae mulieris iracundia peperit;ambitus nutrivit; avaritia roboravit Optatus, l i c 19 The language ofPurpurius is that of a furious madman Dicitur te necasse lilios sororistuae duos Purpurius respondit: Putas me terreri a te occidi; et occidoeos qui contra me faciunt Acta Concil Cirtenais, ad calc Optat p 274When Caecilian was invited to an assembly of bishops, Purpurius saidto his brethren, or rather to his accomplices, “Let him come hither toreceive our imposition of hands, and we will break his head by way ofpenance” Optat l i c 19

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nal sentence, lasted above three years. A severe inquisition,which was taken by the Praetorian vicar, and the proconsulof Africa, the report of two episcopal visitors who had beensent to Carthage, the decrees of the councils of Rome and ofArles, and the supreme judgment of Constantine himself inhis sacred consistory, were all favorable to the cause of Cae-cilian; and he was unanimously acknowledged by the civiland ecclesiastical powers, as the true and lawful primate ofAfrica. The honors and estates of the church were attributedto his suffragan bishops, and it was not without difficulty,that Constantine was satisfied with inflicting the punish-ment of exile on the principal leaders of the Donatist fac-tion. As their cause was examined with attention, perhaps itwas determined with justice. Perhaps their complaint wasnot without foundation, that the credulity of the emperorhad been abused by the insidious arts of his favorite Osius.The influence of falsehood and corruption might procurethe condemnation of the innocent, or aggravate the sentenceof the guilty. Such an act, however, of injustice, if it con-cluded an importunate dispute, might be numbered amongthe transient evils of a despotic administration, which areneither felt nor remembered by posterity.

But this incident, so inconsiderable that it scarcely de-serves a place in history, was productive of a memorableschism which afflicted the provinces of Africa above threehundred years, and was extinguished only with Christian-ity itself. The inflexible zeal of freedom and fanaticism an-imated the Donatists to refuse obedience to the usurpers,whose election they disputed, and whose spiritual powersthey denied. Excluded from the civil and religious commu-nion of mankind, they boldly excommunicated the rest ofmankind, who had embraced the impious party of Caecil-ian, and of the Traditors, from which he derived his pre-tended ordination. They asserted with confidence, and al-most with exultation, that the Apostolical succession wasinterrupted; that all the bishops of Europe and Asia wereinfected by the contagion of guilt and schism; and that the

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prerogatives of the Catholic church were confined to thechosen portion of the African believers, who alone had pre-served inviolate the integrity of their faith and discipline.This rigid theory was supported by the most uncharitableconduct. Whenever they acquired a proselyte, even fromthe distant provinces of the East, they carefully repeated thesacred rites of baptism758 and ordination; as they rejectedthe validity of those which he had already received from thehands of heretics or schismatics. Bishops, virgins, and evenspotless infants, were subjected to the disgrace of a publicpenance, before they could be admitted to the communionof the Donatists. If they obtained possession of a churchwhich had been used by their Catholic adversaries, they pu-rified the unhallowed building with the same zealous carewhich a temple of idols might have required. They washedthe pavement, scraped the walls, burnt the altar, which wascommonly of wood, melted the consecrated plate, and castthe Holy Eucharist to the dogs, with every circumstance ofignominy which could provoke and perpetuate the animos-ity of religious factions.759 Notwithstanding this irreconcil-able aversion, the two parties, who were mixed and sepa-rated in all the cities of Africa, had the same language andmanners, the same zeal and learning, the same faith andworship. Proscribed by the civil and ecclesiastical pow-ers of the empire, the Donatists still maintained in someprovinces, particularly in Numidia, their superior numbers;and four hundred bishops acknowledged the jurisdiction oftheir primate. But the invincible spirit of the sect sometimespreyed on its own vitals: and the bosom of their schismati-cal church was torn by intestine divisions. A fourth part of

758The councils of Arles, of Nice, and of Trent, confirmed the wiseand moderate practice of the church of Rome The Donatists, however,had the advantage of maintaining the sentiment of Cyprian, and of aconsiderable part of the primitive church Vincentius Lirinesis (p 532,ap Tillemont, Mem Eccles tom vi p 138) has explained why the Do-natists are eternally burning with the Devil, while St Cyprian reigns inheaven with Jesus Christ

759See the sixth book of Optatus Milevitanus, p 91-100

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the Donatist bishops followed the independent standard ofthe Maximianists. The narrow and solitary path which theirfirst leaders had marked out, continued to deviate from thegreat society of mankind. Even the imperceptible sect of theRogatians could affirm, without a blush, that when Christshould descend to judge the earth, he would find his truereligion preserved only in a few nameless villages of theCaesarean Mauritania.760

The schism of the Donatists was confined to Africa: themore diffusive mischief of the Trinitarian controversy suc-cessively penetrated into every part of the Christian world.The former was an accidental quarrel, occasioned by theabuse of freedom; the latter was a high and mysteriousargument, derived from the abuse of philosophy. Fromthe age of Constantine to that of Clovis and Theodoric,the temporal interests both of the Romans and Barbarianswere deeply involved in the theological disputes of Arian-ism. The historian may therefore be permitted respectfullyto withdraw the veil of the sanctuary; and to deduce theprogress of reason and faith, of error and passion from theschool of Plato, to the decline and fall of the empire.

The genius of Plato, informed by his own meditation,or by the traditional knowledge of the priests of Egypt,761had ventured to explore the mysterious nature of the De-ity. When he had elevated his mind to the sublime con-templation of the first self-existent, necessary cause of the

760Tillemont, Mem Ecclesiastiques, tom vi part i p 253 He laughsat their partial credulity He revered Augustin, the great doctor of thesystem of predestination

761Plato Aegyptum peragravit ut a sacerdotibus Barbaris numeroset coelestia acciperet Cicero de Finibus, v 25 The Egyptians mightstill preserve the traditional creed of the Patriarchs Josephus has per-suaded many of the Christian fathers, that Plato derived a part of hisknowledge from the Jews; but this vain opinion cannot be reconciledwith the obscure state and unsocial manners of the Jewish people,whose scriptures were not accessible to Greek curiosity till more thanone hundred years after the death of Plato See Marsham Canon Chronp 144 Le Clerc, Epistol Critic vii p 177-194

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universe, the Athenian sage was incapable of conceivinghow the simple unity of his essence could admit the infinitevariety of distinct and successive ideas which compose themodel of the intellectual world; how a Being purely incor-poreal could execute that perfect model, and mould witha plastic hand the rude and independent chaos. The vainhope of extricating himself from these difficulties, whichmust ever oppress the feeble powers of the human mind,might induce Plato to consider the divine nature under thethreefold modification–of the first cause, the reason, or Lo-gos, and the soul or spirit of the universe. His poetical imag-ination sometimes fixed and animated these metaphysicalabstractions; the three archical on original principles wererepresented in the Platonic system as three Gods, unitedwith each other by a mysterious and ineffable generation;and the Logos was particularly considered under the moreaccessible character of the Son of an Eternal Father, and theCreator and Governor of the world. Such appear to havebeen the secret doctrines which were cautiously whisperedin the gardens of the academy; and which, according to themore recent disciples of Plato,762 could not be perfectly un-

762This exposition of the doctrine of Plato appears to me contraryto the true sense of that philosopher’s writings The brilliant imagina-tion which he carried into metaphysical inquiries, his style, full of al-legories and figures, have misled those interpreters who did not seek,from the whole tenor of his works and beyond the images which thewriter employs, the system of this philosopher In my opinion, thereis no Trinity in Plato; he has established no mysterious generation be-tween the three pretended principles which he is made to distinguishFinally, he conceives only as attributes of the Deity, or of matter, thoseideas, of which it is supposed that he made substances, real beings—-According to Plato, God and matter existed from all eternity Beforethe creation of the world, matter had in itself a principle of motion, butwithout end or laws: it is this principle which Plato calls the irrationalsoul of the world, because, according to his doctrine, every sponta-neous and original principle of motion is called soul God wished toimpress form upon matter, that is to say, 1 To mould matter, and makeit into a body; 2 To regulate its motion, and subject it to some endand to certain laws The Deity, in this operation, could not act but ac-

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cording to the ideas existing in his intelligence: their union filled this,and formed the ideal type of the world It is this ideal world, this di-vine intelligence, existing with God from all eternity, and called byPlato which he is supposed to personify, to substantialize; while anattentive examination is sufficient to convince us that he has never as-signed it an existence external to the Deity, (hors de la Divinite,) andthat he considered the as the aggregate of the ideas of God, the divineunderstanding in its relation to the world The contrary opinion is ir-reconcilable with all his philosophy: thus he says that to the idea ofthe Deity is essentially united that of intelligence, of a logos He wouldthus have admitted a double logos; one inherent in the Deity as anattribute, the other independently existing as a substance He affirmsthat the intelligence, the principle of order cannot exist but as an at-tribute of a soul, the principle of motion and of life, of which the na-ture is unknown to us How, then, according to this, could he considerthe logos as a substance endowed with an independent existence? Inother places, he explains it by these two words, knowledge, science,which signify the attributes of the Deity When Plato separates God,the ideal archetype of the world and matter, it is to explain how, ac-cording to his system, God has proceeded, at the creation, to unitethe principle of order which he had within himself, his proper intelli-gence, the principle of motion, to the principle of motion, the irrationalsoul which was in matter When he speaks of the place occupied by theideal world, it is to designate the divine intelligence, which is its causeFinally, in no part of his writings do we find a true personification ofthe pretended beings of which he is said to have formed a trinity: andif this personification existed, it would equally apply to many othernotions, of which might be formed many different trinities This er-ror, into which many ancient as well as modern interpreters of Platohave fallen, was very natural Besides the snares which were concealedin his figurative style; besides the necessity of comprehending as awhole the system of his ideas, and not to explain isolated passages,the nature of his doctrine itself would conduce to this error WhenPlato appeared, the uncertainty of human knowledge, and the contin-ual illusions of the senses, were acknowledged, and had given rise toa general scepticism Socrates had aimed at raising morality above theinfluence of this scepticism: Plato endeavored to save metaphysics, byseeking in the human intellect a source of certainty which the sensescould not furnish He invented the system of innate ideas, of whichthe aggregate formed, according to him, the ideal world, and affirmedthat these ideas were real attributes, not only attached to our concep-tions of objects, but to the nature of the objects themselves; a natureof which from them we might obtain a knowledge He gave, then, to

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derstood, till after an assiduous study of thirty years.763

The arms of the Macedonians diffused over Asia andEgypt the language and learning of Greece; and the theo-logical system of Plato was taught, with less reserve, andperhaps with some improvements, in the celebrated schoolof Alexandria.764 A numerous colony of Jews had been in-

these ideas a positive existence as attributes; his commentators couldeasily give them a real existence as substances; especially as the termswhich he used to designate them, essential beauty, essential goodness,lent themselves to this substantialization, (hypostasis)–G —-We haveretained this view of the original philosophy of Plato, in which thereis probably much truth The genius of Plato was rather metaphysicalthan impersonative: his poetry was in his language, rather than, likethat of the Orientals, in his conceptions–M

763The modern guides who lead me to the knowledge of the Pla-tonic system are Cudworth, Basnage, Le Clerc, and Brucker As thelearning of these writers was equal, and their intention different, aninquisitive observer may derive instruction from their disputes, andcertainty from their agreement

764Brucker, Hist Philosoph tom i p 1349-1357 The Alexandrianschool is celebrated by Strabo (l xvii) and Ammianus, (xxii 6) Note:The philosophy of Plato was not the only source of that professed inthe school of Alexandria That city, in which Greek, Jewish, and Egyp-tian men of letters were assembled, was the scene of a strange fusionof the system of these three people The Greeks brought a Platonism,already much changed; the Jews, who had acquired at Babylon a greatnumber of Oriental notions, and whose theological opinions had un-dergone great changes by this intercourse, endeavored to reconcilePlatonism with their new doctrine, and disfigured it entirely: lastly,the Egyptians, who were not willing to abandon notions for whichthe Greeks themselves entertained respect, endeavored on their sideto reconcile their own with those of their neighbors It is in Ecclesiasti-cus and the Wisdom of Solomon that we trace the influence of Orientalphilosophy rather than that of Platonism We find in these books, andin those of the later prophets, as in Ezekiel, notions unknown to theJews before the Babylonian captivity, of which we do not discover thegerm in Plato, but which are manifestly derived from the OrientalsThus God represented under the image of light, and the principle ofevil under that of darkness; the history of the good and bad angels;paradise and hell, &c, are doctrines of which the origin, or at least thepositive determination, can only be referred to the Oriental philosophy

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vited, by the favor of the Ptolemies, to settle in their newcapital.765 While the bulk of the nation practised the le-gal ceremonies, and pursued the lucrative occupations ofcommerce, a few Hebrews, of a more liberal spirit, devotedtheir lives to religious and philosophical contemplation.766They cultivated with diligence, and embraced with ardor,the theological system of the Athenian sage. But their na-tional pride would have been mortified by a fair confes-sion of their former poverty: and they boldly marked, asthe sacred inheritance of their ancestors, the gold and jewels

Plato supposed matter eternal; the Orientals and the Jews consideredit as a creation of God, who alone was eternal It is impossible to ex-plain the philosophy of the Alexandrian school solely by the blendingof the Jewish theology with the Greek philosophy The Oriental philos-ophy, however little it may be known, is recognized at every instantThus, according to the Zend Avesta, it is by the Word (honover) moreancient than the world, that Ormuzd created the universe This word isthe logos of Philo, consequently very different from that of Plato I haveshown that Plato never personified the logos as the ideal archetype ofthe world: Philo ventured this personification The Deity, according tohim, has a double logos; the first is the ideal archetype of the world,the ideal world, the first-born of the Deity; the second is the word it-self of God, personified under the image of a being acting to create thesensible world, and to make it like to the ideal world: it is the second-born of God Following out his imaginations, Philo went so far as topersonify anew the ideal world, under the image of a celestial man,the primitive type of man, and the sensible world under the image ofanother man less perfect than the celestial man Certain notions of theOriental philosophy may have given rise to this strange abuse of alle-gory, which it is sufficient to relate, to show what alterations Platonismhad already undergone, and what was their source Philo, moreover,of all the Jews of Alexandria, is the one whose Platonism is the mostpure It is from this mixture of Orientalism, Platonism, and Judaism,that Gnosticism arose, which had produced so many theological andphilosophical extravagancies, and in which Oriental notions evidentlypredominate–G

765Joseph Antiquitat, l xii c 1, 3 Basnage, Hist des Juifs, l vii c 7766For the origin of the Jewish philosophy, see Eusebius, Praeparat

Evangel viii 9, 10 According to Philo, the Therapeutae studied philos-ophy; and Brucker has proved (Hist Philosoph tom ii p 787) that theygave the preference to that of Plato

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which they had so lately stolen from their Egyptian masters.One hundred years before the birth of Christ, a philosoph-ical treatise, which manifestly betrays the style and senti-ments of the school of Plato, was produced by the Alexan-drian Jews, and unanimously received as a genuine andvaluable relic of the inspired Wisdom of Solomon.767 A sim-ilar union of the Mosaic faith and the Grecian philosophy,distinguishes the works of Philo, which were composed, forthe most part, under the reign of Augustus.768 The materialsoul of the universe769 might offend the piety of the He-brews: but they applied the character of the Logos to the Je-hovah of Moses and the patriarchs; and the Son of God wasintroduced upon earth under a visible, and even human ap-pearance, to perform those familiar offices which seem in-compatible with the nature and attributes of the UniversalCause.770

767See Calmet, Dissertations sur la Bible, tom ii p 277 The book of theWisdom of Solomon was received by many of the fathers as the workof that monarch: and although rejected by the Protestants for want ofa Hebrew original, it has obtained, with the rest of the Vulgate, thesanction of the council of Trent

768The Platonism of Philo, which was famous to a proverb, is provedbeyond a doubt by Le Clerc, (Epist Crit viii p 211-228) Basnage (Histdes Juifs, l iv c 5) has clearly ascertained, that the theological works ofPhilo were composed before the death, and most probably before thebirth, of Christ In such a time of darkness, the knowledge of Philo ismore astonishing than his errors Bull, Defens Fid Nicen s i c i p 12

769Mens agitat molem, et magno se corpore miscet Besides this ma-terial soul, Cudworth has discovered (p 562) in Amelius, Porphyry,Plotinus, and, as he thinks, in Plato himself, a superior, spiritual up-ercosmian soul of the universe But this double soul is exploded byBrucker, Basnage, and Le Clerc, as an idle fancy of the latter Platonists

770Petav Dogmata Theologica, tom ii l viii c 2, p 791 Bull, DefensFid Nicen s i c l p 8, 13 This notion, till it was abused by the Arians,was freely adopted in the Christian theology Tertullian (adv Praxeam,c 16) has a remarkable and dangerous passage After contrasting, withindiscreet wit, the nature of God, and the actions of Jehovah, he con-cludes: Scilicet ut haec de filio Dei non credenda fuisse, si non scriptaessent; fortasse non credenda de l’atre licet scripta (Tertullian is herearguing against the Patripassians; those who asserted that the Father

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THE eloquence of Plato, the name of Solomon, the author-ity of the school of Alexandria, and the consent of the

Jews and Greeks, were insufficient to establish the truth of amysterious doctrine, which might please, but could not sat-isfy, a rational mind. A prophet, or apostle, inspired by theDeity, can alone exercise a lawful dominion over the faithof mankind: and the theology of Plato might have beenforever confounded with the philosophical visions of theAcademy, the Porch, and the Lycaeum, if the name and di-vine attributes of the Logos had not been confirmed by thecelestial pen of the last and most sublime of the Evange-lists.771 The Christian Revelation, which was consummated

was born of the Virgin, died and was buried–M771The Platonists admired the beginning of the Gospel of St John

as containing an exact transcript of their own principles Augustin deCivitat Dei, x 29 Amelius apud Cyril advers Julian l viii p 283 But inthe third and fourth centuries, the Platonists of Alexandria might im-prove their Trinity by the secret study of the Christian theology Note:A short discussion on the sense in which St John has used the wordLogos, will prove that he has not borrowed it from the philosophy ofPlato The evangelist adopts this word without previous explanation,as a term with which his contemporaries were already familiar, andwhich they could at once comprehend To know the sense which hegave to it, we must inquire that which it generally bore in his timeWe find two: the one attached to the word logos by the Jews of Pales-tine, the other by the school of Alexandria, particularly by Philo TheJews had feared at all times to pronounce the name of Jehovah; theyhad formed a habit of designating God by one of his attributes; theycalled him sometimes Wisdom, sometimes the Word By the word ofthe Lord were the heavens made (Psalm xxxiii 6) Accustomed to alle-gories, they often addressed themselves to this attribute of the Deity asa real being Solomon makes Wisdom say “The Lord possessed me inthe beginning of his way, before his works of old I was set up from ev-erlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was” (Prov viii 22, 23)Their residence in Persia only increased this inclination to sustainedallegories In the Ecclesiasticus of the son of Sirach, and the Book ofWisdom, we find allegorical descriptions of Wisdom like the follow-ing: “I came out of the mouth of the Most High; I covered the earth as a

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cloud; I alone compassed the circuit of heaven, and walked in the bot-tom of the deep The Creator created me from the beginning, before theworld, and I shall never fail” (Eccles xxiv 35- 39) See also the Wisdomof Solomon, c vii v 9 [The latter book is clearly Alexandrian–M] Wesee from this that the Jews understood from the Hebrew and Chaldaicwords which signify Wisdom, the Word, and which were translatedinto Greek, a simple attribute of the Deity, allegorically personified,but of which they did not make a real particular being separate fromthe Deity The school of Alexandria, on the contrary, and Philo amongthe rest, mingling Greek with Jewish and Oriental notions, and aban-doning himself to his inclination to mysticism, personified the logos,and represented it a distinct being, created by God, and intermediatebetween God and man This is the second logos of Philo, that whichacts from the beginning of the world, alone in its kind, creator of thesensible world, formed by God according to the ideal world which hehad in himself, and which was the first logos, the first- born of theDeity The logos taken in this sense, then, was a created being, but,anterior to the creation of the world, near to God, and charged withhis revelations to mankind—-Which of these two senses is that whichSt John intended to assign to the word logos in the first Chapter ofhis Gospel, and in all his writings? St John was a Jew, born and ed-ucated in Palestine; he had no knowledge, at least very little, of thephilosophy of the Greeks, and that of the Grecizing Jews: he wouldnaturally, then, attach to the word logos the sense attached to it by theJews of Palestine If, in fact, we compare the attributes which he as-signs to the logos with those which are assigned to it in Proverbs, inthe Wisdom of Solomon, in Ecclesiasticus, we shall see that they arethe same The Word was in the world, and the world was made byhim; in him was life, and the life was the light of men, (c i v 10-14) Itis impossible not to trace in this chapter the ideas which the Jews hadformed of the allegorized logos The evangelist afterwards really per-sonifies that which his predecessors have personified only poetically;for he affirms “that the Word became flesh,” (v 14) It was to provethis that he wrote Closely examined, the ideas which he gives of thelogos cannot agree with those of Philo and the school of Alexandria;they correspond, on the contrary, with those of the Jews of PalestinePerhaps St John, employing a well-known term to explain a doctrinewhich was yet unknown, has slightly altered the sense; it is this alter-ation which we appear to discover on comparing different passages ofhis writings—-It is worthy of remark, that the Jews of Palestine, whodid not perceive this alteration, could find nothing extraordinary inwhat St John said of the Logos; at least they comprehended it withoutdifficulty, while the Greeks and Grecizing Jews, on their part, brought

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under the reign of Nerva, disclosed to the world the amaz-ing secret, that the Logos, who was with God from the be-ginning, and was God, who had made all things, and forwhom all things had been made, was incarnate in the per-son of Jesus of Nazareth; who had been born of a virgin,and suffered death on the cross. Besides the genera designof fixing on a perpetual basis the divine honors of Christ,the most ancient and respectable of the ecclesiastical writershave ascribed to the evangelic theologian a particular inten-tion to confute two opposite heresies, which disturbed thepeace of the primitive church.772 I. The faith of the Ebion-ites,773 perhaps of the Nazarenes,774 was gross and imper-fect. They revered Jesus as the greatest of the prophets, en-dowed with supernatural virtue and power. They ascribed

to it prejudices and preconceptions easily reconciled with those of theevangelist, who did not expressly contradict them This circumstancemust have much favored the progress of Christianity Thus the fathersof the church in the two first centuries and later, formed almost all inthe school of Alexandria, gave to the Logos of St John a sense nearlysimilar to that which it received from Philo Their doctrine approachedvery near to that which in the fourth century the council of Nice con-demned in the person of Arius–G—-M Guizot has forgotten the longresidence of St John at Ephesus, the centre of the mingling opinionsof the East and West, which were gradually growing up into Gnosti-cism (See Matter Hist du Gnosticisme, vol i p 154) St John’s sense ofthe Logos seems as far removed from the simple allegory ascribed tothe Palestinian Jews as from the Oriental impersonation of the Alexan-drian The simple truth may be that St John took the familiar term, and,as it were infused into it the peculiar and Christian sense in which it isused in his writings –M

772See Beausobre, Hist Critique du Manicheisme, tom i p 377 TheGospel according to St John is supposed to have been published aboutseventy years after the death of Christ

773The sentiments of the Ebionites are fairly stated by Mosheim (p331) and Le Clerc, (Hist Eccles p 535) The Clementines, publishedamong the apostolical fathers, are attributed by the critics to one ofthese sectaries

774Stanch polemics, like a Bull, (Judicium Eccles Cathol c 2,) insist onthe orthodoxy of the Nazarenes; which appears less pure and certainin the eyes of Mosheim, (p 330)

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to his person and to his future reign all the predictions of theHebrew oracles which relate to the spiritual and everlastingkingdom of the promised Messiah.775 Some of them mightconfess that he was born of a virgin; but they obstinately re-jected the preceding existence and divine perfections of theLogos, or Son of God, which are so clearly defined in theGospel of St. John. About fifty years afterwards, the Ebion-ites, whose errors are mentioned by Justin Martyr with lessseverity than they seem to deserve,776 formed a very incon-siderable portion of the Christian name. II. The Gnostics,who were distinguished by the epithet of Docetes, devi-ated into the contrary extreme; and betrayed the human,while they asserted the divine, nature of Christ. Educatedin the school of Plato, accustomed to the sublime idea of theLogos, they readily conceived that the brightest Aeon, orEmanation of the Deity, might assume the outward shapeand visible appearances of a mortal;777 but they vainly pre-tended, that the imperfections of matter are incompatiblewith the purity of a celestial substance.

While the blood of Christ yet smoked on Mount Calvary,the Docetes invented the impious and extravagant hypothe-sis, that, instead of issuing from the womb of the Virgin,778

775The humble condition and sufferings of Jesus have always beena stumbling-block to the Jews “Deus contrariis coloribus Messiam de-pinxerat: futurus erat Rex, Judex, Pastor,” &c See Limborch et OrobioAmica Collat p 8, 19, 53-76, 192-234 But this objection has obliged thebelieving Christians to lift up their eyes to a spiritual and everlastingkingdom

776Justin Martyr, Dialog cum Tryphonte, p 143, 144 See Le Clerc, HistEccles p 615 Bull and his editor Grabe (Judicium Eccles Cathol c 7,and Appendix) attempt to distort either the sentiments or the wordsof Justin; but their violent correction of the text is rejected even by theBenedictine editors

777The Arians reproached the orthodox party with borrowing theirTrinity from the Valentinians and Marcionites See Beausobre, Hist deManicheisme, l iii c 5, 7

778Non dignum est ex utero credere Deum, et Deum Christum nondignum est ut tanta majestas per sordes et squalores muli eris transire

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he had descended on the banks of the Jordan in the formof perfect manhood; that he had imposed on the senses ofhis enemies, and of his disciples; and that the ministers ofPilate had wasted their impotent rage on an ury phantom,who seemed to expire on the cross, and, after three days, torise from the dead.779

credatur The Gnostics asserted the impurity of matter, and of mar-riage; and they were scandalized by the gross interpretations of the fa-thers, and even of Augustin himself See Beausobre, tom ii p 523, (Thegreater part of the Docetae rejected the true divinity of Jesus Christ, aswell as his human nature They belonged to the Gnostics, whom somephilosophers, in whose party Gibbon has enlisted, make to derive theiropinions from those of Plato These philosophers did not consider thatPlatonism had undergone continual alterations, and that those whogave it some analogy with the notions of the Gnostics were later intheir origin than most of the sects comprehended under this nameMosheim has proved (in his Instit Histor Eccles Major s i p 136, sqqand p 339, sqq) that the Oriental philosophy, combined with the cabal-istical philosophy of the Jews, had given birth to Gnosticism The rela-tions which exist between this doctrine and the records which remainto us of that of the Orientals, the Chaldean and Persian, have beenthe source of the errors of the Gnostic Christians, who wished to rec-oncile their ancient notions with their new belief It is on this accountthat, denying the human nature of Christ, they also denied his inti-mate union with God, and took him for one of the substances (aeons)created by God As they believed in the eternity of matter, and consid-ered it to be the principle of evil, in opposition to the Deity, the firstcause and principle of good, they were unwilling to admit that oneof the pure substances, one of the aeons which came forth from God,had, by partaking in the material nature, allied himself to the princi-ple of evil; and this was their motive for rejecting the real humanity ofJesus Christ See Ch G F Walch, Hist of Heresies in Germ t i p 217, sqqBrucker, Hist Crit Phil ii p 639–G

779Apostolis adhuc in saeculo superstitibus apud Judaeam Christisanguine recente, et phanlasma corpus Domini asserebatur Coteleriusthinks (Patres Apostol tom ii p 24) that those who will not allow theDocetes to have arisen in the time of the Apostles, may with equal rea-son deny that the sun shines at noonday These Docetes, who formedthe most considerable party among the Gnostics, were so called, be-cause they granted only a seeming body to Christ (The name of Do-cetae was given to these sectaries only in the course of the secondcentury: this name did not designate a sect, properly so called; it ap-

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The divine sanction, which the Apostle had bestowed onthe fundamental principle of the theology of Plato, encour-aged the learned proselytes of the second and third cen-turies to admire and study the writings of the Atheniansage, who had thus marvellously anticipated one of themost surprising discoveries of the Christian revelation. Therespectable name of Plato was used by the orthodox,780 andabused by the heretics,781 as the common support of truthand error: the authority of his skilful commentators, andthe science of dialectics, were employed to justify the re-mote consequences of his opinions and to supply the dis-creet silence of the inspired writers. The same subtle and

plied to all the sects who taught the non- reality of the material bodyof Christ; of this number were the Valentinians, the Basilidians, theOphites, the Marcionites, (against whom Tertullian wrote his book, DeCarne Christi,) and other Gnostics In truth, Clement of Alexandria (liii Strom c 13, p 552) makes express mention of a sect of Docetae, andeven names as one of its heads a certain Cassianus; but every thingleads us to believe that it was not a distinct sect Philastrius (de Haeres,c 31) reproaches Saturninus with being a Docete Irenaeus (adv Haerc 23) makes the same reproach against Basilides Epiphanius and Phi-lastrius, who have treated in detail on each particular heresy, do notspecially name that of the Docetae Serapion, bishop of Antioch, (EusebHist Eccles l vi c 12,) and Clement of Alexandria, (l vii Strom p 900,)appear to be the first who have used the generic name It is not foundin any earlier record, though the error which it points out existed evenin the time of the Apostles See Ch G F Walch, Hist of Her v i p 283Tillemont, Mempour servir a la Hist Eccles ii p 50 Buddaeus de EcclesApost c 5 & 7–G

780Some proofs of the respect which the Christians entertained forthe person and doctrine of Plato may be found in De la Mothe le Vayer,tom v p 135, &c, edit 1757; and Basnage, Hist des Juifs tom iv p 29, 79,&c

781Doleo bona fide, Platonem omnium heraeticorum condimentar-ium factum Tertullian de Anima, c 23 Petavius (Dogm Theolog tom iiiproleg 2) shows that this was a general complaint Beausobre (tom i l iiic 9, 10) has deduced the Gnostic errors from Platonic principles; andas, in the school of Alexandria, those principles were blended with theOriental philosophy, (Brucker, tom i p 1356,) the sentiment of Beauso-bre may be reconciled with the opinion of Mosheim, (General Historyof the Church, vol i p 37)

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profound questions concerning the nature, the generation,the distinction, and the equality of the three divine personsof the mysterious Triad, or Trinity,782 were agitated in thephilosophical and in the Christian schools of Alexandria.An eager spirit of curiosity urged them to explore the se-crets of the abyss; and the pride of the professors, and oftheir disciples, was satisfied with the sciences of words. Butthe most sagacious of the Christian theologians, the greatAthanasius himself, has candidly confessed,783 that when-ever he forced his understanding to meditate on the divinityof the Logos, his toilsome and unavailing efforts recoiled onthemselves; that the more he thought, the less he compre-hended; and the more he wrote, the less capable was he ofexpressing his thoughts. In every step of the inquiry, we arecompelled to feel and acknowledge the immeasurable dis-proportion between the size of the object and the capacityof the human mind. We may strive to abstract the notionsof time, of space, and of matter, which so closely adhere toall the perceptions of our experimental knowledge. But assoon as we presume to reason of infinite substance, of spir-itual generation; as often as we deduce any positive con-clusions from a negative idea, we are involved in darkness,perplexity, and inevitable contradiction. As these difficul-ties arise from the nature of the subject, they oppress, withthe same insuperable weight, the philosophic and the theo-logical disputant; but we may observe two essential and pe-culiar circumstances, which discriminated the doctrines ofthe Catholic church from the opinions of the Platonic school.

I. A chosen society of philosophers, men of a liberal ed-

782If Theophilus, bishop of Antioch, (see Dupin, Bibliotheque Eccle-siastique, tom i p 66,) was the first who employed the word Triad,Trinity, that abstract term, which was already familiar to the schools ofphilosophy, must have been introduced into the theology of the Chris-tians after the middle of the second century

783Athanasius, tom i p 808 His expressions have an uncommon en-ergy; and as he was writing to monks, there could not be any occasionfor him to affect a rational language

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ucation and curious disposition, might silently meditate,and temperately discuss in the gardens of Athens or the li-brary of Alexandria, the abstruse questions of metaphysi-cal science. The lofty speculations, which neither convincedthe understanding, nor agitated the passions, of the Pla-tonists themselves, were carelessly overlooked by the idle,the busy, and even the studious part of mankind.784 Butafter the Logos had been revealed as the sacred object ofthe faith, the hope, and the religious worship of the Chris-tians, the mysterious system was embraced by a numerousand increasing multitude in every province of the Romanworld. Those persons who, from their age, or sex, or oc-cupations, were the least qualified to judge, who were theleast exercised in the habits of abstract reasoning, aspiredto contemplate the economy of the Divine Nature: and it isthe boast of Tertullian,785 that a Christian mechanic couldreadily answer such questions as had perplexed the wisestof the Grecian sages. Where the subject lies so far beyondour reach, the difference between the highest and the low-est of human understandings may indeed be calculated asinfinitely small; yet the degree of weakness may perhaps bemeasured by the degree of obstinacy and dogmatic confi-dence. These speculations, instead of being treated as theamusement of a vacant hour, became the most serious busi-ness of the present, and the most useful preparation for afuture, life. A theology, which it was incumbent to believe,which it was impious to doubt, and which it might be dan-gerous, and even fatal, to mistake, became the familiar topicof private meditation and popular discourse. The cold in-

784In a treatise, which professed to explain the opinions of the an-cient philosophers concerning the nature of the gods we might ex-pect to discover the theological Trinity of Plato But Cicero very hon-estly confessed, that although he had translated the Timaeus, he couldnever understand that mysterious dialogue See Hieronym praef ad lxii in Isaiam, tom v p 154

785Tertullian in Apolog c 46 See Bayle, Dictionnaire, au mot Si-monide His remarks on the presumption of Tertullian are profoundand interesting

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difference of philosophy was inflamed by the fervent spiritof devotion; and even the metaphors of common languagesuggested the fallacious prejudices of sense and experience.The Christians, who abhorred the gross and impure genera-tion of the Greek mythology,786 were tempted to argue fromthe familiar analogy of the filial and paternal relations. Thecharacter of Son seemed to imply a perpetual subordina-tion to the voluntary author of his existence;787 but as theact of generation, in the most spiritual and abstracted sense,must be supposed to transmit the properties of a commonnature,788 they durst not presume to circumscribe the pow-ers or the duration of the Son of an eternal and omnipotentFather. Fourscore years after the death of Christ, the Chris-tians of Bithynia, declared before the tribunal of Pliny, thatthey invoked him as a god: and his divine honors have beenperpetuated in every age and country, by the various sectswho assume the name of his disciples.789 Their tender rev-erence for the memory of Christ, and their horror for theprofane worship of any created being, would have engagedthem to assert the equal and absolute divinity of the Lo-gos, if their rapid ascent towards the throne of heaven had

786Lactantius, iv 8 Yet the Probole, or Prolatio, which the most or-thodox divines borrowed without scruple from the Valentinians, andillustrated by the comparisons of a fountain and stream, the sun andits rays, &c, either meant nothing, or favored a material idea of thedivine generation See Beausobre, tom i l iii c 7, p 548

787Many of the primitive writers have frankly confessed, that theSon owed his being to the will of the Father—-See Clarke’s ScriptureTrinity, p 280-287 On the other hand, Athanasius and his followersseem unwilling to grant what they are afraid to deny The schoolmenextricate themselves from this difficulty by the distinction of a pre-ceding and a concomitant will Petav Dogm Theolog tom ii l vi c 8, p587-603

788See Petav Dogm Theolog tom ii l ii c 10, p 159789Carmenque Christo quasi Deo dicere secum invicem Plin Epist x

97 The sense of Deus, Elohim, in the ancient languages, is criticallyexamined by Le Clerc, (Ars Critica, p 150-156,) and the propriety ofworshipping a very excellent creature is ably defended by the SocinianEmlyn, (Tracts, p 29-36, 51-145)

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not been imperceptibly checked by the apprehension of vi-olating the unity and sole supremacy of the great Father ofChrist and of the Universe. The suspense and fluctuationproduced in the minds of the Christians by these oppositetendencies, may be observed in the writings of the theolo-gians who flourished after the end of the apostolic age, andbefore the origin of the Arian controversy. Their suffrageis claimed, with equal confidence, by the orthodox and bythe heretical parties; and the most inquisitive critics havefairly allowed, that if they had the good fortune of possess-ing the Catholic verity, they have delivered their concep-tions in loose, inaccurate, and sometimes contradictory lan-guage.790

790See Daille de Usu Patrum, and Le Clerc, Bibliotheque Universelle,tom x p 409 To arraign the faith of the Ante-Nicene fathers, was the ob-ject, or at least has been the effect, of the stupendous work of Petaviuson the Trinity, (Dogm Theolog tom ii;) nor has the deep impressionbeen erased by the learned defence of Bishop Bull Note: Dr Burton’swork on the doctrine of the Ante-Nicene fathers must be consulted bythose who wish to obtain clear notions on this subject–M

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II. The devotion of individuals was the first circumstancewhich distinguished the Christians from the Platonists: thesecond was the authority of the church. The disciples ofphilosophy asserted the rights of intellectual freedom, andtheir respect for the sentiments of their teachers was a lib-eral and voluntary tribute, which they offered to superiorreason. But the Christians formed a numerous and disci-plined society; and the jurisdiction of their laws and magis-trates was strictly exercised over the minds of the faithful.The loose wanderings of the imagination were graduallyconfined by creeds and confessions;791 the freedom of pri-vate judgment submitted to the public wisdom of synods;the authority of a theologian was determined by his eccle-siastical rank; and the episcopal successors of the apostlesinflicted the censures of the church on those who deviatedfrom the orthodox belief. But in an age of religious contro-versy, every act of oppression adds new force to the elasticvigor of the mind; and the zeal or obstinacy of a spiritualrebel was sometimes stimulated by secret motives of ambi-tion or avarice. A metaphysical argument became the causeor pretence of political contests; the subtleties of the Platonicschool were used as the badges of popular factions, and thedistance which separated their respective tenets were en-larged or magnified by the acrimony of dispute. As long asthe dark heresies of Praxeas and Sabellius labored to con-found the Father with the Son,792 the orthodox party mightbe excused if they adhered more strictly and more earnestlyto the distinction, than to the equality, of the divine per-

791The most ancient creeds were drawn up with the greatest latitudeSee Bull, (Judicium Eccles Cathol,) who tries to prevent Episcopiusfrom deriving any advantage from this observation

792The heresies of Praxeas, Sabellius, &c, are accurately explained byMosheim (p 425, 680-714) Praxeas, who came to Rome about the endof the second century, deceived, for some time, the simplicity of thebishop, and was confuted by the pen of the angry Tertullian

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sons. But as soon as the heat of controversy had subsided,and the progress of the Sabellians was no longer an objectof terror to the churches of Rome, of Africa, or of Egypt,the tide of theological opinion began to flow with a gen-tle but steady motion towards the contrary extreme; andthe most orthodox doctors allowed themselves the use ofthe terms and definitions which had been censured in themouth of the sectaries.793 After the edict of toleration hadrestored peace and leisure to the Christians, the Trinitariancontroversy was revived in the ancient seat of Platonism,the learned, the opulent, the tumultuous city of Alexan-dria; and the flame of religious discord was rapidly com-municated from the schools to the clergy, the people, theprovince, and the East. The abstruse question of the eter-nity of the Logos was agitated in ecclesiastic conferencesand popular sermons; and the heterodox opinions of Ar-ius794 were soon made public by his own zeal, and by thatof his adversaries. His most implacable adversaries haveacknowledged the learning and blameless life of that emi-nent presbyter, who, in a former election, had declared, andperhaps generously declined, his pretensions to the episco-pal throne.795 His competitor Alexander assumed the of-fice of his judge. The important cause was argued beforehim; and if at first he seemed to hesitate, he at length pro-nounced his final sentence, as an absolute rule of faith.796

793Socrates acknowledges, that the heresy of Arius proceeded fromhis strong desire to embrace an opinion the most diametrically oppo-site to that of Sabellius

794The figure and manners of Arius, the character and numbers ofhis first proselytes, are painted in very lively colors by Epiphanius,(tom i Haeres lxix 3, p 729,) and we cannot but regret that he shouldsoon forget the historian, to assume the task of controversy

795See Philostorgius (l i c 3,) and Godefroy’s ample Commentary Yetthe credibility of Philostorgius is lessened, in the eyes of the orthodox,by his Arianism; and in those of rational critics, by his passion, hisprejudice, and his ignorance

796Sozomen (l i c 15) represents Alexander as indifferent, and evenignorant, in the beginning of the controversy; while Socrates (l i c 5)

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The undaunted presbyter, who presumed to resist the au-thority of his angry bishop, was separated from the com-munity of the church. But the pride of Arius was supportedby the applause of a numerous party. He reckoned amonghis immediate followers two bishops of Egypt, seven pres-byters, twelve deacons, and (what may appear almost in-credible) seven hundred virgins. A large majority of thebishops of Asia appeared to support or favor his cause; andtheir measures were conducted by Eusebius of Caesarea, themost learned of the Christian prelates; and by Eusebius ofNicomedia, who had acquired the reputation of a statesmanwithout forfeiting that of a saint. Synods in Palestine andBithynia were opposed to the synods of Egypt. The atten-tion of the prince and people was attracted by this theologi-cal dispute; and the decision, at the end of six years,797 wasreferred to the supreme authority of the general council ofNice.

When the mysteries of the Christian faith were danger-ously exposed to public debate, it might be observed, thatthe human understanding was capable of forming three dis-trict, though imperfect systems, concerning the nature ofthe Divine Trinity; and it was pronounced, that none ofthese systems, in a pure and absolute sense, were exemptfrom heresy and error.798 I. According to the first hypoth-esis, which was maintained by Arius and his disciples, the

ascribes the origin of the dispute to the vain curiosity of his theologicalspeculations Dr Jortin (Remarks on Ecclesiastical History, vol ii p 178)has censured, with his usual freedom, the conduct of Alexander

797The flames of Arianism might burn for some time in secret; butthere is reason to believe that they burst out with violence as early asthe year 319 Tillemont, Mem Eccles tom vi p 774-780

798Quid credidit? Certe, aut tria nomina audiens tres Deos esse cre-didit, et idololatra effectus est; aut in tribus vocabulis trinominem cre-dens Deum, in Sabellii haeresim incurrit; aut edoctus ab Arianis unumesse verum Deum Patrem, filium et spiritum sanctum credidit creat-uras Aut extra haec quid credere potuerit nescio Hieronym adv Lu-ciferianos Jerom reserves for the last the orthodox system, which ismore complicated and difficult

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Logos was a dependent and spontaneous production, cre-ated from nothing by the will of the father. The Son, bywhom all things were made,799 had been begotten before allworlds, and the longest of the astronomical periods couldbe compared only as a fleeting moment to the extent of hisduration; yet this duration was not infinite,800 and therehad been a time which preceded the ineffable generationof the Logos. On this only-begotten Son, the Almighty Fa-ther had transfused his ample spirit, and impressed the ef-fulgence of his glory. Visible image of invisible perfection,he saw, at an immeasurable distance beneath his feet, thethrones of the brightest archangels; yet he shone only witha reflected light, and, like the sons of the Romans emper-ors, who were invested with the titles of Caesar or Augus-tus,801 he governed the universe in obedience to the willof his Father and Monarch. II. In the second hypothesis,the Logos possessed all the inherent, incommunicable per-fections, which religion and philosophy appropriate to theSupreme God. Three distinct and infinite minds or sub-stances, three coequal and coeternal beings, composed theDivine Essence;802 and it would have implied contradic-tion, that any of them should not have existed, or that theyshould ever cease to exist.803 The advocates of a system

799As the doctrine of absolute creation from nothing was graduallyintroduced among the Christians, (Beausobre, tom ii p 165- 215,) thedignity of the workman very naturally rose with that of the work

800The metaphysics of Dr Clarke (Scripture Trinity, p 276-280) coulddigest an eternal generation from an infinite cause

801This profane and absurd simile is employed by several of theprimitive fathers, particularly by Athenagoras, in his Apology to theemperor Marcus and his son; and it is alleged, without censure, byBull himself See Defens Fid Nicen sect iii c 5, No 4

802See Cudworth’s Intellectual System, p 559, 579 This dangeroushypothesis was countenanced by the two Gregories, of Nyssa andNazianzen, by Cyril of Alexandria, John of Damascus, &c See Cud-worth, p 603 Le Clerc, Bibliotheque Universelle, tom xviii p 97-105

803Augustin seems to envy the freedom of the Philosophers Liberisverbis loquuntur philosophi Nos autem non dicimus duo vel tria prin-

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which seemed to establish three independent Deities, at-tempted to preserve the unity of the First Cause, so conspic-uous in the design and order of the world, by the perpet-ual concord of their administration, and the essential agree-ment of their will. A faint resemblance of this unity of ac-tion may be discovered in the societies of men, and evenof animals. The causes which disturb their harmony, pro-ceed only from the imperfection and inequality of their fac-ulties; but the omnipotence which is guided by infinite wis-dom and goodness, cannot fail of choosing the same meansfor the accomplishment of the same ends. III. Three beings,who, by the self-derived necessity of their existence, possessall the divine attributes in the most perfect degree; who areeternal in duration, infinite in space, and intimately presentto each other, and to the whole universe; irresistibly forcethemselves on the astonished mind, as one and the samebeing,804 who, in the economy of grace, as well as in thatof nature, may manifest himself under different forms, andbe considered under different aspects. By this hypothesis, areal substantial trinity is refined into a trinity of names, andabstract modifications, that subsist only in the mind whichconceives them. The Logos is no longer a person, but an at-tribute; and it is only in a figurative sense that the epithetof Son can be applied to the eternal reason, which was withGod from the beginning, and by which, not by whom, allthings were made. The incarnation of the Logos is reducedto a mere inspiration of the Divine Wisdom, which filled thesoul, and directed all the actions, of the man Jesus. Thus, af-ter revolving around the theological circle, we are surprisedto find that the Sabellian ends where the Ebionite had be-gun; and that the incomprehensible mystery which excites

cipia, duos vel tres Deos De Civitat Dei, x 23804Boetius, who was deeply versed in the philosophy of Plato and

Aristotle, explains the unity of the Trinity by the indifference of thethree persons See the judicious remarks of Le Clerc, BibliothequeChoisie, tom xvi p 225, &c

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our adoration, eludes our inquiry.805

If the bishops of the council of Nice806 had been permit-ted to follow the unbiased dictates of their conscience, Ar-ius and his associates could scarcely have flattered them-selves with the hopes of obtaining a majority of votes, infavor of an hypothesis so directly averse to the two mostpopular opinions of the Catholic world. The Arians soonperceived the danger of their situation, and prudently as-sumed those modest virtues, which, in the fury of civil andreligious dissensions, are seldom practised, or even praised,except by the weaker party. They recommended the exer-cise of Christian charity and moderation; urged the incom-prehensible nature of the controversy, disclaimed the useof any terms or definitions which could not be found inthe Scriptures; and offered, by very liberal concessions, tosatisfy their adversaries without renouncing the integrityof their own principles. The victorious faction receivedall their proposals with haughty suspicion; and anxiouslysought for some irreconcilable mark of distinction, the re-jection of which might involve the Arians in the guilt andconsequences of heresy. A letter was publicly read, and ig-nominiously torn, in which their patron, Eusebius of Nico-media, ingenuously confessed, that the admission of theHomoousion, or Consubstantial, a word already familiarto the Platonists, was incompatible with the principles oftheir theological system. The fortunate opportunity was

805If the Sabellians were startled at this conclusion, they were drivenanother precipice into the confession, that the Father was born of a vir-gin, that he had suffered on the cross; and thus deserved the epithet ofPatripassians, with which they were branded by their adversaries Seethe invectives of Tertullian against Praxeas, and the temperate reflec-tions of Mosheim, (p 423, 681;) and Beausobre, tom i l iii c 6, p 533

806The transactions of the council of Nice are related by the ancients,not only in a partial, but in a very imperfect manner Such a picture asFra Paolo would have drawn, can never be recovered; but such rudesketches as have been traced by the pencil of bigotry, and that of rea-son, may be seen in Tillemont, (Mem Eccles tom v p 669-759,) and inLe Clerc, (Bibliotheque Universelle, tom x p 435-454)

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eagerly embraced by the bishops, who governed the reso-lutions of the synod; and, according to the lively expres-sion of Ambrose,807 they used the sword, which heresy it-self had drawn from the scabbard, to cut off the head of thehated monster. The consubstantiality of the Father and theSon was established by the council of Nice, and has beenunanimously received as a fundamental article of the Chris-tian faith, by the consent of the Greek, the Latin, the Ori-ental, and the Protestant churches. But if the same wordhad not served to stigmatize the heretics, and to unite theCatholics, it would have been inadequate to the purposeof the majority, by whom it was introduced into the ortho-dox creed. This majority was divided into two parties, dis-tinguished by a contrary tendency to the sentiments of theTritheists and of the Sabellians. But as those opposite ex-tremes seemed to overthrow the foundations either of nat-ural or revealed religion, they mutually agreed to qualifythe rigor of their principles; and to disavow the just, butinvidious, consequences, which might be urged by their an-tagonists. The interest of the common cause inclined themto join their numbers, and to conceal their differences; theiranimosity was softened by the healing counsels of tolera-tion, and their disputes were suspended by the use of themysterious Homoousion, which either party was free tointerpret according to their peculiar tenets. The Sabelliansense, which, about fifty years before, had obliged the coun-cil of Antioch808 to prohibit this celebrated term, had en-deared it to those theologians who entertained a secret butpartial affection for a nominal Trinity. But the more fash-ionable saints of the Arian times, the intrepid Athanasius,the learned Gregory Nazianzen, and the other pillars of thechurch, who supported with ability and success the Nicene

807We are indebted to Ambrose (De Fide, l iii) knowledge of this cu-rious anecdote Hoc verbum quod viderunt adversariis esse formidini;ut ipsis gladio, ipsum nefandae caput haereseos

808See Bull, Defens Fid Nicen sect ii c i p 25-36 He thinks it his dutyto reconcile two orthodox synods

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doctrine, appeared to consider the expression of substanceas if it had been synonymous with that of nature; and theyventured to illustrate their meaning, by affirming that threemen, as they belong to the same common species, are con-substantial, or homoousian to each other.809 This pure anddistinct equality was tempered, on the one hand, by theinternal connection, and spiritual penetration which indis-solubly unites the divine persons;810 and, on the other, bythe preeminence of the Father, which was acknowledged asfar as it is compatible with the independence of the Son.811Within these limits, the almost invisible and tremulous ballof orthodoxy was allowed securely to vibrate. On eitherside, beyond this consecrated ground, the heretics and thedaemons lurked in ambush to surprise and devour the un-happy wanderer. But as the degrees of theological hatreddepend on the spirit of the war, rather than on the impor-tance of the controversy, the heretics who degraded, weretreated with more severity than those who annihilated, theperson of the Son. The life of Athanasius was consumed inirreconcilable opposition to the impious madness of the Ar-ians;812 but he defended above twenty years the Sabellian-ism of Marcellus of Ancyra; and when at last he was com-pelled to withdraw himself from his communion, he contin-ued to mention, with an ambiguous smile, the venial errors

809According to Aristotle, the stars were homoousian to each other“That Homoousios means of one substance in kind, hath been shownby Petavius, Curcellaeus, Cudworth, Le Clerc, &c, and to prove itwould be actum agere” This is the just remark of Dr Jortin, (vol ii p212,) who examines the Arian controversy with learning, candor, andingenuity

810See Petavius, (Dogm Theolog tom ii l iv c 16, p 453, &c,) Cud-worth, (p 559,) Bull, (sect iv p 285-290, edit Grab) The circumincessio,is perhaps the deepest and darkest he whole theological abyss

811The third section of Bull’s Defence of the Nicene Faith, whichsome of his antagonists have called nonsense, and others heresy, isconsecrated to the supremacy of the Father

812The ordinary appellation with which Athanasius and his follow-ers chose to compliment the Arians, was that of Ariomanites

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of his respectable friend.813

The authority of a general council, to which the Ariansthemselves had been compelled to submit, inscribed on thebanners of the orthodox party the mysterious charactersof the word Homoousion, which essentially contributed,notwithstanding some obscure disputes, some nocturnalcombats, to maintain and perpetuate the uniformity of faith,or at least of language. The consubstantialists, who by theirsuccess have deserved and obtained the title of Catholics,gloried in the simplicity and steadiness of their own creed,and insulted the repeated variations of their adversaries,who were destitute of any certain rule of faith. The sincer-ity or the cunning of the Arian chiefs, the fear of the lawsor of the people, their reverence for Christ, their hatred ofAthanasius, all the causes, human and divine, that influ-ence and disturb the counsels of a theological faction, in-troduced among the sectaries a spirit of discord and incon-stancy, which, in the course of a few years, erected eighteendifferent models of religion,814 and avenged the violateddignity of the church. The zealous Hilary,815 who, fromthe peculiar hardships of his situation, was inclined to ex-tenuate rather than to aggravate the errors of the Orientalclergy, declares, that in the wide extent of the ten provincesof Asia, to which he had been banished, there could be

813Epiphanius, tom i Haeres lxxii 4, p 837 See the adventures of Mar-cellus, in Tillemont, (Mem Eccles tom v i p 880- 899) His work, in onebook, of the unity of God, was answered in the three books, whichare still extant, of Eusebius—-After a long and careful examination,Petavius (tom ii l i c 14, p 78) has reluctantly pronounced the condem-nation of Marcellus

814Athanasius, in his epistle concerning the Synods of Seleucia andRimini, (tom i p 886-905,) has given an ample list of Arian creeds,which has been enlarged and improved by the labors of the indefati-gable Tillemont, (Mem Eccles tom vi p 477)

815Erasmus, with admirable sense and freedom, has delineated thejust character of Hilary To revise his text, to compose the annals of hislife, and to justify his sentiments and conduct, is the province of theBenedictine editors

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found very few prelates who had preserved the knowledgeof the true God.816 The oppression which he had felt, thedisorders of which he was the spectator and the victim, ap-peased, during a short interval, the angry passions of hissoul; and in the following passage, of which I shall tran-scribe a few lines, the bishop of Poitiers unwarily deviatesinto the style of a Christian philosopher. “It is a thing,”says Hilary, “equally deplorable and dangerous, that thereare as many creeds as opinions among men, as many doc-trines as inclinations, and as many sources of blasphemyas there are faults among us; because we make creeds ar-bitrarily, and explain them as arbitrarily. The Homoousionis rejected, and received, and explained away by successivesynods. The partial or total resemblance of the Father and ofthe Son is a subject of dispute for these unhappy times. Ev-ery year, nay, every moon, we make new creeds to describeinvisible mysteries. We repent of what we have done, wedefend those who repent, we anathematize those whom wedefended. We condemn either the doctrine of others in our-selves, or our own in that of others; and reciprocally tear-ing one another to pieces, we have been the cause of eachother’s ruin.”817

It will not be expected, it would not perhaps be endured,that I should swell this theological digression, by a minuteexamination of the eighteen creeds, the authors of which,for the most part, disclaimed the odious name of their par-ent Arius. It is amusing enough to delineate the form, and totrace the vegetation, of a singular plant; but the tedious de-

816Absque episcopo Eleusio et paucis cum eo, ex majore parteAsianae decem provinciae, inter quas consisto, vere Deum nesciuntAtque utinam penitus nescirent! cum procliviore enim venia ignorar-ent quam obtrectarent Hilar de Synodis, sive de Fide Orientalium, c63, p 1186, edit Benedict In the celebrated parallel between atheismand superstition, the bishop of Poitiers would have been surprised inthe philosophic society of Bayle and Plutarch

817Hilarius ad Constantium, l i c 4, 5, p 1227, 1228 This remarkablepassage deserved the attention of Mr Locke, who has transcribed it(vol iii p 470) into the model of his new common-place book

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tail of leaves without flowers, and of branches without fruit,would soon exhaust the patience, and disappoint the cu-riosity, of the laborious student. One question, which grad-ually arose from the Arian controversy, may, however, benoticed, as it served to produce and discriminate the threesects, who were united only by their common aversion tothe Homoousion of the Nicene synod. 1. If they were askedwhether the Son was like unto the Father, the question wasresolutely answered in the negative, by the heretics who ad-hered to the principles of Arius, or indeed to those of phi-losophy; which seem to establish an infinite difference be-tween the Creator and the most excellent of his creatures.This obvious consequence was maintained by Aetius,818 onwhom the zeal of his adversaries bestowed the surname ofthe Atheist. His restless and aspiring spirit urged him to tryalmost every profession of human life. He was successivelya slave, or at least a husbandman, a travelling tinker, a gold-smith, a physician, a schoolmaster, a theologian, and at lastthe apostle of a new church, which was propagated by theabilities of his disciple Eunomius.819 Armed with texts ofScripture, and with captious syllogisms from the logic ofAristotle, the subtle Aetius had acquired the fame of an in-vincible disputant, whom it was impossible either to silenceor to convince. Such talents engaged the friendship of theArian bishops, till they were forced to renounce, and evento persecute, a dangerous ally, who, by the accuracy of hisreasoning, had prejudiced their cause in the popular opin-

818In Philostorgius (l iii c 15) the character and adventures of Aetiusappear singular enough, though they are carefully softened by thehand of a friend The editor, Godefroy, (p 153,) who was more attachedto his principles than to his author, has collected the odious circum-stances which his various adversaries have preserved or invented

819According to the judgment of a man who respected both thesesectaries, Aetius had been endowed with a stronger understandingand Eunomius had acquired more art and learning (Philostorgius lviii c 18) The confession and apology of Eunomius (Fabricius, BibliotGraec tom viii p 258-305) is one of the few heretical pieces which haveescaped

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ion, and offended the piety of their most devoted followers.2. The omnipotence of the Creator suggested a specious andrespectful solution of the likeness of the Father and the Son;and faith might humbly receive what reason could not pre-sume to deny, that the Supreme God might communicatehis infinite perfections, and create a being similar only tohimself.820 These Arians were powerfully supported by theweight and abilities of their leaders, who had succeeded tothe management of the Eusebian interest, and who occu-pied the principal thrones of the East. They detested, per-haps with some affectation, the impiety of Aetius; they pro-fessed to believe, either without reserve, or according to theScriptures, that the Son was different from all other crea-tures, and similar only to the Father. But they denied, the hewas either of the same, or of a similar substance; sometimesboldly justifying their dissent, and sometimes objecting tothe use of the word substance, which seems to imply an ad-equate, or at least, a distinct, notion of the nature of the De-ity. 3. The sect which deserted the doctrine of a similar sub-stance, was the most numerous, at least in the provinces ofAsia; and when the leaders of both parties were assembledin the council of Seleucia,821 their opinion would have pre-vailed by a majority of one hundred and five to forty-threebishops. The Greek word, which was chosen to express thismysterious resemblance, bears so close an affinity to the or-thodox symbol, that the profane of every age have deridedthe furious contests which the difference of a single diph-thong excited between the Homoousians and the Homoiou-sians. As it frequently happens, that the sounds and charac-

820Yet, according to the opinion of Estius and Bull, (p 297,) there isone power–that of creation–which God cannot communicate to a crea-ture Estius, who so accurately defined the limits of Omnipotence wasa Dutchman by birth, and by trade a scholastic divine Dupin BibliotEccles tom xvii p 45

821Sabinus ap Socrat (l ii c 39) had copied the acts: Athanasius andHilary have explained the divisions of this Arian synod; the other cir-cumstances which are relative to it are carefully collected by Baro andTillemont

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ters which approach the nearest to each other accidentallyrepresent the most opposite ideas, the observation would beitself ridiculous, if it were possible to mark any real and sen-sible distinction between the doctrine of the Semi-Arians,as they were improperly styled, and that of the Catholicsthemselves. The bishop of Poitiers, who in his Phrygian ex-ile very wisely aimed at a coalition of parties, endeavors toprove that by a pious and faithful interpretation,822 the Ho-moiousion may be reduced to a consubstantial sense. Yet heconfesses that the word has a dark and suspicious aspect;and, as if darkness were congenial to theological disputes,the Semi-Arians, who advanced to the doors of the church,assailed them with the most unrelenting fury.

The provinces of Egypt and Asia, which cultivated thelanguage and manners of the Greeks, had deeply imbibedthe venom of the Arian controversy. The familiar study ofthe Platonic system, a vain and argumentative disposition,a copious and flexible idiom, supplied the clergy and peo-ple of the East with an inexhaustible flow of words and dis-tinctions; and, in the midst of their fierce contentions, theyeasily forgot the doubt which is recommended by philoso-phy, and the submission which is enjoined by religion. Theinhabitants of the West were of a less inquisitive spirit; theirpassions were not so forcibly moved by invisible objects,their minds were less frequently exercised by the habitsof dispute; and such was the happy ignorance of the Gal-lican church, that Hilary himself, above thirty years afterthe first general council, was still a stranger to the Nicenecreed.823 The Latins had received the rays of divine knowl-

822Fideli et pia intelligentia De Synod c 77, p 1193 In his his shortapologetical notes (first published by the Benedictines from a MS ofChartres) he observes, that he used this cautious expression, qui intel-ligerum et impiam, p 1206 See p 1146 Philostorgius, who saw thoseobjects through a different medium, is inclined to forget the differenceof the important diphthong See in particular viii 17, and Godefroy, p352

823Testor Deumcoeli atque terrae me cum neutrum audissem, sem-

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edge through the dark and doubtful medium of a transla-tion. The poverty and stubbornness of their native tonguewas not always capable of affording just equivalents for theGreek terms, for the technical words of the Platonic philoso-phy,824 which had been consecrated, by the gospel or by thechurch, to express the mysteries of the Christian faith; and averbal defect might introduce into the Latin theology a longtrain of error or perplexity.825 But as the western provincialshad the good fortune of deriving their religion from an or-thodox source, they preserved with steadiness the doctrinewhich they had accepted with docility; and when the Arianpestilence approached their frontiers, they were suppliedwith the seasonable preservative of the Homoousion, by thepaternal care of the Roman pontiff. Their sentiments andtheir temper were displayed in the memorable synod of Ri-mini, which surpassed in numbers the council of Nice, sinceit was composed of above four hundred bishops of Italy,Africa, Spain, Gaul, Britain, and Illyricum. From the firstdebates it appeared, that only fourscore prelates adhered tothe party, though they affected to anathematize the nameand memory, of Arius. But this inferiority was compen-sated by the advantages of skill, of experience, and of dis-cipline; and the minority was conducted by Valens and Ur-sacius, two bishops of Illyricum, who had spent their livesin the intrigues of courts and councils, and who had beentrained under the Eusebian banner in the religious wars ofthe East. By their arguments and negotiations, they embar-rassed, they confounded, they at last deceived, the honest

per tamen utrumque sensisse Regeneratus pridem et in episcopatu ali-quantisper manens fidem Nicenam nunquam nisi exsulaturus audiviHilar de Synodis, c xci p 1205 The Benedictines are persuaded that hegoverned the diocese of Poitiers several years before his exile

824Seneca (Epist lviii) complains that even the of the Platonists (theens of the bolder schoolmen) could not be expressed by a Latin noun

825The preference which the fourth council of the Lateran at lengthgave to a numerical rather than a generical unity (See Petav tom ii l v c13, p 424) was favored by the Latin language: seems to excite the ideaof substance, trinitas of qualities

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simplicity of the Latin bishops; who suffered the palladiumof the faith to be extorted from their hand by fraud and im-portunity, rather than by open violence. The council of Ri-mini was not allowed to separate, till the members had im-prudently subscribed a captious creed, in which some ex-pressions, susceptible of an heretical sense, were insertedin the room of the Homoousion. It was on this occasion,that, according to Jerom, the world was surprised to finditself Arian.826 But the bishops of the Latin provinces hadno sooner reached their respective dioceses, than they dis-covered their mistake, and repented of their weakness. Theignominious capitulation was rejected with disdain and ab-horrence; and the Homoousian standard, which had beenshaken but not overthrown, was more firmly replanted inall the churches of the West.827

826Ingemuit totus orbis, et Arianum se esse miratus est Hieronymadv Lucifer tom i p 145

827The story of the council of Rimini is very elegantly told by Sulpi-cius Severus, (Hist Sacra, l ii p 419-430, edit Lugd Bat 1647,) and byJerom, in his dialogue against the Luciferians The design of the latter isto apologize for the conduct of the Latin bishops, who were deceived,and who repented

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SUCH was the rise and progress, and such were the nat-ural revolutions of those theological disputes, which

disturbed the peace of Christianity under the reigns ofConstantine and of his sons. But as those princes pre-sumed to extend their despotism over the faith, as well asover the lives and fortunes, of their subjects, the weightof their suffrage sometimes inclined the ecclesiastical bal-ance: and the prerogatives of the King of Heaven were set-tled, or changed, or modified, in the cabinet of an earthlymonarch. The unhappy spirit of discord which pervadedthe provinces of the East, interrupted the triumph of Con-stantine; but the emperor continued for some time to view,with cool and careless indifference, the object of the dis-pute. As he was yet ignorant of the difficulty of appeasingthe quarrels of theologians, he addressed to the contend-ing parties, to Alexander and to Arius, a moderating epis-tle;828 which may be ascribed, with far greater reason, tothe untutored sense of a soldier and statesman, than to thedictates of any of his episcopal counsellors. He attributesthe origin of the whole controversy to a trifling and sub-tle question, concerning an incomprehensible point of law,which was foolishly asked by the bishop, and imprudentlyresolved by the presbyter. He laments that the Christianpeople, who had the same God, the same religion, and thesame worship, should be divided by such inconsiderabledistinctions; and he seriously recommend to the clergy ofAlexandria the example of the Greek philosophers; who

828Eusebius, in Vit Constant l ii c 64-72 The principles of tolera-tion and religious indifference, contained in this epistle, have givengreat offence to Baronius, Tillemont, &c, who suppose that the em-peror had some evil counsellor, either Satan or Eusebius, at his elbowSee Cortin’s Remarks, tom ii p 183 (Heinichen (Excursus xi) quoteswith approbation the term “golden words,” applied by Ziegler to thismoderate and tolerant letter of Constantine May an English clergymanventure to express his regret that “the fine gold soon became dim” inthe Christian church?–M

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could maintain their arguments without losing their tem-per, and assert their freedom without violating their friend-ship. The indifference and contempt of the sovereign wouldhave been, perhaps, the most effectual method of silencingthe dispute, if the popular current had been less rapid andimpetuous, and if Constantine himself, in the midst of fac-tion and fanaticism, could have preserved the calm posses-sion of his own mind. But his ecclesiastical ministers sooncontrived to seduce the impartiality of the magistrate, andto awaken the zeal of the proselyte. He was provoked bythe insults which had been offered to his statues; he wasalarmed by the real, as well as the imaginary magnitudeof the spreading mischief; and he extinguished the hope ofpeace and toleration, from the moment that he assembledthree hundred bishops within the walls of the same palace.The presence of the monarch swelled the importance of thedebate; his attention multiplied the arguments; and he ex-posed his person with a patient intrepidity, which animatedthe valor of the combatants. Notwithstanding the applausewhich has been bestowed on the eloquence and sagacity ofConstantine,829 a Roman general, whose religion might bestill a subject of doubt, and whose mind had not been en-lightened either by study or by inspiration, was indiffer-ently qualified to discuss, in the Greek language, a meta-physical question, or an article of faith. But the credit of hisfavorite Osius, who appears to have presided in the councilof Nice, might dispose the emperor in favor of the ortho-dox party; and a well-timed insinuation, that the same Eu-sebius of Nicomedia, who now protected the heretic, hadlately assisted the tyrant,830 might exasperate him againsttheir adversaries. The Nicene creed was ratified by Con-stantine; and his firm declaration, that those who resisted

829Eusebius in Vit Constantin l iii c 13830Theodoret has preserved (l i c 20) an epistle from Constantine to

the people of Nicomedia, in which the monarch declares himself thepublic accuser of one of his subjects; he styles Eusebius and complainsof his hostile behavior during the civil war

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the divine judgment of the synod, must prepare themselvesfor an immediate exile, annihilated the murmurs of a fee-ble opposition; which, from seventeen, was almost instantlyreduced to two, protesting bishops. Eusebius of Caesareayielded a reluctant and ambiguous consent to the Homoou-sion;831 and the wavering conduct of the Nicomedian Euse-bius served only to delay, about three months, his disgraceand exile.832 The impious Arius was banished into one ofthe remote provinces of Illyricum; his person and discipleswere branded by law with the odious name of Porphyrians;his writings were condemned to the flames, and a capitalpunishment was denounced against those in whose posses-sion they should be found. The emperor had now imbibedthe spirit of controversy, and the angry, sarcastic style of hisedicts was designed to inspire his subjects with the hatredwhich he had conceived against the enemies of Christ.833

But, as if the conduct of the emperor had been guidedby passion instead of principle, three years from the coun-cil of Nice were scarcely elapsed before he discovered somesymptoms of mercy, and even of indulgence, towards theproscribed sect, which was secretly protected by his fa-vorite sister. The exiles were recalled, and Eusebius, whogradually resumed his influence over the mind of Con-stantine, was restored to the episcopal throne, from whichhe had been ignominiously degraded. Arius himself wastreated by the whole court with the respect which wouldhave been due to an innocent and oppressed man. His

831See in Socrates, (l i c 8,) or rather in Theodoret, (l i c 12,) an originalletter of Eusebius of Caesarea, in which he attempts to justify his sub-scribing the Homoousion The character of Eusebius has always beena problem; but those who have read the second critical epistle of LeClerc, (Ars Critica, tom iii p 30-69,) must entertain a very unfavorableopinion of the orthodoxy and sincerity of the bishop of Caesarea

832Athanasius, tom i p 727 Philostorgius, l i c 10, and Godefroy’sCommentary, p 41

833Socrates, l i c 9 In his circular letters, which were addressed to theseveral cities, Constantine employed against the heretics the arms ofridicule and comic raillery

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faith was approved by the synod of Jerusalem; and the em-peror seemed impatient to repair his injustice, by issuingan absolute command, that he should be solemnly admit-ted to the communion in the cathedral of Constantinople.On the same day, which had been fixed for the triumphof Arius, he expired; and the strange and horrid circum-stances of his death might excite a suspicion, that the ortho-dox saints had contributed more efficaciously than by theirprayers, to deliver the church from the most formidable ofher enemies.834 The three principal leaders of the Catholics,Athanasius of Alexandria, Eustathius of Antioch, and Paulof Constantinople were deposed on various f accusations,by the sentence of numerous councils; and were afterwardsbanished into distant provinces by the first of the Christianemperors, who, in the last moments of his life, received therites of baptism from the Arian bishop of Nicomedia. Theecclesiastical government of Constantine cannot be justifiedfrom the reproach of levity and weakness. But the cred-ulous monarch, unskilled in the stratagems of theologicalwarfare, might be deceived by the modest and specious pro-fessions of the heretics, whose sentiments he never perfectlyunderstood; and while he protected Arius, and persecutedAthanasius, he still considered the council of Nice as thebulwark of the Christian faith, and the peculiar glory of hisown reign.835

834We derive the original story from Athanasius, (tom i p 670,) whoexpresses some reluctance to stigmatize the memory of the dead Hemight exaggerate; but the perpetual commerce of Alexandria and Con-stantinople would have rendered it dangerous to invent Those whopress the literal narrative of the death of Arius (his bowels suddenlyburst out in a privy) must make their option between poison and mir-acle

835The change in the sentiments, or at least in the conduct, of Con-stantine, may be traced in Eusebius, (in Vit Constant l iii c 23, l iv c41,) Socrates, (l i c 23-39,) Sozomen, (l ii c 16-34,) Theodoret, (l i c 14-34,) and Philostorgius, (l ii c 1-17) But the first of these writers was toonear the scene of action, and the others were too remote from it It issingular enough, that the important task of continuing the history of

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The sons of Constantine must have been admitted fromtheir childhood into the rank of catechumens; but they im-itated, in the delay of their baptism, the example of theirfather. Like him they presumed to pronounce their judg-ment on mysteries into which they had never been regu-larly initiated;836 and the fate of the Trinitarian controversydepended, in a great measure, on the sentiments of Con-stantius; who inherited the provinces of the East, and ac-quired the possession of the whole empire. The Arian pres-byter or bishop, who had secreted for his use the testamentof the deceased emperor, improved the fortunate occasionwhich had introduced him to the familiarity of a prince,whose public counsels were always swayed by his domes-tic favorites. The eunuchs and slaves diffused the spiri-tual poison through the palace, and the dangerous infectionwas communicated by the female attendants to the guards,and by the empress to her unsuspicious husband.837 Thepartiality which Constantius always expressed towards theEusebian faction, was insensibly fortified by the dexterousmanagement of their leaders; and his victory over the tyrantMagnentius increased his inclination, as well as ability, toemploy the arms of power in the cause of Arianism. Whilethe two armies were engaged in the plains of Mursa, andthe fate of the two rivals depended on the chance of war, theson of Constantine passed the anxious moments in a churchof the martyrs under the walls of the city. His spiritual com-forter, Valens, the Arian bishop of the diocese, employed themost artful precautions to obtain such early intelligence asmight secure either his favor or his escape. A secret chainof swift and trusty messengers informed him of the vicissi-

the church should have been left for two laymen and a heretic836Quia etiam tum catechumenus sacramentum fidei merito

videretiu potuisse nescire Sulp Sever Hist Sacra, l ii p 410837Socrates, l ii c 2 Sozomen, l iii c 18 Athanas tom i p 813, 834 He

observes that the eunuchs are the natural enemies of the Son CompareDr Jortin’s Remarks on Ecclesiastical History, vol iv p 3 with a certaingenealogy in Candide, (ch iv,) which ends with one of the first com-panions of Christopher Columbus

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tudes of the battle; and while the courtiers stood tremblinground their affrighted master, Valens assured him that theGallic legions gave way; and insinuated with some pres-ence of mind, that the glorious event had been revealed tohim by an angel. The grateful emperor ascribed his successto the merits and intercession of the bishop of Mursa, whosefaith had deserved the public and miraculous approbationof Heaven.838 The Arians, who considered as their own thevictory of Constantius, preferred his glory to that of his fa-ther.839 Cyril, bishop of Jerusalem, immediately composedthe description of a celestial cross, encircled with a splen-did rainbow; which during the festival of Pentecost, aboutthe third hour of the day, had appeared over the Mount ofOlives, to the edification of the devout pilgrims, and thepeople of the holy city.840 The size of the meteor was grad-ually magnified; and the Arian historian has ventured to af-firm, that it was conspicuous to the two armies in the plainsof Pannonia; and that the tyrant, who is purposely repre-sented as an idolater, fled before the auspicious sign of or-thodox Christianity.841

The sentiments of a judicious stranger, who has impar-tially considered the progress of civil or ecclesiastical dis-

838Sulpicius Severus in Hist Sacra, l ii p 405, 406839Cyril (apud Baron A D 353, No 26) expressly observes that in

the reign of Constantine, the cross had been found in the bowels ofthe earth; but that it had appeared, in the reign of Constantius, in themidst of the heavens This opposition evidently proves, that Cyril wasignorant of the stupendous miracle to which the conversion of Con-stantine is attributed; and this ignorance is the more surprising, sinceit was no more than twelve years after his death that Cyril was conse-crated bishop of Jerusalem, by the immediate successor of Eusebius ofCaesarea See Tillemont, Mem Eccles tom viii p 715

840It is not easy to determine how far the ingenuity of Cyril mightbe assisted by some natural appearances of a solar halo

841Philostorgius, l iii c 26 He is followed by the author of the Alexan-drian Chronicle, by Cedrenus, and by Nicephorus (See Gothofred Dis-sert p 188) They could not refuse a miracle, even from the hand of anenemy

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cord, are always entitled to our notice; and a short pas-sage of Ammianus, who served in the armies, and stud-ied the character of Constantius, is perhaps of more valuethan many pages of theological invectives. “The Christianreligion, which, in itself,” says that moderate historian, “isplain and simple, he confounded by the dotage of super-stition. Instead of reconciling the parties by the weight ofhis authority, he cherished and promulgated, by verbal dis-putes, the differences which his vain curiosity had excited.The highways were covered with troops of bishops gallop-ing from every side to the assemblies, which they call syn-ods; and while they labored to reduce the whole sect to theirown particular opinions, the public establishment of theposts was almost ruined by their hasty and repeated jour-neys.”842 Our more intimate knowledge of the ecclesiasti-cal transactions of the reign of Constantius would furnishan ample commentary on this remarkable passage, whichjustifies the rational apprehensions of Athanasius, that therestless activity of the clergy, who wandered round the em-pire in search of the true faith, would excite the contemptand laughter of the unbelieving world.843 As soon as theemperor was relieved from the terrors of the civil war, hedevoted the leisure of his winter quarters at Arles, Milan,Sirmium, and Constantinople, to the amusement or toils ofcontroversy: the sword of the magistrate, and even of thetyrant, was unsheathed, to enforce the reasons of the the-ologian; and as he opposed the orthodox faith of Nice, itis readily confessed that his incapacity and ignorance were

842So curious a passage well deserves to be transcribed Christianamreligionem absolutam et simplicem, anili superstitione confundens; inqua scrutanda perplexius, quam componenda gravius excitaret dis-cidia plurima; quae progressa fusius aluit concertatione verborum, utcatervis antistium jumentis publicis ultro citroque discarrentibus, persynodos (quas appellant) dum ritum omnem ad suum sahere conantur(Valesius reads conatur) rei vehiculariae concideret servos Ammianus,xxi 16

843Athanas tom i p 870

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equal to his presumption.844 The eunuchs, the women, andthe bishops, who governed the vain and feeble mind of theemperor, had inspired him with an insuperable dislike tothe Homoousion; but his timid conscience was alarmed bythe impiety of Aetius. The guilt of that atheist was ag-gravated by the suspicious favor of the unfortunate Gal-lus; and even the death of the Imperial ministers, who hadbeen massacred at Antioch, were imputed to the sugges-tions of that dangerous sophist. The mind of Constantius,which could neither be moderated by reason, nor fixed byfaith, was blindly impelled to either side of the dark andempty abyss, by his horror of the opposite extreme; he alter-nately embraced and condemned the sentiments, he succes-sively banished and recalled the leaders, of the Arian andSemi-Arian factions.845 During the season of public busi-ness or festivity, he employed whole days, and even nights,in selecting the words, and weighing the syllables, whichcomposed his fluctuating creeds. The subject of his medi-tations still pursued and occupied his slumbers: the inco-herent dreams of the emperor were received as celestial vi-sions, and he accepted with complacency the lofty title ofbishop of bishops, from those ecclesiastics who forgot theinterest of their order for the gratification of their passions.The design of establishing a uniformity of doctrine, whichhad engaged him to convene so many synods in Gaul, Italy,Illyricum, and Asia, was repeatedly baffled by his own lev-ity, by the divisions of the Arians, and by the resistance ofthe Catholics; and he resolved, as the last and decisive ef-fort, imperiously to dictate the decrees of a general council.The destructive earthquake of Nicomedia, the difficulty of

844Socrates, l ii c 35-47 Sozomen, l iv c 12-30 Theodore li c 18-32Philostorg l iv c 4–12, l v c 1-4, l vi c 1-5

845Sozomen, l iv c 23 Athanas tom i p 831 Tillemont (Mem Ecclestom vii p 947) has collected several instances of the haughty fanaticismof Constantius from the detached treatises of Lucifer of Cagliari Thevery titles of these treaties inspire zeal and terror; “Moriendum pro DeiFilio” “De Regibus Apostaticis” “De non conveniendo cum Haeretico”“De non parcendo in Deum delinquentibus”

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finding a convenient place, and perhaps some secret mo-tives of policy, produced an alteration in the summons. Thebishops of the East were directed to meet at Seleucia, inIsauria; while those of the West held their deliberations atRimini, on the coast of the Hadriatic; and instead of twoor three deputies from each province, the whole episcopalbody was ordered to march. The Eastern council, after con-suming four days in fierce and unavailing debate, separatedwithout any definitive conclusion. The council of the Westwas protracted till the seventh month. Taurus, the Praeto-rian praefect was instructed not to dismiss the prelates tillthey should all be united in the same opinion; and his ef-forts were supported by the power of banishing fifteen ofthe most refractory, and a promise of the consulship if heachieved so difficult an adventure. His prayers and threats,the authority of the sovereign, the sophistry of Valens andUrsacius, the distress of cold and hunger, and the tediousmelancholy of a hopeless exile, at length extorted the reluc-tant consent of the bishops of Rimini. The deputies of theEast and of the West attended the emperor in the palace ofConstantinople, and he enjoyed the satisfaction of imposingon the world a profession of faith which established the like-ness, without expressing the consubstantiality, of the Son ofGod.846 But the triumph of Arianism had been preceded bythe removal of the orthodox clergy, whom it was impossibleeither to intimidate or to corrupt; and the reign of Constan-tius was disgraced by the unjust and ineffectual persecutionof the great Athanasius.

We have seldom an opportunity of observing, either inactive or speculative life, what effect may be produced, orwhat obstacles may be surmounted, by the force of a sin-gle mind, when it is inflexibly applied to the pursuit ofa single object. The immortal name of Athanasius847 willnever be separated from the Catholic doctrine of the Trinity,

846Sulp Sever Hist Sacra, l ii p 418-430 The Greek historians werevery ignorant of the affairs of the West

847We may regret that Gregory Nazianzen composed a panegyric

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to whose defence he consecrated every moment and everyfaculty of his being. Educated in the family of Alexander,he had vigorously opposed the early progress of the Arianheresy: he exercised the important functions of secretaryunder the aged prelate; and the fathers of the Nicene coun-cil beheld with surprise and respect the rising virtues of theyoung deacon. In a time of public danger, the dull claims ofage and of rank are sometimes superseded; and within fivemonths after his return from Nice, the deacon Athanasiuswas seated on the archiepiscopal throne of Egypt. He filledthat eminent station above forty-six years, and his long ad-ministration was spent in a perpetual combat against thepowers of Arianism. Five times was Athanasius expelledfrom his throne; twenty years he passed as an exile or afugitive: and almost every province of the Roman empirewas successively witness to his merit, and his sufferings inthe cause of the Homoousion, which he considered as thesole pleasure and business, as the duty, and as the glory ofhis life. Amidst the storms of persecution, the archbishopof Alexandria was patient of labor, jealous of fame, care-less of safety; and although his mind was tainted by thecontagion of fanaticism, Athanasius displayed a superiorityof character and abilities, which would have qualified him,far better than the degenerate sons of Constantine, for thegovernment of a great monarchy. His learning was muchless profound and extensive than that of Eusebius of Cae-sarea, and his rude eloquence could not be compared withthe polished oratory of Gregory of Basil; but whenever the

instead of a life of Athanasius; but we should enjoy and improve theadvantage of drawing our most authentic materials from the rich fundof his own epistles and apologies, (tom i p 670-951) I shall not imi-tate the example of Socrates, (l ii c l) who published the first editionof the history, without giving himself the trouble to consult the writ-ings of Athanasius Yet even Socrates, the more curious Sozomen, andthe learned Theodoret, connect the life of Athanasius with the seriesof ecclesiastical history The diligence of Tillemont, (tom viii,) and ofthe Benedictine editors, has collected every fact, and examined everydifficulty

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primate of Egypt was called upon to justify his sentiments,or his conduct, his unpremeditated style, either of speak-ing or writing, was clear, forcible, and persuasive. He hasalways been revered, in the orthodox school, as one of themost accurate masters of the Christian theology; and he wassupposed to possess two profane sciences, less adapted tothe episcopal character, the knowledge of jurisprudence,848

and that of divination.849 Some fortunate conjectures of fu-ture events, which impartial reasoners might ascribe to theexperience and judgment of Athanasius, were attributed byhis friends to heavenly inspiration, and imputed by his en-emies to infernal magic.

But as Athanasius was continually engaged with the prej-udices and passions of every order of men, from the monkto the emperor, the knowledge of human nature was hisfirst and most important science. He preserved a distinctand unbroken view of a scene which was incessantly shift-ing; and never failed to improve those decisive momentswhich are irrecoverably past before they are perceived bya common eye. The archbishop of Alexandria was capableof distinguishing how far he might boldly command, andwhere he must dexterously insinuate; how long he mightcontend with power, and when he must withdraw from per-secution; and while he directed the thunders of the churchagainst heresy and rebellion, he could assume, in the bo-som of his own party, the flexible and indulgent temper ofa prudent leader. The election of Athanasius has not es-caped the reproach of irregularity and precipitation;850 but

848Sulpicius Severus (Hist Sacra, l ii p 396) calls him a lawyer, a ju-risconsult This character cannot now be discovered either in the life orwritings of Athanasius

849Dicebatur enim fatidicarum sortium fidem, quaeve auguralesportenderent alites scientissime callens aliquoties praedixisse futuraAmmianus, xv 7 A prophecy, or rather a joke, is related by Sozomen, (liv c 10,) which evidently proves (if the crows speak Latin) that Athana-sius understood the language of the crows

850The irregular ordination of Athanasius was slightly mentioned in

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the propriety of his behavior conciliated the affections bothof the clergy and of the people. The Alexandrians wereimpatient to rise in arms for the defence of an eloquentand liberal pastor. In his distress he always derived sup-port, or at least consolation, from the faithful attachmentof his parochial clergy; and the hundred bishops of Egyptadhered, with unshaken zeal, to the cause of Athanasius.In the modest equipage which pride and policy would af-fect, he frequently performed the episcopal visitation of hisprovinces, from the mouth of the Nile to the confines ofAethiopia; familiarly conversing with the meanest of thepopulace, and humbly saluting the saints and hermits ofthe desert.851 Nor was it only in ecclesiastical assemblies,among men whose education and manners were similar tohis own, that Athanasius displayed the ascendancy of hisgenius. He appeared with easy and respectful firmness inthe courts of princes; and in the various turns of his pros-perous and adverse fortune he never lost the confidence ofhis friends, or the esteem of his enemies.

In his youth, the primate of Egypt resisted the great Con-stantine, who had repeatedly signified his will, that Ariusshould be restored to the Catholic communion.852 The em-peror respected, and might forgive, this inflexible resolu-

the councils which were held against him See Philostorg l ii c 11, andGodefroy, p 71; but it can scarcely be supposed that the assembly of thebishops of Egypt would solemnly attest a public falsehood Athanastom i p 726

851See the history of the Fathers of the Desert, published byRosweide; and Tillemont, Mem Eccles tom vii, in the lives of Antony,Pachomius, &c Athanasius himself, who did not disdain to composethe life of his friend Antony, has carefully observed how often theholy monk deplored and prophesied the mischiefs of the Arian heresyAthanas tom ii p 492, 498, &c

852At first Constantine threatened in speaking, but requested in writ-ing His letters gradually assumed a menacing tone; by while he re-quired that the entrance of the church should be open to all, he avoidedthe odious name of Arius Athanasius, like a skilful politician, has ac-curately marked these distinctions, (tom i p 788) which allowed himsome scope for excuse and delay

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tion; and the faction who considered Athanasius as theirmost formidable enemy, was constrained to dissemble theirhatred, and silently to prepare an indirect and distant as-sault. They scattered rumors and suspicions, representedthe archbishop as a proud and oppressive tyrant, and boldlyaccused him of violating the treaty which had been rati-fied in the Nicene council, with the schismatic followersof Meletius.853 Athanasius had openly disapproved thatignominious peace, and the emperor was disposed to be-lieve that he had abused his ecclesiastical and civil power, toprosecute those odious sectaries: that he had sacrilegiouslybroken a chalice in one of their churches of Mareotis; thathe had whipped or imprisoned six of their bishops; andthat Arsenius, a seventh bishop of the same party, had beenmurdered, or at least mutilated, by the cruel hand of theprimate.854 These charges, which affected his honor and hislife, were referred by Constantine to his brother Dalmatiusthe censor, who resided at Antioch; the synods of Caesareaand Tyre were successively convened; and the bishops ofthe East were instructed to judge the cause of Athanasius,before they proceeded to consecrate the new church of theResurrection at Jerusalem. The primate might be consciousof his innocence; but he was sensible that the same impla-cable spirit which had dictated the accusation, would direct

853The Meletians in Egypt, like the Donatists in Africa, were pro-duced by an episcopal quarrel which arose from the persecution I havenot leisure to pursue the obscure controversy, which seems to havebeen misrepresented by the partiality of Athanasius and the ignoranceof Epiphanius See Mosheim’s General History of the Church, vol i p201

854The treatment of the six bishops is specified by Sozomen, (l ii c 25;)but Athanasius himself, so copious on the subject of Arsenius and thechalice, leaves this grave accusation without a reply Note: This gravecharge, if made, (and it rests entirely on the authority of Soz omen,)seems to have been silently dropped by the parties themselves: it isnever alluded to in the subsequent investigations From Sozomen him-self, who gives the unfavorable report of the commission of inquirysent to Egypt concerning the cup it does not appear that they noticedthis accusation of personal violence–M

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the proceeding, and pronounce the sentence. He prudentlydeclined the tribunal of his enemies; despised the summonsof the synod of Caesarea; and, after a long and artful de-lay, submitted to the peremptory commands of the emperor,who threatened to punish his criminal disobedience if he re-fused to appear in the council of Tyre.855 Before Athanasius,at the head of fifty Egyptian prelates, sailed from Alexan-dria, he had wisely secured the alliance of the Meletians;and Arsenius himself, his imaginary victim, and his secretfriend, was privately concealed in his train. The synod ofTyre was conducted by Eusebius of Caesarea, with morepassion, and with less art, than his learning and experiencemight promise; his numerous faction repeated the names ofhomicide and tyrant; and their clamors were encouraged bythe seeming patience of Athanasius, who expected the de-cisive moment to produce Arsenius alive and unhurt in themidst of the assembly. The nature of the other charges didnot admit of such clear and satisfactory replies; yet the arch-bishop was able to prove, that in the village, where he wasaccused of breaking a consecrated chalice, neither churchnor altar nor chalice could really exist.

The Arians, who had secretly determined the guilt andcondemnation of their enemy, attempted, however, to dis-guise their injustice by the imitation of judicial forms: thesynod appointed an episcopal commission of six delegatesto collect evidence on the spot; and this measure which wasvigorously opposed by the Egyptian bishops, opened newscenes of violence and perjury.856 After the return of thedeputies from Alexandria, the majority of the council pro-

855Athanas, tom i p 788 Socrates, l ic 28 Sozomen, l ii c 25 The em-peror, in his Epistle of Convocation, (Euseb in Vit Constant l iv c 42,)seems to prejudge some members of the clergy and it was more thanprobable that the synod would apply those reproaches to Athanasius

856See, in particular, the second Apology of Athanasius, (tom i p763-808,) and his Epistles to the Monks, (p 808-866) They are justifiedby original and authentic documents; but they would inspire moreconfidence if he appeared less innocent, and his enemies less absurd

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nounced the final sentence of degradation and exile againstthe primate of Egypt. The decree, expressed in the fiercestlanguage of malice and revenge, was communicated to theemperor and the Catholic church; and the bishops imme-diately resumed a mild and devout aspect, such as becametheir holy pilgrimage to the Sepulchre of Christ.857

857Eusebius in Vit Constantin l iv c 41-47

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BUT the injustice of these ecclesiastical judges had notbeen countenanced by the submission, or even by the

presence, of Athanasius. He resolved to make a bold anddangerous experiment, whether the throne was inaccessibleto the voice of truth; and before the final sentence could bepronounced at Tyre, the intrepid primate threw himself intoa bark which was ready to hoist sail for the Imperial city.The request of a formal audience might have been opposedor eluded; but Athanasius concealed his arrival, watchedthe moment of Constantine’s return from an adjacent villa,and boldly encountered his angry sovereign as he passed onhorseback through the principal street of Constantinople.So strange an apparition excited his surprise and indigna-tion; and the guards were ordered to remove the importu-nate suitor; but his resentment was subdued by involuntaryrespect; and the haughty spirit of the emperor was awedby the courage and eloquence of a bishop, who imploredhis justice and awakened his conscience.858 Constantine lis-tened to the complaints of Athanasius with impartial andeven gracious attention; the members of the synod of Tyrewere summoned to justify their proceedings; and the arts ofthe Eusebian faction would have been confounded, if theyhad not aggravated the guilt of the primate, by the dex-terous supposition of an unpardonable offence; a criminaldesign to intercept and detain the corn-fleet of Alexandria,which supplied the subsistence of the new capital.859 The

858Athanas tom i p 804 In a church dedicated to St Athanasius thissituation would afford a better subject for a picture, than most of thestories of miracles and martyrdoms

859Athanas tom i p 729 Eunapius has related (in Vit Sophist p 36,37, edit Commelin) a strange example of the cruelty and credulityof Constantine on a similar occasion The eloquent Sopater, a Syrianphilosopher, enjoyed his friendship, and provoked the resentment ofAblavius, his Praetorian praefect The corn-fleet was detained for wantof a south wind; the people of Constantinople were discontented; and

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emperor was satisfied that the peace of Egypt would be se-cured by the absence of a popular leader; but he refused tofill the vacancy of the archiepiscopal throne; and the sen-tence, which, after long hesitation, he pronounced, was thatof a jealous ostracism, rather than of an ignominious exile.In the remote province of Gaul, but in the hospitable courtof Treves, Athanasius passed about twenty eight months.The death of the emperor changed the face of public affairsand, amidst the general indulgence of a young reign, theprimate was restored to his country by an honorable edictof the younger Constantine, who expressed a deep sense ofthe innocence and merit of his venerable guest.860

The death of that prince exposed Athanasius to a sec-ond persecution; and the feeble Constantius, the sovereignof the East, soon became the secret accomplice of the Eu-sebians. Ninety bishops of that sect or faction assembledat Antioch, under the specious pretence of dedicating thecathedral. They composed an ambiguous creed, whichis faintly tinged with the colors of Semi-Arianism, andtwenty-five canons, which still regulate the discipline of theorthodox Greeks.861 It was decided, with some appearanceof equity, that a bishop, deprived by a synod, should notresume his episcopal functions till he had been absolvedby the judgment of an equal synod; the law was immedi-ately applied to the case of Athanasius; the council of An-tioch pronounced, or rather confirmed, his degradation: a

Sopater was beheaded, on a charge that he had bound the winds bythe power of magic Suidas adds, that Constantine wished to prove,by this execution, that he had absolutely renounced the superstition ofthe Gentiles

860In his return he saw Constantius twice, at Viminiacum, and atCaesarea in Cappadocia, (Athanas tom i p 676) Tillemont supposesthat Constantine introduced him to the meeting of the three royalbrothers in Pannonia, (Memoires Eccles tom viii p 69)

861See Beveridge, Pandect tom i p 429-452, and tom ii Annotation p182 Tillemont, Mem Eccles tom vi p 310-324 St Hilary of Poitiers hasmentioned this synod of Antioch with too much favor and respect Hereckons ninety-seven bishops

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stranger, named Gregory, was seated on his throne; andPhilagrius,862 the praefect of Egypt, was instructed to sup-port the new primate with the civil and military powersof the province. Oppressed by the conspiracy of the Asi-atic prelates, Athanasius withdrew from Alexandria, andpassed three years863 as an exile and a suppliant on theholy threshold of the Vatican.864 By the assiduous studyof the Latin language, he soon qualified himself to nego-tiate with the western clergy; his decent flattery swayedand directed the haughty Julius; the Roman pontiff was per-suaded to consider his appeal as the peculiar interest of theApostolic see: and his innocence was unanimously declaredin a council of fifty bishops of Italy. At the end of threeyears, the primate was summoned to the court of Milan bythe emperor Constans, who, in the indulgence of unlaw-ful pleasures, still professed a lively regard for the orthodoxfaith. The cause of truth and justice was promoted by theinfluence of gold,865 and the ministers of Constans advised

862This magistrate, so odious to Athanasius, is praised by GregoryNazianzen, tom i Orat xxi p 390, 391

863The chronological difficulties which perplex the residence ofAthanasius at Rome, are strenuously agitated by Valesius (Observatad Calcem, tom ii Hist Eccles l i c 1-5) and Tillemont, (Men: Eccles tomviii p 674, &c) I have followed the simple hypothesis of Valesius, whoallows only one journey, after the intrusion Gregory

864I cannot forbear transcribing a judicious observation of Wetstein,(Prolegomen NS p 19: ) Si tamen Historiam Ecclesiasticam velimusconsulere, patebit jam inde a seculo quarto, cum, ortis controversiis,ecclesiae Graeciae doctores in duas partes scinderentur, ingenio, elo-quentia, numero, tantum non aequales, eam partem quae vincere cu-piebat Romam confugisse, majestatemque pontificis comiter coluisse,eoque pacto oppressis per pontificem et episcopos Latinos adver-sariis praevaluisse, atque orthodoxiam in conciliis stabilivisse Eam obcausam Athanasius, non sine comitatu, Roman petiit, pluresque annosibi haesit

865Philostorgius, l iii c 12 If any corruption was used to promote theinterest of religion, an advocate of Athanasius might justify or excusethis questionable conduct, by the example of Cato and Sidney; the for-mer of whom is said to have given, and the latter to have received, a

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their sovereign to require the convocation of an ecclesiasti-cal assembly, which might act as the representatives of theCatholic church. Ninety-four bishops of the West, seventy-six bishops of the East, encountered each other at Sardica,on the verge of the two empires, but in the dominions ofthe protector of Athanasius. Their debates soon degener-ated into hostile altercations; the Asiatics, apprehensive fortheir personal safety, retired to Philippopolis in Thrace; andthe rival synods reciprocally hurled their spiritual thundersagainst their enemies, whom they piously condemned asthe enemies of the true God. Their decrees were publishedand ratified in their respective provinces: and Athanasius,who in the West was revered as a saint, was exposed as acriminal to the abhorrence of the East.866 The council ofSardica reveals the first symptoms of discord and schism be-tween the Greek and Latin churches which were separatedby the accidental difference of faith, and the permanent dis-tinction of language.

=Saepe premente Deo fert Deus alter opem.For the credit of human nature, I am always

pleased to discover some good qualities inthose men whom party has represented astyrants and monsters.]

During his second exile in the West, Athana-sius was frequently admitted to the Impe-rial presence; at Capua, Lodi, Milan, Verona,Padua, Aquileia, and Treves. The bishopof the diocese usually assisted at these in-terviews; the master of the offices stood be-fore the veil or curtain of the sacred apart-

bribe in the cause of liberty866The canon which allows appeals to the Roman pontiffs, has al-

most raised the council of Sardica to the dignity of a general council;and its acts have been ignorantly or artfully confounded with those ofthe Nicene synod See Tillemont, tom vii p 689, and Geddos’s Tracts,vol ii p 419-460

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ment; and the uniform moderation of the pri-mate might be attested by these respectablewitnesses, to whose evidence he solemnlyappeals.867 Prudence would undoubtedlysuggest the mild and respectful tone thatbecame a subject and a bishop. In thesefamiliar conferences with the sovereign ofthe West, Athanasius might lament the errorof Constantius, but he boldly arraigned theguilt of his eunuchs and his Arian prelates;deplored the distress and danger of theCatholic church; and excited Constans to em-ulate the zeal and glory of his father. The em-peror declared his resolution of employingthe troops and treasures of Europe in the or-thodox cause; and signified, by a concise andperemptory epistle to his brother Constan-tius, that unless he consented to the imme-diate restoration of Athanasius, he himself,with a fleet and army, would seat the arch-bishop on the throne of Alexandria.868 Butthis religious war, so horrible to nature, wasprevented by the timely compliance of Con-stantius; and the emperor of the East con-descended to solicit a reconciliation with asubject whom he had injured. Athanasiuswaited with decent pride, till he had receivedthree successive epistles full of the strongestassurances of the protection, the favor, andthe esteem of his sovereign; who invited him

867As Athanasius dispersed secret invectives against Constantius,(see the Epistle to the Monks,) at the same time that he assured himof his profound respect, we might distrust the professions of the arch-bishop Tom i p 677

868Notwithstanding the discreet silence of Athanasius, and the man-ifest forgery of a letter inserted by Socrates, these menaces are provedby the unquestionable evidence of Lucifer of Cagliari, and even ofConstantius himself See Tillemont, tom viii p 693

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to resume his episcopal seat, and who addedthe humiliating precaution of engaging hisprincipal ministers to attest the sincerity ofhis intentions. They were manifested in astill more public manner, by the strict or-ders which were despatched into Egypt torecall the adherents of Athanasius, to restoretheir privileges, to proclaim their innocence,and to erase from the public registers the il-legal proceedings which had been obtainedduring the prevalence of the Eusebian fac-tion. After every satisfaction and securityhad been given, which justice or even del-icacy could require, the primate proceeded,by slow journeys, through the provinces ofThrace, Asia, and Syria; and his progress wasmarked by the abject homage of the Orien-tal bishops, who excited his contempt with-out deceiving his penetration.869 At Anti-och he saw the emperor Constantius; sus-tained, with modest firmness, the embracesand protestations of his master, and eludedthe proposal of allowing the Arians a sin-gle church at Alexandria, by claiming, in theother cities of the empire, a similar toleration

869I have always entertained some doubts concerning the retractionof Ursacius and Valens, (Athanas tom i p 776) Their epistles to Julius,bishop of Rome, and to Athanasius himself, are of so different a castfrom each other, that they cannot both be genuine The one speaks thelanguage of criminals who confess their guilt and infamy; the otherof enemies, who solicit on equal terms an honorable reconciliation (Icannot quite comprehend the ground of Gibbon’s doubts Athanasiusdistinctly asserts the fact of their retractation (Athan Op i p 124, editBenedict) The epistles are apparently translations from the Latin, if, infact, more than the substance of the epistles That to Athanasius is brief,almost abrupt Their retractation is likewise mentioned in the addressof the orthodox bishops of Rimini to Constantius Athan de Synodis,Op t i p 723-M

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for his own party; a reply which might haveappeared just and moderate in the mouth ofan independent prince. The entrance of thearchbishop into his capital was a triumphalprocession; absence and persecution had en-deared him to the Alexandrians; his author-ity, which he exercised with rigor, was morefirmly established; and his fame was dif-fused from Aethiopia to Britain, over thewhole extent of the Christian world.870

But the subject who has reduced his prince tothe necessity of dissembling, can never ex-pect a sincere and lasting forgiveness; andthe tragic fate of Constans soon deprivedAthanasius of a powerful and generous pro-tector. The civil war between the assas-sin and the only surviving brother of Con-stans, which afflicted the empire above threeyears, secured an interval of repose to theCatholic church; and the two contendingparties were desirous to conciliate the friend-ship of a bishop, who, by the weight of hispersonal authority, might determine the fluc-tuating resolutions of an important province.He gave audience to the ambassadors of thetyrant, with whom he was afterwards ac-cused of holding a secret correspondence;871and the emperor Constantius repeatedly as-sured his dearest father, the most reverend

870The circumstances of his second return may be collected fromAthanasius himself, tom i p 769, and 822, 843 Socrates, l ii c 18, So-zomen, l iii c 19 Theodoret, l ii c 11, 12 Philostorgius, l iii c 12

871Athanasius (tom i p 677, 678) defends his innocence by patheticcomplaints, solemn assertions, and specious arguments He admitsthat letters had been forged in his name, but he requests that his ownsecretaries and those of the tyrant might be examined, whether thoseletters had been written by the former, or received by the latter

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Athanasius, that, notwithstanding the mali-cious rumors which were circulated by theircommon enemies, he had inherited the sen-timents, as well as the throne, of his de-ceased brother.872 Gratitude and humanitywould have disposed the primate of Egyptto deplore the untimely fate of Constans,and to abhor the guilt of Magnentius; butas he clearly understood that the appre-hensions of Constantius were his only safe-guard, the fervor of his prayers for the suc-cess of the righteous cause might perhapsbe somewhat abated. The ruin of Athana-sius was no longer contrived by the obscuremalice of a few bigoted or angry bishops,who abused the authority of a credulousmonarch. The monarch himself avowed theresolution, which he had so long suppressed,of avenging his private injuries;873 and thefirst winter after his victory, which he passedat Arles, was employed against an enemymore odious to him than the vanquishedtyrant of Gaul.

If the emperor had capriciously decreed thedeath of the most eminent and virtuous cit-izen of the republic, the cruel order wouldhave been executed without hesitation, bythe ministers of open violence or of speciousinjustice. The caution, the delay, the diffi-culty with which he proceeded in the con-demnation and punishment of a popularbishop, discovered to the world that the priv-ileges of the church had already revived a

872Athanas tom i p 825-844873Athanas tom i p 861 Theodoret, l ii c 16 The emperor declared

that he was more desirous to subdue Athanasius, than he had been tovanquish Magnentius or Sylvanus

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sense of order and freedom in the Romangovernment. The sentence which was pro-nounced in the synod of Tyre, and sub-scribed by a large majority of the Easternbishops, had never been expressly repealed;and as Athanasius had been once degradedfrom his episcopal dignity by the judgmentof his brethren, every subsequent act mightbe considered as irregular, and even crim-inal. But the memory of the firm and ef-fectual support which the primate of Egypthad derived from the attachment of the West-ern church, engaged Constantius to suspendthe execution of the sentence till he had ob-tained the concurrence of the Latin bishops.Two years were consumed in ecclesiasticalnegotiations; and the important cause be-tween the emperor and one of his subjectswas solemnly debated, first in the synod ofArles, and afterwards in the great councilof Milan,874 which consisted of above threehundred bishops. Their integrity was grad-ually undermined by the arguments of theArians, the dexterity of the eunuchs, and thepressing solicitations of a prince who grati-fied his revenge at the expense of his dignity,and exposed his own passions, whilst he in-fluenced those of the clergy. Corruption,the most infallible symptom of constitutionalliberty, was successfully practised; honors,gifts, and immunities were offered and ac-

874The affairs of the council of Milan are so imperfectly and er-roneously related by the Greek writers, that we must rejoice in thesupply of some letters of Eusebius, extracted by Baronius from thearchives of the church of Vercellae, and of an old life of Dionysius ofMilan, published by Bollandus See Baronius, AD 355, and Tillemont,tom vii p 1415

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cepted as the price of an episcopal vote;875and the condemnation of the Alexandrianprimate was artfully represented as the onlymeasure which could restore the peace andunion of the Catholic church. The friends ofAthanasius were not, however, wanting totheir leader, or to their cause. With a manlyspirit, which the sanctity of their characterrendered less dangerous, they maintained,in public debate, and in private conferencewith the emperor, the eternal obligation ofreligion and justice. They declared, that nei-ther the hope of his favor, nor the fear of hisdispleasure, should prevail on them to joinin the condemnation of an absent, an inno-cent, a respectable brother.876 They affirmed,with apparent reason, that the illegal andobsolete decrees of the council of Tyre hadlong since been tacitly abolished by the Im-perial edicts, the honorable reestablishmentof the archbishop of Alexandria, and the si-lence or recantation of his most clamorousadversaries. They alleged, that his innocencehad been attested by the unanimous bishopsof Egypt, and had been acknowledged in thecouncils of Rome and Sardica,877 by the im-

875The honors, presents, feasts, which seduced so many bishops,are mentioned with indignation by those who were too pure or tooproud to accept them “We combat (says Hilary of Poitiers) againstConstantius the Antichrist; who strokes the belly instead of scourgingthe back;” qui non dorsa caedit; sed ventrem palpat Hilarius contraConstant c 5, p 1240

876Something of this opposition is mentioned by Ammianus (x 7,)who had a very dark and superficial knowledge of ecclesiastical his-tory Liberius perseveranter renitebatur, nec visum hominem, nec au-ditum damnare, nefas ultimum saepe exclamans; aperte scilicet recal-citrans Imperatoris arbitrio Id enim ille Athanasio semper infestus, &c

877More properly by the orthodox part of the council of Sardica If the

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partial judgment of the Latin church. Theydeplored the hard condition of Athanasius,who, after enjoying so many years his seat,his reputation, and the seeming confidenceof his sovereign, was again called upon toconfute the most groundless and extravagantaccusations. Their language was specious;their conduct was honorable: but in this longand obstinate contest, which fixed the eyesof the whole empire on a single bishop, theecclesiastical factions were prepared to sacri-fice truth and justice to the more interestingobject of defending or removing the intrepidchampion of the Nicene faith. The Ariansstill thought it prudent to disguise, in am-biguous language, their real sentiments anddesigns; but the orthodox bishops, armedwith the favor of the people, and the decreesof a general council, insisted on every occa-sion, and particularly at Milan, that their ad-versaries should purge themselves from thesuspicion of heresy, before they presumedto arraign the conduct of the great Athana-sius.878

But the voice of reason (if reason was indeed onthe side of Athanasius) was silenced by theclamors of a factious or venal majority; andthe councils of Arles and Milan were not dis-solved, till the archbishop of Alexandria hadbeen solemnly condemned and deposed bythe judgment of the Western, as well as of theEastern, church. The bishops who had op-

bishops of both parties had fairly voted, the division would have been94 to 76 M de Tillemont (see tom viii p 1147-1158) is justly surprisedthat so small a majority should have proceeded as vigorously againsttheir adversaries, the principal of whom they immediately deposed

878Sulp Severus in Hist Sacra, l ii p 412

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posed, were required to subscribe, the sen-tence, and to unite in religious communionwith the suspected leaders of the adverseparty. A formulary of consent was trans-mitted by the messengers of state to the ab-sent bishops: and all those who refused tosubmit their private opinion to the publicand inspired wisdom of the councils of Ar-les and Milan, were immediately banishedby the emperor, who affected to execute thedecrees of the Catholic church. Among thoseprelates who led the honorable band of con-fessors and exiles, Liberius of Rome, Os-ius of Cordova, Paulinus of Treves, Diony-sius of Milan, Eusebius of Vercellae, Luciferof Cagliari and Hilary of Poitiers, may de-serve to be particularly distinguished. Theeminent station of Liberius, who governedthe capital of the empire; the personal meritand long experience of the venerable Osius,who was revered as the favorite of the greatConstantine, and the father of the Nicenefaith, placed those prelates at the head ofthe Latin church: and their example, eitherof submission or resistance, would proba-ble be imitated by the episcopal crowd. Butthe repeated attempts of the emperor to se-duce or to intimidate the bishops of Romeand Cordova, were for some time ineffec-tual. The Spaniard declared himself ready tosuffer under Constantius, as he had sufferedthreescore years before under his grandfa-ther Maximian. The Roman, in the pres-ence of his sovereign, asserted the innocenceof Athanasius and his own freedom. Whenhe was banished to Beraea in Thrace, hesent back a large sum which had been of-

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fered for the accommodation of his jour-ney; and insulted the court of Milan by thehaughty remark, that the emperor and hiseunuchs might want that gold to pay theirsoldiers and their bishops.879 The resolutionof Liberius and Osius was at length subduedby the hardships of exile and confinement.The Roman pontiff purchased his return bysome criminal compliances; and afterwardsexpiated his guilt by a seasonable repen-tance. Persuasion and violence were em-ployed to extort the reluctant signature of thedecrepit bishop of Cordova, whose strengthwas broken, and whose faculties were per-haps impaired by the weight of a hundredyears; and the insolent triumph of the Ar-ians provoked some of the orthodox partyto treat with inhuman severity the character,or rather the memory, of an unfortunate oldman, to whose former services Christianityitself was so deeply indebted.880

The fall of Liberius and Osius reflected abrighter lustre on the firmness of those bish-ops who still adhered, with unshaken fi-delity, to the cause of Athanasius and reli-gious truth. The ingenious malice of theirenemies had deprived them of the bene-fit of mutual comfort and advice, separatedthose illustrious exiles into distant provinces,and carefully selected the most inhospitable

879The exile of Liberius is mentioned by Ammianus, xv 7 SeeTheodoret, l ii c 16 Athanas tom i p 834-837 Hilar Fragment l

880The life of Osius is collected by Tillemont, (tom vii p 524-561,)who in the most extravagant terms first admires, and then reprobates,the bishop of Cordova In the midst of their lamentations on his fall,the prudence of Athanasius may be distinguished from the blind andintemperate zeal of Hilary

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spots of a great empire.881 Yet they soon ex-perienced that the deserts of Libya, and themost barbarous tracts of Cappadocia, wereless inhospitable than the residence of thosecities in which an Arian bishop could sati-ate, without restraint, the exquisite rancorof theological hatred.882 Their consolationwas derived from the consciousness of recti-tude and independence, from the applause,the visits, the letters, and the liberal almsof their adherents,883 and from the satisfac-tion which they soon enjoyed of observingthe intestine divisions of the adversaries ofthe Nicene faith. Such was the nice andcapricious taste of the emperor Constantius;and so easily was he offended by the slight-est deviation from his imaginary standardof Christian truth, that he persecuted, withequal zeal, those who defended the consub-stantiality, those who asserted the similarsubstance, and those who denied the like-ness of the Son of God. Three bishops, de-graded and banished for those adverse opin-ions, might possibly meet in the same placeof exile; and, according to the difference of

881The confessors of the West were successively banished to thedeserts of Arabia or Thebais, the lonely places of Mount Taurus, thewildest parts of Phrygia, which were in the possession of the impiousMontanists, &c When the heretic Aetius was too favorably entertainedat Mopsuestia in Cilicia, the place of his exile was changed, by theadvice of Acacius, to Amblada, a district inhabited by savages and in-fested by war and pestilence Philostorg l v c 2

882See the cruel treatment and strange obstinacy of Eusebius, in hisown letters, published by Baronius, AD 356, No 92-102

883Caeterum exules satis constat, totius orbis studiis celebratos pecu-niasque eis in sumptum affatim congestas, legationibus quoque plebisCatholicae ex omnibus fere provinciis frequentatos Sulp Sever HistSacra, p 414 Athanas tom i p 836, 840

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their temper, might either pity or insult theblind enthusiasm of their antagonists, whosepresent sufferings would never be compen-sated by future happiness.

The disgrace and exile of the orthodox bish-ops of the West were designed as so manypreparatory steps to the ruin of Athana-sius himself.884 Six-and-twenty months hadelapsed, during which the Imperial court se-cretly labored, by the most insidious arts, toremove him from Alexandria, and to with-draw the allowance which supplied his pop-ular liberality. But when the primate ofEgypt, deserted and proscribed by the Latinchurch, was left destitute of any foreign sup-port, Constantius despatched two of his sec-retaries with a verbal commission to an-nounce and execute the order of his banish-ment. As the justice of the sentence waspublicly avowed by the whole party, theonly motive which could restrain Constan-tius from giving his messengers the sanctionof a written mandate, must be imputed to hisdoubt of the event; and to a sense of the dan-ger to which he might expose the second city,and the most fertile province, of the empire,if the people should persist in the resolu-tion of defending, by force of arms, the inno-cence of their spiritual father. Such extremecaution afforded Athanasius a specious pre-

884Ample materials for the history of this third persecution ofAthanasius may be found in his own works See particularly his veryable Apology to Constantius, (tom i p 673,) his first Apology for hisflight (p 701,) his prolix Epistle to the Solitaries, (p 808,) and the orig-inal protest of the people of Alexandria against the violences commit-ted by Syrianus, (p 866) Sozomen (l iv c 9) has thrown into the narra-tive two or three luminous and important circumstances

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tence respectfully to dispute the truth of anorder, which he could not reconcile, eitherwith the equity, or with the former declara-tions, of his gracious master. The civil pow-ers of Egypt found themselves inadequate tothe task of persuading or compelling the pri-mate to abdicate his episcopal throne; andthey were obliged to conclude a treaty withthe popular leaders of Alexandria, by whichit was stipulated, that all proceedings and allhostilities should be suspended till the em-peror’s pleasure had been more distinctly as-certained. By this seeming moderation, theCatholics were deceived into a false and fa-tal security; while the legions of the UpperEgypt, and of Libya, advanced, by secret or-ders and hasty marches, to besiege, or ratherto surprise, a capital habituated to sedition,and inflamed by religious zeal.885 The posi-tion of Alexandria, between the sea and theLake Mareotis, facilitated the approach andlanding of the troops; who were introducedinto the heart of the city, before any effec-tual measures could be taken either to shutthe gates or to occupy the important posts ofdefence. At the hour of midnight, twenty-three days after the signature of the treaty,Syrianus, duke of Egypt, at the head of fivethousand soldiers, armed and prepared foran assault, unexpectedly invested the churchof St. Theonas, where the archbishop, witha part of his clergy and people, performed

885Athanasius had lately sent for Antony, and some of his cho-sen monks They descended from their mountains, announced to theAlexandrians the sanctity of Athanasius, and were honorably con-ducted by the archbishop as far as the gates of the city Athanas tomii p 491, 492 See likewise Rufinus, iii 164, in Vit Patr p 524

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their nocturnal devotions. The doors of thesacred edifice yielded to the impetuosity ofthe attack, which was accompanied with ev-ery horrid circumstance of tumult and blood-shed; but, as the bodies of the slain, and thefragments of military weapons, remained thenext day an unexceptionable evidence in thepossession of the Catholics, the enterpriseof Syrianus may be considered as a success-ful irruption rather than as an absolute con-quest. The other churches of the city wereprofaned by similar outrages; and, during atleast four months, Alexandria was exposedto the insults of a licentious army, stimu-lated by the ecclesiastics of a hostile faction.Many of the faithful were killed; who maydeserve the name of martyrs, if their deathswere neither provoked nor revenged; bish-ops and presbyters were treated with cruelignominy; consecrated virgins were strippednaked, scourged and violated; the houses ofwealthy citizens were plundered; and, un-der the mask of religious zeal, lust, avarice,and private resentment were gratified withimpunity, and even with applause. The Pa-gans of Alexandria, who still formed a nu-merous and discontented party, were eas-ily persuaded to desert a bishop whom theyfeared and esteemed. The hopes of some pe-culiar favors, and the apprehension of be-ing involved in the general penalties of re-bellion, engaged them to promise their sup-port to the destined successor of Athana-sius, the famous George of Cappadocia. Theusurper, after receiving the consecration ofan Arian synod, was placed on the episco-pal throne by the arms of Sebastian, who had

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been appointed Count of Egypt for the exe-cution of that important design. In the use,as well as in the acquisition, of power, thetyrant, George disregarded the laws of reli-gion, of justice, and of humanity; and thesame scenes of violence and scandal whichhad been exhibited in the capital, were re-peated in more than ninety episcopal citiesof Egypt. Encouraged by success, Constan-tius ventured to approve the conduct of hisminister. By a public and passionate epis-tle, the emperor congratulates the deliver-ance of Alexandria from a popular tyrant,who deluded his blind votaries by the magicof his eloquence; expatiates on the virtuesand piety of the most reverend George, theelected bishop; and aspires, as the patronand benefactor of the city to surpass the fameof Alexander himself. But he solemnly de-clares his unalterable resolution to pursuewith fire and sword the seditious adherentsof the wicked Athanasius, who, by flyingfrom justice, has confessed his guilt, and es-caped the ignominious death which he hadso often deserved.886

...Part VI

ATHANASIUS had indeed escaped fromthe most imminent dangers; and the ad-

ventures of that extraordinary man deserveand fix our attention. On the memorablenight when the church of St. Theonas wasinvested by the troops of Syrianus, the arch-bishop, seated on his throne, expected, with

886Athanas tom i p 694 The emperor, or his Arian secretaries whilethey express their resentment, betray their fears and esteem of Athana-sius

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calm and intrepid dignity, the approach ofdeath. While the public devotion was inter-rupted by shouts of rage and cries of terror,he animated his trembling congregation toexpress their religious confidence, by chant-ing one of the psalms of David which cele-brates the triumph of the God of Israel overthe haughty and impious tyrant of Egypt.The doors were at length burst open: a cloudof arrows was discharged among the peo-ple; the soldiers, with drawn swords, rushedforwards into the sanctuary; and the dread-ful gleam of their arms was reflected by theholy luminaries which burnt round the al-tar.887 Athanasius still rejected the pious im-portunity of the monks and presbyters, whowere attached to his person; and nobly re-fused to desert his episcopal station, till hehad dismissed in safety the last of the con-gregation. The darkness and tumult of thenight favored the retreat of the archbishop;and though he was oppressed by the wavesof an agitated multitude, though he wasthrown to the ground, and left without senseor motion, he still recovered his undauntedcourage, and eluded the eager search of thesoldiers, who were instructed by their Arianguides, that the head of Athanasius would bethe most acceptable present to the emperor.From that moment the primate of Egypt dis-appeared from the eyes of his enemies, andremained above six years concealed in im-penetrable obscurity.888

887These minute circumstances are curious, as they are literally tran-scribed from the protest, which was publicly presented three days af-terwards by the Catholics of Alexandria See Athanas tom l n 867

888The Jansenists have often compared Athanasius and Arnauld,

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The despotic power of his implacable en-emy filled the whole extent of the Ro-

man world; and the exasperated monarchhad endeavored, by a very pressing epistleto the Christian princes of Ethiopia,889 to ex-clude Athanasius from the most remote andsequestered regions of the earth. Counts,praefects, tribunes, whole armies, were suc-cessively employed to pursue a bishop anda fugitive; the vigilance of the civil andmilitary powers was excited by the Impe-rial edicts; liberal rewards were promised tothe man who should produce Athanasius,either alive or dead; and the most severepenalties were denounced against those whoshould dare to protect the public enemy.890

and have expatiated with pleasure on the faith and zeal, the merit andexile, of those celebrated doctors This concealed parallel is very dex-terously managed by the Abbe de la Bleterie, Vie de Jovien, tom i p130

889These princes were called Aeizanas and Saiazanas Athanasiuscalls them the kings of Axum In the superscription of his letter, Con-stantius gives them no title Mr Salt, during his first journey in Ethiopia,(in 1806,) discovered, in the ruins of Axum, a long and very interestinginscription relating to these princes It was erected to commemorate thevictory of Aeizanas over the Bougaitae, (St Martin considers them theBlemmyes, whose true name is Bedjah or Bodjah) Aeizanas is styledking of the Axumites, the Homerites, of Raeidan, of the Ethiopians, ofthe Sabsuites, of Silea, of Tiamo, of the Bougaites and of Kaei It ap-pears that at this time the king of the Ethiopians ruled over the Home-rites, the inhabitants of Yemen He was not yet a Christian, as he callshimself son of the invincible Mars Another brother besides Saiazanas,named Adephas, is mentioned, though Aeizanas seems to have beensole king See St Martin, note on Le Beau, ii 151 Salt’s Travels De Sacy,note in Annales des Voyages, xii p 53–M

890Hinc jam toto orbe profugus Athanasius, nec ullus ci tutus ad la-tendum supererat locus Tribuni, Praefecti, Comites, exercitus quoquead pervestigandum cum moventur edictis Imperialibus; praemia delatoribus proponuntur, si quis eum vivum, si id minus, caput certe Athacasii detulisset Rufin l i c 16

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But the deserts of Thebais were now peo-pled by a race of wild, yet submissive fa-natics, who preferred the commands of theirabbot to the laws of their sovereign. Thenumerous disciples of Antony and Pachon-nus received the fugitive primate as their fa-ther, admired the patience and humility withwhich he conformed to their strictest institu-tions, collected every word which droppedfrom his lips as the genuine effusions of in-spired wisdom; and persuaded themselvesthat their prayers, their fasts, and their vig-ils, were less meritorious than the zeal whichthey expressed, and the dangers which theybraved, in the defence of truth and inno-cence.891 The monasteries of Egypt wereseated in lonely and desolate places, on thesummit of mountains, or in the islands ofthe Nile; and the sacred horn or trumpet ofTabenne was the well-known signal whichassembled several thousand robust and de-termined monks, who, for the most part,had been the peasants of the adjacent coun-try. When their dark retreats were invadedby a military force, which it was impos-sible to resist, they silently stretched outtheir necks to the executioner; and supportedtheir national character, that tortures couldnever wrest from an Egyptian the confes-sion of a secret which he was resolved notto disclose.892 The archbishop of Alexandria,for whose safety they eagerly devoted their

891Gregor Nazianzen tom i Orat xxi p 384, 385 See Tillemont MemEccles tom vii p 176-410, 820-830

892Et nulla tormentorum vis inveneri, adhuc potuit, quae obduratoillius tractus latroni invito elicere potuit, ut nomen proprium dicatAmmian xxii 16, and Valesius ad locum

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lives, was lost among a uniform and well-disciplined multitude; and on the nearer ap-proach of danger, he was swiftly removed,by their officious hands, from one place ofconcealment to another, till he reached theformidable deserts, which the gloomy andcredulous temper of superstition had peo-pled with daemons and savage monsters.The retirement of Athanasius, which endedonly with the life of Constantius, was spent,for the most part, in the society of the monks,who faithfully served him as guards, as sec-retaries, and as messengers; but the impor-tance of maintaining a more intimate con-nection with the Catholic party tempted him,whenever the diligence of the pursuit wasabated, to emerge from the desert, to intro-duce himself into Alexandria, and to trust hisperson to the discretion of his friends andadherents. His various adventures mighthave furnished the subject of a very enter-taining romance. He was once secreted ina dry cistern, which he had scarcely left be-fore he was betrayed by the treachery of a fe-male slave;893 and he was once concealed ina still more extraordinary asylum, the houseof a virgin, only twenty years of age, andwho was celebrated in the whole city forher exquisite beauty. At the hour of mid-night, as she related the story many yearsafterwards, she was surprised by the ap-pearance of the archbishop in a loose un-dress, who, advancing with hasty steps, con-jured her to afford him the protection which

893Rufin l i c 18 Sozomen, l iv c 10 This and the following story willbe rendered impossible, if we suppose that Athanasius always inhab-ited the asylum which he accidentally or occasionally had used

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he had been directed by a celestial visionto seek under her hospitable roof. The pi-ous maid accepted and preserved the sa-cred pledge which was intrusted to her pru-dence and courage. Without imparting thesecret to any one, she instantly conductedAthanasius into her most secret chamber,and watched over his safety with the tender-ness of a friend and the assiduity of a ser-vant. As long as the danger continued, sheregularly supplied him with books and pro-visions, washed his feet, managed his corre-spondence, and dexterously concealed fromthe eye of suspicion this familiar and solitaryintercourse between a saint whose charac-ter required the most unblemished chastity,and a female whose charms might excite themost dangerous emotions.894 During thesix years of persecution and exile, Athana-sius repeated his visits to his fair and faith-ful companion; and the formal declaration,that he saw the councils of Rimini and Se-leucia,895 forces us to believe that he was se-cretly present at the time and place of theirconvocation. The advantage of personallynegotiating with his friends, and of observ-ing and improving the divisions of his ene-mies, might justify, in a prudent statesman,so bold and dangerous an enterprise: and

894Paladius, (Hist Lausiac c 136, in Vit Patrum, p 776,) the originalauthor of this anecdote, had conversed with the damsel, who in herold age still remembered with pleasure so pious and honorable a con-nection I cannot indulge the delicacy of Baronius, Valesius, Tillemont,&c, who almost reject a story so unworthy, as they deem it, of the grav-ity of ecclesiastical history

895Athanas tom i p 869 I agree with Tillemont, (tom iii p 1197,) thathis expressions imply a personal, though perhaps secret visit to thesynods

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Alexandria was connected by trade and nav-igation with every seaport of the Mediter-ranean. From the depth of his inaccessibleretreat the intrepid primate waged an inces-sant and offensive war against the protectorof the Arians; and his seasonable writings,which were diligently circulated and eagerlyperused, contributed to unite and animatethe orthodox party. In his public apologies,which he addressed to the emperor himself,he sometimes affected the praise of modera-tion; whilst at the same time, in secret andvehement invectives, he exposed Constan-tius as a weak and wicked prince, the exe-cutioner of his family, the tyrant of the re-public, and the Antichrist of the church. Inthe height of his prosperity, the victoriousmonarch, who had chastised the rashnessof Gallus, and suppressed the revolt of Syl-vanus, who had taken the diadem from thehead of Vetranio, and vanquished in the fieldthe legions of Magnentius, received from aninvisible hand a wound, which he could nei-ther heal nor revenge; and the son of Con-stantine was the first of the Christian princeswho experienced the strength of those princi-ples, which, in the cause of religion, could re-sist the most violent exertions896 of the civilpower.

The persecution of Athanasius, and of so

896The epistle of Athanasius to the monks is filled with reproaches,which the public must feel to be true, (vol i p 834, 856;) and, in com-pliment to his readers, he has introduced the comparisons of Pharaoh,Ahab, Belshazzar, &c The boldness of Hilary was attended with lessdanger, if he published his invective in Gaul after the revolt of Julian;but Lucifer sent his libels to Constantius, and almost challenged thereward of martyrdom See Tillemont, tom vii p 905

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many respectable bishops, who suf-fered for the truth of their opinions, or atleast for the integrity of their conscience,was a just subject of indignation and dis-content to all Christians, except those whowere blindly devoted to the Arian faction.The people regretted the loss of their faithfulpastors, whose banishment was usually fol-lowed by the intrusion of a stranger897 intothe episcopal chair; and loudly complained,that the right of election was violated, andthat they were condemned to obey a merce-nary usurper, whose person was unknown,and whose principles were suspected. TheCatholics might prove to the world, that theywere not involved in the guilt and heresy oftheir ecclesiastical governor, by publicly tes-tifying their dissent, or by totally separat-ing themselves from his communion. Thefirst of these methods was invented at Anti-och, and practised with such success, that itwas soon diffused over the Christian world.The doxology or sacred hymn, which cele-brates the glory of the Trinity, is susceptibleof very nice, but material, inflections; andthe substance of an orthodox, or an hereti-cal, creed, may be expressed by the differ-ence of a disjunctive, or a copulative, par-ticle. Alternate responses, and a more reg-ular psalmody,898 were introduced into the

897Athanasius (tom i p 811) complains in general of this practice,which he afterwards exemplifies (p 861) in the pretended electionof Faelix Three eunuchs represented the Roman people, and threeprelates, who followed the court, assumed the functions of the bish-ops of the Suburbicarian provinces

898Thomassin (Discipline de l’Eglise, tom i l ii c 72, 73, p 966-984)has collected many curious facts concerning the origin and progress

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public service by Flavianus and Diodorus,two devout and active laymen, who were at-tached to the Nicene faith. Under their con-duct a swarm of monks issued from the adja-cent desert, bands of well-disciplined singerswere stationed in the cathedral of Antioch,the Glory to the Father, And the Son, And theHoly Ghost,899 was triumphantly chanted bya full chorus of voices; and the Catholics in-sulted, by the purity of their doctrine, theArian prelate, who had usurped the throneof the venerable Eustathius. The same zealwhich inspired their songs prompted themore scrupulous members of the orthodoxparty to form separate assemblies, whichwere governed by the presbyters, till thedeath of their exiled bishop allowed the elec-tion and consecration of a new episcopal pas-tor.900 The revolutions of the court mul-

of church singing, both in the East and West (Arius appears to havebeen the first who availed himself of this means of impressing hisdoctrines on the popular ear: he composed songs for sailors, millers,and travellers, and set them to common airs; “beguiling the igno-rant, by the sweetness of his music, into the impiety of his doctrines”Philostorgius, ii 2 Arian singers used to parade the streets of Con-stantinople by night, till Chrysostom arrayed against them a band oforthodox choristers Sozomen, viii 8–M

899Philostorgius, l iii c 13 Godefroy has examined this subject withsingular accuracy, (p 147, &c) There were three heterodox forms: “Tothe Father by the Son, and in the Holy Ghost” “To the Father, and theSon in the Holy Ghost;” and “To the Father in the Son and the HolyGhost”

900After the exile of Eustathius, under the reign of Constantine, therigid party of the orthodox formed a separation which afterwards de-generated into a schism, and lasted about fourscore years See Tille-mont, Mem Eccles tom vii p 35-54, 1137-1158, tom viii p 537-632, 1314-1332 In many churches, the Arians and Homoousians, who had re-nounced each other’s communion, continued for some time to join inprayer Philostorgius, l iii c 14

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tiplied the number of pretenders; and thesame city was often disputed, under thereign of Constantius, by two, or three, oreven four, bishops, who exercised their spiri-tual jurisdiction over their respective follow-ers, and alternately lost and regained thetemporal possessions of the church. Theabuse of Christianity introduced into the Ro-man government new causes of tyranny andsedition; the bands of civil society were tornasunder by the fury of religious factions; andthe obscure citizen, who might calmly havesurveyed the elevation and fall of successiveemperors, imagined and experienced, thathis own life and fortune were connected withthe interests of a popular ecclesiastic. Theexample of the two capitals, Rome and Con-stantinople, may serve to represent the stateof the empire, and the temper of mankind,under the reign of the sons of Constantine.

I. The Roman pontiff, as long as he main-tained his station and his principles,

was guarded by the warm attachment of agreat people; and could reject with scorn theprayers, the menaces, and the oblations of anheretical prince. When the eunuchs had se-cretly pronounced the exile of Liberius, thewell-grounded apprehension of a tumult en-gaged them to use the utmost precautionsin the execution of the sentence. The capi-tal was invested on every side, and the prae-fect was commanded to seize the person ofthe bishop, either by stratagem or by openforce. The order was obeyed, and Liberius,with the greatest difficulty, at the hour ofmidnight, was swiftly conveyed beyond thereach of the Roman people, before their con-

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sternation was turned into rage. As soonas they were informed of his banishmentinto Thrace, a general assembly was con-vened, and the clergy of Rome bound them-selves, by a public and solemn oath, neverto desert their bishop, never to acknowledgethe usurper Faelix; who, by the influenceof the eunuchs, had been irregularly chosenand consecrated within the walls of a pro-fane palace. At the end of two years, their pi-ous obstinacy subsisted entire and unshaken;and when Constantius visited Rome, he wasassailed by the importunate solicitations ofa people, who had preserved, as the lastremnant of their ancient freedom, the rightof treating their sovereign with familiar in-solence. The wives of many of the sena-tors and most honorable citizens, after press-ing their husbands to intercede in favor ofLiberius, were advised to undertake a com-mission, which in their hands would be lessdangerous, and might prove more success-ful. The emperor received with politenessthese female deputies, whose wealth anddignity were displayed in the magnificenceof their dress and ornaments: he admiredtheir inflexible resolution of following theirbeloved pastor to the most distant regions ofthe earth; and consented that the two bish-ops, Liberius and Faelix, should govern inpeace their respective congregations. But theideas of toleration were so repugnant to thepractice, and even to the sentiments, of thosetimes, that when the answer of Constantiuswas publicly read in the Circus of Rome, soreasonable a project of accommodation wasrejected with contempt and ridicule. The ea-

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ger vehemence which animated the specta-tors in the decisive moment of a horse-race,was now directed towards a different object;and the Circus resounded with the shout ofthousands, who repeatedly exclaimed, “OneGod, One Christ, One Bishop!” The zeal ofthe Roman people in the cause of Liberiuswas not confined to words alone; and thedangerous and bloody sedition which theyexcited soon after the departure of Constan-tius determined that prince to accept the sub-mission of the exiled prelate, and to restorehim to the undivided dominion of the capi-tal. After some ineffectual resistance, his ri-val was expelled from the city by the permis-sion of the emperor and the power of the op-posite faction; the adherents of Faelix wereinhumanly murdered in the streets, in thepublic places, in the baths, and even in thechurches; and the face of Rome, upon the re-turn of a Christian bishop, renewed the hor-rid image of the massacres of Marius, and theproscriptions of Sylla.901

II. Notwithstanding the rapid increase ofChristians under the reign of the Fla-

vian family, Rome, Alexandria, and the othergreat cities of the empire, still contained astrong and powerful faction of Infidels, whoenvied the prosperity, and who ridiculed,even in their theatres, the theological dis-putes of the church. Constantinople aloneenjoyed the advantage of being born and ed-ucated in the bosom of the faith. The cap-

901See, on this ecclesiastical revolution of Rome, Ammianus, xv 7Athanas tom i p 834, 861 Sozomen, l iv c 15 Theodoret, l ii c 17 SulpSever Hist Sacra, l ii p 413 Hieronym Chron Marcellin et Faustin Libellp 3, 4 Tillemont, Mem Eccles tom vi p

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ital of the East had never been polluted bythe worship of idols; and the whole body ofthe people had deeply imbibed the opinions,the virtues, and the passions, which distin-guished the Christians of that age from therest of mankind. After the death of Alexan-der, the episcopal throne was disputed byPaul and Macedonius. By their zeal and abil-ities they both deserved the eminent stationto which they aspired; and if the moral char-acter of Macedonius was less exceptionable,his competitor had the advantage of a priorelection and a more orthodox doctrine. Hisfirm attachment to the Nicene creed, whichhas given Paul a place in the calendar amongsaints and martyrs, exposed him to the re-sentment of the Arians. In the space of four-teen years he was five times driven from histhrone; to which he was more frequently re-stored by the violence of the people, than bythe permission of the prince; and the powerof Macedonius could be secured only by thedeath of his rival. The unfortunate Paul wasdragged in chains from the sandy deserts ofMesopotamia to the most desolate places ofMount Taurus,902 confined in a dark and nar-row dungeon, left six days without food, andat length strangled, by the order of Philip,one of the principal ministers of the em-peror Constantius.903 The first blood which

902Cucusus was the last stage of his life and sufferings The situationof that lonely town, on the confines of Cappadocia, Cilicia, and theLesser Armenia, has occasioned some geographical perplexity; but weare directed to the true spot by the course of the Roman road fromCaesarea to Anazarbus See Cellarii Geograph tom ii p 213 Wesselingad Itinerar p 179, 703

903Athanasius (tom i p 703, 813, 814) affirms, in the most positive

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stained the new capital was spilt in this ec-clesiastical contest; and many persons wereslain on both sides, in the furious and obsti-nate seditions of the people. The commis-sion of enforcing a sentence of banishmentagainst Paul had been intrusted to Hermo-genes, the master-general of the cavalry; butthe execution of it was fatal to himself. TheCatholics rose in the defence of their bishop;the palace of Hermogenes was consumed;the first military officer of the empire wasdragged by the heels through the streets ofConstantinople, and, after he expired, hislifeless corpse was exposed to their wan-ton insults.904 The fate of Hermogenes in-structed Philip, the Praetorian praefect, to actwith more precaution on a similar occasion.In the most gentle and honorable terms, herequired the attendance of Paul in the bathsof Xeuxippus, which had a private commu-nication with the palace and the sea. A ves-sel, which lay ready at the garden stairs, im-mediately hoisted sail; and, while the peoplewere still ignorant of the meditated sacrilege,their bishop was already embarked on hisvoyage to Thessalonica. They soon beheld,with surprise and indignation, the gates ofthe palace thrown open, and the usurper

terms, that Paul was murdered; and appeals, not only to commonfame, but even to the unsuspicious testimony of Philagrius, one ofthe Arian persecutors Yet he acknowledges that the heretics attributedto disease the death of the bishop of Constantinople Athanasius isservilely copied by Socrates, (l ii c 26;) but Sozomen, who discoversa more liberal temper presumes (l iv c 2) to insinuate a prudent doubt

904Ammianus (xiv 10) refers to his own account of this tragic eventBut we no longer possess that part of his history Note: The murder ofHermogenes took place at the first expulsion of Paul from the see ofConstantinople–M

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Macedonius seated by the side of the prae-fect on a lofty chariot, which was surroundedby troops of guards with drawn swords. Themilitary procession advanced towards thecathedral; the Arians and the Catholics ea-gerly rushed to occupy that important post;and three thousand one hundred and fiftypersons lost their lives in the confusion of thetumult. Macedonius, who was supportedby a regular force, obtained a decisive vic-tory; but his reign was disturbed by clamorand sedition; and the causes which appearedthe least connected with the subject of dis-pute, were sufficient to nourish and to kin-dle the flame of civil discord. As the chapelin which the body of the great Constantinehad been deposited was in a ruinous con-dition, the bishop transported those venera-ble remains into the church of St. Acacius.This prudent and even pious measure wasrepresented as a wicked profanation by thewhole party which adhered to the Homoou-sian doctrine. The factions immediately flewto arms, the consecrated ground was used astheir field of battle; and one of the ecclesias-tical historians has observed, as a real fact,not as a figure of rhetoric, that the well be-fore the church overflowed with a stream ofblood, which filled the porticos and the ad-jacent courts. The writer who should imputethese tumults solely to a religious principle,would betray a very imperfect knowledge ofhuman nature; yet it must be confessed thatthe motive which misled the sincerity of zeal,and the pretence which disguised the licen-tiousness of passion, suppressed the remorsewhich, in another cause, would have suc-

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ceeded to the rage of the Christians at Con-stantinople.905

...Part VII

THE cruel and arbitrary disposition of Con-stantius, which did not always require

the provocations of guilt and resistance, wasjustly exasperated by the tumults of his cap-ital, and the criminal behavior of a faction,which opposed the authority and religion oftheir sovereign. The ordinary punishmentsof death, exile, and confiscation, were in-flicted with partial vigor; and the Greeksstill revere the holy memory of two clerks,a reader, and a sub-deacon, who were ac-cused of the murder of Hermogenes, and be-headed at the gates of Constantinople. Byan edict of Constantius against the Catholicswhich has not been judged worthy of aplace in the Theodosian code, those who re-fused to communicate with the Arian bish-ops, and particularly with Macedonius, weredeprived of the immunities of ecclesiastics,and of the rights of Christians; they werecompelled to relinquish the possession of thechurches; and were strictly prohibited fromholding their assemblies within the walls ofthe city. The execution of this unjust law,in the provinces of Thrace and Asia Minor,was committed to the zeal of Macedonius;the civil and military powers were directedto obey his commands; and the cruelties ex-

905See Socrates, l ii c 6, 7, 12, 13, 15, 16, 26, 27, 38, and Sozomen, liii 3, 4, 7, 9, l iv c ii 21 The acts of St Paul of Constantinople, of whichPhotius has made an abstract, (Phot Bibliot p 1419-1430,) are an indif-ferent copy of these historians; but a modern Greek, who could writethe life of a saint without adding fables and miracles, is entitled tosome commendation

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ercised by this Semi- Arian tyrant in the sup-port of the Homoiousion, exceeded the com-mission, and disgraced the reign, of Constan-tius. The sacraments of the church were ad-ministered to the reluctant victims, who de-nied the vocation, and abhorred the prin-ciples, of Macedonius. The rites of bap-tism were conferred on women and children,who, for that purpose, had been torn fromthe arms of their friends and parents; themouths of the communicants were held openby a wooden engine, while the consecratedbread was forced down their throat; thebreasts of tender virgins were either burntwith red-hot egg-shells, or inhumanly com-pressed betweens harp and heavy boards.906The Novatians of Constantinople and the ad-jacent country, by their firm attachment tothe Homoousian standard, deserved to beconfounded with the Catholics themselves.Macedonius was informed, that a large dis-trict of Paphlagonia907 was almost entirelyinhabited by those sectaries. He resolvedeither to convert or to extirpate them; andas he distrusted, on this occasion, the ef-ficacy of an ecclesiastical mission, he com-manded a body of four thousand legionar-ies to march against the rebels, and to reduce

906Socrates, l ii c 27, 38 Sozomen, l iv c 21 The principal assistantsof Macedonius, in the work of persecution, were the two bishops ofNicomedia and Cyzicus, who were esteemed for their virtues, and es-pecially for their charity I cannot forbear reminding the reader, thatthe difference between the Homoousion and Homoiousion, is almostinvisible to the nicest theological eye

907We are ignorant of the precise situation of Mantinium In speakingof these four bands of legionaries, Socrates, Sozomen, and the authorof the acts of St Paul, use the indefinite terms of, which Nicephorusvery properly translates thousands Vales ad Socrat l ii c 38

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the territory of Mantinium under his spiri-tual dominion. The Novatian peasants, ani-mated by despair and religious fury, boldlyencountered the invaders of their country;and though many of the Paphlagonians wereslain, the Roman legions were vanquishedby an irregular multitude, armed only withscythes and axes; and, except a few who es-caped by an ignominious flight, four thou-sand soldiers were left dead on the fieldof battle. The successor of Constantius hasexpressed, in a concise but lively manner,some of the theological calamities which af-flicted the empire, and more especially theEast, in the reign of a prince who was theslave of his own passions, and of those ofhis eunuchs: “Many were imprisoned, andpersecuted, and driven into exile. Wholetroops of those who are styled heretics, weremassacred, particularly at Cyzicus, and atSamosata. In Paphlagonia, Bithynia, Gala-tia, and in many other provinces, towns andvillages were laid waste, and utterly de-stroyed.”908

While the flames of the Arian controversyconsumed the vitals of the empire, the

African provinces were infested by their pe-culiar enemies, the savage fanatics, who, un-der the name of Circumcellions, formed thestrength and scandal of the Donatist party.909

908Julian Epist lii p 436, edit Spanheim909See Optatus Milevitanus, (particularly iii 4,) with the Donatis his-

tory, by M Dupin, and the original pieces at the end of his edition Thenumerous circumstances which Augustin has mentioned, of the furyof the Circumcellions against others, and against themselves, havebeen laboriously collected by Tillemont, Mem Eccles tom vi p 147-165;and he has often, though without design, exposed injuries which hadprovoked those fanatics

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The severe execution of the laws of Constan-tine had excited a spirit of discontent andresistance, the strenuous efforts of his sonConstans, to restore the unity of the church,exasperated the sentiments of mutual ha-tred, which had first occasioned the separa-tion; and the methods of force and corrup-tion employed by the two Imperial commis-sioners, Paul and Macarius, furnished theschismatics with a specious contrast betweenthe maxims of the apostles and the conductof their pretended successors.910 The peas-ants who inhabited the villages of Numidiaand Mauritania, were a ferocious race, whohad been imperfectly reduced under the au-thority of the Roman laws; who were im-perfectly converted to the Christian faith;but who were actuated by a blind and fu-rious enthusiasm in the cause of their Do-natist teachers. They indignantly supportedthe exile of their bishops, the demolition oftheir churches, and the interruption of theirsecret assemblies. The violence of the offi-cers of justice, who were usually sustainedby a military guard, was sometimes repelled

910It is amusing enough to observe the language of opposite par-ties, when they speak of the same men and things Gratus, bishop ofCarthage, begins the acclamations of an orthodox synod, “Gratias Deoomnipotenti et Christu Jesu qui imperavit religiosissimo Constanti Im-peratori, ut votum gereret unitatis, et mitteret ministros sancti operisfamulos Dei Paulum et Macarium” Monument Vet ad Calcem Optati,p 313 “Ecce subito,” (says the Donatist author of the Passion of Marcu-lus), “de Constantis regif tyrannica domo pollutum Macarianae per-secutionis murmur increpuit, et duabus bestiis ad Africam missis, eo-dem scilicet Macario et Paulo, execrandum prorsus ac dirum ecclesiaecertamen indictum est; ut populus Christianus ad unionem cum tradi-toribus faciendam, nudatis militum gladiis et draconum praesentibussignis, et tubarum vocibus cogeretur” Monument p 304

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with equal violence; and the blood of somepopular ecclesiastics, which had been shedin the quarrel, inflamed their rude followerswith an eager desire of revenging the deathof these holy martyrs. By their own cru-elty and rashness, the ministers of persecu-tion sometimes provoked their fate; and theguilt of an accidental tumult precipitated thecriminals into despair and rebellion. Drivenfrom their native villages, the Donatist peas-ants assembled in formidable gangs on theedge of the Getulian desert; and readily ex-changed the habits of labor for a life of idle-ness and rapine, which was consecrated bythe name of religion, and faintly condemnedby the doctors of the sect. The leaders of theCircumcellions assumed the title of captainsof the saints; their principal weapon, as theywere indifferently provided with swords andspears, was a huge and weighty club, whichthey termed an Israelite; and the well-knownsound of “Praise be to God,” which theyused as their cry of war, diffused consterna-tion over the unarmed provinces of Africa.At first their depredations were colored bythe plea of necessity; but they soon exceededthe measure of subsistence, indulged with-out control their intemperance and avarice,burnt the villages which they had pillaged,and reigned the licentious tyrants of theopen country. The occupations of husbandry,and the administration of justice, were inter-rupted; and as the Circumcellions pretendedto restore the primitive equality of mankind,and to reform the abuses of civil society, theyopened a secure asylum for the slaves anddebtors, who flocked in crowds to their holy

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standard. When they were not resisted, theyusually contented themselves with plunder,but the slightest opposition provoked themto acts of violence and murder; and someCatholic priests, who had imprudently sig-nalized their zeal, were tortured by the fa-natics with the most refined and wanton bar-barity. The spirit of the Circumcellions wasnot always exerted against their defencelessenemies; they engaged, and sometimes de-feated, the troops of the province; and inthe bloody action of Bagai, they attacked inthe open field, but with unsuccessful valor,an advanced guard of the Imperial cavalry.The Donatists who were taken in arms, re-ceived, and they soon deserved, the sametreatment which might have been shown tothe wild beasts of the desert. The captivesdied, without a murmur, either by the sword,the axe, or the fire; and the measures of re-taliation were multiplied in a rapid propor-tion, which aggravated the horrors of rebel-lion, and excluded the hope of mutual for-giveness. In the beginning of the present cen-tury, the example of the Circumcellions hasbeen renewed in the persecution, the bold-ness, the crimes, and the enthusiasm of theCamisards; and if the fanatics of Languedocsurpassed those of Numidia, by their mili-tary achievements, the Africans maintainedtheir fierce independence with more resolu-tion and perseverance.911

Such disorders are the natural effects of re-ligious tyranny, but the rage of the Do-

911The Histoire des Camisards, in 3 vols 12mo Villefranche, 1760may be recommended as accurate and impartial It requires some at-tention to discover the religion of the author

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natists was inflamed by a frenzy of a veryextraordinary kind; and which, if it reallyprevailed among them in so extravagant adegree, cannot surely be paralleled in anycountry or in any age. Many of these fa-natics were possessed with the horror oflife, and the desire of martyrdom; and theydeemed it of little moment by what means,or by what hands, they perished, if their con-duct was sanctified by the intention of de-voting themselves to the glory of the truefaith, and the hope of eternal happiness.912Sometimes they rudely disturbed the festi-vals, and profaned the temples of Paganism,with the design of exciting the most zeal-ous of the idolaters to revenge the insultedhonor of their gods. They sometimes forcedtheir way into the courts of justice, and com-pelled the affrighted judge to give orders fortheir immediate execution. They frequentlystopped travellers on the public highways,and obliged them to inflict the stroke of mar-tyrdom, by the promise of a reward, if theyconsented, and by the threat of instant death,if they refused to grant so very singular afavor. When they were disappointed of ev-ery other resource, they announced the dayon which, in the presence of their friendsand brethren, they should east themselvesheadlong from some lofty rock; and manyprecipices were shown, which had acquiredfame by the number of religious suicides.In the actions of these desperate enthusiasts,who were admired by one party as the mar-

912The Donatist suicides alleged in their justification the example ofRazias, which is related in the 14th chapter of the second book of theMaccabees

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tyrs of God, and abhorred by the other asthe victims of Satan, an impartial philoso-pher may discover the influence and the lastabuse of that inflexible spirit which was orig-inally derived from the character and princi-ples of the Jewish nation.The simple narrative of the intestine divi-

sions, which distracted the peace, anddishonored the triumph, of the church, willconfirm the remark of a Pagan historian, andjustify the complaint of a venerable bishop.The experience of Ammianus had convincedhim, that the enmity of the Christians to-wards each other, surpassed the fury ofsavage beasts against man;913 and GregoryNazianzen most pathetically laments, thatthe kingdom of heaven was converted, bydiscord, into the image of chaos, of a noctur-nal tempest, and of hell itself.914 The fierceand partial writers of the times, ascribing allvirtue to themselves, and imputing all guiltto their adversaries, have painted the battleof the angels and daemons. Our calmer rea-son will reject such pure and perfect mon-sters of vice or sanctity, and will impute anequal, or at least an indiscriminate, measureof good and evil to the hostile sectaries, whoassumed and bestowed the appellations oforthodox and heretics. They had been edu-cated in the same religion and the same civilsociety. Their hopes and fears in the present,or in a future life, were balanced in the sameproportion. On either side, the error might

913Nullus infestas hominibus bestias, ut sunt sibi ferales pleriqueChristianorum, expertus Ammian xxii 5

914Gregor, Nazianzen, Orav i p 33 See Tillemont, tom vi p 501, quato edit

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be innocent, the faith sincere, the practicemeritorious or corrupt. Their passions wereexcited by similar objects; and they might al-ternately abuse the favor of the court, or ofthe people. The metaphysical opinions ofthe Athanasians and the Arians could not in-fluence their moral character; and they werealike actuated by the intolerant spirit whichhas been extracted from the pure and simplemaxims of the gospel.A modern writer, who, with a just confi-

dence, has prefixed to his own historythe honorable epithets of political and philo-sophical,915 accuses the timid prudence ofMontesquieu, for neglecting to enumerate,among the causes of the decline of the em-pire, a law of Constantine, by which the ex-ercise of the Pagan worship was absolutelysuppressed, and a considerable part of hissubjects was left destitute of priests, of tem-ples, and of any public religion. The zealof the philosophic historian for the rights ofmankind, has induced him to acquiesce inthe ambiguous testimony of those ecclesias-tics, who have too lightly ascribed to theirfavorite hero the merit of a general persecu-tion.916 Instead of alleging this imaginarylaw, which would have blazed in the front

915Histoire Politique et Philosophique des Etablissemens des Eu-ropeens dans les deux Indes, tom i p 9

916According to Eusebius, (in Vit Constantin l ii c 45,) the emperorprohibited, both in cities and in the country, the abominable acts orparts of idolatry l Socrates (l i c 17) and Sozomen (l ii c 4, 5) have rep-resented the conduct of Constantine with a just regard to truth andhistory; which has been neglected by Theodoret (l v c 21) and Orosius,(vii 28) Tum deinde (says the latter) primus Constantinus justo ordineet pio vicem vertit edicto; siquidem statuit citra ullam hominum cae-dem, paganorum templa claudi

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of the Imperial codes, we may safely ap-peal to the original epistle, which Constan-tine addressed to the followers of the ancientreligion; at a time when he no longer dis-guised his conversion, nor dreaded the ri-vals of his throne. He invites and exhorts,in the most pressing terms, the subjects ofthe Roman empire to imitate the example oftheir master; but he declares, that those whostill refuse to open their eyes to the celes-tial light, may freely enjoy their temples andtheir fancied gods. A report, that the cere-monies of paganism were suppressed, is for-mally contradicted by the emperor himself,who wisely assigns, as the principle of hismoderation, the invincible force of habit, ofprejudice, and of superstition.917 Withoutviolating the sanctity of his promise, with-out alarming the fears of the Pagans, the art-ful monarch advanced, by slow and cautioussteps, to undermine the irregular and de-cayed fabric of polytheism. The partial actsof severity which he occasionally exercised,though they were secretly promoted by aChristian zeal, were colored by the fairestpretences of justice and the public good; andwhile Constantine designed to ruin the foun-dations, he seemed to reform the abuses, ofthe ancient religion. After the example of thewisest of his predecessors, he condemned,under the most rigorous penalties, the oc-cult and impious arts of divination; which

917See Eusebius in Vit Constantin l ii c 56, 60 In the sermon to the as-sembly of saints, which the emperor pronounced when he was maturein years and piety, he declares to the idolaters (c xii) that they are per-mitted to offer sacrifices, and to exercise every part of their religiousworship

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excited the vain hopes, and sometimes thecriminal attempts, of those who were discon-tented with their present condition. An igno-minious silence was imposed on the oracles,which had been publicly convicted of fraudand falsehood; the effeminate priests of theNile were abolished; and Constantine dis-charged the duties of a Roman censor, whenhe gave orders for the demolition of severaltemples of Phoenicia; in which every modeof prostitution was devoutly practised in theface of day, and to the honor of Venus.918The Imperial city of Constantinople was, insome measure, raised at the expense, andwas adorned with the spoils, of the opulenttemples of Greece and Asia; the sacred prop-erty was confiscated; the statues of gods andheroes were transported, with rude familiar-ity, among a people who considered them asobjects, not of adoration, but of curiosity; thegold and silver were restored to circulation;and the magistrates, the bishops, and the eu-nuchs, improved the fortunate occasion ofgratifying, at once, their zeal, their avarice,and their resentment. But these depredationswere confined to a small part of the Romanworld; and the provinces had been long sinceaccustomed to endure the same sacrilegiousrapine, from the tyranny of princes and pro-consuls, who could not be suspected of anydesign to subvert the established religion.919

918See Eusebius, in Vit Constantin l iii c 54-58, and l iv c 23, 25 Theseacts of authority may be compared with the suppression of the Bac-chanals, and the demolition of the temple of Isis, by the magistrates ofPagan Rome

919Eusebius (in Vit Constan l iii c 54-58) and Libanius (Orat proTemplis, p 9, 10, edit Gothofred) both mention the pious sacrilege of

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The sons of Constantine trod in the foot-steps of their father, with more zeal,

and with less discretion. The pretences ofrapine and oppression were insensibly mul-tiplied;920 every indulgence was shown tothe illegal behavior of the Christians; ev-ery doubt was explained to the disadvan-tage of Paganism; and the demolition of thetemples was celebrated as one of the aus-picious events of the reign of Constans andConstantius.921 The name of Constantiusis prefixed to a concise law, which mighthave superseded the necessity of any futureprohibitions. “It is our pleasure, that in allplaces, and in all cities, the temples be im-mediately shut, and carefully guarded, thatnone may have the power of offending. Itis likewise our pleasure, that all our subjectsshould abstain from sacrifices. If any oneshould be guilty of such an act, let him feelthe sword of vengeance, and after his exe-cution, let his property be confiscated to thepublic use. We denounce the same penal-ties against the governors of the provinces,if they neglect to punish the criminals.”922

Constantine, which they viewed in very different lights The latter ex-pressly declares, that “he made use of the sacred money, but madeno alteration in the legal worship; the temples indeed were impov-erished, but the sacred rites were performed there” Lardner’s Jewishand Heathen Testimonies, vol iv p 140

920Ammianus (xxii 4) speaks of some court eunuchs who werespoliis templorum pasti Libanius says (Orat pro Templ p 23) that theemperor often gave away a temple, like a dog, or a horse, or a slave,or a gold cup; but the devout philosopher takes care to observe thatthese sacrilegious favorites very seldom prospered

921See Gothofred Cod Theodos tom vi p 262 Liban Orat Parental c xin Fabric Bibl Graec tom vii p 235

922Placuit omnibus locis atque urbibus universis claudi protinus em-

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But there is the strongest reason to believe,that this formidable edict was either com-posed without being published, or was pub-lished without being executed. The evidenceof facts, and the monuments which are stillextant of brass and marble, continue to provethe public exercise of the Pagan worship dur-ing the whole reign of the sons of Constan-tine. In the East, as well as in the West, incities, as well as in the country, a great num-ber of temples were respected, or at leastwere spared; and the devout multitude stillenjoyed the luxury of sacrifices, of festivals,and of processions, by the permission, orby the connivance, of the civil government.About four years after the supposed dateof this bloody edict, Constantius visited thetemples of Rome; and the decency of his be-havior is recommended by a pagan orator asan example worthy of the imitation of suc-ceeding princes. “That emperor,” says Sym-machus, “suffered the privileges of the vestalvirgins to remain inviolate; he bestowed thesacerdotal dignities on the nobles of Rome,granted the customary allowance to defraythe expenses of the public rites and sacri-

pla, et accessu vetitis omnibus licentiam delinquendi perditis abnegariVolumus etiam cunctos a sacrificiis abstinere Quod siquis aliquid fortehujusmodi perpetraverit, gladio sternatur: facultates etiam peremptifisco decernimus vindicari: et similiter adfligi rectores provinciarum sifacinora vindicare neglexerint Cod Theodos l xvi tit x leg 4 Chronologyhas discovered some contradiction in the date of this extravagant law;the only one, perhaps, by which the negligence of magistrates is pun-ished by death and confiscation M de la Bastie (Mem de l’Academie,tom xv p 98) conjectures, with a show of reason, that this was no morethan the minutes of a law, the heads of an intended bill, which werefound in Scriniis Memoriae among the papers of Constantius, and af-terwards inserted, as a worthy model, in the Theodosian Code

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fices; and, though he had embraced a differ-ent religion, he never attempted to deprivethe empire of the sacred worship of antiq-uity.”923 The senate still presumed to conse-crate, by solemn decrees, the divine memoryof their sovereigns; and Constantine himselfwas associated, after his death, to those godswhom he had renounced and insulted dur-ing his life. The title, the ensigns, the prerog-atives, of sovereign pontiff, which had beeninstituted by Numa, and assumed by Au-gustus, were accepted, without hesitation,by seven Christian emperors; who were in-vested with a more absolute authority overthe religion which they had deserted, thanover that which they professed.924

The divisions of Christianity suspended theruin of Paganism;925 and the holy war

923Symmach Epistol x 54924The fourth Dissertation of M de la Bastie, sur le Souverain Pon-

tificat des Empereurs Romains, (in the Mem de l’Acad tom xv p 75-144,) is a very learned and judicious performance, which explains thestate, and prove the toleration, of Paganism from Constantino to Gra-tian The assertion of Zosimus, that Gratian was the first who refusedthe pontifical robe, is confirmed beyond a doubt; and the murmurs ofbigotry on that subject are almost silenced

925As I have freely anticipated the use of pagans and paganism, Ishall now trace the singular revolutions of those celebrated words 1 inthe Doric dialect, so familiar to the Italians, signifies a fountain; andthe rural neighborhood, which frequented the same fountain, derivedthe common appellation of pagus and pagans (Festus sub voce, andServius ad Virgil Georgic ii 382) 2 By an easy extension of the word, pa-gan and rural became almost synonymous, (Plin Hist Natur xxviii 5;)and the meaner rustics acquired that name, which has been corruptedinto peasants in the modern languages of Europe 3 The amazing in-crease of the military order introduced the necessity of a correlativeterm, (Hume’s Essays, vol i p 555;) and all the people who were not en-listed in the service of the prince were branded with the contemptuousepithets of pagans (Tacit Hist iii 24, 43, 77 Juvenal Satir 16 Tertullian

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against the infidels was less vigorously pros-ecuted by princes and bishops, who weremore immediately alarmed by the guilt anddanger of domestic rebellion. The extirpa-tion of idolatry926 might have been justi-fied by the established principles of intoler-ance: but the hostile sects, which alternatelyreigned in the Imperial court were mutuallyapprehensive of alienating, and perhaps ex-asperating, the minds of a powerful, thoughdeclining faction. Every motive of authorityand fashion, of interest and reason, now mil-itated on the side of Christianity; but two or

de Pallio, c 4) 4 The Christians were the soldiers of Christ; their adver-saries, who refused his sacrament, or military oath of baptism mightdeserve the metaphorical name of pagans; and this popular reproachwas introduced as early as the reign of Valentinian (A D 365) into Im-perial laws (Cod Theodos l xvi tit ii leg 18) and theological writings 5Christianity gradually filled the cities of the empire: the old religion, inthe time of Prudentius (advers Symmachum, l i ad fin) and Orosius, (inPraefat Hist,) retired and languished in obscure villages; and the wordpagans, with its new signification, reverted to its primitive origin 6Since the worship of Jupiter and his family has expired, the vacanttitle of pagans has been successively applied to all the idolaters andpolytheists of the old and new world 7 The Latin Christians bestowedit, without scruple, on their mortal enemies, the Mahometans; and thepurest Unitarians were branded with the unjust reproach of idolatryand paganism See Gerard Vossius, Etymologicon Linguae Latinae, inhis works, tom i p 420; Godefroy’s Commentary on the TheodosianCode, tom vi p 250; and Ducange, Mediae et Infimae Latinitat Glossar

926In the pure language of Ionia and Athens were ancient and fa-miliar words The former expressed a likeness, an apparition (HomerOdys xi 601,) a representation, an image, created either by fancy or artThe latter denoted any sort of service or slavery The Jews of Egypt,who translated the Hebrew Scriptures, restrained the use of thesewords (Exod xx 4, 5) to the religious worship of an image The pecu-liar idiom of the Hellenists, or Grecian Jews, has been adopted by thesacred and ecclesiastical writers and the reproach of idolatry has stig-matized that visible and abject mode of superstition, which some sectsof Christianity should not hastily impute to the polytheists of Greeceand Rome

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three generations elapsed, before their vic-torious influence was universally felt. Thereligion which had so long and so latelybeen established in the Roman empire wasstill revered by a numerous people, less at-tached indeed to speculative opinion, thanto ancient custom. The honors of the stateand army were indifferently bestowed onall the subjects of Constantine and Constan-tius; and a considerable portion of knowl-edge and wealth and valor was still engagedin the service of polytheism. The superstitionof the senator and of the peasant, of the poetand the philosopher, was derived from verydifferent causes, but they met with equal de-votion in the temples of the gods. Their zealwas insensibly provoked by the insulting tri-umph of a proscribed sect; and their hopeswere revived by the well-grounded confi-dence, that the presumptive heir of the em-pire, a young and valiant hero, who had de-livered Gaul from the arms of the Barbarians,had secretly embraced the religion of his an-cestors...Chapter XXII=Julian Declared Emperor...Part I_VJulian Is Declared Emperor

By The Legions Of Gaul.–His March And Success.–The Death Of Constantius.–Civil Administration Of Julian.

WHILE the Romans languished under the ignominioustyranny of eunuchs and bishops, the praises of Julian

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were repeated with transport in every part of the empire,except in the palace of Constantius. The barbarians of Ger-many had felt, and still dreaded, the arms of the youngCaesar; his soldiers were the companions of his victory;the grateful provincials enjoyed the blessings of his reign;but the favorites, who had opposed his elevation, were of-fended by his virtues; and they justly considered the friendof the people as the enemy of the court. As long as thefame of Julian was doubtful, the buffoons of the palace,who were skilled in the language of satire, tried the effi-cacy of those arts which they had so often practised withsuccess. They easily discovered, that his simplicity was notexempt from affectation: the ridiculous epithets of a hairysavage, of an ape invested with the purple, were appliedto the dress and person of the philosophic warrior; and hismodest despatches were stigmatized as the vain and elab-orate fictions of a loquacious Greek, a speculative soldier,who had studied the art of war amidst the groves of theacademy.927 The voice of malicious folly was at length si-lenced by the shouts of victory; the conqueror of the Franksand Alemanni could no longer be painted as an object ofcontempt; and the monarch himself was meanly ambitiousof stealing from his lieutenant the honorable reward of hislabors. In the letters crowned with laurel, which, accord-ing to ancient custom, were addressed to the provinces, the

927Omnes qui plus poterant in palatio, adulandi professores jamdocti, recte consulta, prospereque completa vertebant in deridiculum:talia sine modo strepentes insulse; in odium venit cum victoriis suis;capella, non homo; ut hirsutum Julianum carpentes, appellantesqueloquacem talpam, et purpuratam simiam, et litterionem Graecum:et his congruentia plurima atque vernacula principi resonantes, au-dire haec taliaque gestienti, virtutes ejus obruere verbis impudentibusconabantur, et segnem incessentes et timidum et umbratilem, ges-taque secus verbis comptioribus exornantem Ammianus, s xvii 11 (Thephilosophers retaliated on the courtiers Marius (says Eunapius in anewly-discovered fragment) was wont to call his antagonist Sylla abeast half lion and half fox Constantius had nothing of the lion, butwas surrounded by a whole litter of foxes Mai Script Byz Nov Col ii238 Niebuhr Byzant Hist 66–M

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name of Julian was omitted. “Constantius had made hisdispositions in person; he had signalized his valor in theforemost ranks; his military conduct had secured the vic-tory; and the captive king of the barbarians was presentedto him on the field of battle,” from which he was at that timedistant about forty days’ journey.928 So extravagant a fablewas incapable, however, of deceiving the public credulity,or even of satisfying the pride of the emperor himself. Se-cretly conscious that the applause and favor of the Romansaccompanied the rising fortunes of Julian, his discontentedmind was prepared to receive the subtle poison of those art-ful sycophants, who colored their mischievous designs withthe fairest appearances of truth and candor.929 Instead ofdepreciating the merits of Julian, they acknowledged, andeven exaggerated, his popular fame, superior talents, andimportant services. But they darkly insinuated, that thevirtues of the Caesar might instantly be converted into themost dangerous crimes, if the inconstant multitude shouldprefer their inclinations to their duty; or if the general of avictorious army should be tempted from his allegiance bythe hopes of revenge and independent greatness. The per-sonal fears of Constantius were interpreted by his councilas a laudable anxiety for the public safety; whilst in pri-vate, and perhaps in his own breast, he disguised, underthe less odious appellation of fear, the sentiments of hatred

928Ammian xvi 12 The orator Themistius (iv p 56, 57) believed what-ever was contained in the Imperial letters, which were addressedto the senate of Constantinople Aurelius Victor, who published hisAbridgment in the last year of Constantius, ascribes the German vic-tories to the wisdom of the emperor, and the fortune of the Caesar Yetthe historian, soon afterwards, was indebted to the favor or esteemof Julian for the honor of a brass statue, and the important offices ofconsular of the second Pannonia, and praefect of the city, Ammian xxi10

929Callido nocendi artificio, accusatoriam diritatem laudum titulisperagebant Hae voces fuerunt ad inflammanda odia probria om-nibus potentiores See Mamertin, in Actione Gratiarum in Vet Panegyrxi 5, 6

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and envy, which he had secretly conceived for the inim-itable virtues of Julian.

The apparent tranquillity of Gaul, and the imminent dan-ger of the eastern provinces, offered a specious pretencefor the design which was artfully concerted by the Impe-rial ministers. They resolved to disarm the Caesar; to re-call those faithful troops who guarded his person and dig-nity; and to employ, in a distant war against the Persianmonarch, the hardy veterans who had vanquished, on thebanks of the Rhine, the fiercest nations of Germany. WhileJulian used the laborious hours of his winter quarters atParis in the administration of power, which, in his hands,was the exercise of virtue, he was surprised by the hasty ar-rival of a tribune and a notary, with positive orders, fromthe emperor, which they were directed to execute, and hewas commanded not to oppose. Constantius signified hispleasure, that four entire legions, the Celtae, and Petulants,the Heruli, and the Batavians, should be separated fromthe standard of Julian, under which they had acquired theirfame and discipline; that in each of the remaining bandsthree hundred of the bravest youths should be selected; andthat this numerous detachment, the strength of the Gallicarmy, should instantly begin their march, and exert theirutmost diligence to arrive, before the opening of the cam-paign, on the frontiers of Persia.930 The Caesar foresaw and

930The minute interval, which may be interposed, between thehyeme adulta and the primo vere of Ammianus, (xx l 4,) instead ofallowing a sufficient space for a march of three thousand miles, wouldrender the orders of Constantius as extravagant as they were unjustThe troops of Gaul could not have reached Syria till the end of au-tumn The memory of Ammianus must have been inaccurate, and hislanguage incorrect (The late editor of Ammianus attempts to vindi-cate his author from the charge of inaccuracy “It is clear, from thewhole course of the narrative, that Constantius entertained this designof demanding his troops from Julian, immediately after the taking ofAmida, in the autumn of the preceding year, and had transmitted hisorders into Gaul, before it was known that Lupicinus had gone intoBritain with the Herulians and Batavians” Wagner, note to Amm xx 4

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lamented the consequences of this fatal mandate. Most ofthe auxiliaries, who engaged their voluntary service, hadstipulated, that they should never be obliged to pass theAlps. The public faith of Rome, and the personal honor ofJulian, had been pledged for the observance of this condi-tion. Such an act of treachery and oppression would de-stroy the confidence, and excite the resentment, of the inde-pendent warriors of Germany, who considered truth as thenoblest of their virtues, and freedom as the most valuableof their possessions. The legionaries, who enjoyed the ti-tle and privileges of Romans, were enlisted for the generaldefence of the republic; but those mercenary troops heardwith cold indifference the antiquated names of the republicand of Rome. Attached, either from birth or long habit, tothe climate and manners of Gaul, they loved and admiredJulian; they despised, and perhaps hated, the emperor; theydreaded the laborious march, the Persian arrows, and theburning deserts of Asia. They claimed as their own thecountry which they had saved; and excused their want ofspirit, by pleading the sacred and more immediate duty ofprotecting their families and friends.

The apprehensions of the Gauls were derived from theknowledge of the impending and inevitable danger. Assoon as the provinces were exhausted of their militarystrength, the Germans would violate a treaty which hadbeen imposed on their fears; and notwithstanding the abil-ities and valor of Julian, the general of a nominal army, towhom the public calamities would be imputed, must findhimself, after a vain resistance, either a prisoner in the campof the barbarians, or a criminal in the palace of Constantius.If Julian complied with the orders which he had received,he subscribed his own destruction, and that of a people whodeserved his affection. But a positive refusal was an act ofrebellion, and a declaration of war. The inexorable jealousy

But it seems also clear that the troops were in winter quarters (hiema-bant) when the orders arrived Ammianus can scarcely be acquitted ofincorrectness in his language at least–M

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of the emperor, the peremptory, and perhaps insidious, na-ture of his commands, left not any room for a fair apology,or candid interpretation; and the dependent station of theCaesar scarcely allowed him to pause or to deliberate. Soli-tude increased the perplexity of Julian; he could no longerapply to the faithful counsels of Sallust, who had been re-moved from his office by the judicious malice of the eu-nuchs: he could not even enforce his representations by theconcurrence of the ministers, who would have been afraidor ashamed to approve the ruin of Gaul. The moment hadbeen chosen, when Lupicinus,931 the general of the cavalry,was despatched into Britain, to repulse the inroads of theScots and Picts; and Florentius was occupied at Vienna bythe assessment of the tribute. The latter, a crafty and cor-rupt statesman, declining to assume a responsible part onthis dangerous occasion, eluded the pressing and repeatedinvitations of Julian, who represented to him, that in everyimportant measure, the presence of the praefect was indis-pensable in the council of the prince. In the mean while theCaesar was oppressed by the rude and importunate solici-tations of the Imperial messengers, who presumed to sug-gest, that if he expected the return of his ministers, he wouldcharge himself with the guilt of the delay, and reserve forthem the merit of the execution. Unable to resist, unwillingto comply, Julian expressed, in the most serious terms, hiswish, and even his intention, of resigning the purple, whichhe could not preserve with honor, but which he could notabdicate with safety.

After a painful conflict, Julian was compelled to acknowl-edge, that obedience was the virtue of the most eminentsubject, and that the sovereign alone was entitled to judge of

931Ammianus, xx l The valor of Lupicinus, and his military skill, areacknowledged by the historian, who, in his affected language, accusesthe general of exalting the horns of his pride, bellowing in a tragictone, and exciting a doubt whether he was more cruel or avariciousThe danger from the Scots and Picts was so serious that Julian himselfhad some thoughts of passing over into the island

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the public welfare. He issued the necessary orders for car-rying into execution the commands of Constantius; a part ofthe troops began their march for the Alps; and the detach-ments from the several garrisons moved towards their re-spective places of assembly. They advanced with difficultythrough the trembling and affrighted crowds of provincials,who attempted to excite their pity by silent despair, or loudlamentations, while the wives of the soldiers, holding theirinfants in their arms, accused the desertion of their hus-bands, in the mixed language of grief, of tenderness, andof indignation. This scene of general distress afflicted thehumanity of the Caesar; he granted a sufficient number ofpost-wagons to transport the wives and families of the sol-diers,932 endeavored to alleviate the hardships which hewas constrained to inflict, and increased, by the most laud-able arts, his own popularity, and the discontent of the ex-iled troops. The grief of an armed multitude is soon con-verted into rage; their licentious murmurs, which everyhour were communicated from tent to tent with more bold-ness and effect, prepared their minds for the most daringacts of sedition; and by the connivance of their tribunes, aseasonable libel was secretly dispersed, which painted inlively colors the disgrace of the Caesar, the oppression ofthe Gallic army, and the feeble vices of the tyrant of Asia.The servants of Constantius were astonished and alarmedby the progress of this dangerous spirit. They pressed theCaesar to hasten the departure of the troops; but they im-prudently rejected the honest and judicious advice of Julian;who proposed that they should not march through Paris,and suggested the danger and temptation of a last inter-view.

As soon as the approach of the troops was announced,the Caesar went out to meet them, and ascended his tri-

932He granted them the permission of the cursus clavularis, or clab-ularis These post-wagons are often mentioned in the Code, and weresupposed to carry fifteen hundred pounds weight See Vales ad Am-mian xx 4

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bunal, which had been erected in a plain before the gatesof the city. After distinguishing the officers and soldiers,who by their rank or merit deserved a peculiar attention, Ju-lian addressed himself in a studied oration to the surround-ing multitude: he celebrated their exploits with grateful ap-plause; encouraged them to accept, with alacrity, the honorof serving under the eye of a powerful and liberal monarch;and admonished them, that the commands of Augustus re-quired an instant and cheerful obedience. The soldiers, whowere apprehensive of offending their general by an inde-cent clamor, or of belying their sentiments by false and ve-nal acclamations, maintained an obstinate silence; and aftera short pause, were dismissed to their quarters. The princi-pal officers were entertained by the Caesar, who professed,in the warmest language of friendship, his desire and hisinability to reward, according to their deserts, the bravecompanions of his victories. They retired from the feast,full of grief and perplexity; and lamented the hardship oftheir fate, which tore them from their beloved general andtheir native country. The only expedient which could pre-vent their separation was boldly agitated and approved thepopular resentment was insensibly moulded into a regularconspiracy; their just reasons of complaint were heightenedby passion, and their passions were inflamed by wine; as,on the eve of their departure, the troops were indulged inlicentious festivity. At the hour of midnight, the impetu-ous multitude, with swords, and bows, and torches in theirhands, rushed into the suburbs; encompassed the palace;933and, careless of future dangers, pronounced the fatal and ir-revocable words, Julian Augustus! The prince, whose anx-ious suspense was interrupted by their disorderly acclama-

933Most probably the palace of the baths, (Thermarum,) of whicha solid and lofty hall still subsists in the Rue de la Harpe The build-ings covered a considerable space of the modern quarter of the uni-versity; and the gardens, under the Merovingian kings, communicatedwith the abbey of St Germain des Prez By the injuries of time and theNormans, this ancient palace was reduced, in the twelfth century, to amaze of ruins, whose dark recesses were the scene of licentious love

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tions, secured the doors against their intrusion; and as longas it was in his power, secluded his person and dignity fromthe accidents of a nocturnal tumult. At the dawn of day, thesoldiers, whose zeal was irritated by opposition, forcibly en-tered the palace, seized, with respectful violence, the objectof their choice, guarded Julian with drawn swords throughthe streets of Paris, placed him on the tribunal, and with re-peated shouts saluted him as their emperor. Prudence, aswell as loyalty, inculcated the propriety of resisting theirtreasonable designs; and of preparing, for his oppressedvirtue, the excuse of violence. Addressing himself by turnsto the multitude and to individuals, he sometimes imploredtheir mercy, and sometimes expressed his indignation; con-jured them not to sully the fame of their immortal victo-ries; and ventured to promise, that if they would immedi-ately return to their allegiance, he would undertake to ob-tain from the emperor not only a free and gracious pardon,but even the revocation of the orders which had excitedtheir resentment. But the soldiers, who were conscious oftheir guilt, chose rather to depend on the gratitude of Ju-lian, than on the clemency of the emperor. Their zeal wasinsensibly turned into impatience, and their impatience intorage. The inflexible Caesar sustained, till the third hour ofthe day, their prayers, their reproaches, and their menaces;nor did he yield, till he had been repeatedly assured, that ifhe wished to live, he must consent to reign. He was exaltedon a shield in the presence, and amidst the unanimous ac-clamations, of the troops; a rich military collar, which wasoffered by chance, supplied the want of a diadem;934 theceremony was concluded by the promise of a moderate do-native; and the new emperor, overwhelmed with real or af-fected grief retired into the most secret recesses of his apart-

934Even in this tumultuous moment, Julian attended to the forms ofsuperstitious ceremony, and obstinately refused the inauspicious useof a female necklace, or a horse collar, which the impatient soldierswould have employed in the room of a diadem

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ment.935

=Explicat aula sinus montemque amplectituralis;

Multiplici latebra scelerum tersura ruborem..... pereuntis saepe pudoris Celatura nefas,Venerisque accommoda furtis.(These lines are quoted from the Architrenius,

l. iv. c. 8, a poetical work of John deHauteville, or Hanville, a monk of St. Al-ban’s, about the year 1190. See Warton’s His-tory of English Poetry, vol. i. dissert. ii.)Yet such thefts might be less pernicious tomankind than the theological disputes of theSorbonne, which have been since agitatedon the same ground. Bonamy, Mem. del’Academie, tom. xv. p. 678-632.)

The grief of Julian could proceed only from hisinnocence; out his innocence must appearextremely doubtful936 in the eyes of thosewho have learned to suspect the motivesand the professions of princes. His livelyand active mind was susceptible of the var-ious impressions of hope and fear, of grati-tude and revenge, of duty and of ambition,of the love of fame, and of the fear of re-proach. But it is impossible for us to calculate

935For the whole narrative of this revolt, we may appeal to authen-tic and original materials; Julian himself, (ad S P Q Atheniensem, p282, 283, 284,) Libanius, (Orat Parental c 44-48, in Fabricius, BibliotGraec tom vii p 269-273,) Ammianus, (xx 4,) and Zosimus, (l iii p 151,152, 153) who, in the reign of Julian, appears to follow the more re-spectable authority of Eunapius With such guides we might neglectthe abbreviators and ecclesiastical historians

936Eutropius, a respectable witness, uses a doubtful expression,“consensu militum” (x 15) Gregory Nazianzen, whose ignorance nightexcuse his fanaticism, directly charges the apostate with presumption,madness, and impious rebellion, Orat iii p 67

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the respective weight and operation of thesesentiments; or to ascertain the principles ofaction which might escape the observation,while they guided, or rather impelled, thesteps of Julian himself. The discontent ofthe troops was produced by the malice of hisenemies; their tumult was the natural effectof interest and of passion; and if Julian hadtried to conceal a deep design under the ap-pearances of chance, he must have employedthe most consummate artifice without ne-cessity, and probably without success. Hesolemnly declares, in the presence of Jupiter,of the Sun, of Mars, of Minerva, and of allthe other deities, that till the close of theevening which preceded his elevation, hewas utterly ignorant of the designs of the sol-diers;937 and it may seem ungenerous to dis-trust the honor of a hero and the truth of aphilosopher. Yet the superstitious confidencethat Constantius was the enemy, and that hehimself was the favorite, of the gods, mightprompt him to desire, to solicit, and even tohasten the auspicious moment of his reign,which was predestined to restore the ancientreligion of mankind. When Julian had re-ceived the intelligence of the conspiracy, heresigned himself to a short slumber; and af-terwards related to his friends that he hadseen the genius of the empire waiting withsome impatience at his door, pressing for ad-mittance, and reproaching his want of spiritand ambition.938 Astonished and perplexed,

937Julian ad S P Q Athen p 284 The devout Abbe de la Bleterie (Viede Julien, p 159) is almost inclined to respect the devout protestationsof a Pagan

938Ammian xx 5, with the note of Lindenbrogius on the Genius of the

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he addressed his prayers to the great Jupiter,who immediately signified, by a clear andmanifest omen, that he should submit to thewill of heaven and of the army. The conductwhich disclaims the ordinary maxims of rea-son, excites our suspicion and eludes our in-quiry. Whenever the spirit of fanaticism, atonce so credulous and so crafty, has insin-uated itself into a noble mind, it insensiblycorrodes the vital principles of virtue and ve-racity.

To moderate the zeal of his party, to protectthe persons of his enemies,939 to defeat andto despise the secret enterprises which wereformed against his life and dignity, were thecares which employed the first days of thereign of the new emperor. Although he wasfirmly resolved to maintain the station whichhe had assumed, he was still desirous of sav-ing his country from the calamities of civilwar, of declining a contest with the supe-rior forces of Constantius, and of preservinghis own character from the reproach of per-fidy and ingratitude. Adorned with the en-signs of military and imperial pomp, Julianshowed himself in the field of Mars to thesoldiers, who glowed with ardent enthusi-asm in the cause of their pupil, their leader,and their friend. He recapitulated their vic-

empire Julian himself, in a confidential letter to his friend and physi-cian, Oribasius, (Epist xvii p 384,) mentions another dream, to which,before the event, he gave credit; of a stately tree thrown to the ground,of a small plant striking a deep root into the earth Even in his sleep,the mind of the Caesar must have been agitated by the hopes and fearsof his fortune Zosimus (l iii p 155) relates a subsequent dream

939The difficult situation of the prince of a rebellious army is finelydescribed by Tacitus, (Hist 1, 80-85) But Otho had much more guilt,and much less abilities, than Julian

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tories, lamented their sufferings, applaudedtheir resolution, animated their hopes, andchecked their impetuosity; nor did he dis-miss the assembly, till he had obtained asolemn promise from the troops, that if theemperor of the East would subscribe an equi-table treaty, they would renounce any viewsof conquest, and satisfy themselves with thetranquil possession of the Gallic provinces.On this foundation he composed, in his ownname, and in that of the army, a specious andmoderate epistle,940 which was delivered toPentadius, his master of the offices, and tohis chamberlain Eutherius; two ambassadorswhom he appointed to receive the answer,and observe the dispositions of Constantius.This epistle is inscribed with the modest ap-pellation of Caesar; but Julian solicits in aperemptory, though respectful, manner, theconfirmation of the title of Augustus. He ac-knowledges the irregularity of his own elec-tion, while he justifies, in some measure, theresentment and violence of the troops whichhad extorted his reluctant consent. He al-lows the supremacy of his brother Constan-tius; and engages to send him an annualpresent of Spanish horses, to recruit his armywith a select number of barbarian youths,and to accept from his choice a Praetorianpraefect of approved discretion and fidelity.But he reserves for himself the nominationof his other civil and military officers, withthe troops, the revenue, and the sovereigntyof the provinces beyond the Alps. He ad-

940To this ostensible epistle he added, says Ammianus, private let-ters, objurgatorias et mordaces, which the historian had not seen, andwould not have published Perhaps they never existed

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monishes the emperor to consult the dictatesof justice; to distrust the arts of those ve-nal flatterers, who subsist only by the dis-cord of princes; and to embrace the offerof a fair and honorable treaty, equally ad-vantageous to the republic and to the houseof Constantine. In this negotiation Julianclaimed no more than he already possessed.The delegated authority which he had longexercised over the provinces of Gaul, Spain,and Britain, was still obeyed under a namemore independent and august. The soldiersand the people rejoiced in a revolution whichwas not stained even with the blood of theguilty. Florentius was a fugitive; Lupicinus aprisoner. The persons who were disaffectedto the new government were disarmed andsecured; and the vacant offices were dis-tributed, according to the recommendationof merit, by a prince who despised the in-trigues of the palace, and the clamors of thesoldiers.941

The negotiations of peace were accompaniedand supported by the most vigorous prepa-rations for war. The army, which Julian heldin readiness for immediate action, was re-cruited and augmented by the disorders ofthe times. The cruel persecutions of the fac-tion of Magnentius had filled Gaul with nu-merous bands of outlaws and robbers. Theycheerfully accepted the offer of a general par-don from a prince whom they could trust,submitted to the restraints of military disci-pline, and retained only their implacable ha-tred to the person and government of Con-

941See the first transactions of his reign, in Julian ad S P Q Athen p285, 286 Ammianus, xx 5, 8 Liban Orat Parent c 49, 50, p 273-275

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stantius.942 As soon as the season of theyear permitted Julian to take the field, he ap-peared at the head of his legions; threw abridge over the Rhine in the neighborhoodof Cleves; and prepared to chastise the per-fidy of the Attuarii, a tribe of Franks, whopresumed that they might ravage, with im-punity, the frontiers of a divided empire. Thedifficulty, as well as glory, of this enterprise,consisted in a laborious march; and Julianhad conquered, as soon as he could pene-trate into a country, which former princeshad considered as inaccessible. After he hadgiven peace to the Barbarians, the emperorcarefully visited the fortifications along theQhine from Cleves to Basil; surveyed, withpeculiar attention, the territories which hehad recovered from the hands of the Ale-manni, passed through Besancon,943 whichhad severely suffered from their fury, andfixed his headquarters at Vienna for the en-suing winter. The barrier of Gaul was im-proved and strengthened with additionalfortifications; and Julian entertained somehopes that the Germans, whom he had sooften vanquished, might, in his absence, berestrained by the terror of his name. Vado-mair944 was the only prince of the Alemanni

942Liban Orat Parent c 50, p 275, 276 A strange disorder, since it con-tinued above seven years In the factions of the Greek republics, theexiles amounted to 20,000 persons; and Isocrates assures Philip, thatit would be easier to raise an army from the vagabonds than from thecities See Hume’s Essays, tom i p 426, 427

943Julian (Epist xxxviii p 414) gives a short description of Vesontio,or Besancon; a rocky peninsula almost encircled by the River Doux;once a magnificent city, filled with temples, &c, now reduced to a smalltown, emerging, however, from its ruins

944Vadomair entered into the Roman service, and was promoted

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whom he esteemed or feared and while thesubtle Barbarian affected to observe the faithof treaties, the progress of his arms threat-ened the state with an unseasonable anddangerous war. The policy of Julian conde-scended to surprise the prince of the Ale-manni by his own arts: and Vadomair, who,in the character of a friend, had incautiouslyaccepted an invitation from the Roman gov-ernors, was seized in the midst of the en-tertainment, and sent away prisoner into theheart of Spain. Before the Barbarians were re-covered from their amazement, the emperorappeared in arms on the banks of the Rhine,and, once more crossing the river, renewedthe deep impressions of terror and respectwhich had been already made by four pre-ceding expeditions.945

...Part II

THE ambassadors of Julian had been in-structed to execute, with the utmost dili-

gence, their important commission. But, intheir passage through Italy and Illyricum,they were detained by the tedious and af-fected delays of the provincial governors;they were conducted by slow journeys fromConstantinople to Caesarea in Cappadocia;and when at length they were admittedto the presence of Constantius, they foundthat he had already conceived, from thedespatches of his own officers, the mostunfavorable opinion of the conduct of Ju-

from a barbarian kingdom to the military rank of duke of PhoeniciaHe still retained the same artful character, (Ammian xxi 4;) but underthe reign of Valens, he signalized his valor in the Armenian war, (xxix1)

945Ammian xx 10, xxi 3, 4 Zosimus, l iii p 155

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lian, and of the Gallic army. The letterswere heard with impatience; the tremblingmessengers were dismissed with indigna-tion and contempt; and the looks, gestures,the furious language of the monarch, ex-pressed the disorder of his soul. The do-mestic connection, which might have recon-ciled the brother and the husband of He-lena, was recently dissolved by the deathof that princess, whose pregnancy had beenseveral times fruitless, and was at last fatalto herself.946 The empress Eusebia had pre-served, to the last moment of her life, thewarm, and even jealous, affection which shehad conceived for Julian; and her mild in-fluence might have moderated the resent-ment of a prince, who, since her death, wasabandoned to his own passions, and to thearts of his eunuchs. But the terror of a for-eign invasion obliged him to suspend thepunishment of a private enemy: he contin-ued his march towards the confines of Per-sia, and thought it sufficient to signify theconditions which might entitle Julian andhis guilty followers to the clemency of theiroffended sovereign. He required, that thepresumptuous Caesar should expressly re-nounce the appellation and rank of Augus-

946Her remains were sent to Rome, and interred near those of hersister Constantina, in the suburb of the Via Nomentana Ammian xxi 1Libanius has composed a very weak apology, to justify his hero from avery absurd charge of poisoning his wife, and rewarding her physicianwith his mother’s jewels (See the seventh of seventeen new orations,published at Venice, 1754, from a MS in St Mark’s Library, p 117-127)Elpidius, the Praetorian praefect of the East, to whose evidence theaccuser of Julian appeals, is arraigned by Libanius, as effeminate andungrateful; yet the religion of Elpidius is praised by Jerom, (tom i p243,) and his Ammianus (xxi 6)

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tus, which he had accepted from the rebels;that he should descend to his former stationof a limited and dependent minister; that heshould vest the powers of the state and armyin the hands of those officers who were ap-pointed by the Imperial court; and that heshould trust his safety to the assurances ofpardon, which were announced by Epicte-tus, a Gallic bishop, and one of the Arian fa-vorites of Constantius. Several months wereineffectually consumed in a treaty which wasnegotiated at the distance of three thousandmiles between Paris and Antioch; and, assoon as Julian perceived that his modest andrespectful behavior served only to irritate thepride of an implacable adversary, he boldlyresolved to commit his life and fortune to thechance of a civil war. He gave a public andmilitary audience to the quaestor Leonas: thehaughty epistle of Constantius was read tothe attentive multitude; and Julian protested,with the most flattering deference, that hewas ready to resign the title of Augustus, ifhe could obtain the consent of those whomhe acknowledged as the authors of his ele-vation. The faint proposal was impetuouslysilenced; and the acclamations of “Julian Au-gustus, continue to reign, by the authorityof the army, of the people, of the republicwhich you have saved,” thundered at oncefrom every part of the field, and terrifiedthe pale ambassador of Constantius. A partof the letter was afterwards read, in whichthe emperor arraigned the ingratitude of Ju-lian, whom he had invested with the honorsof the purple; whom he had educated withso much care and tenderness; whom he had

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preserved in his infancy, when he was left ahelpless orphan.“An orphan!” interrupted Julian, who justi-

fied his cause by indulging his passions:“does the assassin of my family reproach methat I was left an orphan? He urges meto revenge those injuries which I have longstudied to forget.” The assembly was dis-missed; and Leonas, who, with some diffi-culty, had been protected from the popularfury, was sent back to his master with anepistle, in which Julian expressed, in a strainof the most vehement eloquence, the senti-ments of contempt, of hatred, and of resent-ment, which had been suppressed and imbit-tered by the dissimulation of twenty years.After this message, which might be consid-ered as a signal of irreconcilable war, Julian,who, some weeks before, had celebrated theChristian festival of the Epiphany,947 made apublic declaration that he committed the careof his safety to the Immortal Gods; and thuspublicly renounced the religion as well as thefriendship of Constantius.948

947Feriarum die quem celebrantes mense Januario, ChristianiEpiphania dictitant, progressus in eorum ecclesiam, solemniter nu-mine orato discessit Ammian xxi 2 Zonaras observes, that it was onChristmas day, and his assertion is not inconsistent; since the churchesof Egypt, Asia, and perhaps Gaul, celebrated on the same day (thesixth of January) the nativity and the baptism of their Savior The Ro-mans, as ignorant as their brethren of the real date of his birth, fixedthe solemn festival to the 25th of December, the Brumalia, or wintersolstice, when the Pagans annually celebrated the birth of the sun SeeBingham’s Antiquities of the Christian Church, l xx c 4, and Beausobre,Hist Critique du Manicheismo tom ii p 690-700

948The public and secret negotiations between Constantius and Ju-lian must be extracted, with some caution, from Julian himself (Oratad S P Q Athen p 286) Libanius, (Orat Parent c 51, p 276,) Ammianus,(xx 9,) Zosimus, (l iii p 154,) and even Zonaras, (tom ii l xiii p 20, 21,

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The situation of Julian required a vigorousand immediate resolution. He had dis-

covered, from intercepted letters, that his ad-versary, sacrificing the interest of the stateto that of the monarch, had again excitedthe Barbarians to invade the provinces ofthe West. The position of two magazines,one of them collected on the banks of theLake of Constance, the other formed at thefoot of the Cottian Alps, seemed to indi-cate the march of two armies; and the sizeof those magazines, each of which consistedof six hundred thousand quarters of wheat,or rather flour,949 was a threatening evi-dence of the strength and numbers of the en-emy who prepared to surround him. Butthe Imperial legions were still in their dis-tant quarters of Asia; the Danube was fee-bly guarded; and if Julian could occupy, bya sudden incursion, the important provincesof Illyricum, he might expect that a peopleof soldiers would resort to his standard, andthat the rich mines of gold and silver wouldcontribute to the expenses of the civil war.He proposed this bold enterprise to the as-sembly of the soldiers; inspired them witha just confidence in their general, and inthemselves; and exhorted them to maintaintheir reputation of being terrible to the en-emy, moderate to their fellow-citizens, andobedient to their officers. His spirited dis-

22,) who, on this occasion, appears to have possessed and used somevaluable materials

949Three hundred myriads, or three millions of medimni, a cornmeasure familiar to the Athenians, and which contained six Romanmodii Julian explains, like a soldier and a statesman, the danger of hissituation, and the necessity and advantages of an offensive war, (ad SP Q Athen p 286, 287)

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course was received with the loudest accla-mations, and the same troops which hadtaken up arms against Constantius, whenhe summoned them to leave Gaul, now de-clared with alacrity, that they would followJulian to the farthest extremities of Europe orAsia. The oath of fidelity was administered;and the soldiers, clashing their shields, andpointing their drawn swords to their throats,devoted themselves, with horrid impreca-tions, to the service of a leader whom theycelebrated as the deliverer of Gaul and theconqueror of the Germans.950 This solemnengagement, which seemed to be dictated byaffection rather than by duty, was singly op-posed by Nebridius, who had been admit-ted to the office of Praetorian praefect. Thatfaithful minister, alone and unassisted, as-serted the rights of Constantius, in the midstof an armed and angry multitude, to whosefury he had almost fallen an honorable, butuseless sacrifice. After losing one of hishands by the stroke of a sword, he embracedthe knees of the prince whom he had of-fended. Julian covered the praefect with hisImperial mantle, and, protecting him fromthe zeal of his followers, dismissed him tohis own house, with less respect than wasperhaps due to the virtue of an enemy.951The high office of Nebridius was bestowedon Sallust; and the provinces of Gaul, whichwere now delivered from the intolerable op-

950See his oration, and the behavior of the troops, in Ammian xxi 5951He sternly refused his hand to the suppliant praefect, whom he

sent into Tuscany (Ammian xxi 5) Libanius, with savage fury, insultsNebridius, applauds the soldiers, and almost censures the humanityof Julian (Orat Parent c 53, p 278)

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pression of taxes, enjoyed the mild and eq-uitable administration of the friend of Julian,who was permitted to practise those virtueswhich he had instilled into the mind of hispupil.952

The hopes of Julian depended much less onthe number of his troops, than on the

celerity of his motions. In the execution ofa daring enterprise, he availed himself of ev-ery precaution, as far as prudence could sug-gest; and where prudence could no longeraccompany his steps, he trusted the event tovalor and to fortune. In the neighborhood ofBasil he assembled and divided his army.953One body, which consisted of ten thousandmen, was directed under the command ofNevitta, general of the cavalry, to advancethrough the midland parts of Rhaetia andNoricum. A similar division of troops, underthe orders of Jovius and Jovinus, prepared tofollow the oblique course of the highways,through the Alps, and the northern confinesof Italy. The instructions to the generalswere conceived with energy and precision:to hasten their march in close and compactcolumns, which, according to the disposi-tion of the ground, might readily be changedinto any order of battle; to secure themselvesagainst the surprises of the night by strongposts and vigilant guards; to prevent resis-

952Ammian xxi 8 In this promotion, Julian obeyed the law which hepublicly imposed on himself Neque civilis quisquam judex nec mili-taris rector, alio quodam praeter merita suffragante, ad potiorem ve-niat gradum (Ammian xx 5) Absence did not weaken his regard forSallust, with whose name (A D 363) he honored the consulship

953Ammianus (xxi 8) ascribes the same practice, and the same mo-tive, to Alexander the Great and other skilful generals

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tance by their unexpected arrival; to eludeexamination by their sudden departure; tospread the opinion of their strength, and theterror of his name; and to join their sovereignunder the walls of Sirmium. For himself Ju-lian had reserved a more difficult and ex-traordinary part. He selected three thou-sand brave and active volunteers, resolved,like their leader, to cast behind them everyhope of a retreat; at the head of this faithfulband, he fearlessly plunged into the recessesof the Marcian, or Black Forest, which con-ceals the sources of the Danube;954 and, formany days, the fate of Julian was unknownto the world. The secrecy of his march, hisdiligence, and vigor, surmounted every ob-stacle; he forced his way over mountains andmorasses, occupied the bridges or swam therivers, pursued his direct course,955 with-out reflecting whether he traversed the ter-ritory of the Romans or of the Barbarians,and at length emerged, between Ratisbonand Vienna, at the place where he designedto embark his troops on the Danube. By awell-concerted stratagem, he seized a fleetof light brigantines,956 as it lay at anchor;

954This wood was a part of the great Hercynian forest, which, is thetime of Caesar, stretched away from the country of the Rauraci (Basil)into the boundless regions of the north See Cluver, Germania Antiqual iii c 47

955Compare Libanius, Orat Parent c 53, p 278, 279, with GregoryNazianzen, Orat iii p 68 Even the saint admires the speed and secrecyof this march A modern divine might apply to the progress of Julianthe lines which were originally designed for another apostate:–

956In that interval the Notitia places two or three fleets, the Lauria-censis, (at Lauriacum, or Lorch,) the Arlapensis, the Maginensis; andmentions five legions, or cohorts, of Libernarii, who should be a sortof marines Sect lviii edit Labb

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secured a apply of coarse provisions suffi-cient to satisfy the indelicate, and voracious,appetite of a Gallic army; and boldly com-mitted himself to the stream of the Danube.The labors of the mariners, who plied theiroars with incessant diligence, and the steadycontinuance of a favorable wind, carried hisfleet above seven hundred miles in elevendays;957 and he had already disembarkedhis troops at Bononia,958 only nineteen milesfrom Sirmium, before his enemies could re-ceive any certain intelligence that he had leftthe banks of the Rhine. In the course of thislong and rapid navigation, the mind of Julianwas fixed on the object of his enterprise; andthough he accepted the deputations of somecities, which hastened to claim the merit ofan early submission, he passed before thehostile stations, which were placed along theriver, without indulging the temptation ofsignalizing a useless and ill-timed valor. Thebanks of the Danube were crowded on ei-ther side with spectators, who gazed on themilitary pomp, anticipated the importance ofthe event, and diffused through the adjacentcountry the fame of a young hero, who ad-vanced with more than mortal speed at thehead of the innumerable forces of the West.Lucilian, who, with the rank of general of thecavalry, commanded the military powers ofIllyricum, was alarmed and perplexed by the

957Zosimus alone (l iii p 156) has specified this interesting circum-stance Mamertinus, (in Panegyr Vet xi 6, 7, 8,) who accompanied Ju-lian, as count of the sacred largesses, describes this voyage in a floridand picturesque manner, challenges Triptolemus and the Argonauts ofGreece, &c

958Banostar Mannert–M

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doubtful reports, which he could neither re-ject nor believe. He had taken some slow andirresolute measures for the purpose of col-lecting his troops, when he was surprised byDagalaiphus, an active officer, whom Julian,as soon as he landed at Bononia, had pushedforwards with some light infantry. The cap-tive general, uncertain of his life or death,was hastily thrown upon a horse, and con-ducted to the presence of Julian; who kindlyraised him from the ground, and dispelledthe terror and amazement which seemedto stupefy his faculties. But Lucilian hadno sooner recovered his spirits, than he be-trayed his want of discretion, by presum-ing to admonish his conqueror that he hadrashly ventured, with a handful of men, toexpose his person in the midst of his ene-mies. “Reserve for your master Constan-tius these timid remonstrances,” replied Ju-lian, with a smile of contempt: “when I gaveyou my purple to kiss, I received you notas a counsellor, but as a suppliant.” Con-scious that success alone could justify his at-tempt, and that boldness only could com-mand success, he instantly advanced, at thehead of three thousand soldiers, to attack thestrongest and most populous city of the Illyr-ian provinces. As he entered the long suburbof Sirmium, he was received by the joyfulacclamations of the army and people; who,crowned with flowers, and holding lightedtapers in their hands, conducted their ac-knowledged sovereign to his Imperial resi-dence. Two days were devoted to the pub-lic joy, which was celebrated by the gamesof the circus; but, early on the morning of

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the third day, Julian marched to occupy thenarrow pass of Succi, in the defiles of MountHaemus; which, almost in the midway be-tween Sirmium and Constantinople, sepa-rates the provinces of Thrace and Dacia, byan abrupt descent towards the former, anda gentle declivity on the side of the latter.959The defence of this important post was in-trusted to the brave Nevitta; who, as wellas the generals of the Italian division, suc-cessfully executed the plan of the march andjunction which their master had so ably con-ceived.960

_V–So eagerly the fiend,O’er bog, or steep, through strait, rough,

dense, or rare,With head, hands, wings, or feet, pursues his

way,And swims, or sinks, or wades, or creeps, or

flies.

The homage which Julian obtained, from the fears or the in-clination of the people, extended far beyond the immediateeffect of his arms.961 The praefectures of Italy and Illyricumwere administered by Taurus and Florentius, who unitedthat important office with the vain honors of the consulship;

959The description of Ammianus, which might be supported by col-lateral evidence, ascertains the precise situation of the Angustine Suc-corum, or passes of Succi M d’Anville, from the trifling resemblanceof names, has placed them between Sardica and Naissus For my ownjustification I am obliged to mention the only error which I have dis-covered in the maps or writings of that admirable geographer

960Whatever circumstances we may borrow elsewhere, Ammianus(xx 8, 9, 10) still supplies the series of the narrative

961Ammian xxi 9, 10 Libanius, Orat Parent c 54, p 279, 280 Zosimus,l iii p 156, 157

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and as those magistrates had retired with precipitation tothe court of Asia, Julian, who could not always restrain thelevity of his temper, stigmatized their flight by adding, inall the Acts of the Year, the epithet of fugitive to the namesof the two consuls. The provinces which had been desertedby their first magistrates acknowledged the authority of anemperor, who, conciliating the qualities of a soldier withthose of a philosopher, was equally admired in the campsof the Danube and in the cities of Greece. From his palace,or, more properly, from his head-quarters of Sirmium andNaissus, he distributed to the principal cities of the empire,a labored apology for his own conduct; published the se-cret despatches of Constantius; and solicited the judgmentof mankind between two competitors, the one of whom hadexpelled, and the other had invited, the Barbarians.962 Ju-lian, whose mind was deeply wounded by the reproach ofingratitude, aspired to maintain, by argument as well as byarms, the superior merits of his cause; and to excel, not onlyin the arts of war, but in those of composition. His epistleto the senate and people of Athens963 seems to have beendictated by an elegant enthusiasm; which prompted him tosubmit his actions and his motives to the degenerate Athe-nians of his own times, with the same humble deference asif he had been pleading, in the days of Aristides, before the

962Julian (ad S P Q Athen p 286) positively asserts, that he inter-cepted the letters of Constantius to the Barbarians; and Libanius aspositively affirms, that he read them on his march to the troops andthe cities Yet Ammianus (xxi 4) expresses himself with cool and candidhesitation, si famoe solius admittenda est fides He specifies, however,an intercepted letter from Vadomair to Constantius, which supposesan intimate correspondence between them “disciplinam non habet”

963Zosimus mentions his epistles to the Athenians, the Corinthi-ans, and the Lacedaemonians The substance was probably the same,though the address was properly varied The epistle to the Atheniansis still extant, (p 268-287,) and has afforded much valuable informationIt deserves the praises of the Abbe de la Bleterie, (Pref a l’Histoire deJovien, p 24, 25,) and is one of the best manifestoes to be found in anylanguage

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tribunal of the Areopagus. His application to the senate ofRome, which was still permitted to bestow the titles of Im-perial power, was agreeable to the forms of the expiring re-public. An assembly was summoned by Tertullus, praefectof the city; the epistle of Julian was read; and, as he ap-peared to be master of Italy his claims were admitted with-out a dissenting voice. His oblique censure of the innova-tions of Constantine, and his passionate invective againstthe vices of Constantius, were heard with less satisfaction;and the senate, as if Julian had been present, unanimouslyexclaimed, “Respect, we beseech you, the author of yourown fortune.”964 An artful expression, which, accordingto the chance of war, might be differently explained; as amanly reproof of the ingratitude of the usurper, or as a flat-tering confession, that a single act of such benefit to the stateought to atone for all the failings of Constantius.

The intelligence of the march and rapid progress of Julianwas speedily transmitted to his rival, who, by the retreat ofSapor, had obtained some respite from the Persian war. Dis-guising the anguish of his soul under the semblance of con-tempt, Constantius professed his intention of returning intoEurope, and of giving chase to Julian; for he never spokeof his military expedition in any other light than that of ahunting party.965 In the camp of Hierapolis, in Syria, hecommunicated this design to his army; slightly mentionedthe guilt and rashness of the Caesar; and ventured to assurethem, that if the mutineers of Gaul presumed to meet themin the field, they would be unable to sustain the fire of theireyes, and the irresistible weight of their shout of onset. Thespeech of the emperor was received with military applause,and Theodotus, the president of the council of Hierapolis,requested, with tears of adulation, that his city might be

964Auctori tuo reverentiam rogamus Ammian xxi 10 It is amusingenough to observe the secret conflicts of the senate between flatteryand fear See Tacit Hist i 85

965Tanquam venaticiam praedam caperet: hoc enim ad Jeniendumsuorum metum subinde praedicabat Ammian xxii 7

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adorned with the head of the vanquished rebel.966 A cho-sen detachment was despatched away in post-wagons, tosecure, if it were yet possible, the pass of Succi; the recruits,the horses, the arms, and the magazines, which had beenprepared against Sapor, were appropriated to the service ofthe civil war; and the domestic victories of Constantius in-spired his partisans with the most sanguine assurances ofsuccess. The notary Gaudentius had occupied in his namethe provinces of Africa; the subsistence of Rome was inter-cepted; and the distress of Julian was increased by an un-expected event, which might have been productive of fatalconsequences. Julian had received the submission of twolegions and a cohort of archers, who were stationed at Sir-mium; but he suspected, with reason, the fidelity of thosetroops which had been distinguished by the emperor; and itwas thought expedient, under the pretence of the exposedstate of the Gallic frontier, to dismiss them from the mostimportant scene of action. They advanced, with reluctance,as far as the confines of Italy; but as they dreaded the lengthof the way, and the savage fierceness of the Germans, theyresolved, by the instigation of one of their tribunes, to haltat Aquileia, and to erect the banners of Constantius on thewalls of that impregnable city. The vigilance of Julian per-ceived at once the extent of the mischief, and the necessityof applying an immediate remedy. By his order, Jovinus ledback a part of the army into Italy; and the siege of Aquileiawas formed with diligence, and prosecuted with vigor. Butthe legionaries, who seemed to have rejected the yoke ofdiscipline, conducted the defence of the place with skill andperseverance; vited the rest of Italy to imitate the exampleof their courage and loyalty; and threatened the retreat ofJulian, if he should be forced to yield to the superior num-

966See the speech and preparations in Ammianus, xxi 13 The vileTheodotus afterwards implored and obtained his pardon from themerciful conqueror, who signified his wish of diminishing his enemiesand increasing the numbers of his friends, (xxii 14)

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bers of the armies of the East.967

But the humanity of Julian was preserved from the cruelalternative which he pathetically laments, of destroying orof being himself destroyed: and the seasonable death ofConstantius delivered the Roman empire from the calami-ties of civil war. The approach of winter could not detainthe monarch at Antioch; and his favorites durst not op-pose his impatient desire of revenge. A slight fever, whichwas perhaps occasioned by the agitation of his spirits, wasincreased by the fatigues of the journey; and Constantiuswas obliged to halt at the little town of Mopsucrene, twelvemiles beyond Tarsus, where he expired, after a short illness,in the forty-fifth year of his age, and the twenty-fourth ofhis reign.968 His genuine character, which was composedof pride and weakness, of superstition and cruelty, has beenfully displayed in the preceding narrative of civil and ec-clesiastical events. The long abuse of power rendered hima considerable object in the eyes of his contemporaries; butas personal merit can alone deserve the notice of posterity,the last of the sons of Constantine may be dismissed fromthe world, with the remark, that he inherited the defects,without the abilities, of his father. Before Constantius ex-

967Ammian xxi 7, 11, 12 He seems to describe, with superfluous la-bor, the operations of the siege of Aquileia, which, on this occasion,maintained its impregnable fame Gregory Nazianzen (Orat iii p 68)ascribes this accidental revolt to the wisdom of Constantius, whose as-sured victory he announces with some appearance of truth Constantioquem credebat procul dubio fore victorem; nemo enim omnium tuncab hac constanti sententia discrepebat Ammian xxi 7

968His death and character are faithfully delineated by Ammianus,(xxi 14, 15, 16;) and we are authorized to despise and detest the foolishcalumny of Gregory, (Orat iii p 68,) who accuses Julian of contrivingthe death of his benefactor The private repentance of the emperor, thathe had spared and promoted Julian, (p 69, and Orat xxi p 389,) is notimprobable in itself, nor incompatible with the public verbal testamentwhich prudential considerations might dictate in the last moments ofhis life Note: Wagner thinks this sudden change of sentiment alto-gether a fiction of the attendant courtiers and chiefs of the army whoup to this time had been hostile to Julian Note in loco Ammian–M

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pired, he is said to have named Julian for his successor; nordoes it seem improbable, that his anxious concern for thefate of a young and tender wife, whom he left with child,may have prevailed, in his last moments, over the harsherpassions of hatred and revenge. Eusebius, and his guiltyassociates, made a faint attempt to prolong the reign of theeunuchs, by the election of another emperor; but their in-trigues were rejected with disdain, by an army which nowabhorred the thought of civil discord; and two officers ofrank were instantly despatched, to assure Julian, that everysword in the empire would be drawn for his service. Themilitary designs of that prince, who had formed three differ-ent attacks against Thrace, were prevented by this fortunateevent. Without shedding the blood of his fellow-citizens,he escaped the dangers of a doubtful conflict, and acquiredthe advantages of a complete victory. Impatient to visit theplace of his birth, and the new capital of the empire, he ad-vanced from Naissus through the mountains of Haemus,and the cities of Thrace. When he reached Heraclea, at thedistance of sixty miles, all Constantinople was poured forthto receive him; and he made his triumphal entry amidst thedutiful acclamations of the soldiers, the people, and the sen-ate. At innumerable multitude pressed around him with ea-ger respect and were perhaps disappointed when they be-held the small stature and simple garb of a hero, whose un-experienced youth had vanquished the Barbarians of Ger-many, and who had now traversed, in a successful career,the whole continent of Europe, from the shores of the At-lantic to those of the Bosphorus.969 A few days afterwards,when the remains of the deceased emperor were landed inthe harbor, the subjects of Julian applauded the real or af-fected humanity of their sovereign. On foot, without his di-adem, and clothed in a mourning habit, he accompanied thefuneral as far as the church of the Holy Apostles, where the

969In describing the triumph of Julian, Ammianus (xxii l, 2) assumesthe lofty tone of an orator or poet; while Libanius (Orat Parent, c 56, p281) sinks to the grave simplicity of an historian

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body was deposited: and if these marks of respect may beinterpreted as a selfish tribute to the birth and dignity of hisImperial kinsman, the tears of Julian professed to the worldthat he had forgot the injuries, and remembered only theobligations, which he had received from Constantius.970 Assoon as the legions of Aquileia were assured of the deathof the emperor, they opened the gates of the city, and, bythe sacrifice of their guilty leaders, obtained an easy pardonfrom the prudence or lenity of Julian; who, in the thirty-second year of his age, acquired the undisputed possessionof the Roman empire.971

970The funeral of Constantius is described by Ammianus, (xxi 16)Gregory Nazianzen, (Orat iv p 119,) Mamertinus, in (Panegyr Vet xi27,) Libanius, (Orat Parent c lvi p 283,) and Philostorgius, (l vi c 6, withGodefroy’s Dissertations, p 265) These writers, and their followers, Pa-gans, Catholics, Arians, beheld with very different eyes both the deadand the living emperor

971The day and year of the birth of Julian are not perfectly ascer-tained The day is probably the sixth of November, and the year mustbe either 331 or 332 Tillemont, Hist des Empereurs, tom iv p 693Ducange, Fam Byzantin p 50 I have preferred the earlier date

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PHILOSOPHY had instructed Julian to compare the advan-tages of action and retirement; but the elevation of his

birth, and the accidents of his life, never allowed him thefreedom of choice. He might perhaps sincerely have pre-ferred the groves of the academy, and the society of Athens;but he was constrained, at first by the will, and afterwardsby the injustice, of Constantius, to expose his person andfame to the dangers of Imperial greatness; and to make him-self accountable to the world, and to posterity, for the hap-piness of millions.972 Julian recollected with terror the ob-servation of his master Plato,973 that the government of ourflocks and herds is always committed to beings of a supe-rior species; and that the conduct of nations requires anddeserves the celestial powers of the gods or of the genii.From this principle he justly concluded, that the man whopresumes to reign, should aspire to the perfection of the di-vine nature; that he should purify his soul from her mor-tal and terrestrial part; that he should extinguish his ap-petites, enlighten his understanding, regulate his passions,and subdue the wild beast, which, according to the livelymetaphor of Aristotle,974 seldom fails to ascend the throneof a despot. The throne of Julian, which the death of Con-stantius fixed on an independent basis, was the seat of rea-son, of virtue, and perhaps of vanity. He despised the hon-

972Julian himself (p 253-267) has expressed these philosophical ideaswith much eloquence and some affectation, in a very elaborate epistleto Themistius The Abbe de la Bleterie, (tom ii p 146-193,) who hasgiven an elegant translation, is inclined to believe that it was the cele-brated Themistius, whose orations are still extant

973Julian ad Themist p 258 Petavius (not p 95) observes that this pas-sage is taken from the fourth book De Legibus; but either Julian quotedfrom memory, or his MSS were different from ours Xenophon opensthe Cyropaedia with a similar reflection

974Aristot ap Julian p 261 The MS of Vossius, unsatisfied with thesingle beast, affords the stronger reading of which the experience ofdespotism may warrant

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ors, renounced the pleasures, and discharged with inces-sant diligence the duties, of his exalted station; and therewere few among his subjects who would have consented torelieve him from the weight of the diadem, had they beenobliged to submit their time and their actions to the rigor-ous laws which that philosophic emperor imposed on him-self. One of his most intimate friends,975 who had oftenshared the frugal simplicity of his table, has remarked, thathis light and sparing diet (which was usually of the veg-etable kind) left his mind and body always free and active,for the various and important business of an author, a pon-tiff, a magistrate, a general, and a prince. In one and thesame day, he gave audience to several ambassadors, andwrote, or dictated, a great number of letters to his generals,his civil magistrates, his private friends, and the differentcities of his dominions. He listened to the memorials whichhad been received, considered the subject of the petitions,and signified his intentions more rapidly than they couldbe taken in short-hand by the diligence of his secretaries.He possessed such flexibility of thought, and such firmnessof attention, that he could employ his hand to write, hisear to listen, and his voice to dictate; and pursue at oncethree several trains of ideas without hesitation, and with-out error. While his ministers reposed, the prince flew withagility from one labor to another, and, after a hasty din-ner, retired into his library, till the public business, which hehad appointed for the evening, summoned him to interruptthe prosecution of his studies. The supper of the emperorwas still less substantial than the former meal; his sleep wasnever clouded by the fumes of indigestion; and except in theshort interval of a marriage, which was the effect of policyrather than love, the chaste Julian never shared his bed with

975Libanius (Orat Parentalis, c lxxxiv lxxxv p 310, 311, 312) has giventhis interesting detail of the private life of Julian He himself (in Miso-pogon, p 350) mentions his vegetable diet, and upbraids the gross andsensual appetite of the people of Antioch

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a female companion.976 He was soon awakened by the en-trance of fresh secretaries, who had slept the preceding day;and his servants were obliged to wait alternately while theirindefatigable master allowed himself scarcely any other re-freshment than the change of occupation. The predecessorsof Julian, his uncle, his brother, and his cousin, indulgedtheir puerile taste for the games of the Circus, under thespecious pretence of complying with the inclinations of thepeople; and they frequently remained the greatest part ofthe day as idle spectators, and as a part of the splendid spec-tacle, till the ordinary round of twenty-four races977 wascompletely finished. On solemn festivals, Julian, who feltand professed an unfashionable dislike to these frivolousamusements, condescended to appear in the Circus; and af-ter bestowing a careless glance at five or six of the races,he hastily withdrew with the impatience of a philosopher,who considered every moment as lost that was not devotedto the advantage of the public or the improvement of hisown mind.978 By this avarice of time, he seemed to protractthe short duration of his reign; and if the dates were lesssecurely ascertained, we should refuse to believe, that only

976Lectulus Vestalium toris purior, is the praise which Mamertinus(Panegyr Vet xi 13) addresses to Julian himself Libanius affirms, insober peremptory language, that Julian never knew a woman beforehis marriage, or after the death of his wife, (Orat Parent c lxxxviii p313) The chastity of Julian is confirmed by the impartial testimony ofAmmianus, (xxv 4,) and the partial silence of the Christians Yet Julianironically urges the reproach of the people of Antioch, that he almostalways (in Misopogon, p 345) lay alone This suspicious expression isexplained by the Abbe de la Bleterie (Hist de Jovien, tom ii p 103-109)with candor and ingenuity

977See Salmasius ad Sueton in Claud c xxi A twenty-fifth race, ormissus, was added, to complete the number of one hundred chariots,four of which, the four colors, started each heat

978Julian in Misopogon, p 340 Julius Caesar had offended the Ro-man people by reading his despatches during the actual race Augus-tus indulged their taste, or his own, by his constant attention to theimportant business of the Circus, for which he professed the warmestinclination Sueton in August c xlv

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sixteen months elapsed between the death of Constantiusand the departure of his successor for the Persian war. Theactions of Julian can only be preserved by the care of the his-torian; but the portion of his voluminous writings, whichis still extant, remains as a monument of the application,as well as of the genius, of the emperor. The Misopogon,the Caesars, several of his orations, and his elaborate workagainst the Christian religion, were composed in the longnights of the two winters, the former of which he passed atConstantinople, and the latter at Antioch.

=Centum quadrijugos agitabo ad flumina cur-rus.

It appears, that they ran five or seven timesround the Mota (Sueton in Domitian. c.4;) and (from the measure of the CircusMaximus at Rome, the Hippodrome at Con-stantinople, &c.) it might be about a fourmile course.]

The reformation of the Imperial court was one ofthe first and most necessary acts of the gov-ernment of Julian.979 Soon after his entranceinto the palace of Constantinople, he had oc-casion for the service of a barber. An offi-cer, magnificently dressed, immediately pre-sented himself. “It is a barber,” exclaimedthe prince, with affected surprise, “that Iwant, and not a receiver-general of the fi-nances.”980 He questioned the man concern-ing the profits of his employment and was in-formed, that besides a large salary, and some

979The reformation of the palace is described by Ammianus, (xxii 4,)Libanius, Orat (Parent c lxii p 288, &c,) Mamertinus, in Panegyr (Vet xi11,) Socrates, (l iii c l,) and Zonaras, (tom ii l xiii p 24)

980Ego non rationalem jussi sed tonsorem acciri Zonaras uses theless natural image of a senator Yet an officer of the finances, who wassatisfied with wealth, might desire and obtain the honors of the senate

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valuable perquisites, he enjoyed a daily al-lowance for twenty servants, and as manyhorses. A thousand barbers, a thousand cup-bearers, a thousand cooks, were distributedin the several offices of luxury; and the num-ber of eunuchs could be compared only withthe insects of a summer’s day. The monarchwho resigned to his subjects the superiorityof merit and virtue, was distinguished by theoppressive magnificence of his dress, his ta-ble, his buildings, and his train. The statelypalaces erected by Constantine and his sons,were decorated with many colored marbles,and ornaments of massy gold. The mostexquisite dainties were procured, to gratifytheir pride, rather than their taste; birds ofthe most distant climates, fish from the mostremote seas, fruits out of their natural sea-son, winter roses, and summer snows.981The domestic crowd of the palace surpassedthe expense of the legions; yet the smallestpart of this costly multitude was subservientto the use, or even to the splendor, of thethrone. The monarch was disgraced, and thepeople was injured, by the creation and saleof an infinite number of obscure, and eventitular employments; and the most worthlessof mankind might purchase the privilege ofbeing maintained, without the necessity oflabor, from the public revenue. The waste ofan enormous household, the increase of feesand perquisites, which were soon claimed as

981The expressions of Mamertinus are lively and forcible Quis etiamprandiorum et caenarum laboratas magnitudines Romanus populussensit; cum quaesitissimae dapes non gustu sed difficultatibus aes-timarentur; miracula avium, longinqui maris pisces, aheni temporispoma, aestivae nives, hybernae rosae

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a lawful debt, and the bribes which they ex-torted from those who feared their enmity,or solicited their favor, suddenly enrichedthese haughty menials. They abused theirfortune, without considering their past, ortheir future, condition; and their rapine andvenality could be equalled only by the ex-travagance of their dissipations. Their silkenrobes were embroidered with gold, their ta-bles were served with delicacy and profu-sion; the houses which they built for theirown use, would have covered the farm of anancient consul; and the most honorable cit-izens were obliged to dismount from theirhorses, and respectfully to salute a eunuchwhom they met on the public highway. Theluxury of the palace excited the contemptand indignation of Julian, who usually slepton the ground, who yielded with reluctanceto the indispensable calls of nature; and whoplaced his vanity, not in emulating, but in de-spising, the pomp of royalty.

By the total extirpation of a mischief which wasmagnified even beyond its real extent, hewas impatient to relieve the distress, and toappease the murmurs of the people; whosupport with less uneasiness the weight oftaxes, if they are convinced that the fruitsof their industry are appropriated to the ser-vice of the state. But in the execution ofthis salutary work, Julian is accused of pro-ceeding with too much haste and incon-siderate severity. By a single edict, he re-duced the palace of Constantinople to an im-mense desert, and dismissed with ignominythe whole train of slaves and dependants,982

982Yet Julian himself was accused of bestowing whole towns on the

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without providing any just, or at least benev-olent, exceptions, for the age, the services, orthe poverty, of the faithful domestics of theImperial family. Such indeed was the temperof Julian, who seldom recollected the funda-mental maxim of Aristotle, that true virtue isplaced at an equal distance between the op-posite vices.

The splendid and effeminate dress of the Asi-atics, the curls and paint, the collars andbracelets, which had appeared so ridiculousin the person of Constantine, were consis-tently rejected by his philosophic successor.But with the fopperies, Julian affected to re-nounce the decencies of dress; and seemedto value himself for his neglect of the laws ofcleanliness. In a satirical performance, whichwas designed for the public eye, the emperordescants with pleasure, and even with pride,on the length of his nails, and the inky black-ness of his hands; protests, that although thegreatest part of his body was covered withhair, the use of the razor was confined to hishead alone; and celebrates, with visible com-placency, the shaggy and populous983 beard,which he fondly cherished, after the exam-ple of the philosophers of Greece. Had Julian

eunuchs, (Orat vii against Polyclet p 117-127) Libanius contents him-self with a cold but positive denial of the fact, which seems indeed tobelong more properly to Constantius This charge, however, may al-lude to some unknown circumstance

983In the Misopogon (p 338, 339) he draws a very singular pictureof himself, and the following words are strangely characteristic Thefriends of the Abbe de la Bleterie adjured him, in the name of theFrench nation, not to translate this passage, so offensive to their del-icacy, (Hist de Jovien, tom ii p 94) Like him, I have contented myselfwith a transient allusion; but the little animal which Julian names, is abeast familiar to man, and signifies love

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consulted the simple dictates of reason, thefirst magistrate of the Romans would havescorned the affectation of Diogenes, as wellas that of Darius.

But the work of public reformation would haveremained imperfect, if Julian had only cor-rected the abuses, without punishing thecrimes, of his predecessor’s reign. “We arenow delivered,” says he, in a familiar let-ter to one of his intimate friends, “we arenow surprisingly delivered from the vora-cious jaws of the Hydra.984 I do not meanto apply the epithet to my brother Constan-tius. He is no more; may the earth lie light onhis head! But his artful and cruel favoritesstudied to deceive and exasperate a prince,whose natural mildness cannot be praisedwithout some efforts of adulation. It is not,however, my intention, that even those menshould be oppressed: they are accused, andthey shall enjoy the benefit of a fair and im-partial trial.” To conduct this inquiry, Ju-lian named six judges of the highest rankin the state and army; and as he wished toescape the reproach of condemning his per-sonal enemies, he fixed this extraordinary tri-bunal at Chalcedon, on the Asiatic side of theBosphorus; and transferred to the commis-sioners an absolute power to pronounce andexecute their final sentence, without delay,and without appeal. The office of presidentwas exercised by the venerable praefect ofthe East, a second Sallust,985 whose virtues

984Julian, epist xxiii p 389 He uses the words in writing to his friendHermogenes, who, like himself, was conversant with the Greek poets

985The two Sallusts, the praefect of Gaul, and the praefect of theEast, must be carefully distinguished, (Hist des Empereurs, tom iv p

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conciliated the esteem of Greek sophists, andof Christian bishops. He was assisted bythe eloquent Mamertinus,986 one of the con-suls elect, whose merit is loudly celebratedby the doubtful evidence of his own ap-plause. But the civil wisdom of two magis-trates was overbalanced by the ferocious vi-olence of four generals, Nevitta, Agilo, Jov-inus, and Arbetio. Arbetio, whom the pub-lic would have seen with less surprise at thebar than on the bench, was supposed to pos-sess the secret of the commission; the armedand angry leaders of the Jovian and Hercu-lian bands encompassed the tribunal; andthe judges were alternately swayed by thelaws of justice, and by the clamors of fac-tion.987

The chamberlain Eusebius, who had so longabused the favor of Constantius, expiated, byan ignominious death, the insolence, the cor-ruption, and cruelty of his servile reign. Theexecutions of Paul and Apodemius (the for-mer of whom was burnt alive) were acceptedas an inadequate atonement by the widows

696) I have used the surname of Secundus, as a convenient epithet Thesecond Sallust extorted the esteem of the Christians themselves; andGregory Nazianzen, who condemned his religion, has celebrated hisvirtues, (Orat iii p 90) See a curious note of the Abbe de la Bleterie, Viede Julien, p 363 Note: Gibbonus secundum habet pro numero, quodtamen est viri agnomen Wagner, nota in loc Amm It is not a mistake; itis rather an error in taste Wagner inclines to transfer the chief guilt toArbetio–M

986Mamertinus praises the emperor (xi l) for bestowing the officesof Treasurer and Praefect on a man of wisdom, firmness, integrity, &c,like himself Yet Ammianus ranks him (xxi l) among the ministers ofJulian, quorum merita norat et fidem

987The proceedings of this chamber of justice are related by Ammi-anus, (xxii 3,) and praised by Libanius, (Orat Parent c 74, p 299, 300)

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and orphans of so many hundred Romans,whom those legal tyrants had betrayed andmurdered. But justice herself (if we may usethe pathetic expression of Ammianus)988 ap-peared to weep over the fate of Ursulus, thetreasurer of the empire; and his blood ac-cused the ingratitude of Julian, whose dis-tress had been seasonably relieved by the in-trepid liberality of that honest minister. Therage of the soldiers, whom he had provokedby his indiscretion, was the cause and the ex-cuse of his death; and the emperor, deeplywounded by his own reproaches and thoseof the public, offered some consolation to thefamily of Ursulus, by the restitution of hisconfiscated fortunes. Before the end of theyear in which they had been adorned withthe ensigns of the prefecture and consul-ship,989 Taurus and Florentius were reducedto implore the clemency of the inexorable tri-bunal of Chalcedon. The former was ban-ished to Vercellae in Italy, and a sentence ofdeath was pronounced against the latter. Awise prince should have rewarded the crimeof Taurus: the faithful minister, when he wasno longer able to oppose the progress of arebel, had taken refuge in the court of hisbenefactor and his lawful sovereign. Butthe guilt of Florentius justified the severityof the judges; and his escape served to dis-

988Ursuli vero necem ipsa mihi videtur flesse justitia Libanius, whoimputes his death to the soldiers, attempts to criminate the court of thelargesses

989Such respect was still entertained for the venerable names of thecommonwealth, that the public was surprised and scandalized to hearTaurus summoned as a criminal under the consulship of Taurus Thesummons of his colleague Florentius was probably delayed till thecommencement of the ensuing year

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play the magnanimity of Julian, who noblychecked the interested diligence of an in-former, and refused to learn what place con-cealed the wretched fugitive from his justresentment.990 Some months after the tri-bunal of Chalcedon had been dissolved, thepraetorian vicegerent of Africa, the notaryGaudentius, and Artemius991 duke of Egypt,were executed at Antioch. Artemius hadreigned the cruel and corrupt tyrant of agreat province; Gaudentius had long prac-tised the arts of calumny against the in-nocent, the virtuous, and even the personof Julian himself. Yet the circumstances oftheir trial and condemnation were so unskill-fully managed, that these wicked men ob-tained, in the public opinion, the glory of suf-fering for the obstinate loyalty with whichthey had supported the cause of Constan-tius. The rest of his servants were protectedby a general act of oblivion; and they wereleft to enjoy with impunity the bribes whichthey had accepted, either to defend the op-pressed, or to oppress the friendless. Thismeasure, which, on the soundest principlesof policy, may deserve our approbation, wasexecuted in a manner which seemed to de-grade the majesty of the throne. Julian wastormented by the importunities of a multi-tude, particularly of Egyptians, who loudly

990Ammian xx 7991For the guilt and punishment of Artemius, see Julian (Epist x p

379) and Ammianus, (xxii 6, and Vales, ad hoc) The merit of Artemius,who demolished temples, and was put to death by an apostate, hastempted the Greek and Latin churches to honor him as a martyr But asecclesiastical history attests that he was not only a tyrant, but an Arian,it is not altogether easy to justify this indiscreet promotion Tillemont,Mem Eccles tom vii p 1319

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redemanded the gifts which they had impru-dently or illegally bestowed; he foresaw theendless prosecution of vexatious suits; andhe engaged a promise, which ought alwaysto have been sacred, that if they would repairto Chalcedon, he would meet them in per-son, to hear and determine their complaints.But as soon as they were landed, he issuedan absolute order, which prohibited the wa-termen from transporting any Egyptian toConstantinople; and thus detained his disap-pointed clients on the Asiatic shore till, theirpatience and money being utterly exhausted,they were obliged to return with indignantmurmurs to their native country.992

...Part IV

THE numerous army of spies, of agents,and informers enlisted by Constantius to

secure the repose of one man, and to inter-rupt that of millions, was immediately dis-banded by his generous successor. Julianwas slow in his suspicions, and gentle in hispunishments; and his contempt of treasonwas the result of judgment, of vanity, andof courage. Conscious of superior merit, hewas persuaded that few among his subjectswould dare to meet him in the field, to at-tempt his life, or even to seat themselves onhis vacant throne. The philosopher couldexcuse the hasty sallies of discontent; andthe hero could despise the ambitious projectswhich surpassed the fortune or the abilitiesof the rash conspirators. A citizen of An-

992See Ammian xxii 6, and Vales, ad locum; and the Codex Theo-dosianus, l ii tit xxxix leg i; and Godefroy’s Commentary, tom i p 218,ad locum

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cyra had prepared for his own use a purplegarment; and this indiscreet action, which,under the reign of Constantius, would havebeen considered as a capital offence,993 wasreported to Julian by the officious importu-nity of a private enemy. The monarch, aftermaking some inquiry into the rank and char-acter of his rival, despatched the informerwith a present of a pair of purple slippers,to complete the magnificence of his Impe-rial habit. A more dangerous conspiracy wasformed by ten of the domestic guards, whohad resolved to assassinate Julian in the fieldof exercise near Antioch. Their intemper-ance revealed their guilt; and they were con-ducted in chains to the presence of their in-jured sovereign, who, after a lively represen-tation of the wickedness and folly of their en-terprise, instead of a death of torture, whichthey deserved and expected, pronounced asentence of exile against the two principaloffenders. The only instance in which Ju-lian seemed to depart from his accustomedclemency, was the execution of a rash youth,who, with a feeble hand, had aspired to seizethe reins of empire. But that youth was theson of Marcellus, the general of cavalry, who,in the first campaign of the Gallic war, haddeserted the standard of the Caesar and therepublic. Without appearing to indulge hispersonal resentment, Julian might easily con-

993The president Montesquieu (Considerations sur la Grandeur, &c,des Romains, c xiv in his works, tom iii p 448, 449,) excuses this minuteand absurd tyranny, by supposing that actions the most indifferent inour eyes might excite, in a Roman mind, the idea of guilt and dangerThis strange apology is supported by a strange misapprehension ofthe English laws, “chez une nation ou il est defendu da boire a la santed’une certaine personne”

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found the crime of the son and of the father;but he was reconciled by the distress of Mar-cellus, and the liberality of the emperor en-deavored to heal the wound which had beeninflicted by the hand of justice.994Julian was not insensible of the advantages of

freedom.995 From his studies he had im-bibed the spirit of ancient sages and heroes;his life and fortunes had depended on thecaprice of a tyrant; and when he ascendedthe throne, his pride was sometimes mor-tified by the reflection, that the slaves whowould not dare to censure his defects werenot worthy to applaud his virtues.996 Hesincerely abhorred the system of Orientaldespotism, which Diocletian, Constantine,and the patient habits of fourscore years, hadestablished in the empire. A motive of super-stition prevented the execution of the design,which Julian had frequently meditated, of re-lieving his head from the weight of a costlydiadem;997 but he absolutely refused the titleof Dominus, or Lord,998 a word which was

994The clemency of Julian, and the conspiracy which was formedagainst his life at Antioch, are described by Ammianus (xxii 9, 10, andVales, ad loc) and Libanius, (Orat Parent c 99, p 323)

995According to some, says Aristotle, (as he is quoted by Julian adThemist p 261,) the form of absolute government is contrary to natureBoth the prince and the philosopher choose, how ever to involve thiseternal truth in artful and labored obscurity

996That sentiment is expressed almost in the words of Julian himselfAmmian xxii 10

997Libanius, (Orat Parent c 95, p 320,) who mentions the wish anddesign of Julian, insinuates, in mysterious language that the emperorwas restrained by some particular revelation

998Julian in Misopogon, p 343 As he never abolished, by any publiclaw, the proud appellations of Despot, or Dominus, they are still ex-tant on his medals, (Ducange, Fam Byzantin p 38, 39;) and the private

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grown so familiar to the ears of the Romans,that they no longer remembered its servileand humiliating origin. The office, or ratherthe name, of consul, was cherished by aprince who contemplated with reverence theruins of the republic; and the same behaviorwhich had been assumed by the prudence ofAugustus was adopted by Julian from choiceand inclination. On the calends of January,at break of day, the new consuls, Mamerti-nus and Nevitta, hastened to the palace tosalute the emperor. As soon as he was in-formed of their approach, he leaped from histhrone, eagerly advanced to meet them, andcompelled the blushing magistrates to re-ceive the demonstrations of his affected hu-mility. From the palace they proceeded to thesenate. The emperor, on foot, marched be-fore their litters; and the gazing multitudeadmired the image of ancient times, or se-cretly blamed a conduct, which, in their eyes,degraded the majesty of the purple.999 Butthe behavior of Julian was uniformly sup-ported. During the games of the Circus, hehad, imprudently or designedly, performedthe manumission of a slave in the presenceof the consul. The moment he was remindedthat he had trespassed on the jurisdiction ofanother magistrate, he condemned himselfto pay a fine of ten pounds of gold; and em-braced this public occasion of declaring to

displeasure which he affected to express, only gave a different tone tothe servility of the court The Abbe de la Bleterie (Hist de Jovien, tomii p 99-102) has curiously traced the origin and progress of the wordDominus under the Imperial government

999Ammian xxii 7 The consul Mamertinus (in Panegyr Vet xi 28, 29,30) celebrates the auspicious day, like an elegant slave, astonished andintoxicated by the condescension of his master

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the world, that he was subject, like the rest ofhis fellow-citizens, to the laws,1000 and evento the forms, of the republic. The spirit of hisadministration, and his regard for the placeof his nativity, induced Julian to confer on thesenate of Constantinople the same honors,privileges, and authority, which were stillenjoyed by the senate of ancient Rome.1001A legal fiction was introduced, and gradu-ally established, that one half of the nationalcouncil had migrated into the East; and thedespotic successors of Julian, accepting thetitle of Senators, acknowledged themselvesthe members of a respectable body, whichwas permitted to represent the majesty of theRoman name. From Constantinople, the at-tention of the monarch was extended to themunicipal senates of the provinces. He abol-ished, by repeated edicts, the unjust and per-nicious exemptions which had withdrawnso many idle citizens from the services oftheir country; and by imposing an equal dis-tribution of public duties, he restored thestrength, the splendor, or, according to theglowing expression of Libanius,1002 the soulof the expiring cities of his empire. The ven-

1000Personal satire was condemned by the laws of the twelve tables:Si male condiderit in quem quis carmina, jus est Judiciumque–HoratSat ii 1 82 —–Julian (in Misopogon, p 337) owns himself subject tothe law; and the Abbe de la Bleterie (Hist de Jovien, tom ii p 92) haseagerly embraced a declaration so agreeable to his own system, and,indeed, to the true spirit of the Imperial constitution1001Zosimus, l iii p 1581002See Libanius, (Orat Parent c 71, p 296,) Ammianus, (xxii 9,) and

the Theodosian Code (l xii tit i leg 50-55) with Godefroy’s Commen-tary, (tom iv p 390-402) Yet the whole subject of the Curia, notwith-standing very ample materials, still remains the most obscure in thelegal history of the empire

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erable age of Greece excited the most ten-der compassion in the mind of Julian, whichkindled into rapture when he recollected thegods, the heroes, and the men superior toheroes and to gods, who have bequeathed tothe latest posterity the monuments of theirgenius, or the example of their virtues. Herelieved the distress, and restored the beauty,of the cities of Epirus and Peloponnesus.1003Athens acknowledged him for her benefac-tor; Argos, for her deliverer. The pride ofCorinth, again rising from her ruins with thehonors of a Roman colony, exacted a tributefrom the adjacent republics, for the purposeof defraying the games of the Isthmus, whichwere celebrated in the amphitheatre with thehunting of bears and panthers. From thistribute the cities of Elis, of Delphi, and ofArgos, which had inherited from their re-mote ancestors the sacred office of perpetu-ating the Olympic, the Pythian, and the Ne-mean games, claimed a just exemption. Theimmunity of Elis and Delphi was respectedby the Corinthians; but the poverty of Ar-gos tempted the insolence of oppression; andthe feeble complaints of its deputies were si-lenced by the decree of a provincial magis-trate, who seems to have consulted only theinterest of the capital in which he resided.Seven years after this sentence, Julian1004 al-

1003Quae paulo ante arida et siti anhelantia visebantur, ea nunc per-lui, mundari, madere; Fora, Deambulacra, Gymnasia, laetis et gauden-tibus populis frequentari; dies festos, et celebrari veteres, et novos inhonorem principis consecrari, (Mamertin xi 9) He particularly restoredthe city of Nicopolis and the Actiac games, which had been institutedby Augustus1004Julian Epist xxxv p 407-411 This epistle, which illustrates the

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lowed the cause to be referred to a superiortribunal; and his eloquence was interposed,most probably with success, in the defenceof a city, which had been the royal seat ofAgamemnon,1005 and had given to Macedo-nia a race of kings and conquerors.1006

The laborious administration of military andcivil affairs, which were multiplied in

proportion to the extent of the empire, ex-ercised the abilities of Julian; but he fre-quently assumed the two characters of Or-ator1007 and of Judge,1008 which are almostunknown to the modern sovereigns of Eu-rope. The arts of persuasion, so diligently

declining age of Greece, is omitted by the Abbe de la Bleterie, andstrangely disfigured by the Latin translator, who, by rendering tribu-tum, and populus, directly contradicts the sense of the original1005He reigned in Mycenae at the distance of fifty stadia, or six miles

from Argos: but these cities, which alternately flourished, are con-founded by the Greek poets Strabo, l viii p 579, edit Amstel 17071006Marsham, Canon Chron p 421 This pedigree from Temenus and

Hercules may be suspicious; yet it was allowed, after a strict inquiry,by the judges of the Olympic games, (Herodot l v c 22,) at a time whenthe Macedonian kings were obscure and unpopular in Greece Whenthe Achaean league declared against Philip, it was thought decent thatthe deputies of Argos should retire, (T Liv xxxii 22)1007His eloquence is celebrated by Libanius, (Orat Parent c 75, 76, p

300, 301,) who distinctly mentions the orators of Homer Socrates (l iii c1) has rashly asserted that Julian was the only prince, since Julius Cae-sar, who harangued the senate All the predecessors of Nero, (Tacit An-nal xiii 3,) and many of his successors, possessed the faculty of speak-ing in public; and it might be proved by various examples, that theyfrequently exercised it in the senate1008Ammianus (xxi 10) has impartially stated the merits and defects

of his judicial proceedings Libanius (Orat Parent c 90, 91, p 315, &c)has seen only the fair side, and his picture, if it flatters the person,expresses at least the duties, of the judge Gregory Nazianzen, (Orativ p 120,) who suppresses the virtues, and exaggerates even the venialfaults of the Apostate, triumphantly asks, whether such a judge was fitto be seated between Minos and Rhadamanthus, in the Elysian Fields

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cultivated by the first Caesars, were ne-glected by the military ignorance and Asi-atic pride of their successors; and if they con-descended to harangue the soldiers, whomthey feared, they treated with silent disdainthe senators, whom they despised. The as-semblies of the senate, which Constantiushad avoided, were considered by Julian asthe place where he could exhibit, with themost propriety, the maxims of a republican,and the talents of a rhetorician. He alter-nately practised, as in a school of declama-tion, the several modes of praise, of censure,of exhortation; and his friend Libanius hasremarked, that the study of Homer taughthim to imitate the simple, concise style ofMenelaus, the copiousness of Nestor, whosewords descended like the flakes of a winter’ssnow, or the pathetic and forcible eloquenceof Ulysses. The functions of a judge, whichare sometimes incompatible with those of aprince, were exercised by Julian, not only asa duty, but as an amusement; and althoughhe might have trusted the integrity and dis-cernment of his Praetorian praefects, he of-ten placed himself by their side on the seat ofjudgment. The acute penetration of his mindwas agreeably occupied in detecting and de-feating the chicanery of the advocates, wholabored to disguise the truths of facts, and topervert the sense of the laws. He sometimesforgot the gravity of his station, asked in-discreet or unseasonable questions, and be-trayed, by the loudness of his voice, andthe agitation of his body, the earnest vehe-mence with which he maintained his opinionagainst the judges, the advocates, and their

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clients. But his knowledge of his own tem-per prompted him to encourage, and evento solicit, the reproof of his friends and min-isters; and whenever they ventured to op-pose the irregular sallies of his passions, thespectators could observe the shame, as wellas the gratitude, of their monarch. The de-crees of Julian were almost always foundedon the principles of justice; and he had thefirmness to resist the two most dangeroustemptations, which assault the tribunal of asovereign, under the specious forms of com-passion and equity. He decided the meritsof the cause without weighing the circum-stances of the parties; and the poor, whomhe wished to relieve, were condemned to sat-isfy the just demands of a wealthy and no-ble adversary. He carefully distinguished thejudge from the legislator;1009 and though hemeditated a necessary reformation of the Ro-man jurisprudence, he pronounced sentenceaccording to the strict and literal interpre-tation of those laws, which the magistrateswere bound to execute, and the subjects toobey.

The generality of princes, if they werestripped of their purple, and cast naked

into the world, would immediately sink tothe lowest rank of society, without a hope ofemerging from their obscurity. But the per-sonal merit of Julian was, in some measure,

1009Of the laws which Julian enacted in a reign of sixteen months,fifty-four have been admitted into the codes of Theodosius and Jus-tinian (Gothofred Chron Legum, p 64-67) The Abbe de la Bleterie (tomii p 329-336) has chosen one of these laws to give an idea of Julian’sLatin style, which is forcible and elaborate, but less pure than hisGreek

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independent of his fortune. Whatever hadbeen his choice of life, by the force of intrepidcourage, lively wit, and intense application,he would have obtained, or at least he wouldhave deserved, the highest honors of his pro-fession; and Julian might have raised him-self to the rank of minister, or general, of thestate in which he was born a private citizen.If the jealous caprice of power had disap-pointed his expectations, if he had prudentlydeclined the paths of greatness, the employ-ment of the same talents in studious soli-tude would have placed beyond the reachof kings his present happiness and his im-mortal fame. When we inspect, with minute,or perhaps malevolent attention, the portraitof Julian, something seems wanting to thegrace and perfection of the whole figure. Hisgenius was less powerful and sublime thanthat of Caesar; nor did he possess the con-summate prudence of Augustus. The virtuesof Trajan appear more steady and natural,and the philosophy of Marcus is more sim-ple and consistent. Yet Julian sustained ad-versity with firmness, and prosperity withmoderation. After an interval of one hun-dred and twenty years from the death ofAlexander Severus, the Romans beheld anemperor who made no distinction betweenhis duties and his pleasures; who labored torelieve the distress, and to revive the spirit,of his subjects; and who endeavored alwaysto connect authority with merit, and happi-ness with virtue. Even faction, and religiousfaction, was constrained to acknowledge thesuperiority of his genius, in peace as wellas in war, and to confess, with a sigh, that

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the apostate Julian was a lover of his coun-try, and that he deserved the empire of theworld.(KEY:[37-85)_V=Ductor fortissimus armis;Conditor et legum celeberrimus; ore

manuqueConsultor patriae; sed non consultor haben-

daeReligionis; amans tercentum millia Divum.Pertidus ille Deo, sed non et perfidus orbi.Prudent. Apotheosis, 450, &c.The consciousness of a generous sentiment

seems to have raised the Christian postabove his usual mediocrity...Chapter XXIII=Reign Of Julian...Part I.

THE Religion Of Julian.–UniversalToleration.–He Attempts To Restore

And Reform The Pagan Worship–To RebuildThe Temple Of Jerusalem–His Artful Per-secution Of The Christians.–Mutual ZealAnd Injustice. The character of Apostatehas injured the reputation of Julian; andthe enthusiasm which clouded his virtueshas exaggerated the real and apparentmagnitude of his faults. Our partial igno-rance may represent him as a philosophicmonarch, who studied to protect, with anequal hand, the religious factions of theempire; and to allay the theological feverwhich had inflamed the minds of the people,from the edicts of Diocletian to the exile ofAthanasius. A more accurate view of thecharacter and conduct of Julian will removethis favorable prepossession for a prince

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who did not escape the general contagion ofthe times. We enjoy the singular advantageof comparing the pictures which have beendelineated by his fondest admirers and hisimplacable enemies. The actions of Julian arefaithfully related by a judicious and candidhistorian, the impartial spectator of his lifeand death. The unanimous evidence of hiscontemporaries is confirmed by the publicand private declarations of the emperorhimself; and his various writings express theuniform tenor of his religious sentiments,which policy would have prompted him todissemble rather than to affect. A devoutand sincere attachment for the gods ofAthens and Rome constituted the rulingpassion of Julian;1010 the powers of an en-lightened understanding were betrayed andcorrupted by the influence of superstitiousprejudice; and the phantoms which existedonly in the mind of the emperor had a realand pernicious effect on the governmentof the empire. The vehement zeal of theChristians, who despised the worship, andoverturned the altars of those fabulousdeities, engaged their votary in a state ofirreconcilable hostility with a very numerousparty of his subjects; and he was sometimestempted by the desire of victory, or theshame of a repulse, to violate the laws ofprudence, and even of justice. The triumphof the party, which he deserted and opposed,has fixed a stain of infamy on the name of

1010I shall transcribe some of his own expressions from a short reli-gious discourse which the Imperial pontiff composed to censure thebold impiety of a Cynic Orat vii p 212 The variety and copiousness ofthe Greek tongue seem inadequate to the fervor of his devotion

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Julian; and the unsuccessful apostate hasbeen overwhelmed with a torrent of piousinvectives, of which the signal was givenby the sonorous trumpet1011 of GregoryNazianzen.1012 The interesting nature of theevents which were crowded into the shortreign of this active emperor, deserve a justand circumstantial narrative. His motives,his counsels, and his actions, as far as theyare connected with the history of religion,will be the subject of the present Chapter.The cause of his strange and fatal apostasy

may be derived from the early period ofhis life, when he was left an orphan in thehands of the murderers of his family. Thenames of Christ and of Constantius, the ideasof slavery and of religion, were soon associ-ated in a youthful imagination, which wassusceptible of the most lively impressions.The care of his infancy was intrusted to Euse-bius, bishop of Nicomedia,1013 who was re-

1011The orator, with some eloquence, much enthusiasm, and morevanity, addresses his discourse to heaven and earth, to men and angels,to the living and the dead; and above all, to the great Constantius, anodd Pagan expression He concludes with a bold assurance, that he haserected a monument not less durable, and much more portable, thanthe columns of Hercules See Greg Nazianzen, Orat iii p 50, iv p 1341012See this long invective, which has been injudiciously divided into

two orations in Gregory’s works, tom i p 49-134, Paris, 1630 It waspublished by Gregory and his friend Basil, (iv p 133,) about six monthsafter the death of Julian, when his remains had been carried to Tarsus,(iv p 120;) but while Jovian was still on the throne, (iii p 54, iv p 117)I have derived much assistance from a French version and remarks,printed at Lyons, 17351013Nicomediae ab Eusebio educatus Episcopo, quem genere longius

contingebat, (Ammian xxii 9) Julian never expresses any gratitude to-wards that Arian prelate; but he celebrates his preceptor, the eunuchMardonius, and describes his mode of education, which inspired hispupil with a passionate admiration for the genius, and perhaps the

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lated to him on the side of his mother; andtill Julian reached the twentieth year of hisage, he received from his Christian precep-tors the education, not of a hero, but of asaint. The emperor, less jealous of a heavenlythan of an earthly crown, contented him-self with the imperfect character of a cate-chumen, while he bestowed the advantagesof baptism1014 on the nephews of Constan-tine.1015 They were even admitted to the in-ferior offices of the ecclesiastical order; andJulian publicly read the Holy Scriptures inthe church of Nicomedia. The study of reli-gion, which they assiduously cultivated, ap-peared to produce the fairest fruits of faithand devotion.1016 They prayed, they fasted,they distributed alms to the poor, gifts to theclergy, and oblations to the tombs of the mar-tyrs; and the splendid monument of St. Ma-mas, at Caesarea, was erected, or at least wasundertaken, by the joint labor of Gallus andJulian.1017 They respectfully conversed withthe bishops, who were eminent for supe-

religion of Homer Misopogon, p 351, 3521014Greg Naz iii p 70 He labored to effect that holy mark in the blood,

perhaps of a Taurobolium Baron Annal Eccles A D 361, No 3, 41015Julian himself (Epist li p 454) assures the Alexandrians that he

had been a Christian (he must mean a sincere one) till the twentiethyear of his age1016See his Christian, and even ecclesiastical education, in Gregory,

(iii p 58,) Socrates, (l iii c 1,) and Sozomen, (l v c 2) He escaped verynarrowly from being a bishop, and perhaps a saint1017The share of the work which had been allotted to Gallus, was

prosecuted with vigor and success; but the earth obstinately rejectedand subverted the structures which were imposed by the sacrilegioushand of Julian Greg iii p 59, 60, 61 Such a partial earthquake, attestedby many living spectators, would form one of the clearest miracles inecclesiastical story

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rior sanctity, and solicited the benediction ofthe monks and hermits, who had introducedinto Cappadocia the voluntary hardships ofthe ascetic life.1018 As the two princes ad-vanced towards the years of manhood, theydiscovered, in their religious sentiments, thedifference of their characters. The dull andobstinate understanding of Gallus embraced,with implicit zeal, the doctrines of Christian-ity; which never influenced his conduct, ormoderated his passions. The mild disposi-tion of the younger brother was less repug-nant to the precepts of the gospel; and his ac-tive curiosity might have been gratified by atheological system, which explains the mys-terious essence of the Deity, and opens theboundless prospect of invisible and futureworlds. But the independent spirit of Ju-lian refused to yield the passive and unre-sisting obedience which was required, in thename of religion, by the haughty ministers ofthe church. Their speculative opinions wereimposed as positive laws, and guarded bythe terrors of eternal punishments; but whilethey prescribed the rigid formulary of thethoughts, the words, and the actions of theyoung prince; whilst they silenced his ob-jections, and severely checked the freedomof his inquiries, they secretly provoked hisimpatient genius to disclaim the authorityof his ecclesiastical guides. He was edu-cated in the Lesser Asia, amidst the scan-

1018The philosopher (Fragment, p 288,) ridicules the iron chains, &c,of these solitary fanatics, (see Tillemont, Mem Eccles tom ix p 661, 632,)who had forgot that man is by nature a gentle and social animal ThePagan supposes, that because they had renounced the gods, they werepossessed and tormented by evil daemons

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dals of the Arian controversy.1019 The fiercecontests of the Eastern bishops, the inces-sant alterations of their creeds, and the pro-fane motives which appeared to actuate theirconduct, insensibly strengthened the preju-dice of Julian, that they neither understoodnor believed the religion for which they sofiercely contended. Instead of listening tothe proofs of Christianity with that favor-able attention which adds weight to the mostrespectable evidence, he heard with suspi-cion, and disputed with obstinacy and acute-ness, the doctrines for which he already en-tertained an invincible aversion. Wheneverthe young princes were directed to com-pose declamations on the subject of the pre-vailing controversies, Julian always declaredhimself the advocate of Paganism; underthe specious excuse that, in the defence ofthe weaker cause, his learning and ingenu-ity might be more advantageously exercisedand displayed.

As soon as Gallus was invested with the hon-ors of the purple, Julian was permitted

to breathe the air of freedom, of literature,and of Paganism.1020 The crowd of sophists,who were attracted by the taste and liberal-ity of their royal pupil, had formed a strict al-liance between the learning and the religionof Greece; and the poems of Homer, instead

1019See Julian apud Cyril, l vi p 206, l viii p 253, 262 “You persecute,”says he, “those heretics who do not mourn the dead man precisely inthe way which you approve” He shows himself a tolerable theologian;but he maintains that the Christian Trinity is not derived from the doc-trine of Paul, of Jesus, or of Moses1020Libanius, Orat Parentalis, c 9, 10, p 232, &c Greg Nazianzen Orat

iii p 61 Eunap Vit Sophist in Maximo, p 68, 69, 70, edit Commelin

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of being admired as the original productionsof human genius, were seriously ascribed tothe heavenly inspiration of Apollo and themuses. The deities of Olympus, as they arepainted by the immortal bard, imprint them-selves on the minds which are the least ad-dicted to superstitious credulity. Our famil-iar knowledge of their names and characters,their forms and attributes, seems to bestowon those airy beings a real and substantial ex-istence; and the pleasing enchantment pro-duces an imperfect and momentary assentof the imagination to those fables, which arethe most repugnant to our reason and experi-ence. In the age of Julian, every circumstancecontributed to prolong and fortify the illu-sion; the magnificent temples of Greece andAsia; the works of those artists who had ex-pressed, in painting or in sculpture, the di-vine conceptions of the poet; the pomp offestivals and sacrifices; the successful arts ofdivination; the popular traditions of oraclesand prodigies; and the ancient practice oftwo thousand years. The weakness of poly-theism was, in some measure, excused by themoderation of its claims; and the devotionof the Pagans was not incompatible with themost licentious scepticism.1021 Instead of anindivisible and regular system, which occu-pies the whole extent of the believing mind,the mythology of the Greeks was composedof a thousand loose and flexible parts, andthe servant of the gods was at liberty to de-

1021A modern philosopher has ingeniously compared the differentoperation of theism and polytheism, with regard to the doubt or con-viction which they produce in the human mind See Hume’s Essays volii p 444- 457, in 8vo edit 1777

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fine the degree and measure of his religiousfaith. The creed which Julian adopted for hisown use was of the largest dimensions; and,by strange contradiction, he disdained thesalutary yoke of the gospel, whilst he made avoluntary offering of his reason on the altarsof Jupiter and Apollo. One of the orationsof Julian is consecrated to the honor of Cy-bele, the mother of the gods, who requiredfrom her effeminate priests the bloody sacri-fice, so rashly performed by the madness ofthe Phrygian boy. The pious emperor conde-scends to relate, without a blush, and with-out a smile, the voyage of the goddess fromthe shores of Pergamus to the mouth of theTyber, and the stupendous miracle, whichconvinced the senate and people of Romethat the lump of clay, which their ambas-sadors had transported over the seas, wasendowed with life, and sentiment, and di-vine power.1022 For the truth of this prodigyhe appeals to the public monuments of thecity; and censures, with some acrimony, thesickly and affected taste of those men, whoimpertinently derided the sacred traditionsof their ancestors.1023

But the devout philosopher, who sincerely

1022The Idaean mother landed in Italy about the end of the secondPunic war The miracle of Claudia, either virgin or matron, who clearedher fame by disgracing the graver modesty of the Roman Indies, isattested by a cloud of witnesses Their evidence is collected by Drak-enborch, (ad Silium Italicum, xvii 33;) but we may observe that Livy(xxix 14) slides over the transaction with discreet ambiguity1023I cannot refrain from transcribing the emphatical words of Julian:

Orat v p 161 Julian likewise declares his firm belief in the ancilia, theholy shields, which dropped from heaven on the Quirinal hill; andpities the strange blindness of the Christians, who preferred the crossto these celestial trophies Apud Cyril l vi p 194

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embraced, and warmly encouraged, thesuperstition of the people, reserved for him-self the privilege of a liberal interpretation;and silently withdrew from the foot of thealtars into the sanctuary of the temple. Theextravagance of the Grecian mythology pro-claimed, with a clear and audible voice, thatthe pious inquirer, instead of being scandal-ized or satisfied with the literal sense, shoulddiligently explore the occult wisdom, whichhad been disguised, by the prudence of an-tiquity, under the mask of folly and of fa-ble.1024 The philosophers of the Platonicschool,1025 Plotinus, Porphyry, and the di-vine Iamblichus, were admired as the mostskilful masters of this allegorical science,which labored to soften and harmonize thedeformed features of Paganism. Julian him-self, who was directed in the mysterious pur-suit by Aedesius, the venerable successorof Iamblichus, aspired to the possession ofa treasure, which he esteemed, if we maycredit his solemn asseverations, far abovethe empire of the world.1026 It was in-deed a treasure, which derived its value onlyfrom opinion; and every artist who flattered

1024See the principles of allegory, in Julian, (Orat vii p 216, 222) Hisreasoning is less absurd than that of some modern theologians, whoassert that an extravagant or contradictory doctrine must be divine;since no man alive could have thought of inventing it1025Eunapius has made these sophists the subject of a partial and fa-

natical history; and the learned Brucker (Hist Philosoph tom ii p 217-303) has employed much labor to illustrate their obscure lives and in-comprehensible doctrines1026Julian, Orat vii p 222 He swears with the most fervent and en-

thusiastic devotion; and trembles, lest he should betray too much ofthese holy mysteries, which the profane might deride with an impiousSardonic laugh

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himself that he had extracted the preciousore from the surrounding dross, claimed anequal right of stamping the name and fig-ure the most agreeable to his peculiar fancy.The fable of Atys and Cybele had been al-ready explained by Porphyry; but his laborsserved only to animate the pious industry ofJulian, who invented and published his ownallegory of that ancient and mystic tale. Thisfreedom of interpretation, which might grat-ify the pride of the Platonists, exposed thevanity of their art. Without a tedious detail,the modern reader could not form a just ideaof the strange allusions, the forced etymolo-gies, the solemn trifling, and the impenetra-ble obscurity of these sages, who professedto reveal the system of the universe. Asthe traditions of Pagan mythology were vari-ously related, the sacred interpreters were atliberty to select the most convenient circum-stances; and as they translated an arbitrarycipher, they could extract from any fable anysense which was adapted to their favoritesystem of religion and philosophy. The las-civious form of a naked Venus was torturedinto the discovery of some moral precept, orsome physical truth; and the castration ofAtys explained the revolution of the sun be-tween the tropics, or the separation of the hu-man soul from vice and error.1027

The theological system of Julian appears tohave contained the sublime and impor-

1027See the fifth oration of Julian But all the allegories which everissued from the Platonic school are not worth the short poem of Catul-lus on the same extraordinary subject The transition of Atys, from thewildest enthusiasm to sober, pathetic complaint, for his irretrievableloss, must inspire a man with pity, a eunuch with despair

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tant principles of natural religion. But asthe faith, which is not founded on revela-tion, must remain destitute of any firm as-surance, the disciple of Plato imprudentlyrelapsed into the habits of vulgar supersti-tion; and the popular and philosophic no-tion of the Deity seems to have been con-founded in the practice, the writings, andeven in the mind of Julian.1028 The piousemperor acknowledged and adored the Eter-nal Cause of the universe, to whom he as-cribed all the perfections of an infinite na-ture, invisible to the eyes and inaccessible tothe understanding, of feeble mortals. TheSupreme God had created, or rather, in thePlatonic language, had generated, the grad-ual succession of dependent spirits, of gods,of daemons, of heroes, and of men; and ev-ery being which derived its existence imme-diately from the First Cause, received the in-herent gift of immortality. That so preciousan advantage might be lavished upon un-worthy objects, the Creator had intrusted tothe skill and power of the inferior gods theoffice of forming the human body, and of ar-ranging the beautiful harmony of the animal,the vegetable, and the mineral kingdoms. Tothe conduct of these divine ministers he dele-gated the temporal government of this lowerworld; but their imperfect administration isnot exempt from discord or error. The earthand its inhabitants are divided among them,

1028The true religion of Julian may be deduced from the Caesars, p308, with Spanheim’s notes and illustrations, from the fragments inCyril, l ii p 57, 58, and especially from the theological oration in SolemRegem, p 130-158, addressed in the confidence of friendship, to thepraefect Sallust

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and the characters of Mars or Minerva, ofMercury or Venus, may be distinctly tracedin the laws and manners of their peculiarvotaries. As long as our immortal souls areconfined in a mortal prison, it is our inter-est, as well as our duty, to solicit the favor,and to deprecate the wrath, of the powers ofheaven; whose pride is gratified by the de-votion of mankind; and whose grosser partsmay be supposed to derive some nourish-ment from the fumes of sacrifice.1029 The in-ferior gods might sometimes condescend toanimate the statues, and to inhabit the tem-ples, which were dedicated to their honor.They might occasionally visit the earth, butthe heavens were the proper throne and sym-bol of their glory. The invariable order of thesun, moon, and stars, was hastily admittedby Julian, as a proof of their eternal dura-tion; and their eternity was a sufficient evi-dence that they were the workmanship, notof an inferior deity, but of the OmnipotentKing. In the system of Platonists, the visi-ble was a type of the invisible world. Thecelestial bodies, as they were informed by adivine spirit, might be considered as the ob-jects the most worthy of religious worship.The Sun, whose genial influence pervadesand sustains the universe, justly claimed theadoration of mankind, as the bright repre-sentative of the Logos, the lively, the ratio-

1029Julian adopts this gross conception by ascribing to his favoriteMarcus Antoninus, (Caesares, p 333) The Stoics and Platonists hesi-tated between the analogy of bodies and the purity of spirits; yet thegravest philosophers inclined to the whimsical fancy of Aristophanesand Lucian, that an unbelieving age might starve the immortal godsSee Observations de Spanheim, p 284, 444, &c

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nal, the beneficent image of the intellectualFather.1030

In every age, the absence of genuine inspi-ration is supplied by the strong illusions

of enthusiasm, and the mimic arts of impos-ture. If, in the time of Julian, these arts hadbeen practised only by the pagan priests, forthe support of an expiring cause, some indul-gence might perhaps be allowed to the inter-est and habits of the sacerdotal character. Butit may appear a subject of surprise and scan-dal, that the philosophers themselves shouldhave contributed to abuse the superstitiouscredulity of mankind,1031 and that the Gre-cian mysteries should have been supportedby the magic or theurgy of the modern Pla-tonists. They arrogantly pretended to controlthe order of nature, to explore the secrets offuturity, to command the service of the infe-rior daemons, to enjoy the view and conver-sation of the superior gods, and by disengag-ing the soul from her material bands, to re-unite that immortal particle with the Infiniteand Divine Spirit.

The devout and fearless curiosity of Ju-lian tempted the philosophers with the

hopes of an easy conquest; which, from the

1030Julian Epist li In another place, (apud Cyril l ii p 69,) he calls theSun God, and the throne of God Julian believed the Platonician Trinity;and only blames the Christians for preferring a mortal to an immortalLogos1031The sophists of Eunapias perform as many miracles as the saints

of the desert; and the only circumstance in their favor is, that they areof a less gloomy complexion Instead of devils with horns and tails,Iamblichus evoked the genii of love, Eros and Anteros, from two ad-jacent fountains Two beautiful boys issued from the water, fondly em-braced him as their father, and retired at his command, p 26, 27

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situation of their young proselyte, mightbe productive of the most important conse-quences.1032 Julian imbibed the first rudi-ments of the Platonic doctrines from themouth of Aedesius, who had fixed at Perga-mus his wandering and persecuted school.But as the declining strength of that vener-able sage was unequal to the ardor, the dili-gence, the rapid conception of his pupil, twoof his most learned disciples, Chrysanthesand Eusebius, supplied, at his own desire,the place of their aged master. These philoso-phers seem to have prepared and distributedtheir respective parts; and they artfully con-trived, by dark hints and affected disputes,to excite the impatient hopes of the aspirant,till they delivered him into the hands of theirassociate, Maximus, the boldest and mostskilful master of the Theurgic science. By hishands, Julian was secretly initiated at Eph-esus, in the twentieth year of his age. Hisresidence at Athens confirmed this unnatu-ral alliance of philosophy and superstition.

He obtained the privilege of a solemn initia-tion into the mysteries of Eleusis, which,

amidst the general decay of the Grecian wor-ship, still retained some vestiges of theirprimaeval sanctity; and such was the zealof Julian, that he afterwards invited theEleusinian pontiff to the court of Gaul, forthe sole purpose of consummating, by mys-tic rites and sacrifices, the great work of

1032The dexterous management of these sophists, who played theircredulous pupil into each other’s hands, is fairly told by Eunapius(p 69- 79) with unsuspecting simplicity The Abbe de la Bleterie un-derstands, and neatly describes, the whole comedy, (Vie de Julian, p61-67)

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his sanctification. As these ceremonies wereperformed in the depth of caverns, and inthe silence of the night, and as the invio-lable secret of the mysteries was preservedby the discretion of the initiated, I shall notpresume to describe the horrid sounds, andfiery apparitions, which were presented tothe senses, or the imagination, of the cred-ulous aspirant,1033 till the visions of com-fort and knowledge broke upon him in ablaze of celestial light.1034 In the cavernsof Ephesus and Eleusis, the mind of Julianwas penetrated with sincere, deep, and unal-terable enthusiasm; though he might some-times exhibit the vicissitudes of pious fraudand hypocrisy, which may be observed, orat least suspected, in the characters of themost conscientious fanatics. From that mo-ment he consecrated his life to the serviceof the gods; and while the occupations ofwar, of government, and of study, seemedto claim the whole measure of his time, astated portion of the hours of the night wasinvariably reserved for the exercise of privatedevotion. The temperance which adornedthe severe manners of the soldier and thephilosopher was connected with some strictand frivolous rules of religious abstinence;

1033When Julian, in a momentary panic, made the sign of the crossthe daemons instantly disappeared, (Greg Naz Orat iii p 71) Gregorysupposes that they were frightened, but the priests declared that theywere indignant The reader, according to the measure of his faith, willdetermine this profound question1034A dark and distant view of the terrors and joys of initiation is

shown by Dion Chrysostom, Themistius, Proclus, and Stobaeus Thelearned author of the Divine Legation has exhibited their words, (vol ip 239, 247, 248, 280, edit 1765,) which he dexterously or forcibly appliesto his own hypothesis

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and it was in honor of Pan or Mercury, ofHecate or Isis, that Julian, on particular days,denied himself the use of some particularfood, which might have been offensive tohis tutelar deities. By these voluntary fasts,he prepared his senses and his understand-ing for the frequent and familiar visits withwhich he was honored by the celestial pow-ers. Notwithstanding the modest silence ofJulian himself, we may learn from his faith-ful friend, the orator Libanius, that he livedin a perpetual intercourse with the gods andgoddesses; that they descended upon earthto enjoy the conversation of their favoritehero; that they gently interrupted his slum-bers by touching his hand or his hair; thatthey warned him of every impending dan-ger, and conducted him, by their infalliblewisdom, in every action of his life; and thathe had acquired such an intimate knowledgeof his heavenly guests, as readily to distin-guish the voice of Jupiter from that of Min-erva, and the form of Apollo from the fig-ure of Hercules.1035 These sleeping or wak-ing visions, the ordinary effects of abstinenceand fanaticism, would almost degrade theemperor to the level of an Egyptian monk.But the useless lives of Antony or Pachomiuswere consumed in these vain occupations.Julian could break from the dream of su-perstition to arm himself for battle; and af-ter vanquishing in the field the enemies ofRome, he calmly retired into his tent, to dic-

1035Julian’s modesty confined him to obscure and occasional hints:but Libanius expiates with pleasure on the facts and visions of the re-ligious hero (Legat ad Julian p 157, and Orat Parental c lxxxiii p 309,310)

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tate the wise and salutary laws of an empire,or to indulge his genius in the elegant pur-suits of literature and philosophy.

The important secret of the apostasy of Julianwas intrusted to the fidelity of the initi-

ated, with whom he was united by the sacredties of friendship and religion.1036 The pleas-ing rumor was cautiously circulated amongthe adherents of the ancient worship; andhis future greatness became the object of thehopes, the prayers, and the predictions ofthe Pagans, in every province of the empire.From the zeal and virtues of their royal pros-elyte, they fondly expected the cure of ev-ery evil, and the restoration of every bless-ing; and instead of disapproving of the ar-dor of their pious wishes, Julian ingenuouslyconfessed, that he was ambitious to attaina situation in which he might be useful tohis country and to his religion. But thisreligion was viewed with a hostile eye bythe successor of Constantine, whose capri-cious passions altercately saved and threat-ened the life of Julian. The arts of magic anddivination were strictly prohibited under adespotic government, which condescendedto fear them; and if the Pagans were reluc-tantly indulged in the exercise of their su-perstition, the rank of Julian would have ex-cepted him from the general toleration. Theapostate soon became the presumptive heirof the monarchy, and his death could alone

1036Libanius, Orat Parent c x p 233, 234 Gallus had some reason tosuspect the secret apostasy of his brother; and in a letter, which maybe received as genuine, he exhorts Julian to adhere to the religion oftheir ancestors; an argument which, as it should seem, was not yetperfectly ripe See Julian, Op p 454, and Hist de Jovien tom ii p 141

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have appeased the just apprehensions of theChristians.1037 But the young prince, whoaspired to the glory of a hero rather than of amartyr, consulted his safety by dissemblinghis religion; and the easy temper of polythe-ism permitted him to join in the public wor-ship of a sect which he inwardly despised.Libanius has considered the hypocrisy of hisfriend as a subject, not of censure, but ofpraise. “As the statues of the gods,” says thatorator, “which have been defiled with filth,are again placed in a magnificent temple, sothe beauty of truth was seated in the mindof Julian, after it had been purified from theerrors and follies of his education. His senti-ments were changed; but as it would havebeen dangerous to have avowed his senti-ments, his conduct still continued the same.Very different from the ass in Aesop, whodisguised himself with a lion’s hide, our lionwas obliged to conceal himself under theskin of an ass; and, while he embraced thedictates of reason, to obey the laws of pru-dence and necessity.”1038 The dissimulationof Julian lasted about ten years, from his se-cret initiation at Ephesus to the beginning ofthe civil war; when he declared himself atonce the implacable enemy of Christ and ofConstantius. This state of constraint mightcontribute to strengthen his devotion; and assoon as he had satisfied the obligation of as-sisting, on solemn festivals, at the assembliesof the Christians, Julian returned, with the

1037Gregory, (iii p 50,) with inhuman zeal, censures Constantius forparing the infant apostate His French translator (p 265) cautiously ob-serves, that such expressions must not be prises a la lettre1038Libanius, Orat Parental c ix p 233

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impatience of a lover, to burn his free andvoluntary incense on the domestic chapelsof Jupiter and Mercury. But as every act ofdissimulation must be painful to an ingenu-ous spirit, the profession of Christianity in-creased the aversion of Julian for a religionwhich oppressed the freedom of his mind,and compelled him to hold a conduct repug-nant to the noblest attributes of human na-ture, sincerity and courage....Part II

THE inclination of Julian might prefer thegods of Homer, and of the Scipios, to the

new faith, which his uncle had establishedin the Roman empire; and in which he him-self had been sanctified by the sacrament ofbaptism. But, as a philosopher, it was incum-bent on him to justify his dissent from Chris-tianity, which was supported by the num-ber of its converts, by the chain of prophecy,the splendor of or miracles, and the weightof evidence. The elaborate work,1039 whichhe composed amidst the preparations of thePersian war, contained the substance of thosearguments which he had long revolved inhis mind. Some fragments have been tran-scribed and preserved, by his adversary, thevehement Cyril of Alexandria;1040 and they

1039Fabricius (Biblioth Graec l v c viii, p 88-90) and Lardner (HeathenTestimonies, vol iv p 44-47) have accurately compiled all that can nowbe discovered of Julian’s work against the Christians1040About seventy years after the death of Julian, he executed a task

which had been feebly attempted by Philip of Side, a prolix and con-temptible writer Even the work of Cyril has not entirely satisfied themost favorable judges; and the Abbe de la Bleterie (Preface a l’Hist deJovien, p 30, 32) wishes that some theologien philosophe (a strangecentaur) would undertake the refutation of Julian

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exhibit a very singular mixture of wit andlearning, of sophistry and fanaticism. The el-egance of the style and the rank of the author,recommended his writings to the public at-tention;1041 and in the impious list of the en-emies of Christianity, the celebrated name ofPorphyry was effaced by the superior meritor reputation of Julian. The minds of thefaithful were either seduced, or scandalized,or alarmed; and the pagans, who sometimespresumed to engage in the unequal dispute,derived, from the popular work of their Im-perial missionary, an inexhaustible supplyof fallacious objections. But in the assidu-ous prosecution of these theological studies,the emperor of the Romans imbibed the il-liberal prejudices and passions of a polemicdivine. He contracted an irrevocable obliga-tion to maintain and propagate his religiousopinions; and whilst he secretly applaudedthe strength and dexterity with which hewielded the weapons of controversy, he wastempted to distrust the sincerity, or to de-spise the understandings, of his antagonists,who could obstinately resist the force of rea-son and eloquence.The Christians, who beheld with horror and

indignation the apostasy of Julian, hadmuch more to fear from his power than fromhis arguments. The pagans, who were con-scious of his fervent zeal, expected, perhapswith impatience, that the flames of persecu-

1041Libanius, (Orat Parental c lxxxvii p 313,) who has been suspectedof assisting his friend, prefers this divine vindication (Orat ix in necemJulian p 255, edit Morel) to the writings of Porphyry His judgmentmay be arraigned, (Socrates, l iii c 23,) but Libanius cannot be accusedof flattery to a dead prince

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tion should be immediately kindled againstthe enemies of the gods; and that the inge-nious malice of Julian would invent somecruel refinements of death and torture whichhad been unknown to the rude and inex-perienced fury of his predecessors. But thehopes, as well as the fears, of the religiousfactions were apparently disappointed, bythe prudent humanity of a prince,1042 whowas careful of his own fame, of the pub-lic peace, and of the rights of mankind. In-structed by history and reflection, Julian waspersuaded, that if the diseases of the bodymay sometimes be cured by salutary vio-lence, neither steel nor fire can eradicate theerroneous opinions of the mind. The reluc-tant victim may be dragged to the foot ofthe altar; but the heart still abhors and dis-claims the sacrilegious act of the hand. Reli-gious obstinacy is hardened and exasperatedby oppression; and, as soon as the persecu-tion subsides, those who have yielded arerestored as penitents, and those who haveresisted are honored as saints and martyrs.If Julian adopted the unsuccessful cruelty ofDiocletian and his colleagues, he was sen-sible that he should stain his memory withthe name of a tyrant, and add new glo-ries to the Catholic church, which had de-rived strength and increase from the sever-ity of the pagan magistrates. Actuated bythese motives, and apprehensive of disturb-

1042Libanius (Orat Parent c lviii p 283, 284) has eloquently explainedthe tolerating principles and conduct of his Imperial friend In a veryremarkable epistle to the people of Bostra, Julian himself (Epist lii)professes his moderation, and betrays his zeal, which is acknowledgedby Ammianus, and exposed by Gregory (Orat iii p72)

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ing the repose of an unsettled reign, Juliansurprised the world by an edict, which wasnot unworthy of a statesman, or a philoso-pher. He extended to all the inhabitantsof the Roman world the benefits of a freeand equal toleration; and the only hardshipwhich he inflicted on the Christians, wasto deprive them of the power of torment-ing their fellow-subjects, whom they stigma-tized with the odious titles of idolaters andheretics. The pagans received a gracious per-mission, or rather an express order, to openAll their temples;1043 and they were at oncedelivered from the oppressive laws, and ar-bitrary vexations, which they had sustainedunder the reign of Constantine, and of hissons. At the same time the bishops andclergy, who had been banished by the Ar-ian monarch, were recalled from exile, andrestored to their respective churches; the Do-natists, the Novatians, the Macedonians, theEunomians, and those who, with a moreprosperous fortune, adhered to the doctrineof the Council of Nice. Julian, who under-stood and derided their theological disputes,invited to the palace the leaders of the hostilesects, that he might enjoy the agreeable spec-tacle of their furious encounters. The clamorof controversy sometimes provoked the em-peror to exclaim, “Hear me! the Franks haveheard me, and the Alemanni;” but he soon

1043In Greece the temples of Minerva were opened by his expresscommand, before the death of Constantius, (Liban Orat Parent c 55,p 280;) and Julian declares himself a Pagan in his public manifesto tothe Athenians This unquestionable evidence may correct the hasty as-sertion of Ammianus, who seems to suppose Constantinople to be theplace where he discovered his attachment to the gods

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discovered that he was now engaged withmore obstinate and implacable enemies; andthough he exerted the powers of oratory topersuade them to live in concord, or at leastin peace, he was perfectly satisfied, beforehe dismissed them from his presence, thathe had nothing to dread from the union ofthe Christians. The impartial Ammianus hasascribed this affected clemency to the desireof fomenting the intestine divisions of thechurch, and the insidious design of under-mining the foundations of Christianity, wasinseparably connected with the zeal whichJulian professed, to restore the ancient reli-gion of the empire.1044

As soon as he ascended the throne, he as-sumed, according to the custom of his

predecessors, the character of supreme pon-tiff; not only as the most honorable title ofImperial greatness, but as a sacred and im-portant office; the duties of which he was re-solved to execute with pious diligence. Asthe business of the state prevented the em-peror from joining every day in the publicdevotion of his subjects, he dedicated a do-mestic chapel to his tutelar deity the Sun;his gardens were filled with statues and al-tars of the gods; and each apartment of thepalace displaced the appearance of a mag-nificent temple. Every morning he salutedthe parent of light with a sacrifice; the bloodof another victim was shed at the moment

1044Ammianus, xxii 5 Sozomen, l v c 5 Bestia moritur, tranquillitasredit omnes episcopi qui de propriis sedibus fuerant exterminati perindulgentiam novi principis ad acclesias redeunt Jerom adversus Lu-ciferianos, tom ii p 143 Optatus accuses the Donatists for owing theirsafety to an apostate, (l ii c 16, p 36, 37, edit Dupin)

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when the Sun sunk below the horizon; andthe Moon, the Stars, and the Genii of thenight received their respective and season-able honors from the indefatigable devotionof Julian. On solemn festivals, he regularlyvisited the temple of the god or goddess towhom the day was peculiarly consecrated,and endeavored to excite the religion of themagistrates and people by the example ofhis own zeal. Instead of maintaining thelofty state of a monarch, distinguished by thesplendor of his purple, and encompassed bythe golden shields of his guards, Julian so-licited, with respectful eagerness, the mean-est offices which contributed to the worshipof the gods. Amidst the sacred but licen-tious crowd of priests, of inferior ministers,and of female dancers, who were dedicatedto the service of the temple, it was the busi-ness of the emperor to bring the wood, toblow the fire, to handle the knife, to slaugh-ter the victim, and, thrusting his bloodyhands into the bowels of the expiring ani-mal, to draw forth the heart or liver, and toread, with the consummate skill of an harus-pex, imaginary signs of future events. Thewisest of the Pagans censured this extrava-gant superstition, which affected to despisethe restraints of prudence and decency. Un-der the reign of a prince, who practised therigid maxims of economy, the expense of re-ligious worship consumed a very large por-tion of the revenue a constant supply of thescarcest and most beautiful birds was trans-ported from distant climates, to bleed on thealtars of the gods; a hundred oxen were fre-quently sacrificed by Julian on one and the

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same day; and it soon became a popular jest,that if he should return with conquest fromthe Persian war, the breed of horned cat-tle must infallibly be extinguished. Yet thisexpense may appear inconsiderable, whenit is compared with the splendid presentswhich were offered either by the hand, or byorder, of the emperor, to all the celebratedplaces of devotion in the Roman world; andwith the sums allotted to repair and deco-rate the ancient temples, which had sufferedthe silent decay of time, or the recent in-juries of Christian rapine. Encouraged bythe example, the exhortations, the liberality,of their pious sovereign, the cities and fam-ilies resumed the practice of their neglectedceremonies. “Every part of the world,” ex-claims Libanius, with devout transport, “dis-played the triumph of religion; and the grate-ful prospect of flaming altars, bleeding vic-tims, the smoke of incense, and a solemntrain of priests and prophets, without fearand without danger. The sound of prayerand of music was heard on the tops of thehighest mountains; and the same ox affordeda sacrifice for the gods, and a supper for theirjoyous votaries.”1045

But the genius and power of Julian wereunequal to the enterprise of restoring a

religion which was destitute of theological

1045The restoration of the Pagan worship is described by Julian,(Misopogon, p 346,) Libanius, (Orat Parent c 60, p 286, 287, and OratConsular ad Julian p 245, 246, edit Morel,) Ammianus, (xxii 12,) andGregory Nazianzen, (Orat iv p 121) These writers agree in the essen-tial, and even minute, facts; but the different lights in which they viewthe extreme devotion of Julian, are expressive of the gradations of self-applause, passionate admiration, mild reproof, and partial invective

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principles, of moral precepts, and of eccle-siastical discipline; which rapidly hastenedto decay and dissolution, and was not sus-ceptible of any solid or consistent reforma-tion. The jurisdiction of the supreme pon-tiff, more especially after that office had beenunited with the Imperial dignity, compre-hended the whole extent of the Roman em-pire. Julian named for his vicars, in theseveral provinces, the priests and philoso-phers whom he esteemed the best qualifiedto cooperate in the execution of his great de-sign; and his pastoral letters,1046 if we mayuse that name, still represent a very curi-ous sketch of his wishes and intentions. Hedirects, that in every city the sacerdotal or-der should be composed, without any dis-tinction of birth and fortune, of those per-sons who were the most conspicuous for thelove of the gods, and of men. “If they areguilty,” continues he, “of any scandalous of-fence, they should be censured or degradedby the superior pontiff; but as long as they re-tain their rank, they are entitled to the respectof the magistrates and people. Their humil-ity may be shown in the plainness of theirdomestic garb; their dignity, in the pomp ofholy vestments. When they are summonedin their turn to officiate before the altar, theyought not, during the appointed number ofdays, to depart from the precincts of thetemple; nor should a single day be suffered

1046See Julian Epistol xlix lxii lxiii, and a long and curious fragment,without beginning or end, (p 288-305) The supreme pontiff derides theMosaic history and the Christian discipline, prefers the Greek poetsto the Hebrew prophets, and palliates, with the skill of a Jesuit therelative worship of images

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to elapse, without the prayers and the sac-rifice, which they are obliged to offer forthe prosperity of the state, and of individ-uals. The exercise of their sacred functionsrequires an immaculate purity, both of mindand body; and even when they are dismissedfrom the temple to the occupations of com-mon life, it is incumbent on them to excel indecency and virtue the rest of their fellow-citizens. The priest of the gods should neverbe seen in theatres or taverns. His conver-sation should be chaste, his diet temperate,his friends of honorable reputation; and ifhe sometimes visits the Forum or the Palace,he should appear only as the advocate ofthose who have vainly solicited either jus-tice or mercy. His studies should be suitedto the sanctity of his profession. Licentioustales, or comedies, or satires, must be ban-ished from his library, which ought solelyto consist of historical or philosophical writ-ings; of history, which is founded in truth,and of philosophy, which is connected withreligion. The impious opinions of the Epi-cureans and sceptics deserve his abhorrenceand contempt;1047 but he should diligentlystudy the systems of Pythagoras, of Plato,and of the Stoics, which unanimously teachthat there are gods; that the world is gov-erned by their providence; that their good-ness is the source of every temporal bless-ing; and that they have prepared for the hu-

1047The exultation of Julian (p 301) that these impious sects and eventheir writings, are extinguished, may be consistent enough with thesacerdotal character; but it is unworthy of a philosopher to wish thatany opinions and arguments the most repugnant to his own should beconcealed from the knowledge of mankind

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man soul a future state of reward or pun-ishment.” The Imperial pontiff inculcates,in the most persuasive language, the dutiesof benevolence and hospitality; exhorts hisinferior clergy to recommend the universalpractice of those virtues; promises to assisttheir indigence from the public treasury; anddeclares his resolution of establishing hospi-tals in every city, where the poor should bereceived without any invidious distinction ofcountry or of religion. Julian beheld withenvy the wise and humane regulations of thechurch; and he very frankly confesses his in-tention to deprive the Christians of the ap-plause, as well as advantage, which they hadacquired by the exclusive practice of charityand beneficence.1048 The same spirit of im-itation might dispose the emperor to adoptseveral ecclesiastical institutions, the use andimportance of which were approved by thesuccess of his enemies. But if these imagi-nary plans of reformation had been realized,the forced and imperfect copy would havebeen less beneficial to Paganism, than hon-orable to Christianity.1049 The Gentiles, whopeaceably followed the customs of their an-cestors, were rather surprised than pleasedwith the introduction of foreign manners;and in the short period of his reign, Julian

1048Yet he insinuates, that the Christians, under the pretence of char-ity, inveigled children from their religion and parents, conveyed themon shipboard, and devoted those victims to a life of poverty or pervi-tude in a remote country, (p 305) Had the charge been proved it washis duty, not to complain, but to punish1049Gregory Nazianzen is facetious, ingenious, and argumentative,

(Orat iii p 101, 102, &c) He ridicules the folly of such vain imitation;and amuses himself with inquiring, what lessons, moral or theological,could be extracted from the Grecian fables

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had frequent occasions to complain of thewant of fervor of his own party.1050

The enthusiasm of Julian prompted him toembrace the friends of Jupiter as his per-

sonal friends and brethren; and though hepartially overlooked the merit of Christianconstancy, he admired and rewarded the no-ble perseverance of those Gentiles who hadpreferred the favor of the gods to that of theemperor.1051 If they cultivated the literature,as well as the religion, of the Greeks, theyacquired an additional claim to the friend-ship of Julian, who ranked the Muses in thenumber of his tutelar deities. In the religionwhich he had adopted, piety and learningwere almost synonymous;1052 and a crowdof poets, of rhetoricians, and of philosophers,hastened to the Imperial court, to occupy thevacant places of the bishops, who had se-duced the credulity of Constantius. His suc-cessor esteemed the ties of common initia-tion as far more sacred than those of con-sanguinity; he chose his favorites among thesages, who were deeply skilled in the occultsciences of magic and divination; and ev-ery impostor, who pretended to reveal thesecrets of futurity, was assured of enjoying

1050He accuses one of his pontiffs of a secret confederacy with theChristian bishops and presbyters, (Epist lxii) &c Epist lxiii1051He praises the fidelity of Callixene, priestess of Ceres, who had

been twice as constant as Penelope, and rewards her with the priest-hood of the Phrygian goddess at Pessinus, (Julian Epist xxi) He ap-plauds the firmness of Sopater of Hierapolis, who had been repeatedlypressed by Constantius and Gallus to apostatize, (Epist xxvii p 401)1052Orat Parent c 77, p 202 The same sentiment is frequently incul-

cated by Julian, Libanius, and the rest of their party

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the present hour in honor and affluence.1053Among the philosophers, Maximus obtainedthe most eminent rank in the friendship ofhis royal disciple, who communicated, withunreserved confidence, his actions, his senti-ments, and his religious designs, during theanxious suspense of the civil war.1054 Assoon as Julian had taken possession of thepalace of Constantinople, he despatched anhonorable and pressing invitation to Max-imus, who then resided at Sardes in Lydia,with Chrysanthius, the associate of his artand studies. The prudent and superstitiousChrysanthius refused to undertake a jour-ney which showed itself, according to therules of divination, with the most threaten-ing and malignant aspect: but his compan-ion, whose fanaticism was of a bolder cast,persisted in his interrogations, till he had ex-torted from the gods a seeming consent tohis own wishes, and those of the emperor.The journey of Maximus through the citiesof Asia displayed the triumph of philosophicvanity; and the magistrates vied with eachother in the honorable reception which theyprepared for the friend of their sovereign. Ju-lian was pronouncing an oration before thesenate, when he was informed of the arrivalof Maximus. The emperor immediately in-terrupted his discourse, advanced to meethim, and after a tender embrace, conductedhim by the hand into the midst of the assem-

1053The curiosity and credulity of the emperor, who tried every modeof divination, are fairly exposed by Ammianus, xxii 121054Julian Epist xxxviii Three other epistles, (xv xvi xxxix,) in the same

style of friendship and confidence, are addressed to the philosopherMaximus

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bly; where he publicly acknowledged thebenefits which he had derived from the in-structions of the philosopher. Maximus,1055who soon acquired the confidence, and influ-enced the councils of Julian, was insensiblycorrupted by the temptations of a court. Hisdress became more splendid, his demeanormore lofty, and he was exposed, under a suc-ceeding reign, to a disgraceful inquiry intothe means by which the disciple of Plato hadaccumulated, in the short duration of his fa-vor, a very scandalous proportion of wealth.Of the other philosophers and sophists, whowere invited to the Imperial residence by thechoice of Julian, or by the success of Max-imus, few were able to preserve their inno-cence or their reputation. The liberal gifts ofmoney, lands, and houses, were insufficientto satiate their rapacious avarice; and the in-dignation of the people was justly excitedby the remembrance of their abject povertyand disinterested professions. The penetra-tion of Julian could not always be deceived:but he was unwilling to despise the charac-ters of those men whose talents deserved hisesteem: he desired to escape the double re-proach of imprudence and inconstancy; andhe was apprehensive of degrading, in theeyes of the profane, the honor of letters and

1055Eunapius (in Maximo, p 77, 78, 79, and in Chrysanthio, p 147,148) has minutely related these anecdotes, which he conceives to bethe most important events of the age Yet he fairly confesses the frailtyof Maximus His reception at Constantinople is described by Libanius(Orat Parent c 86, p 301) and Ammianus, (xxii 7) (Eunapius wrote acontinuation of the History of Dexippus Some valuable fragments ofthis work have been recovered by M Mai, and reprinted in Niebuhr’sedition of the Byzantine Historians–M

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of religion.1056

The favor of Julian was almost equally di-vided between the Pagans, who had

firmly adhered to the worship of their ances-tors, and the Christians, who prudently em-braced the religion of their sovereign. The ac-quisition of new proselytes1057 gratified theruling passions of his soul, superstition andvanity; and he was heard to declare, withthe enthusiasm of a missionary, that if hecould render each individual richer than Mi-das, and every city greater than Babylon, heshould not esteem himself the benefactor ofmankind, unless, at the same time, he couldreclaim his subjects from their impious revoltagainst the immortal gods.1058 A prince whohad studied human nature, and who pos-sessed the treasures of the Roman empire,could adapt his arguments, his promises,and his rewards, to every order of Chris-tians;1059 and the merit of a seasonable con-

1056Sec Libanius (Orat Parent c 101, 102, p 324, 325, 326) and Eu-napius, (Vit Sophist in Proaeresio, p 126) Some students, whose expec-tations perhaps were groundless, or extravagant, retired in disgust,(Greg Naz Orat iv p 120) It is strange that we should not be able tocontradict the title of one of Tillemont’s chapters, (Hist des Empereurs,tom iv p 960,) “La Cour de Julien est pleine de philosphes et de gensperdus”1057Under the reign of Lewis XIV his subjects of every rank aspired to

the glorious title of Convertisseur, expressive of their zea and successin making proselytes The word and the idea are growing obsolete inFrance may they never be introduced into England1058See the strong expressions of Libanius, which were probably

those of Julian himself, (Orat Parent c 59, p 285)1059When Gregory Nazianzen (Orat x p 167) is desirous to magnify

the Christian firmness of his brother Caesarius, physician to the Impe-rial court, he owns that Caesarius disputed with a formidable adver-sary In his invectives he scarcely allows any share of wit or courage to

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version was allowed to supply the defects ofa candidate, or even to expiate the guilt of acriminal. As the army is the most forcible en-gine of absolute power, Julian applied him-self, with peculiar diligence, to corrupt thereligion of his troops, without whose heartyconcurrence every measure must be danger-ous and unsuccessful; and the natural tem-per of soldiers made this conquest as easyas it was important. The legions of Gauldevoted themselves to the faith, as well asto the fortunes, of their victorious leader;and even before the death of Constantius,he had the satisfaction of announcing to hisfriends, that they assisted with fervent devo-tion, and voracious appetite, at the sacrifices,which were repeatedly offered in his camp,of whole hecatombs of fat oxen.1060 Thearmies of the East, which had been trainedunder the standard of the cross, and of Con-stantius, required a more artful and expen-sive mode of persuasion. On the days ofsolemn and public festivals, the emperor re-ceived the homage, and rewarded the merit,of the troops. His throne of state was encir-cled with the military ensigns of Rome andthe republic; the holy name of Christ waserased from the Labarum; and the symbolsof war, of majesty, and of pagan supersti-tion, were so dexterously blended, that thefaithful subject incurred the guilt of idolatry,

the apostate1060Julian, Epist xxxviii Ammianus, xxii 12 Adeo ut in dies paene sin-

gulos milites carnis distentiore sagina victitantes incultius, potusqueaviditate correpti, humeris impositi transeuntium per plateas, ex pub-licis aedibus ad sua diversoria portarentur The devout prince and theindignant historian describe the same scene; and in Illyricum or Anti-och, similar causes must have produced similar effects

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when he respectfully saluted the person orimage of his sovereign. The soldiers passedsuccessively in review; and each of them, be-fore he received from the hand of Julian a lib-eral donative, proportioned to his rank andservices, was required to cast a few grainsof incense into the flame which burnt uponthe altar. Some Christian confessors mightresist, and others might repent; but the fargreater number, allured by the prospect ofgold, and awed by the presence of the em-peror, contracted the criminal engagement;and their future perseverance in the worshipof the gods was enforced by every consider-ation of duty and of interest.

By the frequent repetition of these arts, and atthe expense of sums which would have

purchased the service of half the nations ofScythia, Julian gradually acquired for histroops the imaginary protection of the gods,and for himself the firm and effectual sup-port of the Roman legions.1061 It is indeedmore than probable, that the restoration andencouragement of Paganism revealed a mul-titude of pretended Christians, who, frommotives of temporal advantage, had acqui-esced in the religion of the former reign; andwho afterwards returned, with the same flex-ibility of conscience, to the faith which wasprofessed by the successors of Julian.

While the devout monarch incessantly la-bored to restore and propagate the re-

ligion of his ancestors, he embraced the ex-

1061Gregory (Orat iii p 74, 75, 83-86) and Libanius, (Orat Parent c lxxxilxxxii p 307, 308,) The sophist owns and justifies the expense of thesemilitary conversions

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traordinary design of rebuilding the templeof Jerusalem. In a public epistle1062 to thenation or community of the Jews, dispersedthrough the provinces, he pities their mis-fortunes, condemns their oppressors, praisestheir constancy, declares himself their gra-cious protector, and expresses a pious hope,that after his return from the Persian war, hemay be permitted to pay his grateful vowsto the Almighty in his holy city of Jerusalem.The blind superstition, and abject slavery, ofthose unfortunate exiles, must excite the con-tempt of a philosophic emperor; but they de-served the friendship of Julian, by their im-placable hatred of the Christian name. Thebarren synagogue abhorred and envied thefecundity of the rebellious church; the powerof the Jews was not equal to their malice;but their gravest rabbis approved the privatemurder of an apostate;1063 and their sedi-tious clamors had often awakened the indo-lence of the Pagan magistrates. Under thereign of Constantine, the Jews became thesubjects of their revolted children nor wasit long before they experienced the bitter-ness of domestic tyranny. The civil immu-nities which had been granted, or confirmed,by Severus, were gradually repealed by the

1062Julian’s epistle (xxv) is addressed to the community of the JewsAldus (Venet 1499) has branded it with an; but this stigma is justly re-moved by the subsequent editors, Petavius and Spanheim This epistleis mentioned by Sozomen, (l v c 22,) and the purport of it is confirmedby Gregory, (Orat iv p 111) and by Julian himself (Fragment p 295)1063The Misnah denounced death against those who abandoned the

foundation The judgment of zeal is explained by Marsham (CanonChron p 161, 162, edit fol London, 1672) and Basnage, (Hist des Juifs,tom viii p 120) Constantine made a law to protect Christian convertsfrom Judaism Cod Theod l xvi tit viii leg 1 Godefroy, tom vi p 215

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Christian princes; and a rash tumult, excitedby the Jews of Palestine,1064 seemed to jus-tify the lucrative modes of oppression whichwere invented by the bishops and eunuchsof the court of Constantius. The Jewish pa-triarch, who was still permitted to exercisea precarious jurisdiction, held his residenceat Tiberias;1065 and the neighboring cities ofPalestine were filled with the remains of apeople who fondly adhered to the promisedland. But the edict of Hadrian was renewedand enforced; and they viewed from afar thewalls of the holy city, which were profanedin their eyes by the triumph of the cross andthe devotion of the Christians.1066

...Part III

IN the midst of a rocky and barren country,the walls of Jerusalem1067 enclosed the

two mountains of Sion and Acra, within anoval figure of about three English miles.1068Towards the south, the upper town, and thefortress of David, were erected on the lofty

1064Et interea (during the civil war of Magnentius) Judaeorum sedi-tio, qui Patricium, nefarie in regni speciem sustulerunt, oppressa Au-relius Victor, in Constantio, c xlii See Tillemont, Hist des Empereurs,tom iv p 379, in 4to1065The city and synagogue of Tiberias are curiously described by Re-

land Palestin tom ii p 1036-10421066Basnage has fully illustrated the state of the Jews under Constan-

tine and his successors, (tom viii c iv p 111-153)1067Reland (Palestin l i p 309, 390, l iii p 838) describes, with learning

and perspicuity, Jerusalem, and the face of the adjacent country1068I have consulted a rare and curious treatise of M D’Anville, (sur

l’Ancienne Jerusalem, Paris, 1747, p 75) The circumference of the an-cient city (Euseb Preparat Evangel l ix c 36) was 27 stadia, or 2550 toisesA plan, taken on the spot, assigns no more than 1980 for the moderntown The circuit is defined by natural landmarks, which cannot bemistaken or removed

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ascent of Mount Sion: on the north side, thebuildings of the lower town covered the spa-cious summit of Mount Acra; and a part ofthe hill, distinguished by the name of Mo-riah, and levelled by human industry, wascrowned with the stately temple of the Jew-ish nation. After the final destruction of thetemple by the arms of Titus and Hadrian,a ploughshare was drawn over the conse-crated ground, as a sign of perpetual in-terdiction. Sion was deserted; and the va-cant space of the lower city was filled withthe public and private edifices of the Aeliancolony, which spread themselves over theadjacent hill of Calvary. The holy places werepolluted with mountains of idolatry; and, ei-ther from design or accident, a chapel wasdedicated to Venus, on the spot which hadbeen sanctified by the death and resurrec-tion of Christ.10691070 Almost three hundredyears after those stupendous events, the pro-fane chapel of Venus was demolished by theorder of Constantine; and the removal of theearth and stones revealed the holy sepul-chre to the eyes of mankind. A magnificentchurch was erected on that mystic ground,by the first Christian emperor; and the ef-fects of his pious munificence were extendedto every spot which had been consecrated bythe footstep of patriarchs, of prophets, and of

1069See two curious passages in Jerom, (tom i p 102, tom vi p 315,)and the ample details of Tillemont, (Hist, des Empereurs, tom i p 569tom ii p 289, 294, 4to edition)1070On the site of the Holy Sepulchre, compare the chapter in Profes-

sor Robinson’s Travels in Palestine, which has renewed the old contro-versy with great vigor To me, this temple of Venus, said to have beenerected by Hadrian to insult the Christians, is not the least suspiciouspart of the whole legend-M 1845

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the Son of God.1071The passionate desire of contemplating the

original monuments of their redemptionattracted to Jerusalem a successive crowdof pilgrims, from the shores of the AtlanticOcean, and the most distant countries of theEast;1072 and their piety was authorized bythe example of the empress Helena, who ap-pears to have united the credulity of agewith the warm feelings of a recent con-version. Sages and heroes, who have vis-ited the memorable scenes of ancient wis-dom or glory, have confessed the inspira-tion of the genius of the place;1073 and theChristian who knelt before the holy sepul-chre, ascribed his lively faith, and his fer-vent devotion, to the more immediate influ-ence of the Divine Spirit. The zeal, perhapsthe avarice, of the clergy of Jerusalem, cher-ished and multiplied these beneficial visits.They fixed, by unquestionable tradition, thescene of each memorable event. They exhib-ited the instruments which had been usedin the passion of Christ; the nails and thelance that had pierced his hands, his feet,

1071Eusebius in Vit Constantin l iii c 25-47, 51-53 The emperor like-wise built churches at Bethlem, the Mount of Olives, and the oa ofMambre The holy sepulchre is described by Sandys, (Travels, p 125-133,) and curiously delineated by Le Bruyn, (Voyage au Levant, p 28-296)1072The Itinerary from Bourdeaux to Jerusalem was composed in the

year 333, for the use of pilgrims; among whom Jerom (tom i p 126)mentions the Britons and the Indians The causes of this superstitiousfashion are discussed in the learned and judicious preface of Wessel-ing (Itinarar p 537-545) —-Much curious information on this subject iscollected in the first chapter of Wilken, Geschichte der Kreuzzuge–M1073Cicero (de Finibus, v 1) has beautifully expressed the common

sense of mankind

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and his side; the crown of thorns that wasplanted on his head; the pillar at which hewas scourged; and, above all, they showedthe cross on which he suffered, and whichwas dug out of the earth in the reign ofthose princes, who inserted the symbol ofChristianity in the banners of the Roman le-gions.1074 Such miracles as seemed neces-sary to account for its extraordinary preser-vation, and seasonable discovery, were grad-ually propagated without opposition. Thecustody of the true cross, which on EasterSunday was solemnly exposed to the peo-ple, was intrusted to the bishop of Jerusalem;and he alone might gratify the curious de-votion of the pilgrims, by the gift of smallpieces, which they encased in gold or gems,and carried away in triumph to their respec-tive countries. But as this gainful branch ofcommerce must soon have been annihilated,it was found convenient to suppose, that themarvelous wood possessed a secret powerof vegetation; and that its substance, thoughcontinually diminished, still remained entireand unimpaired.1075 It might perhaps have

1074Baronius (Annal Eccles A D 326, No 42-50) and Tillemont (MemEccles tom xii p 8-16) are the historians and champions of the miracu-lous invention of the cross, under the reign of Constantine Their oldestwitnesses are Paulinus, Sulpicius Severus, Rufinus, Ambrose, and per-haps Cyril of Jerusalem The silence of Eusebius, and the Bourdeauxpilgrim, which satisfies those who think perplexes those who believeSee Jortin’s sensible remarks, vol ii p 238-2481075This multiplication is asserted by Paulinus, (Epist xxxvi See

Dupin Bibliot Eccles tom iii p 149,) who seems to have improveda rhetorical flourish of Cyril into a real fact The same supernaturalprivilege must have been communicated to the Virgin’s milk, (ErasmiOpera, tom i p 778, Lugd Batav 1703, in Colloq de Peregrinat Religio-nis ergo,) saints’ heads, &c and other relics, which are repeated in so

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been expected, that the influence of the placeand the belief of a perpetual miracle, shouldhave produced some salutary effects on themorals, as well as on the faith, of the people.Yet the most respectable of the ecclesiasti-cal writers have been obliged to confess, notonly that the streets of Jerusalem were filledwith the incessant tumult of business andpleasure,1076 but that every species of vice–adultery, theft, idolatry, poisoning, murder–was familiar to the inhabitants of the holycity.1077 The wealth and preeminence of thechurch of Jerusalem excited the ambition ofArian, as well as orthodox, candidates; andthe virtues of Cyril, who, since his death, hasbeen honored with the title of Saint, were dis-played in the exercise, rather than in the ac-quisition, of his episcopal dignity.1078

The vain and ambitious mind of Julian mightaspire to restore the ancient glory of the

many different churches (Lord Mahon, in a memoir read before theSociety of Antiquaries, (Feb 1831,) has traced in a brief but interestingmanner, the singular adventures of the “true” cross It is curious to in-quire, what authority we have, except of late tradition, for the Hill ofCalvary There is none in the sacred writings; the uniform use of thecommon word, instead of any word expressing assent or acclivity, isagainst the notion–M1076Jerom, (tom i p 103,) who resided in the neighboring village of

Bethlem, describes the vices of Jerusalem from his personal experience1077Gregor Nyssen, apud Wesseling, p 539 The whole epistle, which

condemns either the use or the abuse of religious pilgrimage, is painfulto the Catholic divines, while it is dear and familiar to our Protestantpolemics1078He renounced his orthodox ordination, officiated as a deacon,

and was re-ordained by the hands of the Arians But Cyril afterwardschanged with the times, and prudently conformed to the Nicene faithTillemont, (Mem Eccles tom viii,) who treats his memory with tender-ness and respect, has thrown his virtues into the text, and his faultsinto the notes, in decent obscurity, at the end of the volume

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temple of Jerusalem.1079 As the Christianswere firmly persuaded that a sentence of ev-erlasting destruction had been pronouncedagainst the whole fabric of the Mosaic law,the Imperial sophist would have convertedthe success of his undertaking into a speciousargument against the faith of prophecy, andthe truth of revelation.1080 He was dis-pleased with the spiritual worship of thesynagogue; but he approved the institu-tions of Moses, who had not disdained toadopt many of the rites and ceremonies ofEgypt.1081 The local and national deity ofthe Jews was sincerely adored by a polythe-ist, who desired only to multiply the numberof the gods;1082 and such was the appetite ofJulian for bloody sacrifice, that his emulationmight be excited by the piety of Solomon,who had offered, at the feast of the dedi-

1079Imperii sui memoriam magnitudine operum gestiens propagareAmmian xxiii 1 The temple of Jerusalem had been famous even amongthe Gentiles They had many temples in each city, (at Sichem five, atGaza eight, at Rome four hundred and twenty-four;) but the wealthand religion of the Jewish nation was centred in one spot1080The secret intentions of Julian are revealed by the late bishop

of Gloucester, the learned and dogmatic Warburton; who, with theauthority of a theologian, prescribes the motives and conduct of theSupreme Being The discourse entitled Julian (2d edition, London,1751) is strongly marked with all the peculiarities which are imputedto the Warburtonian school1081I shelter myself behind Maimonides, Marsham, Spencer, Le Clerc,

Warburton, &c, who have fairly derided the fears, the folly, and thefalsehood of some superstitious divines See Divine Legation, vol iv p25, &c1082Julian (Fragment p 295) respectfully styles him, and mentions him

elsewhere (Epist lxiii) with still higher reverence He doubly condemnsthe Christians for believing, and for renouncing, the religion of theJews Their Deity was a true, but not the only, God Apul Cyril l ix p305, 306

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cation, twenty-two thousand oxen, and onehundred and twenty thousand sheep.1083These considerations might influence his de-signs; but the prospect of an immediate andimportant advantage would not suffer theimpatient monarch to expect the remote anduncertain event of the Persian war. He re-solved to erect, without delay, on the com-manding eminence of Moriah, a stately tem-ple, which might eclipse the splendor of thechurch of the resurrection on the adjacent hillof Calvary; to establish an order of priests,whose interested zeal would detect the arts,and resist the ambition, of their Christianrivals; and to invite a numerous colony ofJews, whose stern fanaticism would be al-ways prepared to second, and even to an-ticipate, the hostile measures of the Pagangovernment. Among the friends of the em-peror (if the names of emperor, and of friend,are not incompatible) the first place was as-signed, by Julian himself, to the virtuousand learned Alypius.1084 The humanity ofAlypius was tempered by severe justice andmanly fortitude; and while he exercised hisabilities in the civil administration of Britain,

10831 Kings, viii 63 2 Chronicles, vii 5 Joseph Antiquitat Judaic lviii c 4, p 431, edit Havercamp As the blood and smoke of so manyhecatombs might be inconvenient, Lightfoot, the Christian Rabbi, re-moves them by a miracle Le Clerc (ad loca) is bold enough to sus-pect to fidelity of the numbers (According to the historian Kotobed-dym, quoted by Burckhardt, (Travels in Arabia, p 276,) the KhalifMokteder sacrificed, during his pilgrimage to Mecca, in the year ofthe Hejira 350, forty thousand camels and cows, and fifty thousandsheep Barthema describes thirty thousand oxen slain, and their car-casses given to the poor Quarterly Review, xiiip39–M1084Julian, epist xxix xxx La Bleterie has neglected to translate the

second of these epistles

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he imitated, in his poetical compositions, theharmony and softness of the odes of Sap-pho. This minister, to whom Julian com-municated, without reserve, his most care-less levities, and his most serious counsels,received an extraordinary commission to re-store, in its pristine beauty, the temple ofJerusalem; and the diligence of Alypius re-quired and obtained the strenuous supportof the governor of Palestine. At the call oftheir great deliverer, the Jews, from all theprovinces of the empire, assembled on theholy mountain of their fathers; and their in-solent triumph alarmed and exasperated theChristian inhabitants of Jerusalem. The de-sire of rebuilding the temple has in every agebeen the ruling passion of the children of Is-rael. In this propitious moment the men for-got their avarice, and the women their deli-cacy; spades and pickaxes of silver were pro-vided by the vanity of the rich, and the rub-bish was transported in mantles of silk andpurple. Every purse was opened in liberalcontributions, every hand claimed a share inthe pious labor, and the commands of a greatmonarch were executed by the enthusiasm ofa whole people.1085

Yet, on this occasion, the joint efforts of powerand enthusiasm were unsuccessful; and

the ground of the Jewish temple, which isnow covered by a Mahometan mosque,1086

1085See the zeal and impatience of the Jews in Gregory Nazianzen(Orat iv p 111) and Theodoret (l iii c 20)1086Built by Omar, the second Khalif, who died A D 644 This great

mosque covers the whole consecrated ground of the Jewish temple,and constitutes almost a square of 760 toises, or one Roman mile incircumference See D’Anville, Jerusalem, p 45

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still continued to exhibit the same edifyingspectacle of ruin and desolation. Perhaps theabsence and death of the emperor, and thenew maxims of a Christian reign, might ex-plain the interruption of an arduous work,which was attempted only in the last sixmonths of the life of Julian.1087 But theChristians entertained a natural and piousexpectation, that, in this memorable contest,the honor of religion would be vindicatedby some signal miracle. An earthquake, awhirlwind, and a fiery eruption, which over-turned and scattered the new foundations ofthe temple, are attested, with some varia-tions, by contemporary and respectable ev-idence.1088 This public event is described byAmbrose,1089 bishop of Milan, in an epistleto the emperor Theodosius, which must pro-voke the severe animadversion of the Jews;by the eloquent Chrysostom,1090 who might

1087Ammianus records the consults of the year 363, before heproceeds to mention the thoughts of Julian Templum instauraresumptibus cogitabat immodicis Warburton has a secret wish to antici-pate the design; but he must have understood, from former examples,that the execution of such a work would have demanded many years1088The subsequent witnesses, Socrates, Sozomen, Theodoret,

Philostorgius, &c, add contradictions rather than authority Comparethe objections of Basnage (Hist des Juifs, tom viii p 156-168) with War-burton’s answers, (Julian, p 174-258) The bishop has ingeniously ex-plained the miraculous crosses which appeared on the garments of thespectators by a similar instance, and the natural effects of lightning1089Ambros tom ii epist xl p 946, edit Benedictin He composed this

fanatic epistle (A D 388) to justify a bishop who had been condemnedby the civil magistrate for burning a synagogue1090Chrysostom, tom i p 580, advers Judaeos et Gentes, tom ii p 574,

de Sto Babyla, edit Montfaucon I have followed the common and nat-ural supposition; but the learned Benedictine, who dates the compo-sition of these sermons in the year 383, is confident they were neverpronounced from the pulpit

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appeal to the memory of the elder part ofhis congregation at Antioch; and by GregoryNazianzen,1091 who published his account ofthe miracle before the expiration of the sameyear. The last of these writers has boldlydeclared, that this preternatural event wasnot disputed by the infidels; and his asser-tion, strange as it may seem is confirmed bythe unexceptionable testimony of AmmianusMarcellinus.1092 The philosophic soldier,who loved the virtues, without adopting theprejudices, of his master, has recorded, inhis judicious and candid history of his owntimes, the extraordinary obstacles which in-terrupted the restoration of the temple ofJerusalem. “Whilst Alypius, assisted by thegovernor of the province, urged, with vigorand diligence, the execution of the work, hor-rible balls of fire breaking out near the foun-dations, with frequent and reiterated attacks,rendered the place, from time to time, inac-cessible to the scorched and blasted work-men; and the victorious element continu-ing in this manner obstinately and resolutelybent, as it were, to drive them to a dis-tance, the undertaking was abandoned.”1093

1091Greg Nazianzen, Orat iv p 110-1131092Ammian xxiii 1 Cum itaque rei fortiter instaret Alypius, ju-

varetque provinciae rector, metuendi globi flammarum prope funda-menta crebris assultibus erumpentes fecere locum exustis aliquotiesoperantibus inaccessum; hocque modo elemento destinatius repel-lente, cessavit inceptum Warburton labors (p 60-90) to extort a con-fession of the miracle from the mouths of Julian and Libanius, and toemploy the evidence of a rabbi who lived in the fifteenth century Suchwitnesses can only be received by a very favorable judge1093Michaelis has given an ingenious and sufficiently probable ex-

planation of this remarkable incident, which the positive testimony ofAmmianus, a contemporary and a pagan, will not permit us to call

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in question It was suggested by a passage in Tacitus That historian,speaking of Jerusalem, says, [I omit the first part of the quotation ad-duced by M Guizot, which only by a most extraordinary mistrans-lation of muri introrsus sinuati by “enfoncemens” could be made tobear on the question–M] The Temple itself was a kind of citadel, whichhad its own walls, superior in their workmanship and construction tothose of the city The porticos themselves, which surrounded the tem-ple, were an excellent fortification There was a fountain of constantlyrunning water; subterranean excavations under the mountain; reser-voirs and cisterns to collect the rain-water Tac Hist v ii 12 These ex-cavations and reservoirs must have been very considerable The latterfurnished water during the whole siege of Jerusalem to 1,100,000 in-habitants, for whom the fountain of Siloe could not have sufficed, andwho had no fresh rain-water, the siege having taken place from themonth of April to the month of August, a period of the year duringwhich it rarely rains in Jerusalem As to the excavations, they servedafter, and even before, the return of the Jews from Babylon, to con-tain not only magazines of oil, wine, and corn, but also the treasureswhich were laid up in the Temple Josephus has related several inci-dents which show their extent When Jerusalem was on the point ofbeing taken by Titus, the rebel chiefs, placing their last hopes in thesevast subterranean cavities, formed a design of concealing themselvesthere, and remaining during the conflagration of the city, and untilthe Romans had retired to a distance The greater part had not timeto execute their design; but one of them, Simon, the Son of Gioras,having provided himself with food, and tools to excavate the earth de-scended into this retreat with some companions: he remained theretill Titus had set out for Rome: under the pressure of famine he is-sued forth on a sudden in the very place where the Temple had stood,and appeared in the midst of the Roman guard He was seized andcarried to Rome for the triumph His appearance made it be suspectedthat other Jews might have chosen the same asylum; search was made,and a great number discovered Joseph de Bell Jud l vii c 2 It is probablethat the greater part of these excavations were the remains of the timeof Solomon, when it was the custom to work to a great extent underground: no other date can be assigned to them The Jews, on their re-turn from the captivity, were too poor to undertake such works; and,although Herod, on rebuilding the Temple, made some excavations,(Joseph Ant Jud xv 11, vii,) the haste with which that building wascompleted will not allow us to suppose that they belonged to that pe-riod Some were used for sewers and drains, others served to concealthe immense treasures of which Crassus, a hundred and twenty yearsbefore, plundered the Jews, and which doubtless had been since re-

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Such authority should satisfy a believing,and must astonish an incredulous, mind. Yeta philosopher may still require the originalevidence of impartial and intelligent spec-tators. At this important crisis, any singu-lar accident of nature would assume the ap-pearance, and produce the effects of a realprodigy. This glorious deliverance would bespeedily improved and magnified by the pi-ous art of the clergy of Jerusalem, and the ac-

placed The Temple was destroyed A C 70; the attempt of Julian torebuild it, and the fact related by Ammianus, coincide with the year363 There had then elapsed between these two epochs an interval ofnear 300 years, during which the excavations, choked up with ruins,must have become full of inflammable air The workmen employed byJulian as they were digging, arrived at the excavations of the Temple;they would take torches to explore them; sudden flames repelled thosewho approached; explosions were heard, and these phenomena wererenewed every time that they penetrated into new subterranean pas-sages This explanation is confirmed by the relation of an event nearlysimilar, by Josephus King Herod having heard that immense treasureshad been concealed in the sepulchre of David, he descended into itwith a few confidential persons; he found in the first subterraneanchamber only jewels and precious stuffs: but having wished to pen-etrate into a second chamber, which had been long closed, he was re-pelled, when he opened it, by flames which killed those who accom-panied him (Ant Jud xvi 7, i) As here there is no room for miracle, thisfact may be considered as a new proof of the veracity of that related byAmmianus and the contemporary writers–G —-To the illustrations ofthe extent of the subterranean chambers adduced by Michaelis, maybe added, that when John of Gischala, during the siege, surprised theTemple, the party of Eleazar took refuge within them Bell Jud vi 3, iThe sudden sinking of the hill of Sion when Jerusalem was occupiedby Barchocab, may have been connected with similar excavations Histof Jews, vol iii 122 and 186–M —-It is a fact now popularly known,that when mines which have been long closed are opened, one of twothings takes place; either the torches are extinguished and the men fallfirst into a swoor and soon die; or, if the air is inflammable, a littleflame is seen to flicker round the lamp, which spreads and multipliestill the conflagration becomes general, is followed by an explosion, andkill all who are in the way–G

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tive credulity of the Christian world and, atthe distance of twenty years, a Roman histo-rian, care less of theological disputes, mightadorn his work with the specious and splen-did miracle.1094

The silence of Jerom would lead to a suspi-cion that the same story which was cel-

ebrated at a distance, might be despised onthe spot. (Gibbon has forgotten Basnage, towhom Warburton replied.–M.

...Part IV

THE restoration of the Jewish temple wassecretly connected with the ruin of the

Christian church. Julian still continued tomaintain the freedom of religious worship,without distinguishing whether this univer-sal toleration proceeded from his justice orhis clemency. He affected to pity the un-happy Christians, who were mistaken in themost important object of their lives; but hispity was degraded by contempt, his con-tempt was embittered by hatred; and the sen-timents of Julian were expressed in a styleof sarcastic wit, which inflicts a deep anddeadly wound, whenever it issues from themouth of a sovereign. As he was sensiblethat the Christians gloried in the name oftheir Redeemer, he countenanced, and per-haps enjoined, the use of the less honorableappellation of Galilaeans.1095 He declared,

1094Dr Lardner, perhaps alone of the Christian critics, presumes todoubt the truth of this famous miracle (Jewish and Heathen Testi-monies, vol iv p 47-71)1095Greg Naz Orat iii p 81 And this law was confirmed by the invari-

able practice of Julian himself Warburton has justly observed (p 35,)that the Platonists believed in the mysterious virtue of words and Ju-

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that by the folly of the Galilaeans, whom hedescribes as a sect of fanatics, contemptibleto men, and odious to the gods, the em-pire had been reduced to the brink of de-struction; and he insinuates in a public edict,that a frantic patient might sometimes becured by salutary violence.1096 An ungener-ous distinction was admitted into the mindand counsels of Julian, that, according to thedifference of their religious sentiments, onepart of his subjects deserved his favor andfriendship, while the other was entitled onlyto the common benefits that his justice couldnot refuse to an obedient people. Accord-ing to a principle, pregnant with mischiefand oppression, the emperor transferred tothe pontiffs of his own religion the manage-ment of the liberal allowances for the pub-lic revenue, which had been granted to thechurch by the piety of Constantine and hissons. The proud system of clerical honorsand immunities, which had been constructedwith so much art and labor, was levelled tothe ground; the hopes of testamentary do-nations were intercepted by the rigor of thelaws; and the priests of the Christian sectwere confounded with the last and most ig-nominious class of the people. Such of theseregulations as appeared necessary to checkthe ambition and avarice of the ecclesiastics,were soon afterwards imitated by the wis-dom of an orthodox prince. The peculiar dis-tinctions which policy has bestowed, or su-

lian’s dislike for the name of Christ might proceed from superstition,as well as from contempt1096Fragment Julian p 288 He derides the (Epist vii,) and so far loses

sight of the principles of toleration, as to wish (Epist xlii)

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perstition has lavished, on the sacerdotal or-der, must be confined to those priests whoprofess the religion of the state. But the willof the legislator was not exempt from prej-udice and passion; and it was the object ofthe insidious policy of Julian, to deprive theChristians of all the temporal honors and ad-vantages which rendered them respectablein the eyes of the world.1097A just and severe censure has been inflicted

on the law which prohibited the Chris-tians from teaching the arts of grammar andrhetoric.1098 The motives alleged by the em-peror to justify this partial and oppressivemeasure, might command, during his life-time, the silence of slaves and the applauseof Gatterers. Julian abuses the ambiguousmeaning of a word which might be indiffer-ently applied to the language and the reli-gion of the Greeks: he contemptuously ob-serves, that the men who exalt the merit ofimplicit faith are unfit to claim or to enjoythe advantages of science; and he vainly con-tends, that if they refuse to adore the gods ofHomer and Demosthenes, they ought to con-tent themselves with expounding Luke andMatthew in the church of the Galilaeans.1099In all the cities of the Roman world, the edu-

1097These laws, which affected the clergy, may be found in the slighthints of Julian himself, (Epist lii) in the vague declamations of Gregory,(Orat iii p 86, 87,) and in the positive assertions of Sozomen, (l v c 5)1098Inclemens perenni obruendum silentio Ammian xxii 10, ixv 51099The edict itself, which is still extant among the epistles of Julian,

(xlii,) may be compared with the loose invectives of Gregory (Orat iii p96) Tillemont (Mem Eccles tom vii p 1291-1294) has collected the seem-ing differences of ancients and moderns They may be easily reconciledThe Christians were directly forbid to teach, they were indirectly for-bid to learn; since they would not frequent the schools of the Pagans

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cation of the youth was intrusted to mastersof grammar and rhetoric; who were electedby the magistrates, maintained at the publicexpense, and distinguished by many lucra-tive and honorable privileges. The edict ofJulian appears to have included the physi-cians, and professors of all the liberal arts;and the emperor, who reserved to himselfthe approbation of the candidates, was au-thorized by the laws to corrupt, or to punish,the religious constancy of the most learnedof the Christians.1100 As soon as the resigna-tion of the more obstinate1101 teachers hadestablished the unrivalled dominion of thePagan sophists, Julian invited the rising gen-eration to resort with freedom to the publicschools, in a just confidence, that their ten-der minds would receive the impressions ofliterature and idolatry. If the greatest partof the Christian youth should be deterred bytheir own scruples, or by those of their par-ents, from accepting this dangerous mode ofinstruction, they must, at the same time, re-linquish the benefits of a liberal education.Julian had reason to expect that, in the spaceof a few years, the church would relapse intoits primaeval simplicity, and that the theolo-gians, who possessed an adequate share ofthe learning and eloquence of the age, wouldbe succeeded by a generation of blind and

1100Codex Theodos l xiii tit iii de medicis et professoribus, leg 5, (pub-lished the 17th of June, received, at Spoleto in Italy, the 29th of July, AD 363,) with Godefroy’s Illustrations, tom v p 311101Orosius celebrates their disinterested resolution, Sicut a majori

bus nostris compertum habemus, omnes ubique propemodum offi-cium quam fidem deserere maluerunt, vii 30 Proaeresius, a Christiansophist, refused to accept the partial favor of the emperor Hieronymin Chron p 185, edit Scaliger Eunapius in Proaeresio p 126

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ignorant fanatics, incapable of defending thetruth of their own principles, or of exposingthe various follies of Polytheism.1102

It was undoubtedly the wish and design ofJulian to deprive the Christians of the

advantages of wealth, of knowledge, and ofpower; but the injustice of excluding themfrom all offices of trust and profit seems tohave been the result of his general policy,rather than the immediate consequence ofany positive law.1103 Superior merit mightdeserve and obtain, some extraordinary ex-ceptions; but the greater part of the Christianofficers were gradually removed from theiremployments in the state, the army, and theprovinces. The hopes of future candidateswere extinguished by the declared partialityof a prince, who maliciously reminded them,that it was unlawful for a Christian to usethe sword, either of justice, or of war; andwho studiously guarded the camp and thetribunals with the ensigns of idolatry. Thepowers of government were intrusted to thepagans, who professed an ardent zeal forthe religion of their ancestors; and as thechoice of the emperor was often directed bythe rules of divination, the favorites whom

1102They had recourse to the expedient of composing books for theirown schools Within a few months Apollinaris produced his Chris-tian imitations of Homer, (a sacred history in twenty-four books,) Pin-dar, Euripides, and Menander; and Sozomen is satisfied, that theyequalled, or excelled, the originals (Socrates, however, implies that,on the death of Julian, they were contemptuously thrown aside by theChristians Socr Hist iii16–M1103It was the instruction of Julian to his magistrates, (Epist vii,) So-

zomen (l v c 18) and Socrates (l iii c 13) must be reduced to the standardof Gregory, (Orat iii p 95,) not less prone to exaggeration, but more re-strained by the actual knowledge of his contemporary readers

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he preferred as the most agreeable to thegods, did not always obtain the approbationof mankind.1104 Under the administrationof their enemies, the Christians had muchto suffer, and more to apprehend. The tem-per of Julian was averse to cruelty; and thecare of his reputation, which was exposedto the eyes of the universe, restrained thephilosophic monarch from violating the lawsof justice and toleration, which he himselfhad so recently established. But the provin-cial ministers of his authority were placedin a less conspicuous station. In the exer-cise of arbitrary power, they consulted thewishes, rather than the commands, of theirsovereign; and ventured to exercise a secretand vexatious tyranny against the sectaries,on whom they were not permitted to conferthe honors of martyrdom. The emperor, whodissembled as long as possible his knowl-edge of the injustice that was exercised in hisname, expressed his real sense of the conductof his officers, by gentle reproofs and sub-stantial rewards.1105

The most effectual instrument of oppres-sion, with which they were armed, was

the law that obliged the Christians to makefull and ample satisfaction for the templeswhich they had destroyed under the preced-ing reign. The zeal of the triumphant churchhad not always expected the sanction of thepublic authority; and the bishops, who weresecure of impunity, had often marched at the

1104Libanius, Orat Parent 88, p 8141105Greg Naz Orat iii p 74, 91, 92 Socrates, l iii c 14 The doret, l iii c

6 Some drawback may, however, be allowed for the violence of theirzeal, not less partial than the zeal of Julian

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head of their congregation, to attack and de-molish the fortresses of the prince of dark-ness. The consecrated lands, which had in-creased the patrimony of the sovereign or ofthe clergy, were clearly defined, and easilyrestored. But on these lands, and on the ruinsof Pagan superstition, the Christians had fre-quently erected their own religious edifices:and as it was necessary to remove the churchbefore the temple could be rebuilt, the justiceand piety of the emperor were applaudedby one party, while the other deplored andexecrated his sacrilegious violence.1106 Af-ter the ground was cleared, the restitution ofthose stately structures which had been lev-elled with the dust, and of the precious or-naments which had been converted to Chris-tian uses, swelled into a very large account ofdamages and debt. The authors of the injuryhad neither the ability nor the inclinationto discharge this accumulated demand: andthe impartial wisdom of a legislator wouldhave been displayed in balancing the ad-verse claims and complaints, by an equitableand temperate arbitration.But the whole empire, and particularly the

East, was thrown into confusion by therash edicts of Julian; and the Pagan magis-trates, inflamed by zeal and revenge, abusedthe rigorous privilege of the Roman law,which substitutes, in the place of his inade-quate property, the person of the insolventdebtor. Under the preceding reign, Mark,

1106If we compare the gentle language of Libanius (Orat Parent c 60p 286) with the passionate exclamations of Gregory, (Orat iii p 86, 87,)we may find it difficult to persuade ourselves that the two orators arereally describing the same events

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bishop of Arethusa,1107 had labored in theconversion of his people with arms more ef-fectual than those of persuasion.1108 Themagistrates required the full value of a tem-ple which had been destroyed by his intol-erant zeal: but as they were satisfied of hispoverty, they desired only to bend his in-flexible spirit to the promise of the slight-est compensation. They apprehended theaged prelate, they inhumanly scourged him,they tore his beard; and his naked body, an-nointed with honey, was suspended, in a net,between heaven and earth, and exposed tothe stings of insects and the rays of a Syr-ian sun.1109 From this lofty station, Markstill persisted to glory in his crime, and to in-sult the impotent rage of his persecutors. Hewas at length rescued from their hands, anddismissed to enjoy the honor of his divinetriumph. The Arians celebrated the virtueof their pious confessor; the Catholics ambi-tiously claimed his alliance;1110 and the Pa-

1107Restan, or Arethusa, at the equal distance of sixteen miles be-tween Emesa (Hems) and Epiphania, (Hamath,) was founded, or atleast named, by Seleucus Nicator Its peculiar aera dates from the yearof Rome 685, according to the medals of the city In the decline of theSeleucides, Emesa and Arethusa were usurped by the Arab Sampsice-ramus, whose posterity, the vassals of Rome, were not extinguished inthe reign of Vespasian—-See D’Anville’s Maps and Geographie Anci-enne, tom ii p 134 Wesseling, Itineraria, p 188, and Noris Epoch Syro-Macedon, p 80, 481, 4821108Sozomen, l v c 10 It is surprising, that Gregory and Theodoret

should suppress a circumstance, which, in their eyes, must have en-hanced the religious merit of the confessor1109The sufferings and constancy of Mark, which Gregory has so trag-

ically painted, (Orat iii p 88-91,) are confirmed by the unexceptionableand reluctant evidence of Libanius Epist 730, p 350, 351 Edit Wolf Am-stel 17381110Certatim eum sibi (Christiani) vindicant It is thus that La Croze

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gans, who might be susceptible of shame orremorse, were deterred from the repetition ofsuch unavailing cruelty.1111 Julian spared hislife: but if the bishop of Arethusa had savedthe infancy of Julian,1112 posterity will con-demn the ingratitude, instead of praising theclemency, of the emperor.At the distance of five miles from Antioch,

the Macedonian kings of Syria had con-secrated to Apollo one of the most elegantplaces of devotion in the Pagan world.1113 Amagnificent temple rose in honor of the godof light; and his colossal figure1114 almostfilled the capacious sanctuary, which was en-riched with gold and gems, and adornedby the skill of the Grecian artists. The de-ity was represented in a bending attitude,with a golden cup in his hand, pouring out

and Wolfius (ad loc) have explained a Greek word, whose true sig-nification had been mistaken by former interpreters, and even by LeClerc, (Bibliotheque Ancienne et Moderne, tom iii p 371) Yet Tillemontis strangely puzzled to understand (Mem Eccles tom vii p 1390) howGregory and Theodoret could mistake a Semi-Arian bishop for a saint1111See the probable advice of Sallust, (Greg Nazianzen, Orat iii p

90, 91) Libanius intercedes for a similar offender, lest they should findmany Marks; yet he allows, that if Orion had secreted the consecratedwealth, he deserved to suffer the punishment of Marsyas; to be flayedalive, (Epist 730, p 349-351)1112Gregory (Orat iii p 90) is satisfied that, by saving the apostate,

Mark had deserved still more than he had suffered1113The grove and temple of Daphne are described by Strabo, (l xvi p

1089, 1090, edit Amstel 1707,) Libanius, (Naenia, p 185-188 AntiochicOrat xi p 380, 381,) and Sozomen, (l v c 19) Wesseling (Itinerar p 581)and Casaubon (ad Hist August p 64) illustrate this curious subject1114Simulacrum in eo Olympiaci Jovis imitamenti aequiparans mag-

nitudinem Ammian xxii 13 The Olympic Jupiter was sixty feet high,and his bulk was consequently equal to that of a thousand men Seea curious Memoire of the Abbe Gedoyn, (Academie des Inscriptions,tom ix p 198)

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a libation on the earth; as if he supplicatedthe venerable mother to give to his arms thecold and beauteous Daphne: for the spotwas ennobled by fiction; and the fancy of theSyrian poets had transported the amoroustale from the banks of the Peneus to thoseof the Orontes. The ancient rites of Greecewere imitated by the royal colony of Anti-och. A stream of prophecy, which rivalledthe truth and reputation of the Delphic or-acle, flowed from the Castalian fountain ofDaphne.1115 In the adjacent fields a sta-dium was built by a special privilege,1116which had been purchased from Elis; theOlympic games were celebrated at the ex-pense of the city; and a revenue of thirtythousand pounds sterling was annually ap-plied to the public pleasures.1117 The per-petual resort of pilgrims and spectators in-sensibly formed, in the neighborhood of thetemple, the stately and populous village ofDaphne, which emulated the splendor, with-out acquiring the title, of a provincial city.The temple and the village were deeply bo-

1115Hadrian read the history of his future fortunes on a leaf dippedin the Castalian stream; a trick which, according to the physician Van-dale, (de Oraculis, p 281, 282,) might be easily performed by chemi-cal preparations The emperor stopped the source of such dangerousknowledge; which was again opened by the devout curiosity of Julian1116It was purchased, A D 44, in the year 92 of the aera of Antioch,

(Noris Epoch Syro-Maced p 139-174,) for the term of ninety OlympiadsBut the Olympic games of Antioch were not regularly celebrated tillthe reign of Commodus See the curious details in the Chronicle of JohnMalala, (tom i p 290, 320, 372-381,) a writer whose merit and authorityare confined within the limits of his native city1117Fifteen talents of gold, bequeathed by Sosibius, who died in the

reign of Augustus The theatrical merits of the Syrian cities in the reignof Constantine, are computed in the Expositio totius Murd, p 8, (Hud-son, Geograph Minor tom iii)

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somed in a thick grove of laurels and cy-presses, which reached as far as a circumfer-ence of ten miles, and formed in the most sul-try summers a cool and impenetrable shade.A thousand streams of the purest water, is-suing from every hill, preserved the verdureof the earth, and the temperature of the air;the senses were gratified with harmonioussounds and aromatic odors; and the peace-ful grove was consecrated to health and joy,to luxury and love. The vigorous youthpursued, like Apollo, the object of his de-sires; and the blushing maid was warned,by the fate of Daphne, to shun the follyof unseasonable coyness. The soldier andthe philosopher wisely avoided the tempta-tion of this sensual paradise:1118 where plea-sure, assuming the character of religion, im-perceptibly dissolved the firmness of manlyvirtue. But the groves of Daphne continuedfor many ages to enjoy the veneration of na-tives and strangers; the privileges of the holyground were enlarged by the munificence ofsucceeding emperors; and every generationadded new ornaments to the splendor of thetemple.1119

When Julian, on the day of the annual fes-tival, hastened to adore the Apollo of

Daphne, his devotion was raised to the high-est pitch of eagerness and impatience. His

1118Avidio Cassio Syriacas legiones dedi luxuria diffluentes et Daph-nicis moribus These are the words of the emperor Marcus Antoninusin an original letter preserved by his biographer in Hist August p 41Cassius dismissed or punished every soldier who was seen at Daphne1119Aliquantum agrorum Daphnensibus dedit, (Pompey,) quo lucus

ibi spatiosior fieret; delectatus amoenitate loci et aquarum abundantiz,Eutropius, vi 14 Sextus Rufus, de Provinciis, c 16

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lively imagination anticipated the gratefulpomp of victims, of libations and of in-cense; a long procession of youths and vir-gins, clothed in white robes, the symbol oftheir innocence; and the tumultuous con-course of an innumerable people. But thezeal of Antioch was diverted, since the reignof Christianity, into a different channel. In-stead of hecatombs of fat oxen sacrificed bythe tribes of a wealthy city to their tutelardeity the emperor complains that he foundonly a single goose, provided at the expenseof a priest, the pale and solitary in habitantof this decayed temple.1120 The altar wasdeserted, the oracle had been reduced to si-lence, and the holy ground was profaned bythe introduction of Christian and funerealrites. After Babylas1121 (a bishop of Anti-och, who died in prison in the persecutionof Decius) had rested near a century in hisgrave, his body, by the order of Caesar Gal-lus, was transported into the midst of thegrove of Daphne. A magnificent church waserected over his remains; a portion of the sa-cred lands was usurped for the maintenanceof the clergy, and for the burial of the Chris-tians at Antioch, who were ambitious of ly-ing at the feet of their bishop; and the priestsof Apollo retired, with their affrighted andindignant votaries. As soon as another rev-

1120Julian (Misopogon, p 367, 362) discovers his own character withnaivete, that unconscious simplicity which always constitutes genuinehumor1121Babylas is named by Eusebius in the succession of the bishops of

Antioch, (Hist Eccles l vi c 29, 39) His triumph over two emperors (thefirst fabulous, the second historical) is diffusely celebrated by Chrysos-tom, (tom ii p 536-579, edit Montfaucon) Tillemont (Mem Eccles tomiii part ii p 287-302, 459-465) becomes almost a sceptic

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olution seemed to restore the fortune of Pa-ganism, the church of St. Babylas was demol-ished, and new buildings were added to themouldering edifice which had been raised bythe piety of Syrian kings. But the first andmost serious care of Julian was to deliver hisoppressed deity from the odious presence ofthe dead and living Christians, who had soeffectually suppressed the voice of fraud orenthusiasm.1122 The scene of infection waspurified, according to the forms of ancientrituals; the bodies were decently removed;and the ministers of the church were permit-ted to convey the remains of St. Babylas totheir former habitation within the walls ofAntioch. The modest behavior which mighthave assuaged the jealousy of a hostile gov-ernment was neglected, on this occasion, bythe zeal of the Christians. The lofty car,that transported the relics of Babylas, wasfollowed, and accompanied, and received,by an innumerable multitude; who chanted,with thundering acclamations, the Psalms ofDavid the most expressive of their contemptfor idols and idolaters. The return of thesaint was a triumph; and the triumph was aninsult on the religion of the emperor, who ex-erted his pride to dissemble his resentment.During the night which terminated this in-discreet procession, the temple of Daphnewas in flames; the statue of Apollo was con-sumed; and the walls of the edifice were

1122Ecclesiastical critics, particularly those who love relics, exult inthe confession of Julian (Misopogon, p 361) and Libanius, (Laenia, p185,) that Apollo was disturbed by the vicinity of one dead man YetAmmianus (xxii 12) clears and purifies the whole ground, accordingto the rites which the Athenians formerly practised in the Isle of Delos

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left a naked and awful monument of ruin.The Christians of Antioch asserted, with re-ligious confidence, that the powerful inter-cession of St. Babylas had pointed the light-nings of heaven against the devoted roof:but as Julian was reduced to the alternativeof believing either a crime or a miracle, hechose, without hesitation, without evidence,but with some color of probability, to im-pute the fire of Daphne to the revenge of theGalilaeans.1123 Their offence, had it been suf-ficiently proved, might have justified the re-taliation, which was immediately executedby the order of Julian, of shutting the doors,and confiscating the wealth, of the cathedralof Antioch. To discover the criminals whowere guilty of the tumult, of the fire, or ofsecreting the riches of the church, severalof the ecclesiastics were tortured;1124 and aPresbyter, of the name of Theodoret, was be-headed by the sentence of the Count of theEast. But this hasty act was blamed by theemperor; who lamented, with real or affectedconcern, that the imprudent zeal of his min-isters would tarnish his reign with the dis-grace of persecution.1125

1123Julian (in Misopogon, p 361) rather insinuates, than affirms, theirguilt Ammianus (xxii 13) treats the imputation as levissimus rumor,and relates the story with extraordinary candor1124Quo tam atroci casu repente consumpto, ad id usque e imper-

atoris ira provexit, ut quaestiones agitare juberet solito acriores, (yetJulian blames the lenity of the magistrates of Antioch,) et majorem ec-clesiam Antiochiae claudi This interdiction was performed with somecircumstances of indignity and profanation; and the seasonable deathof the principal actor, Julian’s uncle, is related with much superstitiouscomplacency by the Abbe de la Bleterie Vie de Julien, p 362-3691125Besides the ecclesiastical historians, who are more or less to be

suspected, we may allege the passion of St Theodore, in the Acta Sin-

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...Part V

THE zeal of the ministers of Julian was in-stantly checked by the frown of their

sovereign; but when the father of his coun-try declares himself the leader of a fac-tion, the license of popular fury cannot eas-ily be restrained, nor consistently punished.Julian, in a public composition, applaudsthe devotion and loyalty of the holy citiesof Syria, whose pious inhabitants had de-stroyed, at the first signal, the sepulchres ofthe Galilaeans; and faintly complains, thatthey had revenged the injuries of the godswith less moderation than he should haverecommended.1126 This imperfect and re-luctant confession may appear to confirmthe ecclesiastical narratives; that in the citiesof Gaza, Ascalon, Caesarea, Heliopolis, &c.,the Pagans abused, without prudence or re-morse, the moment of their prosperity. Thatthe unhappy objects of their cruelty were re-leased from torture only by death; and astheir mangled bodies were dragged throughthe streets, they were pierced (such was theuniversal rage) by the spits of cooks, and thedistaffs of enraged women; and that the en-trails of Christian priests and virgins, afterthey had been tasted by those bloody fanat-ics, were mixed with barley, and contemp-tuously thrown to the unclean animals ofthe city.1127 Such scenes of religious mad-

cera of Ruinart, p 591 The complaint of Julian gives it an original andauthentic air1126Julian Misopogon, p 3611127See Gregory Nazianzen, (Orat iii p 87) Sozomen (l v c 9) may

be considered as an original, though not impartial, witness He wasa native of Gaza, and had conversed with the confessor Zeno, who,

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ness exhibit the most contemptible and odi-ous picture of human nature; but the mas-sacre of Alexandria attracts still more atten-tion, from the certainty of the fact, the rank ofthe victims, and the splendor of the capital ofEgypt.George,1128 from his parents or his educa-

tion, surnamed the Cappadocian, wasborn at Epiphania in Cilicia, in a fuller’sshop. From this obscure and servile originhe raised himself by the talents of a parasite;and the patrons, whom he assiduously flat-tered, procured for their worthless depen-dent a lucrative commission, or contract, tosupply the army with bacon. His employ-ment was mean; he rendered it infamous.He accumulated wealth by the basest artsof fraud and corruption; but his malversa-tions were so notorious, that George wascompelled to escape from the pursuits of jus-tice. After this disgrace, in which he appearsto have saved his fortune at the expense ofhis honor, he embraced, with real or affectedzeal, the profession of Arianism. From thelove, or the ostentation, of learning, he col-lected a valuable library of history rhetoric,philosophy, and theology,1129 and the choice

as bishop of Maiuma, lived to the age of a hundred, (l vii c 28)Philostorgius (l vii c 4, with Godefroy’s Dissertations, p 284) addssome tragic circumstances, of Christians who were literally sacrificedat the altars of the gods, &c1128The life and death of George of Cappadocia are described by Am-

mianus, (xxii 11,) Gregory of Nazianzen, (Orat xxi p 382, 385, 389, 390,)and Epiphanius, (Haeres lxxvi) The invectives of the two saints mightnot deserve much credit, unless they were confirmed by the testimonyof the cool and impartial infidel1129After the massacre of George, the emperor Julian repeatedly sent

orders to preserve the library for his own use, and to torture the slaves

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of the prevailing faction promoted Georgeof Cappadocia to the throne of Athanasius.The entrance of the new archbishop was thatof a Barbarian conqueror; and each momentof his reign was polluted by cruelty andavarice. The Catholics of Alexandria andEgypt were abandoned to a tyrant, qualified,by nature and education, to exercise the of-fice of persecution; but he oppressed with animpartial hand the various inhabitants of hisextensive diocese. The primate of Egypt as-sumed the pomp and insolence of his loftystation; but he still betrayed the vices of hisbase and servile extraction. The merchantsof Alexandria were impoverished by the un-just, and almost universal, monopoly, whichhe acquired, of nitre, salt, paper, funerals,&c.: and the spiritual father of a great peo-ple condescended to practise the vile andpernicious arts of an informer. The Alexan-drians could never forget, nor forgive, thetax, which he suggested, on all the housesof the city; under an obsolete claim, thatthe royal founder had conveyed to his suc-cessors, the Ptolemies and the Caesars, theperpetual property of the soil. The Pagans,who had been flattered with the hopes offreedom and toleration, excited his devoutavarice; and the rich temples of Alexan-dria were either pillaged or insulted by thehaughty prince, who exclaimed, in a loud

who might be suspected of secreting any books He praises the meritof the collection, from whence he had borrowed and transcribed sev-eral manuscripts while he pursued his studies in Cappadocia He couldwish, indeed, that the works of the Galiaeans might perish but he re-quires an exact account even of those theological volumes lest othertreatises more valuable should be confounded in their less Julian Epistix xxxvi

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and threatening tone, “How long will thesesepulchres be permitted to stand?” Underthe reign of Constantius, he was expelled bythe fury, or rather by the justice, of the peo-ple; and it was not without a violent strug-gle, that the civil and military powers of thestate could restore his authority, and grat-ify his revenge. The messenger who pro-claimed at Alexandria the accession of Julian,announced the downfall of the archbishop.George, with two of his obsequious minis-ters, Count Diodorus, and Dracontius, mas-ter of the mint were ignominiously draggedin chains to the public prison. At the endof twenty-four days, the prison was forcedopen by the rage of a superstitious multi-tude, impatient of the tedious forms of judi-cial proceedings. The enemies of gods andmen expired under their cruel insults; thelifeless bodies of the archbishop and his as-sociates were carried in triumph through thestreets on the back of a camel;1130 and the in-activity of the Athanasian party1131 was es-teemed a shining example of evangelical pa-tience. The remains of these guilty wretcheswere thrown into the sea; and the popularleaders of the tumult declared their resolu-

1130After the massacre of George, the emperor Julian repeatedly sentorders to preserve the library for his own use, and to torture the slaveswho might be suspected of secreting any books He praises the meritof the collection, from whence he had borrowed and transcribed sev-eral manuscripts while he pursued his studies in Cappadocia He couldwish, indeed, that the works of the Galiaeans might perish but he re-quires an exact account even of those theological volumes lest othertreatises more valuable should be confounded in their less Julian Epistix xxxvi1131Philostorgius, with cautious malice, insinuates their guilt, l vii c ii

Godefroy p 267

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tion to disappoint the devotion of the Chris-tians, and to intercept the future honors ofthese martyrs, who had been punished, liketheir predecessors, by the enemies of theirreligion.1132 The fears of the Pagans werejust, and their precautions ineffectual. Themeritorious death of the archbishop obliter-ated the memory of his life. The rival ofAthanasius was dear and sacred to the Ar-ians, and the seeming conversion of thosesectaries introduced his worship into the bo-som of the Catholic church.1133 The odi-ous stranger, disguising every circumstanceof time and place, assumed the mask of amartyr, a saint, and a Christian hero;1134and the infamous George of Cappadocia hasbeen transformed1135 into the renowned St.

1132Cineres projecit in mare, id metuens ut clamabat, ne, collectissupremis, aedes illis exstruerentur ut reliquis, qui deviare a religionecompulsi, pertulere, cruciabiles poenas, adusque gloriosam mortemintemerata fide progressi, et nunc Martyres appellantur Ammian xxii11 Epiphanius proves to the Arians, that George was not a martyr1133Some Donatists (Optatus Milev p 60, 303, edit Dupin; and Tille-

mont, Mem Eccles tom vi p 713, in 4to) and Priscillianists (Tillemont,Mem Eccles tom viii p 517, in 4to) have in like manner usurped thehonors of the Catholic saints and martyrs1134The saints of Cappadocia, Basil, and the Gregories, were ignorant

of their holy companion Pope Gelasius, (A D 494,) the first Catholicwho acknowledges St George, places him among the martyrs “qui Deomagis quam hominibus noti sunt” He rejects his Acts as the composi-tion of heretics Some, perhaps, not the oldest, of the spurious Acts, arestill extant; and, through a cloud of fiction, we may yet distinguish thecombat which St George of Cappadocia sustained, in the presence ofQueen Alexandria, against the magician Afhanasius1135This transformation is not given as absolutely certain, but as ex-

tremely probable See the Longueruana, tom i p 194 —-Note: The lateDr Milner (the Roman Catholic bishop) wrote a tract to vindicate theexistence and the orthodoxy of the tutelar saint of England He suc-ceeds, I think, in tracing the worship of St George up to a period which

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George of England, the patron of arms, ofchivalry, and of the garter.1136

About the same time that Julian was in-formed of the tumult of Alexandria, he

received intelligence from Edessa, that theproud and wealthy faction of the Arianshad insulted the weakness of the Valen-tinians, and committed such disorders asought not to be suffered with impunity ina well-regulated state. Without expectingthe slow forms of justice, the exasperatedprince directed his mandate to the magis-trates of Edessa,1137 by which he confis-cated the whole property of the church: themoney was distributed among the soldiers;the lands were added to the domain; andthis act of oppression was aggravated by themost ungenerous irony. “I show myself,”says Julian, “the true friend of the Galilaeans.Their admirable law has promised the king-dom of heaven to the poor; and they willadvance with more diligence in the pathsof virtue and salvation, when they are re-lieved by my assistance from the load of tem-

makes it improbable that so notorious an Arian could be palmed uponthe Catholic church as a saint and a martyr The Acts rejected by Gela-sius may have been of Arian origin, and designed to ingraft the storyof their hero on the obscure adventures of some earlier saint See anHistorical and Critical Inquiry into the Existence and Character ofSaint George, in a letter to the Earl of Leicester, by the Rev J MilnerF S A London 1792–M1136A curious history of the worship of St George, from the sixth cen-

tury, (when he was already revered in Palestine, in Armenia at Rome,and at Treves in Gaul,) might be extracted from Dr Heylin (Historyof St George, 2d edition, London, 1633, in 4to p 429) and the Bollan-dists, (Act Ss Mens April tom iii p 100-163) His fame and popularity inEurope, and especially in England, proceeded from the Crusades1137Julian Epist xliii

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poral possessions. Take care,” pursued themonarch, in a more serious tone, “take carehow you provoke my patience and human-ity. If these disorders continue, I will re-venge on the magistrates the crimes of thepeople; and you will have reason to dread,not only confiscation and exile, but fire andthe sword.” The tumults of Alexandria weredoubtless of a more bloody and dangerousnature: but a Christian bishop had fallen bythe hands of the Pagans; and the public epis-tle of Julian affords a very lively proof ofthe partial spirit of his administration. Hisreproaches to the citizens of Alexandria aremingled with expressions of esteem and ten-derness; and he laments, that, on this oc-casion, they should have departed from thegentle and generous manners which attestedtheir Grecian extraction. He gravely cen-sures the offence which they had commit-ted against the laws of justice and human-ity; but he recapitulates, with visible com-placency, the intolerable provocations whichthey had so long endured from the impi-ous tyranny of George of Cappadocia. Ju-lian admits the principle, that a wise and vig-orous government should chastise the inso-lence of the people; yet, in consideration oftheir founder Alexander, and of Serapis theirtutelar deity, he grants a free and graciouspardon to the guilty city, for which he againfeels the affection of a brother.1138

After the tumult of Alexandria had subsided,Athanasius, amidst the public acclama-

tions, seated himself on the throne from1138Julian Epist x He allowed his friends to assuage his anger Am-

mian xxii 11

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whence his unworthy competitor had beenprecipitated: and as the zeal of the arch-bishop was tempered with discretion, theexercise of his authority tended not to in-flame, but to reconcile, the minds of the peo-ple. His pastoral labors were not confinedto the narrow limits of Egypt. The state ofthe Christian world was present to his ac-tive and capacious mind; and the age, themerit, the reputation of Athanasius, enabledhim to assume, in a moment of danger, theoffice of Ecclesiastical Dictator.1139 Threeyears were not yet elapsed since the major-ity of the bishops of the West had ignorantly,or reluctantly, subscribed the Confession ofRimini. They repented, they believed, butthey dreaded the unseasonable rigor of theirorthodox brethren; and if their pride wasstronger than their faith, they might throwthemselves into the arms of the Arians, to es-cape the indignity of a public penance, whichmust degrade them to the condition of ob-scure laymen. At the same time the domes-tic differences concerning the union and dis-tinction of the divine persons, were agitatedwith some heat among the Catholic doctors;and the progress of this metaphysical contro-versy seemed to threaten a public and lastingdivision of the Greek and Latin churches. Bythe wisdom of a select synod, to which thename and presence of Athanasius gave theauthority of a general council, the bishops,who had unwarily deviated into error, wereadmitted to the communion of the church, on

1139See Athanas ad Rufin tom ii p 40, 41, and Greg Nazianzen Orat iiip 395, 396; who justly states the temperate zeal of the primate, as muchmore meritorious than his prayers, his fasts, his persecutions, &c

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the easy condition of subscribing the NiceneCreed; without any formal acknowledgmentof their past fault, or any minute definition oftheir scholastic opinions. The advice of theprimate of Egypt had already prepared theclergy of Gaul and Spain, of Italy and Greece,for the reception of this salutary measure;and, notwithstanding the opposition of someardent spirits,1140 the fear of the common en-emy promoted the peace and harmony of theChristians.1141

The skill and diligence of the primate ofEgypt had improved the season of tran-

quillity, before it was interrupted by the hos-tile edicts of the emperor.1142 Julian, whodespised the Christians, honored Athanasiuswith his sincere and peculiar hatred. For hissake alone, he introduced an arbitrary dis-tinction, repugnant at least to the spirit ofhis former declarations. He maintained, thatthe Galilaeans, whom he had recalled fromexile, were not restored, by that general in-dulgence, to the possession of their respec-tive churches; and he expressed his astonish-

1140I have not leisure to follow the blind obstinacy of Lucifer ofCagliari See his adventures in Tillemont, (Mem Eccles tom vii p 900-926;) and observe how the color of the narrative insensibly changes, asthe confessor becomes a schismatic1141Assensus est huic sententiae Occidens, et, per tam necessarium

conilium, Satanae faucibus mundus ereptus The lively and artful di-alogue of Jerom against the Luciferians (tom ii p 135-155) exhibits anoriginal picture of the ecclesiastical policy of the times1142Tillemont, who supposes that George was massacred in August

crowds the actions of Athanasius into a narrow space, (Mem Ecclestom viii p 360) An original fragment, published by the Marquis Maffei,from the old Chapter library of Verona, (Osservazioni Letterarie, tomiii p 60-92,) affords many important dates, which are authenticated bythe computation of Egyptian months

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ment, that a criminal, who had been repeat-edly condemned by the judgment of the em-perors, should dare to insult the majesty ofthe laws, and insolently usurp the archiepis-copal throne of Alexandria, without expect-ing the orders of his sovereign. As a pun-ishment for the imaginary offence, he againbanished Athanasius from the city; and hewas pleased to suppose, that this act of jus-tice would be highly agreeable to his pioussubjects. The pressing solicitations of thepeople soon convinced him, that the ma-jority of the Alexandrians were Christians;and that the greatest part of the Christianswere firmly attached to the cause of their op-pressed primate. But the knowledge of theirsentiments, instead of persuading him to re-call his decree, provoked him to extend toall Egypt the term of the exile of Athana-sius. The zeal of the multitude rendered Ju-lian still more inexorable: he was alarmed bythe danger of leaving at the head of a tumul-tuous city, a daring and popular leader; andthe language of his resentment discovers theopinion which he entertained of the courageand abilities of Athanasius. The execution ofthe sentence was still delayed, by the cau-tion or negligence of Ecdicius, praefect ofEgypt, who was at length awakened fromhis lethargy by a severe reprimand. “Thoughyou neglect,” says Julian, “to write to me onany other subject, at least it is your duty toinform me of your conduct towards Athana-sius, the enemy of the gods. My intentionshave been long since communicated to you.I swear by the great Serapis, that unless, onthe calends of December, Athanasius has de-

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parted from Alexandria, nay, from Egypt,the officers of your government shall pay afine of one hundred pounds of gold. Youknow my temper: I am slow to condemn,but I am still slower to forgive.” This epis-tle was enforced by a short postscript, writ-ten with the emperor’s own hand. “The con-tempt that is shown for all the gods fills mewith grief and indignation. There is nothingthat I should see, nothing that I should hear,with more pleasure, than the expulsion ofAthanasius from all Egypt. The abominablewretch! Under my reign, the baptism of sev-eral Grecian ladies of the highest rank hasbeen the effect of his persecutions.”1143 Thedeath of Athanasius was not expressly com-manded; but the praefect of Egypt under-stood that it was safer for him to exceed, thanto neglect, the orders of an irritated mas-ter. The archbishop prudently retired to themonasteries of the Desert; eluded, with hisusual dexterity, the snares of the enemy; andlived to triumph over the ashes of a prince,who, in words of formidable import, had de-clared his wish that the whole venom of theGalilaean school were contained in the singleperson of Athanasius.11441145

I have endeavored faithfully to represent1143I have preserved the ambiguous sense of the last word, the ambi-

guity of a tyrant who wished to find, or to create, guilt1144The three epistles of Julian, which explain his intentions and con-

duct with regard to Athanasius, should be disposed in the followingchronological order, xxvi x vi * See likewise, Greg Nazianzen xxi p 393Sozomen, l v c 15 Socrates, l iii c 14 Theodoret, l iii c 9, and Tillemont,Mem Eccles tom viii p 361-368, who has used some materials preparedby the Bollandists1145The sentence in the text is from Epist li addressed to the people of

Alexandria–M

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the artful system by which Julian pro-posed to obtain the effects, without incurringthe guilt, or reproach, of persecution. Butif the deadly spirit of fanaticism pervertedthe heart and understanding of a virtuousprince, it must, at the same time, be con-fessed that the real sufferings of the Chris-tians were inflamed and magnified by hu-man passions and religious enthusiasm. Themeekness and resignation which had distin-guished the primitive disciples of the gospel,was the object of the applause, rather than ofthe imitation of their successors. The Chris-tians, who had now possessed above fortyyears the civil and ecclesiastical governmentof the empire, had contracted the insolentvices of prosperity,1146 and the habit of be-lieving that the saints alone were entitled toreign over the earth. As soon as the enmityof Julian deprived the clergy of the privi-leges which had been conferred by the favorof Constantine, they complained of the mostcruel oppression; and the free toleration ofidolaters and heretics was a subject of griefand scandal to the orthodox party.1147 Theacts of violence, which were no longer coun-tenanced by the magistrates, were still com-mitted by the zeal of the people. At Pessi-nus, the altar of Cybele was overturned al-most in the presence of the emperor; andin the city of Caesarea in Cappadocia, thetemple of Fortune, the sole place of worshipwhich had been left to the Pagans, was de-stroyed by the rage of a popular tumult. On

1146See the fair confession of Gregory, (Orat iii p 61, 62)1147Hear the furious and absurd complaint of Optatus, (de Schismat

Denatist l ii c 16, 17)

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these occasions, a prince, who felt for thehonor of the gods, was not disposed to in-terrupt the course of justice; and his mindwas still more deeply exasperated, when hefound that the fanatics, who had deservedand suffered the punishment of incendiaries,were rewarded with the honors of martyr-dom.1148 The Christian subjects of Julianwere assured of the hostile designs of theirsovereign; and, to their jealous apprehen-sion, every circumstance of his governmentmight afford some grounds of discontent andsuspicion. In the ordinary administration ofthe laws, the Christians, who formed so largea part of the people, must frequently be con-demned: but their indulgent brethren, with-out examining the merits of the cause, pre-sumed their innocence, allowed their claims,and imputed the severity of their judge to thepartial malice of religious persecution.1149These present hardships, intolerable as theymight appear, were represented as a slightprelude of the impending calamities. TheChristians considered Julian as a cruel andcrafty tyrant; who suspended the executionof his revenge till he should return victori-ous from the Persian war. They expected,that as soon as he had triumphed over theforeign enemies of Rome, he would lay aside

1148Greg Nazianzen, Orat iii p 91, iv p 133 He praises the rioters ofCaesarea See Sozomen, l v 4, 11 Tillemont (Mem Eccles tom vii p 649,650) owns, that their behavior was not dans l’ordre commun: but he isperfectly satisfied, as the great St Basil always celebrated the festivalof these blessed martyrs1149Julian determined a lawsuit against the new Christian city at

Maiuma, the port of Gaza; and his sentence, though it might be im-puted to bigotry, was never reversed by his successors Sozomen, l v c3 Reland, Palestin tom ii p 791

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the irksome mask of dissimulation; that theamphitheatre would stream with the bloodof hermits and bishops; and that the Chris-tians who still persevered in the professionof the faith, would be deprived of the com-mon benefits of nature and society.1150 Ev-ery calumny1151 that could wound the repu-tation of the Apostate, was credulously em-braced by the fears and hatred of his adver-saries; and their indiscreet clamors provokedthe temper of a sovereign, whom it was theirduty to respect, and their interest to flatter.They still protested, that prayers and tears

were their only weapons against the im-pious tyrant, whose head they devoted to thejustice of offended Heaven. But they insinu-ated, with sullen resolution, that their sub-mission was no longer the effect of weak-ness; and that, in the imperfect state of hu-man virtue, the patience, which is foundedon principle, may be exhausted by persecu-tion. It is impossible to determine how farthe zeal of Julian would have prevailed overhis good sense and humanity; but if we seri-ously reflect on the strength and spirit of thechurch, we shall be convinced, that beforethe emperor could have extinguished the re-ligion of Christ, he must have involved his

1150Gregory (Orat iii p 93, 94, 95 Orat iv p 114) pretends to speak fromthe information of Julian’s confidants, whom Orosius (vii 30) could nothave seen1151Gregory (Orat iii p 91) charges the Apostate with secret sacrifices

of boys and girls; and positively affirms, that the dead bodies werethrown into the Orontes See Theodoret, l iii c 26, 27; and the equiv-ocal candor of the Abbe de la Bleterie, Vie de Julien, p 351, 352 Yetcontemporary malice could not impute to Julian the troops of martyrs,more especially in the West, which Baronius so greedily swallows, andTillemont so faintly rejects, (Mem Eccles tom vii p 1295-1315)

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country in the horrors of a civil war.1152

..Chapter XXIV=The Retreat And Death OfJulian

...Part I_VResidence Of Julian At Antioch.–His Successful Expedition Against The

Persians.–Passage Of The Tigris–The Retreat And Death Of Julian.–Election Of Jovian.–He Saves The Roman Army By A Disgraceful

Treaty.

THE philosophical fable which Julian composed underthe name of the Caesars,1153 is one of the most agree-

able and instructive productions of ancient wit.1154 Dur-1152The resignation of Gregory is truly edifying, (Orat iv p 123,

124) Yet, when an officer of Julian attempted to seize the church ofNazianzus, he would have lost his life, if he had not yielded to thezeal of the bishop and people, (Orat xix p 308) See the reflections ofChrysostom, as they are alleged by Tillemont, (Mem Eccles tom vii p575)1153See this fable or satire, p 306-336 of the Leipsig edition of Julian’s

works The French version of the learned Ezekiel Spanheim (Paris,1683) is coarse, languid, and correct; and his notes, proofs, illustra-tions, &c, are piled on each other till they form a mass of 557 close-printed quarto pages The Abbe’ de la Bleterie (Vie de Jovien, tom i p241-393) has more happily expressed the spirit, as well as the sense, ofthe original, which he illustrates with some concise and curious notes1154Spanheim (in his preface) has most learnedly discussed the ety-

mology, origin, resemblance, and disagreement of the Greek satyrs,a dramatic piece, which was acted after the tragedy; and the Latinsatires, (from Satura,) a miscellaneous composition, either in proseor verse But the Caesars of Julian are of such an original cast, thatthe critic is perplexed to which class he should ascribe them (See alsoCasaubon de Satira, with Rambach’s observations–M

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ing the freedom and equality of the days of the Saturnalia,Romulus prepared a feast for the deities of Olympus, whohad adopted him as a worthy associate, and for the Romanprinces, who had reigned over his martial people, and thevanquished nations of the earth. The immortals were placedin just order on their thrones of state, and the table of theCaesars was spread below the Moon in the upper region ofthe air. The tyrants, who would have disgraced the soci-ety of gods and men, were thrown headlong, by the inex-orable Nemesis, into the Tartarean abyss. The rest of theCaesars successively advanced to their seats; and as theypassed, the vices, the defects, the blemishes of their respec-tive characters, were maliciously noticed by old Silenus, alaughing moralist, who disguised the wisdom of a philoso-pher under the mask of a Bacchanal.1155 As soon as thefeast was ended, the voice of Mercury proclaimed the willof Jupiter, that a celestial crown should be the reward of su-perior merit. Julius Caesar, Augustus, Trajan, and MarcusAntoninus, were selected as the most illustrious candidates;the effeminate Constantine1156 was not excluded from thishonorable competition, and the great Alexander was in-vited to dispute the prize of glory with the Roman heroes.Each of the candidates was allowed to display the meritof his own exploits; but, in the judgment of the gods, themodest silence of Marcus pleaded more powerfully than theelaborate orations of his haughty rivals. When the judges ofthis awful contest proceeded to examine the heart, and toscrutinize the springs of action, the superiority of the Impe-rial Stoic appeared still more decisive and conspicuous.1157

1155This mixed character of Silenus is finely painted in the sixtheclogue of Virgil1156Every impartial reader must perceive and condemn the partiality

of Julian against his uncle Constantine, and the Christian religion Onthis occasion, the interpreters are compelled, by a most sacred interest,to renounce their allegiance, and to desert the cause of their author1157Julian was secretly inclined to prefer a Greek to a Roman But

when he seriously compared a hero with a philosopher, he was sen-sible that mankind had much greater obligations to Socrates than to

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Alexander and Caesar, Augustus, Trajan, and Constantine,acknowledged, with a blush, that fame, or power, or plea-sure had been the important object of their labors: but thegods themselves beheld, with reverence and love, a virtu-ous mortal, who had practised on the throne the lessonsof philosophy; and who, in a state of human imperfection,had aspired to imitate the moral attributes of the Deity. Thevalue of this agreeable composition (the Caesars of Julian)is enhanced by the rank of the author. A prince, who delin-eates, with freedom, the vices and virtues of his predeces-sors, subscribes, in every line, the censure or approbation ofhis own conduct.

In the cool moments of reflection, Julian preferred theuseful and benevolent virtues of Antoninus; but his ambi-tious spirit was inflamed by the glory of Alexander; andhe solicited, with equal ardor, the esteem of the wise, andthe applause of the multitude. In the season of life whenthe powers of the mind and body enjoy the most activevigor, the emperor who was instructed by the experience,and animated by the success, of the German war, resolvedto signalize his reign by some more splendid and memo-rable achievement. The ambassadors of the East, from thecontinent of India, and the Isle of Ceylon,1158 had respect-

Alexander, (Orat ad Themistium, p 264)1158Inde nationibus Indicis certatim cum aonis optimates mittentibus

ab usque Divis et Serendivis Ammian xx 7 This island, to which thenames of Taprobana, Serendib, and Ceylon, have been successively ap-plied, manifests how imperfectly the seas and lands to the east of CapeComorin were known to the Romans 1 Under the reign of Claudius, afreedman, who farmed the customs of the Red Sea, was accidentallydriven by the winds upon this strange and undiscovered coast: he con-versed six months with the natives; and the king of Ceylon, who heard,for the first time, of the power and justice of Rome, was persuaded tosend an embassy to the emperor (Plin Hist Nat vi 24) 2 The geogra-phers (and even Ptolemy) have magnified, above fifteen times, the realsize of this new world, which they extended as far as the equator, andthe neighborhood of China (The name of Diva gens or Divorum regio,according to the probable conjecture of M Letronne, (Trois Mem Acad

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fully saluted the Roman purple.1159 The nations of the Westesteemed and dreaded the personal virtues of Julian, bothin peace and war. He despised the trophies of a Gothic vic-tory, and was satisfied that the rapacious Barbarians of theDanube would be restrained from any future violation ofthe faith of treaties by the terror of his name, and the ad-ditional fortifications with which he strengthened the Thra-cian and Illyrian frontiers. The successor of Cyrus and Ar-taxerxes was the only rival whom he deemed worthy ofhis arms; and he resolved, by the final conquest of Persia,to chastise the naughty nation which had so long resistedand insulted the majesty of Rome.1160 As soon as the Per-sian monarch was informed that the throne of Constantiuswas filed by a prince of a very different character, he conde-scended to make some artful, or perhaps sincere, overturestowards a negotiation of peace. But the pride of Sapor wasastonished by the firmness of Julian; who sternly declared,that he would never consent to hold a peaceful conferenceamong the flames and ruins of the cities of Mesopotamia;and who added, with a smile of contempt, that it was need-less to treat by ambassadors, as he himself had determinedto visit speedily the court of Persia. The impatience of theemperor urged the diligence of the military preparations.The generals were named; and Julian, marching from Con-stantinople through the provinces of Asia Minor, arrived at

p 127,) was applied by the ancients to the whole eastern coast of theIndian Peninsula, from Ceylon to the Canges The name may be tracedin Devipatnam, Devidan, Devicotta, Divinelly, the point of Divy—-MLetronne, p121, considers the freedman with his embassy from Ceylonto have been an impostor–M1159These embassies had been sent to Constantius Ammianus, who

unwarily deviates into gross flattery, must have forgotten the lengthof the way, and the short duration of the reign of Julian1160Alexander reminds his rival Caesar, who depreciated the fame

and merit of an Asiatic victory, that Crassus and Antony had felt thePersian arrows; and that the Romans, in a war of three hundred years,had not yet subdued the single province of Mesopotamia or Assyria,(Caesares, p 324)

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Antioch about eight months after the death of his predeces-sor. His ardent desire to march into the heart of Persia, waschecked by the indispensable duty of regulating the state ofthe empire; by his zeal to revive the worship of the gods;and by the advice of his wisest friends; who represented thenecessity of allowing the salutary interval of winter quar-ters, to restore the exhausted strength of the legions of Gaul,and the discipline and spirit of the Eastern troops. Julianwas persuaded to fix, till the ensuing spring, his residenceat Antioch, among a people maliciously disposed to deridethe haste, and to censure the delays, of their sovereign.1161

If Julian had flattered himself, that his personal connec-tion with the capital of the East would be productive of mu-tual satisfaction to the prince and people, he made a veryfalse estimate of his own character, and of the manners ofAntioch.1162 The warmth of the climate disposed the na-tives to the most intemperate enjoyment of tranquillity andopulence; and the lively licentiousness of the Greeks wasblended with the hereditary softness of the Syrians. Fash-ion was the only law, pleasure the only pursuit, and thesplendor of dress and furniture was the only distinction ofthe citizens of Antioch. The arts of luxury were honored;the serious and manly virtues were the subject of ridicule;and the contempt for female modesty and reverent age an-nounced the universal corruption of the capital of the East.The love of spectacles was the taste, or rather passion, ofthe Syrians; the most skilful artists were procured from theadjacent cities;1163 a considerable share of the revenue wasdevoted to the public amusements; and the magnificence1161The design of the Persian war is declared by Ammianus, (xxii 7,

12,) Libanius, (Orat Parent c 79, 80, p 305, 306,) Zosimus, (l iii p 158,)and Socrates, (l iii c 19)1162The Satire of Julian, and the Homilies of St Chrysostom, exhibit

the same picture of Antioch The miniature which the Abbe de la Ble-terie has copied from thence, (Vie de Julian, p 332,) is elegant and cor-rect1163Laodicea furnished charioteers; Tyre and Berytus, comedians;

Caesarea, pantomimes; Heliopolis, singers; Gaza, gladiators, Ascalon,

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of the games of the theatre and circus was considered asthe happiness and as the glory of Antioch. The rustic man-ners of a prince who disdained such glory, and was insen-sible of such happiness, soon disgusted the delicacy of hissubjects; and the effeminate Orientals could neither imitate,nor admire, the severe simplicity which Julian always main-tained, and sometimes affected. The days of festivity, con-secrated, by ancient custom, to the honor of the gods, werethe only occasions in which Julian relaxed his philosophicseverity; and those festivals were the only days in whichthe Syrians of Antioch could reject the allurements of plea-sure. The majority of the people supported the glory of theChristian name, which had been first invented by their an-cestors:1164 they contended themselves with disobeying themoral precepts, but they were scrupulously attached to thespeculative doctrines of their religion. The church of An-tioch was distracted by heresy and schism; but the Ariansand the Athanasians, the followers of Meletius and thoseof Paulinus,1165 were actuated by the same pious hatred oftheir common adversary.

The strongest prejudice was entertained against the char-acter of an apostate, the enemy and successor of a princewho had engaged the affections of a very numerous sect;and the removal of St. Babylas excited an implacable oppo-sition to the person of Julian. His subjects complained, withsuperstitious indignation, that famine had pursued the em-peror’s steps from Constantinople to Antioch; and the dis-content of a hungry people was exasperated by the injudi-cious attempt to relieve their distress. The inclemency of

wrestlers; and Castabala, rope-dancers See the Expositio totius Mundi,p 6, in the third tome of Hudson’s Minor Geographers1164The people of Antioch ingenuously professed their attachment to

the Chi, (Christ,) and the Kappa, (Constantius) Julian in Misopogon, p3571165The schism of Antioch, which lasted eighty-five years, (A D 330-

415,) was inflamed, while Julian resided in that city, by the indiscreetordination of Paulinus See Tillemont, Mem Eccles tom iii p 803 of thequarto edition, (Paris, 1701, &c,) which henceforward I shall quote

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the season had affected the harvests of Syria; and the priceof bread,1166 in the markets of Antioch, had naturally risenin proportion to the scarcity of corn. But the fair and reason-able proportion was soon violated by the rapacious arts ofmonopoly. In this unequal contest, in which the produce ofthe land is claimed by one party as his exclusive property,is used by another as a lucrative object of trade, and is re-quired by a third for the daily and necessary support of life,all the profits of the intermediate agents are accumulatedon the head of the defenceless customers. The hardships oftheir situation were exaggerated and increased by their ownimpatience and anxiety; and the apprehension of a scarcitygradually produced the appearances of a famine. When theluxurious citizens of Antioch complained of the high priceof poultry and fish, Julian publicly declared, that a frugalcity ought to be satisfied with a regular supply of wine, oil,and bread; but he acknowledged, that it was the duty of asovereign to provide for the subsistence of his people. Withthis salutary view, the emperor ventured on a very danger-ous and doubtful step, of fixing, by legal authority, the valueof corn. He enacted, that, in a time of scarcity, it should besold at a price which had seldom been known in the mostplentiful years; and that his own example might strengthenhis laws, he sent into the market four hundred and twenty-two thousand modii, or measures, which were drawn by hisorder from the granaries of Hierapolis, of Chalcis, and evenof Egypt. The consequences might have been foreseen, and

1166Julian states three different proportions, of five, ten, or fifteenmedii of wheat for one piece of gold, according to the degrees of plentyand scarcity, (in Misopogon, p 369) From this fact, and from some col-lateral examples, I conclude, that under the successors of Constantine,the moderate price of wheat was about thirty-two shillings the Englishquarter, which is equal to the average price of the sixty-four first yearsof the present century See Arbuthnot’s Tables of Coins, Weights, andMeasures, p 88, 89 Plin Hist Natur xviii 12 Mem de l’Academie desInscriptions, tom xxviii p 718-721 Smith’s Inquiry into the Nature andCauses of the Wealth of Nations, vol i p 246 This last I am proud toquote as the work of a sage and a friend

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were soon felt. The Imperial wheat was purchased by therich merchants; the proprietors of land, or of corn, with-held from the city the accustomed supply; and the smallquantities that appeared in the market were secretly sold atan advanced and illegal price. Julian still continued to ap-plaud his own policy, treated the complaints of the peopleas a vain and ungrateful murmur, and convinced Antiochthat he had inherited the obstinacy, though not the cruelty,of his brother Gallus.1167 The remonstrances of the munici-pal senate served only to exasperate his inflexible mind. Hewas persuaded, perhaps with truth, that the senators of An-tioch who possessed lands, or were concerned in trade, hadthemselves contributed to the calamities of their country;and he imputed the disrespectful boldness which they as-sumed, to the sense, not of public duty, but of private in-terest. The whole body, consisting of two hundred of themost noble and wealthy citizens, were sent, under a guard,from the palace to the prison; and though they were per-mitted, before the close of evening, to return to their re-spective houses,1168 the emperor himself could not obtainthe forgiveness which he had so easily granted. The samegrievances were still the subject of the same complaints,which were industriously circulated by the wit and levityof the Syrian Greeks. During the licentious days of theSaturnalia, the streets of the city resounded with insolentsongs, which derided the laws, the religion, the personalconduct, and even the beard, of the emperor; the spirit ofAntioch was manifested by the connivance of the magis-trates, and the applause of the multitude.1169 The disciple1167Nunquam a proposito declinabat, Galli similis fratris, licet incru-

entus Ammian xxii 14 The ignorance of the most enlightened princesmay claim some excuse; but we cannot be satisfied with Julian’s owndefence, (in Misopogon, p 363, 369,) or the elaborate apology of Liba-nius, (Orat Parental c xcvii p 321)1168Their short and easy confinement is gently touched by Libanius,

(Orat Parental c xcviii p 322, 323)1169Libanius, (ad Antiochenos de Imperatoris ira, c 17, 18, 19, in Fabri-

cius, Bibliot Graec tom vii p 221-223,) like a skilful advocate, severely

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of Socrates was too deeply affected by these popular insults;but the monarch, endowed with a quick sensibility, and pos-sessed of absolute power, refused his passions the gratifica-tion of revenge. A tyrant might have proscribed, withoutdistinction, the lives and fortunes of the citizens of Antioch;and the unwarlike Syrians must have patiently submittedto the lust, the rapaciousness and the cruelty, of the faith-ful legions of Gaul. A milder sentence might have deprivedthe capital of the East of its honors and privileges; and thecourtiers, perhaps the subjects, of Julian, would have ap-plauded an act of justice, which asserted the dignity of thesupreme magistrate of the republic.1170 But instead of abus-ing, or exerting, the authority of the state, to revenge hispersonal injuries, Julian contented himself with an inoffen-sive mode of retaliation, which it would be in the power offew princes to employ. He had been insulted by satires andlibels; in his turn, he composed, under the title of the En-emy of the Beard, an ironical confession of his own faults,and a severe satire on the licentious and effeminate man-ners of Antioch. This Imperial reply was publicly exposedbefore the gates of the palace; and the Misopogon1171 stillremains a singular monument of the resentment, the wit,the humanity, and the indiscretion of Julian. Though he af-fected to laugh, he could not forgive.1172 His contempt was

censures the folly of the people, who suffered for the crime of a fewobscure and drunken wretches1170Libanius (ad Antiochen c vii p 213) reminds Antioch of the recent

chastisement of Caesarea; and even Julian (in Misopogon, p 355) in-sinuates how severely Tarentum had expiated the insult to the Romanambassadors1171On the subject of the Misopogon, see Ammianus, (xxii 14,) Liba-

nius, (Orat Parentalis, c xcix p 323,) Gregory Nazianzen, (Orat iv p133) and the Chronicle of Antioch, by John Malala, (tom ii p 15, 16) Ihave essential obligations to the translation and notes of the Abbe dela Bleterie, (Vie de Jovien, tom ii p 1-138)1172Ammianus very justly remarks, Coactus dissimulare pro tempore

ira sufflabatur interna The elaborate irony of Julian at length burstsforth into serious and direct invective

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expressed, and his revenge might be gratified, by the nom-ination of a governor1173 worthy only of such subjects; andthe emperor, forever renouncing the ungrateful city, pro-claimed his resolution to pass the ensuing winter at Tarsusin Cilicia.1174

Yet Antioch possessed one citizen, whose genius andvirtues might atone, in the opinion of Julian, for the viceand folly of his country. The sophist Libanius was bornin the capital of the East; he publicly professed the arts ofrhetoric and declamation at Nice, Nicomedia, Constantino-ple, Athens, and, during the remainder of his life, at Anti-och. His school was assiduously frequented by the Grecianyouth; his disciples, who sometimes exceeded the numberof eighty, celebrated their incomparable master; and thejealousy of his rivals, who persecuted him from one cityto another, confirmed the favorable opinion which Liban-ius ostentatiously displayed of his superior merit. The pre-ceptors of Julian had extorted a rash but solemn assurance,that he would never attend the lectures of their adversary:the curiosity of the royal youth was checked and inflamed:he secretly procured the writings of this dangerous sophist,and gradually surpassed, in the perfect imitation of hisstyle, the most laborious of his domestic pupils.1175 WhenJulian ascended the throne, he declared his impatience toembrace and reward the Syrian sophist, who had preserved,in a degenerate age, the Grecian purity of taste, of manners,and of religion. The emperor’s prepossession was increased1173Ipse autem Antiochiam egressurus, Heliopoliten quendam

Alexandrum Syriacae jurisdictioni praefecit, turbulentum et saevum;dicebatque non illum meruisse, sed Antiochensibus avaris et contume-liosis hujusmodi judicem convenire Ammian xxiii 2 Libanius, (Epist722, p 346, 347,) who confesses to Julian himself, that he had sharedthe general discontent, pretends that Alexander was a useful, thoughharsh, reformer of the manners and religion of Antioch1174Julian, in Misopogon, p 364 Ammian xxiii 2, and Valesius, ad loc

Libanius, in a professed oration, invites him to return to his loyal andpenitent city of Antioch1175Libanius, Orat Parent c vii p 230, 231

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and justified by the discreet pride of his favorite. Instead ofpressing, with the foremost of the crowd, into the palace ofConstantinople, Libanius calmly expected his arrival at An-tioch; withdrew from court on the first symptoms of cold-ness and indifference; required a formal invitation for eachvisit; and taught his sovereign an important lesson, that hemight command the obedience of a subject, but that he mustdeserve the attachment of a friend. The sophists of everyage, despising, or affecting to despise, the accidental dis-tinctions of birth and fortune,1176 reserve their esteem forthe superior qualities of the mind, with which they them-selves are so plentifully endowed. Julian might disdain theacclamations of a venal court, who adored the Imperial pur-ple; but he was deeply flattered by the praise, the admoni-tion, the freedom, and the envy of an independent philoso-pher, who refused his favors, loved his person, celebratedhis fame, and protected his memory. The voluminous writ-ings of Libanius still exist; for the most part, they are thevain and idle compositions of an orator, who cultivatedthe science of words; the productions of a recluse student,whose mind, regardless of his contemporaries, was inces-santly fixed on the Trojan war and the Athenian common-wealth. Yet the sophist of Antioch sometimes descendedfrom this imaginary elevation; he entertained a various andelaborate correspondence;1177 he praised the virtues of hisown times; he boldly arraigned the abuse of public and pri-vate life; and he eloquently pleaded the cause of Antiochagainst the just resentment of Julian and Theodosius. It is

1176Eunapius reports, that Libanius refused the honorary rank ofPraetorian praefect, as less illustrious than the title of Sophist, (in VitSophist p 135) The critics have observed a similar sentiment in one ofthe epistles (xviii edit Wolf) of Libanius himself1177Near two thousand of his letters–a mode of composition in which

Libanius was thought to excel–are still extant, and already publishedThe critics may praise their subtle and elegant brevity; yet Dr Bentley(Dissertation upon Phalaris, p 48) might justly, though quaintly ob-serve, that “you feel, by the emptiness and deadness of them, that youconverse with some dreaming pedant, with his elbow on his desk”

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the common calamity of old age,1178 to lose whatever mighthave rendered it desirable; but Libanius experienced the pe-culiar misfortune of surviving the religion and the sciences,to which he had consecrated his genius. The friend of Julianwas an indignant spectator of the triumph of Christianity;and his bigotry, which darkened the prospect of the visibleworld, did not inspire Libanius with any lively hopes of ce-lestial glory and happiness.1179

1178His birth is assigned to the year 314 He mentions the seventy-sixth year of his age, (A D 390,) and seems to allude to some events ofa still later date1179Libanius has composed the vain, prolix, but curious narrative of

his own life, (tom ii p 1-84, edit Morell,) of which Eunapius (p 130-135) has left a concise and unfavorable account Among the moderns,Tillemont, (Hist des Empereurs, tom iv p 571-576,) Fabricius, (BibliotGraec tom vii p 376-414,) and Lardner, (Heathen Testimonies, tom ivp 127-163,) have illustrated the character and writings of this famoussophist

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THE martial impatience of Julian urged him to take thefield in the beginning of the spring; and he dismissed,

with contempt and reproach, the senate of Antioch, whoaccompanied the emperor beyond the limits of their ownterritory, to which he was resolved never to return. Aftera laborious march of two days,1180 he halted on the third atBeraea, or Aleppo, where he had the mortification of findinga senate almost entirely Christian; who received with coldand formal demonstrations of respect the eloquent sermonof the apostle of paganism. The son of one of the most illus-trious citizens of Beraea, who had embraced, either from in-terest or conscience, the religion of the emperor, was disin-herited by his angry parent. The father and the son were in-vited to the Imperial table. Julian, placing himself betweenthem, attempted, without success, to inculcate the lessonand example of toleration; supported, with affected calm-ness, the indiscreet zeal of the aged Christian, who seemedto forget the sentiments of nature, and the duty of a subject;and at length, turning towards the afflicted youth, “Sinceyou have lost a father,” said he, “for my sake, it is incum-bent on me to supply his place.”1181 The emperor was re-ceived in a manner much more agreeable to his wishes atBatnae,1182 a small town pleasantly seated in a grove of cy-presses, about twenty miles from the city of Hierapolis. The1180From Antioch to Litarbe, on the territory of Chalcis, the road,

over hills and through morasses, was extremely bad; and the loosestones were cemented only with sand, (Julian epist xxvii) It is singularenough that the Romans should have neglected the great communica-tion between Antioch and the Euphrates See Wesseling Itinerar p 190Bergier, Hist des Grands Chemins, tom ii p 1001181Julian alludes to this incident, (epist xxvii,) which is more dis-

tinctly related by Theodoret, (l iii c 22) The intolerant spirit of the fa-ther is applauded by Tillemont, (Hist des Empereurs, tom iv p 534)and even by La Bleterie, (Vie de Julien, p 413)1182This name, of Syriac origin, is found in the Arabic, and means a

place in a valley where waters meet Julian says, the name of the city

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solemn rites of sacrifice were decently prepared by the in-habitants of Batnae, who seemed attached to the worshipof their tutelar deities, Apollo and Jupiter; but the seriouspiety of Julian was offended by the tumult of their applause;and he too clearly discerned, that the smoke which arosefrom their altars was the incense of flattery, rather than ofdevotion. The ancient and magnificent temple which hadsanctified, for so many ages, the city of Hierapolis,1183 nolonger subsisted; and the consecrated wealth, which af-forded a liberal maintenance to more than three hundredpriests, might hasten its downfall. Yet Julian enjoyed thesatisfaction of embracing a philosopher and a friend, whosereligious firmness had withstood the pressing and repeatedsolicitations of Constantius and Gallus, as often as thoseprinces lodged at his house, in their passage through Hier-apolis. In the hurry of military preparation, and the carelessconfidence of a familiar correspondence, the zeal of Julianappears to have been lively and uniform. He had now un-dertaken an important and difficult war; and the anxiety ofthe event rendered him still more attentive to observe andregister the most trifling presages, from which, according tothe rules of divination, any knowledge of futurity could bederived.1184 He informed Libanius of his progress as far asHierapolis, by an elegant epistle,1185 which displays the fa-cility of his genius, and his tender friendship for the sophistof Antioch.

is Barbaric, the situation Greek The geographer Abulfeda (tab Syriacp 129, edit Koehler) speaks of it in a manner to justify the praises ofJulian–St Martin Notes to Le Beau, iii 56–M1183See the curious treatise de Dea Syria, inserted among the works

of Lucian, (tom iii p 451-490, edit Reitz) The singular appellation ofNinus vetus (Ammian xiv 8) might induce a suspicion, that Heirapolishad been the royal seat of the Assyrians1184Julian (epist xxviii) kept a regular account of all the fortunate

omens; but he suppresses the inauspicious signs, which Ammianus(xxiii 2) has carefully recorded1185Julian epist xxvii p 399-402

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Hierapolis,1186 situate almost on the banks of the Eu-phrates,1187 had been appointed for the general rendezvousof the Roman troops, who immediately passed the greatriver on a bridge of boats, which was previously con-structed.1188 If the inclinations of Julian had been similarto those of his predecessor, he might have wasted the activeand important season of the year in the circus of Samosataor in the churches of Edessa. But as the warlike emperor, in-stead of Constantius, had chosen Alexander for his model,he advanced without delay to Carrhae,1189 a very ancientcity of Mesopotamia, at the distance of fourscore miles fromHierapolis. The temple of the Moon attracted the devotionof Julian; but the halt of a few days was principally em-ployed in completing the immense preparations of the Per-sian war. The secret of the expedition had hitherto remainedin his own breast; but as Carrhae is the point of separationof the two great roads, he could no longer conceal whetherit was his design to attack the dominions of Sapor on theside of the Tigris, or on that of the Euphrates. The em-peror detached an army of thirty thousand men, under thecommand of his kinsman Procopius, and of Sebastian, who

1186Or Bambyce, now Bambouch; Manbedj Arab, or Maboug, Syr Itwas twenty-four Roman miles from the Euphrates–M1187I take the earliest opportunity of acknowledging my obligations

to M d’Anville, for his recent geography of the Euphrates and Tigris,(Paris, 1780, in 4to,) which particularly illustrates the expedition ofJulian1188There are three passages within a few miles of each other; 1

Zeugma, celebrated by the ancients; 2 Bir, frequented by the mod-erns; and, 3 The bridge of Menbigz, or Hierapolis, at the distance offour parasangs from the city —– Djisr Manbedj is the same with theancient Zeugma St Martin, iii 58–M1189Haran, or Carrhae, was the ancient residence of the Sabaeans, and

of Abraham See the Index Geographicus of Schultens, (ad calcem VitSaladin,) a work from which I have obtained much Oriental knowl-edge concerning the ancient and modern geography of Syria and theadjacent countries —-On an inedited medal in the collection of the lateM Tochon of the Academy of Inscriptions, it is read Xappan St Martiniii 60–M

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had been duke of Egypt. They were ordered to direct theirmarch towards Nisibis, and to secure the frontier from thedesultory incursions of the enemy, before they attemptedthe passage of the Tigris. Their subsequent operations wereleft to the discretion of the generals; but Julian expected,that after wasting with fire and sword the fertile districtsof Media and Adiabene, they might arrive under the wallsof Ctesiphon at the same time that he himself, advancingwith equal steps along the banks of the Euphrates, shouldbesiege the capital of the Persian monarchy. The success ofthis well-concerted plan depended, in a great measure, onthe powerful and ready assistance of the king of Armenia,who, without exposing the safety of his own dominions,might detach an army of four thousand horse, and twentythousand foot, to the assistance of the Romans.1190 But thefeeble Arsaces Tiranus,1191 king of Armenia, had degener-

1190See Xenophon Cyropaed l iii p 189, edit Hutchinson Artavasdesmight have supplied Marc Antony with 16,000 horse, armed and dis-ciplined after the Parthian manner, (Plutarch, in M Antonio tom v p117)1191Moses of Chorene (Hist Armeniac l iii c 11, p 242) fixes his ac-

cession (A D 354) to the 17th year of Constantius —-Arsaces Tiranus,or Diran, had ceased to reign twenty-five years before, in 337 The in-termediate changes in Armenia, and the character of this Arsaces, theson of Diran, are traced by M St Martin, at considerable length, inhis supplement to Le Beau, ii 208-242 As long as his Grecian queenOlympias maintained her influence, Arsaces was faithful to the Romanand Christian alliance On the accession of Julian, the same influencemade his fidelity to waver; but Olympias having been poisoned in thesacramental bread by the agency of Pharandcem, the former wife ofArsaces, another change took place in Armenian politics unfavorableto the Christian interest The patriarch Narses retired from the impiouscourt to a safe seclusion Yet Pharandsem was equally hostile to thePersian influence, and Arsaces began to support with vigor the causeof Julian He made an inroad into the Persian dominions with a bodyof Rans and Alans as auxiliaries; wasted Aderbidgan and Sapor, whohad been defeated near Tauriz, was engaged in making head againsthis troops in Persarmenia, at the time of the death of Julian Such is M StMartin’s view, (ii 276, et sqq,) which rests on the Armenian historians,Faustos of Byzantium, and Mezrob the biographer of the Partriarch

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ated still more shamefully than his father Chosroes, fromthe manly virtues of the great Tiridates; and as the pusil-lanimous monarch was averse to any enterprise of dangerand glory, he could disguise his timid indolence by the moredecent excuses of religion and gratitude. He expressed a pi-ous attachment to the memory of Constantius, from whosehands he had received in marriage Olympias, the daughterof the praefect Ablavius; and the alliance of a female, whohad been educated as the destined wife of the emperor Con-stans, exalted the dignity of a Barbarian king.1192 Tiranusprofessed the Christian religion; he reigned over a nation ofChristians; and he was restrained, by every principle of con-science and interest, from contributing to the victory, whichwould consummate the ruin of the church. The alienatedmind of Tiranus was exasperated by the indiscretion of Ju-lian, who treated the king of Armenia as his slave, and asthe enemy of the gods. The haughty and threatening style ofthe Imperial mandates1193 awakened the secret indignationof a prince, who, in the humiliating state of dependence,was still conscious of his royal descent from the Arsacides,the lords of the East, and the rivals of the Roman power.1194

The military dispositions of Julian were skilfully con-trived to deceive the spies and to divert the attention of

Narses In the history of Armenia by Father Chamitch, and translatedby Avdall, Tiran is still king of Armenia, at the time of Julian’s death FChamitch follows Moses of Chorene, The authority of Gibbon–M1192Ammian xx 11 Athanasius (tom i p 856) says, in general terms,

that Constantius gave to his brother’s widow, an expression more suit-able to a Roman than a Christian1193Ammianus (xxiii 2) uses a word much too soft for the occasion,

monuerat Muratori (Fabricius, Bibliothec Graec tom vii p 86) has pub-lished an epistle from Julian to the satrap Arsaces; fierce, vulgar, and(though it might deceive Sozomen, l vi c 5) most probably spuriousLa Bleterie (Hist de Jovien, tom ii p 339) translates and rejects it Note:St Martin considers it genuine: the Armenian writers mention such aletter, iii 37–M1194Arsaces did not abandon the Roman alliance, but gave it only

feeble support St Martin, iii 41–M

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Sapor. The legions appeared to direct their march towardsNisibis and the Tigris. On a sudden they wheeled to theright; traversed the level and naked plain of Carrhae; andreached, on the third day, the banks of the Euphrates, wherethe strong town of Nicephorium, or Callinicum, had beenfounded by the Macedonian kings. From thence the em-peror pursued his march, above ninety miles, along thewinding stream of the Euphrates, till, at length, about onemonth after his departure from Antioch, he discovered thetowers of Circesium,1195 the extreme limit of the Romandominions. The army of Julian, the most numerous thatany of the Caesars had ever led against Persia, consisted ofsixty-five thousand effective and well-disciplined soldiers.The veteran bands of cavalry and infantry, of Romans andBarbarians, had been selected from the different provinces;and a just preeminence of loyalty and valor was claimedby the hardy Gauls, who guarded the throne and person oftheir beloved prince. A formidable body of Scythian aux-iliaries had been transported from another climate, and al-most from another world, to invade a distant country, ofwhose name and situation they were ignorant. The loveof rapine and war allured to the Imperial standard severaltribes of Saracens, or roving Arabs, whose service Julianhad commanded, while he sternly refuse the payment ofthe accustomed subsidies. The broad channel of the Eu-phrates1196 was crowded by a fleet of eleven hundred ships,destined to attend the motions, and to satisfy the wants,of the Roman army. The military strength of the fleet wascomposed of fifty armed galleys; and these were accom-

1195Kirkesia the Carchemish of the Scriptures–M1196Latissimum flumen Euphraten artabat Ammian xxiii 3 Somewhat

higher, at the fords of Thapsacus, the river is four stadia or 800 yards,almost half an English mile, broad (Xenophon, Anabasis, l i p 41, editHutchinson, with Foster’s Observations, p 29, &c, in the 2d volumeof Spelman’s translation) If the breadth of the Euphrates at Bir andZeugma is no more than 130 yards, (Voyages de Niebuhr, tom ii p335,) the enormous difference must chiefly arise from the depth of thechannel

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panied by an equal number of flat-bottomed boats, whichmight occasionally be connected into the form of temporarybridges. The rest of the ships, partly constructed of tim-ber, and partly covered with raw hides, were laden with analmost inexhaustible supply of arms and engines, of uten-sils and provisions. The vigilant humanity of Julian hadembarked a very large magazine of vinegar and biscuit forthe use of the soldiers, but he prohibited the indulgence ofwine; and rigorously stopped a long string of superfluouscamels that attempted to follow the rear of the army. TheRiver Chaboras falls into the Euphrates at Circesium;1197and as soon as the trumpet gave the signal of march, the Ro-mans passed the little stream which separated two mightyand hostile empires. The custom of ancient discipline re-quired a military oration; and Julian embraced every op-portunity of displaying his eloquence. He animated the im-patient and attentive legions by the example of the inflex-ible courage and glorious triumphs of their ancestors. Heexcited their resentment by a lively picture of the insolenceof the Persians; and he exhorted them to imitate his firmresolution, either to extirpate that perfidious nation, or todevote his life in the cause of the republic. The eloquence ofJulian was enforced by a donative of one hundred and thirtypieces of silver to every soldier; and the bridge of the Chab-oras was instantly cut away, to convince the troops that theymust place their hopes of safety in the success of their arms.Yet the prudence of the emperor induced him to secure aremote frontier, perpetually exposed to the inroads of thehostile Arabs. A detachment of four thousand men was leftat Circesium, which completed, to the number of ten thou-sand, the regular garrison of that important fortress.1198

1197Munimentum tutissimum et fabre politum, Abora (the Orientalsaspirate Chaboras or Chabour) et Euphrates ambiunt flumina, velutspatium insulare fingentes Ammian xxiii 51198The enterprise and armament of Julian are described by himself,

(Epist xxvii,) Ammianus Marcellinus, (xxiii 3, 4, 5,) Libanius, (OratParent c 108, 109, p 332, 333,) Zosimus, (l iii p 160, 161, 162) Sozomen,

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From the moment that the Romans entered the enemy’scountry,1199 the country of an active and artful enemy, theorder of march was disposed in three columns.1200 Thestrength of the infantry, and consequently of the wholearmy was placed in the centre, under the peculiar com-mand of their master-general Victor. On the right, the braveNevitta led a column of several legions along the banks ofthe Euphrates, and almost always in sight of the fleet. Theleft flank of the army was protected by the column of cav-alry. Hormisdas and Arinthaeus were appointed generalsof the horse; and the singular adventures of Hormisdas1201are not undeserving of our notice. He was a Persian prince,of the royal race of the Sassanides, who, in the troubles ofthe minority of Sapor, had escaped from prison to the hos-pitable court of the great Constantine. Hormisdas at firstexcited the compassion, and at length acquired the esteem,of his new masters; his valor and fidelity raised him to themilitary honors of the Roman service; and though a Chris-tian, he might indulge the secret satisfaction of convincinghis ungrateful country, than at oppressed subject may provethe most dangerous enemy. Such was the disposition of thethree principal columns. The front and flanks of the armywere covered by Lucilianus with a flying detachment of fif-teen hundred light-armed soldiers, whose active vigilanceobserved the most distant signs, and conveyed the earliestnotice, of any hostile approach. Dagalaiphus, and Secund-

(l vi c l,) and John Malala, (tom ii p 17)1199Before he enters Persia, Ammianus copiously describes (xxiii p

396-419, edit Gronov in 4to) the eighteen great provinces, (as far as theSeric, or Chinese frontiers,) which were subject to the Sassanides1200Ammianus (xxiv 1) and Zosimus (l iii p 162, 163) rately expressed

the order of march1201The adventures of Hormisdas are related with some mixture of

fable, (Zosimus, l ii p 100-102; Tillemont, Hist des Empereurs tom iv p198) It is almost impossible that he should be the brother (frater ger-manus) of an eldest and posthumous child: nor do I recollect that Am-mianus ever gives him that title (St Martin conceives that he was anelder brother by another mother who had several children, ii 24–M

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inus duke of Osrhoene, conducted the troops of the rear-guard; the baggage securely proceeded in the intervals ofthe columns; and the ranks, from a motive either of use orostentation, were formed in such open order, that the wholeline of march extended almost ten miles. The ordinary postof Julian was at the head of the centre column; but as hepreferred the duties of a general to the state of a monarch,he rapidly moved, with a small escort of light cavalry, to thefront, the rear, the flanks, wherever his presence could ani-mate or protect the march of the Roman army. The countrywhich they traversed from the Chaboras, to the cultivatedlands of Assyria, may be considered as a part of the desertof Arabia, a dry and barren waste, which could never be im-proved by the most powerful arts of human industry. Julianmarched over the same ground which had been trod aboveseven hundred years before by the footsteps of the youngerCyrus, and which is described by one of the companionsof his expedition, the sage and heroic Xenophon.1202 “Thecountry was a plain throughout, as even as the sea, and fullof wormwood; and if any other kind of shrubs or reeds grewthere, they had all an aromatic smell, but no trees could beseen. Bustards and ostriches, antelopes and wild asses,1203appeared to be the only inhabitants of the desert; and thefatigues of the march were alleviated by the amusementsof the chase.” The loose sand of the desert was frequentlyraised by the wind into clouds of dust; and a great num-ber of the soldiers of Julian, with their tents, were suddenlythrown to the ground by the violence of an unexpected hur-ricane.

1202See the first book of the Anabasis, p 45, 46 This pleasing work isoriginal and authentic Yet Xenophon’s memory, perhaps many yearsafter the expedition, has sometimes betrayed him; and the distanceswhich he marks are often larger than either a soldier or a geographerwill allow1203Mr Spelman, the English translator of the Anabasis, (vol i p 51,)

confounds the antelope with the roebuck, and the wild ass with thezebra

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The sandy plains of Mesopotamia were abandoned tothe antelopes and wild asses of the desert; but a variety ofpopulous towns and villages were pleasantly situated onthe banks of the Euphrates, and in the islands which areoccasionally formed by that river. The city of Annah, orAnatho,1204 the actual residence of an Arabian emir, is com-posed of two long streets, which enclose, within a naturalfortification, a small island in the midst, and two fruitfulspots on either side, of the Euphrates. The warlike inhabi-tants of Anatho showed a disposition to stop the march ofa Roman emperor; till they were diverted from such fatalpresumption by the mild exhortations of Prince Hormisdas,and the approaching terrors of the fleet and army. They im-plored, and experienced, the clemency of Julian, who trans-planted the people to an advantageous settlement, nearChalcis in Syria, and admitted Pusaeus, the governor, toan honorable rank in his service and friendship. But theimpregnable fortress of Thilutha could scorn the menaceof a siege; and the emperor was obliged to content him-self with an insulting promise, that, when he had subduedthe interior provinces of Persia, Thilutha would no longerrefuse to grace the triumph of the emperor. The inhabi-tants of the open towns, unable to resist, and unwilling toyield, fled with precipitation; and their houses, filled withspoil and provisions, were occupied by the soldiers of Ju-lian, who massacred, without remorse and without pun-ishment, some defenceless women. During the march, theSurenas,1205 or Persian general, and Malek Rodosaces, therenowned emir of the tribe of Gassan,1206 incessantly hov-

1204See Voyages de Tavernier, part i l iii p 316, and more especiallyViaggi di Pietro della Valle, tom i lett xvii p 671, &c He was ignorant ofthe old name and condition of Annah Our blind travellers seldom pos-sess any previous knowledge of the countries which they visit Shawand Tournefort deserve an honorable exception1205This is not a title, but the name of a great Persian family St Martin,

iii 79–M1206Famosi nominis latro, says Ammianus; a high encomium for an

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ered round the army; every straggler was intercepted; ev-ery detachment was attacked; and the valiant Hormisdasescaped with some difficulty from their hands. But the Bar-barians were finally repulsed; the country became everyday less favorable to the operations of cavalry; and whenthe Romans arrived at Macepracta, they perceived the ru-ins of the wall, which had been constructed by the ancientkings of Assyria, to secure their dominions from the incur-sions of the Medes. These preliminaries of the expedition ofJulian appear to have employed about fifteen days; and wemay compute near three hundred miles from the fortress ofCircesium to the wall of Macepracta.(KEY:[44-1)

The fertile province of Assyria,1207 which stretched be-yond the Tigris, as far as the mountains of Media,1208 ex-tended about four hundred miles from the ancient wallof Macepracta, to the territory of Basra, where the unitedstreams of the Euphrates and Tigris discharge themselves

Arab The tribe of Gassan had settled on the edge of Syria, and reignedsome time in Damascus, under a dynasty of thirty-one kings, or emirs,from the time of Pompey to that of the Khalif Omar D’Herbelot, Biblio-theque Orientale, p 360 Pococke, Specimen Hist Arabicae, p 75-78 Thename of Rodosaces does not appear in the list (Rodosaces-malek isking St Martin considers that Gibbon has fallen into an error in bring-ing the tribe of Gassan to the Euphrates In Ammianus it is Assan MSt Martin would read Massanitarum, the same with the Mauzanitae ofMalala–M1207The description of Assyria, is furnished by Herodotus, (l i c 192,

&c,) who sometimes writes for children, and sometimes for philoso-phers; by Strabo, (l xvi p 1070-1082,) and by Ammianus, (lxxiii c 6)The most useful of the modern travellers are Tavernier, (part i l ii p226-258,) Otter, (tom ii p 35-69, and 189-224,) and Niebuhr, (tom ii p172-288) Yet I much regret that the Irak Arabi of Abulfeda has not beentranslated1208Ammianus remarks, that the primitive Assyria, which compre-

hended Ninus, (Nineveh,) and Arbela, had assumed the more recentand peculiar appellation of Adiabene; and he seems to fix Teredon,Vologesia, and Apollonia, as the extreme cities of the actual provinceof Assyria

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into the Persian Gulf.1209 The whole country might haveclaimed the peculiar name of Mesopotamia; as the tworivers, which are never more distant than fifty, approach,between Bagdad and Babylon, within twenty-five miles, ofeach other. A multitude of artificial canals, dug withoutmuch labor in a soft and yielding soil connected the rivers,and intersected the plain of Assyria. The uses of these arti-ficial canals were various and important. They served todischarge the superfluous waters from one river into theother, at the season of their respective inundations. Subdi-viding themselves into smaller and smaller branches, theyrefreshed the dry lands, and supplied the deficiency of rain.They facilitated the intercourse of peace and commerce;and, as the dams could be speedily broke down, they armedthe despair of the Assyrians with the means of opposing asudden deluge to the progress of an invading army. To thesoil and climate of Assyria, nature had denied some of herchoicest gifts, the vine, the olive, and the fig-tree;1210 butthe food which supports the life of man, and particularlywheat and barley, were produced with inexhaustible fertil-ity; and the husbandman, who committed his seed to theearth, was frequently rewarded with an increase of two, oreven of three, hundred. The face of the country was inter-spersed with groves of innumerable palm-trees;1211 and the

1209The two rivers unite at Apamea, or Corna, (one hundred milesfrom the Persian Gulf,) into the broad stream of the Pasitigris, orShutul-Arab The Euphrates formerly reached the sea by a separatechannel, which was obstructed and diverted by the citizens of Orchoe,about twenty miles to the south-east of modern Basra (D’Anville, inthe Memoires de l’Acad des Inscriptions, tomxxx p 171-191)1210We are informed by Mr Gibbon, that nature has denied to the soil

an climate of Assyria some of her choicest gifts, the vine, the olive,and the fig-tree This might have been the case ir the age of AmmianusMarcellinus, but it is not so at the present day; and it is a curious factthat the grape, the olive, and the fig, are the most common fruits in theprovince, and may be seen in every garden Macdonald Kinneir, GeogrMem on Persia 239–M1211The learned Kaempfer, as a botanist, an antiquary, and a traveller,

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diligent natives celebrated, either in verse or prose, the threehundred and sixty uses to which the trunk, the branches,the leaves, the juice, and the fruit, were skilfully applied.Several manufactures, especially those of leather and linen,employed the industry of a numerous people, and affordedvaluable materials for foreign trade; which appears, how-ever, to have been conducted by the hands of strangers.Babylon had been converted into a royal park; but nearthe ruins of the ancient capital, new cities had successivelyarisen, and the populousness of the country was displayedin the multitude of towns and villages, which were built ofbricks dried in the sun, and strongly cemented with bitu-men; the natural and peculiar production of the Babyloniansoil. While the successors of Cyrus reigned over Asia, theprovince of Syria alone maintained, during a third part ofthe year, the luxurious plenty of the table and household ofthe Great King. Four considerable villages were assignedfor the subsistence of his Indian dogs; eight hundred stal-lions, and sixteen thousand mares, were constantly kept, atthe expense of the country, for the royal stables; and as thedaily tribute, which was paid to the satrap, amounted toone English bushe of silver, we may compute the annualrevenue of Assyria at more than twelve hundred thousandpounds sterling.1212

has exhausted (Amoenitat Exoticae, Fasicul iv p 660-764) the wholesubject of palm-trees1212Assyria yielded to the Persian satrap an Artaba of silver each

day The well-known proportion of weights and measures (see BishopHooper’s elaborate Inquiry,) the specific gravity of water and silver,and the value of that metal, will afford, after a short process, the an-nual revenue which I have stated Yet the Great King received no morethan 1000 Euboic, or Tyrian, talents (252,000l) from Assyria The com-parison of two passages in Herodotus, (l i c 192, l iii c 89-96) reveals animportant difference between the gross, and the net, revenue of Per-sia; the sums paid by the province, and the gold or silver depositedin the royal treasure The monarch might annually save three millionssix hundred thousand pounds, of the seventeen or eighteen millionsraised upon the people

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THE fields of Assyria were devoted by Julian to thecalamities of war; and the philosopher retaliated on a

guiltless people the acts of rapine and cruelty which hadbeen committed by their haughty master in the Romanprovinces. The trembling Assyrians summoned the riversto their assistance; and completed, with their own hands,the ruin of their country. The roads were rendered impracti-cable; a flood of waters was poured into the camp; and, dur-ing several days, the troops of Julian were obliged to con-tend with the most discouraging hardships. But every ob-stacle was surmounted by the perseverance of the legionar-ies, who were inured to toil as well as to danger, and whofelt themselves animated by the spirit of their leader. Thedamage was gradually repaired; the waters were restoredto their proper channels; whole groves of palm-trees werecut down, and placed along the broken parts of the road;and the army passed over the broad and deeper canals, onbridges of floating rafts, which were supported by the helpof bladders. Two cities of Assyria presumed to resist thearms of a Roman emperor: and they both paid the severepenalty of their rashness. At the distance of fifty miles fromthe royal residence of Ctesiphon, Perisabor,1213 or Anbar,held the second rank in the province; a city, large, popu-lous, and well fortified, surrounded with a double wall, al-most encompassed by a branch of the Euphrates, and de-fended by the valor of a numerous garrison. The exhor-tations of Hormisdas were repulsed with contempt; andthe ears of the Persian prince were wounded by a just re-proach, that, unmindful of his royal birth, he conducted anarmy of strangers against his king and country. The Assyr-ians maintained their loyalty by a skilful, as well as vigor-

1213And as guilty of a double treachery, having first engaged to sur-render the city, and afterwards valiantly defended it Gibbon, perhaps,should have noticed this charge, though he may have rejected it asimprobable Compare Zosimus iii 23–M

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ous, defence; till the lucky stroke of a battering-ram, havingopened a large breach, by shattering one of the angles of thewall, they hastily retired into the fortifications of the inte-rior citadel. The soldiers of Julian rushed impetuously intothe town, and after the full gratification of every militaryappetite, Perisabor was reduced to ashes; and the engineswhich assaulted the citadel were planted on the ruins of thesmoking houses. The contest was continued by an inces-sant and mutual discharge of missile weapons; and the su-periority which the Romans might derive from the mechan-ical powers of their balistae and catapultae was counterbal-anced by the advantage of the ground on the side of the be-sieged. But as soon as an Helepolis had been constructed,which could engage on equal terms with the loftiest ram-parts, the tremendous aspect of a moving turret, that wouldleave no hope of resistance or mercy, terrified the defendersof the citadel into an humble submission; and the place wassurrendered only two days after Julian first appeared underthe walls of Perisabor. Two thousand five hundred persons,of both sexes, the feeble remnant of a flourishing people,were permitted to retire; the plentiful magazines of corn,of arms, and of splendid furniture, were partly distributedamong the troops, and partly reserved for the public ser-vice; the useless stores were destroyed by fire or thrown intothe stream of the Euphrates; and the fate of Amida was re-venged by the total ruin of Perisabor.

The city or rather fortress, of Maogamalcha, which wasdefended by sixteen large towers, a deep ditch, and twostrong and solid walls of brick and bitumen, appears tohave been constructed at the distance of eleven miles, as thesafeguard of the capital of Persia. The emperor, apprehen-sive of leaving such an important fortress in his rear, im-mediately formed the siege of Maogamalcha; and the Ro-man army was distributed, for that purpose, into three di-visions. Victor, at the head of the cavalry, and of a detach-ment of heavy-armed foot, was ordered to clear the country,as far as the banks of the Tigris, and the suburbs of Cte-

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siphon. The conduct of the attack was assumed by Julianhimself, who seemed to place his whole dependence in themilitary engines which he erected against the walls; whilehe secretly contrived a more efficacious method of introduc-ing his troops into the heart of the city Under the directionof Nevitta and Dagalaiphus, the trenches were opened at aconsiderable distance, and gradually prolonged as far as theedge of the ditch. The ditch was speedily filled with earth;and, by the incessant labor of the troops, a mine was carriedunder the foundations of the walls, and sustained, at suffi-cient intervals, by props of timber. Three chosen cohorts,advancing in a single file, silently explored the dark anddangerous passage; till their intrepid leader whispered backthe intelligence, that he was ready to issue from his con-finement into the streets of the hostile city. Julian checkedtheir ardor, that he might insure their success; and imme-diately diverted the attention of the garrison, by the tumultand clamor of a general assault. The Persians, who, fromtheir walls, contemptuously beheld the progress of an im-potent attack, celebrated with songs of triumph the gloryof Sapor; and ventured to assure the emperor, that he mightascend the starry mansion of Ormusd, before he could hopeto take the impregnable city of Maogamalcha. The city wasalready taken. History has recorded the name of a privatesoldier the first who ascended from the mine into a desertedtower. The passage was widened by his companions, whopressed forwards with impatient valor. Fifteen hundred en-emies were already in the midst of the city. The astonishedgarrison abandoned the walls, and their only hope of safety;the gates were instantly burst open; and the revenge of thesoldier, unless it were suspended by lust or avarice, wassatiated by an undistinguishing massacre. The governor,who had yielded on a promise of mercy, was burnt alive,a few days afterwards, on a charge of having uttered somedisrespectful words against the honor of Prince Hormisdas.The fortifications were razed to the ground; and not a ves-tige was left, that the city of Maogamalcha had ever existed.

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The neighborhood of the capital of Persia was adorned withthree stately palaces, laboriously enriched with every pro-duction that could gratify the luxury and pride of an East-ern monarch. The pleasant situation of the gardens alongthe banks of the Tigris, was improved, according to the Per-sian taste, by the symmetry of flowers, fountains, and shadywalks: and spacious parks were enclosed for the receptionof the bears, lions, and wild boars, which were maintainedat a considerable expense for the pleasure of the royal chase.The park walls were broken down, the savage game wasabandoned to the darts of the soldiers, and the palaces ofSapor were reduced to ashes, by the command of the Ro-man emperor. Julian, on this occasion, showed himself ig-norant, or careless, of the laws of civility, which the pru-dence and refinement of polished ages have established be-tween hostile princes. Yet these wanton ravages need notexcite in our breasts any vehement emotions of pity or re-sentment. A simple, naked statue, finished by the hand of aGrecian artist, is of more genuine value than all these rudeand costly monuments of Barbaric labor; and, if we are moredeeply affected by the ruin of a palace than by the conflagra-tion of a cottage, our humanity must have formed a veryerroneous estimate of the miseries of human life.1214

Julian was an object of hatred and terror to the Persianand the painters of that nation represented the invader oftheir country under the emblem of a furious lion, who vom-ited from his mouth a consuming fire.1215 To his friends andsoldiers the philosophic hero appeared in a more amiablelight; and his virtues were never more conspicuously dis-played, than in the last and most active period of his life.He practised, without effort, and almost without merit, the

1214The operations of the Assyrian war are circumstantially relatedby Ammianus, (xxiv 2, 3, 4, 5,) Libanius, (Orat Parent c 112-123, p335-347,) Zosimus, (l iii p 168-180,) and Gregory Nazianzen, (Orat ivp 113, 144) The military criticisms of the saint are devoutly copied byTillemont, his faithful slave1215Libanius de ulciscenda Juliani nece, c 13, p 162

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habitual qualities of temperance and sobriety. According tothe dictates of that artificial wisdom, which assumes an ab-solute dominion over the mind and body, he sternly refusedhimself the indulgence of the most natural appetites.1216In the warm climate of Assyria, which solicited a luxuri-ous people to the gratification of every sensual desire,1217a youthful conqueror preserved his chastity pure and in-violate; nor was Julian ever tempted, even by a motive ofcuriosity, to visit his female captives of exquisite beauty,1218who, instead of resisting his power, would have disputedwith each other the honor of his embraces. With the samefirmness that he resisted the allurements of love, he sus-tained the hardships of war. When the Romans marchedthrough the flat and flooded country, their sovereign, onfoot, at the head of his legions, shared their fatigues andanimated their diligence. In every useful labor, the handof Julian was prompt and strenuous; and the Imperial pur-ple was wet and dirty as the coarse garment of the meanestsoldier. The two sieges allowed him some remarkable op-portunities of signalizing his personal valor, which, in theimproved state of the military art, can seldom be exerted bya prudent general. The emperor stood before the citadel be-fore the citadel of Perisabor, insensible of his extreme dan-ger, and encouraged his troops to burst open the gates of

1216The famous examples of Cyrus, Alexander, and Scipio, were actsof justice Julian’s chastity was voluntary, and, in his opinion, meritori-ous1217Sallust (ap Vet Scholiast Juvenal Satir i 104) observes, that nihil

corruptius moribus The matrons and virgins of Babylon freely min-gled with the men in licentious banquets; and as they felt the intoxi-cation of wine and love, they gradually, and almost completely, threwaside the encumbrance of dress; ad ultimum ima corporum velamentaprojiciunt Q Curtius, v 11218Ex virginibus autem quae speciosae sunt captae, et in Perside, ubi

faeminarum pulchritudo excellit, nec contrectare aliquam votuit necvidere Ammian xxiv 4 The native race of Persians is small and ugly;but it has been improved by the perpetual mixture of Circassian blood,(Herodot l iii c 97 Buffon, Hist Naturelle, tom iii p 420)

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iron, till he was almost overwhelmed under a cloud of mis-sile weapons and huge stones, that were directed againsthis person. As he examined the exterior fortifications ofMaogamalcha, two Persians, devoting themselves for theircountry, suddenly rushed upon him with drawn cimeters:the emperor dexterously received their blows on his up-lifted shield; and, with a steady and well-aimed thrust, laidone of his adversaries dead at his feet. The esteem of aprince who possesses the virtues which he approves, is thenoblest recompense of a deserving subject; and the author-ity which Julian derived from his personal merit, enabledhim to revive and enforce the rigor of ancient discipline. Hepunished with death or ignominy the misbehavior of threetroops of horse, who, in a skirmish with the Surenas, hadlost their honor and one of their standards: and he distin-guished with obsidional1219 crowns the valor of the fore-most soldiers, who had ascended into the city of Maoga-malcha.

After the siege of Perisabor, the firmness of the emperorwas exercised by the insolent avarice of the army, wholoudly complained, that their services were rewarded by atrifling donative of one hundred pieces of silver. His just in-dignation was expressed in the grave and manly languageof a Roman. “Riches are the object of your desires; thoseriches are in the hands of the Persians; and the spoils of thisfruitful country are proposed as the prize of your valor anddiscipline. Believe me,” added Julian, “the Roman republic,which formerly possessed such immense treasures, is nowreduced to want and wretchedness once our princes havebeen persuaded, by weak and interested ministers, to pur-chase with gold the tranquillity of the Barbarians. The rev-enue is exhausted; the cities are ruined; the provinces aredispeopled. For myself, the only inheritance that I have re-

1219Obsidionalibus coronis donati Ammian xxiv 4 Either Julian orhis historian were unskillful antiquaries He should have given muralcrowns The obsidional were the reward of a general who had deliv-ered a besieged city, (Aulus Gellius, Noct Attic v 6)

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ceived from my royal ancestors is a soul incapable of fear;and as long as I am convinced that every real advantageis seated in the mind, I shall not blush to acknowledge anhonorable poverty, which, in the days of ancient virtue, wasconsidered as the glory of Fabricius. That glory, and thatvirtue, may be your own, if you will listen to the voiceof Heaven and of your leader. But if you will rashly per-sist, if you are determined to renew the shameful and mis-chievous examples of old seditions, proceed. As it becomesan emperor who has filled the first rank among men, I amprepared to die, standing; and to despise a precarious life,which, every hour, may depend on an accidental fever. If Ihave been found unworthy of the command, there are nowamong you, (I speak it with pride and pleasure,) there aremany chiefs whose merit and experience are equal to theconduct of the most important war. Such has been the tem-per of my reign, that I can retire, without regret, and with-out apprehension, to the obscurity of a private station”1220

The modest resolution of Julian was answered by the unani-mous applause and cheerful obedience of the Romans, whodeclared their confidence of victory, while they fought un-der the banners of their heroic prince. Their courage waskindled by his frequent and familiar asseverations, (for suchwishes were the oaths of Julian,) “So may I reduce the Per-sians under the yoke!” “Thus may I restore the strength andsplendor of the republic!” The love of fame was the ardentpassion of his soul: but it was not before he trampled onthe ruins of Maogamalcha, that he allowed himself to say,“We have now provided some materials for the sophist ofAntioch.”1221

The successful valor of Julian had triumphed over all theobstacles that opposed his march to the gates of Ctesiphon.But the reduction, or even the siege, of the capital of Per-

1220I give this speech as original and genuine Ammianus might hear,could transcribe, and was incapable of inventing, it I have used someslight freedoms, and conclude with the most forcibic sentence1221Ammian xxiv 3 Libanius, Orat Parent c 122, p 346

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sia, was still at a distance: nor can the military conduct ofthe emperor be clearly apprehended, without a knowledgeof the country which was the theatre of his bold and skil-ful operations.1222 Twenty miles to the south of Bagdad,and on the eastern bank of the Tigris, the curiosity of trav-ellers has observed some ruins of the palaces of Ctesiphon,which, in the time of Julian, was a great and populous city.The name and glory of the adjacent Seleucia were foreverextinguished; and the only remaining quarter of that Greekcolony had resumed, with the Assyrian language and man-ners, the primitive appellation of Coche. Coche was situateon the western side of the Tigris; but it was naturally consid-ered as a suburb of Ctesiphon, with which we may supposeit to have been connected by a permanent bridge of boats.

The united parts contribute to form the common epithetof Al Modain, the cities, which the Orientals have bestowedon the winter residence of the Sassinadees; and the wholecircumference of the Persian capital was strongly fortifiedby the waters of the river, by lofty walls, and by impracti-cable morasses. Near the ruins of Seleucia, the camp of Ju-lian was fixed, and secured, by a ditch and rampart, againstthe sallies of the numerous and enterprising garrison ofCoche. In this fruitful and pleasant country, the Romanswere plentifully supplied with water and forage: and sev-eral forts, which might have embarrassed the motions ofthe army, submitted, after some resistance, to the efforts oftheir valor. The fleet passed from the Euphrates into an ar-tificial derivation of that river, which pours a copious andnavigable stream into the Tigris, at a small distance belowthe great city. If they had followed this royal canal, which

1222M d’Anville, (Mem de l’Academie des Inscriptions, tom xxxviii p246-259) has ascertained the true position and distance of Babylon, Se-leucia, Ctesiphon, Bagdad, &c The Roman traveller, Pietro della Valle,(tom i lett xvii p 650-780,) seems to be the most intelligent spectator ofthat famous province He is a gentleman and a scholar, but intolerablyvain and prolix

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bore the name of Nahar-Malcha,1223 the intermediate situ-ation of Coche would have separated the fleet and army ofJulian; and the rash attempt of steering against the currentof the Tigris, and forcing their way through the midst of ahostile capital, must have been attended with the total de-struction of the Roman navy. The prudence of the emperorforesaw the danger, and provided the remedy. As he hadminutely studied the operations of Trajan in the same coun-try, he soon recollected that his warlike predecessor had duga new and navigable canal, which, leaving Coche on theright hand, conveyed the waters of the Nahar-Malcha intothe river Tigris, at some distance above the cities. From theinformation of the peasants, Julian ascertained the vestigesof this ancient work, which were almost obliterated by de-sign or accident. By the indefatigable labor of the soldiers,a broad and deep channel was speedily prepared for the re-ception of the Euphrates. A strong dike was constructedto interrupt the ordinary current of the Nahar-Malcha: aflood of waters rushed impetuously into their new bed; andthe Roman fleet, steering their triumphant course into theTigris, derided the vain and ineffectual barriers which thePersians of Ctesiphon had erected to oppose their passage.

As it became necessary to transport the Roman army overthe Tigris, another labor presented itself, of less toil, but ofmore danger, than the preceding expedition. The streamwas broad and rapid; the ascent steep and difficult; and theintrenchments which had been formed on the ridge of theopposite bank, were lined with a numerous army of heavycuirrasiers, dexterous archers, and huge elephants; who (ac-cording to the extravagant hyperbole of Libanius) couldtrample with the same ease a field of corn, or a legion of

1223The Royal Canal (Nahar-Malcha) might be successively restored,altered, divided, &c, (Cellarius, Geograph Antiq tom ii p 453;) andthese changes may serve to explain the seeming contradictions of an-tiquity In the time of Julian, it must have fallen into the Euphratesbelow Ctesiphon

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Romans.1224 In the presence of such an enemy, the construc-tion of a bridge was impracticable; and the intrepid prince,who instantly seized the only possible expedient, concealedhis design, till the moment of execution, from the knowl-edge of the Barbarians, of his own troops, and even of hisgenerals themselves. Under the specious pretence of exam-ining the state of the magazines, fourscore vessels1225 weregradually unladen; and a select detachment, apparentlydestined for some secret expedition, was ordered to standto their arms on the first signal. Julian disguised the silentanxiety of his own mind with smiles of confidence and joy;and amused the hostile nations with the spectacle of mili-tary games, which he insultingly celebrated under the wallsof Coche. The day was consecrated to pleasure; but, as soonas the hour of supper was passed, the emperor summonedthe generals to his tent, and acquainted them that he hadfixed that night for the passage of the Tigris. They stood insilent and respectful astonishment; but, when the venera-ble Sallust assumed the privilege of his age and experience,the rest of the chiefs supported with freedom the weightof his prudent remonstrances.1226 Julian contented himselfwith observing, that conquest and safety depended on theattempt; that instead of diminishing, the number of theirenemies would be increased, by successive reenforcements;1224Rien n’est beau que le vrai; a maxim which should be inscribed

on the desk of every rhetorician1225This is a mistake; each vessel (according to Zosimus two, accord-

ing to Ammianus five) had eighty men Amm xxiv 6, with Wagner’snote Gibbon must have read octogenas for octogenis The five vesselsselected for this service were remarkably large and strong provisiontransports The strength of the fleet remained with Julian to carry overthe army–M1226Libanius alludes to the most powerful of the generals I have ven-

tured to name Sallust Ammianus says, of all the leaders, quod acrimetu territ acrimetu territi duces concordi precatu precaut fieri pro-hibere tentarent (It is evident that Gibbon has mistaken the sense ofLibanius; his words can only apply to a commander of a detachment,not to so eminent a person as the Praefect of the East St Martin, iii313—M

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and that a longer delay would neither contract the breadthof the stream, nor level the height of the bank. The signalwas instantly given, and obeyed; the most impatient of thelegionaries leaped into five vessels that lay nearest to thebank; and as they plied their oars with intrepid diligence,they were lost, after a few moments, in the darkness of thenight. A flame arose on the opposite side; and Julian, whotoo clearly understood that his foremost vessels, in attempt-ing to land, had been fired by the enemy, dexterously con-verted their extreme danger into a presage of victory. “Ourfellow-soldiers,” he eagerly exclaimed, “are already mastersof the bank; see–they make the appointed signal; let us has-ten to emulate and assist their courage.” The united andrapid motion of a great fleet broke the violence of the cur-rent, and they reached the eastern shore of the Tigris withsufficient speed to extinguish the flames, and rescue theiradventurous companions. The difficulties of a steep andlofty ascent were increased by the weight of armor, and thedarkness of the night. A shower of stones, darts, and fire,was incessantly discharged on the heads of the assailants;who, after an arduous struggle, climbed the bank and stoodvictorious upon the rampart. As soon as they possessed amore equal field, Julian, who, with his light infantry, hadled the attack,1227 darted through the ranks a skilful andexperienced eye: his bravest soldiers, according to the pre-cepts of Homer,1228 were distributed in the front and rear:and all the trumpets of the Imperial army sounded to battle.The Romans, after sending up a military shout, advancedin measured steps to the animating notes of martial music;launched their formidable javelins; and rushed forwardswith drawn swords, to deprive the Barbarians, by a closer

1227Hinc Imperator (says Ammianus) ipse cum levis armaturae aux-iliis per prima postremaque discurrens, &c Yet Zosimus, his friend,does not allow him to pass the river till two days after the battle1228Secundum Homericam dispositionem A similar disposition is as-

cribed to the wise Nestor, in the fourth book of the Iliad; and Homerwas never absent from the mind of Julian

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onset, of the advantage of their missile weapons. The wholeengagement lasted above twelve hours; till the gradual re-treat of the Persians was changed into a disorderly flight,of which the shameful example was given by the principalleader, and the Surenas himself. They were pursued to thegates of Ctesiphon; and the conquerors might have enteredthe dismayed city,1229 if their general, Victor, who was dan-gerously wounded with an arrow, had not conjured them todesist from a rash attempt, which must be fatal, if it werenot successful. On their side, the Romans acknowledgedthe loss of only seventy-five men; while they affirmed, thatthe Barbarians had left on the field of battle two thousandfive hundred, or even six thousand, of their bravest soldiers.The spoil was such as might be expected from the richesand luxury of an Oriental camp; large quantities of silverand gold, splendid arms and trappings, and beds and tablesof massy silver.1230 The victorious emperor distributed, asthe rewards of valor, some honorable gifts, civic, and mu-ral, and naval crowns; which he, and perhaps he alone, es-teemed more precious than the wealth of Asia. A solemnsacrifice was offered to the god of war, but the appearancesof the victims threatened the most inauspicious events; andJulian soon discovered, by less ambiguous signs, that hehad now reached the term of his prosperity.1231

1229Persas terrore subito miscuerunt, versisque agminibus totiusgentis, apertas Ctesiphontis portas victor miles intrasset, ni majorpraedarum occasio fuisset, quam cura victoriae, (Sextus Rufus deProvinciis c 28) Their avarice might dispose them to hear the adviceof Victor1230The suburbs of Ctesiphon, according to a new fragment of Eu-

napius, were so full of provisions, that the soldiers were in danger ofsuffering from excess Mai, p 260 Eunapius in Niebuhr Nov Byz Coll68 Julian exhibited warlike dances and games in his camp to recreatethe soldiers Ibid–M1231The labor of the canal, the passage of the Tigris, and the victory,

are described by Ammianus, (xxiv 5, 6,) Libanius, (Orat Parent c 124-128, p 347-353,) Greg Nazianzen, (Orat iv p 115,) Zosimus, (l iii p 181-183,) and Sextus Rufus, (de Provinciis, c 28)

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On the second day after the battle, the domestic guards,the Jovians and Herculians, and the remaining troops,which composed near two thirds of the whole army, weresecurely wafted over the Tigris.1232 While the Persians be-held from the walls of Ctesiphon the desolation of the ad-jacent country, Julian cast many an anxious look towardsthe North, in full expectation, that as he himself had vic-toriously penetrated to the capital of Sapor, the march andjunction of his lieutenants, Sebastian and Procopius, wouldbe executed with the same courage and diligence. His ex-pectations were disappointed by the treachery of the Ar-menian king, who permitted, and most probably directed,the desertion of his auxiliary troops from the camp of theRomans;1233 and by the dissensions of the two generals,who were incapable of forming or executing any plan forthe public service. When the emperor had relinquished thehope of this important reenforcement, he condescended tohold a council of war, and approved, after a full debate,the sentiment of those generals, who dissuaded the siegeof Ctesiphon, as a fruitless and pernicious undertaking. Itis not easy for us to conceive, by what arts of fortificationa city thrice besieged and taken by the predecessors of Ju-lian could be rendered impregnable against an army of sixtythousand Romans, commanded by a brave and experiencedgeneral, and abundantly supplied with ships, provisions,battering engines, and military stores. But we may restassured, from the love of glory, and contempt of danger,which formed the character of Julian, that he was not dis-couraged by any trivial or imaginary obstacles.1234 At the

1232The fleet and army were formed in three divisions, of which thefirst only had passed during the night1233Moses of Chorene (Hist Armen l iii c 15, p 246) supplies us with

a national tradition, and a spurious letter I have borrowed only theleading circumstance, which is consistent with truth, probability, andLibanius, (Orat Parent c 131, p 355)1234Civitas inexpugnabilis, facinus audax et importunum Ammi-

anus, xxiv 7 His fellow-soldier, Eutropius, turns aside from the dif-ficulty, Assyriamque populatus, castra apud Ctesiphontem stativa ali-

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very time when he declined the siege of Ctesiphon, he re-jected, with obstinacy and disdain, the most flattering offersof a negotiation of peace. Sapor, who had been so long ac-customed to the tardy ostentation of Constantius, was sur-prised by the intrepid diligence of his successor. As far asthe confines of India and Scythia, the satraps of the dis-tant provinces were ordered to assemble their troops, andto march, without delay, to the assistance of their monarch.But their preparations were dilatory, their motions slow;and before Sapor could lead an army into the field, he re-ceived the melancholy intelligence of the devastation of As-syria, the ruin of his palaces, and the slaughter of his bravesttroops, who defended the passage of the Tigris. The prideof royalty was humbled in the dust; he took his repasts onthe ground; and the disorder of his hair expressed the griefand anxiety of his mind. Perhaps he would not have refusedto purchase, with one half of his kingdom, the safety of theremainder; and he would have gladly subscribed himself,in a treaty of peace, the faithful and dependent ally of theRoman conqueror. Under the pretence of private business,a minister of rank and confidence was secretly despatchedto embrace the knees of Hormisdas, and to request, in thelanguage of a suppliant, that he might be introduced intothe presence of the emperor. The Sassanian prince, whetherhe listened to the voice of pride or humanity, whether heconsulted the sentiments of his birth, or the duties of hissituation, was equally inclined to promote a salutary mea-sure, which would terminate the calamities of Persia, andsecure the triumph of Rome. He was astonished by theinflexible firmness of a hero, who remembered, most un-fortunately for himself and for his country, that Alexanderhad uniformly rejected the propositions of Darius. But asJulian was sensible, that the hope of a safe and honorablepeace might cool the ardor of his troops, he earnestly re-quested that Hormisdas would privately dismiss the min-

quandiu habuit: remeansbue victor, &c x 16 Zosimus is artful or igno-rant, and Socrates inaccurate

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ister of Sapor, and conceal this dangerous temptation fromthe knowledge of the camp.1235

1235Libanius, Orat Parent c 130, p 354, c 139, p 361 Socrates, l iii c21 The ecclesiastical historian imputes the refusal of peace to the ad-vice of Maximus Such advice was unworthy of a philosopher; but thephilosopher was likewise a magician, who flattered the hopes and pas-sions of his master

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THE honor, as well as interest, of Julian, forbade him toconsume his time under the impregnable walls of Cte-

siphon and as often as he defied the Barbarians, who de-fended the city, to meet him on the open plain, they pru-dently replied, that if he desired to exercise his valor, hemight seek the army of the Great King. He felt the insult,and he accepted the advice. Instead of confining his servilemarch to the banks of the Euphrates and Tigris, he resolvedto imitate the adventurous spirit of Alexander, and boldlyto advance into the inland provinces, till he forced his ri-val to contend with him, perhaps in the plains of Arbela,for the empire of Asia. The magnanimity of Julian was ap-plauded and betrayed, by the arts of a noble Persian, who,in the cause of his country, had generously submitted toact a part full of danger, of falsehood, and of shame.1236With a train of faithful followers, he deserted to the Impe-rial camp; exposed, in a specious tale, the injuries whichhe had sustained; exaggerated the cruelty of Sapor, the dis-content of the people, and the weakness of the monarchy;and confidently offered himself as the hostage and guideof the Roman march. The most rational grounds of suspi-cion were urged, without effect, by the wisdom and experi-ence of Hormisdas; and the credulous Julian, receiving thetraitor into his bosom, was persuaded to issue a hasty or-der, which, in the opinion of mankind, appeared to arraignhis prudence, and to endanger his safety. He destroyed, ina single hour, the whole navy, which had been transportedabove five hundred miles, at so great an expense of toil, oftreasure, and of blood. Twelve, or, at the most, twenty-twosmall vessels were saved, to accompany, on carriages, the

1236The arts of this new Zopyrus (Greg Nazianzen, Orat iv p 115, 116)may derive some credit from the testimony of two abbreviators, (Sex-tus Rufus and Victor,) and the casual hints of Libanius (Orat Parent c134, p 357) and Ammianus, (xxiv 7) The course of genuine history isinterrupted by a most unseasonable chasm in the text of Ammianus

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march of the army, and to form occasional bridges for thepassage of the rivers. A supply of twenty days’ provisionswas reserved for the use of the soldiers; and the rest of themagazines, with a fleet of eleven hundred vessels, whichrode at anchor in the Tigris, were abandoned to the flames,by the absolute command of the emperor. The Christianbishops, Gregory and Augustin, insult the madness of theApostate, who executed, with his own hands, the sentenceof divine justice. Their authority, of less weight, perhaps,in a military question, is confirmed by the cool judgmentof an experienced soldier, who was himself spectator of theconflagration, and who could not disapprove the reluctantmurmurs of the troops.1237 Yet there are not wanting somespecious, and perhaps solid, reasons, which might justifythe resolution of Julian. The navigation of the Euphratesnever ascended above Babylon, nor that of the Tigris aboveOpis.1238 The distance of the last-mentioned city from theRoman camp was not very considerable: and Julian mustsoon have renounced the vain and impracticable attemptof forcing upwards a great fleet against the stream of arapid river,1239 which in several places was embarrassedby natural or artificial cataracts.1240 The power of sails andoars was insufficient; it became necessary to tow the ships

1237See Ammianus, (xxiv 7,) Libanius, (Orat Parentalis, c 132, 133, p356, 357,) Zosimus, (l iii p 183,) Zonaras, (tom ii l xiii p 26) Gregory,(Orat iv p 116,) and Augustin, (de Civitate Dei, l iv c 29, l v c 21) Ofthese Libanius alone attempts a faint apology for his hero; who, ac-cording to Ammianus, pronounced his own condemnation by a tardyand ineffectual attempt to extinguish the flames1238Consult Herodotus, (l i c 194,) Strabo, (l xvi p 1074,) and Tavernier,

(part i l ii p 152)1239A celeritate Tigris incipit vocari, ita appellant Medi sagittam Plin

Hist Natur vi 311240One of these dikes, which produces an artificial cascade or

cataract, is described by Tavernier (part i l ii p 226) and Thevenot, (partii l i p 193) The Persians, or Assyrians, labored to interrupt the naviga-tion of the river, (Strabo, l xv p 1075 D’Anville, l’Euphrate et le Tigre,p 98, 99)

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against the current of the river; the strength of twenty thou-sand soldiers was exhausted in this tedious and servile la-bor, and if the Romans continued to march along the banksof the Tigris, they could only expect to return home with-out achieving any enterprise worthy of the genius or for-tune of their leader. If, on the contrary, it was advisableto advance into the inland country, the destruction of thefleet and magazines was the only measure which could savethat valuable prize from the hands of the numerous and ac-tive troops which might suddenly be poured from the gatesof Ctesiphon. Had the arms of Julian been victorious, weshould now admire the conduct, as well as the courage, ofa hero, who, by depriving his soldiers of the hopes of a re-treat, left them only the alternative of death or conquest.1241

The cumbersome train of artillery and wagons, which re-tards the operations of a modern army, were in a great mea-sure unknown in the camps of the Romans.1242 Yet, in ev-ery age, the subsistence of sixty thousand men must havebeen one of the most important cares of a prudent general;and that subsistence could only be drawn from his own orfrom the enemy’s country. Had it been possible for Julianto maintain a bridge of communication on the Tigris, andto preserve the conquered places of Assyria, a desolatedprovince could not afford any large or regular supplies, in aseason of the year when the lands were covered by the inun-dation of the Euphrates,1243 and the unwholesome air wasdarkened with swarms of innumerable insects.1244 The ap-1241Recollect the successful and applauded rashness of Agathocles

and Cortez, who burnt their ships on the coast of Africa and Mexico1242See the judicious reflections of the author of the Essai sur la Tac-

tique, tom ii p 287-353, and the learned remarks of M Guichardt Nou-veaux Memoires Militaires, tom i p 351-382, on the baggage and sub-sistence of the Roman armies1243The Tigris rises to the south, the Euphrates to the north, of the Ar-

menian mountains The former overflows in March, the latter in JulyThese circumstances are well explained in the Geographical Disserta-tion of Foster, inserted in Spelman’s Expedition of Cyras, vol ii p 261244Ammianus (xxiv 8) describes, as he had felt, the inconveniency of

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pearance of the hostile country was far more inviting. Theextensive region that lies between the River Tigris and themountains of Media, was filled with villages and towns;and the fertile soil, for the most part, was in a very improvedstate of cultivation. Julian might expect, that a conqueror,who possessed the two forcible instruments of persuasion,steel and gold, would easily procure a plentiful subsistencefrom the fears or avarice of the natives. But, on the approachof the Romans, the rich and smiling prospect was instantlyblasted. Wherever they moved, the inhabitants deserted theopen villages, and took shelter in the fortified towns; thecattle was driven away; the grass and ripe corn were con-sumed with fire; and, as soon as the flames had subsidedwhich interrupted the march of Julian, he beheld the melan-choly face of a smoking and naked desert. This desperatebut effectual method of defence can only be executed by theenthusiasm of a people who prefer their independence totheir property; or by the rigor of an arbitrary government,which consults the public safety without submitting to theirinclinations the liberty of choice. On the present occasionthe zeal and obedience of the Persians seconded the com-mands of Sapor; and the emperor was soon reduced to thescanty stock of provisions, which continually wasted in hishands. Before they were entirely consumed, he might stillhave reached the wealthy and unwarlike cities of Ecbatanaor Susa, by the effort of a rapid and well-directed march;1245but he was deprived of this last resource by his ignoranceof the roads, and by the perfidy of his guides. The Romans

the flood, the heat, and the insects The lands of Assyria, oppressed bythe Turks, and ravaged by the Curds or Arabs, yield an increase of ten,fifteen, and twenty fold, for the seed which is cast into the ground bythe wretched and unskillful husbandmen Voyage de Niebuhr, tom ii p279, 2851245Isidore of Charax (Mansion Parthic p 5, 6, in Hudson, Geograph

Minor tom ii) reckons 129 schaeni from Seleucia, and Thevenot, (parti l i ii p 209-245,) 128 hours of march from Bagdad to Ecbatana, orHamadan These measures cannot exceed an ordinary parasang, orthree Roman miles

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wandered several days in the country to the eastward ofBagdad; the Persian deserter, who had artfully led them intothe spare, escaped from their resentment; and his followers,as soon as they were put to the torture, confessed the se-cret of the conspiracy. The visionary conquests of Hyrcaniaand India, which had so long amused, now tormented, themind of Julian. Conscious that his own imprudence wasthe cause of the public distress, he anxiously balanced thehopes of safety or success, without obtaining a satisfactoryanswer, either from gods or men. At length, as the onlypracticable measure, he embraced the resolution of direct-ing his steps towards the banks of the Tigris, with the designof saving the army by a hasty march to the confines of Cor-duene; a fertile and friendly province, which acknowledgedthe sovereignty of Rome. The desponding troops obeyedthe signal of the retreat, only seventy days after they hadpassed the Chaboras, with the sanguine expectation of sub-verting the throne of Persia.1246

As long as the Romans seemed to advance into the coun-try, their march was observed and insulted from a distance,by several bodies of Persian cavalry; who, showing them-selves sometimes in loose, and sometimes in close order,faintly skirmished with the advanced guards. These detach-ments were, however, supported by a much greater force;and the heads of the columns were no sooner pointed to-wards the Tigris than a cloud of dust arose on the plain.The Romans, who now aspired only to the permission ofa safe and speedy retreat, endeavored to persuade them-selves, that this formidable appearance was occasioned bya troop of wild asses, or perhaps by the approach of somefriendly Arabs. They halted, pitched their tents, fortifiedtheir camp, passed the whole night in continual alarms; and

1246The march of Julian from Ctesiphon is circumstantially, but notclearly, described by Ammianus, (xxiv 7, 8,) Libanius, (Orat Parent c134, p 357,) and Zosimus, (l iii p 183) The two last seem ignorant thattheir conqueror was retreating; and Libanius absurdly confines him tothe banks of the Tigris

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discovered at the dawn of day, that they were surroundedby an army of Persians. This army, which might be consid-ered only as the van of the Barbarians, was soon followed bythe main body of cuirassiers, archers, and elephants, com-manded by Meranes, a general of rank and reputation. Hewas accompanied by two of the king’s sons, and many ofthe principal satraps; and fame and expectation exagger-ated the strength of the remaining powers, which slowly ad-vanced under the conduct of Sapor himself. As the Romanscontinued their march, their long array, which was forcedto bend or divide, according to the varieties of the ground,afforded frequent and favorable opportunities to their vig-ilant enemies. The Persians repeatedly charged with fury;they were repeatedly repulsed with firmness; and the ac-tion at Maronga, which almost deserved the name of a bat-tle, was marked by a considerable loss of satraps and ele-phants, perhaps of equal value in the eyes of their monarch.These splendid advantages were not obtained without anadequate slaughter on the side of the Romans: several offi-cers of distinction were either killed or wounded; and theemperor himself, who, on all occasions of danger, inspiredand guided the valor of his troops, was obliged to exposehis person, and exert his abilities. The weight of offensiveand defensive arms, which still constituted the strength andsafety of the Romans, disabled them from making any longor effectual pursuit; and as the horsemen of the East weretrained to dart their javelins, and shoot their arrows, at fullspeed, and in every possible direction,1247 the cavalry ofPersia was never more formidable than in the moment ofa rapid and disorderly flight. But the most certain and ir-reparable loss of the Romans was that of time. The hardyveterans, accustomed to the cold climate of Gaul and Ger-many, fainted under the sultry heat of an Assyrian sum-

1247Chardin, the most judicious of modern travellers, describes (tomii p 57, 58, &c, edit in 4to) the education and dexterity of the Persianhorsemen Brissonius (de Regno Persico, p 650 651, &c,) has collectedthe testimonies of antiquity

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mer; their vigor was exhausted by the incessant repetitionof march and combat; and the progress of the army was sus-pended by the precautions of a slow and dangerous retreat,in the presence of an active enemy. Every day, every hour,as the supply diminished, the value and price of subsistenceincreased in the Roman camp.1248 Julian, who always con-tented himself with such food as a hungry soldier wouldhave disdained, distributed, for the use of the troops, theprovisions of the Imperial household, and whatever couldbe spared, from the sumpter-horses, of the tribunes andgenerals. But this feeble relief served only to aggravate thesense of the public distress; and the Romans began to enter-tain the most gloomy apprehensions that, before they couldreach the frontiers of the empire, they should all perish, ei-ther by famine, or by the sword of the Barbarians.1249

While Julian struggled with the almost insuperable diffi-culties of his situation, the silent hours of the night were stilldevoted to study and contemplation. Whenever he closedhis eyes in short and interrupted slumbers, his mind wasagitated with painful anxiety; nor can it be thought sur-prising, that the Genius of the empire should once moreappear before him, covering with a funeral veil his head,and his horn of abundance, and slowly retiring from theImperial tent. The monarch started from his couch, andstepping forth to refresh his wearied spirits with the cool-ness of the midnight air, he beheld a fiery meteor, whichshot athwart the sky, and suddenly vanished. Julian wasconvinced that he had seen the menacing countenance of

1248In Mark Antony’s retreat, an attic choenix sold for fifty drachmae,or, in other words, a pound of flour for twelve or fourteen shillings bar-ley bread was sold for its weight in silver It is impossible to peruse theinteresting narrative of Plutarch, (tom v p 102-116,) without perceiv-ing that Mark Antony and Julian were pursued by the same enemies,and involved in the same distress1249Ammian xxiv 8, xxv 1 Zosimus, l iii p 184, 185, 186 Libanius, Orat

Parent c 134, 135, p 357, 358, 359 The sophist of Antioch appears igno-rant that the troops were hungry

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the god of war;1250 the council which he summoned, ofTuscan Haruspices,1251 unanimously pronounced that heshould abstain from action; but on this occasion, necessityand reason were more prevalent than superstition; and thetrumpets sounded at the break of day. The army marchedthrough a hilly country; and the hills had been secretly oc-cupied by the Persians. Julian led the van with the skill andattention of a consummate general; he was alarmed by theintelligence that his rear was suddenly attacked. The heatof the weather had tempted him to lay aside his cuirass; buthe snatched a shield from one of his attendants, and has-tened, with a sufficient reenforcement, to the relief of therear-guard. A similar danger recalled the intrepid princeto the defence of the front; and, as he galloped throughthe columns, the centre of the left was attacked, and al-most overpowered by the furious charge of the Persian cav-alry and elephants. This huge body was soon defeated, bythe well-timed evolution of the light infantry, who aimedtheir weapons, with dexterity and effect, against the backsof the horsemen, and the legs of the elephants. The Bar-barians fled; and Julian, who was foremost in every dan-ger, animated the pursuit with his voice and gestures. Histrembling guards, scattered and oppressed by the disor-derly throng of friends and enemies, reminded their fear-less sovereign that he was without armor; and conjuredhim to decline the fall of the impending ruin. As they ex-claimed,1252 a cloud of darts and arrows was discharged

1250Ammian xxv 2 Julian had sworn in a passion, nunquam se Martisacra facturum, (xxiv 6) Such whimsical quarrels were not uncommonbetween the gods and their insolent votaries; and even the prudentAugustus, after his fleet had been twice shipwrecked, excluded Nep-tune from the honors of public processions See Hume’s PhilosophicalReflections Essays, vol ii p 4181251They still retained the monopoly of the vain but lucrative science,

which had been invented in Hetruria; and professed to derive theirknowledge of signs and omens from the ancient books of Tarquitius, aTuscan sage1252Clambant hinc inde candidati (see the note of Valesius) quos ter-

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from the flying squadrons; and a javelin, after razing theskin of his arm, transpierced the ribs, and fixed in the infe-rior part of the liver. Julian attempted to draw the deadlyweapon from his side; but his fingers were cut by the sharp-ness of the steel, and he fell senseless from his horse. Hisguards flew to his relief; and the wounded emperor wasgently raised from the ground, and conveyed out of the tu-mult of the battle into an adjacent tent. The report of themelancholy event passed from rank to rank; but the grief ofthe Romans inspired them with invincible valor, and the de-sire of revenge. The bloody and obstinate conflict was main-tained by the two armies, till they were separated by the to-tal darkness of the night. The Persians derived some honorfrom the advantage which they obtained against the leftwing, where Anatolius, master of the offices, was slain, andthe praefect Sallust very narrowly escaped. But the event ofthe day was adverse to the Barbarians. They abandoned thefield; their two generals, Meranes and Nohordates,1253 fiftynobles or satraps, and a multitude of their bravest soldiers;and the success of the Romans, if Julian had survived, mighthave been improved into a decisive and useful victory.

The first words that Julian uttered, after his recovery fromthe fainting fit into which he had been thrown by loss ofblood, were expressive of his martial spirit. He called forhis horse and arms, and was impatient to rush into the bat-tle. His remaining strength was exhausted by the painfuleffort; and the surgeons, who examined his wound, discov-ered the symptoms of approaching death. He employedthe awful moments with the firm temper of a hero and asage; the philosophers who had accompanied him in this fa-tal expedition, compared the tent of Julian with the prison

ror, ut fugientium molem tanquam ruinam male compositi culminisdeclinaret Ammian xxv 31253Sapor himself declared to the Romans, that it was his practice to

comfort the families of his deceased satraps, by sending them, as apresent, the heads of the guards and officers who had not fallen bytheir master’s side Libanius, de nece Julian ulcis c xiii p 163

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of Socrates; and the spectators, whom duty, or friendship,or curiosity, had assembled round his couch, listened withrespectful grief to the funeral oration of their dying em-peror.1254 “Friends and fellow-soldiers, the seasonable pe-riod of my departure is now arrived, and I discharge, withthe cheerfulness of a ready debtor, the demands of nature. Ihave learned from philosophy, how much the soul is moreexcellent than the body; and that the separation of the no-bler substance should be the subject of joy, rather than ofaffliction. I have learned from religion, that an early deathhas often been the reward of piety;1255 and I accept, as a fa-vor of the gods, the mortal stroke that secures me from thedanger of disgracing a character, which has hitherto beensupported by virtue and fortitude. I die without remorse,as I have lived without guilt. I am pleased to reflect on theinnocence of my private life; and I can affirm with confi-dence, that the supreme authority, that emanation of the Di-vine Power, has been preserved in my hands pure and im-maculate. Detesting the corrupt and destructive maxims ofdespotism, I have considered the happiness of the people asthe end of government. Submitting my actions to the lawsof prudence, of justice, and of moderation, I have trustedthe event to the care of Providence. Peace was the object ofmy counsels, as long as peace was consistent with the pub-lic welfare; but when the imperious voice of my countrysummoned me to arms, I exposed my person to the dangersof war, with the clear foreknowledge (which I had acquiredfrom the art of divination) that I was destined to fall by thesword. I now offer my tribute of gratitude to the Eternal

1254The character and situation of Julian might countenance the sus-picion that he had previously composed the elaborate oration, whichAmmianus heard, and has transcribed The version of the Abbe de laBleterie is faithful and elegant I have followed him in expressing thePlatonic idea of emanations, which is darkly insinuated in the original1255Herodotus (l i c 31,) has displayed that doctrine in an agreeable

tale Yet the Jupiter, (in the 16th book of the Iliad,) who laments withtears of blood the death of Sarpedon his son, had a very imperfectnotion of happiness or glory beyond the grave

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Being, who has not suffered me to perish by the cruelty ofa tyrant, by the secret dagger of conspiracy, or by the slowtortures of lingering disease. He has given me, in the midstof an honorable career, a splendid and glorious departurefrom this world; and I hold it equally absurd, equally base,to solicit, or to decline, the stroke of fate. This much I haveattempted to say; but my strength fails me, and I feel theapproach of death. I shall cautiously refrain from any wordthat may tend to influence your suffrages in the election ofan emperor. My choice might be imprudent or injudicious;and if it should not be ratified by the consent of the army,it might be fatal to the person whom I should recommend.I shall only, as a good citizen, express my hopes, that theRomans may be blessed with the government of a virtuoussovereign.” After this discourse, which Julian pronouncedin a firm and gentle tone of voice, he distributed, by a mil-itary testament,1256 the remains of his private fortune; andmaking some inquiry why Anatolius was not present, heunderstood, from the answer of Sallust, that Anatolius waskilled; and bewailed, with amiable inconsistency, the loss ofhis friend. At the same time he reproved the immoderategrief of the spectators; and conjured them not to disgrace,by unmanly tears, the fate of a prince, who in a few mo-ments would be united with heaven, and with the stars.1257The spectators were silent; and Julian entered into a meta-physical argument with the philosophers Priscus and Max-imus, on the nature of the soul. The efforts which he made,of mind as well as body, most probably hastened his death.His wound began to bleed with fresh violence; his respira-

1256The soldiers who made their verbal or nuncupatory testaments,upon actual service, (in procinctu,) were exempted from the formal-ities of the Roman law See Heineccius, (Antiquit Jur Roman tom i p504,) and Montesquieu, (Esprit des Loix, l xxvii)1257This union of the human soul with the divine aethereal substance

of the universe, is the ancient doctrine of Pythagoras and Plato: butit seems to exclude any personal or conscious immortality See War-burton’s learned and rational observations Divine Legation, vol ii p199-216

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tion was embarrassed by the swelling of the veins; he calledfor a draught of cold water, and, as soon as he had drankit, expired without pain, about the hour of midnight. Suchwas the end of that extraordinary man, in the thirty-secondyear of his age, after a reign of one year and about eightmonths, from the death of Constantius. In his last momentshe displayed, perhaps with some ostentation, the love ofvirtue and of fame, which had been the ruling passions ofhis life.1258

The triumph of Christianity, and the calamities of the em-pire, may, in some measure, be ascribed to Julian himself,who had neglected to secure the future execution of hisdesigns, by the timely and judicious nomination of an as-sociate and successor. But the royal race of ConstantiusChlorus was reduced to his own person; and if he enter-tained any serious thoughts of investing with the purplethe most worthy among the Romans, he was diverted fromhis resolution by the difficulty of the choice, the jealousyof power, the fear of ingratitude, and the natural presump-tion of health, of youth, and of prosperity. His unexpecteddeath left the empire without a master, and without an heir,in a state of perplexity and danger, which, in the space offourscore years, had never been experienced, since the elec-tion of Diocletian. In a government which had almost for-

1258The whole relation of the death of Julian is given by Ammianus,(xxv 3,) an intelligent spectator Libanius, who turns with horror fromthe scene, has supplied some circumstances, (Orat Parental c 136-140,p 359-362) The calumnies of Gregory, and the legends of more recentsaints, may now be silently despised (A very remarkable fragment ofEunapius describes, not without spirit, the struggle between the terrorof the army on account of their perilous situation, and their grief forthe death of Julian “Even the vulgar felt that they would soon providea general, but such a general as Julian they would never find, eventhough a god in the form of man–Julian, who, with a mind equal tothe divinity, triumphed over the evil propensities of human nature,–** who held commerce with immaterial beings while yet in the materialbody–who condescended to rule because a ruler was necessary to thewelfare of mankind” Mai, Nov Coll ii 261 Eunapius in Niebuhr, 69

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gotten the distinction of pure and noble blood, the supe-riority of birth was of little moment; the claims of officialrank were accidental and precarious; and the candidates,who might aspire to ascend the vacant throne could be sup-ported only by the consciousness of personal merit, or bythe hopes of popular favor. But the situation of a fam-ished army, encompassed on all sides by a host of Barbar-ians, shortened the moments of grief and deliberation. Inthis scene of terror and distress, the body of the deceasedprince, according to his own directions, was decently em-balmed; and, at the dawn of day, the generals convened amilitary senate, at which the commanders of the legions,and the officers both of cavalry and infantry, were invitedto assist. Three or four hours of the night had not passedaway without some secret cabals; and when the electionof an emperor was proposed, the spirit of faction began toagitate the assembly. Victor and Arinthaeus collected theremains of the court of Constantius; the friends of Julianattached themselves to the Gallic chiefs, Dagalaiphus andNevitta; and the most fatal consequences might be appre-hended from the discord of two factions, so opposite in theircharacter and interest, in their maxims of government, andperhaps in their religious principles. The superior virtuesof Sallust could alone reconcile their divisions, and unitetheir suffrages; and the venerable praefect would immedi-ately have been declared the successor of Julian, if he him-self, with sincere and modest firmness, had not alleged hisage and infirmities, so unequal to the weight of the diadem.The generals, who were surprised and perplexed by his re-fusal, showed some disposition to adopt the salutary adviceof an inferior officer,1259 that they should act as they wouldhave acted in the absence of the emperor; that they shouldexert their abilities to extricate the army from the presentdistress; and, if they were fortunate enough to reach the

1259Honoratior aliquis miles; perhaps Ammianus himself The modestand judicious historian describes the scene of the election, at which hewas undoubtedly present, (xxv 5)

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confines of Mesopotamia, they should proceed with unitedand deliberate counsels in the election of a lawful sovereign.While they debated, a few voices saluted Jovian, who wasno more than first1260 of the domestics, with the names ofEmperor and Augustus. The tumultuary acclamation1261

was instantly repeated by the guards who surrounded thetent, and passed, in a few minutes, to the extremities of theline. The new prince, astonished with his own fortune washastily invested with the Imperial ornaments, and receivedan oath of fidelity from the generals, whose favor and pro-tection he so lately solicited. The strongest recommendationof Jovian was the merit of his father, Count Varronian, whoenjoyed, in honorable retirement, the fruit of his long ser-vices. In the obscure freedom of a private station, the sonindulged his taste for wine and women; yet he supported,with credit, the character of a Christian1262 and a soldier.Without being conspicuous for any of the ambitious quali-fications which excite the admiration and envy of mankind,the comely person of Jovian, his cheerful temper, and famil-iar wit, had gained the affection of his fellow-soldiers; andthe generals of both parties acquiesced in a popular election,which had not been conducted by the arts of their enemies.The pride of this unexpected elevation was moderated bythe just apprehension, that the same day might terminate

1260The primus or primicerius enjoyed the dignity of a senator, andthough only a tribune, he ranked with the military dukes Cod Theo-dosian l vi tit xxiv These privileges are perhaps more recent than thetime of Jovian1261The soldiers supposed that the acclamations proclaimed the name

of Julian, restored, as they fondly thought, to health, not that of Jovianloc–M1262The ecclesiastical historians, Socrates, (l iii c 22,) Sozomen, (l vi

c 3,) and Theodoret, (l iv c 1,) ascribe to Jovian the merit of a confes-sor under the preceding reign; and piously suppose that he refusedthe purple, till the whole army unanimously exclaimed that they wereChristians Ammianus, calmly pursuing his narrative, overthrows thelegend by a single sentence Hostiis pro Joviano extisque inspectis, pro-nuntiatum est, &c, xxv 6

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the life and reign of the new emperor. The pressing voiceof necessity was obeyed without delay; and the first ordersissued by Jovian, a few hours after his predecessor had ex-pired, were to prosecute a march, which could alone extri-cate the Romans from their actual distress.1263

1263Ammianus (xxv 10) has drawn from the life an impartial portraitof Jovian; to which the younger Victor has added some remarkablestrokes The Abbe de la Bleterie (Histoire de Jovien, tom i p 1-238) hascomposed an elaborate history of his short reign; a work remarkablydistinguished by elegance of style, critical disquisition, and religiousprejudice

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THE esteem of an enemy is most sincerely expressed byhis fears; and the degree of fear may be accurately mea-

sured by the joy with which he celebrates his deliverance.The welcome news of the death of Julian, which a deserterrevealed to the camp of Sapor, inspired the despondingmonarch with a sudden confidence of victory. He immedi-ately detached the royal cavalry, perhaps the ten thousandImmortals,1264 to second and support the pursuit; and dis-charged the whole weight of his united forces on the rear-guard of the Romans. The rear-guard was thrown into dis-order; the renowned legions, which derived their titles fromDiocletian, and his warlike colleague, were broke and tram-pled down by the elephants; and three tribunes lost theirlives in attempting to stop the flight of their soldiers. Thebattle was at length restored by the persevering valor of theRomans; the Persians were repulsed with a great slaugh-ter of men and elephants; and the army, after marchingand fighting a long summer’s day, arrived, in the evening,at Samara, on the banks of the Tigris, about one hundredmiles above Ctesiphon.1265 On the ensuing day, the Barbar-ians, instead of harassing the march, attacked the camp, ofJovian; which had been seated in a deep and sequestered

1264Regius equitatus It appears, from Irocopius, that the Immortals,so famous under Cyrus and his successors, were revived, if we mayuse that improper word, by the Sassanides Brisson de Regno Persico,p 268, &c1265The obscure villages of the inland country are irrecoverably lost;

nor can we name the field of battle where Julian fell: but M D’Anvillehas demonstrated the precise situation of Sumere, Carche, and Dura,along the banks of the Tigris, (Geographie Ancienne, tom ii p 248L’Euphrate et le Tigre, p 95, 97) In the ninth century, Sumere, orSamara, became, with a slight change of name, the royal residenceof the khalifs of the house of Abbas (Sormanray, called by the ArabsSamira, where D’Anville placed Samara, is too much to the south; andis a modern town built by Caliph Morasen Serra-man-rai means, inArabic, it rejoices every one who sees it St Martin, iii 133–M

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valley. From the hills, the archers of Persia insulted andannoyed the wearied legionaries; and a body of cavalry,which had penetrated with desperate courage through thePraetorian gate, was cut in pieces, after a doubtful conflict,near the Imperial tent. In the succeeding night, the camp ofCarche was protected by the lofty dikes of the river; and theRoman army, though incessantly exposed to the vexatiouspursuit of the Saracens, pitched their tents near the city ofDura,1266 four days after the death of Julian. The Tigris wasstill on their left; their hopes and provisions were almostconsumed; and the impatient soldiers, who had fondly per-suaded themselves that the frontiers of the empire were notfar distant, requested their new sovereign, that they mightbe permitted to hazard the passage of the river. With theassistance of his wisest officers, Jovian endeavored to checktheir rashness; by representing, that if they possessed suffi-cient skill and vigor to stem the torrent of a deep and rapidstream, they would only deliver themselves naked and de-fenceless to the Barbarians, who had occupied the oppo-site banks, Yielding at length to their clamorous importuni-ties, he consented, with reluctance, that five hundred Gaulsand Germans, accustomed from their infancy to the watersof the Rhine and Danube, should attempt the bold adven-ture, which might serve either as an encouragement, or asa warning, for the rest of the army. In the silence of thenight, they swam the Tigris, surprised an unguarded postof the enemy, and displayed at the dawn of day the sig-nal of their resolution and fortune. The success of this trialdisposed the emperor to listen to the promises of his archi-tects, who propose to construct a floating bridge of the in-flated skins of sheep, oxen, and goats, covered with a floorof earth and fascines.1267 Two important days were spent in

1266Dura was a fortified place in the wars of Antiochus against therebels of Media and Persia, (Polybius, l v c 48, 52, p 548, 552 editCasaubon, in 8vo)1267A similar expedient was proposed to the leaders of the ten thou-

sand, and wisely rejected Xenophon, Anabasis, l iii p 255, 256, 257 It

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the ineffectual labor; and the Romans, who already enduredthe miseries of famine, cast a look of despair on the Tigris,and upon the Barbarians; whose numbers and obstinacy in-creased with the distress of the Imperial army.1268

In this hopeless condition, the fainting spirits of the Ro-mans were revived by the sound of peace. The transientpresumption of Sapor had vanished: he observed, with se-rious concern, that, in the repetition of doubtful combats, hehad lost his most faithful and intrepid nobles, his bravesttroops, and the greatest part of his train of elephants: andthe experienced monarch feared to provoke the resistanceof despair, the vicissitudes of fortune, and the unexhaustedpowers of the Roman empire; which might soon advanceto elieve, or to revenge, the successor of Julian. The Sure-nas himself, accompanied by another satrap, appeared inthe camp of Jovian;1269 and declared, that the clemency ofhis sovereign was not averse to signify the conditions onwhich he would consent to spare and to dismiss the Caesarwith the relics of his captive army.1270 The hopes of safety

appears, from our modern travellers, that rafts floating on bladdersperform the trade and navigation of the Tigris1268The first military acts of the reign of Jovian are related by Ammi-

anus, (xxv 6,) Libanius, (Orat Parent c 146, p 364,) and Zosimus, (l iiip 189, 190, 191) Though we may distrust the fairness of Libanius, theocular testimony of Eutropius (uno a Persis atque altero proelio victus,x 17) must incline us to suspect that Ammianus had been too jealousof the honor of the Roman arms1269Sextus Rufus (de Provinciis, c 29) embraces a poor subterfuge

of national vanity Tanta reverentia nominis Romani fuit, ut a Persisprimus de pace sermo haberetur —He is called Junius by John Malala;the same, M St Martin conjectures, with a satrap of Gordyene namedJovianus, or Jovinianus; mentioned in Ammianus Marcellinus, xviii6–M1270The Persian historians couch the message of Shah-pour in these

Oriental terms: “I have reassembled my numerous army I am resolvedto revenge my subjects, who have been plundered, made captives, andslain It is for this that I have bared my arm, and girded my loins Ifyou consent to pay the price of the blood which has been shed, todeliver up the booty which has been plundered, and to restore the city

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subdued the firmness of the Romans; the emperor was com-pelled, by the advice of his council, and the cries of his sol-diers, to embrace the offer of peace;1271 and the praefect Sal-lust was immediately sent, with the general Arinthaeus, tounderstand the pleasure of the Great King. The crafty Per-sian delayed, under various pretenses, the conclusion of theagreement; started difficulties, required explanations, sug-gested expedients, receded from his concessions, increasedhis demands, and wasted four days in the arts of negotia-tion, till he had consumed the stock of provisions which yetremained in the camp of the Romans. Had Jovian been ca-pable of executing a bold and prudent measure, he wouldhave continued his march, with unremitting diligence; theprogress of the treaty would have suspended the attacks ofthe Barbarians; and, before the expiration of the fourth day,he might have safely reached the fruitful province of Cor-duene, at the distance only of one hundred miles.1272 Theirresolute emperor, instead of breaking through the toils ofthe enemy, expected his fate with patient resignation; andaccepted the humiliating conditions of peace, which it was

of Nisibis, which is in Irak, and belongs to our empire, though now inyour possession, I will sheathe the sword of war; but should you refusethese terms, the hoofs of my horse, which are hard as steel, shall effacethe name of the Romans from the earth; and my glorious cimeter, thatdestroys like fire, shall exterminate the people of your empire” Theseauthorities do not mention the death of Julian Malcolm’s Persia, i 87–M1271The Paschal chronicle, not, as M St Martin says, supported by

John Malala, places the mission of this ambassador before the deathof Julian The king of Persia was then in Persarmenia, ignorant of thedeath of Julian; he only arrived at the army subsequent to that eventSt Martin adopts this view, and finds or extorts support for it, fromLibanius and Ammianus, iii 158–M1272It is presumptuous to controvert the opinion of Ammianus, a sol-

dier and a spectator Yet it is difficult to understand how the mountainsof Corduene could extend over the plains of Assyria, as low as the con-flux of the Tigris and the great Zab; or how an army of sixty thousandmen could march one hundred miles in four days Note: * Yet this ap-pears to be the case (in modern maps: ) the march is the difficulty–M

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no longer in his power to refuse. The five provinces be-yond the Tigris, which had been ceded by the grandfatherof Sapor, were restored to the Persian monarchy. He ac-quired, by a single article, the impregnable city of Nisibis;which had sustained, in three successive sieges, the effort ofhis arms. Singara, and the castle of the Moors, one of thestrongest places of Mesopotamia, were likewise dismem-bered from the empire. It was considered as an indulgence,that the inhabitants of those fortresses were permitted to re-tire with their effects; but the conqueror rigorously insisted,that the Romans should forever abandon the king and king-dom of Armenia.1273 A peace, or rather a long truce, ofthirty years, was stipulated between the hostile nations; thefaith of the treaty was ratified by solemn oaths and reli-gious ceremonies; and hostages of distinguished rank werereciprocally delivered to secure the performance of the con-ditions.1274

The sophist of Antioch, who saw with indignation thesceptre of his hero in the feeble hand of a Christian succes-sor, professes to admire the moderation of Sapor, in content-ing himself with so small a portion of the Roman empire. Ifhe had stretched as far as the Euphrates the claims of hisambition, he might have been secure, says Libanius, of notmeeting with a refusal. If he had fixed, as the boundary ofPersia, the Orontes, the Cydnus, the Sangarius, or even theThracian Bosphorus, flatterers would not have been want-ing in the court of Jovian to convince the timid monarch,that his remaining provinces would still afford the most am-

1273Sapor availed himself, a few years after, of the dissolution of thealliance between the Romans and the Armenians See St M iii 163–M1274The treaty of Dura is recorded with grief or indignation by Am-

mianus, (xxv 7,) Libanius, (Orat Parent c 142, p 364,) Zosimus, (l iii p190, 191,) Gregory Nazianzen, (Orat iv p 117, 118, who imputes thedistress to Julian, the deliverance to Jovian,) and Eutropius, (x 17) Thelast-mentioned writer, who was present in military station, styles thispeace necessarium quidem sed ignoblem

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ple gratifications of power and luxury.1275 Without adopt-ing in its full force this malicious insinuation, we must ac-knowledge, that the conclusion of so ignominious a treatywas facilitated by the private ambition of Jovian. The ob-scure domestic, exalted to the throne by fortune, rather thanby merit, was impatient to escape from the hands of thePersians, that he might prevent the designs of Procopius,who commanded the army of Mesopotamia, and establishhis doubtful reign over the legions and provinces whichwere still ignorant of the hasty and tumultuous choice ofthe camp beyond the Tigris.1276 In the neighborhood of thesame river, at no very considerable distance from the fatalstation of Dura,1277 the ten thousand Greeks, without gener-als, or guides, or provisions, were abandoned, above twelvehundred miles from their native country, to the resentmentof a victorious monarch. The difference of their conductand success depended much more on their character thanon their situation. Instead of tamely resigning themselves tothe secret deliberations and private views of a single person,the united councils of the Greeks were inspired by the gen-erous enthusiasm of a popular assembly; where the mindof each citizen is filled with the love of glory, the pride offreedom, and the contempt of death. Conscious of their su-periority over the Barbarians in arms and discipline, theydisdained to yield, they refused to capitulate: every obsta-cle was surmounted by their patience, courage, and mili-

1275Libanius, Orat Parent c 143, p 364, 3651276Conditionibus dispendiosis Romanae reipublicae impositis

quibus cupidior regni quam gloriae Jovianus, imperio rudis, adquievitSextus Rufus de Provinciis, c 29 La Bleterie has expressed, in a long,direct oration, these specious considerations of public and private in-terest, (Hist de Jovien, tom i p 39, &c)1277The generals were murdered on the bauks of the Zabatus, (Ana

basis, l ii p 156, l iii p 226,) or great Zab, a river of Assyria, 400 feetbroad, which falls into the Tigris fourteen hours below Mosul The er-ror of the Greeks bestowed on the greater and lesser Zab the names ofthe Walf, (Lycus,) and the Goat, (Capros) They created these animalsto attend the Tiger of the East

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tary skill; and the memorable retreat of the ten thousandexposed and insulted the weakness of the Persian monar-chy.1278

As the price of his disgraceful concessions, the emperormight perhaps have stipulated, that the camp of the hungryRomans should be plentifully supplied;1279 and that theyshould be permitted to pass the Tigris on the bridge whichwas constructed by the hands of the Persians. But, if Jo-vian presumed to solicit those equitable terms, they weresternly refused by the haughty tyrant of the East, whoseclemency had pardoned the invaders of his country. TheSaracens sometimes intercepted the stragglers of the march;but the generals and troops of Sapor respected the cessationof arms; and Jovian was suffered to explore the most con-venient place for the passage of the river. The small vessels,which had been saved from the conflagration of the fleet,performed the most essential service. They first conveyedthe emperor and his favorites; and afterwards transported,in many successive voyages, a great part of the army. But, asevery man was anxious for his personal safety, and appre-hensive of being left on the hostile shore, the soldiers, whowere too impatient to wait the slow returns of the boats,boldly ventured themselves on light hurdles, or inflatedskins; and, drawing after them their horses, attempted, withvarious success, to swim across the river. Many of these dar-ing adventurers were swallowed by the waves; many oth-ers, who were carried along by the violence of the stream,fell an easy prey to the avarice or cruelty of the wild Arabs:and the loss which the army sustained in the passage of theTigris, was not inferior to the carnage of a day of battle. Assoon as the Romans were landed on the western bank, they

1278The Cyropoedia is vague and languid; the Anabasis circumstanceand animated Such is the eternal difference between fiction and truth1279According to Rufinus, an immediate supply of provisions was

stipulated by the treaty, and Theodoret affirms, that the obligation wasfaithfully discharged by the Persians Such a fact is probable but un-doubtedly false See Tillemont, Hist des Empereurs, tom iv p 702

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were delivered from the hostile pursuit of the Barbarians;but, in a laborious march of two hundred miles over theplains of Mesopotamia, they endured the last extremities ofthirst and hunger. They were obliged to traverse the sandydesert, which, in the extent of seventy miles, did not afforda single blade of sweet grass, nor a single spring of fresh wa-ter; and the rest of the inhospitable waste was untrod by thefootsteps either of friends or enemies. Whenever a smallmeasure of flour could be discovered in the camp, twentypounds weight were greedily purchased with ten pieces ofgold:1280 the beasts of burden were slaughtered and de-voured; and the desert was strewed with the arms and bag-gage of the Roman soldiers, whose tattered garments andmeagre countenances displayed their past sufferings andactual misery. A small convoy of provisions advanced tomeet the army as far as the castle of Ur; and the supply wasthe more grateful, since it declared the fidelity of Sebastianand Procopius. At Thilsaphata,1281 the emperor most gra-ciously received the generals of Mesopotamia; and the re-mains of a once flourishing army at length reposed them-selves under the walls of Nisibis. The messengers of Jo-vian had already proclaimed, in the language of flattery, hiselection, his treaty, and his return; and the new prince hadtaken the most effectual measures to secure the allegiance ofthe armies and provinces of Europe, by placing the military

1280We may recollect some lines of Lucan, (Pharsal iv 95,) who de-scribes a similar distress of Caesar’s army in Spain:– —-Saeva famesaderat–Miles eget: toto censu non prodigus emit Exiguam CereremProh lucri pallida tabes! Non deest prolato jejunus venditor auro SeeGuichardt (Nouveaux Memoires Militaires, tom i p 370-382) His analy-sis of the two campaigns in Spain and Africa is the noblest monumentthat has ever been raised to the fame of Caesar1281M d’Anville (see his Maps, and l’Euphrate et le Tigre, p 92, 93)

traces their march, and assigns the true position of Hatra, Ur, andThilsaphata, which Ammianus has mentioned —-He does not com-plain of the Samiel, the deadly hot wind, which Thevenot (Voyages,part ii l i p 192) so much dreaded —-Hatra, now Kadhr Ur, Kasr orSkervidgi Thilsaphata is unknown–M

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command in the hands of those officers, who, from motivesof interest, or inclination, would firmly support the cause oftheir benefactor.1282

The friends of Julian had confidently announced the suc-cess of his expedition. They entertained a fond persuasionthat the temples of the gods would be enriched with thespoils of the East; that Persia would be reduced to the hum-ble state of a tributary province, governed by the laws andmagistrates of Rome; that the Barbarians would adopt thedress, and manners, and language of their conquerors; andthat the youth of Ecbatana and Susa would study the artof rhetoric under Grecian masters.1283 The progress of thearms of Julian interrupted his communication with the em-pire; and, from the moment that he passed the Tigris, his af-fectionate subjects were ignorant of the fate and fortunes oftheir prince. Their contemplation of fancied triumphs wasdisturbed by the melancholy rumor of his death; and theypersisted to doubt, after they could no longer deny, the truthof that fatal event.1284 The messengers of Jovian promul-gated the specious tale of a prudent and necessary peace;the voice of fame, louder and more sincere, revealed thedisgrace of the emperor, and the conditions of the ignomin-ious treaty. The minds of the people were filled with aston-ishment and grief, with indignation and terror, when theywere informed, that the unworthy successor of Julian relin-quished the five provinces which had been acquired by thevictory of Galerius; and that he shamefully surrendered to

1282The retreat of Jovian is described by Ammianus, (xxv 9,) Libanius,(Orat Parent c 143, p 365,) and Zosimus, (l iii p 194)1283Libanius, (Orat Parent c 145, p 366) Such were the natural hopes

and wishes of a rhetorician1284The people of Carrhae, a city devoted to Paganism, buried the

inauspicious messenger under a pile of stones, (Zosimus, l iii p 196)Libanius, when he received the fatal intelligence, cast his eye on hissword; but he recollected that Plato had condemned suicide, and thathe must live to compose the Panegyric of Julian, (Libanius de Vita sua,tom ii p 45, 46)

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the Barbarians the important city of Nisibis, the firmest bul-wark of the provinces of the East.1285 The deep and danger-ous question, how far the public faith should be observed,when it becomes incompatible with the public safety, wasfreely agitated in popular conversation; and some hopeswere entertained that the emperor would redeem his pusil-lanimous behavior by a splendid act of patriotic perfidy.The inflexible spirit of the Roman senate had always dis-claimed the unequal conditions which were extorted fromthe distress of their captive armies; and, if it were necessaryto satisfy the national honor, by delivering the guilty gen-eral into the hands of the Barbarians, the greatest part of thesubjects of Jovian would have cheerfully acquiesced in theprecedent of ancient times.1286

But the emperor, whatever might be the limits of his con-stitutional authority, was the absolute master of the lawsand arms of the state; and the same motives which hadforced him to subscribe, now pressed him to execute, thetreaty of peace. He was impatient to secure an empire atthe expense of a few provinces; and the respectable namesof religion and honor concealed the personal fears and am-bition of Jovian. Notwithstanding the dutiful solicitationsof the inhabitants, decency, as well as prudence, forbadethe emperor to lodge in the palace of Nisibis; but the nextmorning after his arrival. Bineses, the ambassador of Per-sia, entered the place, displayed from the citadel the stan-dard of the Great King, and proclaimed, in his name, thecruel alternative of exile or servitude. The principal citi-1285Ammianus and Eutropius may be admitted as fair and credible

witnesses of the public language and opinions The people of Antiochreviled an ignominious peace, which exposed them to the Persians, ona naked and defenceless frontier, (Excerpt Valesiana, p 845, ex JohanneAntiocheno)1286The Abbe de la Bleterie, (Hist de Jovien, tom i p 212-227) though

a severe casuist, has pronounced that Jovian was not bound to executehis promise; since he could not dismember the empire, nor alienate,without their consent, the allegiance of his people I have never foundmuch delight or instruction in such political metaphysics

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zens of Nisibis, who, till that fatal moment, had confidedin the protection of their sovereign, threw themselves athis feet. They conjured him not to abandon, or, at least,not to deliver, a faithful colony to the rage of a Barbariantyrant, exasperated by the three successive defeats whichhe had experienced under the walls of Nisibis. They stillpossessed arms and courage to repel the invaders of theircountry: they requested only the permission of using themin their own defence; and, as soon as they had assertedtheir independence, they should implore the favor of beingagain admitted into the ranks of his subjects. Their argu-ments, their eloquence, their tears, were ineffectual. Jovianalleged, with some confusion, the sanctity of oaths; and,as the reluctance with which he accepted the present of acrown of gold, convinced the citizens of their hopeless con-dition, the advocate Sylvanus was provoked to exclaim, “Oemperor! may you thus be crowned by all the cities of yourdominions!” Jovian, who in a few weeks had assumed thehabits of a prince,1287 was displeased with freedom, andoffended with truth: and as he reasonably supposed, thatthe discontent of the people might incline them to submitto the Persian government, he published an edict, underpain of death, that they should leave the city within theterm of three days. Ammianus has delineated in lively col-ors the scene of universal despair, which he seems to haveviewed with an eye of compassion.1288 The martial youthdeserted, with indignant grief, the walls which they had sogloriously defended: the disconsolate mourner dropped alast tear over the tomb of a son or husband, which mustsoon be profaned by the rude hand of a Barbarian mas-ter; and the aged citizen kissed the threshold, and clung tothe doors, of the house where he had passed the cheerful

1287At Nisibis he performed a royal act A brave officer, his namesake,who had been thought worthy of the purple, was dragged from sup-per, thrown into a well, and stoned to death without any form of trialor evidence of guilt Anomian xxv 81288See xxv 9, and Zosimus, l iii p 194, 195

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and careless hours of infancy. The highways were crowdedwith a trembling multitude: the distinctions of rank, andsex, and age, were lost in the general calamity. Every onestrove to bear away some fragment from the wreck of hisfortunes; and as they could not command the immediateservice of an adequate number of horses or wagons, theywere obliged to leave behind them the greatest part of theirvaluable effects. The savage insensibility of Jovian appearsto have aggravated the hardships of these unhappy fugi-tives. They were seated, however, in a new-built quarterof Amida; and that rising city, with the reenforcement of avery considerable colony, soon recovered its former splen-dor, and became the capital of Mesopotamia.1289 Similarorders were despatched by the emperor for the evacuationof Singara and the castle of the Moors; and for the restitu-tion of the five provinces beyond the Tigris. Sapor enjoyedthe glory and the fruits of his victory; and this ignominiouspeace has justly been considered as a memorable aera in thedecline and fall of the Roman empire. The predecessors ofJovian had sometimes relinquished the dominion of distantand unprofitable provinces; but, since the foundation of thecity, the genius of Rome, the god Terminus, who guardedthe boundaries of the republic, had never retired before thesword of a victorious enemy.1290

After Jovian had performed those engagements whichthe voice of his people might have tempted him to violate,he hastened away from the scene of his disgrace, and pro-ceeded with his whole court to enjoy the luxury of Anti-och.1291 Without consulting the dictates of religious zeal, he

1289Chron Paschal p 300 The ecclesiastical Notitie may be consulted1290Zosimus, l iii p 192, 193 Sextus Rufus de Provinciis, c 29 Augustin

de Civitat Dei, l iv c 29 This general position must be applied andinterpreted with some caution1291Ammianus, xxv 9 Zosimus, l iii p 196 He might be edax, vino

Venerique indulgens But I agree with La Bleterie (tom i p 148-154) inrejecting the foolish report of a Bacchanalian riot (ap Suidam) cele-brated at Antioch, by the emperor, his wife, and a troop of concubines

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was prompted, by humanity and gratitude, to bestow thelast honors on the remains of his deceased sovereign:1292and Procopius, who sincerely bewailed the loss of his kins-man, was removed from the command of the army, underthe decent pretence of conducting the funeral. The corpseof Julian was transported from Nisibis to Tarsus, in a slowmarch of fifteen days; and, as it passed through the citiesof the East, was saluted by the hostile factions, with mourn-ful lamentations and clamorous insults. The Pagans alreadyplaced their beloved hero in the rank of those gods whoseworship he had restored; while the invectives of the Chris-tians pursued the soul of the Apostate to hell, and his bodyto the grave.1293 One party lamented the approaching ruinof their altars; the other celebrated the marvellous deliver-ance of their church. The Christians applauded, in lofty andambiguous strains, the stroke of divine vengeance, whichhad been so long suspended over the guilty head of Ju-lian. They acknowledge, that the death of the tyrant, at theinstant he expired beyond the Tigris, was revealed to thesaints of Egypt, Syria, and Cappadocia;1294 and instead ofsuffering him to fall by the Persian darts, their indiscretionascribed the heroic deed to the obscure hand of some mortalor immortal champion of the faith.1295 Such imprudent dec-

1292The Abbe de la Bleterie (tom i p 156-209) handsomely exposes thebrutal bigotry of Baronius, who would have thrown Julian to the dogs,ne cespititia quidem sepultura dignus1293Compare the sophist and the saint, (Libanius, Monod tom ii p 251,

and Orat Parent c 145, p 367, c 156, p 377, with Gregory Nazianzen,Orat iv p 125-132) The Christian orator faintly mutters some exhorta-tions to modesty and forgiveness; but he is well satisfied, that the realsufferings of Julian will far exceed the fabulous torments of Ixion orTantalus1294Tillemont (Hist des Empereurs, tom iv p 549) has collected these

visions Some saint or angel was observed to be absent in the night, ona secret expedition, &c1295Sozomen (l vi 2) applauds the Greek doctrine of tyrannicide; but

the whole passage, which a Jesuit might have translated, is prudentlysuppressed by the president Cousin

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larations were eagerly adopted by the malice, or credulity,of their adversaries;1296 who darkly insinuated, or confi-dently asserted, that the governors of the church had insti-gated and directed the fanaticism of a domestic assassin.1297Above sixteen years after the death of Julian, the chargewas solemnly and vehemently urged, in a public oration,addressed by Libanius to the emperor Theodosius. His sus-picions are unsupported by fact or argument; and we canonly esteem the generous zeal of the sophist of Antioch forthe cold and neglected ashes of his friend.1298

It was an ancient custom in the funerals, as well as in thetriumphs, of the Romans, that the voice of praise shouldbe corrected by that of satire and ridicule; and that, in themidst of the splendid pageants, which displayed the gloryof the living or of the dead, their imperfections should notbe concealed from the eyes of the world.1299 This customwas practised in the funeral of Julian. The comedians, whoresented his contempt and aversion for the theatre, exhib-

1296Immediately after the death of Julian, an uncertain rumor wasscattered, telo cecidisse Romano It was carried, by some deserters tothe Persian camp; and the Romans were reproached as the assassinsof the emperor by Sapor and his subjects, (Ammian xxv 6 Libanius deulciscenda Juliani nece, c xiii p 162, 163) It was urged, as a decisiveproof, that no Persian had appeared to claim the promised reward,(Liban Orat Parent c 141, p 363) But the flying horseman, who dartedthe fatal javelin, might be ignorant of its effect; or he might be slain inthe same action Ammianus neither feels nor inspires a suspicion1297This dark and ambiguous expression may point to Athanasius,

the first, without a rival, of the Christian clergy, (Libanius de ulcis Julnece, c 5, p 149 La Bleterie, Hist de Jovien, tom i p 179)1298The orator (Fabricius, Bibliot Graec tom vii p 145-179) scatters

suspicions, demands an inquiry, and insinuates, that proofs might stillbe obtained He ascribes the success of the Huns to the criminal neglectof revenging Julian’s death1299At the funeral of Vespasian, the comedian who personated that

frugal emperor, anxiously inquired how much it cost Fourscore thou-sand pounds, (centies) Give me the tenth part of the sum, and throwmy body into the Tiber Sueton, in Vespasian, c 19, with the notes ofCasaubon and Gronovius

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ited, with the applause of a Christian audience, the livelyand exaggerated representation of the faults and follies ofthe deceased emperor. His various character and singu-lar manners afforded an ample scope for pleasantry andridicule.1300 In the exercise of his uncommon talents, he of-ten descended below the majesty of his rank. Alexanderwas transformed into Diogenes; the philosopher was de-graded into a priest. The purity of his virtue was sulliedby excessive vanity; his superstition disturbed the peace,and endangered the safety, of a mighty empire; and his ir-regular sallies were the less entitled to indulgence, as theyappeared to be the laborious efforts of art, or even of affecta-tion. The remains of Julian were interred at Tarsus in Cilicia;but his stately tomb, which arose in that city, on the banksof the cold and limpid Cydnus,1301 was displeasing to thefaithful friends, who loved and revered the memory of thatextraordinary man. The philosopher expressed a very rea-sonable wish, that the disciple of Plato might have reposedamidst the groves of the academy;1302 while the soldier ex-claimed, in bolder accents, that the ashes of Julian shouldhave been mingled with those of Caesar, in the field of Mars,and among the ancient monuments of Roman virtue.1303The history of princes does not very frequently renew theexamples of a similar competition.

1300Gregory (Orat iv p 119, 120) compares this supposed ignominyand ridicule to the funeral honors of Constantius, whose body waschanted over Mount Taurus by a choir of angels1301Quintus Curtius, l iii c 4 The luxuriancy of his descriptions has

been often censured Yet it was almost the duty of the historian to de-scribe a river, whose waters had nearly proved fatal to Alexander1302Libanius, Orat Parent c 156, p 377 Yet he acknowledges with grat-

itude the liberality of the two royal brothers in decorating the tomb ofJulian, (de ulcis Jul nece, c 7, p 152)1303Cujus suprema et cineres, si qui tunc juste consuleret, non Cyd-

nus videre deberet, quamvis gratissimus amnis et liquidus: sed adperpetuandam gloriam recte factorum praeterlambere Tiberis, inter-secans urbem aeternam, divorumque veterum monumenta praestrin-gens Ammian xxv 10

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Chapter XXV

REIGNS OF JOVIAN AND VALENTINIAN,DIVISION OF THE EMPIRE

Part I

The Government And Death Of Jovian.–Election Of Valentinian, Who Associates His

Brother Valens,And Makes The Final Division Of The Eastern

And Western Empires.–Revolt Of Procopius.–Civil And Ecclesiastical Administration.–Germany–Britain–Africa–The East–The Danube–Death Of Valentinian–His Two Sons, Gratian And Valentinian II., Suc-

ceed To The Western Empire.

THE death of Julian had left the public affairs of the em-pire in a very doubtful and dangerous situation. The

Roman army was saved by an inglorious, perhaps a neces-sary treaty;1304 and the first moments of peace were conse-crated by the pious Jovian to restore the domestic tranquil-ity of the church and state. The indiscretion of his prede-cessor, instead of reconciling, had artfully fomented the re-ligious war: and the balance which he affected to preservebetween the hostile factions, served only to perpetuate thecontest, by the vicissitudes of hope and fear, by the rivalclaims of ancient possession and actual favor. The Chris-tians had forgotten the spirit of the gospel; and the Pagans1304The medals of Jovian adorn him with victories, laurel crowns, and

prostrate captives Ducange, Famil Byzantin p 52 Flattery is a foolishsuicide; she destroys herself with her own hands

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had imbibed the spirit of the church. In private families, thesentiments of nature were extinguished by the blind furyof zeal and revenge: the majesty of the laws was violatedor abused; the cities of the East were stained with blood;and the most implacable enemies of the Romans were inthe bosom of their country. Jovian was educated in the pro-fession of Christianity; and as he marched from Nisibis toAntioch, the banner of the Cross, the Labarum of Constan-tine, which was again displayed at the head of the legions,announced to the people the faith of their new emperor.As soon as he ascended the throne, he transmitted a cir-cular epistle to all the governors of provinces; in which heconfessed the divine truth, and secured the legal establish-ment, of the Christian religion. The insidious edicts of Julianwere abolished; the ecclesiastical immunities were restoredand enlarged; and Jovian condescended to lament, that thedistress of the times obliged him to diminish the measureof charitable distributions.1305 The Christians were unani-mous in the loud and sincere applause which they bestowedon the pious successor of Julian. But they were still igno-rant what creed, or what synod, he would choose for thestandard of orthodoxy; and the peace of the church imme-diately revived those eager disputes which had been sus-pended during the season of persecution. The episcopalleaders of the contending sects, convinced, from experience,how much their fate would depend on the earliest impres-sions that were made on the mind of an untutored soldier,hastened to the court of Edessa, or Antioch. The highwaysof the East were crowded with Homoousian, and Arian,and Semi-Arian, and Eunomian bishops, who struggled tooutstrip each other in the holy race: the apartments of the

1305Jovian restored to the church a forcible and comprehensive ex-pression, (Philostorgius, l viii c 5, with Godefroy’s Dissertations, p 329Sozomen, l vi c 3) The new law which condemned the rape or mar-riage of nuns (Cod Theod l ix tit xxv leg 2) is exaggerated by Sozomen;who supposes, that an amorous glance, the adultery of the heart, waspunished with death by the evangelic legislator

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palace resounded with their clamors; and the ears of theprince were assaulted, and perhaps astonished, by the sin-gular mixture of metaphysical argument and passionate in-vective.1306 The moderation of Jovian, who recommendedconcord and charity, and referred the disputants to the sen-tence of a future council, was interpreted as a symptom ofindifference: but his attachment to the Nicene creed was atlength discovered and declared, by the reverence which heexpressed for the celestial1307 virtues of the great Athana-sius. The intrepid veteran of the faith, at the age of sev-enty, had issued from his retreat on the first intelligence ofthe tyrant’s death. The acclamations of the people seatedhim once more on the archiepiscopal throne; and he wiselyaccepted, or anticipated, the invitation of Jovian. The ven-erable figure of Athanasius, his calm courage, and insinu-ating eloquence, sustained the reputation which he had al-ready acquired in the courts of four successive princes.1308As soon as he had gained the confidence, and secured thefaith, of the Christian emperor, he returned in triumph tohis diocese, and continued, with mature counsels and undi-minished vigor, to direct, ten years longer,1309 the ecclesi-

1306Compare Socrates, l iii c 25, and Philostorgius, l viii c 6, withGodefroy’s Dissertations, p 3301307The word celestial faintly expresses the impious and extravagant

flattery of the emperor to the archbishop (See the original epistle inAthanasius, tom ii p 33) Gregory Nazianzen (Orat xxi p 392) celebratesthe friendship of Jovian and Athanasius The primate’s journey wasadvised by the Egyptian monks, (Tillemont, Mem Eccles tom viii p221)1308Athanasius, at the court of Antioch, is agreeably represented by

La Bleterie, (Hist de Jovien, tom i p 121-148;) he translates the singularand original conferences of the emperor, the primate of Egypt, and theArian deputies The Abbe is not satisfied with the coarse pleasantryof Jovian; but his partiality for Athanasius assumes, in his eyes, thecharacter of justice1309The true area of his death is perplexed with some difficulties,

(Tillemont, Mem Eccles tom viii p 719-723) But the date (A D 373, May2) which seems the most consistent with history and reason, is ratifiedby his authentic life, (Maffei Osservazioni Letterarie, tom iii p 81)

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astical government of Alexandria, Egypt, and the Catholicchurch. Before his departure from Antioch, he assured Jo-vian that his orthodox devotion would be rewarded with along and peaceful reign. Athanasius, had reason to hope,that he should be allowed either the merit of a successfulprediction, or the excuse of a grateful though ineffectualprayer.1310

The slightest force, when it is applied to assist and guidethe natural descent of its object, operates with irresistibleweight; and Jovian had the good fortune to embrace thereligious opinions which were supported by the spirit ofthe times, and the zeal and numbers of the most powerfulsect.1311 Under his reign, Christianity obtained an easy andlasting victory; and as soon as the smile of royal patronagewas withdrawn, the genius of Paganism, which had beenfondly raised and cherished by the arts of Julian, sunk ir-recoverably in the. In many cities, the temples were shutor deserted: the philosophers who had abused their tran-sient favor, thought it prudent to shave their beards, anddisguise their profession; and the Christians rejoiced, thatthey were now in a condition to forgive, or to revenge,the injuries which they had suffered under the precedingreign.1312 The consternation of the Pagan world was dis-pelled by a wise and gracious edict of toleration; in whichJovian explicitly declared, that although he should severelypunish the sacrilegious rites of magic, his subjects might ex-ercise, with freedom and safety, the ceremonies of the an-1310See the observations of Valesius and Jortin (Remarks on Ecclesias-

tical History, vol iv p 38) on the original letter of Athanasius; which ispreserved by Theodoret, (l iv c 3) In some Mss this indiscreet promiseis omitted; perhaps by the Catholics, jealous of the prophetic fame oftheir leader1311Athanasius (apud Theodoret, l iv c 3) magnifies the number of the

orthodox, who composed the whole world This assertion was verifiedin the space of thirty and forty years1312Socrates, l iii c 24 Gregory Nazianzen (Orat iv p 131) and Libanius

(Orat Parentalis, c 148, p 369) expresses the living sentiments of theirrespective factions

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cient worship. The memory of this law has been preservedby the orator Themistius, who was deputed by the senate ofConstantinople to express their royal devotion for the newemperor. Themistius expatiates on the clemency of the Di-vine Nature, the facility of human error, the rights of con-science, and the independence of the mind; and, with someeloquence, inculcates the principles of philosophical tolera-tion; whose aid Superstition herself, in the hour of her dis-tress, is not ashamed to implore. He justly observes, that inthe recent changes, both religions had been alternately dis-graced by the seeming acquisition of worthless proselytes,of those votaries of the reigning purple, who could pass,without a reason, and without a blush, from the church tothe temple, and from the altars of Jupiter to the sacred tableof the Christians.1313

In the space of seven months, the Roman troops, whowere now returned to Antioch, had performed a march offifteen hundred miles; in which they had endured all thehardships of war, of famine, and of climate. Notwithstand-ing their services, their fatigues, and the approach of win-ter, the timid and impatient Jovian allowed only, to the menand horses, a respite of six weeks. The emperor could notsustain the indiscreet and malicious raillery of the people ofAntioch.1314 He was impatient to possess the palace of Con-stantinople; and to prevent the ambition of some competi-tor, who might occupy the vacant allegiance of Europe. Buthe soon received the grateful intelligence, that his authoritywas acknowledged from the Thracian Bosphorus to the At-lantic Ocean. By the first letters which he despatched from

1313Themistius, Orat v p 63-71, edit Harduin, Paris, 1684 The Abbede la Bleterie judiciously remarks, (Hist de Jovien, tom i p 199,) thatSozomen has forgot the general toleration; and Themistius the estab-lishment of the Catholic religion Each of them turned away from theobject which he disliked, and wished to suppress the part of the edictthe least honorable, in his opinion, to the emperor1314Johan Antiochen in Excerpt Valesian p 845 The libels of Antioch

may be admitted on very slight evidence

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the camp of Mesopotamia, he had delegated the militarycommand of Gaul and Illyricum to Malarich, a brave andfaithful officer of the nation of the Franks; and to his father-in-law, Count Lucillian, who had formerly distinguished hiscourage and conduct in the defence of Nisibis. Malarich haddeclined an office to which he thought himself unequal; andLucillian was massacred at Rheims, in an accidental mutinyof the Batavian cohorts.1315 But the moderation of Jovinus,master-general of the cavalry, who forgave the intentionof his disgrace, soon appeased the tumult, and confirmedthe uncertain minds of the soldiers. The oath of fidelitywas administered and taken, with loyal acclamations; andthe deputies of the Western armies1316 saluted their newsovereign as he descended from Mount Taurus to the city ofTyana in Cappadocia. From Tyana he continued his hastymarch to Ancyra, capital of the province of Galatia; whereJovian assumed, with his infant son, the name and ensignsof the consulship.1317 Dadastana,1318 an obscure town, al-most at an equal distance between Ancyra and Nice, wasmarked for the fatal term of his journey and life. After in-dulging himself with a plentiful, perhaps an intemperate,supper, he retired to rest; and the next morning the emperorJovian was found dead in his bed. The cause of this sudden

1315Compare Ammianus, (xxv 10,) who omits the name of the Batar-ians, with Zosimus, (l iii p 197,) who removes the scene of action fromRheims to Sirmium1316Quos capita scholarum ordo castrensis appellat Ammian xxv 10,

and Vales ad locum1317Cugus vagitus, pertinaciter reluctantis, ne in curuli sella vehere-

tur ex more, id quod mox accidit protendebat Augustus and his suc-cessors respectfully solicited a dispensation of age for the sons ornephews whom they raised to the consulship But the curule chair ofthe first Brutus had never been dishonored by an infant1318The Itinerary of Antoninus fixes Dadastana 125 Roman miles

from Nice; 117 from Ancyra, (Wesseling, Itinerar p 142) The pilgrimof Bourdeaux, by omitting some stages, reduces the whole spacefrom 242 to 181 miles Wesseling, p 574 (Dadastana is supposed to beCastabat–M

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death was variously understood. By some it was ascribedto the consequences of an indigestion, occasioned either bythe quantity of the wine, or the quality of the mushrooms,which he had swallowed in the evening. According to oth-ers, he was suffocated in his sleep by the vapor of charcoal,which extracted from the walls of the apartment the un-wholesome moisture of the fresh plaster.1319 But the wantof a regular inquiry into the death of a prince, whose reignand person were soon forgotten, appears to have been theonly circumstance which countenanced the malicious whis-pers of poison and domestic guilt.1320 The body of Jovianwas sent to Constantinople, to be interred with his prede-cessors, and the sad procession was met on the road byhis wife Charito, the daughter of Count Lucillian; who stillwept the recent death of her father, and was hastening todry her tears in the embraces of an Imperial husband. Herdisappointment and grief were imbittered by the anxiety ofmaternal tenderness. Six weeks before the death of Jovian,his infant son had been placed in the curule chair, adornedwith the title of Nobilissimus, and the vain ensigns of theconsulship. Unconscious of his fortune, the royal youth,who, from his grandfather, assumed the name of Varronian,was reminded only by the jealousy of the government, thathe was the son of an emperor. Sixteen years afterwards hewas still alive, but he had already been deprived of an eye;and his afflicted mother expected every hour, that the inno-cent victim would be torn from her arms, to appease, withhis blood, the suspicions of the reigning prince.1321

1319See Ammianus, (xxv 10,) Eutropius, (x 18) who might likewise bepresent, Jerom, (tom i p 26, ad Heliodorum) Orosius, (vii 31,) Sozomen,(l vi c 6,) Zosimus, (l iii p 197, 198,) and Zonaras, (tom ii l xiii p 28, 29)We cannot expect a perfect agreement, and we shall not discuss minutedifferences1320Ammianus, unmindful of his usual candor and good sense, com-

pares the death of the harmless Jovian to that of the second Africanus,who had excited the fears and resentment of the popular faction1321Chrysostom, tom i p 336, 344, edit Montfaucon The Christian ora-

tor attempts to comfort a widow by the examples of illustrious misfor-

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After the death of Jovian, the throne of the Roman worldremained ten days,1322 without a master. The ministersand generals still continued to meet in council; to exercisetheir respective functions; to maintain the public order; andpeaceably to conduct the army to the city of Nice in Bithy-nia, which was chosen for the place of the election.1323 Ina solemn assembly of the civil and military powers of theempire, the diadem was again unanimously offered to thepraefect Sallust. He enjoyed the glory of a second refusal:and when the virtues of the father were alleged in favor ofhis son, the praefect, with the firmness of a disinterested pa-triot, declared to the electors, that the feeble age of the one,and the unexperienced youth of the other, were equally in-capable of the laborious duties of government. Several can-didates were proposed; and, after weighing the objectionsof character or situation, they were successively rejected;but, as soon as the name of Valentinian was pronounced,the merit of that officer united the suffrages of the wholeassembly, and obtained the sincere approbation of Sallusthimself. Valentinian1324 was the son of Count Gratian, a

tunes; and observes, that of nine emperors (including the Caesar Gal-lus) who had reigned in his time, only two (Constantine and Constan-tius) died a natural death Such vague consolations have never wipedaway a single tear1322Ten days appear scarcely sufficient for the march and election But

it may be observed, 1 That the generals might command the expedi-tious use of the public posts for themselves, their attendants, and mes-sengers 2 That the troops, for the ease of the cities, marched in manydivisions; and that the head of the column might arrive at Nice, whenthe rear halted at Ancyra1323Ammianus, xxvi 1 Zosimus, l iii p 198 Philostorgius, l viii c 8,

and Godefroy, Dissertat p 334 Philostorgius, who appears to have ob-tained some curious and authentic intelligence, ascribes the choice ofValentinian to the praefect Sallust, the master-general Arintheus, Da-galaiphus count of the domestics, and the patrician Datianus, whosepressing recommendations from Ancyra had a weighty influence inthe election1324Ammianus (xxx 7, 9) and the younger Victor have furnished the

portrait of Valentinian, which naturally precedes and illustrates the

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native of Cibalis, in Pannonia, who from an obscure condi-tion had raised himself, by matchless strength and dexter-ity, to the military commands of Africa and Britain; fromwhich he retired with an ample fortune and suspicious in-tegrity. The rank and services of Gratian contributed, how-ever, to smooth the first steps of the promotion of his son;and afforded him an early opportunity of displaying thosesolid and useful qualifications, which raised his characterabove the ordinary level of his fellow-soldiers. The per-son of Valentinian was tall, graceful, and majestic. Hismanly countenance, deeply marked with the impression ofsense and spirit, inspired his friends with awe, and his en-emies with fear; and to second the efforts of his undauntedcourage, the son of Gratian had inherited the advantages ofa strong and healthy constitution. By the habits of chastityand temperance, which restrain the appetites and invigo-rate the faculties, Valentinian preserved his own and thepublic esteem. The avocations of a military life had divertedhis youth from the elegant pursuits of literature;1325 he wasignorant of the Greek language, and the arts of rhetoric; butas the mind of the orator was never disconcerted by timidperplexity, he was able, as often as the occasion promptedhim, to deliver his decided sentiments with bold and readyelocution. The laws of martial discipline were the only lawsthat he had studied; and he was soon distinguished by thelaborious diligence, and inflexible severity, with which hedischarged and enforced the duties of the camp. In thetime of Julian he provoked the danger of disgrace, by thecontempt which he publicly expressed for the reigning reli-

history of his reign (Symmachus, in a fragment of an oration publishedby M Mai, describes Valentinian as born among the snows of Illyria,and habituated to military labor amid the heat and dust of Libya: gen-itus in frigoribus, educatus is solibus Sym Orat Frag edit Niebuhr, p5–M1325According to Ammianus, he wrote elegantly, and was skilled in

painting and modelling Scribens decore, venusteque pingens et fin-gens xxx 7–M

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gion;1326 and it should seem, from his subsequent conduct,that the indiscreet and unseasonable freedom of Valentinianwas the effect of military spirit, rather than of Christian zeal.He was pardoned, however, and still employed by a princewho esteemed his merit;1327 and in the various events ofthe Persian war, he improved the reputation which he hadalready acquired on the banks of the Rhine. The celerity andsuccess with which he executed an important commission,recommended him to the favor of Jovian; and to the hon-orable command of the second school, or company, of Tar-getiers, of the domestic guards. In the march from Antioch,he had reached his quarters at Ancyra, when he was unex-pectedly summoned, without guilt and without intrigue, toassume, in the forty-third year of his age, the absolute gov-ernment of the Roman empire.

The invitation of the ministers and generals at Nice wasof little moment, unless it were confirmed by the voice ofthe army.

The aged Sallust, who had long observed the irregularfluctuations of popular assemblies, proposed, under pain ofdeath, that none of those persons, whose rank in the servicemight excite a party in their favor, should appear in publicon the day of the inauguration. Yet such was the prevalenceof ancient superstition, that a whole day was voluntarilyadded to this dangerous interval, because it happened to bethe intercalation of the Bissextile.1328 At length, when thehour was supposed to be propitious, Valentinian showed1326At Antioch, where he was obliged to attend the emperor to the

table, he struck a priest, who had presumed to purify him with lus-tral water, (Sozomen, l vi c 6 Theodoret, l iii c 15) Such public defiancemight become Valentinian; but it could leave no room for the unwor-thy delation of the philosopher Maximus, which supposes some moreprivate offence, (Zosimus, l iv p 200, 201)1327Socrates, l iv A previous exile to Melitene, or Thebais (the

first might be possible,) is interposed by Sozomen (l vi c 6) andPhilostorgius, (l vii c 7, with Godefroy’s Dissertations, p 293)1328Ammianus, in a long, because unseasonable, digression, (xxvi l,

and Valesius, ad locum,) rashly supposes that he understands an astro-

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himself from a lofty tribunal; the judicious choice was ap-plauded; and the new prince was solemnly invested withthe diadem and the purple, amidst the acclamation of thetroops, who were disposed in martial order round the tri-bunal. But when he stretched forth his hand to address thearmed multitude, a busy whisper was accidentally startedin the ranks, and insensibly swelled into a loud and im-perious clamor, that he should name, without delay, a col-league in the empire. The intrepid calmness of Valentinianobtained silence, and commanded respect; and he thus ad-dressed the assembly: “A few minutes since it was in yourpower, fellow-soldiers, to have left me in the obscurity of aprivate station. Judging, from the testimony of my past life,that I deserved to reign, you have placed me on the throne.It is now my duty to consult the safety and interest of the re-public. The weight of the universe is undoubtedly too greatfor the hands of a feeble mortal. I am conscious of the limitsof my abilities, and the uncertainty of my life; and far fromdeclining, I am anxious to solicit, the assistance of a worthycolleague. But, where discord may be fatal, the choice ofa faithful friend requires mature and serious deliberation.That deliberation shall be my care. Let your conduct be du-tiful and consistent. Retire to your quarters; refresh yourminds and bodies; and expect the accustomed donative onthe accession of a new emperor.”1329 The astonished troops,with a mixture of pride, of satisfaction, and of terror, con-fessed the voice of their master.

Their angry clamors subsided into silent reverence; andValentinian, encompassed with the eagles of the legions,and the various banners of the cavalry and infantry, was

nomical question, of which his readers are ignorant It is treated withmore judgment and propriety by Censorinus (de Die Natali, c 20) andMacrobius, (Saturnal i c 12-16) The appellation of Bissextile, whichmarks the inauspicious year, (Augustin ad Januarium, Epist 119,) isderived from the repetition of the sixth day of the calends of March1329Valentinian’s first speech is in Ammianus, (xxvi 2;) concise and

sententious in Philostorgius, (l viii c 8)

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conducted, in warlike pomp, to the palace of Nice. Ashe was sensible, however, of the importance of preventingsome rash declaration of the soldiers, he consulted the as-sembly of the chiefs; and their real sentiments were con-cisely expressed by the generous freedom of Dagalaiphus.“Most excellent prince,” said that officer, “if you consideronly your family, you have a brother; if you love the repub-lic, look round for the most deserving of the Romans.”1330

The emperor, who suppressed his displeasure, without al-tering his intention, slowly proceeded from Nice to Nico-media and Constantinople. In one of the suburbs of thatcapital,1331 thirty days after his own elevation, he bestowedthe title of Augustus on his brother Valens;1332 and as theboldest patriots were convinced, that their opposition, with-out being serviceable to their country, would be fatal tothemselves, the declaration of his absolute will was receivedwith silent submission. Valens was now in the thirty-sixthyear of his age; but his abilities had never been exercisedin any employment, military or civil; and his character hadnot inspired the world with any sanguine expectations. Hepossessed, however, one quality, which recommended himto Valentinian, and preserved the domestic peace of theempire; devout and grateful attachment to his benefactor,whose superiority of genius, as well as of authority, Valenshumbly and cheerfully acknowledged in every action of his

1330Si tuos amas, Imperator optime, habes fratrem; si Rempublicamquaere quem vestias Ammian xxvi 4 In the division of the empire,Valentinian retained that sincere counsellor for himself, (c6)1331In suburbano, Ammian xxvi 4 The famous Hebdomon, or field of

Mars, was distant from Constantinople either seven stadia, or sevenmiles See Valesius, and his brother, ad loc, and Ducange, Const l ii p140, 141, 172, 1731332Symmachus praises the liberality of Valentinian in raising his

brother at once to the rank of Augustus, not training him through theslow and probationary degree of Caesar Exigui animi vices munerumpartiuntur, liberalitas desideriis nihil reliquit Symm Orat p 7 editNiebuhr, 1816, reprinted from Mai–M

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life.1333

1333Participem quidem legitimum potestatis; sed in modum appari-toris morigerum, ut progrediens aperiet textus Ammian xxvi 4

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Part II

BEFORE Valentinian divided the provinces, he reformedthe administration of the empire. All ranks of sub-

jects, who had been injured or oppressed under the reignof Julian, were invited to support their public accusations.The silence of mankind attested the spotless integrity ofthe praefect Sallust;1334 and his own pressing solicitations,that he might be permitted to retire from the business ofthe state, were rejected by Valentinian with the most hon-orable expressions of friendship and esteem. But amongthe favorites of the late emperor, there were many whohad abused his credulity or superstition; and who could nolonger hope to be protected either by favor or justice.1335The greater part of the ministers of the palace, and the gov-ernors of the provinces, were removed from their respectivestations; yet the eminent merit of some officers was distin-guished from the obnoxious crowd; and, notwithstandingthe opposite clamors of zeal and resentment, the whole pro-ceedings of this delicate inquiry appear to have been con-ducted with a reasonable share of wisdom and modera-tion.1336 The festivity of a new reign received a short andsuspicious interruption from the sudden illness of the twoprinces; but as soon as their health was restored, they leftConstantinople in the beginning of the spring. In the cas-tle, or palace, of Mediana, only three miles from Naissus,they executed the solemn and final division of the Roman

1334Notwithstanding the evidence of Zonaras, Suidas, and thePaschal Chronicle, M de Tillemont (Hist des Empereurs, tom v p 671)wishes to disbelieve those stories, si avantageuses a un payen1335Eunapius celebrates and exaggerates the sufferings of Maximus

(p 82, 83;) yet he allows that the sophist or magician, the guilty favoriteof Julian, and the personal enemy of Valentinian, was dismissed on thepayment of a small fine1336The loose assertions of a general disgrace (Zosimus, l iv p 201),

are detected and refuted by Tillemont, (tom v p 21)

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empire.1337 Valentinian bestowed on his brother the richpraefecture of the East, from the Lower Danube to the con-fines of Persia; whilst he reserved for his immediate gov-ernment the warlike(KEY:[49-3a) praefectures of Illyricum,Italy, and Gaul, from the extremity of Greece to the Caledo-nian rampart, and from the rampart of Caledonia to the footof Mount Atlas. The provincial administration remained onits former basis; but a double supply of generals and mag-istrates was required for two councils, and two courts: thedivision was made with a just regard to their peculiar meritand situation, and seven master-generals were soon created,either of the cavalry or infantry. When this important busi-ness had been amicably transacted, Valentinian and Valensembraced for the last time. The emperor of the West estab-lished his temporary residence at Milan; and the emperorof the East returned to Constantinople, to assume the do-minion of fifty provinces, of whose language he was totallyignorant.1338

The tranquility of the East was soon disturbed by rebel-lion; and the throne of Valens was threatened by the daringattempts of a rival whose affinity to the emperor Julian1339

was his sole merit, and had been his only crime. Procopiushad been hastily promoted from the obscure station of a tri-bune, and a notary, to the joint command of the army ofMesopotamia; the public opinion already named him as thesuccessor of a prince who was destitute of natural heirs; anda vain rumor was propagated by his friends, or his enemies,that Julian, before the altar of the Moon at Carrhae, had pri-1337Ammianus, xxvi 51338Ammianus says, in general terms, subagrestis ingenii, nec bel-

licis nec liberalibus studiis eruditus Ammian xxxi 14 The oratorThemistius, with the genuine impertinence of a Greek, wishes for thefirst time to speak the Latin language, the dialect of his sovereign Oratvi p 711339The uncertain degree of alliance, or consanguinity, is expressed

by the words, cognatus, consobrinus, (see Valesius ad Ammian xxiii 3)The mother of Procopius might be a sister of Basilina and Count Julian,the mother and uncle of the Apostate Ducange, Fam Byzantin p 49

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vately invested Procopius with the Imperial purple.1340 Heendeavored, by his dutiful and submissive behavior, to dis-arm the jealousy of Jovian; resigned, without a contest, hismilitary command; and retired, with his wife and family,to cultivate the ample patrimony which he possessed in theprovince of Cappadocia. These useful and innocent occupa-tions were interrupted by the appearance of an officer witha band of soldiers, who, in the name of his new sovereigns,Valentinian and Valens, was despatched to conduct the un-fortunate Procopius either to a perpetual prison or an igno-minious death. His presence of mind procured him a longerrespite, and a more splendid fate. Without presuming todispute the royal mandate, he requested the indulgence of afew moments to embrace his weeping family; and while thevigilance of his guards was relaxed by a plentiful entertain-ment, he dexterously escaped to the sea-coast of the Euxine,from whence he passed over to the country of Bosphorus.In that sequestered region he remained many months, ex-posed to the hardships of exile, of solitude, and of want; hismelancholy temper brooding over his misfortunes, and hismind agitated by the just apprehension, that, if any accidentshould discover his name, the faithless Barbarians wouldviolate, without much scruple, the laws of hospitality. In amoment of impatience and despair, Procopius embarked ina merchant vessel, which made sail for Constantinople; andboldly aspired to the rank of a sovereign, because he wasnot allowed to enjoy the security of a subject. At first helurked in the villages of Bithynia, continually changing hishabitation and his disguise.1341 By degrees he ventured intothe capital, trusted his life and fortune to the fidelity of two

1340Ammian xxiii 3, xxvi 6 He mentions the report with much hesita-tion: susurravit obscurior fama; nemo enim dicti auctor exstitit verusIt serves, however, to remark, that Procopius was a Pagan Yet his reli-gion does not appear to have promoted, or obstructed, his pretensions1341One of his retreats was a country-house of Eunomius, the heretic

The master was absent, innocent, ignorant; yet he narrowly escaped asentence of death, and was banished into the remote parts of Maurita-nia, (Philostorg l ix c 5, 8, and Godefroy’s Dissert p 369-378)

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friends, a senator and a eunuch, and conceived some hopesof success, from the intelligence which he obtained of theactual state of public affairs. The body of the people wasinfected with a spirit of discontent: they regretted the jus-tice and the abilities of Sallust, who had been imprudentlydismissed from the praefecture of the East. They despisedthe character of Valens, which was rude without vigor, andfeeble without mildness. They dreaded the influence of hisfather-in-law, the patrician Petronius, a cruel and rapaciousminister, who rigorously exacted all the arrears of tributethat might remain unpaid since the reign of the emperorAurelian. The circumstances were propitious to the designsof a usurper. The hostile measures of the Persians requiredthe presence of Valens in Syria: from the Danube to the Eu-phrates the troops were in motion; and the capital was occa-sionally filled with the soldiers who passed or repassed theThracian Bosphorus. Two cohorts of Gaul were persuadedto listen to the secret proposals of the conspirators; whichwere recommended by the promise of a liberal donative;and, as they still revered the memory of Julian, they easilyconsented to support the hereditary claim of his proscribedkinsman. At the dawn of day they were drawn up nearthe baths of Anastasia; and Procopius, clothed in a purplegarment, more suitable to a player than to a monarch, ap-peared, as if he rose from the dead, in the midst of Con-stantinople. The soldiers, who were prepared for his re-ception, saluted their trembling prince with shouts of joyand vows of fidelity. Their numbers were soon increasedby a band of sturdy peasants, collected from the adjacentcountry; and Procopius, shielded by the arms of his adher-ents, was successively conducted to the tribunal, the sen-ate, and the palace. During the first moments of his tumul-tuous reign, he was astonished and terrified by the gloomysilence of the people; who were either ignorant of the cause,or apprehensive of the event. But his military strength wassuperior to any actual resistance: the malecontents flockedto the standard of rebellion; the poor were excited by the

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hopes, and the rich were intimidated by the fear, of a gen-eral pillage; and the obstinate credulity of the multitude wasonce more deceived by the promised advantages of a revo-lution. The magistrates were seized; the prisons and arse-nals broke open; the gates, and the entrance of the harbor,were diligently occupied; and, in a few hours, Procopiusbecame the absolute, though precarious, master of the Im-perial city.1342 The usurper improved this unexpected suc-cess with some degree of courage and dexterity. He artfullypropagated the rumors and opinions the most favorable tohis interest; while he deluded the populace by giving audi-ence to the frequent, but imaginary, ambassadors of distantnations. The large bodies of troops stationed in the citiesof Thrace and the fortresses of the Lower Danube, weregradually involved in the guilt of rebellion: and the Gothicprinces consented to supply the sovereign of Constantino-ple with the formidable strength of several thousand aux-iliaries. His generals passed the Bosphorus, and subdued,without an effort, the unarmed, but wealthy provinces ofBithynia and Asia. After an honorable defence, the city andisland of Cyzicus yielded to his power; the renowned le-gions of the Jovians and Herculeans embraced the cause ofthe usurper, whom they were ordered to crush; and, as theveterans were continually augmented with new levies, hesoon appeared at the head of an army, whose valor, as wellas numbers, were not unequal to the greatness of the con-test. The son of Hormisdas,1343 a youth of spirit and abil-

1342It may be suspected, from a fragment of Eunapius, that the hea-then and philosophic party espoused the cause of Procopius Heraclius,the Cynic, a man who had been honored by a philosophic controversywith Julian, striking the ground with his staff, incited him to couragewith the line of Homer Eunapius Mai, p 207 or in Niebuhr’s edition, p73–M1343Hormisdae maturo juveni Hormisdae regalis illius filio, potes-

tatem Proconsulis detulit; et civilia, more veterum, et bella, recturoAmmian xxvi 8 The Persian prince escaped with honor and safety, andwas afterwards (A D 380) restored to the same extraordinary office ofproconsul of Bithynia, (Tillemont, Hist des Empereurs, tom v p 204) I

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ity, condescended to draw his sword against the lawful em-peror of the East; and the Persian prince was immediatelyinvested with the ancient and extraordinary powers of a Ro-man Proconsul. The alliance of Faustina, the widow of theemperor Constantius, who intrusted herself and her daugh-ter to the hands of the usurper, added dignity and reputa-tion to his cause. The princess Constantia, who was thenabout five years of age, accompanied, in a litter, the marchof the army. She was shown to the multitude in the armsof her adopted father; and, as often as she passed throughthe ranks, the tenderness of the soldiers was inflamed intomartial fury:1344 they recollected the glories of the house ofConstantine, and they declared, with loyal acclamation, thatthey would shed the last drop of their blood in the defenceof the royal infant.1345

In the mean while Valentinian was alarmed and per-plexed by the doubtful intelligence of the revolt of theEast.1346 The difficulties of a German was forced him toconfine his immediate care to the safety of his own domin-ions; and, as every channel of communication was stoppedor corrupted, he listened, with doubtful anxiety, to the ru-mors which were industriously spread, that the defeat anddeath of Valens had left Procopius sole master of the East-ern provinces. Valens was not dead: but on the news ofthe rebellion, which he received at Caesarea, he basely de-spaired of his life and fortune; proposed to negotiate with

am ignorant whether the race of Sassan was propagated I find (A D514) a pope Hormisdas; but he was a native of Frusino, in Italy, (PagiBrev Pontific tom i p 247)1344The infant rebel was afterwards the wife of the emperor Gratian

but she died young, and childless See Ducange, Fam Byzantin p 48, 591345Sequimini culminis summi prosapiam, was the language of Pro-

copius, who affected to despise the obscure birth, and fortuitous elec-tion of the upstart Pannonian Ammian xxvi 71346Symmachus describes his embarrassment “The Germans are the

common enemies of the state, Procopius the private foe of the Em-peror; his first care must be victory, his second revenge” Symm Orat p11–M

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the usurper, and discovered his secret inclination to abdi-cate the Imperial purple. The timid monarch was savedfrom disgrace and ruin by the firmness of his ministers, andtheir abilities soon decided in his favor the event of the civilwar. In a season of tranquillity, Sallust had resigned with-out a murmur; but as soon as the public safety was attacked,he ambitiously solicited the preeminence of toil and danger;and the restoration of that virtuous minister to the praefec-ture of the East, was the first step which indicated the repen-tance of Valens, and satisfied the minds of the people. Thereign of Procopius was apparently supported by powerfularmies and obedient provinces. But many of the principalofficers, military as well as civil, had been urged, either bymotives of duty or interest, to withdraw themselves fromthe guilty scene; or to watch the moment of betraying, anddeserting, the cause of the usurper. Lupicinus advanced byhasty marches, to bring the legions of Syria to the aid ofValens. Arintheus, who, in strength, beauty, and valor, ex-celled all the heroes of the age, attacked with a small troop asuperior body of the rebels. When he beheld the faces of thesoldiers who had served under his banner, he commandedthem, with a loud voice, to seize and deliver up their pre-tended leader; and such was the ascendant of his genius,that this extraordinary order was instantly obeyed.1347 Ar-betio, a respectable veteran of the great Constantine, whohad been distinguished by the honors of the consulship,was persuaded to leave his retirement, and once more toconduct an army into the field. In the heat of action, calmlytaking off his helmet, he showed his gray hairs and ven-erable countenance: saluted the soldiers of Procopius by

1347Et dedignatus hominem superare certamine despicabilem, auc-toritatis et celsi fiducia corporis ipsis hostibus jussit, suum vincire rec-torem: atque ita turmarum, antesignanus umbratilis comprensus suo-rum manibus The strength and beauty of Arintheus, the new Hercules,are celebrated by St Basil, who supposed that God had created him asan inimitable model of the human species The painters and sculptorscould not express his figure: the historians appeared fabulous whenthey related his exploits, (Ammian xxvi and Vales ad loc)

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the endearing names of children and companions, and ex-horted them no longer to support the desperate cause ofa contemptible tyrant; but to follow their old commander,who had so often led them to honor and victory. In the twoengagements of Thyatira1348 and Nacolia, the unfortunateProcopius was deserted by his troops, who were seducedby the instructions and example of their perfidious officers.After wandering some time among the woods and moun-tains of Phyrgia, he was betrayed by his desponding fol-lowers, conducted to the Imperial camp, and immediatelybeheaded. He suffered the ordinary fate of an unsuccessfulusurper; but the acts of cruelty which were exercised by theconqueror, under the forms of legal justice, excited the pityand indignation of mankind.1349

Such indeed are the common and natural fruits of despo-tism and rebellion. But the inquisition into the crime ofmagic,1350 which, under the reign of the two brothers, was

1348The same field of battle is placed by Ammianus in Lycia, and byZosimus at Thyatira, which are at the distance of 150 miles from eachother But Thyatira alluitur Lyco, (Plin Hist Natur v 31, Cellarius, Geo-graph Antiq tom ii p 79;) and the transcribers might easily convert anobscure river into a well-known province (Ammianus and Zosimusplace the last battle at Nacolia in Phrygia; Ammianus altogether omitsthe former battle near Thyatira Procopius was on his march (iter ten-debat) towards Lycia See Wagner’s note, in c–M1349The adventures, usurpation, and fall of Procopius, are related,

in a regular series, by Ammianus, (xxvi 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,) and Zosimus,(l iv p 203-210) They often illustrate, and seldom contradict, eachother Themistius (Orat vii p 91, 92) adds some base panegyric; andEuna pius (p 83, 84) some malicious satire —-Symmachus joins withThemistius in praising the clemency of Valens dic victoriae moderatusest, quasi contra se nemo pugnavit Symm Orat p 12–M1350This infamous inquisition into sorcery and witchcraft has been of

greater influence on human affairs than is commonly supposed Thepersecutions against philosophers and their libraries was carried onwith so much fury, that from this time (A D 374) the names of the Gen-tile philosophers became almost extinct; and the Christian philosophyand religion, particularly in the East, established their ascendency Iam surprised that Gibbon has not made this observation Heyne, Note

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so rigorously prosecuted both at Rome and Antioch, wasinterpreted as the fatal symptom, either of the displeasureof Heaven, or of the depravity of mankind.1351 Let us nothesitate to indulge a liberal pride, that, in the present age,the enlightened part of Europe has abolished1352 a crueland odious prejudice, which reigned in every climate ofthe globe, and adhered to every system of religious opin-ions.1353 The nations, and the sects, of the Roman world,admitted with equal credulity, and similar abhorrence, thereality of that infernal art,1354 which was able to control theeternal order of the planets, and the voluntary operationsof the human mind. They dreaded the mysterious powerof spells and incantations, of potent herbs, and execrablerites; which could extinguish or recall life, inflame the pas-sions of the soul, blast the works of creation, and extortfrom the reluctant daemons the secrets of futurity. They

on Zosimus, l iv 14, p 637 Besides vast heaps of manuscripts publiclydestroyed throughout the East, men of letters burned their whole li-braries, lest some fatal volume should expose them to the malice ofthe informers and the extreme penalty of the law Amm Marc xxix 11–M1351Libanius de ulciscend Julian nece, c ix p 158, 159 The sophist de-

plores the public frenzy, but he does not (after their deaths) impeachthe justice of the emperors1352The French and English lawyers, of the present age, allow the

theory, and deny the practice, of witchcraft, (Denisart, Recueil de De-cisions de Jurisprudence, au mot Sorciers, tom iv p 553 Blackstone’sCommentaries, vol iv p 60) As private reason always prevents, or out-strips, public wisdom, the president Montesquieu (Esprit des Loix, lxii c 5, 6) rejects the existence of magic1353See Oeuvres de Bayle, tom iii p 567-589 The sceptic of Rotterdam

exhibits, according to his custom, a strange medley of loose knowledgeand lively wit1354The Pagans distinguished between good and bad magic, the

Theurgic and the Goetic, (Hist de l’Academie, &c, tom vii p 25) Butthey could not have defended this obscure distinction against the acutelogic of Bayle In the Jewish and Christian system, all daemons are in-fernal spirits; and all commerce with them is idolatry, apostasy &c,which deserves death and damnation

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believed, with the wildest inconsistency, that this preter-natural dominion of the air, of earth, and of hell, was ex-ercised, from the vilest motives of malice or gain, by somewrinkled hags and itinerant sorcerers, who passed their ob-scure lives in penury and contempt.1355 The arts of magicwere equally condemned by the public opinion, and by thelaws of Rome; but as they tended to gratify the most im-perious passions of the heart of man, they were continu-ally proscribed, and continually practised.1356 An imagi-nary cause as capable of producing the most serious andmischievous effects. The dark predictions of the death ofan emperor, or the success of a conspiracy, were calculatedonly to stimulate the hopes of ambition, and to dissolve theties of fidelity; and the intentional guilt of magic was aggra-vated by the actual crimes of treason and sacrilege.1357 Suchvain terrors disturbed the peace of society, and the happi-ness of individuals; and the harmless flame which insen-sibly melted a waxen image, might derive a powerful andpernicious energy from the affrighted fancy of the personwhom it was maliciously designed to represent.1358 From

1355The Canidia of Horace (Carm l v Od 5, with Dacier’s andSanadon’s illustrations) is a vulgar witch The Erictho of Lucan (Pharsalvi 430-830) is tedious, disgusting, but sometimes sublime She chidesthe delay of the Furies, and threatens, with tremendous obscurity, topronounce their real names; to reveal the true infernal countenance ofHecate; to invoke the secret powers that lie below hell, &c1356Genus hominum potentibus infidum, sperantibus fallax, quod in

civitate nostra et vetabitur semper et retinebitur Tacit Hist i 22 See Au-gustin de Civitate Dei, l viii c 19, and the Theodosian Code l ix tit xvi,with Godefroy’s Commentary1357The persecution of Antioch was occasioned by a criminal consul-

tation The twenty-four letters of the alphabet were arranged round amagic tripod: and a dancing ring, which had been placed in the cen-tre, pointed to the four first letters in the name of the future emperor,O E O Triangle Theodorus (perhaps with many others, who owned thefatal syllables) was executed Theodosius succeeded Lardner (HeathenTestimonies, vol iv p 353-372) has copiously and fairly examined thisdark transaction of the reign of Valens1358Limus ut hic durescit, et haec ut cera liquescit

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the infusion of those herbs, which were supposed to pos-sess a supernatural influence, it was an easy step to the useof more substantial poison; and the folly of mankind some-times became the instrument, and the mask, of the mostatrocious crimes. As soon as the zeal of informers was en-couraged by the ministers of Valens and Valentinian, theycould not refuse to listen to another charge, too frequentlymingled in the scenes of domestic guilt; a charge of a softerand less malignant nature, for which the pious, though ex-cessive, rigor of Constantine had recently decreed the pun-ishment of death.1359 This deadly and incoherent mixtureof treason and magic, of poison and adultery, afforded in-finite gradations of guilt and innocence, of excuse and ag-gravation, which in these proceedings appear to have beenconfounded by the angry or corrupt passions of the judges.They easily discovered that the degree of their industry anddiscernment was estimated, by the Imperial court, accord-ing to the number of executions that were furnished fromthe respective tribunals. It was not without extreme re-luctance that they pronounced a sentence of acquittal; butthey eagerly admitted such evidence as was stained withperjury, or procured by torture, to prove the most improb-able charges against the most respectable characters. Theprogress of the inquiry continually opened new subjects ofcriminal prosecution; the audacious informer, whose false-hood was detected, retired with impunity; but the wretchedvictim, who discovered his real or pretended accomplices,were seldom permitted to receive the price of his infamy.From the extremity of Italy and Asia, the young, and theaged, were dragged in chains to the tribunals of Rome andAntioch. Senators, matrons, and philosophers, expired inignominious and cruel tortures. The soldiers, who were ap-pointed to guard the prisons, declared, with a murmur ofpity and indignation, that their numbers were insufficient tooppose the flight, or resistance, of the multitude of captives.

1359See Heineccius, Antiquitat Juris Roman tom ii p 353, &c CodTheodosian l ix tit 7, with Godefroy’s Commentary

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The wealthiest families were ruined by fines and confisca-tions; the most innocent citizens trembled for their safety;and we may form some notion of the magnitude of the evil,from the extravagant assertion of an ancient writer, that, inthe obnoxious provinces, the prisoners, the exiles, and thefugitives, formed the greatest part of the inhabitants.1360

Uno eodemque igni–Virgil. Bucolic. viii. 80.Devovet absentes, simulacraque cerea figit. –Ovid. in

Epist. Hypsil. ad Jason 91.Such vain incantations could affect the mind, and in-

crease the disease of Germanicus. Tacit. Annal. ii. 69.]When Tacitus describes the deaths of the innocent and

illustrious Romans, who were sacrificed to the cruelty ofthe first Caesars, the art of the historian, or the merit ofthe sufferers, excites in our breast the most lively sensa-tions of terror, of admiration, and of pity. The coarse andundistinguishing pencil of Ammianus has delineated hisbloody figures with tedious and disgusting accuracy. Butas our attention is no longer engaged by the contrast of free-dom and servitude, of recent greatness and of actual misery,we should turn with horror from the frequent executions,which disgraced, both at Rome and Antioch, the reign of thetwo brothers.1361 Valens was of a timid,1362 and Valentinian

1360The cruel persecution of Rome and Antioch is described, andmost probably exaggerated, by Ammianus (xxvii 1 xxix 1, 2) andZosimus, (l iv p 216-218) The philosopher Maximus, with some jus-tice, was involved in the charge of magic, (Eunapius in Vit Sophist p88, 89;) and young Chrysostom, who had accidentally found one ofthe proscribed books, gave himself up for lost, (Tillemont, Hist desEmpereurs, tom v p 340)1361Consult the six last books of Ammianus, and more particularly

the portraits of the two royal brothers, (xxx 8, 9, xxxi 14) Tillemont hascollected (tom v p 12-18, p 127-133) from all antiquity their virtues andvices1362The younger Victor asserts, that he was valde timidus: yet he be-

haved, as almost every man would do, with decent resolution at thehead of an army The same historian attempts to prove that his anger

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of a choleric, disposition.1363 An anxious regard to his per-sonal safety was the ruling principle of the administrationof Valens. In the condition of a subject, he had kissed, withtrembling awe, the hand of the oppressor; and when he as-cended the throne, he reasonably expected, that the samefears, which had subdued his own mind, would secure thepatient submission of his people. The favorites of Valensobtained, by the privilege of rapine and confiscation, thewealth which his economy would have refused.1364 Theyurged, with persuasive eloquence, that, in all cases of trea-son, suspicion is equivalent to proof; that the power sup-poses the intention, of mischief; that the intention is notless criminal than the act; and that a subject no longer de-serves to live, if his life may threaten the safety, or disturbthe repose, of his sovereign. The judgment of Valentinianwas sometimes deceived, and his confidence abused; buthe would have silenced the informers with a contemptu-ous smile, had they presumed to alarm his fortitude by thesound of danger. They praised his inflexible love of jus-tice; and, in the pursuit of justice, the emperor was easilytempted to consider clemency as a weakness, and passion asa virtue. As long as he wrestled with his equals, in the boldcompetition of an active and ambitious life, Valentinian wasseldom injured, and never insulted, with impunity: if hisprudence was arraigned, his spirit was applauded; and theproudest and most powerful generals were apprehensiveof provoking the resentment of a fearless soldier. After hebecame master of the world, he unfortunately forgot, thatwhere no resistance can be made, no courage can be ex-erted; and instead of consulting the dictates of reason and

was harmless Ammianus observes, with more candor and judgment,incidentia crimina ad contemptam vel laesam principis amplitudinemtrahens, in sanguinem saeviebat1363Cum esset ad acerbitatem naturae calore propensior poenas

perignes augebat et gladios Ammian xxx 8 See xxvii 71364I have transferred the reproach of avarice from Valens to his ser-

vant Avarice more properly belongs to ministers than to kings; inwhom that passion is commonly extinguished by absolute possession

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magnanimity, he indulged the furious emotions of his tem-per, at a time when they were disgraceful to himself, andfatal to the defenceless objects of his displeasure. In the gov-ernment of his household, or of his empire, slight, or evenimaginary, offences–a hasty word, a casual omission, an in-voluntary delay–were chastised by a sentence of immediatedeath. The expressions which issued the most readily fromthe mouth of the emperor of the West were, “Strike off hishead;” “Burn him alive;” “Let him be beaten with clubs tillhe expires;”1365 and his most favored ministers soon un-derstood, that, by a rash attempt to dispute, or suspend,the execution of his sanguinary commands, they might in-volve themselves in the guilt and punishment of disobedi-ence. The repeated gratification of this savage justice hard-ened the mind of Valentinian against pity and remorse; andthe sallies of passion were confirmed by the habits of cru-elty.1366 He could behold with calm satisfaction the convul-sive agonies of torture and death; he reserved his friendshipfor those faithful servants whose temper was the most con-genial to his own. The merit of Maximin, who had slaugh-tered the noblest families of Rome, was rewarded with theroyal approbation, and the praefecture of Gaul.

Two fierce and enormous bears, distinguished by the ap-1365He sometimes expressed a sentence of death with a tone of pleas-

antry: “Abi, Comes, et muta ei caput, qui sibi mutari provinciam cu-pit” A boy, who had slipped too hastily a Spartan bound; an armorer,who had made a polished cuirass that wanted some grains of the le-gitimate weight, &c, were the victims of his fury1366The innocents of Milan were an agent and three apparitors, whom

Valentinian condemned for signifying a legal summons Ammianus(xxvii 7) strangely supposes, that all who had been unjustly executedwere worshipped as martyrs by the Christians His impartial silencedoes not allow us to believe, that the great chamberlain Rhodanuswas burnt alive for an act of oppression, (Chron Paschal p 392) (Am-mianus does not say that they were worshipped as martyrs Onorummemoriam apud Mediolanum colentes nunc usque Christiani loculosubi sepulti sunt, ad innocentes appellant Wagner’s note in loco Yet ifthe next paragraph refers to that transaction, which is not quite clearGibbon is right–M

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pellations of Innocence, and Mica Aurea, could alone de-serve to share the favor of Maximin. The cages of thosetrusty guards were always placed near the bed-chamberof Valentinian, who frequently amused his eyes with thegrateful spectacle of seeing them tear and devour the bleed-ing limbs of the malefactors who were abandoned to theirrage. Their diet and exercises were carefully inspected bythe Roman emperor; and when Innocence had earned herdischarge, by a long course of meritorious service, the faith-ful animal was again restored to the freedom of her nativewoods.1367

1367Ut bene meritam in sylvas jussit abire Innoxiam Ammian xxix andValesius ad locum

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BUT in the calmer moments of reflection, when the mindof Valens was not agitated by fear, or that of Valen-

tinian by rage, the tyrant resumed the sentiments, or at leastthe conduct, of the father of his country. The dispassion-ate judgment of the Western emperor could clearly perceive,and accurately pursue, his own and the public interest; andthe sovereign of the East, who imitated with equal docil-ity the various examples which he received from his elderbrother, was sometimes guided by the wisdom and virtueof the praefect Sallust. Both princes invariably retained,in the purple, the chaste and temperate simplicity whichhad adorned their private life; and, under their reign, thepleasures of the court never cost the people a blush or asigh. They gradually reformed many of the abuses of thetimes of Constantius; judiciously adopted and improvedthe designs of Julian and his successor; and displayed astyle and spirit of legislation which might inspire poster-ity with the most favorable opinion of their character andgovernment. It is not from the master of Innocence, that weshould expect the tender regard for the welfare of his sub-jects, which prompted Valentinian to condemn the exposi-tion of new-born infants;1368 and to establish fourteen skil-ful physicians, with stipends and privileges, in the fourteenquarters of Rome. The good sense of an illiterate soldierfounded a useful and liberal institution for the education ofyouth, and the support of declining science.1369 It was hisintention, that the arts of rhetoric and grammar should be1368See the Code of Justinian, l viii tit lii leg 2 Unusquisque sabolem

suam nutriat Quod si exponendam putaverit animadversioni quaeconstituta est subjacebit For the present I shall not interfere in the dis-pute between Noodt and Binkershoek; how far, or how long this un-natural practice had been condemned or abolished by law philosophy,and the more civilized state of society1369These salutary institutions are explained in the Theodosian Code,

l xiii tit iii De Professoribus et Medicis, and l xiv tit ix De Studiis lib-eralibus Urbis Romoe Besides our usual guide, (Godefroy,) we may

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taught in the Greek and Latin languages, in the metropo-lis of every province; and as the size and dignity of theschool was usually proportioned to the importance of thecity, the academies of Rome and Constantinople claimed ajust and singular preeminence. The fragments of the liter-ary edicts of Valentinian imperfectly represent the school ofConstantinople, which was gradually improved by subse-quent regulations. That school consisted of thirty-one pro-fessors in different branches of learning. One philosopher,and two lawyers; five sophists, and ten grammarians for theGreek, and three orators, and ten grammarians for the Latintongue; besides seven scribes, or, as they were then styled,antiquarians, whose laborious pens supplied the public li-brary with fair and correct copies of the classic writers. Therule of conduct, which was prescribed to the students, isthe more curious, as it affords the first outlines of the formand discipline of a modern university. It was required, thatthey should bring proper certificates from the magistrates oftheir native province. Their names, professions, and placesof abode, were regularly entered in a public register.

The studious youth were severely prohibited from wast-ing their time in feasts, or in the theatre; and the term oftheir education was limited to the age of twenty. The prae-fect of the city was empowered to chastise the idle and re-fractory by stripes or expulsion; and he was directed tomake an annual report to the master of the offices, that theknowledge and abilities of the scholars might be usefullyapplied to the public service. The institutions of Valen-tinian contributed to secure the benefits of peace and plenty;and the cities were guarded by the establishment of theDefensors;1370 freely elected as the tribunes and advocatesof the people, to support their rights, and to expose their

consult Giannone, (Istoria di Napoli, tom i p 105-111,) who has treatedthe interesting subject with the zeal and curiosity of a man of latterswho studies his domestic history1370Cod Theodos l i tit xi with Godefroy’s Paratitlon, which diligently

gleans from the rest of the code

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grievances, before the tribunals of the civil magistrates, oreven at the foot of the Imperial throne. The finances werediligently administered by two princes, who had been solong accustomed to the rigid economy of a private fortune;but in the receipt and application of the revenue, a discern-ing eye might observe some difference between the govern-ment of the East and of the West. Valens was persuaded,that royal liberality can be supplied only by public oppres-sion, and his ambition never aspired to secure, by their ac-tual distress, the future strength and prosperity of his peo-ple. Instead of increasing the weight of taxes, which, inthe space of forty years, had been gradually doubled, hereduced, in the first years of his reign, one fourth of thetribute of the East.1371 Valentinian appears to have beenless attentive and less anxious to relieve the burdens of hispeople. He might reform the abuses of the fiscal adminis-tration; but he exacted, without scruple, a very large shareof the private property; as he was convinced, that the rev-enues, which supported the luxury of individuals, would bemuch more advantageously employed for the defence andimprovement of the state. The subjects of the East, who en-joyed the present benefit, applauded the indulgence of theirprince. The solid but less splendid, merit of Valentinian wasfelt and acknowledged by the subsequent generation.1372

But the most honorable circumstance of the character ofValentinian, is the firm and temperate impartiality which heuniformly preserved in an age of religious contention. Hisstrong sense, unenlightened, but uncorrupted, by study, de-clined, with respectful indifference, the subtle questions of1371Three lines of Ammianus (xxxi 14) countenance a whole ora-

tion of Themistius, (viii p 101-120,) full of adulation, pedantry, andcommon-place morality The eloquent M Thomas (tom i p 366-396) hasamused himself with celebrating the virtues and genius of Themistius,who was not unworthy of the age in which he lived1372Zosimus, l iv p 202 Ammian xxx 9 His reformation of costly

abuses might entitle him to the praise of, in provinciales admodumparcus, tributorum ubique molliens sarcinas By some his frugality wasstyled avarice, (Jerom Chron p 186)

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theological debate. The government of the Earth claimedhis vigilance, and satisfied his ambition; and while he re-membered that he was the disciple of the church, he neverforgot that he was the sovereign of the clergy. Under thereign of an apostate, he had signalized his zeal for the honorof Christianity: he allowed to his subjects the privilegewhich he had assumed for himself; and they might accept,with gratitude and confidence, the general toleration whichwas granted by a prince addicted to passion, but incapableof fear or of disguise.1373 The Pagans, the Jews, and all thevarious sects which acknowledged the divine authority ofChrist, were protected by the laws from arbitrary power orpopular insult; nor was any mode of worship prohibitedby Valentinian, except those secret and criminal practices,which abused the name of religion for the dark purposes ofvice and disorder. The art of magic, as it was more cruellypunished, was more strictly proscribed: but the emperoradmitted a formal distinction to protect the ancient meth-ods of divination, which were approved by the senate, andexercised by the Tuscan haruspices. He had condemned,with the consent of the most rational Pagans, the license ofnocturnal sacrifices; but he immediately admitted the peti-tion of Praetextatus, proconsul of Achaia, who represented,that the life of the Greeks would become dreary and com-fortless, if they were deprived of the invaluable blessing ofthe Eleusinian mysteries. Philosophy alone can boast, (andperhaps it is no more than the boast of philosophy,) that hergentle hand is able to eradicate from the human mind thelatent and deadly principle of fanaticism. But this truce of

1373Testes sunt leges a me in exordio Imperii mei datae; quibusunicuique quod animo imbibisset colendi libera facultas tributa estCod Theodos l ix tit xvi leg 9 To this declaration of Valentinian, wemay add the various testimonies of Ammianus, (xxx 9,) Zosimus, (liv p 204,) and Sozomen, (l vi c 7, 21) Baronius would naturally blamesuch rational toleration, (Annal Eccles A D 370, No 129-132, A D 376,No 3, 4) —-Comme il s’etait prescrit pour regle de ne point se meler dedisputes de religion, son histoire est presque entierement degagee desaffaires ecclesiastiques Le Beau iii 214–M

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twelve years, which was enforced by the wise and vigor-ous government of Valentinian, by suspending the repeti-tion of mutual injuries, contributed to soften the manners,and abate the prejudices, of the religious factions.

The friend of toleration was unfortunately placed at a dis-tance from the scene of the fiercest controversies. As soonas the Christians of the West had extricated themselves fromthe snares of the creed of Rimini, they happily relapsed intothe slumber of orthodoxy; and the small remains of the Ar-ian party, that still subsisted at Sirmium or Milan, might beconsidered rather as objects of contempt than of resentment.But in the provinces of the East, from the Euxine to the ex-tremity of Thebais, the strength and numbers of the hostilefactions were more equally balanced; and this equality, in-stead of recommending the counsels of peace, served onlyto perpetuate the horrors of religious war. The monks andbishops supported their arguments by invectives; and theirinvectives were sometimes followed by blows. Athana-sius still reigned at Alexandria; the thrones of Constantino-ple and Antioch were occupied by Arian prelates, and ev-ery episcopal vacancy was the occasion of a popular tu-mult. The Homoousians were fortified by the reconcilia-tion of fifty-nine Macelonian, or Semi-Arian, bishops; buttheir secret reluctance to embrace the divinity of the HolyGhost, clouded the splendor of the triumph; and the dec-laration of Valens, who, in the first years of his reign, hadimitated the impartial conduct of his brother, was an im-portant victory on the side of Arianism. The two brothershad passed their private life in the condition of catechu-mens; but the piety of Valens prompted him to solicit thesacrament of baptism, before he exposed his person to thedangers of a Gothic war. He naturally addressed himself

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to Eudoxus,13741375 bishop of the Imperial city; and if theignorant monarch was instructed by that Arian pastor inthe principles of heterodox theology, his misfortune, ratherthan his guilt, was the inevitable consequence of his erro-neous choice. Whatever had been the determination of theemperor, he must have offended a numerous party of hisChristian subjects; as the leaders both of the Homoousiansand of the Arians believed, that, if they were not suffered toreign, they were most cruelly injured and oppressed. Afterhe had taken this decisive step, it was extremely difficult forhim to preserve either the virtue, or the reputation of impar-tiality. He never aspired, like Constantius, to the fame of aprofound theologian; but as he had received with simplicityand respect the tenets of Euxodus, Valens resigned his con-science to the direction of his ecclesiastical guides, and pro-moted, by the influence of his authority, the reunion of theAthanasian heretics to the body of the Catholic church. Atfirst, he pitied their blindness; by degrees he was provokedat their obstinacy; and he insensibly hated those sectariesto whom he was an object of hatred.1376 The feeble mindof Valens was always swayed by the persons with whomhe familiarly conversed; and the exile or imprisonment of aprivate citizen are the favors the most readily granted in adespotic court. Such punishments were frequently inflictedon the leaders of the Homoousian party; and the misfortuneof fourscore ecclesiastics of Constantinople, who, perhapsaccidentally, were burned on shipboard, was imputed to thecruel and premeditated malice of the emperor, and his Ar-ian ministers. In every contest, the Catholics (if we may an-ticipate that name) were obliged to pay the penalty of their

1374Eudoxus was of a mild and timid disposition When he baptizedValens, (A D 367,) he must have been extremely old; since he had stud-ied theology fifty-five years before, under Lucian, a learned and piousmartyr Philostorg l ii c 14-16, l iv c 4, with Godefroy, p 82, 206, andTillemont, Mem Eccles tom v p 471-480, &c1375Through the influence of his wife say the ecclesiastical writers–M1376Gregory Nazianzen (Orat xxv p 432) insults the persecuting spirit

of the Arians, as an infallible symptom of error and heresy

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own faults, and of those of their adversaries. In every elec-tion, the claims of the Arian candidate obtained the prefer-ence; and if they were opposed by the majority of the peo-ple, he was usually supported by the authority of the civilmagistrate, or even by the terrors of a military force. Theenemies of Athanasius attempted to disturb the last years ofhis venerable age; and his temporary retreat to his father’ssepulchre has been celebrated as a fifth exile. But the zealof a great people, who instantly flew to arms, intimidatedthe praefect: and the archbishop was permitted to end hislife in peace and in glory, after a reign of forty-seven years.The death of Athanasius was the signal of the persecutionof Egypt; and the Pagan minister of Valens, who forciblyseated the worthless Lucius on the archiepiscopal throne,purchased the favor of the reigning party, by the blood andsufferings of their Christian brethren. The free toleration ofthe heathen and Jewish worship was bitterly lamented, as acircumstance which aggravated the misery of the Catholics,and the guilt of the impious tyrant of the East.1377

The triumph of the orthodox party has left a deep stain ofpersecution on the memory of Valens; and the character ofa prince who derived his virtues, as well as his vices, from afeeble understanding and a pusillanimous temper, scarcelydeserves the labor of an apology. Yet candor may discoversome reasons to suspect that the ecclesiastical ministers ofValens often exceeded the orders, or even the intentions, oftheir master; and that the real measure of facts has been veryliberally magnified by the vehement declamation and easycredulity of his antagonists.1378 1. The silence of Valentinianmay suggest a probable argument that the partial severi-ties, which were exercised in the name and provinces of hiscolleague, amounted only to some obscure and inconsid-

1377This sketch of the ecclesiastical government of Valens is drawnfrom Socrates, (l iv,) Sozomen, (l vi,) Theodoret, (l iv,) and the immensecompilations of Tillemont, (particularly tom vi viii and ix)1378Dr Jortin (Remarks on Ecclesiastical History, vol iv p 78) has al-

ready conceived and intimated the same suspicion

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erable deviations from the established system of religioustoleration: and the judicious historian, who has praised theequal temper of the elder brother, has not thought himselfobliged to contrast the tranquillity of the West with the cruelpersecution of the East.1379 2. Whatever credit may be al-lowed to vague and distant reports, the character, or at leastthe behavior, of Valens, may be most distinctly seen in hispersonal transactions with the eloquent Basil, archbishop ofCaesarea, who had succeeded Athanasius in the manage-ment of the Trinitarian cause.1380 The circumstantial nar-rative has been composed by the friends and admirers ofBasil; and as soon as we have stripped away a thick coat ofrhetoric and miracle, we shall be astonished by the unex-pected mildness of the Arian tyrant, who admired the firm-ness of his character, or was apprehensive, if he employedviolence, of a general revolt in the province of Cappado-cia. The archbishop, who asserted, with inflexible pride,1381the truth of his opinions, and the dignity of his rank, wasleft in the free possession of his conscience and his throne.The emperor devoutly assisted at the solemn service of thecathedral; and, instead of a sentence of banishment, sub-scribed the donation of a valuable estate for the use of ahospital, which Basil had lately founded in the neighbor-1379This reflection is so obvious and forcible, that Orosius (l vii c 32,

33,) delays the persecution till after the death of Valentinian Socrates,on the other hand, supposes, (l iii c 32,) that it was appeased by a philo-sophical oration, which Themistius pronounced in the year 374, (Oratxii p 154, in Latin only) Such contradictions diminish the evidence,and reduce the term, of the persecution of Valens1380Tillemont, whom I follow and abridge, has extracted (Mem Eccles

tom viii p 153-167) the most authentic circumstances from the Pane-gyrics of the two Gregories; the brother, and the friend, of Basil Theletters of Basil himself (Dupin, Bibliotheque, Ecclesiastique, tom ii p155-180) do not present the image of a very lively persecution1381Basilius Caesariensis episcopus Cappadociae clarus habetur qui

multa continentiae et ingenii bona uno superbiae malo perdidit Thisirreverent passage is perfectly in the style and character of St Jerom Itdoes not appear in Scaliger’s edition of his Chronicle; but Isaac Vossiusfound it in some old Mss which had not been reformed by the monks

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hood of Caesarea.1382 3. I am not able to discover, that anylaw (such as Theodosius afterwards enacted against the Ar-ians) was published by Valens against the Athanasian sec-taries; and the edict which excited the most violent clamors,may not appear so extremely reprehensible. The emperorhad observed, that several of his subjects, gratifying theirlazy disposition under the pretence of religion, had associ-ated themselves with the monks of Egypt; and he directedthe count of the East to drag them from their solitude; andto compel these deserters of society to accept the fair alter-native of renouncing their temporal possessions, or of dis-charging the public duties of men and citizens.1383 The min-isters of Valens seem to have extended the sense of this pe-nal statute, since they claimed a right of enlisting the youngand ablebodied monks in the Imperial armies. A detach-ment of cavalry and infantry, consisting of three thousandmen, marched from Alexandria into the adjacent desert ofNitria,1384 which was peopled by five thousand monks. Thesoldiers were conducted by Arian priests; and it is reported,that a considerable slaughter was made in the monasterieswhich disobeyed the commands of their sovereign.1385

The strict regulations which have been framed by thewisdom of modern legislators to restrain the wealth and

1382This noble and charitable foundation (almost a new city) sur-passed in merit, if not in greatness, the pyramids, or the walls ofBabylon It was principally intended for the reception of lepers, (GregNazianzen, Orat xx p 439)1383Cod Theodos l xii tit i leg 63 Godefroy (tom iv p 409-413) performs

the duty of a commentator and advocate Tillemont (Mem Eccles tomviii p 808) supposes a second law to excuse his orthodox friends, whohad misrepresented the edict of Valens, and suppressed the liberty ofchoice1384See D’Anville, Description de l’Egypte, p 74 Hereafter I shall con-

sider the monastic institutions1385Socrates, l iv c 24, 25 Orosius, l vii c 33 Jerom in Chron p 189, and

tom ii p 212 The monks of Egypt performed many miracles, whichprove the truth of their faith Right, says Jortin, (Remarks, vol iv p 79,)but what proves the truth of those miracles

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avarice of the clergy, may be originally deduced from theexample of the emperor Valentinian. His edict,1386 ad-dressed to Damasus, bishop of Rome, was publicly readin the churches of the city. He admonished the ecclesias-tics and monks not to frequent the houses of widows andvirgins; and menaced their disobedience with the animad-version of the civil judge. The director was no longer per-mitted to receive any gift, or legacy, or inheritance, fromthe liberality of his spiritual-daughter: every testament con-trary to this edict was declared null and void; and the il-legal donation was confiscated for the use of the treasury.By a subsequent regulation, it should seem, that the sameprovisions were extended to nuns and bishops; and that allpersons of the ecclesiastical order were rendered incapableof receiving any testamentary gifts, and strictly confined tothe natural and legal rights of inheritance. As the guardianof domestic happiness and virtue, Valentinian applied thissevere remedy to the growing evil. In the capital of the em-pire, the females of noble and opulent houses possessed avery ample share of independent property: and many ofthose devout females had embraced the doctrines of Chris-tianity, not only with the cold assent of the understanding,but with the warmth of affection, and perhaps with the ea-gerness of fashion. They sacrificed the pleasures of dressand luxury; and renounced, for the praise of chastity, thesoft endearments of conjugal society. Some ecclesiastic, ofreal or apparent sanctity, was chosen to direct their timo-rous conscience, and to amuse the vacant tenderness of theirheart: and the unbounded confidence, which they hastilybestowed, was often abused by knaves and enthusiasts;who hastened from the extremities of the East, to enjoy, on asplendid theatre, the privileges of the monastic profession.

1386Cod Theodos l xvi tit ii leg 20 Godefroy, (tom vi p 49,) after theexample of Baronius, impartially collects all that the fathers have saidon the subject of this important law; whose spirit was long afterwardsrevived by the emperor Frederic II, Edward I of England, and otherChristian princes who reigned after the twelfth century

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By their contempt of the world, they insensibly acquired itsmost desirable advantages; the lively attachment, perhapsof a young and beautiful woman, the delicate plenty of anopulent household, and the respectful homage of the slaves,the freedmen, and the clients of a senatorial family. Theimmense fortunes of the Roman ladies were gradually con-sumed in lavish alms and expensive pilgrimages; and theartful monk, who had assigned himself the first, or possi-bly the sole place, in the testament of his spiritual daughter,still presumed to declare, with the smooth face of hypocrisy,that he was only the instrument of charity, and the stewardof the poor. The lucrative, but disgraceful, trade,1387 whichwas exercised by the clergy to defraud the expectations ofthe natural heirs, had provoked the indignation of a super-stitious age: and two of the most respectable of the Latinfathers very honestly confess, that the ignominious edict ofValentinian was just and necessary; and that the Christianpriests had deserved to lose a privilege, which was still en-joyed by comedians, charioteers, and the ministers of idols.But the wisdom and authority of the legislator are seldomvictorious in a contest with the vigilant dexterity of privateinterest; and Jerom, or Ambrose, might patiently acquiescein the justice of an ineffectual or salutary law. If the ecclesi-astics were checked in the pursuit of personal emolument,they would exert a more laudable industry to increase thewealth of the church; and dignify their covetousness withthe specious names of piety and patriotism.1388

1387The expressions which I have used are temperate and feeble, ifcompared with the vehement invectives of Jerom, (tom i p 13, 45, 144,&c) In his turn he was reproached with the guilt which he imputed tohis brother monks; and the Sceleratus, the Versipellis, was publicly ac-cused as the lover of the widow Paula, (tom ii p 363) He undoubtedlypossessed the affection, both of the mother and the daughter; but hedeclares that he never abused his influence to any selfish or sensualpurpose1388Pudet dicere, sacerdotes idolorum, mimi et aurigae, et scorta,

haereditates capiunt: solis clericis ac monachis hac lege prohibetur Etnon prohibetur a persecutoribus, sed a principibus Christianis Nec de

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Damasus, bishop of Rome, who was constrained to stig-matize the avarice of his clergy by the publication of the lawof Valentinian, had the good sense, or the good fortune, toengage in his service the zeal and abilities of the learnedJerom; and the grateful saint has celebrated the merit andpurity of a very ambiguous character.1389 But the splendidvices of the church of Rome, under the reign of Valentinianand Damasus, have been curiously observed by the histo-rian Ammianus, who delivers his impartial sense in theseexpressive words: “The praefecture of Juventius was ac-companied with peace and plenty, but the tranquillity ofhis government was soon disturbed by a bloody seditionof the distracted people. The ardor of Damasus and Ursi-nus, to seize the episcopal seat, surpassed the ordinary mea-sure of human ambition. They contended with the rageof party; the quarrel was maintained by the wounds anddeath of their followers; and the praefect, unable to resistor appease the tumult, was constrained, by superior vio-lence, to retire into the suburbs. Damasus prevailed: thewell-disputed victory remained on the side of his faction;one hundred and thirty-seven dead bodies1390 were foundin the Basilica of Sicininus,1391 where the Christians hold

lege queror; sed doleo cur meruerimus hanc legem Jerom (tom i p 13)discreetly insinuates the secret policy of his patron Damasus1389Three words of Jerom, sanctoe memorioe Damasus (tom ii p 109,)

wash away all his stains, and blind the devout eyes of Tillemont (MemEccles tom viii p 386-424)1390Jerom himself is forced to allow, crudelissimae interfectiones di-

versi sexus perpetratae, (in Chron p 186) But an original libel, or pe-tition of two presbyters of the adverse party, has unaccountably es-caped They affirm that the doors of the Basilica were burnt, and thatthe roof was untiled; that Damasus marched at the head of his ownclergy, grave-diggers, charioteers, and hired gladiators; that none ofhis party were killed, but that one hundred and sixty dead bodies werefound This petition is published by the P Sirmond, in the first volumeof his work1391The Basilica of Sicininus, or Liberius, is probably the church of

Sancta Maria Maggiore, on the Esquiline hill Baronius, A D 367 No 3;and Donatus, Roma Antiqua et Nova, l iv c 3, p 462

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their religious assemblies; and it was long before the angryminds of the people resumed their accustomed tranquillity.When I consider the splendor of the capital, I am not aston-ished that so valuable a prize should inflame the desires ofambitious men, and produce the fiercest and most obstinatecontests. The successful candidate is secure, that he will beenriched by the offerings of matrons;1392 that, as soon ashis dress is composed with becoming care and elegance, hemay proceed, in his chariot, through the streets of Rome;1393and that the sumptuousness of the Imperial table will notequal the profuse and delicate entertainments provided bythe taste, and at the expense, of the Roman pontiffs. Howmuch more rationally (continues the honest Pagan) wouldthose pontiffs consult their true happiness, if, instead of al-leging the greatness of the city as an excuse for their man-ners, they would imitate the exemplary life of some provin-cial bishops, whose temperance and sobriety, whose meanapparel and downcast looks, recommend their pure andmodest virtue to the Deity and his true worshippers!”1394

The schism of Damasus and Ursinus was extinguished bythe exile of the latter; and the wisdom of the praefect Prae-textatus1395 restored the tranquillity of the city. Praetexta-tus was a philosophic Pagan, a man of learning, of taste,1392The enemies of Damasus styled him Auriscalpius Matronarum

the ladies’ ear-scratcher1393Gregory Nazianzen (Orat xxxii p 526) describes the pride and lux-

ury of the prelates who reigned in the Imperial cities; their gilt car, fierysteeds, numerous train, &c The crowd gave way as to a wild beast1394Ammian xxvii 3 Perpetuo Numini, verisque ejus cultoribus The

incomparable pliancy of a polytheist!1395Ammianus, who makes a fair report of his praefecture (xxvii 9)

styles him praeclarae indolis, gravitatisque senator, (xxii 7, and Valesad loc) A curious inscription (Grutor MCII No 2) records, in twocolumns, his religious and civil honors In one line he was Pontiff ofthe Sun, and of Vesta, Augur, Quindecemvir, Hierophant, &c, &c Inthe other, 1 Quaestor candidatus, more probably titular 2 Praetor 3Corrector of Tuscany and Umbria 4 Consular of Lusitania 5 Procon-sul of Achaia 6 Praefect of Rome 7 Praetorian praefect of Italy 8 OfIllyricum 9 Consul elect; but he died before the beginning of the year

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and politeness; who disguised a reproach in the form of ajest, when he assured Damasus, that if he could obtain thebishopric of Rome, he himself would immediately embracethe Christian religion.1396 This lively picture of the wealthand luxury of the popes in the fourth century becomes themore curious, as it represents the intermediate degree be-tween the humble poverty of the apostolic fishermen, andthe royal state of a temporal prince, whose dominions ex-tend from the confines of Naples to the banks of the Po.

385 See Tillemont, Hist des Empereurs, tom v p 241, 7361396Facite me Romanae urbis episcopum; et ero protinus Christianus

(Jerom, tom ii p 165) It is more than probable that Damasus would nothave purchased his conversion at such a price

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Part IV

WHEN the suffrage of the generals and of the army com-mitted the sceptre of the Roman empire to the hands

of Valentinian, his reputation in arms, his military skill andexperience, and his rigid attachment to the forms, as wellas spirit, of ancient discipline, were the principal motives oftheir judicious choice.

The eagerness of the troops, who pressed him to nomi-nate his colleague, was justified by the dangerous situationof public affairs; and Valentinian himself was conscious,that the abilities of the most active mind were unequal to thedefence of the distant frontiers of an invaded monarchy. Assoon as the death of Julian had relieved the Barbarians fromthe terror of his name, the most sanguine hopes of rapineand conquest excited the nations of the East, of the North,and of the South. Their inroads were often vexatious, andsometimes formidable; but, during the twelve years of thereign of Valentinian, his firmness and vigilance protectedhis own dominions; and his powerful genius seemed to in-spire and direct the feeble counsels of his brother. Perhapsthe method of annals would more forcibly express the ur-gent and divided cares of the two emperors; but the atten-tion of the reader, likewise, would be distracted by a tediousand desultory narrative. A separate view of the five greattheatres of war; I. Germany; II. Britain; III. Africa; IV. TheEast; and, V. The Danube; will impress a more distinct im-age of the military state of the empire under the reigns ofValentinian and Valens.

I. The ambassadors of the Alemanni had been offendedby the harsh and haughty behavior of Ursacius, master ofthe offices;1397 who by an act of unseasonable parsimony,had diminished the value, as well as the quantity, of thepresents to which they were entitled, either from custom

1397Ammian, xxvi 5 Valesius adds a long and good note on the masterof the offices

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or treaty, on the accession of a new emperor. They ex-pressed, and they communicated to their countrymen, theirstrong sense of the national affront. The irascible minds ofthe chiefs were exasperated by the suspicion of contempt;and the martial youth crowded to their standard. BeforeValentinian could pass the Alps, the villages of Gaul werein flames; before his general Degalaiphus could encounterthe Alemanni, they had secured the captives and the spoilin the forests of Germany. In the beginning of the ensu-ing year, the military force of the whole nation, in deep andsolid columns, broke through the barrier of the Rhine, dur-ing the severity of a northern winter. Two Roman countswere defeated and mortally wounded; and the standard ofthe Heruli and Batavians fell into the hands of the Heruliand Batavians fell into the hands of the conquerors, whodisplayed, with insulting shouts and menaces, the trophy oftheir victory. The standard was recovered; but the Batavianshad not redeemed the shame of their disgrace and flight inthe eyes of their severe judge. It was the opinion of Valen-tinian, that his soldiers must learn to fear their commander,before they could cease to fear the enemy. The troops weresolemnly assembled; and the trembling Batavians were en-closed within the circle of the Imperial army. Valentinianthen ascended his tribunal; and, as if he disdained to pun-ish cowardice with death, he inflicted a stain of indelible ig-nominy on the officers, whose misconduct and pusillanim-ity were found to be the first occasion of the defeat. TheBatavians were degraded from their rank, stripped of theirarms, and condemned to be sold for slaves to the highestbidder. At this tremendous sentence, the troops fell pros-trate on the ground, deprecated the indignation of theirsovereign, and protested, that, if he would indulge themin another trial, they would approve themselves not un-worthy of the name of Romans, and of his soldiers. Valen-tinian, with affected reluctance, yielded to their entreaties;the Batavians resumed their arms, and with their arms, theinvincible resolution of wiping away their disgrace in the

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blood of the Alemanni.1398 The principal command was de-clined by Dagalaiphus; and that experienced general, whohad represented, perhaps with too much prudence, the ex-treme difficulties of the undertaking, had the mortification,before the end of the campaign, of seeing his rival Jovi-nus convert those difficulties into a decisive advantage overthe scattered forces of the Barbarians. At the head of awell-disciplined army of cavalry, infantry, and light troops,Jovinus advanced, with cautious and rapid steps, to Scar-ponna,13991400 in the territory of Metz, where he surpriseda large division of the Alemanni, before they had time to runto their arms; and flushed his soldiers with the confidenceof an easy and bloodless victory. Another division, or ratherarmy, of the enemy, after the cruel and wanton devastationof the adjacent country, reposed themselves on the shadybanks of the Moselle. Jovinus, who had viewed the groundwith the eye of a general, made a silent approach througha deep and woody vale, till he could distinctly perceive theindolent security of the Germans. Some were bathing theirhuge limbs in the river; others were combing their long andflaxen hair; others again were swallowing large draughtsof rich and delicious wine. On a sudden they heard thesound of the Roman trumpet; they saw the enemy in theircamp. Astonishment produced disorder; disorder was fol-lowed by flight and dismay; and the confused multitude ofthe bravest warriors was pierced by the swords and javelinsof the legionaries and auxiliaries. The fugitives escapedto the third, and most considerable, camp, in the Catalo-nian plains, near Chalons in Champagne: the stragglingdetachments were hastily recalled to their standard; and

1398Ammian xxvii 1 Zosimus, l iv p 208 The disgrace of the Bataviansis suppressed by the contemporary soldier, from a regard for militaryhonor, which could not affect a Greek rhetorician of the succeedingage1399See D’Anville, Notice de l’Ancienne Gaule, p 587 The name of the

Moselle, which is not specified by Ammianus, is clearly understoodby Mascou, (Hist of the Ancient Germans, vii 2)1400Charpeigne on the Moselle Mannert–M

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the Barbarian chiefs, alarmed and admonished by the fateof their companions, prepared to encounter, in a decisivebattle, the victorious forces of the lieutenant of Valentinian.The bloody and obstinate conflict lasted a whole summer’sday, with equal valor, and with alternate success. The Ro-mans at length prevailed, with the loss of about twelve hun-dred men. Six thousand of the Alemanni were slain, fourthousand were wounded; and the brave Jovinus, after chas-ing the flying remnant of their host as far as the banks ofthe Rhine, returned to Paris, to receive the applause of hissovereign, and the ensigns of the consulship for the ensu-ing year.1401 The triumph of the Romans was indeed sul-lied by their treatment of the captive king, whom they hungon a gibbet, without the knowledge of their indignant gen-eral. This disgraceful act of cruelty, which might be im-puted to the fury of the troops, was followed by the delib-erate murder of Withicab, the son of Vadomair; a Germanprince, of a weak and sickly constitution, but of a daringand formidable spirit. The domestic assassin was instigatedand protected by the Romans;1402 and the violation of thelaws of humanity and justice betrayed their secret appre-hension of the weakness of the declining empire. The use ofthe dagger is seldom adopted in public councils, as long asthey retain any confidence in the power of the sword.

While the Alemanni appeared to be humbled by their re-cent calamities, the pride of Valentinian was mortified bythe unexpected surprisal of Moguntiacum, or Mentz, theprincipal city of the Upper Germany. In the unsuspiciousmoment of a Christian festival,1403 Rando, a bold and artfulchieftain, who had long meditated his attempt, suddenlypassed the Rhine; entered the defenceless town, and retiredwith a multitude of captives of either sex. Valentinian re-solved to execute severe vengeance on the whole body of1401The battles are described by Ammianus, (xxvii 2,) and by

Zosimus, (l iv p 209,) who supposes Valentinian to have been present1402Studio solicitante nostrorum, occubuit Ammian xxvii 101403Probably Easter Wagner–M

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the nation. Count Sebastian, with the bands of Italy andIllyricum, was ordered to invade their country, most prob-ably on the side of Rhaetia. The emperor in person, accom-panied by his son Gratian, passed the Rhine at the head ofa formidable army, which was supported on both flanks byJovinus and Severus, the two masters-general of the cavalryand infantry of the West. The Alemanni, unable to preventthe devastation of their villages, fixed their camp on a lofty,and almost inaccessible, mountain, in the modern duchy ofWirtemberg, and resolutely expected the approach of theRomans. The life of Valentinian was exposed to imminentdanger by the intrepid curiosity with which he persisted toexplore some secret and unguarded path. A troop of Barbar-ians suddenly rose from their ambuscade: and the emperor,who vigorously spurred his horse down a steep and slip-pery descent, was obliged to leave behind him his armor-bearer, and his helmet, magnificently enriched with goldand precious stones. At the signal of the general assault, theRoman troops encompassed and ascended the mountain ofSolicinium on three different sides.1404 Every step whichthey gained, increased their ardor, and abated the resistanceof the enemy: and after their united forces had occupiedthe summit of the hill, they impetuously urged the Bar-barians down the northern descent, where Count Sebastianwas posted to intercept their retreat. After this signal vic-tory, Valentinian returned to his winter quarters at Treves;where he indulged the public joy by the exhibition of splen-did and triumphal games.1405 But the wise monarch, in-stead of aspiring to the conquest of Germany, confined hisattention to the important and laborious defence of the Gal-

1404Mannert is unable to fix the position of Solicinium Haefelin (inComm Acad Elect Palat v 14) conjectures Schwetzingen, near Hei-delberg See Wagner’s note St Martin, Sultz in Wirtemberg, near thesources of the Neckar St Martin, iii 339–M1405The expedition of Valentinian is related by Ammianus, (xxvii 10;)

and celebrated by Ausonius, (Mosell 421, &c,) who foolishly supposes,that the Romans were ignorant of the sources of the Danube

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lic frontier, against an enemy whose strength was renewedby a stream of daring volunteers, which incessantly flowedfrom the most distant tribes of the North.1406 The banks ofthe Rhine1407 from its source to the straits of the ocean, were

1406Immanis enim natio, jam inde ab incunabulis primis varietate ca-suum imminuta; ita saepius adolescit, ut fuisse longis saeculis aes-timetur intacta Ammianus, xxviii 5 The Count de Buat (Hist des Peu-ples de l’Europe, tom vi p 370) ascribes the fecundity of the Alemannito their easy adoption of strangers —-Note: “This explanation,” saysMr Malthus, “only removes the difficulty a little farther off It makesthe earth rest upon the tortoise, but does not tell us on what the tor-toise rests We may still ask what northern reservoir supplied this in-cessant stream of daring adventurers Montesquieu’s solution of theproblem will, I think, hardly be admitted, (Grandeur et Decadencedes Romains, c 16, p 187) * * * The whole difficulty, however, is atonce removed, if we apply to the German nations, at that time, a factwhich is so generally known to have occurred in America, and sup-pose that, when not checked by wars and famine, they increased ata rate that would double their numbers in twenty-five or thirty yearsThe propriety, and even the necessity, of applying this rate of increaseto the inhabitants of ancient Germany, will strikingly appear from thatmost valuable picture of their manners which has been left us by Tac-itus, (Tac de Mor Germ 16 to 20) * * * With these manners, and a habitof enterprise and emigration, which would naturally remove all fearsabout providing for a family, it is difficult to conceive a society witha stronger principle of increase in it, and we see at once that prolificsource of armies and colonies against which the force of the Romanempire so long struggled with difficulty, and under which it ultimatelysunk It is not probable that, for two periods together, or even for one,the population within the confines of Germany ever doubled itself intwenty-five years Their perpetual wars, the rude state of agriculture,and particularly the very strange custom adopted by most of the tribesof marking their barriers by extensive deserts, would prevent any verygreat actual increase of numbers At no one period could the countrybe called well peopled, though it was often redundant in population* * * Instead of clearing their forests, draining their swamps, and ren-dering their soil fit to support an extended population, they found itmore congenial to their martial habits and impatient dispositions to goin quest of food, of plunder, or of glory, into other countries” Malthuson Population, i p 128–G1407The course of the Neckar was likewise strongly guarded The hy-

perbolical eulogy of Symmachus asserts that the Neckar first became

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closely planted with strong castles and convenient towers;new works, and new arms, were invented by the ingenu-ity of a prince who was skilled in the mechanical arts; andhis numerous levies of Roman and Barbarian youth wereseverely trained in all the exercises of war. The progress ofthe work, which was sometimes opposed by modest repre-sentations, and sometimes by hostile attempts, secured thetranquillity of Gaul during the nine subsequent years of theadministration of Valentinian.1408

That prudent emperor, who diligently practised the wisemaxims of Diocletian, was studious to foment and excite theintestine divisions of the tribes of Germany. About the mid-dle of the fourth century, the countries, perhaps of Lusaceand Thuringia, on either side of the Elbe, were occupied bythe vague dominion of the Burgundians; a warlike and nu-merous people,1409 of the Vandal race,1410 whose obscurename insensibly swelled into a powerful kingdom, and hasfinally settled on a flourishing province. The most remark-able circumstance in the ancient manners of the Burgundi-ans appears to have been the difference of their civil and ec-clesiastical constitution. The appellation of Hendinos wasgiven to the king or general, and the title of Sinistus to thehigh priest, of the nation. The person of the priest was sa-cred, and his dignity perpetual; but the temporal govern-

known to the Romans by the conquests and fortifications of Valen-tinian Nunc primum victoriis tuis externus fluvius publicatur Gaudeatservitute, captivus innotuit Symm Orat p 22–M1408Ammian xxviii 2 Zosimus, l iv p 214 The younger Victor mentions

the mechanical genius of Valentinian, nova arma meditari fingere terraseu limo simulacra1409According to the general opinion, the Burgundians formed a

Gothic o Vandalic tribe, who, from the banks of the Lower Vistula,made incursions, on one side towards Transylvania, on the other to-wards the centre of Germany All that remains of the Burgundian lan-guage is Gothic * * * Nothing in their customs indicates a differentorigin Malte Brun, Geog tom i p 396 (edit 1831)–M1410Bellicosos et pubis immensae viribus affluentes; et ideo metuen-

dos finitimis universis Ammian xxviii 5

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ment was held by a very precarious tenure. If the events ofwar accuses the courage or conduct of the king, he was im-mediately deposed; and the injustice of his subjects madehim responsible for the fertility of the earth, and the reg-ularity of the seasons, which seemed to fall more prop-erly within the sacerdotal department.1411 The disputedpossession of some salt-pits1412 engaged the Alemanni andthe Burgundians in frequent contests: the latter were easilytempted, by the secret solicitations and liberal offers of theemperor; and their fabulous descent from the Roman sol-diers, who had formerly been left to garrison the fortressesof Drusus, was admitted with mutual credulity, as it wasconducive to mutual interest.1413 An army of fourscorethousand Burgundians soon appeared on the banks of theRhine; and impatiently required the support and subsidieswhich Valentinian had promised: but they were amusedwith excuses and delays, till at length, after a fruitless ex-pectation, they were compelled to retire. The arms and for-tifications of the Gallic frontier checked the fury of theirjust resentment; and their massacre of the captives servedto imbitter the hereditary feud of the Burgundians and theAlemanni. The inconstancy of a wise prince may, perhaps,be explained by some alteration of circumstances; and per-

1411I am always apt to suspect historians and travellers of improv-ing extraordinary facts into general laws Ammianus ascribes a similarcustom to Egypt; and the Chinese have imputed it to the Ta-tsin, orRoman empire, (De Guignes, Hist des Huns, tom ii part 79)1412Salinarum finiumque causa Alemannis saepe jurgabant Ammian

xxviii 5 Possibly they disputed the possession of the Sala, a river whichproduced salt, and which had been the object of ancient contentionTacit Annal xiii 57, and Lipsius ad loc1413Jam inde temporibus priscis sobolem se esse Romanam Bur-

gundii sciunt: and the vague tradition gradually assumed a more reg-ular form, (Oros l vii c 32) It is annihilated by the decisive authorityof Pliny, who composed the History of Drusus, and served in Ger-many, (Plin Secund Epist iii 5,) within sixty years after the death ofthat hero Germanorum genera quinque; Vindili, quorum pars Burgun-diones, &c, (Hist Natur iv 28)

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haps it was the original design of Valentinian to intimi-date, rather than to destroy; as the balance of power wouldhave been equally overturned by the extirpation of either ofthe German nations. Among the princes of the Alemanni,Macrianus, who, with a Roman name, had assumed the artsof a soldier and a statesman, deserved his hatred and es-teem. The emperor himself, with a light and unencumberedband, condescended to pass the Rhine, marched fifty milesinto the country, and would infallibly have seized the ob-ject of his pursuit, if his judicious measures had not beendefeated by the impatience of the troops. Macrianus wasafterwards admitted to the honor of a personal conferencewith the emperor; and the favors which he received, fixedhim, till the hour of his death, a steady and sincere friend ofthe republic.1414

The land was covered by the fortifications of Valentinian;but the sea-coast of Gaul and Britain was exposed to thedepredations of the Saxons. That celebrated name, in whichwe have a dear and domestic interest, escaped the notice ofTacitus; and in the maps of Ptolemy, it faintly marks the nar-row neck of the Cimbric peninsula, and three small islandstowards the mouth of the Elbe.1415 This contracted terri-tory, the present duchy of Sleswig, or perhaps of Holstein,was incapable of pouring forth the inexhaustible swarms ofSaxons who reigned over the ocean, who filled the Britishisland with their language, their laws, and their colonies;and who so long defended the liberty of the North againstthe arms of Charlemagne.1416 The solution of this difficulty1414The wars and negotiations relative to the Burgundians and Ale-

manni, are distinctly related by Ammianus Marcellinus, (xxviii 5, xxix4, xxx 3) Orosius, (l vii c 32,) and the Chronicles of Jerom and Cas-siodorus, fix some dates, and add some circumstances1415At the northern extremity of the peninsula, (the Cimbric promon-

tory of Pliny, iv 27,) Ptolemy fixes the remnant of the Cimbri He fillsthe interval between the Saxons and the Cimbri with six obscure tribes,who were united, as early as the sixth century, under the national ap-pellation of Danes See Cluver German Antiq l iii c 21, 22, 231416M D’Anville (Establissement des Etats de l’Europe, &c, p 19-26)

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is easily derived from the similar manners, and loose consti-tution, of the tribes of Germany; which were blended witheach other by the slightest accidents of war or friendship.The situation of the native Saxons disposed them to em-brace the hazardous professions of fishermen and pirates;and the success of their first adventures would naturally ex-cite the emulation of their bravest countrymen, who wereimpatient of the gloomy solitude of their woods and moun-tains. Every tide might float down the Elbe whole fleetsof canoes, filled with hardy and intrepid associates, whoaspired to behold the unbounded prospect of the ocean,and to taste the wealth and luxury of unknown worlds. Itshould seem probable, however, that the most numerousauxiliaries of the Saxons were furnished by the nations whodwelt along the shores of the Baltic. They possessed armsand ships, the art of navigation, and the habits of naval war;but the difficulty of issuing through the northern columns ofHercules1417 (which, during several months of the year, areobstructed with ice) confined their skill and courage withinthe limits of a spacious lake. The rumor of the successfularmaments which sailed from the mouth of the Elbe, wouldsoon provoke them to cross the narrow isthmus of Sleswig,and to launch their vessels on the great sea. The varioustroops of pirates and adventurers, who fought under thesame standard, were insensibly united in a permanent soci-ety, at first of rapine, and afterwards of government. A mil-itary confederation was gradually moulded into a nationalbody, by the gentle operation of marriage and consanguin-ity; and the adjacent tribes, who solicited the alliance, ac-cepted the name and laws, of the Saxons. If the fact werenot established by the most unquestionable evidence, we

has marked the extensive limits of the Saxony of Charlemagne1417The fleet of Drusus had failed in their attempt to pass, or even

to approach, the Sound, (styled, from an obvious resemblance, thecolumns of Hercules,) and the naval enterprise was never resumed,(Tacit de Moribus German c 34) The knowledge which the Romans ac-quired of the naval powers of the Baltic, (c 44, 45) was obtained bytheir land journeys in search of amber

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should appear to abuse the credulity of our readers, by thedescription of the vessels in which the Saxon pirates ven-tured to sport in the waves of the German Ocean, the BritishChannel, and the Bay of Biscay. The keel of their large flat-bottomed boats were framed of light timber, but the sidesand upper works consisted only of wicker, with a cover-ing of strong hides.(KEY:[51-104) In the course of their slowand distant navigations, they must always have been ex-posed to the danger, and very frequently to the misfortune,of shipwreck; and the naval annals of the Saxons were un-doubtedly filled with the accounts of the losses which theysustained on the coasts of Britain and Gaul. But the dar-ing spirit of the pirates braved the perils both of the seaand of the shore: their skill was confirmed by the habitsof enterprise; the meanest of their mariners was alike ca-pable of handling an oar, of rearing a sail, or of conduct-ing a vessel, and the Saxons rejoiced in the appearance ofa tempest, which concealed their design, and dispersed thefleets of the enemy.1418 After they had acquired an accu-rate knowledge of the maritime provinces of the West, theyextended the scene of their depredations, and the most se-questered places had no reason to presume on their secu-rity. The Saxon boats drew so little water that they couldeasily proceed fourscore or a hundred miles up the greatrivers; their weight was so inconsiderable, that they weretransported on wagons from one river to another; and thepirates who had entered the mouth of the Seine, or of theRhine, might descend, with the rapid stream of the Rhone,into the Mediterranean. Under the reign of Valentinian, themaritime provinces of Gaul were afflicted by the Saxons:a military count was stationed for the defence of the sea-coast, or Armorican limit; and that officer, who found hisstrength, or his abilities, unequal to the task, implored the

1418The best original account of the Saxon pirates may be found inSidonius Apollinaris, (l viii epist 6, p 223, edit Sirmond,) and the bestcommentary in the Abbe du Bos, (Hist Critique de la Monarchie Fran-coise, &c tom i l i c 16, p 148-155 See likewise p 77, 78)

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assistance of Severus, master-general of the infantry. TheSaxons, surrounded and outnumbered, were forced to re-linquish their spoil, and to yield a select band of their talland robust youth to serve in the Imperial armies. They stip-ulated only a safe and honorable retreat; and the conditionwas readily granted by the Roman general, who meditatedan act of perfidy,1419 imprudent as it was inhuman, whilea Saxon remained alive, and in arms, to revenge the fate oftheir countrymen. The premature eagerness of the infantry,who were secretly posted in a deep valley, betrayed the am-buscade; and they would perhaps have fallen the victims oftheir own treachery, if a large body of cuirassiers, alarmedby the noise of the combat, had not hastily advanced to ex-tricate their companions, and to overwhelm the undauntedvalor of the Saxons. Some of the prisoners were saved fromthe edge of the sword, to shed their blood in the amphithe-atre; and the orator Symmachus complains, that twenty-nine of those desperate savages, by strangling themselveswith their own hands, had disappointed the amusement ofthe public. Yet the polite and philosophic citizens of Romewere impressed with the deepest horror, when they wereinformed, that the Saxons consecrated to the gods the titheof their human spoil; and that they ascertained by lot theobjects of the barbarous sacrifice.1420

Quin et Aremoricus piratam Saxona tractusSperabat; cui pelle salum sulcare BritannumLudus; et assuto glaucum mare findere lemboSidon. in Panegyr. Avit. 369.The genius of Caesar imitated, for a particular

service, these rude, but light vessels, which1419Ammian (xxviii 5) justifies this breach of faith to pirates and rob-

bers; and Orosius (l vii c 32) more clearly expresses their real guilt;virtute atque agilitate terribeles1420Symmachus (l ii epist 46) still presumes to mention the sacred

name of Socrates and philosophy Sidonius, bishop of Clermont, mightcondemn, (l viii epist 6,) with less inconsistency, the human sacrificesof the Saxons

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were likewise used by the natives of Britain.(Comment. de Bell. Civil. i. 51, andGuichardt, Nouveaux Memoires Militaires,tom. ii. p. 41, 42.)

The British vessels would now astonish the ge-nius of Caesar.

II. The fabulous colonies of Egyptians and Trojans, of Scan-dinavians and Spaniards, which flattered the pride, andamused the credulity, of our rude ancestors, have insensi-bly vanished in the light of science and philosophy.1421 Thepresent age is satisfied with the simple and rational opin-ion, that the islands of Great Britain and Ireland were grad-ually peopled from the adjacent continent of Gaul. From thecoast of Kent, to the extremity of Caithness and Ulster, thememory of a Celtic origin was distinctly preserved, in theperpetual resemblance of language, of religion, and of man-ners; and the peculiar characters of the British tribes mightbe naturally ascribed to the influence of accidental and localcircumstances.1422 The Roman Province was reduced to thestate of civilized and peaceful servitude; the rights of sav-age freedom were contracted to the narrow limits of Caledo-nia. The inhabitants of that northern region were divided,1421In the beginning of the last century, the learned Camden was

obliged to undermine, with respectful scepticism, the romance of Bru-tus, the Trojan; who is now buried in silent oblivion with Scota thedaughter of Pharaoh, and her numerous progeny Yet I am informed,that some champions of the Milesian colony may still be found amongthe original natives of Ireland A people dissatisfied with their presentcondition, grasp at any visions of their past or future glory1422Tacitus, or rather his father-in-law, Agricola, might remark the

German or Spanish complexion of some British tribes But it was theirsober, deliberate opinion: “In universum tamen aestimanti Gallos ci-cinum solum occupasse credibile est Eorum sacra deprehendas ermohaud multum diversus,” (in Vit Agricol c xi) Caesar had observed theircommon religion, (Comment de Bello Gallico, vi 13;) and in his timethe emigration from the Belgic Gaul was a recent, or at least an histor-ical event, (v 10) Camden, the British Strabo, has modestly ascertainedour genuine antiquities, (Britannia, vol i Introduction, p ii–xxxi)

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as early as the reign of Constantine, between the two greattribes of the Scots and of the Picts,1423 who have since expe-rienced a very different fortune. The power, and almost thememory, of the Picts have been extinguished by their suc-cessful rivals; and the Scots, after maintaining for ages thedignity of an independent kingdom, have multiplied, by anequal and voluntary union, the honors of the English name.The hand of nature had contributed to mark the ancient dis-tinctions of the Scots and Picts. The former were the menof the hills, and the latter those of the plain. The easterncoast of Caledonia may be considered as a level and fertilecountry, which, even in a rude state of tillage, was capableof producing a considerable quantity of corn; and the epi-thet of cruitnich, or wheat-eaters, expressed the contempt orenvy of the carnivorous highlander. The cultivation of theearth might introduce a more accurate separation of prop-erty, and the habits of a sedentary life; but the love of armsand rapine was still the ruling passion of the Picts; and theirwarriors, who stripped themselves for a day of battle, weredistinguished, in the eyes of the Romans, by the strangefashion of painting their naked bodies with gaudy colorsand fantastic figures. The western part of Caledonia irreg-ularly rises into wild and barren hills, which scarcely repaythe toil of the husbandman, and are most profitably used forthe pasture of cattle. The highlanders were condemned tothe occupations of shepherds and hunters; and, as they sel-dom were fixed to any permanent habitation, they acquiredthe expressive name of Scots, which, in the Celtic tongue, is

1423In the dark and doubtful paths of Caledonian antiquity, I havechosen for my guides two learned and ingenious Highlanders, whomtheir birth and education had peculiarly qualified for that office SeeCritical Dissertations on the Origin and Antiquities, &c, of the Caledo-nians, by Dr John Macpherson, London 1768, in 4to; and Introductionto the History of Great Britain and Ireland, by James Macpherson, Esq,London 1773, in 4to, third edit Dr Macpherson was a minister in theIsle of Sky: and it is a circumstance honorable for the present age, thata work, replete with erudition and criticism, should have been com-posed in the most remote of the Hebrides

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said to be equivalent to that of wanderers, or vagrants. Theinhabitants of a barren land were urged to seek a fresh sup-ply of food in the waters. The deep lakes and bays which in-tersect their country, are plentifully supplied with fish; andthey gradually ventured to cast their nets in the waves of theocean. The vicinity of the Hebrides, so profusely scatteredalong the western coast of Scotland, tempted their curiosity,and improved their skill; and they acquired, by slow de-grees, the art, or rather the habit, of managing their boats ina tempestuous sea, and of steering their nocturnal course bythe light of the well-known stars. The two bold headlandsof Caledonia almost touch the shores of a spacious island,which obtained, from its luxuriant vegetation, the epithetof Green; and has preserved, with a slight alteration, thename of Erin, or Ierne, or Ireland. It is probable, that insome remote period of antiquity, the fertile plains of Ulsterreceived a colony of hungry Scots; and that the strangersof the North, who had dared to encounter the arms of thelegions, spread their conquests over the savage and unwar-like natives of a solitary island. It is certain, that, in the de-clining age of the Roman empire, Caledonia, Ireland, andthe Isle of Man, were inhabited by the Scots, and that thekindred tribes, who were often associated in military enter-prise, were deeply affected by the various accidents of theirmutual fortunes. They long cherished the lively traditionof their common name and origin; and the missionaries ofthe Isle of Saints, who diffused the light of Christianity overNorth Britain, established the vain opinion, that their Irishcountrymen were the natural, as well as spiritual, fathersof the Scottish race. The loose and obscure tradition hasbeen preserved by the venerable Bede, who scattered somerays of light over the darkness of the eighth century. Onthis slight foundation, a huge superstructure of fable wasgradually reared, by the bards and the monks; two ordersof men, who equally abused the privilege of fiction. TheScottish nation, with mistaken pride, adopted their Irish ge-nealogy; and the annals of a long line of imaginary kings

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have been adorned by the fancy of Boethius, and the classicelegance of Buchanan.1424

1424The Irish descent of the Scots has been revived in the lastmoments of its decay, and strenuously supported, by the Rev MrWhitaker, (Hist of Manchester, vol i p 430, 431; and Genuine Historyof the Britons asserted, &c, p 154-293) Yet he acknowledges, 1 Thatthe Scots of Ammianus Marcellinus (AD 340) were already settled inCaledonia; and that the Roman authors do not afford any hints of theiremigration from another country 2 That all the accounts of such emi-grations, which have been asserted or received, by Irish bards, Scotchhistorians, or English antiquaries, (Buchanan, Camden, Usher, Still-ingfleet, &c,) are totally fabulous 3 That three of the Irish tribes, whichare mentioned by Ptolemy, (AD 150,) were of Caledonian extraction 4That a younger branch of Caledonian princes, of the house of Fingal,acquired and possessed the monarchy of Ireland After these conces-sions, the remaining difference between Mr Whitaker and his adver-saries is minute and obscure The genuine history, which he produces,of a Fergus, the cousin of Ossian, who was transplanted (AD 320) fromIreland to Caledonia, is built on a conjectural supplement to the Ersepoetry, and the feeble evidence of Richard of Cirencester, a monk ofthe fourteenth century The lively spirit of the learned and ingeniousantiquarian has tempted him to forget the nature of a question, whichhe so vehemently debates, and so absolutely decides (This controversyhas not slumbered since the days of Gibbon We have strenuous advo-cates of the Phoenician origin of the Irish, and each of the old theories,with several new ones, maintains its partisans It would require severalpages fairly to bring down the dispute to our own days, and perhapswe should be no nearer to any satisfactory theory than Gibbon was

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Part V

SIX years after the death of Constantine, the destructiveinroads of the Scots and Picts required the presence

of his youngest son, who reigned in the Western empire.Constans visited his British dominions: but we may formsome estimate of the importance of his achievements, bythe language of panegyric, which celebrates only his tri-umph over the elements or, in other words, the good for-tune of a safe and easy passage from the port of Boulogneto the harbor of Sandwich.1425 The calamities which theafflicted provincials continued to experience, from foreignwar and domestic tyranny, were aggravated by the feebleand corrupt administration of the eunuchs of Constantius;and the transient relief which they might obtain from thevirtues of Julian, was soon lost by the absence and deathof their benefactor. The sums of gold and silver, whichhad been painfully collected, or liberally transmitted, forthe payment of the troops, were intercepted by the avariceof the commanders; discharges, or, at least, exemptions,from the military service, were publicly sold; the distressof the soldiers, who were injuriously deprived of their legaland scanty subsistence, provoked them to frequent deser-tion; the nerves of discipline were relaxed, and the high-ways were infested with robbers.1426 The oppression of thegood, and the impunity of the wicked, equally contributedto diffuse through the island a spirit of discontent and re-volt; and every ambitious subject, every desperate exile,might entertain a reasonable hope of subverting the weakand distracted government of Britain. The hostile tribes ofthe North, who detested the pride and power of the King

1425Hyeme tumentes ac saevientes undas calcastis Oceani sub remisvestris; insperatam imperatoris faciem Britannus expavit Julius Fer-micus Maternus de Errore Profan Relig p 464 edit Gronov ad calcemMinuc Fael See Tillemont, (Hist des Empereurs, tom iv p 336)1426Libanius, Orat Parent c xxxix p 264 This curious passage has es-

caped the diligence of our British antiquaries

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of the World, suspended their domestic feuds; and the Bar-barians of the land and sea, the Scots, the Picts, and theSaxons, spread themselves with rapid and irresistible fury,from the wall of Antoninus to the shores of Kent. Everyproduction of art and nature, every object of convenienceand luxury, which they were incapable of creating by la-bor or procuring by trade, was accumulated in the rich andfruitful province of Britain.1427 A philosopher may deplorethe eternal discords of the human race, but he will con-fess, that the desire of spoil is a more rational provocationthan the vanity of conquest. From the age of Constantineto the Plantagenets, this rapacious spirit continued to insti-gate the poor and hardy Caledonians; but the same people,whose generous humanity seems to inspire the songs of Os-sian, was disgraced by a savage ignorance of the virtues ofpeace, and of the laws of war. Their southern neighborshave felt, and perhaps exaggerated, the cruel depredationsof the Scots and Picts;1428 and a valiant tribe of Caledonia,the Attacotti,1429 the enemies, and afterwards the soldiers,of Valentinian, are accused, by an eye-witness, of delightingin the taste of human flesh. When they hunted the woodsfor prey, it is said, that they attacked the shepherd ratherthan his flock; and that they curiously selected the most del-icate and brawny parts, both of males and females, which

1427The Caledonians praised and coveted the gold, the steeds, thelights, &c, of the stranger See Dr Blair’s Dissertation on Ossian, vol iip 343; and Mr Macpherson’s Introduction, p 242-2861428Lord Lyttelton has circumstantially related, (History of Henry II

vol i p 182,) and Sir David Dalrymple has slightly mentioned, (Annalsof Scotland, vol i p 69,) a barbarous inroad of the Scots, at a time (AD1137) when law, religion, and society must have softened their primi-tive manners1429Attacotti bellicosa hominum natio Ammian xxvii 8 Camden (In-

troduct p clii) has restored their true name in the text of Jerom Thebands of Attacotti, which Jerom had seen in Gaul, were afterwardsstationed in Italy and Illyricum, (Notitia, S viii xxxix xl)

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they prepared for their horrid repasts.1430 If, in the neigh-borhood of the commercial and literary town of Glasgow, arace of cannibals has really existed, we may contemplate, inthe period of the Scottish history, the opposite extremes ofsavage and civilized life. Such reflections tend to enlarge thecircle of our ideas; and to encourage the pleasing hope, thatNew Zealand may produce, in some future age, the Humeof the Southern Hemisphere.

Every messenger who escaped across the British Chan-nel, conveyed the most melancholy and alarming tidings tothe ears of Valentinian; and the emperor was soon informedthat the two military commanders of the province had beensurprised and cut off by the Barbarians. Severus, count ofthe domestics, was hastily despatched, and as suddenly re-called, by the court of Treves. The representations of Jov-inus served only to indicate the greatness of the evil; and,after a long and serious consultation, the defence, or ratherthe recovery, of Britain was intrusted to the abilities of thebrave Theodosius. The exploits of that general, the father1430Cum ipse adolescentulus in Gallia viderim Attacottos (or Scotos)

gentem Britannicam humanis vesci carnibus; et cum per silvas porco-rum greges, et armentorum percudumque reperiant, pastorum nateset feminarum papillas solere abscindere; et has solas ciborum deliciasarbitrari Such is the evidence of Jerom, (tom ii p 75,) whose veracity Ifind no reason to question (See Dr Parr’s works, iii 93, where he ques-tions the propriety of Gibbon’s translation of this passage The learneddoctor approves of the version proposed by a Mr Gaches, who wouldmake out that it was the delicate parts of the swine and the cattle,which were eaten by these ancestors of the Scotch nation I confess thateven to acquit them of this charge I cannot agree to the new version,which, in my opinion, is directly contrary both to the meaning of thewords, and the general sense of the passage But I would suggest, didJerom, as a boy, accompany these savages in any of their hunting expe-ditions? If he did not, how could he be an eye-witness of this practice?The Attacotti in Gaul must have been in the service of Rome Were theypermitted to indulge these cannibal propensities at the expense, not ofthe flocks, but of the shepherds of the provinces? These sanguinarytrophies of plunder would scarce’y have been publicly exhibited in aRoman city or a Roman camp I must leave the hereditary pride of ournorthern neighbors at issue with the veracity of St Jerom

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of a line of emperors, have been celebrated, with peculiarcomplacency, by the writers of the age: but his real meritdeserved their applause; and his nomination was received,by the army and province, as a sure presage of approach-ing victory. He seized the favorable moment of navigation,and securely landed the numerous and veteran bands of theHeruli and Batavians, the Jovians and the Victors. In hismarch from Sandwich to London, Theodosius defeated sev-eral parties of the Barbarians, released a multitude of cap-tives, and, after distributing to his soldiers a small portionof the spoil, established the fame of disinterested justice, bythe restitution of the remainder to the rightful proprietors.The citizens of London, who had almost despaired of theirsafety, threw open their gates; and as soon as Theodosiushad obtained from the court of Treves the important aidof a military lieutenant, and a civil governor, he executed,with wisdom and vigor, the laborious task of the deliver-ance of Britain. The vagrant soldiers were recalled to theirstandard; an edict of amnesty dispelled the public appre-hensions; and his cheerful example alleviated the rigor ofmartial discipline. The scattered and desultory warfare ofthe Barbarians, who infested the land and sea, deprived himof the glory of a signal victory; but the prudent spirit, andconsummate art, of the Roman general, were displayed inthe operations of two campaigns, which successively res-cued every part of the province from the hands of a crueland rapacious enemy. The splendor of the cities, and the se-curity of the fortifications, were diligently restored, by thepaternal care of Theodosius; who with a strong hand con-fined the trembling Caledonians to the northern angle ofthe island; and perpetuated, by the name and settlementof the new province of Valentia, the glories of the reign ofValentinian.1431 The voice of poetry and panegyric mayadd, perhaps with some degree of truth, that the unknownregions of Thule were stained with the blood of the Picts;

1431Ammianus has concisely represented (xx l xxvi 4, xxvii 8 xxviii 3)the whole series of the British war

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that the oars of Theodosius dashed the waves of the Hyper-borean ocean; and that the distant Orkneys were the sceneof his naval victory over the Saxon pirates.1432 He left theprovince with a fair, as well as splendid, reputation; andwas immediately promoted to the rank of master-general ofthe cavalry, by a prince who could applaud, without envy,the merit of his servants. In the important station of the Up-per Danube, the conqueror of Britain checked and defeatedthe armies of the Alemanni, before he was chosen to sup-press the revolt of Africa.

III. The prince who refuses to be the judge, instructs thepeople to consider him as the accomplice, of his ministers.The military command of Africa had been long exercisedby Count Romanus, and his abilities were not inadequateto his station; but, as sordid interest was the sole motive ofhis conduct, he acted, on most occasions, as if he had beenthe enemy of the province, and the friend of the Barbariansof the desert. The three flourishing cities of Oea, Leptis, andSobrata, which, under the name of Tripoli, had long consti-tuted a federal union,1433 were obliged, for the first time, toshut their gates against a hostile invasion; several of theirmost honorable citizens were surprised and massacred; thevillages, and even the suburbs, were pillaged; and the vines

1432Horrescit ratibus impervia Thule Ille nec falso nomine Pictos Edo-muit Scotumque vago mucrone secutus, Fregit Hyperboreas remis au-dacibus undas Claudian, in iii Cons Honorii, ver 53, &c–MaduruntSaxone fuso Orcades: incaluit Pictorum sanguine Thule, Scotorum cu-mulos flevit glacialis Ierne In iv Cons Hon ver 31, &c —–See likewisePacatus, (in Panegyr Vet xii 5) But it is not easy to appreciate the in-trinsic value of flattery and metaphor Compare the British victories ofBolanus (Statius, Silv v 2) with his real character, (Tacit in Vit Agricol c16)1433Ammianus frequently mentions their concilium annuum, legiti-

mum, &c Leptis and Sabrata are long since ruined; but the city of Oea,the native country of Apuleius, still flourishes under the provincial de-nomination of Tripoli See Cellarius (Geograph Antiqua, tom ii part iip 81,) D’Anville, (Geographie Ancienne, tom iii p 71, 72,) and Marmol,(Arrique, tom ii p 562)

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and fruit trees of that rich territory were extirpated by themalicious savages of Getulia. The unhappy provincials im-plored the protection of Romanus; but they soon found thattheir military governor was not less cruel and rapaciousthan the Barbarians. As they were incapable of furnish-ing the four thousand camels, and the exorbitant present,which he required, before he would march to the assistanceof Tripoli; his demand was equivalent to a refusal, and hemight justly be accused as the author of the public calamity.In the annual assembly of the three cities, they nominatedtwo deputies, to lay at the feet of Valentinian the customaryoffering of a gold victory; and to accompany this tribute ofduty, rather than of gratitude, with their humble complaint,that they were ruined by the enemy, and betrayed by theirgovernor. If the severity of Valentinian had been rightly di-rected, it would have fallen on the guilty head of Romanus.But the count, long exercised in the arts of corruption, haddespatched a swift and trusty messenger to secure the venalfriendship of Remigius, master of the offices. The wisdomof the Imperial council was deceived by artifice; and theirhonest indignation was cooled by delay. At length, whenthe repetition of complaint had been justified by the repe-tition of public misfortunes, the notary Palladius was sentfrom the court of Treves, to examine the state of Africa, andthe conduct of Romanus. The rigid impartiality of Palladiuswas easily disarmed: he was tempted to reserve for himselfa part of the public treasure, which he brought with him forthe payment of the troops; and from the moment that hewas conscious of his own guilt, he could no longer refuse toattest the innocence and merit of the count. The charge ofthe Tripolitans was declared to be false and frivolous; andPalladius himself was sent back from Treves to Africa, witha special commission to discover and prosecute the authorsof this impious conspiracy against the representatives of thesovereign. His inquiries were managed with so much dex-terity and success, that he compelled the citizens of Leptis,who had sustained a recent siege of eight days, to contradict

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the truth of their own decrees, and to censure the behaviorof their own deputies. A bloody sentence was pronounced,without hesitation, by the rash and headstrong cruelty ofValentinian. The president of Tripoli, who had presumed topity the distress of the province, was publicly executed atUtica; four distinguished citizens were put to death, as theaccomplices of the imaginary fraud; and the tongues of twoothers were cut out, by the express order of the emperor. Ro-manus, elated by impunity, and irritated by resistance, wasstill continued in the military command; till the Africanswere provoked, by his avarice, to join the rebellious stan-dard of Firmus, the Moor.1434

His father Nabal was one of the richest and mostpowerful of the Moorish princes, who acknowledged thesupremacy of Rome. But as he left, either by his wives orconcubines, a very numerous posterity, the wealthy inher-itance was eagerly disputed; and Zamma, one of his sons,was slain in a domestic quarrel by his brother Firmus. Theimplacable zeal, with which Romanus prosecuted the legalrevenge of this murder, could be ascribed only to a mo-tive of avarice, or personal hatred; but, on this occasion,his claims were just; his influence was weighty; and Firmusclearly understood, that he must either present his neck tothe executioner, or appeal from the sentence of the Imperialconsistory, to his sword, and to the people.1435 He was re-ceived as the deliverer of his country; and, as soon as it ap-peared that Romanus was formidable only to a submissiveprovince, the tyrant of Africa became the object of univer-sal contempt. The ruin of Caesarea, which was plundered

1434Ammian xviii 6 Tillemont (Hist des Empereurs, tom v p 25, 676)has discussed the chronological difficulties of the history of Count Ro-manus1435The Chronology of Ammianus is loose and obscure; and Orosius

(i vii c 33, p 551, edit Havercamp) seems to place the revolt of Firmusafter the deaths of Valentinian and Valens Tillemont (Hist des Emp tomv p 691) endeavors to pick his way The patient and sure-foot mule ofthe Alps may be trusted in the most slippery paths

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and burnt by the licentious Barbarians, convinced the re-fractory cities of the danger of resistance; the power of Fir-mus was established, at least in the provinces of Mauritaniaand Numidia; and it seemed to be his only doubt whetherhe should assume the diadem of a Moorish king, or the pur-ple of a Roman emperor. But the imprudent and unhappyAfricans soon discovered, that, in this rash insurrection,they had not sufficiently consulted their own strength, orthe abilities of their leader. Before he could procure any cer-tain intelligence, that the emperor of the West had fixed thechoice of a general, or that a fleet of transports was collectedat the mouth of the Rhone, he was suddenly informed thatthe great Theodosius, with a small band of veterans, hadlanded near Igilgilis, or Gigeri, on the African coast; and thetimid usurper sunk under the ascendant of virtue and mili-tary genius. Though Firmus possessed arms and treasures,his despair of victory immediately reduced him to the use ofthose arts, which, in the same country, and in a similar sit-uation, had formerly been practised by the crafty Jugurtha.He attempted to deceive, by an apparent submission, thevigilance of the Roman general; to seduce the fidelity of histroops; and to protract the duration of the war, by succes-sively engaging the independent tribes of Africa to espousehis quarrel, or to protect his flight. Theodosius imitatedthe example, and obtained the success, of his predecessorMetellus. When Firmus, in the character of a suppliant, ac-cused his own rashness, and humbly solicited the clemencyof the emperor, the lieutenant of Valentinian received anddismissed him with a friendly embrace: but he diligentlyrequired the useful and substantial pledges of a sincere re-pentance; nor could he be persuaded, by the assurances ofpeace, to suspend, for an instant, the operations of an activewar. A dark conspiracy was detected by the penetrationof Theodosius; and he satisfied, without much reluctance,the public indignation, which he had secretly excited. Sev-eral of the guilty accomplices of Firmus were abandoned,according to ancient custom, to the tumult of a military exe-

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cution; many more, by the amputation of both their hands,continued to exhibit an instructive spectacle of horror; thehatred of the rebels was accompanied with fear; and thefear of the Roman soldiers was mingled with respectful ad-miration. Amidst the boundless plains of Getulia, and theinnumerable valleys of Mount Atlas, it was impossible toprevent the escape of Firmus; and if the usurper could havetired the patience of his antagonist, he would have securedhis person in the depth of some remote solitude, and ex-pected the hopes of a future revolution. He was subduedby the perseverance of Theodosius; who had formed an in-flexible determination, that the war should end only by thedeath of the tyrant; and that every nation of Africa, whichpresumed to support his cause, should be involved in hisruin. At the head of a small body of troops, which sel-dom exceeded three thousand five hundred men, the Ro-man general advanced, with a steady prudence, devoid ofrashness or of fear, into the heart of a country, where he wassometimes attacked by armies of twenty thousand Moors.The boldness of his charge dismayed the irregular Barbar-ians; they were disconcerted by his seasonable and orderlyretreats; they were continually baffled by the unknown re-sources of the military art; and they felt and confessed thejust superiority which was assumed by the leader of a civ-ilized nation. When Theodosius entered the extensive do-minions of Igmazen, king of the Isaflenses, the haughtysavage required, in words of defiance, his name, and theobject of his expedition. “I am,” replied the stern and dis-dainful count, “I am the general of Valentinian, the lord ofthe world; who has sent me hither to pursue and punisha desperate robber. Deliver him instantly into my hands;and be assured, that if thou dost not obey the commands ofmy invincible sovereign, thou, and the people over whomthou reignest, shall be utterly extirpated.”1436 As soon as

1436The war was longer protracted than this sentence would leadus to suppose: it was not till defeated more than once that Igmazenyielded Amm xxix 5–M

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Igmazen was satisfied, that his enemy had strength and res-olution to execute the fatal menace, he consented to pur-chase a necessary peace by the sacrifice of a guilty fugitive.The guards that were placed to secure the person of Fir-mus deprived him of the hopes of escape; and the Moorishtyrant, after wine had extinguished the sense of danger, dis-appointed the insulting triumph of the Romans, by stran-gling himself in the night. His dead body, the only presentwhich Igmazen could offer to the conqueror, was carelesslythrown upon a camel; and Theodosius, leading back his vic-torious troops to Sitifi, was saluted by the warmest acclama-tions of joy and loyalty.1437

Africa had been lost by the vices of Romanus; it wasrestored by the virtues of Theodosius; and our curiositymay be usefully directed to the inquiry of the respectivetreatment which the two generals received from the Impe-rial court. The authority of Count Romanus had been sus-pended by the master-general of the cavalry; and he wascommitted to safe and honorable custody till the end of thewar. His crimes were proved by the most authentic evi-dence; and the public expected, with some impatience, thedecree of severe justice. But the partial and powerful fa-vor of Mellobaudes encouraged him to challenge his legaljudges, to obtain repeated delays for the purpose of procur-ing a crowd of friendly witnesses, and, finally, to cover hisguilty conduct, by the additional guilt of fraud and forgery.About the same time, the restorer of Britain and Africa, ona vague suspicion that his name and services were supe-rior to the rank of a subject, was ignominiously beheadedat Carthage. Valentinian no longer reigned; and the deathof Theodosius, as well as the impunity of Romanus, mayjustly be imputed to the arts of the ministers, who abusedthe confidence, and deceived the inexperienced youth, of

1437Ammian xxix 5 The text of this long chapter (fifteen quarto pages)is broken and corrupted; and the narrative is perplexed by the want ofchronological and geographical landmarks

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his sons.1438

If the geographical accuracy of Ammianus had been for-tunately bestowed on the British exploits of Theodosius, weshould have traced, with eager curiosity, the distinct anddomestic footsteps of his march. But the tedious enumera-tion of the unknown and uninteresting tribes of Africa maybe reduced to the general remark, that they were all of theswarthy race of the Moors; that they inhabited the back set-tlements of the Mauritanian and Numidian province, thecountry, as they have since been termed by the Arabs, ofdates and of locusts;1439 and that, as the Roman power de-clined in Africa, the boundary of civilized manners and cul-tivated land was insensibly contracted. Beyond the utmostlimits of the Moors, the vast and inhospitable desert of theSouth extends above a thousand miles to the banks of theNiger. The ancients, who had a very faint and imperfectknowledge of the great peninsula of Africa, were some-times tempted to believe, that the torrid zone must everremain destitute of inhabitants;1440 and they sometimesamused their fancy by filling the vacant space with head-less men, or rather monsters;1441 with horned and cloven-

1438Ammian xxviii 4 Orosius, l vii c 33, p 551, 552 Jerom in Chron p1871439Leo Africanus (in the Viaggi di Ramusio, tom i fol 78-83) has

traced a curious picture of the people and the country; which are moreminutely described in the Afrique de Marmol, tom iii p 1-541440This uninhabitable zone was gradually reduced by the improve-

ments of ancient geography, from forty-five to twenty-four, or evensixteen degrees of latitude See a learned and judicious note of DrRobertson, Hist of America, vol i p 4261441Intra, si credere libet, vix jam homines et magis semiferi Blem-

myes, Satyri, &c Pomponius Mela, i 4, p 26, edit Voss in 8vo Plinyphilosophically explains (vi 35) the irregularities of nature, which hehad credulously admitted, (v 8)

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footed satyrs;1442 with fabulous centaurs;1443 and with hu-man pygmies, who waged a bold and doubtful warfareagainst the cranes.1444 Carthage would have trembled atthe strange intelligence that the countries on either side ofthe equator were filled with innumerable nations, who dif-fered only in their color from the ordinary appearance of thehuman species: and the subjects of the Roman empire mighthave anxiously expected, that the swarms of Barbarians,which issued from the North, would soon be encounteredfrom the South by new swarms of Barbarians, equally fierceand equally formidable. These gloomy terrors would in-deed have been dispelled by a more intimate acquaintancewith the character of their African enemies. The inactionof the negroes does not seem to be the effect either of theirvirtue or of their pusillanimity. They indulge, like the restof mankind, their passions and appetites; and the adjacenttribes are engaged in frequent acts of hostility.1445 But theirrude ignorance has never invented any effectual weapons1442If the satyr was the Orang-outang, the great human ape, (Buffon,

Hist Nat tom xiv p 43, &c,) one of that species might actually be shownalive at Alexandria, in the reign of Constantine Yet some difficulty willstill remain about the conversation which St Anthony held with one ofthese pious savages, in the desert of Thebais (Jerom in Vit Paul Eremittom i p 238)1443St Anthony likewise met one of these monsters; whose existence

was seriously asserted by the emperor Claudius The public laughed;but his praefect of Egypt had the address to send an artful preparation,the embalmed corpse of a Hippocentaur, which was preserved almosta century afterwards in the Imperial palace See Pliny, (Hist Natur vii3,) and the judicious observations of Freret (Memoires de l’Acad tomvii p 321, &c)1444The fable of the pygmies is as old as Homer, (Iliad iii 6) The

pygmies of India and Aethiopia were (trispithami) twenty-seveninches high Every spring their cavalry (mounted on rams and goats)marched, in battle array, to destroy the cranes’ eggs, aliter (says Pliny)futuris gregibus non resisti Their houses were built of mud, feathers,and egg-shells See Pliny, (vi 35, vii 2,) and Strabo, (l ii p 121)1445The third and fourth volumes of the valuable Histoire des Voy-

ages describe the present state of the Negroes The nations of the sea-coast have been polished by European commerce; and those of the

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of defence, or of destruction; they appear incapable of form-ing any extensive plans of government, or conquest; and theobvious inferiority of their mental faculties has been discov-ered and abused by the nations of the temperate zone. Sixtythousand blacks are annually embarked from the coast ofGuinea, never to return to their native country; but theyare embarked in chains;1446 and this constant emigration,which, in the space of two centuries, might have furnishedarmies to overrun the globe, accuses the guilt of Europe,and the weakness of Africa.

inland country have been improved by Moorish colonies (The mar-tial tribes in chain armor, discovered by Denham, are Mahometan; thegreat question of the inferiority of the African tribes in their mental fac-ulties will probably be experimentally resolved before the close of thecentury; but the Slave Trade still continues, and will, it is to be feared,till the spirit of gain is subdued by the spirit of Christian humanity–M1446Histoire Philosophique et Politique, &c, tom iv p 192

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Part VI

IV. The ignominious treaty, which saved the army of Jovian,had been faithfully executed on the side of the Romans;and as they had solemnly renounced the sovereignty andalliance of Armenia and Iberia, those tributary kingdomswere exposed, without protection, to the arms of the Per-sian monarch.1447 Sapor entered the Armenian territoriesat the head of a formidable host of cuirassiers, of archers,and of mercenary foot; but it was the invariable practice ofSapor to mix war and negotiation, and to consider false-hood and perjury as the most powerful instruments of re-gal policy. He affected to praise the prudent and moder-ate conduct of the king of Armenia; and the unsuspiciousTiranus was persuaded, by the repeated assurances of in-sidious friendship, to deliver his person into the hands ofa faithless and cruel enemy. In the midst of a splendid en-tertainment, he was bound in chains of silver, as an honordue to the blood of the Arsacides; and, after a short confine-ment in the Tower of Oblivion at Ecbatana, he was releasedfrom the miseries of life, either by his own dagger, or bythat of an assassin.1448 The kingdom of Armenia was re-

1447The evidence of Ammianus is original and decisive, (xxvii 12)Moses of Chorene, (l iii c 17, p 249, and c 34, p 269,) and Procopius, (deBell Persico, l i c 5, p 17, edit Louvre,) have been consulted: but thosehistorians who confound distinct facts, repeat the same events, andintroduce strange stories, must be used with diffidence and cautionNote: The statement of Ammianus is more brief and succinct, but har-monizes with the more complicated history developed by M St Martinfrom the Armenian writers, and from Procopius, who wrote, as hestates from Armenian authorities–M1448According to M St Martin, Sapor, though supported by the two

apostate Armenian princes, Meroujan the Ardzronnian and Vahan theMamigonian, was gallantly resisted by Arsaces, and his brave thoughimpious wife Pharandsem His troops were defeated by Vasag, thehigh constable of the kingdom (See M St Martin) But after four years’courageous defence of his kingdom, Arsaces was abandoned by hisnobles, and obliged to accept the perfidious hospitality of Sapor He

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duced to the state of a Persian province; the administrationwas shared between a distinguished satrap and a favoriteeunuch; and Sapor marched, without delay, to subdue themartial spirit of the Iberians. Sauromaces, who reigned inthat country by the permission of the emperors, was ex-pelled by a superior force; and, as an insult on the majestyof Rome, the king of kings placed a diadem on the headof his abject vassal Aspacuras. The city of Artogerassa1449

was the only place of Armenia1450 which presumed to re-sist the efforts of his arms. The treasure deposited in thatstrong fortress tempted the avarice of Sapor; but the dan-ger of Olympias, the wife or widow of the Armenian king,excited the public compassion, and animated the desper-ate valor of her subjects and soldiers.1451 The Persians weresurprised and repulsed under the walls of Artogerassa, by abold and well-concerted sally of the besieged. But the forcesof Sapor were continually renewed and increased; the hope-

was blinded and imprisoned in the “Castle of Oblivion;” his bravegeneral Vasag was flayed alive; his skin stuffed and placed near theking in his lonely prison It was not till many years after (AD 371) thathe stabbed himself, according to the romantic story, (St M iii 387, 389,)in a paroxysm of excitement at his restoration to royal honors St Mar-tin, Additions to Le Beau, iii 283, 296–M1449Perhaps Artagera, or Ardis; under whose walls Caius, the grand-

son of Augustus, was wounded This fortress was situate aboveAmida, near one of the sources of the Tigris See D’Anville, Geogra-phie Ancienue, tom ii p 106 (St Martin agrees with Gibbon, that it wasthe same fortress with Ardis Note, p 373–M1450Artaxata, Vagharschabad, or Edchmiadzin, Erovantaschad, and

many other cities, in all of which there was a considerable Jewish pop-ulation were taken and destroyed–M1451Pharandsem, not Olympias, refusing the orders of her captive

husband to surrender herself to Sapor, threw herself into ArtogerassaSt Martin, iii 293, 302 She defended herself for fourteen months, tillfamine and disease had left few survivors out of 11,000 soldiers and6000 women who had taken refuge in the fortress She then threw openthe gates with her own hand M St Martin adds, what even the horrorsof Oriental warfare will scarcely permit us to credit, that she was ex-posed by Sapor on a public scaffold to the brutal lusts of his soldiery,and afterwards empaled, iii 373, &c–M

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less courage of the garrison was exhausted; the strength ofthe walls yielded to the assault; and the proud conqueror,after wasting the rebellious city with fire and sword, ledaway captive an unfortunate queen; who, in a more aus-picious hour, had been the destined bride of the son of Con-stantine.1452 Yet if Sapor already triumphed in the easy con-quest of two dependent kingdoms, he soon felt, that a coun-try is unsubdued as long as the minds of the people are ac-tuated by a hostile and contumacious spirit. The satraps,whom he was obliged to trust, embraced the first oppor-tunity of regaining the affection of their countrymen, andof signalizing their immortal hatred to the Persian name.Since the conversion of the Armenians and Iberians, thesenations considered the Christians as the favorites, and theMagians as the adversaries, of the Supreme Being: the in-fluence of the clergy, over a superstitious people was uni-formly exerted in the cause of Rome; and as long as the suc-cessors of Constantine disputed with those of Artaxerxesthe sovereignty of the intermediate provinces, the religiousconnection always threw a decisive advantage into the scaleof the empire. A numerous and active party acknowledgedPara, the son of Tiranus, as the lawful sovereign of Armenia,and his title to the throne was deeply rooted in the hered-itary succession of five hundred years. By the unanimousconsent of the Iberians, the country was equally divided be-tween the rival princes; and Aspacuras, who owed his di-adem to the choice of Sapor, was obliged to declare, thathis regard for his children, who were detained as hostagesby the tyrant, was the only consideration which preventedhim from openly renouncing the alliance of Persia. The em-peror Valens, who respected the obligations of the treaty,and who was apprehensive of involving the East in a dan-gerous war, ventured, with slow and cautious measures,to support the Roman party in the kingdoms of Iberia and

1452Tillemont (Hist des Empereurs, tom v p 701) proves, fromchronology, that Olympias must have been the mother of Para Note*: An error according to St M 273–M

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Armenia.1453 Twelve legions established the authority ofSauromaces on the banks of the Cyrus. The Euphrates wasprotected by the valor of Arintheus. A powerful army, un-der the command of Count Trajan, and of Vadomair, kingof the Alemanni, fixed their camp on the confines of Arme-nia. But they were strictly enjoined not to commit the firsthostilities, which might be understood as a breach of thetreaty: and such was the implicit obedience of the Romangeneral, that they retreated, with exemplary patience, un-der a shower of Persian arrows till they had clearly acquireda just title to an honorable and legitimate victory. Yet theseappearances of war insensibly subsided in a vain and te-dious negotiation. The contending parties supported theirclaims by mutual reproaches of perfidy and ambition; and itshould seem, that the original treaty was expressed in veryobscure terms, since they were reduced to the necessity ofmaking their inconclusive appeal to the partial testimony ofthe generals of the two nations, who had assisted at the ne-gotiations.1454 The invasion of the Goths and Huns whichsoon afterwards shook the foundations of the Roman em-pire, exposed the provinces of Asia to the arms of Sapor.But the declining age, and perhaps the infirmities, of themonarch suggested new maxims of tranquillity and moder-ation. His death, which happened in the full maturity of areign of seventy years, changed in a moment the court andcouncils of Persia; and their attention was most probablyengaged by domestic troubles, and the distant efforts of aCarmanian war.1455 The remembrance of ancient injuries

1453According to Themistius, quoted by St Martin, he once advancedto the Tigris, iii 436–M1454Ammianus (xxvii 12, xix 1 xxx 1, 2) has described the events, with-

out the dates, of the Persian war Moses of Chorene (Hist Armen l iii c28, p 261, c 31, p 266, c 35, p 271) affords some additional facts; but itis extremely difficult to separate truth from fable1455Artaxerxes was the successor and brother (the cousin-german) of

the great Sapor; and the guardian of his son, Sapor III (Agathias, liv p 136, edit Louvre) See the Universal History, vol xi p 86, 161 Theauthors of that unequal work have compiled the Sassanian dynasty

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was lost in the enjoyment of peace. The kingdoms of Arme-nia and Iberia were permitted, by the mutual,though tacitconsent of both empires, to resume their doubtful neutral-ity. In the first years of the reign of Theodosius, a Persianembassy arrived at Constantinople, to excuse the unjustifi-able measures of the former reign; and to offer, as the tributeof friendship, or even of respect, a splendid present of gems,of silk, and of Indian elephants.1456

In the general picture of the affairs of the East under thereign of Valens, the adventures of Para form one of the moststriking and singular objects. The noble youth, by the per-suasion of his mother Olympias, had escaped through thePersian host that besieged Artogerassa, and implored theprotection of the emperor of the East. By his timid councils,Para was alternately supported, and recalled, and restored,and betrayed. The hopes of the Armenians were sometimesraised by the presence of their natural sovereign,1457 andthe ministers of Valens were satisfied, that they preservedthe integrity of the public faith, if their vassal was not suf-fered to assume the diadem and title of King. But they soonrepented of their own rashness. They were confounded bythe reproaches and threats of the Persian monarch. Theyfound reason to distrust the cruel and inconstant temperof Para himself; who sacrificed, to the slightest suspicions,the lives of his most faithful servants, and held a secret anddisgraceful correspondence with the assassin of his fatherand the enemy of his country. Under the specious pre-tence of consulting with the emperor on the subject of theircommon interest, Para was persuaded to descend from the

with erudition and diligence; but it is a preposterous arrangement todivide the Roman and Oriental accounts into two distinct histories (Onthe war of Sapor with the Bactrians, which diverted from Armenia, seeSt M iii 387–M1456Pacatus in Panegyr Vet xii 22, and Orosius, l vii c 34 Ictumque

tum foedus est, quo universus Oriens usque ad num (A D 416) tran-quillissime fruitur1457On the reconquest of Armenia by Para, or rather by Mouschegh,

the Mamigonian see St M iii 375, 383–M

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mountains of Armenia, where his party was in arms, andto trust his independence and safety to the discretion ofa perfidious court. The king of Armenia, for such he ap-peared in his own eyes and in those of his nation, was re-ceived with due honors by the governors of the provincesthrough which he passed; but when he arrived at Tarsus inCilicia, his progress was stopped under various pretences;his motions were watched with respectful vigilance, and hegradually discovered, that he was a prisoner in the hands ofthe Romans. Para suppressed his indignation, dissembledhis fears, and after secretly preparing his escape, mountedon horseback with three hundred of his faithful followers.The officer stationed at the door of his apartment imme-diately communicated his flight to the consular of Cilicia,who overtook him in the suburbs, and endeavored with-out success, to dissuade him from prosecuting his rash anddangerous design. A legion was ordered to pursue the royalfugitive; but the pursuit of infantry could not be very alarm-ing to a body of light cavalry; and upon the first cloudof arrows that was discharged into the air, they retreatedwith precipitation to the gates of Tarsus. After an incessantmarch of two days and two nights, Para and his Armeni-ans reached the banks of the Euphrates; but the passageof the river which they were obliged to swim,1458 was at-tended with some delay and some loss. The country wasalarmed; and the two roads, which were only separated byan interval of three miles had been occupied by a thousandarchers on horseback, under the command of a count and atribune. Para must have yielded to superior force, if the ac-cidental arrival of a friendly traveller had not revealed thedanger and the means of escape. A dark and almost imper-vious path securely conveyed the Armenian troop throughthe thicket; and Para had left behind him the count and thetribune, while they patiently expected his approach alongthe public highways. They returned to the Imperial court toexcuse their want of diligence or success; and seriously al-

1458On planks floated by bladders–M

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leged, that the king of Armenia, who was a skilful magician,had transformed himself and his followers, and passed be-fore their eyes under a borrowed shape.1459 After his returnto his native kingdom, Para still continued to profess him-self the friend and ally of the Romans: but the Romans hadinjured him too deeply ever to forgive, and the secret sen-tence of his death was signed in the council of Valens. Theexecution of the bloody deed was committed to the subtleprudence of Count Trajan; and he had the merit of insinuat-ing himself into the confidence of the credulous prince, thathe might find an opportunity of stabbing him to the heartPara was invited to a Roman banquet, which had been pre-pared with all the pomp and sensuality of the East; the hallresounded with cheerful music, and the company was al-ready heated with wine; when the count retired for an in-stant, drew his sword, and gave the signal of the murder. Arobust and desperate Barbarian instantly rushed on the kingof Armenia; and though he bravely defended his life withthe first weapon that chance offered to his hand, the table ofthe Imperial general was stained with the royal blood of aguest, and an ally. Such were the weak and wicked maximsof the Roman administration, that, to attain a doubtful ob-ject of political interest the laws of nations, and the sacredrights of hospitality were inhumanly violated in the face ofthe world.1460

V. During a peaceful interval of thirty years, the Romanssecured their frontiers, and the Goths extended their domin-

1459It is curious enough that the Armenian historian, Faustus ofByzandum, represents Para as a magician His impious mother Pha-randac had devoted him to the demons on his birth St M iv 23–M1460See in Ammianus (xxx 1) the adventures of Para Moses of

Chorene calls him Tiridates; and tells a long, and not improbable storyof his son Gnelus, who afterwards made himself popular in Armenia,and provoked the jealousy of the reigning king, (l iii c 21, &c, p 253,&c) (This note is a tissue of mistakes Tiridates and Para are two to-tally different persons Tiridates was the father of Gnel first husband ofPharandsem, the mother of Para St Martin, iv 27–M

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ions. The victories of the great Hermanric,1461 king of theOstrogoths, and the most noble of the race of the Amali,have been compared, by the enthusiasm of his countrymen,to the exploits of Alexander; with this singular, and almostincredible, difference, that the martial spirit of the Gothichero, instead of being supported by the vigor of youth, wasdisplayed with glory and success in the extreme period ofhuman life, between the age of fourscore and one hundredand ten years. The independent tribes were persuaded, orcompelled, to acknowledge the king of the Ostrogoths asthe sovereign of the Gothic nation: the chiefs of the Visig-oths, or Thervingi, renounced the royal title, and assumedthe more humble appellation of Judges; and, among thosejudges, Athanaric, Fritigern, and Alavivus, were the most il-lustrious, by their personal merit, as well as by their vicinityto the Roman provinces. These domestic conquests, whichincreased the military power of Hermanric, enlarged hisambitious designs. He invaded the adjacent countries of theNorth; and twelve considerable nations, whose names andlimits cannot be accurately defined, successively yieldedto the superiority of the Gothic arms1462 The Heruli, whoinhabited the marshy lands near the lake Maeotis, wererenowned for their strength and agility; and the assistanceof their light infantry was eagerly solicited, and highly es-teemed, in all the wars of the Barbarians. But the activespirit of the Heruli was subdued by the slow and steadyperseverance of the Goths; and, after a bloody action, inwhich the king was slain, the remains of that warlike tribebecame a useful accession to the camp of Hermanric.

1461The concise account of the reign and conquests of Hermanricseems to be one of the valuable fragments which Jornandes (c 28) bor-rowed from the Gothic histories of Ablavius, or Cassiodorus1462M d Buat (Hist des Peuples de l’Europe, tom vi p 311-329) in-

vestigates, with more industry than success, the nations subdued bythe arms of Hermanric He denies the existence of the Vasinobroncoe,on account of the immoderate length of their name Yet the French en-voy to Ratisbon, or Dresden, must have traversed the country of theMediomatrici

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He then marched against the Venedi; unskilled in the useof arms, and formidable only by their numbers, which filledthe wide extent of the plains of modern Poland. The victo-rious Goths, who were not inferior in numbers, prevailedin the contest, by the decisive advantages of exercise anddiscipline. After the submission of the Venedi, the con-queror advanced, without resistance, as far as the confinesof the Aestii;1463 an ancient people, whose name is still pre-served in the province of Esthonia. Those distant inhab-itants of the Baltic coast were supported by the labors ofagriculture, enriched by the trade of amber, and consecratedby the peculiar worship of the Mother of the Gods. Butthe scarcity of iron obliged the Aestian warriors to contentthemselves with wooden clubs; and the reduction of thatwealthy country is ascribed to the prudence, rather than tothe arms, of Hermanric. His dominions, which extendedfrom the Danube to the Baltic, included the native seats,and the recent acquisitions, of the Goths; and he reignedover the greatest part of Germany and Scythia with the au-thority of a conqueror, and sometimes with the cruelty ofa tyrant. But he reigned over a part of the globe incapableof perpetuating and adorning the glory of its heroes. Thename of Hermanric is almost buried in oblivion; his ex-ploits are imperfectly known; and the Romans themselvesappeared unconscious of the progress of an aspiring powerwhich threatened the liberty of the North, and the peace ofthe empire.1464

The Goths had contracted an hereditary attachment forthe Imperial house of Constantine, of whose power andliberality they had received so many signal proofs. They

1463The edition of Grotius (Jornandes, p 642) exhibits the name ofAestri But reason and the Ambrosian MS have restored the Aestii,whose manners and situation are expressed by the pencil of Tacitus,(Germania, c 45)1464Ammianus (xxxi 3) observes, in general terms, Ermenrichi no-

bilissimi Regis, et per multa variaque fortiter facta, vicinigentibusformidati, &c

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respected the public peace; and if a hostile band some-times presumed to pass the Roman limit, their irregular con-duct was candidly ascribed to the ungovernable spirit ofthe Barbarian youth. Their contempt for two new and ob-scure princes, who had been raised to the throne by a pop-ular election, inspired the Goths with bolder hopes; and,while they agitated some design of marching their con-federate force under the national standard,1465 they wereeasily tempted to embrace the party of Procopius; and tofoment, by their dangerous aid, the civil discord of theRomans. The public treaty might stipulate no more thanten thousand auxiliaries; but the design was so zealouslyadopted by the chiefs of the Visigoths, that the army whichpassed the Danube amounted to the number of thirty thou-sand men.1466 They marched with the proud confidence,that their invincible valor would decide the fate of the Ro-man empire; and the provinces of Thrace groaned underthe weight of the Barbarians, who displayed the insolenceof masters and the licentiousness of enemies. But the in-temperance which gratified their appetites, retarded theirprogress; and before the Goths could receive any certain in-telligence of the defeat and death of Procopius, they per-ceived, by the hostile state of the country, that the civiland military powers were resumed by his successful ri-val. A chain of posts and fortifications, skilfully disposedby Valens, or the generals of Valens, resisted their march,prevented their retreat, and intercepted their subsistence.The fierceness of the Barbarians was tamed and suspendedby hunger; they indignantly threw down their arms at thefeet of the conqueror, who offered them food and chains:1465Valens docetur relationibus Ducum, gentem Gothorum, ea tem-

pestate intactam ideoque saevissimam, conspirantem in unum, ad per-vadenda parari collimitia Thraciarum Ammian xxi 61466M de Buat (Hist des Peuples de l’Europe, tom vi p 332) has cu-

riously ascertained the real number of these auxiliaries The 3000 ofAmmianus, and the 10,000 of Zosimus, were only the first divisions ofthe Gothic army (M St Martin (iii 246) denies that there is any authorityfor these numbers–M

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the numerous captives were distributed in all the cities ofthe East; and the provincials, who were soon familiarizedwith their savage appearance, ventured, by degrees, to mea-sure their own strength with these formidable adversaries,whose name had so long been the object of their terror.The king of Scythia (and Hermanric alone could deserve solofty a title) was grieved and exasperated by this nationalcalamity. His ambassadors loudly complained, at the courtof Valens, of the infraction of the ancient and solemn al-liance, which had so long subsisted between the Romansand the Goths. They alleged, that they had fulfilled theduty of allies, by assisting the kinsman and successor of theemperor Julian; they required the immediate restitution ofthe noble captives; and they urged a very singular claim,that the Gothic generals marching in arms, and in hostilearray, were entitled to the sacred character and privileges ofambassadors. The decent, but peremptory, refusal of theseextravagant demands, was signified to the Barbarians byVictor, master-general of the cavalry; who expressed, withforce and dignity, the just complaints of the emperor of theEast.1467 The negotiation was interrupted; and the manlyexhortations of Valentinian encouraged his timid brother tovindicate the insulted majesty of the empire.1468

The splendor and magnitude of this Gothic war are cel-ebrated by a contemporary historian:1469 but the events

1467The march, and subsequent negotiation, are described in theFragments of Eunapius, (Excerpt Legat p 18, edit Louvre) The provin-cials who afterwards became familiar with the Barbarians, found thattheir strength was more apparent than real They were tall of stature;but their legs were clumsy, and their shoulders were narrow1468Valens enim, ut consulto placuerat fratri, cujus regebatur arbitrio,

arma concussit in Gothos ratione justa permotus Ammianus (xxvii 4)then proceeds to describe, not the country of the Goths, but the peace-ful and obedient province of Thrace, which was not affected by thewar1469Eunapius, in Excerpt Legat p 18, 19 The Greek sophist must have

considered as one and the same war, the whole series of Gothic historytill the victories and peace of Theodosius

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scarcely deserve the attention of posterity, except as the pre-liminary steps of the approaching decline and fall of theempire. Instead of leading the nations of Germany andScythia to the banks of the Danube, or even to the gatesof Constantinople, the aged monarch of the Goths resignedto the brave Athanaric the danger and glory of a defensivewar, against an enemy, who wielded with a feeble hand thepowers of a mighty state. A bridge of boats was estab-lished upon the Danube; the presence of Valens animatedhis troops; and his ignorance of the art of war was com-pensated by personal bravery, and a wise deference to theadvice of Victor and Arintheus, his masters-general of thecavalry and infantry. The operations of the campaign wereconducted by their skill and experience; but they found itimpossible to drive the Visigoths from their strong posts inthe mountains; and the devastation of the plains obliged theRomans themselves to repass the Danube on the approachof winter. The incessant rains, which swelled the waters ofthe river, produced a tacit suspension of arms, and confinedthe emperor Valens, during the whole course of the ensuingsummer, to his camp of Marcianopolis. The third year ofthe war was more favorable to the Romans, and more per-nicious to the Goths. The interruption of trade deprived theBarbarians of the objects of luxury, which they already con-founded with the necessaries of life; and the desolation ofa very extensive tract of country threatened them with thehorrors of famine. Athanaric was provoked, or compelled,to risk a battle, which he lost, in the plains; and the pur-suit was rendered more bloody by the cruel precaution ofthe victorious generals, who had promised a large rewardfor the head of every Goth that was brought into the Im-perial camp. The submission of the Barbarians appeasedthe resentment of Valens and his council: the emperor lis-tened with satisfaction to the flattering and eloquent remon-strance of the senate of Constantinople, which assumed, forthe first time, a share in the public deliberations; and thesame generals, Victor and Arintheus, who had successfully

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directed the conduct of the war, were empowered to regu-late the conditions of peace. The freedom of trade, whichthe Goths had hitherto enjoyed, was restricted to two citieson the Danube; the rashness of their leaders was severelypunished by the suppression of their pensions and subsi-dies; and the exception, which was stipulated in favor ofAthanaric alone, was more advantageous than honorable tothe Judge of the Visigoths. Athanaric, who, on this occasion,appears to have consulted his private interest, without ex-pecting the orders of his sovereign, supported his own dig-nity, and that of his tribe, in the personal interview whichwas proposed by the ministers of Valens. He persisted inhis declaration, that it was impossible for him, without in-curring the guilt of perjury, ever to set his foot on the terri-tory of the empire; and it is more than probable, that his re-gard for the sanctity of an oath was confirmed by the recentand fatal examples of Roman treachery. The Danube, whichseparated the dominions of the two independent nations,was chosen for the scene of the conference. The emperor ofthe East, and the Judge of the Visigoths, accompanied by anequal number of armed followers, advanced in their respec-tive barges to the middle of the stream. After the ratificationof the treaty, and the delivery of hostages, Valens returnedin triumph to Constantinople; and the Goths remained in astate of tranquillity about six years; till they were violentlyimpelled against the Roman empire by an innumerable hostof Scythians, who appeared to issue from the frozen regionsof the North.1470

The emperor of the West, who had resigned to hisbrother the command of the Lower Danube, reserved for

1470The Gothic war is described by Ammianus, (xxvii 6,) Zosimus, (liv p 211-214,) and Themistius, (Orat x p 129-141) The orator Themistiuswas sent from the senate of Constantinople to congratulate the vic-torious emperor; and his servile eloquence compares Valens on theDanube to Achilles in the Scamander Jornandes forgets a war peculiarto the Visi-Goths, and inglorious to the Gothic name, (Mascon’s Histof the Germans, vii 3)

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his immediate care the defence of the Rhaetian and Illyr-ian provinces, which spread so many hundred miles alongthe greatest of the European rivers. The active policy ofValentinian was continually employed in adding new for-tifications to the security of the frontier: but the abuse ofthis policy provoked the just resentment of the Barbarians.The Quadi complained, that the ground for an intendedfortress had been marked out on their territories; and theircomplaints were urged with so much reason and modera-tion, that Equitius, master-general of Illyricum, consentedto suspend the prosecution of the work, till he should bemore clearly informed of the will of his sovereign. Thisfair occasion of injuring a rival, and of advancing the for-tune of his son, was eagerly embraced by the inhuman Max-imin, the praefect, or rather tyrant, of Gaul. The passions ofValentinian were impatient of control; and he credulouslylistened to the assurances of his favorite, that if the gov-ernment of Valeria, and the direction of the work, wereintrusted to the zeal of his son Marcellinus, the emperorshould no longer be importuned with the audacious remon-strances of the Barbarians. The subjects of Rome, and thenatives of Germany, were insulted by the arrogance of ayoung and worthless minister, who considered his rapidelevation as the proof and reward of his superior merit.He affected, however, to receive the modest application ofGabinius, king of the Quadi, with some attention and re-gard: but this artful civility concealed a dark and bloodydesign, and the credulous prince was persuaded to acceptthe pressing invitation of Marcellinus. I am at a loss howto vary the narrative of similar crimes; or how to relate,that, in the course of the same year, but in remote partsof the empire, the inhospitable table of two Imperial gen-erals was stained with the royal blood of two guests and al-lies, inhumanly murdered by their order, and in their pres-ence. The fate of Gabinius, and of Para, was the same:but the cruel death of their sovereign was resented in avery different manner by the servile temper of the Arme-

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nians, and the free and daring spirit of the Germans. TheQuadi were much declined from that formidable power,which, in the time of Marcus Antoninus, had spread ter-ror to the gates of Rome. But they still possessed arms andcourage; their courage was animated by despair, and theyobtained the usual reenforcement of the cavalry of their Sar-matian allies. So improvident was the assassin Marcellinus,that he chose the moment when the bravest veterans hadbeen drawn away, to suppress the revolt of Firmus; and thewhole province was exposed, with a very feeble defence, tothe rage of the exasperated Barbarians. They invaded Pan-nonia in the season of harvest; unmercifully destroyed ev-ery object of plunder which they could not easily transport;and either disregarded, or demolished, the empty fortifica-tions. The princess Constantia, the daughter of the emperorConstantius, and the granddaughter of the great Constan-tine, very narrowly escaped. That royal maid, who had in-nocently supported the revolt of Procopius, was now thedestined wife of the heir of the Western empire. She tra-versed the peaceful province with a splendid and unarmedtrain. Her person was saved from danger, and the repub-lic from disgrace, by the active zeal of Messala, governor ofthe provinces. As soon as he was informed that the village,where she stopped only to dine, was almost encompassedby the Barbarians, he hastily placed her in his own chariot,and drove full speed till he reached the gates of Sirmium,which were at the distance of six-and-twenty miles. EvenSirmium might not have been secure, if the Quadi and Sar-matians had diligently advanced during the general con-sternation of the magistrates and people. Their delay al-lowed Probus, the Praetorian praefect, sufficient time to re-cover his own spirits, and to revive the courage of the citi-zens. He skilfully directed their strenuous efforts to repairand strengthen the decayed fortifications; and procured theseasonable and effectual assistance of a company of archers,to protect the capital of the Illyrian provinces. Disappointedin their attempts against the walls of Sirmium, the indignant

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Barbarians turned their arms against the master general ofthe frontier, to whom they unjustly attributed the murder oftheir king. Equitius could bring into the field no more thantwo legions; but they contained the veteran strength of theMaesian and Pannonian bands. The obstinacy with whichthey disputed the vain honors of rank and precedency, wasthe cause of their destruction; and while they acted withseparate forces and divided councils, they were surprisedand slaughtered by the active vigor of the Sarmatian horse.The success of this invasion provoked the emulation of thebordering tribes; and the province of Maesia would infalli-bly have been lost, if young Theodosius, the duke, or mil-itary commander, of the frontier, had not signalized, in thedefeat of the public enemy, an intrepid genius, worthy ofhis illustrious father, and of his future greatness.1471

1471Ammianus (xxix 6) and Zosimus (I iv p 219, 220) carefully markthe origin and progress of the Quadic and Sarmatian war

770

Part VII

THE mind of Valentinian, who then resided at Treves, wasdeeply affected by the calamities of Illyricum; but the

lateness of the season suspended the execution of his de-signs till the ensuing spring. He marched in person, witha considerable part of the forces of Gaul, from the banks ofthe Moselle: and to the suppliant ambassadors of the Sar-matians, who met him on the way, he returned a doubt-ful answer, that, as soon as he reached the scene of ac-tion, he should examine, and pronounce. When he arrivedat Sirmium, he gave audience to the deputies of the Illyr-ian provinces; who loudly congratulated their own felic-ity under the auspicious government of Probus, his Prae-torian praefect.1472 Valentinian, who was flattered by thesedemonstrations of their loyalty and gratitude, imprudentlyasked the deputy of Epirus, a Cynic philosopher of intrepidsincerity,1473 whether he was freely sent by the wishes of theprovince. “With tears and groans am I sent,” replied Iphi-cles, “by a reluctant people.” The emperor paused: but theimpunity of his ministers established the pernicious maxim,that they might oppress his subjects, without injuring hisservice. A strict inquiry into their conduct would have re-lieved the public discontent. The severe condemnation of

1472Ammianus, (xxx 5,) who acknowledges the merit, has censured,with becoming asperity, the oppressive administration of PetroniusProbus When Jerom translated and continued the Chronicle of Euse-bius, (A D 380; see Tillemont, Mem Eccles tom xii p 53, 626,) he ex-pressed the truth, or at least the public opinion of his country, in thefollowing words: “Probus P P Illyrici inquissimus tributorum exac-tionibus, ante provincias quas regebat, quam a Barbaris vastarentur,erasit” (Chron edit Scaliger, p 187 Animadvers p 259) The Saint after-wards formed an intimate and tender friendship with the widow ofProbus; and the name of Count Equitius with less propriety, but with-out much injustice, has been substituted in the text1473Julian (Orat vi p 198) represents his friend Iphicles, as a man of

virtue and merit, who had made himself ridiculous and unhappy byadopting the extravagant dress and manners of the Cynics

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the murder of Gabinius, was the only measure which couldrestore the confidence of the Germans, and vindicate thehonor of the Roman name. But the haughty monarch wasincapable of the magnanimity which dares to acknowledgea fault. He forgot the provocation, remembered only the in-jury, and advanced into the country of the Quadi with aninsatiate thirst of blood and revenge. The extreme devas-tation, and promiscuous massacre, of a savage war, werejustified, in the eyes of the emperor, and perhaps in those ofthe world, by the cruel equity of retaliation:1474 and suchwas the discipline of the Romans, and the consternationof the enemy, that Valentinian repassed the Danube with-out the loss of a single man. As he had resolved to com-plete the destruction of the Quadi by a second campaign,he fixed his winter quarters at Bregetio, on the Danube,near the Hungarian city of Presburg. While the operationsof war were suspended by the severity of the weather, theQuadi made an humble attempt to deprecate the wrath oftheir conqueror; and, at the earnest persuasion of Equitius,their ambassadors were introduced into the Imperial coun-cil. They approached the throne with bended bodies anddejected countenances; and without daring to complain ofthe murder of their king, they affirmed, with solemn oaths,that the late invasion was the crime of some irregular rob-bers, which the public council of the nation condemned andabhorred. The answer of the emperor left them but littleto hope from his clemency or compassion. He reviled, inthe most intemperate language, their baseness, their ingrat-itude, their insolence. His eyes, his voice, his color, his ges-tures, expressed the violence of his ungoverned fury; andwhile his whole frame was agitated with convulsive pas-sion, a large blood vessel suddenly burst in his body; andValentinian fell speechless into the arms of his attendants.Their pious care immediately concealed his situation from

1474Ammian xxx v Jerom, who exaggerates the misfortune of Valen-tinian, refuses him even this last consolation of revenge Genitali vas-tato solo et inultam patriam derelinquens, (tom i p 26)

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CHAPTER XXV PART VII

the crowd; but, in a few minutes, the emperor of the Westexpired in an agony of pain, retaining his senses till the last;and struggling, without success, to declare his intentionsto the generals and ministers, who surrounded the royalcouch. Valentinian was about fifty-four years of age; andhe wanted only one hundred days to accomplish the twelveyears of his reign.1475

The polygamy of Valentinian is seriously attested byan ecclesiastical historian.1476 “The empress Severa (I re-late the fable) admitted into her familiar society the lovelyJustina, the daughter of an Italian governor: her admirationof those naked charms, which she had often seen in the bath,was expressed with such lavish and imprudent praise, thatthe emperor was tempted to introduce a second wife intohis bed; and his public edict extended to all the subjects ofthe empire the same domestic privilege which he had as-sumed for himself.” But we may be assured, from the ev-idence of reason as well as history, that the two marriagesof Valentinian, with Severa, and with Justina, were succes-sively contracted; and that he used the ancient permissionof divorce, which was still allowed by the laws, though itwas condemned by the church Severa was the mother ofGratian, who seemed to unite every claim which could en-title him to the undoubted succession of the Western em-pire. He was the eldest son of a monarch whose gloriousreign had confirmed the free and honorable choice of hisfellow-soldiers. Before he had attained the ninth year of his

1475See, on the death of Valentinian, Ammianus, (xxx 6,) Zosimus, (liv p 221,) Victor, (in Epitom,) Socrates, (l iv c 31,) and Jerom, (in Chronp 187, and tom i p 26, ad Heliodor) There is much variety of circum-stances among them; and Ammianus is so eloquent, that he writesnonsense1476Socrates (l iv c 31) is the only original witness of this foolish story,

so repugnant to the laws and manners of the Romans, that it scarcelydeserved the formal and elaborate dissertation of M Bonamy, (Memde l’Academie, tom xxx p 394-405) Yet I would preserve the naturalcircumstance of the bath; instead of following Zosimus who representsJustina as an old woman, the widow of Magnentius

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age, the royal youth received from the hands of his indul-gent father the purple robe and diadem, with the title ofAugustus; the election was solemnly ratified by the consentand applause of the armies of Gaul;1477 and the name ofGratian was added to the names of Valentinian and Valens,in all the legal transactions of the Roman government. Byhis marriage with the granddaughter of Constantine, theson of Valentinian acquired all the hereditary rights of theFlavian family; which, in a series of three Imperial gener-ations, were sanctified by time, religion, and the reverenceof the people. At the death of his father, the royal youthwas in the seventeenth year of his age; and his virtues al-ready justified the favorable opinion of the army and thepeople. But Gratian resided, without apprehension, in thepalace of Treves; whilst, at the distance of many hundredmiles, Valentinian suddenly expired in the camp of Brege-tio. The passions, which had been so long suppressed by thepresence of a master, immediately revived in the Imperialcouncil; and the ambitious design of reigning in the nameof an infant, was artfully executed by Mellobaudes and Eq-uitius, who commanded the attachment of the Illyrian andItalian bands. They contrived the most honorable pretencesto remove the popular leaders, and the troops of Gaul, whomight have asserted the claims of the lawful successor; theysuggested the necessity of extinguishing the hopes of for-eign and domestic enemies, by a bold and decisive measure.The empress Justina, who had been left in a palace aboutone hundred miles from Bregetio, was respectively invitedto appear in the camp, with the son of the deceased em-peror. On the sixth day after the death of Valentinian, theinfant prince of the same name, who was only four yearsold, was shown, in the arms of his mother, to the legions;and solemnly invested, by military acclamation, with the ti-tles and ensigns of supreme power. The impending dangers

1477Ammianus (xxvii 6) describes the form of this military election,and august investiture Valentinian does not appear to have consulted,or even informed, the senate of Rome

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of a civil war were seasonably prevented by the wise andmoderate conduct of the emperor Gratian. He cheerfullyaccepted the choice of the army; declared that he should al-ways consider the son of Justina as a brother, not as a rival;and advised the empress, with her son Valentinian to fixtheir residence at Milan, in the fair and peaceful province ofItaly; while he assumed the more arduous command of thecountries beyond the Alps. Gratian dissembled his resent-ment till he could safely punish, or disgrace, the authorsof the conspiracy; and though he uniformly behaved withtenderness and regard to his infant colleague, he graduallyconfounded, in the administration of the Western empire,the office of a guardian with the authority of a sovereign.The government of the Roman world was exercised in theunited names of Valens and his two nephews; but the fee-ble emperor of the East, who succeeded to the rank of hiselder brother, never obtained any weight or influence in thecouncils of the West.1478

1478Ammianus, xxx 10 Zosimus, l iv p 222, 223 Tillemont has proved(Hist des Empereurs, tom v p 707-709) that Gratian reignea in Italy,Africa, and Illyricum I have endeavored to express his authority overhis brother’s dominions, as he used it, in an ambiguous style

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Chapter XXVI

PROGRESS OF THE HUNS

Part I.

Manners Of The Pastoral Nations.–Progress Of The Huns, From China To Europe.–Flight Of The Goths.–

They Pass The Danube.–Gothic War.–

Defeat And Death Of Valens.–Gratian Invests Theodosius With The Eastern

Empire.–His Character And Success.–Peace And Settlement Of The Goths.

IN the second year of the reign of Valentinian and Valens,on the morning of the twenty-first day of July, the great-

est part of the Roman world was shaken by a violent anddestructive earthquake. The impression was communicatedto the waters; the shores of the Mediterranean were left dry,by the sudden retreat of the sea; great quantities of fish werecaught with the hand; large vessels were stranded on themud; and a curious spectator1479 amused his eye, or ratherhis fancy, by contemplating the various appearance of val-leys and mountains, which had never, since the formationof the globe, been exposed to the sun. But the tide soonreturned, with the weight of an immense and irresistibledeluge, which was severely felt on the coasts of Sicily, ofDalmatia, of Greece, and of Egypt: large boats were trans-ported, and lodged on the roofs of houses, or at the dis-tance of two miles from the shore; the people, with theirhabitations, were swept away by the waters; and the city

1479Such is the bad taste of Ammianus, (xxvi 10,) that it is not easy todistinguish his facts from his metaphors Yet he positively affirms, thathe saw the rotten carcass of a ship, ad Modon, in Peloponnesus

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CHAPTER XXVI PART I.

of Alexandria annually commemorated the fatal day, onwhich fifty thousand persons had lost their lives in the in-undation. This calamity, the report of which was magni-fied from one province to another, astonished and terrifiedthe subjects of Rome; and their affrighted imagination en-larged the real extent of a momentary evil. They recollectedthe preceding earthquakes, which had subverted the citiesof Palestine and Bithynia: they considered these alarmingstrokes as the prelude only of still more dreadful calami-ties, and their fearful vanity was disposed to confound thesymptoms of a declining empire and a sinking world.1480It was the fashion of the times to attribute every remark-able event to the particular will of the Deity; the alterationsof nature were connected, by an invisible chain, with themoral and metaphysical opinions of the human mind; andthe most sagacious divines could distinguish, according tothe color of their respective prejudices, that the establish-ment of heresy tended to produce an earthquake; or that adeluge was the inevitable consequence of the progress of sinand error. Without presuming to discuss the truth or pro-priety of these lofty speculations, the historian may contenthimself with an observation, which seems to be justified byexperience, that man has much more to fear from the pas-sions of his fellow-creatures, than from the convulsions ofthe elements.1481 The mischievous effects of an earthquake,or deluge, a hurricane, or the eruption of a volcano, beara very inconsiderable portion to the ordinary calamities of

1480The earthquakes and inundations are variously described byLibanius, (Orat de ulciscenda Juliani nece, c x, in Fabricius, Bibl Graectom vii p 158, with a learned note of Olearius,) Zosimus, (l iv p 221,)Sozomen, (l vi c 2,) Cedrenus, (p 310, 314,) and Jerom, (in Chron p186, and tom i p 250, in Vit Hilarion) Epidaurus must have been over-whelmed, had not the prudent citizens placed St Hilarion, an Egyptianmonk, on the beach He made the sign of the Cross; the mountain-wavestopped, bowed, and returned1481Dicaearchus, the Peripatetic, composed a formal treatise, to prove

this obvious truth; which is not the most honorable to the humanspecies (Cicero, de Officiis, ii 5)

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CHAPTER XXVI PART I.

war, as they are now moderated by the prudence or human-ity of the princes of Europe, who amuse their own leisure,and exercise the courage of their subjects, in the practiceof the military art. But the laws and manners of modernnations protect the safety and freedom of the vanquishedsoldier; and the peaceful citizen has seldom reason to com-plain, that his life, or even his fortune, is exposed to therage of war. In the disastrous period of the fall of the Ro-man empire, which may justly be dated from the reign ofValens, the happiness and security of each individual werepersonally attacked; and the arts and labors of ages wererudely defaced by the Barbarians of Scythia and Germany.The invasion of the Huns precipitated on the provinces ofthe West the Gothic nation, which advanced, in less thanforty years, from the Danube to the Atlantic, and opened away, by the success of their arms, to the inroads of so manyhostile tribes, more savage than themselves. The originalprinciple of motion was concealed in the remote countriesof the North; and the curious observation of the pastoral lifeof the Scythians,1482 or Tartars,1483 will illustrate the latentcause of these destructive emigrations.

The different characters that mark the civilized nationsof the globe, may be ascribed to the use, and the abuse, ofreason; which so variously shapes, and so artificially com-

1482The original Scythians of Herodotus (l iv c 47–57, 99–101) wereconfined, by the Danube and the Palus Maeotis, within a square of4000 stadia, (400 Roman miles) See D’Anville (Mem de l’Academie,tom xxxv p 573–591) Diodorus Siculus (tom i l ii p 155, edit Wesseling)has marked the gradual progress of the name and nation1483The Tatars, or Tartars, were a primitive tribe, the rivals, and at

length the subjects, of the Moguls In the victorious armies of ZingisKhan, and his successors, the Tartars formed the vanguard; and thename, which first reached the ears of foreigners, was applied to thewhole nation, (Freret, in the Hist de l’Academie, tom xviii p 60) Inspeaking of all, or any of the northern shepherds of Europe, or Asia, Iindifferently use the appellations of Scythians or Tartars (The Moguls,(Mongols,) according to M Klaproth, are a tribe of the Tartar nationTableaux Hist de l’Asie, p 154–M

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CHAPTER XXVI PART I.

poses, the manners and opinions of a European, or a Chi-nese. But the operation of instinct is more sure and simplethan that of reason: it is much easier to ascertain the ap-petites of a quadruped than the speculations of a philoso-pher; and the savage tribes of mankind, as they approachnearer to the condition of animals, preserve a stronger re-semblance to themselves and to each other. The uniformstability of their manners is the natural consequence of theimperfection of their faculties. Reduced to a similar sit-uation, their wants, their desires, their enjoyments, stillcontinue the same: and the influence of food or climate,which, in a more improved state of society, is suspended, orsubdued, by so many moral causes, most powerfully con-tributes to form, and to maintain, the national character ofBarbarians. In every age, the immense plains of Scythia, orTartary, have been inhabited by vagrant tribes of huntersand shepherds, whose indolence refuses to cultivate theearth, and whose restless spirit disdains the confinement ofa sedentary life. In every age, the Scythians, and Tartars,have been renowned for their invincible courage and rapidconquests. The thrones of Asia have been repeatedly over-turned by the shepherds of the North; and their arms havespread terror and devastation over the most fertile and war-like countries of Europe.1484 On this occasion, as well ason many others, the sober historian is forcibly awakenedfrom a pleasing vision; and is compelled, with some re-luctance, to confess, that the pastoral manners, which havebeen adorned with the fairest attributes of peace and inno-cence, are much better adapted to the fierce and cruel habitsof a military life. To illustrate this observation, I shall nowproceed to consider a nation of shepherds and of warriors,

1484Imperium Asiae ter quaesivere: ipsi perpetuo ab alieno imperio,aut intacti aut invicti, mansere Since the time of Justin, (ii 2,) they havemultiplied this account Voltaire, in a few words, (tom x p 64, Hist Gen-erale, c 156,) has abridged the Tartar conquests Oft o’er the tremblingnations from afar, Has Scythia breathed the living cloud of war Note*: Gray–M

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CHAPTER XXVI PART I.

in the three important articles of, I. Their diet; II. Their habi-tations; and, III. Their exercises. The narratives of antiquityare justified by the experience of modern times;1485 and thebanks of the Borysthenes, of the Volga, or of the Selinga, willindifferently present the same uniform spectacle of similarand native manners.1486

I. The corn, or even the rice, which constitutes the ordi-nary and wholesome food of a civilized people, can be ob-tained only by the patient toil of the husbandman. Someof the happy savages, who dwell between the tropics, areplentifully nourished by the liberality of nature; but in theclimates of the North, a nation of shepherds is reduced totheir flocks and herds. The skilful practitioners of the medi-cal art will determine (if they are able to determine) how farthe temper of the human mind may be affected by the useof animal, or of vegetable, food; and whether the commonassociation of carniverous and cruel deserves to be consid-ered in any other light than that of an innocent, perhaps asalutary, prejudice of humanity.1487 Yet, if it be true, that the

1485The fourth book of Herodotus affords a curious though imperfect,portrait of the Scythians Among the moderns, who describe the uni-form scene, the Khan of Khowaresm, Abulghazi Bahadur, expresseshis native feelings; and his genealogical history of the Tartars has beencopiously illustrated by the French and English editors Carpin, As-celin, and Rubruquis (in the Hist des Voyages, tom vii) represent theMoguls of the fourteenth century To these guides I have added Ger-billon, and the other Jesuits, (Description de la China par du Halde,tom iv,) who accurately surveyed the Chinese Tartary; and that honestand intelligent traveller, Bell, of Antermony, (two volumes in 4to Glas-gow, 1763) (Of the various works published since the time of Gibbon,which throw fight on the nomadic population of Central Asia, maybe particularly remarked the Travels and Dissertations of Pallas; andabove all, the very curious work of Bergman, Nomadische StreifereyenRiga, 1805–M1486The Uzbecks are the most altered from their primitive manners; 1

By the profession of the Mahometan religion; and 2 By the possessionof the cities and harvests of the great Bucharia1487Il est certain que les grands mangeurs de viande sont en general

cruels et feroces plus que les autres hommes Cette observation est de

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CHAPTER XXVI PART I.

sentiment of compassion is imperceptibly weakened by thesight and practice of domestic cruelty, we may observe, thatthe horrid objects which are disguised by the arts of Euro-pean refinement, are exhibited in their naked and most dis-gusting simplicity in the tent of a Tartarian shepherd. Theox, or the sheep, are slaughtered by the same hand fromwhich they were accustomed to receive their daily food; andthe bleeding limbs are served, with very little preparation,on the table of their unfeeling murderer. In the military pro-fession, and especially in the conduct of a numerous army,the exclusive use of animal food appears to be productive ofthe most solid advantages. Corn is a bulky and perishablecommodity; and the large magazines, which are indispens-ably necessary for the subsistence of our troops, must beslowly transported by the labor of men or horses. But theflocks and herds, which accompany the march of the Tar-tars, afford a sure and increasing supply of flesh and milk:in the far greater part of the uncultivated waste, the veg-etation of the grass is quick and luxuriant; and there arefew places so extremely barren, that the hardy cattle of theNorth cannot find some tolerable pasture.

The supply is multiplied and prolonged by the undis-tinguishing appetite, and patient abstinence, of the Tar-tars. They indifferently feed on the flesh of those animalsthat have been killed for the table, or have died of disease.Horseflesh, which in every age and country has been pro-scribed by the civilized nations of Europe and Asia, theydevour with peculiar greediness; and this singular taste fa-cilitates the success of their military operations. The ac-tive cavalry of Scythia is always followed, in their most dis-tant and rapid incursions, by an adequate number of sparehorses, who may be occasionally used, either to redouble

tous les lieux, et de tous les temps: la barbarie Angloise est connue, &cEmile de Rousseau, tom i p 274 Whatever we may think of the generalobservation, we shall not easily allow the truth of his example Thegood-natured complaints of Plutarch, and the pathetic lamentationsof Ovid, seduce our reason, by exciting our sensibility

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CHAPTER XXVI PART I.

the speed, or to satisfy the hunger, of the Barbarians. Manyare the resources of courage and poverty. When the forageround a camp of Tartars is almost consumed, they slaugh-ter the greatest part of their cattle, and preserve the flesh,either smoked, or dried in the sun. On the sudden emer-gency of a hasty march, they provide themselves with asufficient quantity of little balls of cheese, or rather of hardcurd, which they occasionally dissolve in water; and thisunsubstantial diet will support, for many days, the life, andeven the spirits, of the patient warrior. But this extraordi-nary abstinence, which the Stoic would approve, and thehermit might envy, is commonly succeeded by the mostvoracious indulgence of appetite. The wines of a happierclimate are the most grateful present, or the most valuablecommodity, that can be offered to the Tartars; and the onlyexample of their industry seems to consist in the art of ex-tracting from mare’s milk a fermented liquor, which pos-sesses a very strong power of intoxication. Like the animalsof prey, the savages, both of the old and new world, expe-rience the alternate vicissitudes of famine and plenty; andtheir stomach is inured to sustain, without much inconve-nience, the opposite extremes of hunger and of intemper-ance.

II. In the ages of rustic and martial simplicity, a peopleof soldiers and husbandmen are dispersed over the face ofan extensive and cultivated country; and some time mustelapse before the warlike youth of Greece or Italy couldbe assembled under the same standard, either to defendtheir own confines, or to invade the territories of the ad-jacent tribes. The progress of manufactures and commerceinsensibly collects a large multitude within the walls of acity: but these citizens are no longer soldiers; and the artswhich adorn and improve the state of civil society, corruptthe habits of the military life. The pastoral manners of theScythians seem to unite the different advantages of simplic-ity and refinement. The individuals of the same tribe areconstantly assembled, but they are assembled in a camp;

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CHAPTER XXVI PART I.

and the native spirit of these dauntless shepherds is ani-mated by mutual support and emulation. The houses ofthe Tartars are no more than small tents, of an oval form,which afford a cold and dirty habitation, for the promiscu-ous youth of both sexes. The palaces of the rich consist ofwooden huts, of such a size that they may be convenientlyfixed on large wagons, and drawn by a team perhaps oftwenty or thirty oxen. The flocks and herds, after grazingall day in the adjacent pastures, retire, on the approach ofnight, within the protection of the camp. The necessity ofpreventing the most mischievous confusion, in such a per-petual concourse of men and animals, must gradually intro-duce, in the distribution, the order, and the guard, of the en-campment, the rudiments of the military art. As soon as theforage of a certain district is consumed, the tribe, or ratherarmy, of shepherds, makes a regular march to some freshpastures; and thus acquires, in the ordinary occupations ofthe pastoral life, the practical knowledge of one of the mostimportant and difficult operations of war. The choice of sta-tions is regulated by the difference of the seasons: in thesummer, the Tartars advance towards the North, and pitchtheir tents on the banks of a river, or, at least, in the neigh-borhood of a running stream. But in the winter, they returnto the South, and shelter their camp, behind some conve-nient eminence, against the winds, which are chilled in theirpassage over the bleak and icy regions of Siberia. Thesemanners are admirably adapted to diffuse, among the wan-dering tribes, the spirit of emigration and conquest. Theconnection between the people and their territory is of sofrail a texture, that it may be broken by the slightest acci-dent. The camp, and not the soil, is the native country of thegenuine Tartar. Within the precincts of that camp, his fam-ily, his companions, his property, are always included; and,in the most distant marches, he is still surrounded by theobjects which are dear, or valuable, or familiar in his eyes.The thirst of rapine, the fear, or the resentment of injury,the impatience of servitude, have, in every age, been suffi-

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CHAPTER XXVI PART I.

cient causes to urge the tribes of Scythia boldly to advanceinto some unknown countries, where they might hope tofind a more plentiful subsistence or a less formidable en-emy. The revolutions of the North have frequently deter-mined the fate of the South; and in the conflict of hostile na-tions, the victor and the vanquished have alternately drove,and been driven, from the confines of China to those of Ger-many.1488 These great emigrations, which have been some-times executed with almost incredible diligence, were ren-dered more easy by the peculiar nature of the climate. Itis well known that the cold of Tartary is much more se-vere than in the midst of the temperate zone might reason-ably be expected; this uncommon rigor is attributed to theheight of the plains, which rise, especially towards the East,more than half a mile above the level of the sea; and to thequantity of saltpetre with which the soil is deeply impreg-nated.1489 In the winter season, the broad and rapid rivers,that discharge their waters into the Euxine, the Caspian, orthe Icy Sea, are strongly frozen; the fields are covered witha bed of snow; and the fugitive, or victorious, tribes may se-curely traverse, with their families, their wagons, and theircattle, the smooth and hard surface of an immense plain.

III. The pastoral life, compared with the labors of agri-culture and manufactures, is undoubtedly a life of idleness;and as the most honorable shepherds of the Tartar race de-volve on their captives the domestic management of thecattle, their own leisure is seldom disturbed by any servile

1488These Tartar emigrations have been discovered by M de Guignes(Histoire des Huns, tom i ii) a skilful and laborious interpreter of theChinese language; who has thus laid open new and important scenesin the history of mankind1489A plain in the Chinese Tartary, only eighty leagues from the great

wall, was found by the missionaries to be three thousand geometri-cal paces above the level of the sea Montesquieu, who has used, andabused, the relations of travellers, deduces the revolutions of Asiafrom this important circumstance, that heat and cold, weakness andstrength, touch each other without any temperate zone, (Esprit desLoix, l xvii c 3)

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and assiduous cares. But this leisure, instead of being de-voted to the soft enjoyments of love and harmony, is usefully spent in the violent and sanguinary exercise of thechase. The plains of Tartary are filled with a strong andserviceable breed of horses, which are easily trained for thepurposes of war and hunting. The Scythians of every agehave been celebrated as bold and skilful riders; and con-stant practice had seated them so firmly on horseback, thatthey were supposed by strangers to perform the ordinaryduties of civil life, to eat, to drink, and even to sleep, with-out dismounting from their steeds. They excel in the dexter-ous management of the lance; the long Tartar bow is drawnwith a nervous arm; and the weighty arrow is directed toits object with unerring aim and irresistible force. These ar-rows are often pointed against the harmless animals of thedesert, which increase and multiply in the absence of theirmost formidable enemy; the hare, the goat, the roebuck, thefallow-deer, the stag, the elk, and the antelope. The vigorand patience, both of the men and horses, are continuallyexercised by the fatigues of the chase; and the plentiful sup-ply of game contributes to the subsistence, and even luxury,of a Tartar camp. But the exploits of the hunters of Scythiaare not confined to the destruction of timid or innoxiousbeasts; they boldly encounter the angry wild boar, when heturns against his pursuers, excite the sluggish courage of thebear, and provoke the fury of the tiger, as he slumbers in thethicket. Where there is danger, there may be glory; and themode of hunting, which opens the fairest field to the exer-tions of valor, may justly be considered as the image, and asthe school, of war. The general hunting matches, the prideand delight of the Tartar princes, compose an instructiveexercise for their numerous cavalry. A circle is drawn, ofmany miles in circumference, to encompass the game of anextensive district; and the troops that form the circle regu-larly advance towards a common centre; where the captiveanimals, surrounded on every side, are abandoned to thedarts of the hunters. In this march, which frequently con-

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tinues many days, the cavalry are obliged to climb the hills,to swim the rivers, and to wind through the valleys, withoutinterrupting the prescribed order of their gradual progress.They acquire the habit of directing their eye, and their steps,to a remote object; of preserving their intervals of suspend-ing or accelerating their pace, according to the motions ofthe troops on their right and left; and of watching and re-peating the signals of their leaders. Their leaders study, inthis practical school, the most important lesson of the mil-itary art; the prompt and accurate judgment of ground, ofdistance, and of time. To employ against a human enemythe same patience and valor, the same skill and discipline,is the only alteration which is required in real war; and theamusements of the chase serve as a prelude to the conquestof an empire.1490

The political society of the ancient Germans has the ap-pearance of a voluntary alliance of independent warriors.The tribes of Scythia, distinguished by the modern appel-lation of Hords, assume the form of a numerous and in-creasing family; which, in the course of successive gener-ations, has been propagated from the same original stock.The meanest, and most ignorant, of the Tartars, preserve,with conscious pride, the inestimable treasure of their ge-nealogy; and whatever distinctions of rank may have beenintroduced, by the unequal distribution of pastoral wealth,they mutually respect themselves, and each other, as thedescendants of the first founder of the tribe. The custom,which still prevails, of adopting the bravest and most faith-ful of the captives, may countenance the very probable sus-picion, that this extensive consanguinity is, in a great mea-

1490Petit de la Croix (Vie de Gengiscan, l iii c 6) represents the fullglory and extent of the Mogul chase The Jesuits Gerbillon and Verbiestfollowed the emperor Khamhi when he hunted in Tartary, Duhalde,(Description de la Chine, tom iv p 81, 290, &c, folio edit) His grandson,Kienlong, who unites the Tartar discipline with the laws and learningof China, describes (Eloge de Moukden, p 273–285) as a poet the plea-sures which he had often enjoyed as a sportsman

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sure, legal and fictitious. But the useful prejudice, whichhas obtained the sanction of time and opinion, produces theeffects of truth; the haughty Barbarians yield a cheerful andvoluntary obedience to the head of their blood; and theirchief, or mursa, as the representative of their great father,exercises the authority of a judge in peace, and of a leaderin war. In the original state of the pastoral world, each ofthe mursas (if we may continue to use a modern appella-tion) acted as the independent chief of a large and separatefamily; and the limits of their peculiar territories were grad-ually fixed by superior force, or mutual consent. But theconstant operation of various and permanent causes con-tributed to unite the vagrant Hords into national communi-ties, under the command of a supreme head. The weak weredesirous of support, and the strong were ambitious of do-minion; the power, which is the result of union, oppressedand collected the divided force of the adjacent tribes; and,as the vanquished were freely admitted to share the advan-tages of victory, the most valiant chiefs hastened to rangethemselves and their followers under the formidable stan-dard of a confederate nation. The most successful of the Tar-tar princes assumed the military command, to which he wasentitled by the superiority, either of merit or of power. Hewas raised to the throne by the acclamations of his equals;and the title of Khan expresses, in the language of the Northof Asia, the full extent of the regal dignity. The right ofhereditary succession was long confined to the blood of thefounder of the monarchy; and at this moment all the Khans,who reign from Crimea to the wall of China, are the linealdescendants of the renowned Zingis.1491 But, as it is theindispensable duty of a Tartar sovereign to lead his war-

1491See the second volume of the Genealogical History of the Tartars;and the list of the Khans, at the end of the life of Geng’s, or Zingis Un-der the reign of Timur, or Tamerlane, one of his subjects, a descendantof Zingis, still bore the regal appellation of Khan and the conqueror ofAsia contented himself with the title of Emir or Sultan Abulghazi, partv c 4 D’Herbelot, Bibliotheque Orien tale, p 878

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like subjects into the field, the claims of an infant are oftendisregarded; and some royal kinsman, distinguished by hisage and valor, is intrusted with the sword and sceptre of hispredecessor. Two distinct and regular taxes are levied onthe tribes, to support the dignity of the national monarch,and of their peculiar chief; and each of those contributionsamounts to the tithe, both of their property, and of theirspoil. A Tartar sovereign enjoys the tenth part of the wealthof his people; and as his own domestic riches of flocks andherds increase in a much larger proportion, he is able plenti-fully to maintain the rustic splendor of his court, to rewardthe most deserving, or the most favored of his followers,and to obtain, from the gentle influence of corruption, theobedience which might be sometimes refused to the sternmandates of authority. The manners of his subjects, accus-tomed, like himself, to blood and rapine, might excuse, intheir eyes, such partial acts of tyranny, as would excite thehorror of a civilized people; but the power of a despot hasnever been acknowledged in the deserts of Scythia. The im-mediate jurisdiction of the khan is confined within the lim-its of his own tribe; and the exercise of his royal prerogativehas been moderated by the ancient institution of a nationalcouncil. The Coroulai,1492 or Diet, of the Tartars, was regu-larly held in the spring and autumn, in the midst of a plain;where the princes of the reigning family, and the mursas ofthe respective tribes, may conveniently assemble on horse-back, with their martial and numerous trains; and the am-bitious monarch, who reviewed the strength, must consultthe inclination of an armed people. The rudiments of a feu-dal government may be discovered in the constitution ofthe Scythian or Tartar nations; but the perpetual conflict ofthose hostile nations has sometimes terminated in the es-

1492See the Diets of the ancient Huns, (De Guignes, tom ii p 26,) anda curious description of those of Zingis, (Vie de Gengiscan, l i c 6, l ivc 11) Such assemblies are frequently mentioned in the Persian historyof Timur; though they served only to countenance the resolutions oftheir master

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CHAPTER XXVI PART I.

tablishment of a powerful and despotic empire. The victor,enriched by the tribute, and fortified by the arms of depen-dent kings, has spread his conquests over Europe or Asia:the successful shepherds of the North have submitted to theconfinement of arts, of laws, and of cities; and the introduc-tion of luxury, after destroying the freedom of the people,has undermined the foundations of the throne.1493

The memory of past events cannot long be preserved inthe frequent and remote emigrations of illiterate Barbar-ians. The modern Tartars are ignorant of the conquests oftheir ancestors;1494 and our knowledge of the history of theScythians is derived from their intercourse with the learnedand civilized nations of the South, the Greeks, the Persians,and the Chinese. The Greeks, who navigated the Eux-ine, and planted their colonies along the sea-coast, madethe gradual and imperfect discovery of Scythia; from theDanube, and the confines of Thrace, as far as the frozenMaeotis, the seat of eternal winter, and Mount Caucasus,which, in the language of poetry, was described as the ut-most boundary of the earth. They celebrated, with sim-ple credulity, the virtues of the pastoral life:1495 they en-tertained a more rational apprehension of the strength and

1493Montesquieu labors to explain a difference, which has not existed,between the liberty of the Arabs, and the perpetual slavery of the Tar-tars (Esprit des Loix, l xvii c 5, l xviii c 19, &c)1494Abulghasi Khan, in the two first parts of his Genealogical History,

relates the miserable tales and traditions of the Uzbek Tartars concern-ing the times which preceded the reign of Zingis (The differences be-tween the various pastoral tribes and nations comprehended by theancients under the vague name of Scythians, and by Gibbon under instof Tartars, have received some, and still, perhaps, may receive more,light from the comparisons of their dialects and languages by modernscholars–M1495In the thirteenth book of the Iliad, Jupiter turns away his eyes

from the bloody fields of Troy, to the plains of Thrace and Scythia Hewould not, by changing the prospect, behold a more peaceful or inno-cent scene

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CHAPTER XXVI PART I.

numbers of the warlike Barbarians,1496 who contemptu-ously baffled the immense armament of Darius, the son ofHystaspes.1497 The Persian monarchs had extended theirwestern conquests to the banks of the Danube, and the lim-its of European Scythia. The eastern provinces of their em-pire were exposed to the Scythians of Asia; the wild in-habitants of the plains beyond the Oxus and the Jaxartes,two mighty rivers, which direct their course towards theCaspian Sea. The long and memorable quarrel of Iran andTouran is still the theme of history or romance: the famous,perhaps the fabulous, valor of the Persian heroes, Rustanand Asfendiar, was signalized, in the defence of their coun-try, against the Afrasiabs of the North;1498 and the invin-cible spirit of the same Barbarians resisted, on the same

1496Thucydides, l ii c 971497See the fourth book of Herodotus When Darius advanced into

the Moldavian desert, between the Danube and the Niester, the kingof the Scythians sent him a mouse, a frog, a bird, and five arrows; atremendous allegory!1498These wars and heroes may be found under their respective titles,

in the Bibliotheque Orientale of D’Herbelot They have been celebratedin an epic poem of sixty thousand rhymed couplets, by Ferdusi, theHomer of Persia See the history of Nadir Shah, p 145, 165 The pub-lic must lament that Mr Jones has suspended the pursuit of Orientallearning Note: Ferdusi is yet imperfectly known to European read-ers An abstract of the whole poem has been published by Goerres inGerman, under the title “das Heldenbuch des Iran” In English, an ab-stract with poetical translations, by Mr Atkinson, has appeared, underthe auspices of the Oriental Fund But to translate a poet a man mustbe a poet The best account of the poem is in an article by Von Ham-mer in the Vienna Jahrbucher, 1820: or perhaps in a masterly article inCochrane’s Foreign Quarterly Review, No 1, 1835 A splendid and crit-ical edition of the whole work has been published by a very learnedEnglish Orientalist, Captain Macan, at the expense of the king of OudeAs to the number of 60,000 couplets, Captain Macan (Preface, p 39)states that he never saw a MS containing more than 56,685, includingdoubtful and spurious passages and episodes–M (The later studies ofSir W Jones were more in unison with the wishes of the public, thusexpressed by Gibbon–M

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CHAPTER XXVI PART I.

ground, the victorious arms of Cyrus and Alexander.1499In the eyes of the Greeks and Persians, the real geogra-phy of Scythia was bounded, on the East, by the moun-tains of Imaus, or Caf; and their distant prospect of theextreme and inaccessible parts of Asia was clouded by ig-norance, or perplexed by fiction. But those inaccessible re-gions are the ancient residence of a powerful and civilizednation,1500 which ascends, by a probable tradition, aboveforty centuries;1501 and which is able to verify a series ofnear two thousand years, by the perpetual testimony ofaccurate and contemporary historians.1502 The annals of

1499The Caspian Sea, with its rivers and adjacent tribes, are labori-ously illustrated in the Examen Critique des Historiens d’Alexandre,which compares the true geography, and the errors produced by thevanity or ignorance of the Greeks1500The original seat of the nation appears to have been in the North-

west of China, in the provinces of Chensi and Chansi Under the twofirst dynasties, the principal town was still a movable camp; the vil-lages were thinly scattered; more land was employed in pasture thanin tillage; the exercise of hunting was ordained to clear the countryfrom wild beasts; Petcheli (where Pekin stands) was a desert, and theSouthern provinces were peopled with Indian savages The dynasty ofthe Han (before Christ 206) gave the empire its actual form and extent1501The aera of the Chinese monarchy has been variously fixed from

2952 to 2132 years before Christ; and the year 2637 has been chosen forthe lawful epoch, by the authority of the present emperor The differ-ence arises from the uncertain duration of the two first dynasties; andthe vacant space that lies beyond them, as far as the real, or fabulous,times of Fohi, or Hoangti Sematsien dates his authentic chronologyfrom the year 841; the thirty-six eclipses of Confucius (thirty-one ofwhich have been verified) were observed between the years 722 and480 before Christ The historical period of China does not ascend abovethe Greek Olympiads1502After several ages of anarchy and despotism, the dynasty of the

Han (before Christ 206) was the aera of the revival of learning Thefragments of ancient literature were restored; the characters were im-proved and fixed; and the future preservation of books was securedby the useful inventions of ink, paper, and the art of printing Ninety-seven years before Christ, Sematsien published the first history ofChina His labors were illustrated, and continued, by a series of one

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China1503 illustrate the state and revolutions of the pastoraltribes, which may still be distinguished by the vague appel-lation of Scythians, or Tartars; the vassals, the enemies, andsometimes the conquerors, of a great empire; whose policyhas uniformly opposed the blind and impetuous valor ofthe Barbarians of the North. From the mouth of the Danubeto the Sea of Japan, the whole longitude of Scythia is aboutone hundred and ten degrees, which, in that parallel, areequal to more than five thousand miles. The latitude ofthese extensive deserts cannot be so easily, or so accurately,measured; but, from the fortieth degree, which touches thewall of China, we may securely advance above a thousandmiles to the northward, till our progress is stopped by theexcessive cold of Siberia. In that dreary climate, instead ofthe animated picture of a Tartar camp, the smoke that issuesfrom the earth, or rather from the snow, betrays the sub-terraneous dwellings of the Tongouses, and the Samoides:the want of horses and oxen is imperfectly supplied by theuse of reindeer, and of large dogs; and the conquerors ofthe earth insensibly degenerate into a race of deformed anddiminutive savages, who tremble at the sound of arms.1504

hundred and eighty historians The substance of their works is still ex-tant; and the most considerable of them are now deposited in the kingof France’s library1503China has been illustrated by the labors of the French; of the mis-

sionaries at Pekin, and Messrs Freret and De Guignes at Paris The sub-stance of the three preceding notes is extracted from the Chou-king,with the preface and notes of M de Guignes, Paris, 1770 The Tong-Kien-Kang-Mou, translated by P de Mailla, under the name of HistGenerale de la Chine, tom i p xlix–cc; the Memoires sur la Chine, Paris,1776, &c, tom i p 1–323; tom ii p 5–364; the Histoire des Huns, tom i p4–131, tom v p 345–362; and the Memoires de l’Academie des Inscrip-tions, tom x p 377–402; tom xv p 495–564; tom xviii p 178–295; xxxvi p164–2381504See the Histoire Generale des Voyages, tom xviii, and the Ge-

nealogical History, vol ii p 620–664

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Part II

THE Huns, who under the reign of Valens threatened theempire of Rome, had been formidable, in a much ear-

lier period, to the empire of China.1505 Their ancient, per-

1505M de Guignes (tom ii p 1–124) has given the original history ofthe ancient Hiong-nou, or Huns The Chinese geography of their coun-try (tom i part p lv–lxiii) seems to comprise a part of their conquests(The theory of De Guignes on the early history of the Huns is, ingeneral, rejected by modern writers De Guignes advanced no validproof of the identity of the Hioung-nou of the Chinese writers with theHuns, except the similarity of name Schlozer, (Allgemeine NordischeGeschichte, p 252,) Klaproth, (Tableaux Historiques de l’Asie, p 246,)St Martin, iv 61, and A Remusat, (Recherches sur les Langues Tartares,D P xlvi, and p 328; though in the latter passage he considers the the-ory of De Guignes not absolutely disproved,) concur in consideringthe Huns as belonging to the Finnish stock, distinct from the Mogulsthe Mandscheus, and the Turks The Hiong-nou, according to Klaproth,were Turks The names of the Hunnish chiefs could not be pronouncedby a Turk; and, according to the same author, the Hioung-nou, whichis explained in Chinese as detestable slaves, as early as the year 91 JC, were dispersed by the Chinese, and assumed the name of Yue-poor Yue-pan M St Martin does not consider it impossible that the ap-pellation of Hioung-nou may have belonged to the Huns But all agreein considering the Madjar or Magyar of modern Hungary the descen-dants of the Huns Their language (compare Gibbon, c lv n 22) is nearlyrelated to the Lapponian and Vogoul The noble forms of the modernHungarians, so strongly contrasted with the hideous pictures whichthe fears and the hatred of the Romans give of the Huns, M Klaprothaccounts for by the intermingling with other races, Turkish and Slavo-nian The present state of the question is thus stated in the last editionof Malte Brun, and a new and ingenious hypothesis suggested to re-solve all the difficulties of the question Were the Huns Finns? This ob-scure question has not been debated till very recently, and is yet veryfar from being decided We are of opinion that it will be so hereafter inthe same manner as that with regard to the Scythians We shall trace inthe portrait of Attila a dominant tribe or Mongols, or Kalmucks, withall the hereditary ugliness of that race; but in the mass of the Hunnisharmy and nation will be recognized the Chuni and the Ounni of theGreek Geography the Kuns of the Hungarians, the European Huns,and a race in close relationship with the Flemish stock Malte Brun, vi

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haps their original, seat was an extensive, though dry andbarren, tract of country, immediately on the north side ofthe great wall. Their place is at present occupied by theforty-nine Hords or Banners of the Mongous, a pastoral na-tion, which consists of about two hundred thousand fam-ilies.1506 But the valor of the Huns had extended the nar-row limits of their dominions; and their rustic chiefs, whoassumed the appellation of Tanjou, gradually became theconquerors, and the sovereigns of a formidable empire. To-wards the East, their victorious arms were stopped only bythe ocean; and the tribes, which are thinly scattered betweenthe Amoor and the extreme peninsula of Corea, adhered,with reluctance, to the standard of the Huns. On the West,near the head of the Irtish, in the valleys of Imaus, theyfound a more ample space, and more numerous enemies.One of the lieutenants of the Tanjou subdued, in a single ex-pedition, twenty-six nations; the Igours,1507 distinguishedabove the Tartar race by the use of letters, were in the num-ber of his vassals; and, by the strange connection of humanevents, the flight of one of those vagrant tribes recalled thevictorious Parthians from the invasion of Syria.1508 On theside of the North, the ocean was assigned as the limit of thepower of the Huns. Without enemies to resist their progress,or witnesses to contradict their vanity, they might securely

p 94 This theory is more fully and ably developed, p 743 Whoever hasseen the emperor of Austria’s Hungarian guard, will not readily admittheir descent from the Huns described by Sidonius Appolinaris–M1506See in Duhalde (tom iv p 18–65) a circumstantial description, with

a correct map, of the country of the Mongous1507The Igours, or Vigours, were divided into three branches; hunters,

shepherds, and husbandmen; and the last class was despised by thetwo former See Abulghazi, part ii c 7 (On the Ouigour or Igour char-acters, see the work of M A Remusat, Sur les Langues Tartares Heconceives the Ouigour alphabet of sixteen letters to have been formedfrom the Syriac, and introduced by the Nestorian Christians–Ch ii M1508Memoires de l’Academie des Inscriptions, tom xxv p 17–33 The

comprehensive view of M de Guignes has compared these distantevents

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achieve a real, or imaginary, conquest of the frozen regionsof Siberia. The Northren Sea was fixed as the remote bound-ary of their empire. But the name of that sea, on whoseshores the patriot Sovou embraced the life of a shepherdand an exile,1509 may be transferred, with much more prob-ability, to the Baikal, a capacious basin, above three hundredmiles in length, which disdains the modest appellation of alake1510 and which actually communicates with the seas ofthe North, by the long course of the Angara, the Tongusha,and the Jenissea. The submission of so many distant na-tions might flatter the pride of the Tanjou; but the valor ofthe Huns could be rewarded only by the enjoyment of thewealth and luxury of the empire of the South. In the thirdcentury1511 before the Christian aera, a wall of fifteen hun-dred miles in length was constructed, to defend the fron-tiers of China against the inroads of the Huns;1512 but thisstupendous work, which holds a conspicuous place in themap of the world, has never contributed to the safety of anunwarlike people. The cavalry of the Tanjou frequently con-sisted of two or three hundred thousand men, formidableby the matchless dexterity with which they managed theirbows and their horses: by their hardy patience in support-1509The fame of Sovou, or So-ou, his merit, and his singular adven-

turers, are still celebrated in China See the Eloge de Moukden, p 20,and notes, p 241–247; and Memoires sur la Chine, tom iii p 317–3601510See Isbrand Ives in Harris’s Collection, vol ii p 931; Bell’s Trav-

els, vol i p 247–254; and Gmelin, in the Hist Generale des Voyages,tom xviii 283–329 They all remark the vulgar opinion that the holy seagrows angry and tempestuous if any one presumes to call it a lake Thisgrammatical nicety often excites a dispute between the absurd super-stition of the mariners and the absurd obstinacy of travellers1511224 years before Christ It was built by Chi-hoang-ti of the Dynasty

Thsin It is from twenty to twenty-five feet high Ce monument, aussigigantesque qu’impuissant, arreterait bien les incursions de quelquesNomades; mais il n’a jamais empeche les invasions des Turcs, desMongols, et des Mandchous Abe Remusat Rech Asiat 2d ser vol i p58–M1512The construction of the wall of China is mentioned by Duhalde

(tom ii p 45) and De Guignes, (tom ii p 59)

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ing the inclemency of the weather; and by the incrediblespeed of their march, which was seldom checked by tor-rents, or precipices, by the deepest rivers, or by the mostlofty mountains. They spread themselves at once over theface of the country; and their rapid impetuosity surprised,astonished, and disconcerted the grave and elaborate tac-tics of a Chinese army. The emperor Kaoti,1513 a soldier offortune, whose personal merit had raised him to the throne,marched against the Huns with those veteran troops whichhad been trained in the civil wars of China. But he wassoon surrounded by the Barbarians; and, after a siege ofseven days, the monarch, hopeless of relief, was reducedto purchase his deliverance by an ignominious capitulation.The successors of Kaoti, whose lives were dedicated to thearts of peace, or the luxury of the palace, submitted to amore permanent disgrace. They too hastily confessed theinsufficiency of arms and fortifications. They were too eas-ily convinced, that while the blazing signals announced onevery side the approach of the Huns, the Chinese troops,who slept with the helmet on their head, and the cuirasson their back, were destroyed by the incessant labor of in-effectual marches.1514 A regular payment of money, andsilk, was stipulated as the condition of a temporary andprecarious peace; and the wretched expedient of disguis-ing a real tribute, under the names of a gift or subsidy, waspractised by the emperors of China as well as by those ofRome. But there still remained a more disgraceful article

1513See the life of Lieoupang, or Kaoti, in the Hist, de la Chine, pub-lished at Paris, 1777, &c, tom i p 442–522 This voluminous work is thetranslation (by the P de Mailla) of the Tong- Kien-Kang-Mou, the cele-brated abridgment of the great History of Semakouang (AD 1084) andhis continuators1514See a free and ample memorial, presented by a Mandarin to the

emperor Venti, (before Christ 180–157,) in Duhalde, (tom ii p 412–426,) from a collection of State papers marked with the red pencil byKamhi himself, (p 354–612) Another memorial from the minister ofwar (Kang-Mou, tom ii p 555) supplies some curious circumstances ofthe manners of the Huns

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of tribute, which violated the sacred feelings of humanityand nature. The hardships of the savage life, which de-stroy in their infancy the children who are born with a lesshealthy and robust constitution, introduced a remarkabledisproportion between the numbers of the two sexes. TheTartars are an ugly and even deformed race; and while theyconsider their own women as the instruments of domesticlabor, their desires, or rather their appetites, are directed tothe enjoyment of more elegant beauty. A select band of thefairest maidens of China was annually devoted to the rudeembraces of the Huns;1515 and the alliance of the haughtyTanjous was secured by their marriage with the genuine, oradopted, daughters of the Imperial family, which vainly at-tempted to escape the sacrilegious pollution. The situationof these unhappy victims is described in the verses of a Chi-nese princess, who laments that she had been condemnedby her parents to a distant exile, under a Barbarian husband;who complains that sour milk was her only drink, raw fleshher only food, a tent her only palace; and who expresses,in a strain of pathetic simplicity, the natural wish, that shewere transformed into a bird, to fly back to her dear coun-try; the object of her tender and perpetual regret.1516

The conquest of China has been twice achieved by thepastoral tribes of the North: the forces of the Huns were notinferior to those of the Moguls, or of the Mantcheoux; andtheir ambition might entertain the most sanguine hopes ofsuccess. But their pride was humbled, and their progresswas checked, by the arms and policy of Vouti,1517 the fifthemperor of the powerful dynasty of the Han. In his longreign of fifty- four years, the Barbarians of the southern

1515A supply of women is mentioned as a customary article oftreaty and tribute, (Hist de la Conquete de la Chine, par les TartaresMantcheoux, tom i p 186, 187, with the note of the editor)1516De Guignes, Hist des Huns, tom ii p 621517See the reign of the emperor Vouti, in the Kang-Mou, tom iii p

1–98 His various and inconsistent character seems to be impartiallydrawn

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provinces submitted to the laws and manners of China; andthe ancient limits of the monarchy were enlarged, from thegreat river of Kiang, to the port of Canton. Instead of con-fining himself to the timid operations of a defensive war, hislieutenants penetrated many hundred miles into the coun-try of the Huns. In those boundless deserts, where it isimpossible to form magazines, and difficult to transport asufficient supply of provisions, the armies of Vouti were re-peatedly exposed to intolerable hardships: and, of one hun-dred and forty thousand soldiers, who marched against theBarbarians, thirty thousand only returned in safety to thefeet of their master. These losses, however, were compen-sated by splendid and decisive success. The Chinese gener-als improved the superiority which they derived from thetemper of their arms, their chariots of war, and the serviceof their Tartar auxiliaries. The camp of the Tanjou was sur-prised in the midst of sleep and intemperance; and, thoughthe monarch of the Huns bravely cut his way through theranks of the enemy, he left above fifteen thousand of hissubjects on the field of battle. Yet this signal victory, whichwas preceded and followed by many bloody engagements,contributed much less to the destruction of the power ofthe Huns than the effectual policy which was employed todetach the tributary nations from their obedience. Intim-idated by the arms, or allured by the promises, of Voutiand his successors, the most considerable tribes, both of theEast and of the West, disclaimed the authority of the Tanjou.While some acknowledged themselves the allies or vassalsof the empire, they all became the implacable enemies of theHuns; and the numbers of that haughty people, as soon asthey were reduced to their native strength, might, perhaps,have been contained within the walls of one of the great andpopulous cities of China.1518 The desertion of his subjects,

1518This expression is used in the memorial to the emperor Venti,(Duhalde, tom ii p 411) Without adopting the exaggerations of MarcoPolo and Isaac Vossius, we may rationally allow for Pekin two millionsof inhabitants The cities of the South, which contain the manufactures

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and the perplexity of a civil war, at length compelled theTanjou himself to renounce the dignity of an independentsovereign, and the freedom of a warlike and high-spiritednation. He was received at Sigan, the capital of the monar-chy, by the troops, the mandarins, and the emperor him-self, with all the honors that could adorn and disguise thetriumph of Chinese vanity.1519 A magnificent palace wasprepared for his reception; his place was assigned aboveall the princes of the royal family; and the patience of theBarbarian king was exhausted by the ceremonies of a ban-quet, which consisted of eight courses of meat, and of ninesolemn pieces of music. But he performed, on his knees,the duty of a respectful homage to the emperor of China;pronounced, in his own name, and in the name of his suc-cessors, a perpetual oath of fidelity; and gratefully accepteda seal, which was bestowed as the emblem of his regal de-pendence. After this humiliating submission, the Tanjoussometimes departed from their allegiance and seized the fa-vorable moments of war and rapine; but the monarchy ofthe Huns gradually declined, till it was broken, by civil dis-sension, into two hostile and separate kingdoms. One ofthe princes of the nation was urged, by fear and ambition,to retire towards the South with eight hords, which com-posed between forty and fifty thousand families. He ob-tained, with the title of Tanjou, a convenient territory on theverge of the Chinese provinces; and his constant attachmentto the service of the empire was secured by weakness, andthe desire of revenge. From the time of this fatal schism, theHuns of the North continued to languish about fifty years;till they were oppressed on every side by their foreign anddomestic enemies. The proud inscription1520 of a column,

of China, are still more populous1519See the Kang-Mou, tom iii p 150, and the subsequent events under

the proper years This memorable festival is celebrated in the Eloge deMoukden, and explained in a note by the P Gaubil, p 89, 901520This inscription was composed on the spot by Parkou, President

of the Tribunal of History (Kang-Mou, tom iii p 392) Similar monu-

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erected on a lofty mountain, announced to posterity, that aChinese army had marched seven hundred miles into theheart of their country. The Sienpi,1521 a tribe of OrientalTartars, retaliated the injuries which they had formerly sus-tained; and the power of the Tanjous, after a reign of thir-teen hundred years, was utterly destroyed before the end ofthe first century of the Christian aera.1522

The fate of the vanquished Huns was diversified by thevarious influence of character and situation.1523 Aboveone hundred thousand persons, the poorest, indeed, andthe most pusillanimous of the people, were contented toremain in their native country, to renounce their peculiarname and origin, and to mingle with the victorious nationof the Sienpi. Fifty-eight hords, about two hundred thou-sand men, ambitious of a more honorable servitude, retiredtowards the South; implored the protection of the emper-ors of China; and were permitted to inhabit, and to guard,the extreme frontiers of the province of Chansi and the ter-ritory of Ortous. But the most warlike and powerful tribesof the Huns maintained, in their adverse fortune, the un-daunted spirit of their ancestors. The Western world wasopen to their valor; and they resolved, under the conduct oftheir hereditary chieftains, to conquer and subdue some re-mote country, which was still inaccessible to the arms of theSienpi, and to the laws of China.1524 The course of their em-igration soon carried them beyond the mountains of Imaus,

ments have been discovered in many parts of Tartary, (Histoire desHuns, tom ii p 122)1521M de Guignes (tom i p 189) has inserted a short account of the

Sienpi1522The aera of the Huns is placed, by the Chinese, 1210 years before

Christ But the series of their kings does not commence till the year 230,(Hist des Huns, tom ii p 21, 123)1523The various accidents, the downfall, and the flight of the Huns,

are related in the Kang-Mou, tom iii p 88, 91, 95, 139, &c The smallnumbers of each horde may be due to their losses and divisions1524M de Guignes has skilfully traced the footsteps of the Huns

through the vast deserts of Tartary, (tom ii p 123, 277, &c, 325, &c)

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and the limits of the Chinese geography; but we are ableto distinguish the two great divisions of these formidableexiles, which directed their march towards the Oxus, andtowards the Volga. The first of these colonies establishedtheir dominion in the fruitful and extensive plains of Sog-diana, on the eastern side of the Caspian; where they pre-served the name of Huns, with the epithet of Euthalites, orNepthalites.1525 Their manners were softened, and eventheir features were insensibly improved, by the mildnessof the climate, and their long residence in a flourishingprovince,1526 which might still retain a faint impression ofthe arts of Greece.1527 The white Huns, a name whichthey derived from the change of their complexions, soonabandoned the pastoral life of Scythia. Gorgo, which, un-der the appellation of Carizme, has since enjoyed a tem-porary splendor, was the residence of the king, who ex-ercised a legal authority over an obedient people. Theirluxury was maintained by the labor of the Sogdians; andthe only vestige of their ancient barbarism, was the customwhich obliged all the companions, perhaps to the numberof twenty, who had shared the liberality of a wealthy lord,

1525The Armenian authors often mention this people under the nameof Hepthal St Martin considers that the name of Nepthalites is an errorof a copyist St Martin, iv 254–M1526Mohammed, sultan of Carizme, reigned in Sogdiana when it was

invaded (AD 1218) by Zingis and his moguls The Oriental historians(see D’Herbelot, Petit de la Croix, &c,) celebrate the populous citieswhich he ruined, and the fruitful country which he desolated In thenext century, the same provinces of Chorasmia and Nawaralnahr weredescribed by Abulfeda, (Hudson, Geograph Minor tom iii) Their ac-tual misery may be seen in the Genealogical History of the Tartars, p423–4691527Justin (xli 6) has left a short abridgment of the Greek kings of

Bactriana To their industry I should ascribe the new and extraordinarytrade, which transported the merchandises of India into Europe, by theOxus, the Caspian, the Cyrus, the Phasis, and the Euxine The otherways, both of the land and sea, were possessed by the Seleucides andthe Ptolemies (See l’Esprit des Loix, l xxi)

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to be buried alive in the same grave.1528 The vicinity ofthe Huns to the provinces of Persia, involved them in fre-quent and bloody contests with the power of that monar-chy. But they respected, in peace, the faith of treaties; inwar, she dictates of humanity; and their memorable vic-tory over Peroses, or Firuz, displayed the moderation, aswell as the valor, of the Barbarians. The second division oftheir countrymen, the Huns, who gradually advanced to-wards the North-west, were exercised by the hardships of acolder climate, and a more laborious march. Necessity com-pelled them to exchange the silks of China for the furs ofSiberia; the imperfect rudiments of civilized life were oblit-erated; and the native fierceness of the Huns was exasper-ated by their intercourse with the savage tribes, who werecompared, with some propriety, to the wild beasts of thedesert. Their independent spirit soon rejected the heredi-tary succession of the Tanjous; and while each horde wasgoverned by its peculiar mursa, their tumultuary councildirected the public measures of the whole nation. As lateas the thirteenth century, their transient residence on theeastern banks of the Volga was attested by the name ofGreat Hungary.1529 In the winter, they descended with theirflocks and herds towards the mouth of that mighty river;and their summer excursions reached as high as the lati-tude of Saratoff, or perhaps the conflux of the Kama. Such atleast were the recent limits of the black Calmucks,1530 whoremained about a century under the protection of Russia;and who have since returned to their native seats on thefrontiers of the Chinese empire. The march, and the return,of those wandering Tartars, whose united camp consists of1528Procopius de Bell Persico, l i c 3, p 91529In the thirteenth century, the monk Rubruquis (who traversed the

immense plain of Kipzak, in his journey to the court of the Great Khan)observed the remarkable name of Hungary, with the traces of a com-mon language and origin, (Hist des Voyages, tom vii p 269)1530Bell, (vol i p 29–34,) and the editors of the Genealogical History,

(p 539,) have described the Calmucks of the Volga in the beginning ofthe present century

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fifty thousand tents or families, illustrate the distant emi-grations of the ancient Huns.1531

It is impossible to fill the dark interval of time, whichelapsed, after the Huns of the Volga were lost in the eyes ofthe Chinese, and before they showed themselves to those ofthe Romans. There is some reason, however, to apprehend,that the same force which had driven them from their na-tive seats, still continued to impel their march towards thefrontiers of Europe. The power of the Sienpi, their impla-cable enemies, which extended above three thousand milesfrom East to West,1532 must have gradually oppressed themby the weight and terror of a formidable neighborhood; andthe flight of the tribes of Scythia would inevitably tend to in-crease the strength or to contract the territories, of the Huns.The harsh and obscure appellations of those tribes wouldoffend the ear, without informing the understanding, of thereader; but I cannot suppress the very natural suspicion,that the Huns of the North derived a considerable reenforce-ment from the ruin of the dynasty of the South, which, inthe course of the third century, submitted to the dominionof China; that the bravest warriors marched away in searchof their free and adventurous countrymen; and that, as theyhad been divided by prosperity, they were easily reunited

1531This great transmigration of 300,000 Calmucks, or Torgouts, hap-pened in the year 1771 The original narrative of Kien-long, the reign-ing emperor of China, which was intended for the inscription of acolumn, has been translated by the missionaries of Pekin, (Memoiressur la Chine, tom i p 401–418) The emperor affects the smooth andspecious language of the Son of Heaven, and the Father of his People1532The Khan-Mou (tom iii p 447) ascribes to their conquests a space

of 14,000 lis According to the present standard, 200 lis (or more ac-curately 193) are equal to one degree of latitude; and one English mileconsequently exceeds three miles of China But there are strong reasonsto believe that the ancient li scarcely equalled one half of the modernSee the elaborate researches of M D’Anville, a geographer who is nota stranger in any age or climate of the globe (Memoires de l’Acad tomii p 125-502 Itineraires, p 154-167)

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by the common hardships of their adverse fortune.1533 TheHuns, with their flocks and herds, their wives and children,their dependents and allies, were transported to the west ofthe Volga, and they boldly advanced to invade the countryof the Alani, a pastoral people, who occupied, or wasted, anextensive tract of the deserts of Scythia. The plains betweenthe Volga and the Tanais were covered with the tents of theAlani, but their name and manners were diffused over thewide extent of their conquests; and the painted tribes of theAgathyrsi and Geloni were confounded among their vas-sals. Towards the North, they penetrated into the frozen re-gions of Siberia, among the savages who were accustomed,in their rage or hunger, to the taste of human flesh; and theirSouthern inroads were pushed as far as the confines of Per-sia and India. The mixture of Samartic and German bloodhad contributed to improve the features of the Alani,1534 towhiten their swarthy complexions, and to tinge their hairwith a yellowish cast, which is seldom found in the Tar-tar race. They were less deformed in their persons, lessbrutish in their manners, than the Huns; but they did notyield to those formidable Barbarians in their martial andindependent spirit; in the love of freedom, which rejectedeven the use of domestic slaves; and in the love of arms,which considered war and rapine as the pleasure and theglory of mankind. A naked cimeter, fixed in the ground,was the only object of their religious worship; the scalps oftheir enemies formed the costly trappings of their horses;

1533See Histoire des Huns, tom ii p 125–144 The subsequent history(p 145–277) of three or four Hunnic dynasties evidently proves thattheir martial spirit was not impaired by a long residence in China1534Compare M Klaproth’s curious speculations on the Alani He sup-

poses them to have been the people, known by the Chinese, at thetime of their first expeditions to the West, under the name of Yath-saior A-lanna, the Alanan of Persian tradition, as preserved in Ferdusi;the same, according to Ammianus, with the Massagetae, and with theAlbani The remains of the nation still exist in the Ossetae of MountCaucasus Klaproth, Tableaux Historiques de l’Asie, p 174–M CompareShafarik Slawische alterthumer, i p 350–M 1845

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and they viewed, with pity and contempt, the pusillani-mous warriors, who patiently expected the infirmities ofage, and the tortures of lingering disease.1535 On the banksof the Tanais, the military power of the Huns and the Alaniencountered each other with equal valor, but with unequalsuccess. The Huns prevailed in the bloody contest; the kingof the Alani was slain; and the remains of the vanquishednation were dispersed by the ordinary alternative of flightor submission.1536 A colony of exiles found a secure refugein the mountains of Caucasus, between the Euxine and theCaspian, where they still preserve their name and their in-dependence. Another colony advanced, with more intrepidcourage, towards the shores of the Baltic; associated them-selves with the Northern tribes of Germany; and shared thespoil of the Roman provinces of Gaul and Spain. But thegreatest part of the nation of the Alani embraced the offersof an honorable and advantageous union; and the Huns,who esteemed the valor of their less fortunate enemies, pro-ceeded, with an increase of numbers and confidence, to in-vade the limits of the Gothic empire.

The great Hermanric, whose dominions extended fromthe Baltic to the Euxine, enjoyed, in the full maturity ofage and reputation, the fruit of his victories, when he wasalarmed by the formidable approach of a host of unknownenemies,1537 on whom his barbarous subjects might, with-

1535Utque hominibus quietis et placidis otium est voluptabile, ita illospericula juvent et bella Judicatur ibi beatus qui in proelio profuderitanimam: senescentes etiam et fortuitis mortibus mundo digressos, utdegeneres et ignavos, conviciis atrocibus insectantur [Ammian xxxi11] We must think highly of the conquerors of such men1536On the subject of the Alani, see Ammianus, (xxxi 2,) Jornandes,

(de Rebus Geticis, c 24,) M de Guignes, (Hist des Huns, tom ii p 279,)and the Genealogical History of the Tartars, (tom ii p 617)1537As we are possessed of the authentic history of the Huns, it would

be impertinent to repeat, or to refute, the fables which misrepresenttheir origin and progress, their passage of the mud or water of theMaeotis, in pursuit of an ox or stag, les Indes qu’ils avoient decou-vertes, &c, (Zosimus, l iv p 224 Sozomen, l vi c 37 Procopius, Hist

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out injustice, bestow the epithet of Barbarians. The num-bers, the strength, the rapid motions, and the implacablecruelty of the Huns, were felt, and dreaded, and magni-fied, by the astonished Goths; who beheld their fields andvillages consumed with flames, and deluged with indis-criminate slaughter. To these real terrors they added thesurprise and abhorrence which were excited by the shrillvoice, the uncouth gestures, and the strange deformity ofthe Huns.1538 These savages of Scythia were compared (andthe picture had some resemblance) to the animals who walkvery awkwardly on two legs and to the misshapen figures,the Termini, which were often placed on the bridges of an-tiquity. They were distinguished from the rest of the hu-man species by their broad shoulders, flat noses, and smallblack eyes, deeply buried in the head; and as they werealmost destitute of beards, they never enjoyed either themanly grace of youth, or the venerable aspect of age.1539A fabulous origin was assigned, worthy of their form andmanners; that the witches of Scythia, who, for their fouland deadly practices, had been driven from society, hadcopulated in the desert with infernal spirits; and that theHuns were the offspring of this execrable conjunction.1540The tale, so full of horror and absurdity, was greedily em-

Miscell c 5 Jornandes, c 24 Grandeur et Decadence, &c, des Romains,c 17)1538Art added to their native ugliness; in fact, it is difficult to ascribe

the proper share in the features of this hideous picture to nature, to thebarbarous skill with which they were self-disfigured, or to the terrorand hatred of the Romans Their noses were flattened by their nurses,their cheeks were gashed by an iron instrument, that the scars mightlook more fearful, and prevent the growth of the beard Jornandes andSidonius Apollinaris:–1539Prodigiosae formae, et pandi; ut bipedes existimes bestias; vel

quales in commarginandis pontibus, effigiati stipites dolantur in-compte Ammian xxxi i Jornandes (c 24) draws a strong caricature ofa Calmuck face Species pavenda nigredine quaedam deformis offa,non fecies; habensque magis puncta quam lumina See Buffon Hist Na-turelle, tom iii 3801540This execrable origin, which Jornandes (c 24) describes with the

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braced by the credulous hatred of the Goths; but, while itgratified their hatred, it increased their fear, since the pos-terity of daemons and witches might be supposed to inheritsome share of the praeternatural powers, as well as of themalignant temper, of their parents. Against these enemies,Hermanric prepared to exert the united forces of the Gothicstate; but he soon discovered that his vassal tribes, pro-voked by oppression, were much more inclined to second,than to repel, the invasion of the Huns. One of the chiefsof the Roxolani1541 had formerly deserted the standard ofHermanric, and the cruel tyrant had condemned the inno-cent wife of the traitor to be torn asunder by wild horses.The brothers of that unfortunate woman seized the favor-able moment of revenge.

The aged king of the Goths languished some time afterthe dangerous wound which he received from their dag-gers; but the conduct of the war was retarded by his infir-mities; and the public councils of the nation were distractedby a spirit of jealousy and discord. His death, which hasbeen imputed to his own despair, left the reins of govern-ment in the hands of Withimer, who, with the doubtful aidof some Scythian mercenaries, maintained the unequal con-test against the arms of the Huns and the Alani, till he wasdefeated and slain in a decisive battle. The Ostrogoths sub-mitted to their fate; and the royal race of the Amali willhereafter be found among the subjects of the haughty At-tila. But the person of Witheric, the infant king, was savedby the diligence of Alatheus and Saphrax; two warriors ofapproved valor and fiedlity, who, by cautious marches, con-ducted the independent remains of the nation of the Os-

rancor of a Goth, might be originally derived from a more pleasingfable of the Greeks (Herodot l iv c 9, &c)1541The Roxolani may be the fathers of the the Russians, (D’Anville,

Empire de Russie, p 1–10,) whose residence (AD 862) about NovogrodVeliki cannot be very remote from that which the Geographer ofRavenna (i 12, iv 4, 46, v 28, 30) assigns to the Roxolani, (AD 886) (See,on the origin of the Russ, Schlozer, Nordische Geschichte, p 78–M

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trogoths towards the Danastus, or Niester; a considerableriver, which now separates the Turkish dominions from theempire of Russia. On the banks of the Niester, the prudentAthanaric, more attentive to his own than to the generalsafety, had fixed the camp of the Visigoths; with the firmresolution of opposing the victorious Barbarians, whom hethought it less advisable to provoke. The ordinary speed ofthe Huns was checked by the weight of baggage, and the en-cumbrance of captives; but their military skill deceived, andalmost destroyed, the army of Athanaric. While the Judgeof the Visigoths defended the banks of the Niester, he wasencompassed and attacked by a numerous detachment ofcavalry, who, by the light of the moon, had passed the riverin a fordable place; and it was not without the utmost effortsof courage and conduct, that he was able to effect his retreattowards the hilly country. The undaunted general had al-ready formed a new and judicious plan of defensive war;and the strong lines, which he was preparing to constructbetween the mountains, the Pruth, and the Danube, wouldhave secured the extensive and fertile territory that bearsthe modern name of Walachia, from the destructive inroadsof the Huns.1542 But the hopes and measures of the Judge ofthe Visigoths was soon disappointed, by the trembling im-patience of his dismayed countrymen; who were persuadedby their fears, that the interposition of the Danube was theonly barrier that could save them from the rapid pursuit,and invincible valor, of the Barbarians of Scythia. Underthe command of Fritigern and Alavivus,1543 the body of thenation hastily advanced to the banks of the great river, andimplored the protection of the Roman emperor of the East.Athanaric himself, still anxious to avoid the guilt of perjury,1542The text of Ammianus seems to be imperfect or corrupt; but the

nature of the ground explains, and almost defines, the Gothic rampartMemoires de l’Academie, &c, tom xxviii p 444–4621543M de Buat (Hist des Peuples de l’Europe, tom vi p 407) has con-

ceived a strange idea, that Alavivus was the same person as Ulphilas,the Gothic bishop; and that Ulphilas, the grandson of a Cappadociancaptive, became a temporal prince of the Goths

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retired, with a band of faithful followers, into the moun-tainous country of Caucaland; which appears to have beenguarded, and almost concealed, by the impenetrable forestsof Transylvania.15441545

=Obtundit teneras circumdata fascia nares,Ut galeis cedant.Yet he adds that their forms were robust and

manly, their height of a middle size, but,from the habit of riding, disproportioned.

_V=Stant pectora vasta,Insignes humer, succincta sub ilibus alvus.Forma quidem pediti media est, procera sed ex-

tatSi cernas equites, sic longi saepe putanturSi sedeant....Part III

AFTER Valens had terminated the Gothicwar with some appearance of glory and

success, he made a progress through hisdominions of Asia, and at length fixed hisresidence in the capital of Syria. The fiveyears1546 which he spent at Antioch wasemployed to watch, from a secure distance,

1544Ammianus (xxxi 3) and Jornandes (de Rebus Geticis, c 24) de-scribe the subversion of the Gothic empire by the Huns1545The most probable opinion as to the position of this land is that

of M Malte-Brun He thinks that Caucaland is the territory of the Ca-coenses, placed by Ptolemy (l iii c 8) towards the Carpathian Moun-tains, on the side of the present Transylvania, and therefore the cantonof Cacava, to the south of Hermanstadt, the capital of the principalityCaucaland it is evident, is the Gothic form of these different names StMartin, iv 103–M1546The Chronology of Ammianus is obscure and imperfect Tillemont

has labored to clear and settle the annals of Valens

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the hostile designs of the Persian monarch;to check the depredations of the Saracensand Isaurians;1547 to enforce, by argumentsmore prevalent than those of reason andeloquence, the belief of the Arian theology;and to satisfy his anxious suspicions by thepromiscuous execution of the innocent andthe guilty. But the attention of the emperorwas most seriously engaged, by the impor-tant intelligence which he received from thecivil and military officers who were intrustedwith the defence of the Danube. He wasinformed, that the North was agitated bya furious tempest; that the irruption of theHuns, an unknown and monstrous race ofsavages, had subverted the power of theGoths; and that the suppliant multitudes ofthat warlike nation, whose pride was nowhumbled in the dust, covered a space ofmany miles along the banks of the river.With outstretched arms, and pathetic lamen-tations, they loudly deplored their past mis-fortunes and their present danger; acknowl-edged that their only hope of safety was inthe clemency of the Roman government; andmost solemnly protested, that if the graciousliberality of the emperor would permit themto cultivate the waste lands of Thrace, theyshould ever hold themselves bound, by thestrongest obligations of duty and gratitude,to obey the laws, and to guard the limits,of the republic. These assurances were con-

1547Zosimus, l iv p 223 Sozomen, l vi c 38 The Isaurians, each winter,infested the roads of Asia Minor, as far as the neighborhood of Con-stantinople Basil, Epist cel apud Tillemont, Hist des Empereurs, tom vp 106

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firmed by the ambassadors of the Goths,1548who impatiently expected from the mouth ofValens an answer that must finally determinethe fate of their unhappy countrymen. Theemperor of the East was no longer guidedby the wisdom and authority of his elderbrother, whose death happened towards theend of the preceding year; and as the dis-tressful situation of the Goths required an in-stant and peremptory decision, he was de-prived of the favorite resources of feeble andtimid minds, who consider the use of dila-tory and ambiguous measures as the mostadmirable efforts of consummate prudence.As long as the same passions and interestssubsist among mankind, the questions ofwar and peace, of justice and policy, whichwere debated in the councils of antiquity,will frequently present themselves as thesubject of modern deliberation. But the mostexperienced statesman of Europe has neverbeen summoned to consider the propriety, orthe danger, of admitting, or rejecting, an in-numerable multitude of Barbarians, who aredriven by despair and hunger to solicit a set-tlement on the territories of a civilized na-tion. When that important proposition, soessentially connected with the public safety,was referred to the ministers of Valens, theywere perplexed and divided; but they soonacquiesced in the flattering sentiment whichseemed the most favorable to the pride, theindolence, and the avarice of their sovereign.The slaves, who were decorated with the ti-tles of praefects and generals, dissembled or

1548Sozomen and Philostorgius say that the bishop Ulphilas was oneof these ambassadors–M

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disregarded the terrors of this national emi-gration; so extremely different from the par-tial and accidental colonies, which had beenreceived on the extreme limits of the em-pire. But they applauded the liberality of for-tune, which had conducted, from the mostdistant countries of the globe, a numerousand invincible army of strangers, to defendthe throne of Valens; who might now addto the royal treasures the immense sums ofgold supplied by the provincials to compen-sate their annual proportion of recruits. Theprayers of the Goths were granted, and theirservice was accepted by the Imperial court:and orders were immediately despatched tothe civil and military governors of the Thra-cian diocese, to make the necessary prepa-rations for the passage and subsistence of agreat people, till a proper and sufficient ter-ritory could be allotted for their future res-idence. The liberality of the emperor wasaccompanied, however, with two harsh andrigorous conditions, which prudence mightjustify on the side of the Romans; but whichdistress alone could extort from the indig-nant Goths. Before they passed the Danube,they were required to deliver their arms: andit was insisted, that their children should betaken from them, and dispersed through theprovinces of Asia; where they might be civi-lized by the arts of education, and serve ashostages to secure the fidelity of their par-ents.During the suspense of a doubtful and dis-

tant negotiation, the impatient Gothsmade some rash attempts to pass theDanube, without the permission of the gov-

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ernment, whose protection they had im-plored. Their motions were strictly observedby the vigilance of the troops which were sta-tioned along the river and their foremost de-tachments were defeated with considerableslaughter; yet such were the timid councilsof the reign of Valens, that the brave officerswho had served their country in the execu-tion of their duty, were punished by the lossof their employments, and narrowly escapedthe loss of their heads. The Imperial mandatewas at length received for transporting overthe Danube the whole body of the Gothic na-tion;1549 but the execution of this order wasa task of labor and difficulty. The stream ofthe Danube, which in those parts is above amile broad,1550 had been swelled by inces-sant rains; and in this tumultuous passage,many were swept away, and drowned, bythe rapid violence of the current. A largefleet of vessels, of boats, and of canoes, wasprovided; many days and nights they passedand repassed with indefatigable toil; and themost strenuous diligence was exerted by theofficers of Valens, that not a single Barbar-ian, of those who were reserved to subvertthe foundations of Rome, should be left onthe opposite shore. It was thought expedi-

1549The passage of the Danube is exposed by Ammianus, (xxxi 3, 4,)Zosimus, (l iv p 223, 224,) Eunapius in Excerpt Legat (p 19, 20,) andJornandes, (c 25, 26) Ammianus declares (c 5) that he means only, ispasrerum digerere summitates But he often takes a false measure of theirimportance; and his superfluous prolixity is disagreeably balanced byhis unseasonable brevity1550Chishull, a curious traveller, has remarked the breadth of the

Danube, which he passed to the south of Bucharest near the confluxof the Argish, (p 77) He admires the beauty and spontaneous plenty ofMaesia, or Bulgaria

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ent that an accurate account should be takenof their numbers; but the persons who wereemployed soon desisted, with amazementand dismay, from the prosecution of the end-less and impracticable task:(KEY:[57-67) andthe principal historian of the age most seri-ously affirms, that the prodigious armies ofDarius and Xerxes, which had so long beenconsidered as the fables of vain and credu-lous antiquity, were now justified, in the eyesof mankind, by the evidence of fact and ex-perience. A probable testimony has fixed thenumber of the Gothic warriors at two hun-dred thousand men: and if we can ventureto add the just proportion of women, of chil-dren, and of slaves, the whole mass of peo-ple which composed this formidable emigra-tion, must have amounted to near a millionof persons, of both sexes, and of all ages.The children of the Goths, those at least ofa distinguished rank, were separated fromthe multitude. They were conducted, with-out delay, to the distant seats assigned fortheir residence and education; and as the nu-merous train of hostages or captives passedthrough the cities, their gay and splendidapparel, their robust and martial figure, ex-cited the surprise and envy of the Provin-cials.1551 But the stipulation, the most of-

1551A very curious, but obscure, passage of Eunapius, appears to meto have been misunderstood by M Mai, to whom we owe its discov-ery The substance is as follows: “The Goths transported over the rivertheir native deities, with their priests of both sexes; but concerningtheir rites they maintained a deep and ‘adamantine silence’ To the Ro-mans they pretended to be generally Christians, and placed certainpersons to represent bishops in a conspicuous manner on their wag-ons There was even among them a sort of what are called monks,persons whom it was not difficult to mimic; it was enough to wear

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fensive to the Goths, and the most importantto the Romans, was shamefully eluded. TheBarbarians, who considered their arms as theensigns of honor and the pledges of safety,were disposed to offer a price, which the lustor avarice of the Imperial officers was easilytempted to accept. To preserve their arms,the haughty warriors consented, with somereluctance, to prostitute their wives or theirdaughters; the charms of a beauteous maid,or a comely boy, secured the connivance ofthe inspectors; who sometimes cast an eyeof covetousness on the fringed carpets andlinen garments of their new allies,1552 orwho sacrificed their duty to the mean con-sideration of filling their farms with cattle,and their houses with slaves. The Goths,with arms in their hands, were permittedto enter the boats; and when their strengthwas collected on the other side of the river,the immense camp which was spread overthe plains and the hills of the Lower Mae-sia, assumed a threatening and even hos-tile aspect. The leaders of the Ostrogoths,Alatheus and Saphrax, the guardians of theirinfant king, appeared soon afterwards on theNorthern banks of the Danube; and imme-diately despatched their ambassadors to the

black raiment, to be wicked, and held in respect” (Eunapius hated the“black-robed monks,” as appears in another passage, with the cordialdetestation of a heathen philosopher) “Thus, while they faithfully butsecretly adhered to their own religion, the Romans were weak enoughto suppose them perfect Christians” Mai, 277 Eunapius in Niebuhr,82–M1552Eunapius and Zosimus curiously specify these articles of Gothic

wealth and luxury Yet it must be presumed, that they were the man-ufactures of the provinces; which the Barbarians had acquired as thespoils of war; or as the gifts, or merchandise, of peace

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court of Antioch, to solicit, with the sameprofessions of allegiance and gratitude, thesame favor which had been granted to thesuppliant Visigoths. The absolute refusal ofValens suspended their progress, and dis-covered the repentance, the suspicions, andthe fears, of the Imperial council._V=Quem sci scire velit, Libyci velit aequoris

idemDiscere quam multae Zephyro turbentur

harenae.Ammianus has inserted, in his prose, these

lines of Virgil, (Georgia l. ii. 105,) origi-nally designed by the poet to express the im-possibility of numbering the different sortsof vines. See Plin. Hist. Natur l. xiv.An undisciplined and unsettled nation of

Barbarians required the firmest temper,and the most dexterous management. Thedaily subsistence of near a million of ex-traordinary subjects could be supplied onlyby constant and skilful diligence, and mightcontinually be interrupted by mistake or ac-cident. The insolence, or the indignation, ofthe Goths, if they conceived themselves tobe the objects either of fear or of contempt,might urge them to the most desperate ex-tremities; and the fortune of the state seemedto depend on the prudence, as well as theintegrity, of the generals of Valens. At thisimportant crisis, the military government ofThrace was exercised by Lupicinus and Max-imus, in whose venal minds the slightesthope of private emolument outweighed ev-ery consideration of public advantage; andwhose guilt was only alleviated by their in-

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capacity of discerning the pernicious effectsof their rash and criminal administration.Instead of obeying the orders of their

sovereign, and satisfying, with decentliberality, the demands of the Goths, theylevied an ungenerous and oppressive tax onthe wants of the hungry Barbarians. Thevilest food was sold at an extravagant price;and, in the room of wholesome and sub-stantial provisions, the markets were filledwith the flesh of dogs, and of unclean ani-mals, who had died of disease. To obtain thevaluable acquisition of a pound of bread, theGoths resigned the possession of an expen-sive, though serviceable, slave; and a smallquantity of meat was greedily purchasedwith ten pounds of a precious, but use-less metal,1553 when their property was ex-hausted, they continued this necessary traf-fic by the sale of their sons and daughters;and notwithstanding the love of freedom,which animated every Gothic breast, theysubmitted to the humiliating maxim, thatit was better for their children to be main-tained in a servile condition, than to perishin a state of wretched and helpless indepen-dence. The most lively resentment is excitedby the tyranny of pretended benefactors,

1553Decem libras; the word silver must be understood Jornandes be-trays the passions and prejudices of a Goth The servile Geeks, Eu-napius and Zosimus, disguise the Roman oppression, and execrate theperfidy of the Barbarians Ammianus, a patriot historian, slightly, andreluctantly, touches on the odious subject Jerom, who wrote almost onthe spot, is fair, though concise Per avaritaim aximi ducis, ad rebel-lionem fame coacti sunt, (in Chron) (A new passage from the historyof Eunapius is nearer to the truth ‘It appeared to our commanders alegitimate source of gain to be bribed by the Barbarians: Edit Niebuhr,p 82–M

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who sternly exact the debt of gratitude whichthey have cancelled by subsequent injuries:a spirit of discontent insensibly arose in thecamp of the Barbarians, who pleaded, with-out success, the merit of their patient anddutiful behavior; and loudly complained ofthe inhospitable treatment which they hadreceived from their new allies. They beheldaround them the wealth and plenty of a fer-tile province, in the midst of which they suf-fered the intolerable hardships of artificialfamine. But the means of relief, and even ofrevenge, were in their hands; since the rapa-ciousness of their tyrants had left to an in-jured people the possession and the use ofarms. The clamors of a multitude, untaughtto disguise their sentiments, announced thefirst symptoms of resistance, and alarmedthe timid and guilty minds of Lupicinus andMaximus. Those crafty ministers, who sub-stituted the cunning of temporary expedi-ents to the wise and salutary counsels of gen-eral policy, attempted to remove the Gothsfrom their dangerous station on the fron-tiers of the empire; and to disperse them,in separate quarters of cantonment, throughthe interior provinces. As they were con-scious how ill they had deserved the respect,or confidence, of the Barbarians, they dili-gently collected, from every side, a militaryforce, that might urge the tardy and reluc-tant march of a people, who had not yet re-nounced the title, or the duties, of Romansubjects. But the generals of Valens, whiletheir attention was solely directed to the dis-contented Visigoths, imprudently disarmedthe ships and the fortifications which con-

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stituted the defence of the Danube. The fa-tal oversight was observed, and improved,by Alatheus and Saphrax, who anxiouslywatched the favorable moment of escapingfrom the pursuit of the Huns. By the help ofsuch rafts and vessels as could be hastily pro-cured, the leaders of the Ostrogoths trans-ported, without opposition, their king andtheir army; and boldly fixed a hostile and in-dependent camp on the territories of the em-pire.1554

Under the name of Judges, Alavivus andFritigern were the leaders of the Visig-

oths in peace and war; and the authoritywhich they derived from their birth was rat-ified by the free consent of the nation. Ina season of tranquility, their power mighthave been equal, as well as their rank; but, assoon as their countrymen were exasperatedby hunger and oppression, the superior abil-ities of Fritigern assumed the military com-mand, which he was qualified to exercise forthe public welfare. He restrained the impa-tient spirit of the Visigoths till the injuriesand the insults of their tyrants should justifytheir resistance in the opinion of mankind:but he was not disposed to sacrifice anysolid advantages for the empty praise of jus-tice and moderation. Sensible of the ben-efits which would result from the union ofthe Gothic powers under the same standard,he secretly cultivated the friendship of theOstrogoths; and while he professed an im-plicit obedience to the orders of the Ro-man generals, he proceeded by slow marches

1554Ammianus, xxxi 4, 5

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towards Marcianopolis, the capital of theLower Maesia, about seventy miles from thebanks of the Danube. On that fatal spot, theflames of discord and mutual hatred burstforth into a dreadful conflagration. Lupici-nus had invited the Gothic chiefs to a splen-did entertainment; and their martial train re-mained under arms at the entrance of thepalace. But the gates of the city were strictlyguarded, and the Barbarians were sternly ex-cluded from the use of a plentiful market,to which they asserted their equal claim ofsubjects and allies. Their humble prayerswere rejected with insolence and derision;and as their patience was now exhausted,the townsmen, the soldiers, and the Goths,were soon involved in a conflict of passion-ate altercation and angry reproaches. A blowwas imprudently given; a sword was hastilydrawn; and the first blood that was spilt inthis accidental quarrel, became the signal ofa long and destructive war. In the midstof noise and brutal intemperance, Lupici-nus was informed, by a secret messenger,that many of his soldiers were slain, and de-spoiled of their arms; and as he was alreadyinflamed by wine, and oppressed by sleephe issued a rash command, that their deathshould be revenged by the massacre of theguards of Fritigern and Alavivus.

The clamorous shouts and dying groans ap-prised Fritigern of his extreme danger;

and, as he possessed the calm and intrepidspirit of a hero, he saw that he was lost ifhe allowed a moment of deliberation to theman who had so deeply injured him. “A tri-fling dispute,” said the Gothic leader, with

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a firm but gentle tone of voice, “appears tohave arisen between the two nations; butit may be productive of the most danger-ous consequences, unless the tumult is im-mediately pacified by the assurance of oursafety, and the authority of our presence.”At these words, Fritigern and his compan-ions drew their swords, opened their pas-sage through the unresisting crowd, whichfilled the palace, the streets, and the gates, ofMarcianopolis, and, mounting their horses,hastily vanished from the eyes of the aston-ished Romans. The generals of the Gothswere saluted by the fierce and joyful ac-clamations of the camp; war was instantlyresolved, and the resolution was executedwithout delay: the banners of the nationwere displayed according to the custom oftheir ancestors; and the air resounded withthe harsh and mournful music of the Barbar-ian trumpet.1555 The weak and guilty Lupici-nus, who had dared to provoke, who had ne-glected to destroy, and who still presumedto despise, his formidable enemy, marchedagainst the Goths, at the head of such a mil-itary force as could be collected on this sud-den emergency. The Barbarians expected his

1555Vexillis de more sublatis, auditisque trisie sonantibus classicisAmmian xxxi 5 These are the rauca cornua of Claudian, (in Rufin ii57,) the large horns of the Uri, or wild bull; such as have been morerecently used by the Swiss Cantons of Uri and Underwald (Simler deRepublica Helvet, l ii p 201, edit Fuselin Tigur 1734) Their militaryhorn is finely, though perhaps casually, introduced in an original nar-rative of the battle of Nancy, (AD 1477) “Attendant le combat le dit corfut corne par trois fois, tant que le vent du souffler pouvoit durer: cequi esbahit fort Monsieur de Bourgoigne; car deja a Morat l’avoit ouy”(See the Pieces Justificatives in the 4to edition of Philippe de Comines,tom iii p 493)

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approach about nine miles from Marcianop-olis; and on this occasion the talents of thegeneral were found to be of more prevailingefficacy than the weapons and discipline ofthe troops. The valor of the Goths was soably directed by the genius of Fritigern, thatthey broke, by a close and vigorous attack,the ranks of the Roman legions. Lupicinusleft his arms and standards, his tribunes andhis bravest soldiers, on the field of battle; andtheir useless courage served only to protectthe ignominious flight of their leader. “Thatsuccessful day put an end to the distress ofthe Barbarians, and the security of the Ro-mans: from that day, the Goths, renouncingthe precarious condition of strangers and ex-iles, assumed the character of citizens andmasters, claimed an absolute dominion overthe possessors of land, and held, in their ownright, the northern provinces of the empire,which are bounded by the Danube.” Suchare the words of the Gothic historian,1556who celebrates, with rude eloquence, theglory of his countrymen. But the dominionof the Barbarians was exercised only for thepurposes of rapine and destruction. As theyhad been deprived, by the ministers of theemperor, of the common benefits of nature,and the fair intercourse of social life, they re-taliated the injustice on the subjects of theempire; and the crimes of Lupicinus were ex-piated by the ruin of the peaceful husband-men of Thrace, the conflagration of their vil-lages, and the massacre, or captivity, of their

1556Jornandes de Rebus Geticis, c 26, p 648, edit Grot These splendidipanm (they are comparatively such) are undoubtedly transcribed fromthe larger histories of Priscus, Ablavius, or Cassiodorus

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innocent families. The report of the Gothicvictory was soon diffused over the adjacentcountry; and while it filled the minds of theRomans with terror and dismay, their ownhasty imprudence contributed to increasethe forces of Fritigern, and the calamities ofthe province. Some time before the great em-igration, a numerous body of Goths, underthe command of Suerid and Colias, had beenreceived into the protection and service ofthe empire.1557 They were encamped underthe walls of Hadrianople; but the ministersof Valens were anxious to remove them be-yond the Hellespont, at a distance from thedangerous temptation which might so eas-ily be communicated by the neighborhood,and the success, of their countrymen. The re-spectful submission with which they yieldedto the order of their march, might be con-sidered as a proof of their fidelity; and theirmoderate request of a sufficient allowance ofprovisions, and of a delay of only two dayswas expressed in the most dutiful terms. Butthe first magistrate of Hadrianople, incensedby some disorders which had been commit-ted at his country-house, refused this indul-gence; and arming against them the inhabi-tants and manufacturers of a populous city,he urged, with hostile threats, their instantdeparture. The Barbarians stood silent andamazed, till they were exasperated by the in-sulting clamors, and missile weapons, of thepopulace: but when patience or contemptwas fatigued, they crushed the undisciplinedmultitude, inflicted many a shameful wound

1557Cum populis suis longe ante suscepti We are ignorant of the pre-cise date and circumstances of their transmigration

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on the backs of their flying enemies, anddespoiled them of the splendid armor,1558which they were unworthy to bear. The re-semblance of their sufferings and their ac-tions soon united this victorious detachmentto the nation of the Visigoths; the troops ofColias and Suerid expected the approach ofthe great Fritigern, ranged themselves un-der his standard, and signalized their ardorin the siege of Hadrianople. But the resis-tance of the garrison informed the Barbar-ians, that in the attack of regular fortifica-tions, the efforts of unskillful courage are sel-dom effectual. Their general acknowledgedhis error, raised the siege, declared that “hewas at peace with stone walls,”1559 and re-venged his disappointment on the adjacentcountry. He accepted, with pleasure, the use-ful reenforcement of hardy workmen, wholabored in the gold mines of Thrace,1560 forthe emolument, and under the lash, of anunfeeling master:1561 and these new asso-ciates conducted the Barbarians, through the

1558An Imperial manufacture of shields, &c, was established atHadrianople; and the populace were headed by the Fabricenses, orworkmen (Vales ad Ammian xxxi 6)1559Pacem sibi esse cum parietibus memorans Ammian xxxi 71560These mines were in the country of the Bessi, in the ridge of

mountains, the Rhodope, that runs between Philippi and Philippopo-lis; two Macedonian cities, which derived their name and origin fromthe father of Alexander From the mines of Thrace he annually re-ceived the value, not the weight, of a thousand talents, (200,000l,) arevenue which paid the phalanx, and corrupted the orators of GreeceSee Diodor Siculus, tom ii l xvi p 88, edit Wesseling Godefroy’s Com-mentary on the Theodosian Code, tom iii p 496 Cellarius, GeographAntiq tom i p 676, 857 D Anville, Geographie Ancienne, tom i p 3361561As those unhappy workmen often ran away, Valens had enacted

severe laws to drag them from their hiding-places Cod Theodosian, lx tit xix leg 5, 7

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secret paths, to the most sequestered places,which had been chosen to secure the inhab-itants, the cattle, and the magazines of corn.With the assistance of such guides, nothingcould remain impervious or inaccessible; re-sistance was fatal; flight was impracticable;and the patient submission of helpless inno-cence seldom found mercy from the Barbar-ian conqueror. In the course of these depre-dations, a great number of the children ofthe Goths, who had been sold into captiv-ity, were restored to the embraces of their af-flicted parents; but these tender interviews,which might have revived and cherished intheir minds some sentiments of humanity,tended only to stimulate their native fierce-ness by the desire of revenge. They listened,with eager attention, to the complaints oftheir captive children, who had suffered themost cruel indignities from the lustful or an-gry passions of their masters, and the samecruelties, the same indignities, were severelyretaliated on the sons and daughters of theRomans.1562

The imprudence of Valens and his minis-ters had introduced into the heart of the

empire a nation of enemies; but the Visig-oths might even yet have been reconciled,by the manly confession of past errors, andthe sincere performance of former engage-ments. These healing and temperate mea-sures seemed to concur with the timorousdisposition of the sovereign of the East: but,on this occasion alone, Valens was brave; and

1562See Ammianus, xxxi 5, 6 The historian of the Gothic war losestime and space, by an unseasonable recapitulation of the ancient in-roads of the Barbarians

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his unseasonable bravery was fatal to him-self and to his subjects. He declared his in-tention of marching from Antioch to Con-stantinople, to subdue this dangerous rebel-lion; and, as he was not ignorant of the dif-ficulties of the enterprise, he solicited theassistance of his nephew, the emperor Gra-tian, who commanded all the forces of theWest. The veteran troops were hastily re-called from the defence of Armenia; that im-portant frontier was abandoned to the dis-cretion of Sapor; and the immediate con-duct of the Gothic war was intrusted, dur-ing the absence of Valens, to his lieutenantsTrajan and Profuturus, two generals who in-dulged themselves in a very false and favor-able opinion of their own abilities. On theirarrival in Thrace, they were joined by Ri-chomer, count of the domestics; and the aux-iliaries of the West, that marched under hisbanner, were composed of the Gallic legions,reduced indeed, by a spirit of desertion, tothe vain appearances of strength and num-bers. In a council of war, which was influ-enced by pride, rather than by reason, it wasresolved to seek, and to encounter, the Bar-barians, who lay encamped in the spaciousand fertile meadows, near the most southernof the six mouths of the Danube.1563 Theircamp was surrounded by the usual fortifi-cation of wagons;1564 and the Barbarians,

1563The Itinerary of Antoninus (p 226, 227, edit Wesseling) marks thesituation of this place about sixty miles north of Tomi, Ovid’s exile;and the name of Salices (the willows) expresses the nature of the soil1564This circle of wagons, the Carrago, was the usual fortification of

the Barbarians (Vegetius de Re Militari, l iii c 10 Valesius ad Ammianxxxi 7) The practice and the name were preserved by their descendants

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secure within the vast circle of the enclo-sure, enjoyed the fruits of their valor, andthe spoils of the province. In the midst ofriotous intemperance, the watchful Fritigernobserved the motions, and penetrated thedesigns, of the Romans. He perceived, thatthe numbers of the enemy were continuallyincreasing: and, as he understood their in-tention of attacking his rear, as soon as thescarcity of forage should oblige him to re-move his camp, he recalled to their standardhis predatory detachments, which coveredthe adjacent country. As soon as they de-scried the flaming beacons,1565 they obeyed,with incredible speed, the signal of theirleader: the camp was filled with the martialcrowd of Barbarians; their impatient clam-ors demanded the battle, and their tumul-tuous zeal was approved and animated bythe spirit of their chiefs. The evening was al-ready far advanced; and the two armies pre-pared themselves for the approaching com-bat, which was deferred only till the dawn ofday.

While the trumpets sounded to arms, theundaunted courage of the Goths was

confirmed by the mutual obligation of asolemn oath; and as they advanced to meetthe enemy, the rude songs, which celebratedthe glory of their forefathers, were mingledwith their fierce and dissonant outcries, and

as late as the fifteenth century The Charroy, which surrounded the Ost,is a word familiar to the readers of Froissard, or Comines1565Statim ut accensi malleoli I have used the literal sense of real

torches or beacons; but I almost suspect, that it is only one of thoseturgid metaphors, those false ornaments, that perpetually disfigure tostyle of Ammianus

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opposed to the artificial harmony of the Ro-man shout. Some military skill was dis-played by Fritigern to gain the advantageof a commanding eminence; but the bloodyconflict, which began and ended with thelight, was maintained on either side, by thepersonal and obstinate efforts of strength,valor, and agility. The legions of Arme-nia supported their fame in arms; but theywere oppressed by the irresistible weight ofthe hostile multitude the left wing of theRomans was thrown into disorder and thefield was strewed with their mangled car-casses. This partial defeat was balanced,however, by partial success; and when thetwo armies, at a late hour of the evening,retreated to their respective camps, neitherof them could claim the honors, or the ef-fects, of a decisive victory. The real loss wasmore severely felt by the Romans, in pro-portion to the smallness of their numbers;but the Goths were so deeply confoundedand dismayed by this vigorous, and perhapsunexpected, resistance, that they remainedseven days within the circle of their fortifi-cations. Such funeral rites, as the circum-stances of time and place would admit, werepiously discharged to some officers of distin-guished rank; but the indiscriminate vulgarwas left unburied on the plain. Their fleshwas greedily devoured by the birds of prey,who in that age enjoyed very frequent anddelicious feasts; and several years afterwardsthe white and naked bones, which coveredthe wide extent of the fields, presented to theeyes of Ammianus a dreadful monument of

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the battle of Salices.1566

The progress of the Goths had been checkedby the doubtful event of that bloody

day; and the Imperial generals, whose armywould have been consumed by the repetitionof such a contest, embraced the more ratio-nal plan of destroying the Barbarians by thewants and pressure of their own multitudes.They prepared to confine the Visigoths in thenarrow angle of land between the Danube,the desert of Scythia, and the mountains ofHaemus, till their strength and spirit shouldbe insensibly wasted by the inevitable op-eration of famine. The design was prose-cuted with some conduct and success: theBarbarians had almost exhausted their ownmagazines, and the harvests of the country;and the diligence of Saturninus, the master-general of the cavalry, was employed to im-prove the strength, and to contract the extent,of the Roman fortifications. His labors wereinterrupted by the alarming intelligence, thatnew swarms of Barbarians had passed theunguarded Danube, either to support thecause, or to imitate the example, of Fritigern.The just apprehension, that he himself mightbe surrounded, and overwhelmed, by thearms of hostile and unknown nations, com-pelled Saturninus to relinquish the siege ofthe Gothic camp; and the indignant Visig-oths, breaking from their confinement, sa-

1566Indicant nunc usque albentes ossibus campi Ammian xxxi 7 Thehistorian might have viewed these plains, either as a soldier, or as atraveller But his modesty has suppressed the adventures of his ownlife subsequent to the Persian wars of Constantius and Julian We areignorant of the time when he quitted the service, and retired to Rome,where he appears to have composed his History of his Own Times

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tiated their hunger and revenge by the re-peated devastation of the fruitful country,which extends above three hundred milesfrom the banks of the Danube to the straitsof the Hellespont.1567 The sagacious Frit-igern had successfully appealed to the pas-sions, as well as to the interest, of his Barbar-ian allies; and the love of rapine, and the ha-tred of Rome, seconded, or even prevented,the eloquence of his ambassadors. He ce-mented a strict and useful alliance with thegreat body of his countrymen, who obeyedAlatheus and Saphrax as the guardians oftheir infant king: the long animosity of rivaltribes was suspended by the sense of theircommon interest; the independent part ofthe nation was associated under one stan-dard; and the chiefs of the Ostrogoths ap-pear to have yielded to the superior geniusof the general of the Visigoths. He obtainedthe formidable aid of the Taifalae,1568 whosemilitary renown was disgraced and pollutedby the public infamy of their domestic man-ners. Every youth, on his entrance into theworld, was united by the ties of honorable

1567Ammian xxxi 81568The Taifalae, who at this period inhabited the country which now

forms the principality of Wallachia, were, in my opinion, the last re-mains of the great and powerful nation of the Dacians, (Daci or Dahae)which has given its name to these regions, over which they had ruledso long The Taifalae passed with the Goths into the territory of theempire A great number of them entered the Roman service, and werequartered in different provinces They are mentioned in the Notitia Im-perii There was a considerable body in the country of the Pictavi, nowPoithou They long retained their manners and language, and causedthe name of the Theofalgicus pagus to be given to the district they in-habited Two places in the department of La Vendee, Tiffanges and LaTiffardiere, still preserve evident traces of this denomination St Mar-tin, iv 118–M

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friendship, and brutal love, to some warriorof the tribe; nor could he hope to be releasedfrom this unnatural connection, till he hadapproved his manhood by slaying, in singlecombat, a huge bear, or a wild boar of theforest.1569 But the most powerful auxiliariesof the Goths were drawn from the camp ofthose enemies who had expelled them fromtheir native seats. The loose subordination,and extensive possessions, of the Huns andthe Alani, delayed the conquests, and dis-tracted the councils, of that victorious peo-ple. Several of the hords were allured by theliberal promises of Fritigern; and the rapidcavalry of Scythia added weight and energyto the steady and strenuous efforts of theGothic infantry. The Sarmatians, who couldnever forgive the successor of Valentinian,enjoyed and increased the general confusion;and a seasonable irruption of the Alemanni,into the provinces of Gaul, engaged the at-tention, and diverted the forces, of the em-peror of the West.1570

...Part IV

ONE of the most dangerous inconve-niences of the introduction of the Bar-

barians into the army and the palace, was

1569Hanc Taifalorum gentem turpem, et obscenae vitae flagitiis ita ac-cipimus mersam; ut apud eos nefandi concubitus foedere copulenturmares puberes, aetatis viriditatem in eorum pollutis usibus consump-turi Porro, siqui jam adultus aprum exceperit solus, vel interemit ur-sum immanem, colluvione liberatur incesti Ammian xxxi 9 —-Amongthe Greeks, likewise, more especially among the Cretans, the holybands of friendship were confirmed, and sullied, by unnatural love1570Ammian xxxi 8, 9 Jerom (tom i p 26) enumerates the nations and

marks a calamitous period of twenty years This epistle to Heliodoruswas composed in the year 397, (Tillemont, Mem Eccles tom xii p 645)

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sensibly felt in their correspondence withtheir hostile countrymen; to whom they im-prudently, or maliciously, revealed the weak-ness of the Roman empire. A soldier, ofthe lifeguards of Gratian, was of the na-tion of the Alemanni, and of the tribe of theLentienses, who dwelt beyond the Lake ofConstance. Some domestic business obligedhim to request a leave of absence. In a shortvisit to his family and friends, he was ex-posed to their curious inquiries: and the van-ity of the loquacious soldier tempted himto display his intimate acquaintance withthe secrets of the state, and the designs ofhis master. The intelligence, that Gratianwas preparing to lead the military force ofGaul, and of the West, to the assistance ofhis uncle Valens, pointed out to the restlessspirit of the Alemanni the moment, and themode, of a successful invasion. The enter-prise of some light detachments, who, in themonth of February, passed the Rhine uponthe ice, was the prelude of a more importantwar. The boldest hopes of rapine, perhaps ofconquest, outweighed the considerations oftimid prudence, or national faith. Every for-est, and every village, poured forth a bandof hardy adventurers; and the great armyof the Alemanni, which, on their approach,was estimated at forty thousand men by thefears of the people, was afterwards magni-fied to the number of seventy thousand bythe vain and credulous flattery of the Impe-rial court. The legions, which had been or-dered to march into Pannonia, were immedi-ately recalled, or detained, for the defence ofGaul; the military command was divided be-

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tween Nanienus and Mellobaudes; and theyouthful emperor, though he respected thelong experience and sober wisdom of the for-mer, was much more inclined to admire, andto follow, the martial ardor of his colleague;who was allowed to unite the incompatiblecharacters of count of the domestics, and ofking of the Franks. His rival Priarius, kingof the Alemanni, was guided, or rather im-pelled, by the same headstrong valor; andas their troops were animated by the spiritof their leaders, they met, they saw, they en-countered each other, near the town of Ar-gentaria, or Colmar,1571 in the plains of Al-sace. The glory of the day was justly ascribedto the missile weapons, and well-practisedevolutions, of the Roman soldiers; the Ale-manni, who long maintained their ground,were slaughtered with unrelenting fury; fivethousand only of the Barbarians escaped tothe woods and mountains; and the glori-ous death of their king on the field of battlesaved him from the reproaches of the people,who are always disposed to accuse the jus-tice, or policy, of an unsuccessful war. Afterthis signal victory, which secured the peaceof Gaul, and asserted the honor of the Ro-man arms, the emperor Gratian appeared toproceed without delay on his Eastern expe-dition; but as he approached the confines ofthe Alemanni, he suddenly inclined to theleft, surprised them by his unexpected pas-

1571The field of battle, Argentaria or Argentovaria, is accurately fixedby M D’Anville (Notice de l’Ancienne Gaule, p 96–99) at twenty-threeGallic leagues, or thirty-four and a half Roman miles to the south ofStrasburg From its ruins the adjacent town of Colmar has arisen Note:It is rather Horburg, on the right bank of the River Ill, opposite toColmar From Schoepflin, Alsatia Illustrata St Martin, iv 121–M

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sage of the Rhine, and boldly advanced intothe heart of their country. The Barbarians op-posed to his progress the obstacles of natureand of courage; and still continued to retreat,from one hill to another, till they were sat-isfied, by repeated trials, of the power andperseverance of their enemies. Their submis-sion was accepted as a proof, not indeed oftheir sincere repentance, but of their actualdistress; and a select number of their braveand robust youth was exacted from the faith-less nation, as the most substantial pledge oftheir future moderation. The subjects of theempire, who had so often experienced thatthe Alemanni could neither be subdued byarms, nor restrained by treaties, might notpromise themselves any solid or lasting tran-quillity: but they discovered, in the virtuesof their young sovereign, the prospect of along and auspicious reign. When the le-gions climbed the mountains, and scaled thefortifications of the Barbarians, the valor ofGratian was distinguished in the foremostranks; and the gilt and variegated armorof his guards was pierced and shattered bythe blows which they had received in theirconstant attachment to the person of theirsovereign. At the age of nineteen, the sonof Valentinian seemed to possess the talentsof peace and war; and his personal successagainst the Alemanni was interpreted as asure presage of his Gothic triumphs.1572While Gratian deserved and enjoyed the

applause of his subjects, the emperor

1572The full and impartial narrative of Ammianus (xxxi 10) may de-rive some additional light from the Epitome of Victor, the Chronicle ofJerom, and the History of Orosius, (l vii c 33, p 552, edit Havercamp)

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Valens, who, at length, had removed hiscourt and army from Antioch, was receivedby the people of Constantinople as the au-thor of the public calamity. Before he hadreposed himself ten days in the capital, hewas urged by the licentious clamors of theHippodrome to march against the Barbar-ians, whom he had invited into his domin-ions; and the citizens, who are always braveat a distance from any real danger, declared,with confidence, that, if they were suppliedwith arms, they alone would undertake todeliver the province from the ravages of aninsulting foe.1573 The vain reproaches ofan ignorant multitude hastened the down-fall of the Roman empire; they provokedthe desperate rashness of Valens; who didnot find, either in his reputation or in hismind, any motives to support with firm-ness the public contempt. He was soon per-suaded, by the successful achievements ofhis lieutenants, to despise the power of theGoths, who, by the diligence of Fritigern,were now collected in the neighborhood ofHadrianople. The march of the Taifalae hadbeen intercepted by the valiant Frigeric: theking of those licentious Barbarians was slainin battle; and the suppliant captives weresent into distant exile to cultivate the landsof Italy, which were assigned for their set-tlement in the vacant territories of Modena

1573Moratus paucissimos dies, seditione popularium levium pulsusAmmian xxxi 11 Socrates (l iv c 38) supplies the dates and some cir-cumstances (Compare fragment of Eunapius Mai, 272, in Niebuhr, p77–M

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and Parma.1574 The exploits of Sebastian,1575who was recently engaged in the service ofValens, and promoted to the rank of master-general of the infantry, were still more hon-orable to himself, and useful to the republic.He obtained the permission of selecting threehundred soldiers from each of the legions;and this separate detachment soon acquiredthe spirit of discipline, and the exercise ofarms, which were almost forgotten underthe reign of Valens. By the vigor and con-duct of Sebastian, a large body of the Gothswere surprised in their camp; and the im-mense spoil, which was recovered from theirhands, filled the city of Hadrianople, andthe adjacent plain. The splendid narratives,which the general transmitted of his own ex-ploits, alarmed the Imperial court by the ap-pearance of superior merit; and though hecautiously insisted on the difficulties of theGothic war, his valor was praised, his ad-vice was rejected; and Valens, who listenedwith pride and pleasure to the flattering sug-gestions of the eunuchs of the palace, wasimpatient to seize the glory of an easy andassured conquest. His army was strength-ened by a numerous reenforcement of veter-

1574Vivosque omnes circa Mutinam, Regiumque, et Parmam, Italicaoppida, rura culturos exterminavit Ammianus, xxxi 9 Those cities anddistricts, about ten years after the colony of the Taifalae, appear in avery desolate state See Muratori, Dissertazioni sopra le Antichita Ital-iane, tom i Dissertat xxi p 3541575Ammian xxxi 11 Zosimus, l iv p 228–230 The latter expatiates on

the desultory exploits of Sebastian, and despatches, in a few lines, theimportant battle of Hadrianople According to the ecclesiastical critics,who hate Sebastian, the praise of Zosimus is disgrace, (Tillemont, Histdes Empereurs, tom v p 121) His prejudice and ignorance undoubtedlyrender him a very questionable judge of merit

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ans; and his march from Constantinople toHadrianople was conducted with so muchmilitary skill, that he prevented the activityof the Barbarians, who designed to occupythe intermediate defiles, and to intercept ei-ther the troops themselves, or their convoysof provisions. The camp of Valens, whichhe pitched under the walls of Hadrianople,was fortified, according to the practice of theRomans, with a ditch and rampart; and amost important council was summoned, todecide the fate of the emperor and of the em-pire. The party of reason and of delay wasstrenuously maintained by Victor, who hadcorrected, by the lessons of experience, thenative fierceness of the Sarmatian character;while Sebastian, with the flexible and obse-quious eloquence of a courtier, representedevery precaution, and every measure, thatimplied a doubt of immediate victory, as un-worthy of the courage and majesty of theirinvincible monarch. The ruin of Valens wasprecipitated by the deceitful arts of Fritigern,and the prudent admonitions of the emperorof the West. The advantages of negotiating inthe midst of war were perfectly understoodby the general of the Barbarians; and a Chris-tian ecclesiastic was despatched, as the holyminister of peace, to penetrate, and to per-plex, the councils of the enemy. The mis-fortunes, as well as the provocations, of theGothic nation, were forcibly and truly de-scribed by their ambassador; who protested,in the name of Fritigern, that he was still dis-posed to lay down his arms, or to employthem only in the defence of the empire; ifhe could secure for his wandering country-

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men a tranquil settlement on the waste landsof Thrace, and a sufficient allowance of cornand cattle. But he added, in a whisper ofconfidential friendship, that the exasperatedBarbarians were averse to these reasonableconditions; and that Fritigern was doubt-ful whether he could accomplish the con-clusion of the treaty, unless he found him-self supported by the presence and terrorsof an Imperial army. About the same time,Count Richomer returned from the West toannounce the defeat and submission of theAlemanni, to inform Valens that his nephewadvanced by rapid marches at the head ofthe veteran and victorious legions of Gaul,and to request, in the name of Gratian and ofthe republic, that every dangerous and de-cisive measure might be suspended, till thejunction of the two emperors should insurethe success of the Gothic war. But the fee-ble sovereign of the East was actuated onlyby the fatal illusions of pride and jealousy.He disdained the importunate advice; he re-jected the humiliating aid; he secretly com-pared the ignominious, at least the inglori-ous, period of his own reign, with the fame ofa beardless youth; and Valens rushed into thefield, to erect his imaginary trophy, beforethe diligence of his colleague could usurpany share of the triumphs of the day.On the ninth of August, a day which has de-

served to be marked among the mostinauspicious of the Roman Calendar,1576 the

1576Ammianus (xxxi 12, 13) almost alone describes the councils andactions which were terminated by the fatal battle of Hadrianople Wemight censure the vices of his style, the disorder and perplexity of hisnarrative: but we must now take leave of this impartial historian; and

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emperor Valens, leaving, under a strongguard, his baggage and military treasure,marched from Hadrianople to attack theGoths, who were encamped about twelvemiles from the city.1577 By some mistake ofthe orders, or some ignorance of the ground,the right wing, or column of cavalry arrivedin sight of the enemy, whilst the left wasstill at a considerable distance; the soldierswere compelled, in the sultry heat of sum-mer, to precipitate their pace; and the lineof battle was formed with tedious confu-sion and irregular delay. The Gothic cav-alry had been detached to forage in the adja-cent country; and Fritigern still continued topractise his customary arts. He despatchedmessengers of peace, made proposals, re-quired hostages, and wasted the hours, tillthe Romans, exposed without shelter to theburning rays of the sun, were exhausted bythirst, hunger, and intolerable fatigue. Theemperor was persuaded to send an ambas-sador to the Gothic camp; the zeal of Ri-chomer, who alone had courage to acceptthe dangerous commission, was applauded;and the count of the domestics, adorned withthe splendid ensigns of his dignity, had pro-ceeded some way in the space between thetwo armies, when he was suddenly recalledby the alarm of battle. The hasty and im-prudent attack was made by Bacurius theIberian, who commanded a body of archers

reproach is silenced by our regret for such an irreparable loss1577The difference of the eight miles of Ammianus, and the twelve

of Idatius, can only embarrass those critics (Valesius ad loc,) who sup-pose a great army to be a mathematical point, without space or dimen-sions

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and targeteers; and as they advanced withrashness, they retreated with loss and dis-grace. In the same moment, the flyingsquadrons of Alatheus and Saphrax, whosereturn was anxiously expected by the gen-eral of the Goths, descended like a whirl-wind from the hills, swept across the plain,and added new terrors to the tumultuous,but irresistible charge of the Barbarian host.The event of the battle of Hadrianople, sofatal to Valens and to the empire, may bedescribed in a few words: the Roman cav-alry fled; the infantry was abandoned, sur-rounded, and cut in pieces. The most skilfulevolutions, the firmest courage, are scarcelysufficient to extricate a body of foot, encom-passed, on an open plain, by superior num-bers of horse; but the troops of Valens, op-pressed by the weight of the enemy andtheir own fears, were crowded into a narrowspace, where it was impossible for them toextend their ranks, or even to use, with effect,their swords and javelins. In the midst oftumult, of slaughter, and of dismay, the em-peror, deserted by his guards and wounded,as it was supposed, with an arrow, soughtprotection among the Lancearii and the Mat-tiarii, who still maintained their ground withsome appearance of order and firmness. Hisfaithful generals, Trajan and Victor, who per-ceived his danger, loudly exclaimed that allwas lost, unless the person of the emperorcould be saved. Some troops, animated bytheir exhortation, advanced to his relief: theyfound only a bloody spot, covered with aheap of broken arms and mangled bodies,without being able to discover their unfor-

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tunate prince, either among the living or thedead. Their search could not indeed be suc-cessful, if there is any truth in the circum-stances with which some historians have re-lated the death of the emperor.

By the care of his attendants, Valens wasremoved from the field of battle to a

neighboring cottage, where they attemptedto dress his wound, and to provide for hisfuture safety. But this humble retreat was in-stantly surrounded by the enemy: they triedto force the door, they were provoked bya discharge of arrows from the roof, till atlength, impatient of delay, they set fire to apile of dry magots, and consumed the cot-tage with the Roman emperor and his train.Valens perished in the flames; and a youth,who dropped from the window, alone es-caped, to attest the melancholy tale, and toinform the Goths of the inestimable prizewhich they had lost by their own rashness. Agreat number of brave and distinguished of-ficers perished in the battle of Hadrianople,which equalled in the actual loss, and farsurpassed in the fatal consequences, the mis-fortune which Rome had formerly sustainedin the fields of Cannae.1578 Two master-generals of the cavalry and infantry, twogreat officers of the palace, and thirty-five tri-

1578Nec ulla annalibus, praeter Cannensem pugnam, ita ad in-ternecionem res legitur gesta Ammian xxxi 13 According to the gravePolybius, no more than 370 horse, and 3,000 foot, escaped from thefield of Cannae: 10,000 were made prisoners; and the number of theslain amounted to 5,630 horse, and 70,000 foot, (Polyb l iii p 371, editCasaubon, 8vo) Livy (xxii 49) is somewhat less bloody: he slaughtersonly 2,700 horse, and 40,000 foot The Roman army was supposed toconsist of 87,200 effective men, (xxii 36)

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bunes, were found among the slain; and thedeath of Sebastian might satisfy the world,that he was the victim, as well as the author,of the public calamity. Above two thirds ofthe Roman army were destroyed: and thedarkness of the night was esteemed a very fa-vorable circumstance, as it served to concealthe flight of the multitude, and to protect themore orderly retreat of Victor and Richomer,who alone, amidst the general consternation,maintained the advantage of calm courageand regular discipline.1579

While the impressions of grief and ter-ror were still recent in the minds of

men, the most celebrated rhetorician of theage composed the funeral oration of a van-quished army, and of an unpopular prince,whose throne was already occupied by astranger. “There are not wanting,” says thecandid Libanius, “those who arraign the pru-dence of the emperor, or who impute thepublic misfortune to the want of courageand discipline in the troops. For my ownpart, I reverence the memory of their for-mer exploits: I reverence the glorious death,which they bravely received, standing, andfighting in their ranks: I reverence the fieldof battle, stained with their blood, and theblood of the Barbarians. Those honorablemarks have been already washed away bythe rains; but the lofty monuments of theirbones, the bones of generals, of centurions,

1579We have gained some faint light from Jerom, (tom i p 26 and inChron p 188,) Victor, (in Epitome,) Orosius, (l vii c 33, p 554,) Jornan-des, (c 27,) Zosimus, (l iv p 230,) Socrates, (l iv c 38,) Sozomen, (l vi c40,) Idatius, (in Chron) But their united evidence, if weighed againstAmmianus alone, is light and unsubstantial

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and of valiant warriors, claim a longer pe-riod of duration. The king himself foughtand fell in the foremost ranks of the bat-tle. His attendants presented him with thefleetest horses of the Imperial stable, thatwould soon have carried him beyond thepursuit of the enemy. They vainly pressedhim to reserve his important life for the fu-ture service of the republic. He still declaredthat he was unworthy to survive so many ofthe bravest and most faithful of his subjects;and the monarch was nobly buried under amountain of the slain. Let none, therefore,presume to ascribe the victory of the Barbar-ians to the fear, the weakness, or the impru-dence, of the Roman troops. The chiefs andthe soldiers were animated by the virtue oftheir ancestors, whom they equalled in dis-cipline and the arts of war. Their gener-ous emulation was supported by the love ofglory, which prompted them to contend atthe same time with heat and thirst, with fireand the sword; and cheerfully to embracean honorable death, as their refuge againstflight and infamy. The indignation of thegods has been the only cause of the successof our enemies.” The truth of history maydisclaim some parts of this panegyric, whichcannot strictly be reconciled with the charac-ter of Valens, or the circumstances of the bat-tle: but the fairest commendation is due tothe eloquence, and still more to the generos-ity, of the sophist of Antioch.1580

The pride of the Goths was elated by thismemorable victory; but their avarice

1580Libanius de ulciscend Julian nece, c 3, in Fabricius, Bibliot Graectom vii p 146–148

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was disappointed by the mortifying discov-ery, that the richest part of the Imperialspoil had been within the walls of Hadri-anople. They hastened to possess the re-ward of their valor; but they were encoun-tered by the remains of a vanquished army,with an intrepid resolution, which was theeffect of their despair, and the only hope oftheir safety. The walls of the city, and theramparts of the adjacent camp, were linedwith military engines, that threw stones ofan enormous weight; and astonished the ig-norant Barbarians by the noise, and veloc-ity, still more than by the real effects, ofthe discharge. The soldiers, the citizens,the provincials, the domestics of the palace,were united in the danger, and in the de-fence: the furious assault of the Goths wasrepulsed; their secret arts of treachery andtreason were discovered; and, after an obsti-nate conflict of many hours, they retired totheir tents; convinced, by experience, that itwould be far more advisable to observe thetreaty, which their sagacious leader had tac-itly stipulated with the fortifications of greatand populous cities. After the hasty and im-politic massacre of three hundred deserters,an act of justice extremely useful to the dis-cipline of the Roman armies, the Goths in-dignantly raised the siege of Hadrianople.The scene of war and tumult was instantlyconverted into a silent solitude: the multi-tude suddenly disappeared; the secret pathsof the woods and mountains were markedwith the footsteps of the trembling fugitives,who sought a refuge in the distant cities of Il-lyricum and Macedonia; and the faithful offi-

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cers of the household, and the treasury, cau-tiously proceeded in search of the emperor,of whose death they were still ignorant. Thetide of the Gothic inundation rolled from thewalls of Hadrianople to the suburbs of Con-stantinople. The Barbarians were surprisedwith the splendid appearance of the capi-tal of the East, the height and extent of thewalls, the myriads of wealthy and affrightedcitizens who crowded the ramparts, and thevarious prospect of the sea and land. Whilethey gazed with hopeless desire on the in-accessible beauties of Constantinople, a sallywas made from one of the gates by a party ofSaracens,1581 who had been fortunately en-gaged in the service of Valens. The cavalry ofScythia was forced to yield to the admirableswiftness and spirit of the Arabian horses:their riders were skilled in the evolutions ofirregular war; and the Northern Barbarianswere astonished and dismayed, by the inhu-man ferocity of the Barbarians of the South.A Gothic soldier was slain by the dagger of

an Arab; and the hairy, naked savage,applying his lips to the wound, expressed ahorrid delight, while he sucked the blood ofhis vanquished enemy.1582 The army of theGoths, laden with the spoils of the wealthy

1581Valens had gained, or rather purchased, the friendship of theSaracens, whose vexatious inroads were felt on the borders of Phoeni-cia, Palestine, and Egypt The Christian faith had been lately intro-duced among a people, reserved, in a future age, to propagate anotherreligion, (Tillemont, Hist des Empereurs, tom v p 104, 106, 141 MemEccles tom vii p 593)1582Crinitus quidam, nudus omnia praeter pubem, subraunum et

ugubre strepens Ammian xxxi 16, and Vales ad loc The Arabs oftenfought naked; a custom which may be ascribed to their sultry climate,and ostentatious bravery The description of this unknown savage is

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suburbs and the adjacent territory, slowlymoved, from the Bosphorus, to the moun-tains which form the western boundary ofThrace. The important pass of Succi wasbetrayed by the fear, or the misconduct, ofMaurus; and the Barbarians, who no longerhad any resistance to apprehend from thescattered and vanquished troops of the East,spread themselves over the face of a fertileand cultivated country, as far as the confinesof Italy and the Hadriatic Sea.1583

The Romans, who so coolly, and so con-cisely, mention the acts of justice which

were exercised by the legions,1584 reservetheir compassion, and their eloquence, fortheir own sufferings, when the provinceswere invaded, and desolated, by the armsof the successful Barbarians. The simple cir-cumstantial narrative (did such a narrativeexist) of the ruin of a single town, of themisfortunes of a single family,1585 might ex-

the lively portrait of Derar, a name so dreadful to the Christians ofSyria See Ockley’s Hist of the Saracens, vol i p 72, 84, 871583The series of events may still be traced in the last pages of Am-

mianus, (xxxi 15, 16) Zosimus, (l iv p 227, 231,) whom we are now re-duced to cherish, misplaces the sally of the Arabs before the death ofValens Eunapius (in Excerpt Legat p 20) praises the fertility of Thrace,Macedonia, &c1584Observe with how much indifference Caesar relates, in the Com-

mentaries of the Gallic war, that he put to death the whole senate ofthe Veneti, who had yielded to his mercy, (iii 16;) that he labored to ex-tirpate the whole nation of the Eburones, (vi 31;) that forty thousandpersons were massacred at Bourges by the just revenge of his soldiers,who spared neither age nor sex, (vii 27,) &c1585Such are the accounts of the sack of Magdeburgh, by the eccle-

siastic and the fisherman, which Mr Harte has transcribed, (Hist ofGustavus Adolphus, vol i p 313–320,) with some apprehension of vio-lating the dignity of history

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hibit an interesting and instructive picture ofhuman manners: but the tedious repetitionof vague and declamatory complaints wouldfatigue the attention of the most patientreader. The same censure may be applied,though not perhaps in an equal degree, tothe profane, and the ecclesiastical, writers ofthis unhappy period; that their minds wereinflamed by popular and religious animos-ity; and that the true size and color of ev-ery object is falsified by the exaggerationsof their corrupt eloquence. The vehementJerom1586 might justly deplore the calamitiesinflicted by the Goths, and their barbarousallies, on his native country of Pannonia, andthe wide extent of the provinces, from thewalls of Constantinople to the foot of the Ju-lian Alps; the rapes, the massacres, the con-flagrations; and, above all, the profanation ofthe churches, that were turned into stables,and the contemptuous treatment of the relicsof holy martyrs. But the Saint is surely trans-ported beyond the limits of nature and his-tory, when he affirms, “that, in those desertcountries, nothing was left except the skyand the earth; that, after the destruction ofthe cities, and the extirpation of the humanrace, the land was overgrown with thickforests and inextricable brambles; and thatthe universal desolation, announced by theprophet Zephaniah, was accomplished, in

1586Et vastatis urbibus, hominibusque interfectis, solitudinem et rar-itatem bestiarum quoque fieri, et volatilium, pisciumque: testis Il-lyricum est, testis Thracia, testis in quo ortus sum solum, (Pannonia;)ubi praeter coelum et terram, et crescentes vepres, et condensa syl-varum cuncta perierunt Tom vii p 250, l, Cap Sophonias and tom i p26

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the scarcity of the beasts, the birds, and evenof the fish.” These complaints were pro-nounced about twenty years after the deathof Valens; and the Illyrian provinces, whichwere constantly exposed to the invasion andpassage of the Barbarians, still continued, af-ter a calamitous period of ten centuries, tosupply new materials for rapine and destruc-tion. Could it even be supposed, that a largetract of country had been left without cul-tivation and without inhabitants, the conse-quences might not have been so fatal to theinferior productions of animated nature. Theuseful and feeble animals, which are nour-ished by the hand of man, might suffer andperish, if they were deprived of his protec-tion; but the beasts of the forest, his enemiesor his victims, would multiply in the free andundisturbed possession of their solitary do-main. The various tribes that people the air,or the waters, are still less connected with thefate of the human species; and it is highlyprobable that the fish of the Danube wouldhave felt more terror and distress, from theapproach of a voracious pike, than from thehostile inroad of a Gothic army.

...Part V

WHATEVER may have been the just mea-sure of the calamities of Europe, there

was reason to fear that the same calamitieswould soon extend to the peaceful countriesof Asia. The sons of the Goths had beenjudiciously distributed through the cities ofthe East; and the arts of education were em-ployed to polish, and subdue, the nativefierceness of their temper. In the space ofabout twelve years, their numbers had con-

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tinually increased; and the children, who, inthe first emigration, were sent over the Helle-spont, had attained, with rapid growth, thestrength and spirit of perfect manhood.1587 Itwas impossible to conceal from their knowl-edge the events of the Gothic war; and, asthose daring youths had not studied the lan-guage of dissimulation, they betrayed theirwish, their desire, perhaps their intention,to emulate the glorious example of their fa-thers The danger of the times seemed tojustify the jealous suspicions of the provin-cials; and these suspicions were admittedas unquestionable evidence, that the Gothsof Asia had formed a secret and dangerousconspiracy against the public safety. Thedeath of Valens had left the East without asovereign; and Julius, who filled the impor-tant station of master-general of the troops,with a high reputation of diligence and abil-ity, thought it his duty to consult the sen-ate of Constantinople; which he considered,during the vacancy of the throne, as the rep-resentative council of the nation. As soonas he had obtained the discretionary powerof acting as he should judge most expedi-ent for the good of the republic, he assem-bled the principal officers, and privately con-certed effectual measures for the executionof his bloody design. An order was imme-diately promulgated, that, on a stated day,the Gothic youth should assemble in the cap-ital cities of their respective provinces; and,

1587Eunapius (in Excerpt Legat p 20) foolishly supposes a praeter-natural growth of the young Goths, that he may introduce Cadmus’sarmed men, who sprang from the dragon’s teeth, &c Such was theGreek eloquence of the times

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as a report was industriously circulated, thatthey were summoned to receive a liberal giftof lands and money, the pleasing hope al-layed the fury of their resentment, and, per-haps, suspended the motions of the conspir-acy. On the appointed day, the unarmedcrowd of the Gothic youth was carefully col-lected in the square or Forum; the streetsand avenues were occupied by the Romantroops, and the roofs of the houses were cov-ered with archers and slingers. At the samehour, in all the cities of the East, the signalwas given of indiscriminate slaughter; andthe provinces of Asia were delivered by thecruel prudence of Julius, from a domestic en-emy, who, in a few months, might have car-ried fire and sword from the Hellespont tothe Euphrates.1588 The urgent considerationof the public safety may undoubtedly autho-rize the violation of every positive law. Howfar that, or any other, consideration may op-erate to dissolve the natural obligations ofhumanity and justice, is a doctrine of whichI still desire to remain ignorant.

The emperor Gratian was far advanced onhis march towards the plains of Hadri-

anople, when he was informed, at first bythe confused voice of fame, and afterwardsby the more accurate reports of Victor andRichomer, that his impatient colleague hadbeen slain in battle, and that two thirds ofthe Roman army were exterminated by the

1588Ammianus evidently approves this execution, efficacia velox etsalutaris, which concludes his work, (xxxi 16) Zosimus, who is curiousand copious, (l iv p 233–236,) mistakes the date, and labors to find thereason, why Julius did not consult the emperor Theodosius who hadnot yet ascended the throne of the East

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sword of the victorious Goths. Whateverresentment the rash and jealous vanity ofhis uncle might deserve, the resentment ofa generous mind is easily subdued by thesofter emotions of grief and compassion; andeven the sense of pity was soon lost in the se-rious and alarming consideration of the stateof the republic. Gratian was too late to assist,he was too weak to revenge, his unfortunatecolleague; and the valiant and modest youthfelt himself unequal to the support of a sink-ing world. A formidable tempest of the Bar-barians of Germany seemed ready to burstover the provinces of Gaul; and the mindof Gratian was oppressed and distracted bythe administration of the Western empire. Inthis important crisis, the government of theEast, and the conduct of the Gothic war, re-quired the undivided attention of a hero anda statesman. A subject invested with suchample command would not long have pre-served his fidelity to a distant benefactor;and the Imperial council embraced the wiseand manly resolution of conferring an obli-gation, rather than of yielding to an insult. Itwas the wish of Gratian to bestow the pur-ple as the reward of virtue; but, at the age ofnineteen, it is not easy for a prince, educatedin the supreme rank, to understand the truecharacters of his ministers and generals. Heattempted to weigh, with an impartial hand,their various merits and defects; and, whilsthe checked the rash confidence of ambition,he distrusted the cautious wisdom which de-spaired of the republic. As each momentof delay diminished something of the powerand resources of the future sovereign of the

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East, the situation of the times would not al-low a tedious debate. The choice of Gratianwas soon declared in favor of an exile, whosefather, only three years before, had suffered,under the sanction of his authority, an unjustand ignominious death. The great Theodo-sius, a name celebrated in history, and dearto the Catholic church,1589 was summonedto the Imperial court, which had graduallyretreated from the confines of Thrace to themore secure station of Sirmium. Five monthsafter the death of Valens, the emperor Gra-tian produced before the assembled troopshis colleague and their master; who, after amodest, perhaps a sincere, resistance, wascompelled to accept, amidst the general ac-clamations, the diadem, the purple, and theequal title of Augustus.1590 The provinces ofThrace, Asia, and Egypt, over which Valenshad reigned, were resigned to the adminis-tration of the new emperor; but, as he wasspecially intrusted with the conduct of theGothic war, the Illyrian praefecture was dis-membered; and the two great dioceses of Da-

1589A life of Theodosius the Great was composed in the last century,(Paris, 1679, in 4to-1680, 12mo,) to inflame the mind of the youngDauphin with Catholic zeal The author, Flechier, afterwards bishopof Nismes, was a celebrated preacher; and his history is adorned, ortainted, with pulpit eloquence; but he takes his learning from Baro-nius, and his principles from St Ambrose and St Augustin1590The birth, character, and elevation of Theodosius are marked in

Pacatus, (in Panegyr Vet xii 10, 11, 12,) Themistius, (Orat xiv p 182,)(Zosimus, l iv p 231,) Augustin (de Civitat Dei v 25,) Orosius, (l viic 34,) Sozomen, (l vii c 2,) Socrates, (l v c 2,) Theodoret, (l v c 5,)Philostorgius, (l ix c 17, with Godefroy, p 393,) the Epitome of Vic-tor, and the Chronicles of Prosper, Idatius, and Marcellinus, in theThesaurus Temporum of Scaliger (Add a hostile fragment of EunapiusMai, p 273, in Niebuhr, p 178–M

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cia and Macedonia were added to the domin-ions of the Eastern empire.1591

The same province, and perhaps the samecity,1592 which had given to the throne

the virtues of Trajan, and the talents ofHadrian, was the orignal seat of another fam-ily of Spaniards, who, in a less fortunate age,possessed, near fourscore years, the declin-ing empire of Rome.1593 They emerged fromthe obscurity of municipal honors by the ac-tive spirit of the elder Theodosius, a generalwhose exploits in Britain and Africa haveformed one of the most splendid parts of theannals of Valentinian. The son of that gen-eral, who likewise bore the name of Theo-dosius, was educated, by skilful preceptors,in the liberal studies of youth; but he wasinstructed in the art of war by the tendercare and severe discipline of his father.1594Under the standard of such a leader, youngTheodosius sought glory and knowledge, inthe most distant scenes of military action; in-ured his constitution to the difference of sea-sons and climates; distinguished his valorby sea and land; and observed the various

1591Tillemont, Hist des Empereurs, tom v p 716, &c1592Italica, founded by Scipio Africanus for his wounded veterans

of Italy The ruins still appear, about a league above Seville, but onthe opposite bank of the river See the Hispania Illustrata of Nonius, ashort though valuable treatise, c xvii p 64–671593I agree with Tillemont (Hist des Empereurs, tom v p 726) in sus-

pecting the royal pedigree, which remained a secret till the promotionof Theodosius Even after that event, the silence of Pacatus outweighsthe venal evidence of Themistius, Victor, and Claudian, who connectthe family of Theodosius with the blood of Trajan and Hadrian1594Pacatas compares, and consequently prefers, the youth of Theo-

dosius to the military education of Alexander, Hannibal, and the sec-ond Africanus; who, like him, had served under their fathers, (xii 8)

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warfare of the Scots, the Saxons, and theMoors. His own merit, and the recommen-dation of the conqueror of Africa, soon raisedhim to a separate command; and, in the sta-tion of Duke of Misaea, he vanquished anarmy of Sarmatians; saved the province; de-served the love of the soldiers; and provokedthe envy of the court.1595 His rising fortuneswere soon blasted by the disgrace and execu-tion of his illustrious father; and Theodosiusobtained, as a favor, the permission of retir-ing to a private life in his native province ofSpain. He displayed a firm and temperatecharacter in the ease with which he adaptedhimself to this new situation. His time wasalmost equally divided between the townand country; the spirit, which had animatedhis public conduct, was shown in the ac-tive and affectionate performance of everysocial duty; and the diligence of the soldierwas profitably converted to the improve-ment of his ample patrimony,1596 which laybetween Valladolid and Segovia, in the midstof a fruitful district, still famous for a mostexquisite breed of sheep.1597 From the inno-cent, but humble labors of his farm, Theo-

1595Ammianus (xxix 6) mentions this victory of Theodosius JuniorDux Maesiae, prima etiam tum lanugine juvenis, princeps postea per-spectissimus The same fact is attested by Themistius and Zosimus butTheodoret, (l v c 5,) who adds some curious circumstances, strangelyapplies it to the time of the interregnum1596Pacatus (in Panegyr Vet xii 9) prefers the rustic life of Theodosius

to that of Cincinnatus; the one was the effect of choice, the other ofpoverty1597M D’Anville (Geographie Ancienne, tom i p 25) has fixed the

situation of Caucha, or Coca, in the old province of Gallicia, whereZosimus and Idatius have placed the birth, or patrimony, of Theodo-sius

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dosius was transported, in less than fourmonths, to the throne of the Eastern empire;and the whole period of the history of theworld will not perhaps afford a similar ex-ample, of an elevation at the same time sopure and so honorable. The princes whopeaceably inherit the sceptre of their fathers,claim and enjoy a legal right, the more se-cure as it is absolutely distinct from the mer-its of their personal characters. The subjects,who, in a monarchy, or a popular state, ac-quire the possession of supreme power, mayhave raised themselves, by the superiority ei-ther of genius or virtue, above the heads oftheir equals; but their virtue is seldom ex-empt from ambition; and the cause of thesuccessful candidate is frequently stained bythe guilt of conspiracy, or civil war. Even inthose governments which allow the reigningmonarch to declare a colleague or a succes-sor, his partial choice, which may be influ-enced by the blindest passions, is often di-rected to an unworthy object But the mostsuspicious malignity cannot ascribe to Theo-dosius, in his obscure solitude of Caucha, thearts, the desires, or even the hopes, of an am-bitious statesman; and the name of the Ex-ile would long since have been forgotten, ifhis genuine and distinguished virtues hadnot left a deep impression in the Imperialcourt. During the season of prosperity, hehad been neglected; but, in the public dis-tress, his superior merit was universally feltand acknowledged. What confidence musthave been reposed in his integrity, since Gra-tian could trust, that a pious son would for-give, for the sake of the republic, the mur-

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der of his father! What expectations musthave been formed of his abilities to encour-age the hope, that a single man could save,and restore, the empire of the East! Theo-dosius was invested with the purple in thethirty-third year of his age. The vulgar gazedwith admiration on the manly beauty of hisface, and the graceful majesty of his person,which they were pleased to compare withthe pictures and medals of the emperor Tra-jan; whilst intelligent observers discovered,in the qualities of his heart and understand-ing, a more important resemblance to thebest and greatest of the Roman princes.

It is not without the most sincere regret,that I must now take leave of an accu-

rate and faithful guide, who has composedthe history of his own times, without in-dulging the prejudices and passions, whichusually affect the mind of a contemporary.Ammianus Marcellinus, who terminates hisuseful work with the defeat and death ofValens, recommends the more glorious sub-ject of the ensuing reign to the youthful vigorand eloquence of the rising generation.1598The rising generation was not disposed to ac-cept his advice or to imitate his example;1599

1598Let us hear Ammianus himself Haec, ut miles quondam et Grae-cus, a principatu Cassaris Nervae exorsus, adusque Valentis inter, provirium explicavi mensura: opus veritatem professum nun quam, ut ar-bitror, sciens, silentio ausus corrumpere vel mendacio Scribant reliquapotiores aetate, doctrinisque florentes Quos id, si libuerit, aggressuros,procudere linguas ad majores moneo stilos Ammian xxxi 16 The firstthirteen books, a superficial epitome of two hundred and fifty-sevenyears, are now lost: the last eighteen, which contain no more thantwenty-five years, still preserve the copious and authentic history ofhis own times1599Ammianus was the last subject of Rome who composed a pro-

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and, in the study of the reign of Theodosius,we are reduced to illustrate the partial narra-tive of Zosimus, by the obscure hints of frag-ments and chronicles, by the figurative styleof poetry or panegyric, and by the precariousassistance of the ecclesiastical writers, who,in the heat of religious faction, are apt todespise the profane virtues of sincerity andmoderation. Conscious of these disadvan-tages, which will continue to involve a con-siderable portion of the decline and fall of theRoman empire, I shall proceed with doubt-ful and timorous steps. Yet I may boldlypronounce, that the battle of Hadrianoplewas never revenged by any signal or deci-sive victory of Theodosius over the Barbar-ians: and the expressive silence of his ve-nal orators may be confirmed by the obser-vation of the condition and circumstances ofthe times. The fabric of a mighty state, whichhas been reared by the labors of successiveages, could not be overturned by the misfor-tune of a single day, if the fatal power of theimagination did not exaggerate the real mea-sure of the calamity. The loss of forty thou-sand Romans, who fell in the plains of Hadri-anople, might have been soon recruited inthe populous provinces of the East, whichcontained so many millions of inhabitants.The courage of a soldier is found to be thecheapest, and most common, quality of hu-man nature; and sufficient skill to encounteran undisciplined foe might have been speed-

fane history in the Latin language The East, in the next century, pro-duced some rhetorical historians, Zosimus, Olympiedorus, Malchus,Candidus &c See Vossius de Historicis Graecis, l ii c 18, de HistoricisLatinis l ii c 10, &c

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ily taught by the care of the surviving centu-rions. If the Barbarians were mounted on thehorses, and equipped with the armor, of theirvanquished enemies, the numerous studs ofCappadocia and Spain would have suppliednew squadrons of cavalry; the thirty-four ar-senals of the empire were plentifully storedwith magazines of offensive and defensivearms: and the wealth of Asia might still haveyielded an ample fund for the expenses ofthe war. But the effects which were pro-duced by the battle of Hadrianople on theminds of the Barbarians and of the Romans,extended the victory of the former, and thedefeat of the latter, far beyond the limits ofa single day. A Gothic chief was heard todeclare, with insolent moderation, that, forhis own part, he was fatigued with slaugh-ter: but that he was astonished how a peo-ple, who fled before him like a flock of sheep,could still presume to dispute the posses-sion of their treasures and provinces.1600 Thesame terrors which the name of the Hunshad spread among the Gothic tribes, were in-spired, by the formidable name of the Goths,among the subjects and soldiers of the Ro-man empire.1601 If Theodosius, hastily col-lecting his scattered forces, had led them intothe field to encounter a victorious enemy, hisarmy would have been vanquished by theirown fears; and his rashness could not have

1600Chrysostom, tom i p 344, edit Montfaucon I have verified and ex-amined this passage: but I should never, without the aid of Tillemont,(Hist des Emp tom v p 152,) have detected an historical anecdote, ina strange medley of moral and mystic exhortations, addressed, by thepreacher of Antioch, to a young widow1601Eunapius, in Excerpt Legation p 21

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been excused by the chance of success. Butthe great Theodosius, an epithet which hehonorably deserved on this momentous oc-casion, conducted himself as the firm andfaithful guardian of the republic. He fixedhis head-quarters at Thessalonica, the capitalof the Macedonian diocese;1602 from whencehe could watch the irregular motions of theBarbarians, and direct the operations of hislieutenants, from the gates of Constantino-ple to the shores of the Hadriatic. The for-tifications and garrisons of the cities werestrengthened; and the troops, among whoma sense of order and discipline was revived,were insensibly emboldened by the confi-dence of their own safety. From these securestations, they were encouraged to make fre-quent sallies on the Barbarians, who infestedthe adjacent country; and, as they were sel-dom allowed to engage, without some deci-sive superiority, either of ground or of num-bers, their enterprises were, for the mostpart, successful; and they were soon con-vinced, by their own experience, of the pos-sibility of vanquishing their invincible en-emies. The detachments of these separategarrisons were generally united into smallarmies; the same cautious measures werepursued, according to an extensive and well-concerted plan of operations; the events ofeach day added strength and spirit to the Ro-man arms; and the artful diligence of the em-peror, who circulated the most favorable re-ports of the success of the war, contributedto subdue the pride of the Barbarians, and

1602See Godefroy’s Chronology of the Laws Codex Theodos tom lProlegomen p xcix–civ

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to animate the hopes and courage of his sub-jects. If, instead of this faint and imperfectoutline, we could accurately represent thecounsels and actions of Theodosius, in foursuccessive campaigns, there is reason to be-lieve, that his consummate skill would de-serve the applause of every military reader.The republic had formerly been saved by thedelays of Fabius; and, while the splendid tro-phies of Scipio, in the field of Zama, attractthe eyes of posterity, the camps and marchesof the dictator among the hills of the Cam-pania, may claim a juster proportion of thesolid and independent fame, which the gen-eral is not compelled to share, either withfortune or with his troops. Such was like-wise the merit of Theodosius; and the infir-mities of his body, which most unseasonablylanguished under a long and dangerous dis-ease, could not oppress the vigor of his mind,or divert his attention from the public ser-vice.1603

The deliverance and peace of the Romanprovinces1604 was the work of pru-

dence, rather than of valor: the prudence ofTheodosius was seconded by fortune: andthe emperor never failed to seize, and toimprove, every favorable circumstance. Aslong as the superior genius of Fritigern pre-

1603Most writers insist on the illness, and long repose, of Theodosius,at Thessalonica: Zosimus, to diminish his glory; Jornandes, to favorthe Goths; and the ecclesiastical writers, to introduce his baptism1604Compare Themistius (Orat, xiv p 181) with Zosimus (l iv p 232,)

Jornandes, (c xxvii p 649,) and the prolix Commentary of M de Buat,(Hist de Peuples, &c, tom vi p 477–552) The Chronicles of Idatius andMarcellinus allude, in general terms, to magna certamina, magna mul-taque praelia The two epithets are not easily reconciled

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served the union, and directed the motionsof the Barbarians, their power was not inad-equate to the conquest of a great empire. Thedeath of that hero, the predecessor and mas-ter of the renowned Alaric, relieved an im-patient multitude from the intolerable yokeof discipline and discretion. The Barbar-ians, who had been restrained by his au-thority, abandoned themselves to the dic-tates of their passions; and their passionswere seldom uniform or consistent. An armyof conquerors was broken into many dis-orderly bands of savage robbers; and theirblind and irregular fury was not less perni-cious to themselves, than to their enemies.Their mischievous disposition was shown inthe destruction of every object which theywanted strength to remove, or taste to en-joy; and they often consumed, with improv-ident rage, the harvests, or the granaries,which soon afterwards became necessary fortheir own subsistence. A spirit of discordarose among the independent tribes and na-tions, which had been united only by thebands of a loose and voluntary alliance. Thetroops of the Huns and the Alani would nat-urally upbraid the flight of the Goths; whowere not disposed to use with moderationthe advantages of their fortune; the ancientjealousy of the Ostrogoths and the Visig-oths could not long be suspended; and thehaughty chiefs still remembered the insultsand injuries, which they had reciprocally of-fered, or sustained, while the nation wasseated in the countries beyond the Danube.The progress of domestic faction abated themore diffusive sentiment of national animos-

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ity; and the officers of Theodosius were in-structed to purchase, with liberal gifts andpromises, the retreat or service of the dis-contented party. The acquisition of Modar,a prince of the royal blood of the Amali,gave a bold and faithful champion to thecause of Rome. The illustrious deserter soonobtained the rank of master-general, withan important command; surprised an armyof his countrymen, who were immersed inwine and sleep; and, after a cruel slaughter ofthe astonished Goths, returned with an im-mense spoil, and four thousand wagons, tothe Imperial camp.1605 In the hands of a skil-ful politician, the most different means maybe successfully applied to the same ends; andthe peace of the empire, which had been for-warded by the divisions, was accomplishedby the reunion, of the Gothic nation. Atha-naric, who had been a patient spectator ofthese extraordinary events, was at lengthdriven, by the chance of arms, from the darkrecesses of the woods of Caucaland. He nolonger hesitated to pass the Danube; and avery considerable part of the subjects of Frit-igern, who already felt the inconveniences ofanarchy, were easily persuaded to acknowl-edge for their king a Gothic Judge, whosebirth they respected, and whose abilities theyhad frequently experienced. But age hadchilled the daring spirit of Athanaric; and,instead of leading his people to the field ofbattle and victory, he wisely listened to thefair proposal of an honorable and advan-tageous treaty. Theodosius, who was ac-

1605Zosimus (l iv p 232) styles him a Scythian, a name which the morerecent Greeks seem to have appropriated to the Goths

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quainted with the merit and power of hisnew ally, condescended to meet him at thedistance of several miles from Constantino-ple; and entertained him in the Imperialcity, with the confidence of a friend, and themagnificence of a monarch. “The Barbarianprince observed, with curious attention, thevariety of objects which attracted his notice,and at last broke out into a sincere and pas-sionate exclamation of wonder. I now behold(said he) what I never could believe, the glo-ries of this stupendous capital! And as hecast his eyes around, he viewed, and he ad-mired, the commanding situation of the city,the strength and beauty of the walls and pub-lic edifices, the capacious harbor, crowdedwith innumerable vessels, the perpetual con-course of distant nations, and the arms anddiscipline of the troops. Indeed, (continuedAthanaric,) the emperor of the Romans is agod upon earth; and the presumptuous man,who dares to lift his hand against him, isguilty of his own blood.”1606 The Gothicking did not long enjoy this splendid andhonorable reception; and, as temperance wasnot the virtue of his nation, it may justly besuspected, that his mortal disease was con-tracted amidst the pleasures of the Imperial

1606The reader will not be displeased to see the original words of Jor-nandes, or the author whom he transcribed Regiam urbem ingressusest, miransque, En, inquit, cerno quod saepe incredulus audiebam,famam videlicet tantae urbis Et huc illuc oculos volvens, nunc situmurbis, commeatumque navium, nunc moenia clara pro spectans, mi-ratur; populosque diversarum gentium, quasi fonte in uno e diversispartibus scaturiente unda, sic quoque militem ordinatum aspiciens;Deus, inquit, sine dubio est terrenus Imperator, et quisquis adversuseum manum moverit, ipse sui sanguinis reus existit Jornandes (c xxviiip 650) proceeds to mention his death and funeral

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banquets. But the policy of Theodosius de-rived more solid benefit from the death, thanhe could have expected from the most faith-ful services, of his ally. The funeral of Atha-naric was performed with solemn rites inthe capital of the East; a stately monumentwas erected to his memory; and his wholearmy, won by the liberal courtesy, and de-cent grief, of Theodosius, enlisted under thestandard of the Roman empire.1607 The sub-mission of so great a body of the Visigothswas productive of the most salutary conse-quences; and the mixed influence of force, ofreason, and of corruption, became every daymore powerful, and more extensive. Eachindependent chieftain hastened to obtain aseparate treaty, from the apprehension thatan obstinate delay might expose him, aloneand unprotected, to the revenge, or justice,of the conqueror. The general, or rather thefinal, capitulation of the Goths, may be datedfour years, one month, and twenty-five days,after the defeat and death of the emperorValens.1608

The provinces of the Danube had beenalready relieved from the oppressive

weight of the Gruthungi, or Ostrogoths,by the voluntary retreat of Alatheus andSaphrax, whose restless spirit had promptedthem to seek new scenes of rapine and glory.

1607Jornandes, c xxviii p 650 Even Zosimus (l v p 246) is compelled toapprove the generosity of Theodosius, so honorable to himself, and sobeneficial to the public1608The short, but authentic, hints in the Fasti of Idatius (Chron

Scaliger p 52) are stained with contemporary passion The fourteenthoration of Themistius is a compliment to Peace, and the consul Saturn-inus, (AD 383)

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Their destructive course was pointed to-wards the West; but we must be satisfiedwith a very obscure and imperfect knowl-edge of their various adventures. The Ostro-goths impelled several of the German tribeson the provinces of Gaul; concluded, andsoon violated, a treaty with the emperor Gra-tian; advanced into the unknown countriesof the North; and, after an interval of morethan four years, returned, with accumulatedforce, to the banks of the Lower Danube.Their troops were recruited with the fiercestwarriors of Germany and Scythia; and thesoldiers, or at least the historians, of theempire, no longer recognized the name andcountenances of their former enemies.1609The general who commanded the militaryand naval powers of the Thracian frontier,soon perceived that his superiority would bedisadvantageous to the public service; andthat the Barbarians, awed by the presence ofhis fleet and legions, would probably deferthe passage of the river till the approachingwinter. The dexterity of the spies, whom hesent into the Gothic camp, allured the Bar-barians into a fatal snare. They were per-suaded that, by a bold attempt, they mightsurprise, in the silence and darkness of thenight, the sleeping army of the Romans; andthe whole multitude was hastily embarkedin a fleet of three thousand canoes.1610 The

1609Zosimus, l iv p 2521610I am justified, by reason and example, in applying this Indian

name to the the Barbarians, the single trees hollowed into the shapeof a boat Zosimus, l iv p 253 Ausi Danubium quondam tranareGruthungi In lintres fregere nemus: ter mille ruebant Per fluvium ple-nae cuneis immanibus alni Claudian, in iv Cols Hon 623

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bravest of the Ostrogoths led the van; themain body consisted of the remainder oftheir subjects and soldiers; and the womenand children securely followed in the rear.One of the nights without a moon had beenselected for the execution of their design;and they had almost reached the southernbank of the Danube, in the firm confidencethat they should find an easy landing andan unguarded camp. But the progress ofthe Barbarians was suddenly stopped byan unexpected obstacle a triple line of ves-sels, strongly connected with each other, andwhich formed an impenetrable chain of twomiles and a half along the river. While theystruggled to force their way in the unequalconflict, their right flank was overwhelmedby the irresistible attack of a fleet of galleys,which were urged down the stream by theunited impulse of oars and of the tide. Theweight and velocity of those ships of warbroke, and sunk, and dispersed, the rude andfeeble canoes of the Barbarians; their valorwas ineffectual; and Alatheus, the king, orgeneral, of the Ostrogoths, perished with hisbravest troops, either by the sword of the Ro-mans, or in the waves of the Danube. Thelast division of this unfortunate fleet mightregain the opposite shore; but the distressand disorder of the multitude rendered themalike incapable, either of action or counsel;and they soon implored the clemency of thevictorious enemy. On this occasion, as wellas on many others, it is a difficult task toreconcile the passions and prejudices of thewriters of the age of Theodosius. The partialand malignant historian, who misrepresents

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every action of his reign, affirms, that theemperor did not appear in the field of bat-tle till the Barbarians had been vanquishedby the valor and conduct of his lieutenantPromotus.1611 The flattering poet, who cel-ebrated, in the court of Honorius, the gloryof the father and of the son, ascribes thevictory to the personal prowess of Theodo-sius; and almost insinuates, that the king ofthe Ostrogoths was slain by the hand of theemperor.(KEY:[59-127) The truth of historymight perhaps be found in a just medium be-tween these extreme and contradictory asser-tions.

The original treaty which fixed the settle-ment of the Goths, ascertained their

privileges, and stipulated their obligations,would illustrate the history of Theodosiusand his successors. The series of their historyhas imperfectly preserved the spirit and sub-stance of this single agreement.1612 The rav-ages of war and tyranny had provided manylarge tracts of fertile but uncultivated landfor the use of those Barbarians who mightnot disdain the practice of agriculture. A nu-merous colony of the Visigoths was seated inThrace; the remains of the Ostrogoths wereplanted in Phrygia and Lydia; their imme-diate wants were supplied by a distributionof corn and cattle; and their future indus-

1611Zosimus, l iv p 252–255 He too frequently betrays his poverty ofjudgment by disgracing the most serious narratives with trifling andincredible circumstances1612See Themistius, Orat xvi p 211 Claudian (in Eutrop l ii 112) men-

tions the Phrygian colony:—-Ostrogothis colitur mistisque GruthungisPhyrx ager—-and then proceeds to name the rivers of Lydia, the Pacto-lus, and Herreus

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try was encouraged by an exemption fromtribute, during a certain term of years. TheBarbarians would have deserved to feel thecruel and perfidious policy of the Imperialcourt, if they had suffered themselves to bedispersed through the provinces. They re-quired, and they obtained, the sole posses-sion of the villages and districts assigned fortheir residence; they still cherished and prop-agated their native manners and language;asserted, in the bosom of despotism, the free-dom of their domestic government; and ac-knowledged the sovereignty of the emperor,without submitting to the inferior jurisdic-tion of the laws and magistrates of Rome.The hereditary chiefs of the tribes and fam-ilies were still permitted to command theirfollowers in peace and war; but the royal dig-nity was abolished; and the generals of theGoths were appointed and removed at thepleasure of the emperor. An army of fortythousand Goths was maintained for the per-petual service of the empire of the East; andthose haughty troops, who assumed the ti-tle of Foederati, or allies, were distinguishedby their gold collars, liberal pay, and licen-tious privileges. Their native courage wasimproved by the use of arms and the knowl-edge of discipline; and, while the republicwas guarded, or threatened, by the doubt-ful sword of the Barbarians, the last sparks ofthe military flame were finally extinguishedin the minds of the Romans.1613 Theodo-

1613Compare Jornandes, (c xx 27,) who marks the condition and num-ber of the Gothic Foederati, with Zosimus, (l iv p 258,) who men-tions their golden collars; and Pacatus, (in Panegyr Vet xii 37,) whoapplauds, with false or foolish joy, their bravery and discipline

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sius had the address to persuade his allies,that the conditions of peace, which had beenextorted from him by prudence and neces-sity, were the voluntary expressions of hissincere friendship for the Gothic nation.1614A different mode of vindication or apologywas opposed to the complaints of the people;who loudly censured these shameful anddangerous concessions.1615 The calamities ofthe war were painted in the most lively col-ors; and the first symptoms of the return oforder, of plenty, and security, were diligentlyexaggerated. The advocates of Theodosiuscould affirm, with some appearance of truthand reason, that it was impossible to extir-pate so many warlike tribes, who were ren-dered desperate by the loss of their nativecountry; and that the exhausted provinceswould be revived by a fresh supply of sol-diers and husbandmen. The Barbarians stillwore an angry and hostile aspect; but the ex-perience of past times might encourage thehope, that they would acquire the habits ofindustry and obedience; that their mannerswould be polished by time, education, andthe influence of Christianity; and that theirposterity would insensibly blend with the

1614Amator pacis generisque Gothorum, is the praise bestowed bythe Gothic historian, (c xxix,) who represents his nation as innocent,peaceable men, slow to anger, and patient of injuries According toLivy, the Romans conquered the world in their own defence1615Besides the partial invectives of Zosimus, (always discontented

with the Christian reigns,) see the grave representations which Syne-sius addresses to the emperor Arcadius, (de Regno, p 25, 26, editPetav) The philosophic bishop of Cyrene was near enough to judge;and he was sufficiently removed from the temptation of fear or flat-tery

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great body of the Roman people.1616

Notwithstanding these specious argu-ments, and these sanguine expecta-

tions, it was apparent to every discerningeye, that the Goths would long remainthe enemies, and might soon become theconquerors of the Roman empire. Theirrude and insolent behavior expressed theircontempt of the citizens and provincials,whom they insulted with impunity.1617 Tothe zeal and valor of the Barbarians Theo-dosius was indebted for the success of hisarms: but their assistance was precarious;and they were sometimes seduced, by atreacherous and inconstant disposition, toabandon his standard, at the moment whentheir service was the most essential. Duringthe civil war against Maximus, a greatnumber of Gothic deserters retired into themorasses of Macedonia, wasted the adjacentprovinces, and obliged the intrepid monarchto expose his person, and exert his power,to suppress the rising flame of rebellion.1618The public apprehensions were fortified bythe strong suspicion, that these tumults werenot the effect of accidental passion, but the

1616Themistius (Orat xvi p 211, 212) composes an elaborate and ra-tional apology, which is not, however, exempt from the puerilities ofGreek rhetoric Orpheus could only charm the wild beasts of Thrace;but Theodosius enchanted the men and women, whose predecessorsin the same country had torn Orpheus in pieces, &c1617Constantinople was deprived half a day of the public allowance

of bread, to expiate the murder of a Gothic soldier: was the guilt of thepeople Libanius, Orat xii p 394, edit Morel1618Zosimus, l iv p 267-271 He tells a long and ridiculous story of the

adventurous prince, who roved the country with only five horsemen,of a spy whom they detected, whipped, and killed in an old woman’scottage, &c

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result of deep and premeditated design. Itwas generally believed, that the Goths hadsigned the treaty of peace with a hostile andinsidious spirit; and that their chiefs hadpreviously bound themselves, by a solemnand secret oath, never to keep faith withthe Romans; to maintain the fairest showof loyalty and friendship, and to watch thefavorable moment of rapine, of conquest,and of revenge. But as the minds of theBarbarians were not insensible to the powerof gratitude, several of the Gothic leaderssincerely devoted themselves to the serviceof the empire, or, at least, of the emperor; thewhole nation was insensibly divided intotwo opposite factions, and much sophistrywas employed in conversation and dispute,to compare the obligations of their first,and second, engagements. The Goths, whoconsidered themselves as the friends ofpeace, of justice, and of Rome, were directedby the authority of Fravitta, a valiant andhonorable youth, distinguished above therest of his countrymen by the politeness ofhis manners, the liberality of his sentiments,and the mild virtues of social life. But themore numerous faction adhered to the fierceand faithless Priulf,1619 who inflamed thepassions, and asserted the independence, ofhis warlike followers. On one of the solemnfestivals, when the chiefs of both partieswere invited to the Imperial table, they wereinsensibly heated by wine, till they forgotthe usual restraints of discretion and respect,and betrayed, in the presence of Theodosius,the fatal secret of their domestic disputes.

1619Eunapius–M

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CHAPTER XXVI PART II

The emperor, who had been the reluctantwitness of this extraordinary controversy,dissembled his fears and resentment, andsoon dismissed the tumultuous assembly.Fravitta, alarmed and exasperated by theinsolence of his rival, whose departurefrom the palace might have been the signalof a civil war, boldly followed him; and,drawing his sword, laid Priulf dead at hisfeet. Their companions flew to arms; andthe faithful champion of Rome would havebeen oppressed by superior numbers, if hehad not been protected by the seasonableinterposition of the Imperial guards.1620Such were the scenes of Barbaric rage, whichdisgraced the palace and table of the Romanemperor; and, as the impatient Goths couldonly be restrained by the firm and temperatecharacter of Theodosius, the public safetyseemed to depend on the life and abilities ofa single man.1621

1620Compare Eunapius (in Excerpt Legat p 21, 22) with Zosimus, (l ivp 279) The difference of circumstances and names must undoubtedlybe applied to the same story Fravitta, or Travitta, was afterwards con-sul, (AD 401) and still continued his faithful services to the eldest sonof Theodosius (Tillemont, Hist des Empereurs, tom v p 467)1621Les Goths ravagerent tout depuis le Danube jusqu’au Bosphore;

exterminerent Valens et son armee; et ne repasserent le Danube, quepour abandonner l’affreuse solitude qu’ils avoient faite, (Oeuvresde Montesquieu, tom iii p 479 Considerations sur les Causes de laGrandeur et de la Decadence des Romains, c xvii) The president Mon-tesquieu seems ignorant that the Goths, after the defeat of Valens,never abandoned the Roman territory It is now thirty years, says Clau-dian, (de Bello Getico, 166, &c, AD 404,) Ex quo jam patrios gens haecoblita Triones, Atque Istrum transvecta semel, vestigia fixit Threiciofunesta solo–the error is inexcusable; since it disguises the principaland immediate cause of the fall of the Western empire of Rome

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