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diff --git a/old/2dfre11.txt b/old/2dfre11.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d559eb7 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/2dfre11.txt @@ -0,0 +1,31831 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The History of The Decline and Fall of the +Roman Empire, Volume II, by Edward Gibbon + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the +copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing +this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. + +This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project +Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. II + +Author: Edward Gibbon + +Release Date: November, 1996 [EBook #732] +[This file was last updated on March 28, 2002] + +Edition: 11 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HISTORY OF THE DECLINE *** + + + + +Etext by David Reed: Haradda@aol.com and davidr@inconnect.com. + +If you find any errors please feel free to notify me of them. +I want to make this the best etext edition possible for both +scholars and the general public. Haradda@aol.com and +davidr@inconnect.com are my email addresses for now. Please feel +free to send me your comments and I hope you enjoy this. + +David Reed + + + + + + + + + + +History Of The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire + +Edward Gibbon, Esq. + +With notes by the Rev. H. H. Milman + + + +Vol. 2 + + + +Chapter XVI: Conduct Towards The Christians, From Nero To +Constantine. + +Part I. + + Note: The sixteenth chapter I cannot help considering as a +very ingenious and specious, but very disgraceful extenuation of +the cruelties perpetrated by the Roman magistrates against the +Christians. It is written in the most contemptibly factious +spirit of prejudice against the sufferers; it is unworthy of a +philosopher and of humanity. Let the narrative of Cyprian's +death be examined. He had to relate the murder of an innocent +man of advanced age, and in a station deemed venerable by a +considerable body of the provincials of Africa, put to death +because he refused to sacrifice to Jupiter. Instead of pointing +the indignation of posterity against such an atrocious act of +tyranny, he dwells, with visible art, on the small circumstances +of decorum and politeness which attended this murder, and which +he relates with as much parade as if they were the most important +particulars of the event. + + The Conduct Of The Roman Government Towards The Christians, +From The Reign Of Nero To That Of Constantine. + + Dr. Robertson has been the subject of much blame for his +real or supposed lenity towards the Spanish murderers and tyrants +in America. That the sixteenth chapter of Mr. G. did not excite +the same or greater disapprobation, is a proof of the +unphilosophical and indeed fanatical animosity against +Christianity, which was so prevalent during the latter part of +the eighteenth century. - Mackintosh: see Life, i. p. 244, 245.] + + If we seriously consider the purity of the Christian +religion, the sanctity of its moral precepts, and the innocent as +well as austere lives of the greater number of those who during +the first ages embraced the faith of the gospel, we should +naturally suppose, that so benevolent a doctrine would have been +received with due reverence, even by the unbelieving world; that +the learned and the polite, however they may deride the miracles, +would have esteemed the virtues, of the new sect; and that the +magistrates, instead of persecuting, would have protected an +order of men who yielded the most passive obedience to the laws, +though they declined the active cares of war and government. If, +on the other hand, we recollect the universal toleration of +Polytheism, as it was invariably maintained by the faith of the +people, the incredulity of philosophers, and the policy of the +Roman senate and emperors, we are at a loss to discover what new +offence the Christians had committed, what new provocation could +exasperate the mild indifference of antiquity, and what new +motives could urge the Roman princes, who beheld without concern +a thousand forms of religion subsisting in peace under their +gentle sway, to inflict a severe punishment on any part of their +subjects, who had chosen for themselves a singular but an +inoffensive mode of faith and worship. + The religious policy of the ancient world seems to have +assumed a more stern and intolerant character, to oppose the +progress of Christianity. About fourscore years after the death +of Christ, his innocent disciples were punished with death by the +sentence of a proconsul of the most amiable and philosophic +character, and according to the laws of an emperor distinguished +by the wisdom and justice of his general administration. The +apologies which were repeatedly addressed to the successors of +Trajan are filled with the most pathetic complaints, that the +Christians, who obeyed the dictates, and solicited the liberty, +of conscience, were alone, among all the subjects of the Roman +empire, excluded from the common benefits of their auspicious +government. The deaths of a few eminent martyrs have been +recorded with care; and from the time that Christianity was +invested with the supreme power, the governors of the church have +been no less diligently employed in displaying the cruelty, than +in imitating the conduct, of their Pagan adversaries. To +separate (if it be possible) a few authentic as well as +interesting facts from an undigested mass of fiction and error, +and to relate, in a clear and rational manner, the causes, the +extent, the duration, and the most important circumstances of the +persecutions to which the first Christians were exposed, is the +design of the present chapter. ^* + +[Footnote *: The history of the first age of Christianity is only +found in the Acts of the Apostles, and in order to speak of the +first persecutions experienced by the Christians, that book +should naturally have been consulted; those persecutions, then +limited to individuals and to a narrow sphere, interested only +the persecuted, and have been related by them alone. Gibbon +making the persecutions ascend no higher than Nero, has entirely +omitted those which preceded this epoch, and of which St. Luke +has preserved the memory. The only way to justify this omission +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 well established as that of the Acts of the Apostles. (See +Lardner's Cred. of Gospel Hist. part iii.) It is therefore, +without sufficient reason, that Gibbon has maintained silence +concerning the narrative of St. Luke, and this omission is not +without importance. - G.] + + The sectaries of a persecuted religion, depressed by fear +animated with resentment, and perhaps heated by enthusiasm, are +seldom in a proper temper of mind calmly to investigate, or +candidly to appreciate, the motives of their enemies, which often +escape the impartial and discerning view even of those who are +placed at a secure distance from the flames of persecution. A +reason has been assigned for the conduct of the emperors towards +the primitive Christians, which may appear the more specious and +probable as it is drawn from the acknowledged genius of +Polytheism. It has already been observed, that the religious +concord of the world was principally supported by the implicit +assent and reverence which the nations of antiquity expressed for +their respective traditions and ceremonies. It might therefore +be expected, that they would unite with indignation against any +sect or people which should separate itself from the communion of +mankind, and claiming the exclusive possession of divine +knowledge, should disdain every form of worship, except its own, +as impious and idolatrous. The rights of toleration were held by +mutual indulgence: they were justly forfeited by a refusal of the +accustomed tribute. As the payment of this tribute was +inflexibly refused by the Jews, and by them alone, the +consideration of the treatment which they experienced from the +Roman magistrates, will serve to explain how far these +speculations are justified by facts, and will lead us to discover +the true causes of the persecution of Christianity. + + Without repeating what has already been mentioned of the +reverence of the Roman princes and governors for the temple of +Jerusalem, we shall only observe, that the destruction of the +temple and city was accompanied and followed by every +circumstance that could exasperate the minds of the conquerors, +and authorize religious persecution by the most specious +arguments of political justice and the public safety. From the +reign of Nero to that of Antoninus Pius, the Jews discovered a +fierce impatience of the dominion of Rome, which repeatedly broke +out in the most furious massacres and insurrections. Humanity is +shocked at the recital of the horrid cruelties which they +committed in the cities of Egypt, of Cyprus, and of Cyrene, where +they dwelt in treacherous friendship with the unsuspecting +natives; ^1 and we are tempted to applaud the severe retaliation +which was exercised by the arms of the legions against a race of +fanatics, whose dire and credulous superstition seemed to render +them the implacable enemies not only of the Roman government, but +of human kind. ^2 The enthusiasm of the Jews was supported by the +opinion, that it was unlawful for them to pay taxes to an +idolatrous master; and by the flattering promise which they +derived from their ancient oracles, that a conquering Messiah +would soon arise, destined to break their fetters, and to invest +the favorites of heaven with the empire of the earth. It was by +announcing himself as their long-expected deliverer, and by +calling on all the descendants of Abraham to assert the hope of +Israel, that the famous Barchochebas collected a formidable army, +with which he resisted during two years the power of the emperor +Hadrian. ^3 + +[Footnote 1: In Cyrene, they massacred 220,000 Greeks; in Cyprus, +240,000; in Egypt, a very great multitude. Many of these unhappy +victims were sawn asunder, according to a precedent to which +David had given the sanction of his example. The victorious Jews +devoured the flesh, licked up the blood, and twisted the entrails +like a girdle round their bodies. See Dion Cassius, l. lxviii. +p. 1145. + + Note: Some commentators, among them Reimar, in his notes on +Dion Cassius think that the hatred of the Romans against the Jews +has led the historian to exaggerate the cruelties committed by +the latter. Don. Cass. lxviii. p. 1146. - G.] + +[Footnote 2: Without repeating the well-known narratives of +Josephus, we may learn from Dion, (l. lxix. p. 1162,) that in +Hadrian's war 580,000 Jews were cut off by the sword, besides an +infinite number which perished by famine, by disease, and by +fire.] + +[Footnote 3: For the sect of the Zealots, see Basnage, Histoire +des Juifs, l. i. c. 17; 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.] + + Notwithstanding these repeated provocations, the resentment +of the Roman princes expired after the victory; nor were their +apprehensions continued beyond the period of war and danger. By +the general indulgence of polytheism, and by the mild temper of +Antoninus Pius, the Jews were restored to their ancient +privileges, and once more obtained the permission of circumcising +their children, with the easy restraint, that they should never +confer on any foreign proselyte that distinguishing mark of the +Hebrew race. ^4 The numerous remains of that people, though they +were still excluded from the precincts of Jerusalem, were +permitted to form and to maintain considerable establishments +both in Italy and in the provinces, to acquire the freedom of +Rome, to enjoy municipal honors, and to obtain at the same time +an exemption from the burdensome and expensive offices of +society. The moderation or the contempt of the Romans gave a +legal sanction to the form of ecclesiastical police which was +instituted by the vanquished sect. The patriarch, who had fixed +his residence at Tiberias, was empowered to appoint his +subordinate ministers and apostles, to exercise a domestic +jurisdiction, and to receive from his dispersed brethren an +annual contribution. ^5 New synagogues were frequently erected in +the principal cities of the empire; and the sabbaths, the fasts, +and the festivals, which were either commanded by the Mosaic law, +or enjoined by the traditions of the Rabbis, were celebrated in +the most solemn and public manner. ^6 Such gentle treatment +insensibly assuaged the stern temper of the Jews. Awakened from +their dream of prophecy and conquest, they assumed the behavior +of peaceable and industrious subjects. Their irreconcilable +hatred of mankind, instead of flaming out in acts of blood and +violence, evaporated in less dangerous gratifications. They +embraced every opportunity of overreaching the idolaters in +trade; and they pronounced secret and ambiguous imprecations +against the haughty kingdom of Edom. ^7 + +[Footnote 4: It is to Modestinus, a Roman lawyer (l. vi. +regular.) that we are indebted for a distinct knowledge of the +Edict of Antoninus. See Casaubon ad Hist. August. p. 27.] + +[Footnote 5: See Basnage, Histoire des Juifs, l. iii. c. 2, 3. +The office of Patriarch was suppressed by Theodosius the +younger.] + +[Footnote 6: We need only mention the Purim, or deliverance of +the Jews from he rage of Haman, which, till the reign of +Theodosius, was celebrated with insolent triumph and riotous +intemperance. Basnage, Hist. des Juifs, l. vi. c. 17, l. viii. +c. 6.] + +[Footnote 7: According to the false Josephus, Tsepho, the +grandson of Esau, conducted into Italy the army of Eneas, king of +Carthage. Another colony of Idumaeans, flying from the sword of +David, took refuge in the dominions of Romulus. For these, or +for other reasons of equal weight, the name of Edom was applied +by the Jews to the Roman empire. + + Note: The false Josephus is a romancer of very modern date, +though some of these legends are probably more ancient. It may +be worth considering whether many of the stories in the Talmud +are not history in a figurative disguise, adopted from prudence. +The Jews might dare to say many things of Rome, under the +significant appellation of Edom, which they feared to utter +publicly. Later and more ignorant ages took literally, and +perhaps embellished, what was intelligible among the generation +to which it was addressed. Hist. of Jews, iii. 131. + + The false Josephus has the inauguration of the emperor, with +the seven electors and apparently the pope assisting at the +coronation! Pref. page xxvi. - M.] + + Since the Jews, who rejected with abhorrence the deities +adored by their sovereign and by their fellow-subjects, enjoyed, +however, the free exercise of their unsocial religion, there must +have existed some other cause, which exposed the disciples of +Christ to those severities from which the posterity of Abraham +was exempt. The difference between them is simple and obvious; +but, according to the sentiments of antiquity, it was of the +highest importance. The Jews were a nation; the Christians were +a sect: and if it was natural for every community to respect the +sacred institutions of their neighbors, it was incumbent on them +to persevere 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 their lofty +claim of superior sanctity the Jews might provoke the Polytheists +to consider them as an odious and impure race. By disdaining the +intercourse of other nations, they might deserve their contempt. +The laws of Moses might be for the most part frivolous or absurd; +yet, since they had been received during many ages by a large +society, his followers were justified by the example of mankind; +and it was universally acknowledged, that they had a right to +practise what it would have been criminal in them to neglect. +But this principle, which protected the Jewish synagogue, +afforded not any favor or security to the primitive church. By +embracing the faith of the gospel, the Christians incurred the +supposed guilt of an unnatural and unpardonable offence. They +dissolved the sacred ties of custom and education, violated the +religious institutions of their country, and presumptuously +despised whatever their fathers had believed as true, or had +reverenced as sacred. Nor was this apostasy (if we may use the +expression) merely of a partial or local kind; since the pious +deserter who withdrew himself from the temples of Egypt or Syria, +would equally disdain to seek an asylum in those of Athens or +Carthage. Every Christian rejected with contempt the +superstitions of his family, his city, and his province. The +whole body of Christians unanimously refused to hold any +communion with the gods of Rome, of the empire, and of mankind. +It was in vain that the oppressed believer asserted the +inalienable rights of conscience and private judgment. Though +his situation might excite the pity, his arguments could never +reach the understanding, either of the philosophic or of the +believing part of the Pagan world. To their apprehensions, it +was no less a matter of surprise, that any individuals should +entertain scruples against complying with the established mode of +worship, than if they had conceived a sudden abhorrence to the +manners, the dress, or the language of their native country. ^8 +^* + +[Footnote 8: From the arguments of Celsus, as they are +represented and refuted by Origen, (l. v. p. 247 - 259,) we may +clearly discover the distinction that was made between the Jewish +people and the Christian sect. See, in the Dialogue of Minucius +Felix, (c. 5, 6,) a fair and not inelegant description of the +popular sentiments, with regard to the desertion of the +established worship.] + +[Footnote *: In all this there is doubtless much truth; yet does +not the more important difference lie on the surface? The +Christians made many converts the Jews but few. Had the Jewish +been equally a proselyting religion would it not have encountered +as violent persecution? - M.] + + The surprise of the Pagans was soon succeeded by resentment; +and the most pious of men were exposed to the unjust but +dangerous imputation of impiety. Malice and prejudice concurred +in representing the Christians as a society of atheists, who, by +the most daring attack on the religious constitution of the +empire, had merited the severest animadversion of the civil +magistrate. They had separated themselves (they gloried in the +confession) from every mode of superstition which was received in +any part of the globe by the various temper of polytheism: but it +was not altogether so evident what deity, or what form of +worship, they had substituted to the gods and temples of +antiquity. The pure and sublime idea which they entertained of +the Supreme Being escaped the gross conception of the Pagan +multitude, who were at a loss to discover a spiritual and +solitary God, that was neither represented under any corporeal +figure or visible symbol, nor was adored with the accustomed pomp +of libations and festivals, of altars and sacrifices. ^9 The +sages of Greece and Rome, who had elevated their minds to the +contemplation of the existence and attributes of the First Cause, +were induced by reason or by vanity to reserve for themselves and +their chosen disciples the privilege of this philosophical +devotion. ^10 They were far from admitting the prejudices of +mankind as the standard of truth, but they considered them as +flowing from the original disposition of human nature; and they +supposed that any popular mode of faith and worship which +presumed to disclaim the assistance of the senses, would, in +proportion as it receded from superstition, find itself incapable +of restraining the wanderings of the fancy, and the visions of +fanaticism. The careless glance which men of wit and learning +condescended to cast on the Christian revelation, served only to +confirm their hasty opinion, and to persuade them that the +principle, which they might have revered, of the Divine Unity, +was defaced by the wild enthusiasm, and annihilated by the airy +speculations, of the new sectaries. The author of a celebrated +dialogue, which has been attributed to Lucian, whilst he affects +to treat the mysterious subject of the Trinity in a style of +ridicule and contempt, betrays his own ignorance of the weakness +of human reason, and of the inscrutable nature of the divine +perfections. ^11 + +[Footnote 9: Cur 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 distinction in favor of the Jews, +who had once a temple, altars, victims, &c.] +[Footnote 10: It is difficult (says Plato) to attain, and +dangerous to publish, the knowledge of the true God. See the +Theologie des Philosophes, in the Abbe d'Olivet's French +translation of Tully de Natura Deorum, tom. i. p. 275.] + +[Footnote 11: The author of the Philopatris perpetually treats +the Christians as a company of dreaming enthusiasts, &c.; and in +one place he manifestly alludes to the vision in which St. Paul +was transported to the third heaven. In another place, Triephon, +who personates a Christian, after deriding the gods of Paganism, +proposes a mysterious oath.] + + It might appear less surprising, that the founder of +Christianity should not only be revered by his disciples as a +sage and a prophet, but that he should be adored as a God. The +Polytheists were disposed to adopt every article of faith, which +seemed to offer any resemblance, however distant or imperfect, +with the popular mythology; and the legends of Bacchus, of +Hercules, and of Aesculapius, had, in some measure, prepared +their imagination for the appearance of the Son of God under a +human form. ^12 But they were astonished that the Christians +should abandon the temples of those ancient heroes, who, in the +infancy of the world, had invented arts, instituted laws, and +vanquished the tyrants or monsters who infested the earth, in +order to choose for the exclusive object of their religious +worship an obscure teacher, who, in a recent age, and among a +barbarous people, had fallen a sacrifice either to the malice of +his own countrymen, or to the jealousy of the Roman government. +The Pagan multitude, reserving their gratitude for temporal +benefits alone, rejected the inestimable present of life and +immortality, which was offered to mankind by Jesus of Nazareth. +His mild constancy in the midst of cruel and voluntary +sufferings, his universal benevolence, and the sublime simplicity +of his actions and character, were insufficient, in the opinion +of those carnal men, to compensate for the want of fame, of +empire, and of success; and whilst they refused to acknowledge +his stupendous triumph over the powers of darkness and of the +grave, they misrepresented, or they insulted, the equivocal +birth, wandering life, and ignominious death, of the divine +Author of Christianity. ^13 + +[Footnote 12: According to Justin Martyr, (Apolog. Major, c. +70-85,) the daemon who had gained some imperfect knowledge of the +prophecies, purposely contrived this resemblance, which might +deter, though by different means, both the people and the +philosophers from embracing the faith of Christ.] +[Footnote 13: In the first and second books of Origen, Celsus +treats the birth and character of our Savior with the most +impious contempt. The orator Libanius praises Porphyry and +Julian for confuting the folly of a sect., which styles a dead +man of Palestine, God, and the Son of God. Socrates, Hist. +Ecclesiast. iii. 23.] + + The personal guilt which every Christian had contracted, in +thus preferring his private sentiment to the national religion, +was aggravated in a very high degree by the number and union of +the criminals. It is well known, and has been already observed, +that Roman policy viewed with the utmost jealousy and distrust +any association among its subjects; and that the privileges of +private corporations, though formed for the most harmless or +beneficial purposes, were bestowed with a very sparing hand. ^14 +The religious assemblies of the Christians who had separated +themselves from the public worship, appeared of a much less +innocent nature; they were illegal in their principle, and in +their consequences might become dangerous; nor were the emperors +conscious that they violated the laws of justice, when, for the +peace of society, they prohibited those secret and sometimes +nocturnal meetings. ^15 The pious disobedience of the Christians +made their conduct, or perhaps their designs, appear in a much +more serious and criminal light; and the Roman princes, who might +perhaps have suffered themselves to be disarmed by a ready +submission, deeming their honor concerned in the execution of +their commands, sometimes attempted, by rigorous punishments, to +subdue this independent spirit, which boldly acknowledged an +authority superior to that of the magistrate. The extent and +duration of this spiritual conspiracy seemed to render it +everyday more deserving of his animadversion. We have already +seen that the active and successful zeal of the Christians had +insensibly diffused them through every province and almost every +city of the empire. The new converts seemed to renounce their +family and country, that they might connect themselves in an +indissoluble band of union with a peculiar society, which every +where assumed a different character from the rest of mankind. +Their gloomy and austere aspect, their abhorrence of the common +business and pleasures of life, and their frequent predictions of +impending calamities, ^16 inspired the Pagans with the +apprehension of some danger, which would arise from the new sect, +the more alarming as it was the more obscure. "Whatever," says +Pliny, "may be the principle of their conduct, their inflexible +obstinacy appeared deserving of punishment." ^17 + +[Footnote 14: The emperor Trajan refused to incorporate a company +of 150 firemen, for the use of the city of Nicomedia. He +disliked all associations. See Plin. Epist. x. 42, 43.] + +[Footnote 15: The proconsul Pliny had published a general edict +against unlawful meetings. The prudence of the Christians +suspended their Agapae; but it was impossible for them to omit +the exercise of public worship.] +[Footnote 16: As the prophecies of the Antichrist, approaching +conflagration, &c., provoked those Pagans whom they did not +convert, they were mentioned with caution and reserve; and the +Montanists were censured for disclosing too freely the dangerous +secret. See Mosheim, 413.] + +[Footnote 17: Neque enim dubitabam, quodcunque esset quod +faterentur, (such are the words of Pliny,) pervicacian certe et +inflexibilem obstinationem lebere puniri.] + + The precautions with which the disciples of Christ performed +the offices of religion were at first dictated by fear and +necessity; but they were continued from choice. By imitating the +awful secrecy which reigned in the Eleusinian mysteries, the +Christians had flattered themselves that they should render their +sacred institutions more respectable in the eyes of the Pagan +world. ^18 But the event, as it often happens to the operations +of subtile policy, deceived their wishes and their expectations. +It was concluded, that they only concealed what they would have +blushed to disclose. Their mistaken prudence afforded an +opportunity for malice to invent, and for suspicious credulity to +believe, the horrid tales which described the Christians as the +most wicked of human kind, who practised in their dark recesses +every abomination that a depraved fancy could suggest, and who +solicited the favor of their unknown God by the sacrifice of +every moral virtue. There were many who pretended to confess or +to relate the ceremonies of this abhorred society. It was +asserted, "that a new-born infant, entirely covered over with +flour, was presented, like some mystic symbol of initiation, to +the knife of the proselyte, who unknowingly inflicted many a +secret and mortal wound on the innocent victim of his error; that +as soon as the cruel deed was perpetrated, the sectaries drank up +the blood, greedily tore asunder the quivering members, and +pledged themselves to eternal secrecy, by a mutual consciousness +of guilt. It was as confidently affirmed, that this inhuman +sacrifice was succeeded by a suitable entertainment, in which +intemperance served as a provocative to brutal lust; till, at the +appointed moment, the lights were suddenly extinguished, shame +was banished, nature was forgotten; and, as accident might +direct, the darkness of the night was polluted by the incestuous +commerce of sisters and brothers, of sons and of mothers." ^19 + +[Footnote 18: See Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History, vol. i. p. +101, and Spanheim, Remarques sur les Caesars de Julien, p. 468, +&c.] +[Footnote 19: See 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. The last of these writers +relates the accusation in the most elegant and circumstantial +manner. The answer of Tertullian is the boldest and most +vigorous.] + + But the perusal of the ancient apologies was sufficient to +remove even the slightest suspicion from the mind of a candid +adversary. The Christians, with the intrepid security of +innocence, appeal from the voice of rumor to the equity of the +magistrates. They acknowledge, that if any proof can be produced +of the crimes which calumny has imputed to them, they are worthy +of the most severe punishment. They provoke the punishment, and +they challenge the proof. At the same time they urge, with equal +truth and propriety, that the charge is not less devoid of +probability, than it is destitute of evidence; they ask, whether +any one can seriously believe that the pure and holy precepts of +the gospel, which so frequently restrain the use of the most +lawful enjoyments, should inculcate the practice of the most +abominable crimes; that a large society should resolve to +dishonor itself in the eyes of its own members; and that a great +number of persons of either sex, and every age and character, +insensible to the fear of death or infamy, should consent to +violate those principles which nature and education had imprinted +most deeply in their minds. ^20 Nothing, it should seem, could +weaken the force or destroy the effect of so unanswerable a +justification, unless it were the injudicious conduct of the +apologists themselves, who betrayed the common cause of religion, +to gratify their devout hatred to the domestic enemies of the +church. It was sometimes faintly insinuated, and sometimes +boldly asserted, that the same bloody sacrifices, and the same +incestuous festivals, which were so falsely ascribed to the +orthodox believers, were in reality celebrated by the +Marcionites, by the Carpocratians, and by several other sects of +the Gnostics, who, notwithstanding they might deviate into the +paths of heresy, were still actuated by the sentiments of men, +and still governed by the precepts of Christianity. ^21 +Accusations of a similar kind were retorted upon the church by +the schismatics who had departed from its communion, ^22 and it +was confessed on all sides, that the most scandalous +licentiousness of manners prevailed among great numbers of those +who affected the name of Christians. A Pagan magistrate, who +possessed neither leisure nor abilities to discern the almost +imperceptible line which divides the orthodox faith from +heretical pravity, might easily have imagined that their mutual +animosity had extorted the discovery of their common guilt. It +was fortunate for the repose, or at least for the reputation, of +the first Christians, that the magistrates sometimes proceeded +with more temper and moderation than is usually consistent with +religious zeal, and that they reported, as the impartial result +of their judicial inquiry, that the sectaries, who had deserted +the established worship, appeared to them sincere in their +professions, and blameless in their manners; however they might +incur, by their absurd and excessive superstition, the censure of +the laws. ^23 + +[Footnote 20: In the persecution of Lyons, some Gentile slaves +were compelled, by the fear of tortures, to accuse their +Christian master. The church of Lyons, writing to their brethren +of Asia, treat the horrid charge with proper indignation and +contempt. Euseb. Hist. Eccles. v. i.] + +[Footnote 21: See Justin Martyr, Apolog. i. 35. Irenaeus adv. +Haeres. i. 24. Clemens. Alexandrin. Stromat. l. iii. p. 438. +Euseb. iv. 8. It would be tedious and disgusting to relate all +that the succeeding writers have imagined, all that Epiphanius +has received, and all that Tillemont has copied. M. de Beausobre +(Hist. du Manicheisme, l. ix. c. 8, 9) has exposed, with great +spirit, the disingenuous arts of Augustin and Pope Leo I.] +[Footnote 22: When Tertullian became a Montanist, he aspersed the +morals of the church which he had so resolutely defended. "Sed +majoris est Agape, quia per hanc adolescentes tui cum sororibus +dormiunt, appendices scilicet gulae lascivia et luxuria." De +Jejuniis c. 17. The 85th canon of the council of Illiberis +provides against the scandals which too often polluted the vigils +of the church, and disgraced the Christian name in the eyes of +unbelievers.] +[Footnote 23: Tertullian (Apolog. c. 2) expatiates on the fair +and honorable testimony of Pliny, with much reason and some +declamation.] + +Chapter XVI: Conduct Towards The Christians, From Nero To +Constantine. + +Part II. + + History, which undertakes to record the transactions of the +past, for the instruction of future ages, would ill deserve that +honorable office, if she condescended to plead the cause of +tyrants, or to justify the maxims of persecution. It must, +however, be acknowledged, that the conduct of the emperors who +appeared the least favorable to the primitive church, is by no +means so criminal as that of modern sovereigns, who have employed +the arm of violence and terror against the religious opinions of +any part of their subjects. From their reflections, or even from +their own feelings, a Charles V. or a Lewis XIV. might have +acquired a just knowledge of the rights of conscience, of the +obligation of faith, and of the innocence of error. But the +princes and magistrates of ancient Rome were strangers to those +principles which inspired and authorized the inflexible obstinacy +of the Christians in the cause of truth, nor could they +themselves discover in their own breasts any motive which would +have prompted them to refuse a legal, and as it were a natural, +submission to the sacred institutions of their country. The same +reason which contributes to alleviate the guilt, must have tended +to abate the vigor, of their persecutions. As they were +actuated, not by the furious zeal of bigots, but by the temperate +policy of legislators, contempt must often have relaxed, and +humanity must frequently have suspended, the execution of those +laws which they enacted against the humble and obscure followers +of Christ. From the general view of their character and motives +we might naturally conclude: I. That a considerable time elapsed +before they considered the new sectaries as an object deserving +of the attention of government. II. That in the conviction of +any of their subjects who were accused of so very singular a +crime, they proceeded with caution and reluctance. III. That +they were moderate in the use of punishments; and, IV. That the +afflicted church enjoyed many intervals of peace and tranquility. +Notwithstanding the careless indifference which the most copious +and the most minute of the Pagan writers have shown to the +affairs of the Christians, ^24 it may still be in our power to +confirm each of these probable suppositions, by the evidence of +authentic facts. + +[Footnote 24: In the various compilation of the Augustan History, +(a part of which was composed under the reign of Constantine,) +there are not six lines which relate to the Christians; nor has +the diligence of Xiphilin discovered their name in the large +history of Dion Cassius. + + Note: The greater part of the Augustan History is dedicated +to Diocletian. This may account for the silence of its authors +concerning Christianity. The notices that occur are almost all +in the lives composed under the reign of Constantine. It may +fairly be concluded, from the language which he had into the +mouth of Maecenas, that Dion was an enemy to all innovations in +religion. (See Gibbon, infra, note 105.) In fact, when the +silence of Pagan historians is noticed, it should be remembered +how meagre and mutilated are all the extant histories of the +period -M.] + + 1. By the wise dispensation of Providence, a mysterious veil +was cast over the infancy of the church, which, till the faith of +the Christians was matured, and their numbers were multiplied, +served to protect them not only from the malice but even from the +knowledge of the Pagan world. The slow and gradual abolition of +the Mosaic ceremonies afforded a safe and innocent disguise to +the more early proselytes of the gospel. As they were, for the +greater part, of the race of Abraham, they were distinguished by +the peculiar mark of circumcision, offered up their devotions in +the Temple of Jerusalem till its final destruction, and received +both the Law and the Prophets as the genuine inspirations of the +Deity. The Gentile converts, who by a spiritual adoption had +been associated to the hope of Israel, were likewise confounded +under the garb and appearance of Jews, ^25 and as the Polytheists +paid less regard to articles of faith than to the external +worship, the new sect, which carefully concealed, or faintly +announced, its future greatness and ambition, was permitted to +shelter itself under the general toleration which was granted to +an ancient and celebrated people in the Roman empire. It was not +long, perhaps, before the Jews themselves, animated with a +fiercer zeal and a more jealous faith, perceived the gradual +separation of their Nazarene brethren from the doctrine of the +synagogue; and they would gladly have extinguished the dangerous +heresy in the blood of its adherents. But the decrees of Heaven +had already disarmed their malice; and though they might +sometimes exert the licentious privilege of sedition, they no +longer possessed the administration of criminal justice; nor did +they find it easy to infuse into the calm breast of a Roman +magistrate the rancor of their own zeal and prejudice. The +provincial governors declared themselves ready to listen to any +accusation that might affect the public safety; but as soon as +they were informed that it was a question not of facts but of +words, a dispute relating only to the interpretation of the +Jewish laws and prophecies, they deemed it unworthy of the +majesty of Rome seriously to discuss the obscure differences +which might arise among a barbarous and superstitious people. +The innocence of the first Christians was protected by ignorance +and contempt; and the tribunal of the Pagan magistrate often +proved their most assured refuge against the fury of the +synagogue. ^26 If indeed we were disposed to adopt the traditions +of a too credulous antiquity, we might relate the distant +peregrinations, the wonderful achievements, and the various +deaths of the twelve apostles: but a more accurate inquiry will +induce us to doubt, whether any of those persons who had been +witnesses to the miracles of Christ were permitted, beyond the +limits of Palestine, to seal with their blood the truth of their +testimony. ^27 From the ordinary term of human life, it may very +naturally be presumed that most of them were deceased before the +discontent of the Jews broke out into that furious war, which was +terminated only by the ruin of Jerusalem. During a long period, +from the death of Christ to that memorable rebellion, we cannot +discover any traces of Roman intolerance, unless they are to be +found in the sudden, the transient, but the cruel persecution, +which was exercised by Nero against the Christians of the +capital, thirty-five years after the former, and only two years +before the latter, of those great events. The character of the +philosophic historian, to whom we are principally indebted for +the knowledge of this singular transaction, would alone be +sufficient to recommend it to our most attentive consideration. + +[Footnote 25: An obscure passage of Suetonius (in Claud. c. 25) +may seem to offer a proof how strangely the Jews and Christians +of Rome were confounded with each other.] + +[Footnote 26: See, in the xviiith and xxvth chapters of the Acts +of the Apostles, the behavior of Gallio, proconsul of Achaia, and +of Festus, procurator of Judea.] + +[Footnote 27: In the time of Tertullian and Clemens of +Alexandria, the glory of martyrdom was confined to St. Peter, St. +Paul, and St. James. It was gradually bestowed on the rest of +the apostles, by the more recent Greeks, who prudently selected +for the theatre of their preaching and sufferings some remote +country beyond the limits of the Roman empire. See Mosheim, p. +81; and Tillemont, Memoires Ecclesiastiques, tom. i. part iii.] + + In the tenth year of the reign of Nero, the capital of the +empire was afflicted by a fire which raged beyond the memory or +example of former ages. ^28 The monuments of Grecian art and of +Roman virtue, the trophies of the Punic and Gallic wars, the most +holy temples, and the most splendid palaces, were involved in one +common destruction. Of the fourteen regions or quarters into +which Rome was divided, four only subsisted entire, three were +levelled with the ground, and the remaining seven, which had +experienced the fury of the flames, displayed a melancholy +prospect of ruin and desolation. The vigilance of government +appears not to have neglected any of the precautions which might +alleviate the sense of so dreadful a calamity. The Imperial +gardens were thrown open to the distressed multitude, temporary +buildings were erected for their accommodation, and a plentiful +supply of corn and provisions was distributed at a very moderate +price. ^29 The most generous policy seemed to have dictated the +edicts which regulated the disposition of the streets and the +construction of private houses; and as it usually happens, in an +age of prosperity, the conflagration of Rome, in the course of a +few years, produced a new city, more regular and more beautiful +than the former. But all the prudence and humanity affected by +Nero on this occasion were insufficient to preserve him from the +popular suspicion. Every crime might be imputed to the assassin +of his wife and mother; nor could the prince who prostituted his +person and dignity on the theatre be deemed incapable of the most +extravagant folly. The voice of rumor accused the emperor as the +incendiary of his own capital; and as the most incredible stories +are the best adapted to the genius of an enraged people, it was +gravely reported, and firmly believed, that Nero, enjoying the +calamity which he had occasioned, amused himself with singing to +his lyre the destruction of ancient Troy. ^30 To divert a +suspicion, which the power of despotism was unable to suppress, +the emperor resolved to substitute in his own place some +fictitious criminals. "With this view," continues Tacitus, "he +inflicted the most exquisite tortures on those men, who, under +the vulgar appellation of Christians, were already branded with +deserved infamy. They derived their name and origin from Christ, +who in the reign of Tiberius had suffered death by the sentence +of the procurator Pontius Pilate. ^31 For a while this dire +superstition was checked; but it again burst forth; ^* and not +only spread itself over Judaea, the first seat of this +mischievous sect, but was even introduced into Rome, the common +asylum which receives and protects whatever is impure, whatever +is atrocious. The confessions of those who were seized +discovered a great multitude of their accomplices, and they were +all convicted, not so much for the crime of setting fire to the +city, as for their hatred of human kind. ^32 They died in +torments, and their torments were imbittered by insult and +derision. Some were nailed on crosses; others sewn up in the +skins of wild beasts, and exposed to the fury of dogs; others +again, smeared over with combustible materials, were used as +torches to illuminate the darkness of the night. The gardens of +Nero were destined for the melancholy spectacle, which was +accompanied with a horse-race and honored with the presence of +the emperor, who mingled with the populace in the dress and +attitude of a charioteer. The guilt of the Christians deserved +indeed the most exemplary punishment, but the public abhorrence +was changed into commiseration, from the opinion that those +unhappy wretches were sacrificed, not so much to the public +welfare, as to the cruelty of a jealous tyrant." ^33 Those who +survey with a curious eye the revolutions of mankind, may +observe, that the gardens and circus of Nero on the Vatican, +which were polluted with the blood of the first Christians, have +been rendered still more famous by the triumph and by the abuse +of the persecuted religion. On the same spot, ^34 a temple, +which far surpasses the ancient glories of the Capitol, has been +since erected by the Christian Pontiffs, who, deriving their +claim of universal dominion from an humble fisherman of Galilee, +have succeeded to the throne of the Caesars, given laws to the +barbarian conquerors of Rome, and extended their spiritual +jurisdiction from the coast of the Baltic to the shores of the +Pacific Ocean. + +[Footnote 28: Tacit. Annal. xv. 38 - 44. Sueton in Neron. c. 38. +Dion Cassius, l. lxii. p. 1014. Orosius, vii. 7.] + +[Footnote 29: The price of wheat (probably of the modius,) was +reduced as low as terni Nummi; which would be equivalent to about +fifteen shillings the English quarter.] + +[Footnote 30: We may observe, that the rumor is mentioned by +Tacitus with a very becoming distrust and hesitation, whilst it +is greedily transcribed by Suetonius, and solemnly confirmed by +Dion.] + +[Footnote 31: This testimony is alone sufficient to expose the +anachronism of the 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, (Antiquitat. xviii. 3,) that the +procuratorship of Pilate corresponded with the last ten years of +Tiberius, A. D. 27 - 37. As to the particular time of the death +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 know not from what conjectures) +four years later.] + +[Footnote *: This single phrase, Repressa in praesens exitiabilis +superstitio rursus erumpebat, proves that the Christians had +already attracted the attention of the government; and that Nero +was not the first to persecute them. I am surprised that more +stress has not been laid on the confirmation which the Acts of +the Apostles derive from these words of Tacitus, Repressa in +praesens, and rursus erumpebat. - G. + + I have been unwilling to suppress this note, but surely the +expression of Tacitus refers to the expected extirpation of the +religion by the death of its founder, Christ. - M.] + +[Footnote 32: Odio humani generis convicti. These words may +either signify the hatred of mankind towards the Christians, or +the hatred of the Christians towards mankind. I have preferred +the latter sense, as the most agreeable to the style of Tacitus, +and to the popular error, of which a precept of the gospel (see +Luke xiv. 26) had been, perhaps, the innocent occasion. My +interpretation is justified by the authority of Lipsius; of the +Italian, the French, and the English translators of Tacitus; of +Mosheim, (p. 102,) of Le Clerc, (Historia Ecclesiast. p. 427,) of +Dr. Lardner, (Testimonies, vol. i. p. 345,) and of the Bishop of +Gloucester, (Divine Legation, vol. iii. p. 38.) But as the word +convicti does not unite very happily with the rest of the +sentence, James Gronovius has preferred the reading of conjuncti, +which is authorized by the valuable MS. of Florence.] + +[Footnote 33: Tacit. Annal xv. 44.] + +[Footnote 34: Nardini Roma Antica, p. 487. Donatus de Roma +Antiqua, l. iii. p. 449.] + + But it would be improper to dismiss this account of Nero's +persecution, till we have made some observations that may serve +to remove the difficulties with which it is perplexed, and to +throw some light on the subsequent history of the church. + + 1. The most sceptical criticism is obliged to respect the +truth of this extraordinary fact, and the integrity of this +celebrated passage of Tacitus. The former is confirmed by the +diligent and accurate Suetonius, who mentions the punishment +which Nero inflicted on the Christians, a sect of men who had +embraced a new and criminal superstition. ^35 The latter may be +proved by the consent of the most ancient manuscripts; by the +inimitable character of the style of Tacitus by his reputation, +which guarded his text from the interpolations of pious fraud; +and by the purport of his narration, which accused the first +Christians of the most atrocious crimes, without insinuating that +they possessed any miraculous or even magical powers above the +rest of mankind. ^36 2. Notwithstanding it is probable that +Tacitus was born some years before the fire of Rome, ^37 he could +derive only from reading and conversation the knowledge of an +event which happened during his infancy. Before he gave himself +to the public, he calmly waited till his genius had attained its +full maturity, and he was more than forty years of age, when a +grateful regard for the memory of the virtuous Agricola extorted +from him the most early of those historical compositions which +will delight and instruct the most distant posterity. After +making a trial of his strength in the life of Agricola and the +description of Germany, he conceived, and at length executed, a +more arduous work; the history of Rome, in thirty books, from the +fall of Nero to the accession of Nerva. The administration of +Nerva introduced an age of justice and propriety, which Tacitus +had destined for the occupation of his old age; ^38 but when he +took a nearer view of his subject, judging, perhaps, that it was +a more honorable or a less invidious office to record the vices +of past tyrants, than to celebrate the virtues of a reigning +monarch, he chose rather to relate, under the form of annals, the +actions of the four immediate successors of Augustus. To +collect, to dispose, and to adorn a series of fourscore years, in +an immortal work, every sentence of which is pregnant with the +deepest observations and the most lively images, was an +undertaking sufficient to exercise the genius of Tacitus himself +during the greatest part of his life. In the last years of the +reign of Trajan, whilst the victorious monarch extended the power +of Rome beyond its ancient limits, the historian was describing, +in the second and fourth books of his annals, the tyranny of +Tiberius; ^39 and the emperor Hadrian must have succeeded to the +throne, before Tacitus, in the regular prosecution of his work, +could relate the fire of the capital, and the cruelty of Nero +towards the unfortunate Christians. At the distance of sixty +years, it was the duty of the annalist to adopt the narratives of +contemporaries; but it was natural for the philosopher to indulge +himself in the description of the origin, the progress, and the +character of the new sect, not so much according to the knowledge +or prejudices of the age of Nero, as according to those of the +time of Hadrian. 3 Tacitus very frequently trusts to the +curiosity or reflection of his readers to supply those +intermediate circumstances and ideas, which, in his extreme +conciseness, he has thought proper to suppress. We may therefore +presume to imagine some probable cause which could direct the +cruelty of Nero against the Christians of Rome, whose obscurity, +as well as innocence, should have shielded them from his +indignation, and even from his notice. The Jews, who were +numerous in the capital, and oppressed in their own country, were +a much fitter object for the suspicions of the emperor and of the +people: nor did it seem unlikely that a vanquished nation, who +already discovered their abhorrence of the Roman yoke, might have +recourse to the most atrocious means of gratifying their +implacable revenge. But the 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 of Abraham, who had already employed their +intercession in behalf of the obnoxious people. ^40 In their room +it was necessary to offer some other victims, and it might easily +be suggested that, although the genuine followers of Moses were +innocent of the fire of Rome, there had arisen among them a new +and pernicious sect of Galilaeans, which was capable of the most +horrid crimes. Under the appellation of Galilaeans, two +distinctions of men were confounded, the most opposite to each +other in their manners and principles; the disciples who had +embraced the faith of Jesus of Nazareth, ^41 and the zealots who +had followed the standard of Judas the Gaulonite. ^42 The former +were the friends, the latter were the enemies, of human kind; and +the only resemblance between them consisted in the same +inflexible constancy, which, in the defence of their cause, +rendered them insensible of death and tortures. The followers of +Judas, who impelled their countrymen into rebellion, were soon +buried under the ruins of Jerusalem; whilst those of Jesus, known +by the more celebrated name of Christians, diffused themselves +over the Roman empire. How natural was it for Tacitus, in the +time of Hadrian, to appropriate to the Christians the guilt and +the sufferings, ^* which he might, with far greater truth and +justice, have attributed to a sect whose odious memory was almost +extinguished! 4. Whatever opinion may be entertained of this +conjecture, (for it is no more than a conjecture,) it is evident +that the effect, as well as the cause, of Nero's persecution, was +confined to the walls of Rome, ^43 ^! that the religious tenets +of the Galilaeans or Christians, were never made a subject of +punishment, or even of inquiry; and that, as the idea of their +sufferings was for a long time connected with the idea of cruelty +and injustice, the moderation of succeeding princes inclined them +to spare a sect, oppressed by a tyrant, whose rage had been +usually directed against virtue and innocence. + +[Footnote 35: Sueton. in Nerone, c. 16. The epithet of malefica, +which some sagacious commentators have translated magical, is +considered by the more rational Mosheim as only synonymous to the +exitiabilis of Tacitus.] +[Footnote 36: The passage concerning Jesus Christ, which was +inserted into the text of Josephus, between the time of Origen +and that of Eusebius, may furnish an example of no vulgar +forgery. The accomplishment of the prophecies, the virtues, +miracles, and resurrection of Jesus, are distinctly related. +Josephus acknowledges that he was the Messiah, and hesitates +whether he should call him a man. If any doubt can still remain +concerning this celebrated passage, the reader may examine the +pointed objections of Le Fevre, (Havercamp. Joseph. tom. ii. p. +267-273, the labored answers of Daubuz, (p. 187-232, and the +masterly reply (Bibliotheque Ancienne et Moderne, tom. vii. p. +237-288) of an anonymous critic, whom I believe to have been the +learned Abbe de Longuerue. + + Note: The modern editor of Eusebius, Heinichen, has adopted, +and ably supported, a notion, which had before suggested itself +to the editor, that this passage is not altogether a forgery, but +interpolated with many additional clauses. Heinichen has +endeavored to disengage the original text from the foreign and +more recent matter. - M.] + +[Footnote 37: See the lives of Tacitus by Lipsius and the Abbe de +la Bleterie, Dictionnaire de Bayle a l'article Particle Tacite, +and Fabricius, Biblioth. Latin tem. Latin. tom. ii. p. 386, edit. +Ernest. Ernst.] + +[Footnote 38: Principatum Divi Nervae, et imperium Trajani, +uberiorem, securioremque materiam senectuti seposui. Tacit. +Hist. i.] +[Footnote 39: See Tacit. Annal. ii. 61, iv. 4. + + Note: The perusal of this passage of Tacitus alone is +sufficient, as I have already said, to show that the Christian +sect was not so obscure as not already to have been repressed, +(repressa,) and that it did not pass for innocent in the eyes of +the Romans. - G.] + +[Footnote 40: The player's name was Aliturus. Through the same +channel, Josephus, (de vita sua, c. 2,) about two years before, +had obtained the pardon and release of some Jewish priests, who +were prisoners at Rome.] +[Footnote 41: The learned Dr. Lardner (Jewish and Heathen +Testimonies, vol ii. p. 102, 103) has proved that the name of +Galilaeans was a very ancient, and perhaps the primitive +appellation of the Christians.] + +[Footnote 42: Joseph. Antiquitat. xviii. 1, 2. Tillemont, Ruine +des Juifs, p. 742 The sons of Judas were crucified in the time of +Claudius. His grandson Eleazar, after Jerusalem was taken, +defended a strong fortress with 960 of his most desperate +followers. When the battering ram had made a breach, they turned +their swords against their wives their children, and at length +against their own breasts. They dies to the last man. + +[Footnote *: This conjecture is entirely devoid, not merely of +verisimilitude, but even of possibility. Tacitus could not be +deceived in appropriating to the Christians of Rome the guilt and +the sufferings which he might have attributed with far greater +truth to the followers of Judas the Gaulonite, for the latter +never went to Rome. Their revolt, their attempts, their +opinions, their wars, their punishment, had no other theatre but +Judaea (Basn. Hist. des. Juifs, t. i. p. 491.) Moreover the name +of Christians had long been given in Rome to the disciples of +Jesus; and Tacitus affirms too positively, refers too distinctly +to its etymology, to allow us to suspect any mistake on his part. +- G. + + M. Guizot's expressions are not in the least too strong +against this strange imagination of Gibbon; it may be doubted +whether the followers of Judas were known as a sect under the +name of Galilaeans. - M.] +[Footnote 43: See Dodwell. Paucitat. Mart. l. xiii. The Spanish +Inscription in Gruter. p. 238, No. 9, is a manifest and +acknowledged forgery contrived by that noted imposter. Cyriacus +of Ancona, to flatter the pride and prejudices of the Spaniards. +See Ferreras, Histoire D'Espagne, tom. i. p. 192.] +[Footnote !: M. Guizot, on the authority of Sulpicius Severus, +ii. 37, and of Orosius, viii. 5, inclines to the opinion of those +who extend the persecution to the provinces. Mosheim rather +leans to that side on this much disputed question, (c. xxxv.) +Neander takes the view of Gibbon, which is in general that of the +most learned writers. There is indeed no evidence, which I can +discover, of its reaching the provinces; and the apparent +security, at least as regards his life, with which St. Paul +pursued his travels during this period, affords at least a strong +inference against a rigid and general inquisition against the +Christians in other parts of the empire. - M.] + It is somewhat remarkable that the flames of war consumed, +almost at the same time, the temple of Jerusalem and the Capitol +of Rome; ^44 and it appears no less singular, that the tribute +which devotion had destined to the former, should have been +converted by the power of an assaulting victor to restore and +adorn the splendor of the latter. ^45 The emperors levied a +general capitation tax on the Jewish people; and although the sum +assessed on the head of each individual was inconsiderable, the +use for which it was designed, and the severity with which it was +exacted, were considered as an intolerable grievance. ^46 Since +the officers of the revenue extended their unjust claim to many +persons who were strangers to the blood or religion of the Jews, +it was impossible that the Christians, who had so often sheltered +themselves under the shade of the synagogue, should now escape +this rapacious persecution. Anxious as they were to avoid the +slightest infection of idolatry, their conscience forbade them to +contribute to the honor of that daemon who had assumed the +character of the Capitoline Jupiter. As a very numerous though +declining party among the Christians still adhered to the law of +Moses, their efforts to dissemble their Jewish origin were +detected by the decisive test of circumcision; ^47 nor were the +Roman magistrates at leisure to inquire into the difference of +their religious tenets. Among the Christians who were brought +before the tribunal of the emperor, or, as it seems more +probable, before that of the procurator of Judaea, two persons +are said to have appeared, distinguished by their extraction, +which was more truly noble than that of the greatest monarchs. +These were the grandsons of St. Jude the apostle, who himself was +the brother of Jesus Christ. ^48 Their natural pretensions to the +throne of David might perhaps attract the respect of the people, +and excite the jealousy of the governor; but the meanness of +their garb, and the simplicity of their answers, soon convinced +him that they were neither desirous nor capable of disturbing the +peace of the Roman empire. They frankly confessed their royal +origin, and their near relation to the Messiah; but they +disclaimed any temporal views, and professed that his kingdom, +which they devoutly expected, was purely of a spiritual and +angelic nature. When they were examined concerning their fortune +and occupation, they showed their hands, hardened with daily +labor, and declared that they derived their whole subsistence +from the cultivation of a farm near the village of Cocaba, of the +extent of about twenty-four English acres, ^49 and of the value +of nine thousand drachms, or three hundred pounds sterling. The +grandsons of St. Jude were dismissed with compassion and +contempt. ^50 + +[Footnote 44: The Capitol was burnt during the civil war between +Vitellius and Vespasian, the 19th of December, A. D. 69. On the +10th of August, A. D. 70, the temple of Jerusalem was destroyed +by the hands of the Jews themselves, rather than by those of the +Romans.] + +[Footnote 45: The new Capitol was dedicated by Domitian. Sueton. +in Domitian. c. 5. Plutarch in Poplicola, tom. i. p. 230, edit. +Bryant. The gilding alone cost 12,000 talents (above two +millions and a half.) It was the opinion of 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 Olympus, +would have been unable to pay two shillings in the pound.] + +[Footnote 46: With regard to the tribute, see Dion Cassius, l. +lxvi. p. 1082, with Reimarus's notes. Spanheim, de Usu +Numismatum, tom. ii. p. 571; and Basnage, Histoire des Juifs, l. +vii. c. 2.] + +[Footnote 47: Suetonius (in Domitian. c. 12) had seen an old man +of ninety publicly examined before the procurator's tribunal. +This is what Martial calls, Mentula tributis damnata.] + +[Footnote 48: This appellation was at first understood in the +most obvious sense, and it was supposed, that the brothers of +Jesus were the lawful issue of Joseph and Mary. A devout respect +for the virginity of the mother of God suggested to the Gnostics, +and afterwards to the orthodox Greeks, the expedient of bestowing +a second wife on Joseph. The Latins (from the time of Jerome) +improved on that hint, asserted the perpetual celibacy of Joseph, +and justified by many similar examples the new interpretation +that Jude, as well as Simon and James, who were styled the +brothers of Jesus Christ, were only his first cousins. See +Tillemont, Mem. Ecclesiat. tom. i. part iii.: and Beausobre, +Hist. Critique du Manicheisme, l. ii. c. 2.] + +[Footnote 49: Thirty-nine, squares of a hundred feet each, which, +if strictly computed, would scarcely amount to nine acres.] + +[Footnote 50: Eusebius, iii. 20. The story is taken from +Hegesippus.] + But although the obscurity of the house of David might +protect them from the suspicions of a tyrant, the present +greatness of his own family alarmed the pusillanimous temper of +Domitian, which could only be appeased by the blood of those +Romans whom he either feared, or hated, or esteemed. Of the two +sons of his uncle Flavius Sabinus, ^51 the elder was soon +convicted of treasonable intentions, and the younger, who bore +the name of Flavius Clemens, was indebted for his safety to his +want of courage and ability. ^52 The emperor for a long time, +distinguished so harmless a kinsman by his favor and protection, +bestowed on him his own niece Domitilla, adopted the children of +that marriage to the hope of the succession, and invested their +father with the honors of the consulship. + +[Footnote 51: See the death and character of Sabinus in Tacitus, +(Hist. iii. 74 ) Sabinus was the elder brother, and, till the +accession of Vespasian, had been considered as the principal +support of the Flavium family] +[Footnote 52: Flavium Clementem patruelem suum contemptissimoe +inertice . . ex tenuissima suspicione interemit. Sueton. in +Domitian. c. 15.] + But he had scarcely finished the term of his annual +magistracy, when, on a slight pretence, he was condemned and +executed; Domitilla was banished to a desolate island on the +coast of Campania; ^53 and sentences either of death or of +confiscation were pronounced against a great number of who were +involved in the same accusation. The guilt imputed to their +charge was that of Atheism and Jewish manners; ^54 a singular +association of ideas, which cannot with any propriety be applied +except to the Christians, as they were obscurely and imperfectly +viewed by the magistrates and by the writers of that period. On +the strength of so probable an interpretation, and too eagerly +admitting the suspicions of a tyrant as an evidence of their +honorable crime, the church has placed both Clemens and Domitilla +among its first martyrs, and has branded the cruelty of Domitian +with the name of the second persecution. But this persecution +(if it deserves that epithet) was of no long duration. A few +months after the death of Clemens, and the banishment of +Domitilla, Stephen, a freedman belonging to the latter, who had +enjoyed the favor, but who had not surely embraced the faith, of +his mistress, ^* assassinated the emperor in his palace. ^55 The +memory of Domitian was condemned by the senate; his acts were +rescinded; his exiles recalled; and under the gentle +administration of Nerva, while the innocent were restored to +their rank and fortunes, even the most guilty either obtained +pardon or escaped punishment. ^56 + +[Footnote 53: The Isle of Pandataria, according to Dion. +Bruttius Praesens (apud Euseb. iii. 18) banishes her to that of +Pontia, which was not far distant from the other. That +difference, and a mistake, either of Eusebius or of his +transcribers, have given occasion to suppose two Domitillas, the +wife and the niece of Clemens. See Tillemont, Memoires +Ecclesiastiques, tom. ii. p. 224.] + +[Footnote 54: Dion. l. lxvii. p. 1112. If the Bruttius Praesens, +from whom it is probable that he collected this account, was the +correspondent of Pliny, (Epistol. vii. 3,) we may consider him as +a contemporary writer.] +[Footnote *: This is an uncandid sarcasm. There is nothing to +connect Stephen with the religion of Domitilla. He was a knave +detected in the malversation of money - interceptarum pecuniaram +reus. - M.] + +[Footnote 55: Suet. in Domit. c. 17. Philostratus in Vit. +Apollon. l. viii.] +[Footnote 56: Dion. l. lxviii. p. 1118. Plin. Epistol. iv. 22.] + II. About ten years afterwards, under the reign of Trajan, +the younger Pliny was intrusted by his friend and master with the +government of Bithynia and Pontus. He soon found himself at a +loss to determine by what rule of justice or of law he should +direct his conduct in the execution of an office the most +repugnant to his humanity. Pliny had never assisted at any +judicial proceedings against the Christians, with whose name +alone he seems to be acquainted; and he was totally uninformed +with regard to the nature of their guilt, the method of their +conviction, and the degree of their punishment. In this +perplexity he had recourse to his usual expedient, of submitting +to the wisdom of Trajan an impartial, and, in some respects, a +favorable account of the new superstition, requesting the +emperor, that he would condescend to resolve his doubts, and to +instruct his ignorance. ^57 The life of Pliny had been employed +in the acquisition of learning, and in the business of the world. + +Since the age of nineteen he had pleaded with distinction in the +tribunals of Rome, ^58 filled a place in the senate, had been +invested with the honors of the consulship, and had formed very +numerous connections with every order of men, both in Italy and +in the provinces. From his ignorance therefore we may derive +some useful information. We may assure ourselves, that when he +accepted the government of Bithynia, there were no general laws +or decrees of the senate in force against the Christians; that +neither Trajan nor any of his virtuous predecessors, whose edicts +were received into the civil and criminal jurisprudence, had +publicly declared their intentions concerning the new sect; and +that whatever proceedings had been carried on against the +Christians, there were none of sufficient weight and authority to +establish a precedent for the conduct of a Roman magistrate. +[Footnote 57: Plin. Epistol. x. 97. The learned Mosheim +expresses himself (p. 147, 232) with the highest approbation of +Pliny's moderate and candid temper. Notwithstanding Dr. Lardner's +suspicions (see Jewish and Heathen Testimonies, vol. ii. p. 46,) +I am unable to discover any bigotry in his language or +proceedings. + + Note: Yet the humane Pliny put two female attendants, +probably deaconesses to the torture, in order to ascertain the +real nature of these suspicious meetings: necessarium credidi, ex +duabus ancillis, quae ministrae dicebantor quid asset veri et per +tormenta quaerere. - M.] +[Footnote 58: Plin. Epist. v. 8. He pleaded his first cause A. +D. 81; the year after the famous eruptions of Mount Vesuvius, in +which his uncle lost his life.] + +Chapter XVI: Conduct Towards The Christians, From Nero To +Constantine. + +Part III. + + The answer of Trajan, to which the Christians of the +succeeding age have frequently appealed, discovers as much regard +for justice and humanity as could be reconciled with his mistaken +notions of religious policy. ^59 Instead of displaying the +implacable zeal of an inquisitor, anxious to discover the most +minute particles of heresy, and exulting in the number of his +victims, the emperor expresses much more solicitude to protect +the security of the innocent, than to prevent the escape of the +guilty. He acknowledged the difficulty of fixing any general +plan; but he lays down two salutary rules, which often afforded +relief and support to the distressed Christians. Though he +directs the magistrates to punish such persons as are legally +convicted, he prohibits them, with a very humane inconsistency, +from making any inquiries concerning the supposed criminals. Nor +was the magistrate allowed to proceed on every kind of +information. Anonymous charges the emperor rejects, as too +repugnant to the equity of his government; and he strictly +requires, for the conviction of those to whom the guilt of +Christianity is imputed, the positive evidence of a fair and open +accuser. It is likewise probable, that the persons who assumed +so invidiuous an office, were obliged to declare the grounds of +their suspicions, to specify (both in respect to time and place) +the secret assemblies, which their Christian adversary had +frequented, and to disclose a great number of circumstances, +which were concealed with the most vigilant jealousy from the eye +of the profane. If they succeeded in their prosecution, they +were exposed to the resentment of a considerable and active +party, to the censure of the more liberal portion of mankind, and +to the ignominy which, in every age and country, has attended the +character of an informer. If, on the contrary, they failed in +their proofs, they incurred the severe and perhaps capital +penalty, which, according to a law published by the emperor +Hadrian, was inflicted on those who falsely attributed to their +fellow-citizens the crime of Christianity. The violence of +personal or superstitious animosity might sometimes prevail over +the most natural apprehensions of disgrace and danger but it +cannot surely be imagined, that accusations of so unpromising an +appearance were either lightly or frequently undertaken by the +Pagan subjects of the Roman empire. ^60 ^* +[Footnote 59: Plin. Epist. x. 98. Tertullian (Apolog. c. 5) +considers this rescript as a relaxation of the ancient penal +laws, "quas Trajanus exparte frustratus est: " and yet +Tertullian, in another part of his Apology, exposes the +inconsistency of prohibiting inquiries, and enjoining +punishments.] +[Footnote 60: Eusebius (Hist. Ecclesiast. l. iv. c. 9) has +preserved the edict of Hadrian. He has likewise (c. 13) given us +one still more favorable, under the name of Antoninus; the +authenticity of which is not so universally allowed. The second +Apology of Justin contains some curious particulars relative to +the accusations of Christians. + + Note: Professor Hegelmayer has proved the authenticity of +the edict of Antoninus, in his Comm. Hist. Theol. in Edict. Imp. +Antonini. Tubing. 1777, in 4to. - G. + + Neander doubts its authenticity, (vol. i. p. 152.) In my +opinion, the internal evidence is decisive against it. - M] + +[Footnote *: The enactment of this law affords strong +presumption, that accusations of the "crime of Christianity," +were by no means so uncommon, nor received with so much mistrust +and caution by the ruling authorities, as Gibbon would insinuate. +- M.] + + The expedient which was employed to elude the prudence of +the laws, affords a sufficient proof how effectually they +disappointed the mischievous designs of private malice or +superstitious zeal. In a large and tumultuous assembly, the +restraints of fear and shame, so forcible on the minds of +individuals, are deprived of the greatest part of their +influence. The pious Christian, as he was desirous to obtain, or +to escape, the glory of martyrdom, expected, either with +impatience or with terror, the stated returns of the public games +and festivals. On those occasions the inhabitants of the great +cities of the empire were collected in the circus or the theatre, +where every circumstance of the place, as well as of the +ceremony, contributed to kindle their devotion, and to extinguish +their humanity. Whilst the numerous spectators, crowned with +garlands, perfumed with incense, purified with the blood of +victims, and surrounded with the altars and statues of their +tutelar deities, resigned themselves to the enjoyment of +pleasures, which they considered as an essential part of their +religious worship, they recollected, that the Christians alone +abhorred the gods of mankind, and by their absence and melancholy +on these solemn festivals, seemed to insult or to lament the +public felicity. If the empire had been afflicted by any recent +calamity, by a plague, a famine, or an unsuccessful war; if the +Tyber had, or if the Nile had not, risen beyond its banks; if the +earth had shaken, or if the temperate order of the seasons had +been interrupted, the superstitious Pagans were convinced 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 among a licentious and +exasperated populace, that the forms of legal proceedings could +be observed; it was not in an amphitheatre, stained with the +blood of wild beasts and gladiators, that the voice of compassion +could be heard. The impatient clamors of the multitude denounced +the Christians as the enemies of gods and men, doomed them to the +severest tortures, and venturing to accuse by name some of the +most distinguished of the new sectaries, required with +irresistible vehemence that they should be instantly apprehended +and cast to the lions. ^61 The provincial governors and +magistrates who presided in the public spectacles were usually +inclined 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 from the danger of +these tumultuous clamors and irregular accusations, which they +justly censured as repugnant both to the firmness and to the +equity of their administration. The edicts of Hadrian and of +Antoninus Pius expressly declared, that the voice of the +multitude should never be admitted as legal evidence to convict +or to punish those unfortunate persons who had embraced the +enthusiasm of the Christians. ^62 + +[Footnote 61: See Tertullian, (Apolog. c. 40.) The acts of the +martyrdom of Polycarp exhibit a lively picture of these tumults, +which were usually fomented by the malice of the Jews.] + +[Footnote 62: These regulations are inserted in the above +mentioned document of Hadrian and Pius. See the apology of +Melito, (apud Euseb. l iv 26)] + III. Punishment was not the inevitable consequence of +conviction, and the Christians, whose guilt was the most clearly +proved by the testimony of witnesses, or even by their voluntary +confession, still retained in their own power the alternative of +life or death. It was not so much the past offence, as the +actual resistance, which excited the indignation of the +magistrate. He was persuaded that he offered them an easy +pardon, since, if they consented to cast a few grains of incense +upon the altar, they were dismissed from the tribunal in safety +and with applause. It was esteemed the duty of a humane judge to +endeavor to reclaim, rather than to punish, those deluded +enthusiasts. Varying his tone according to the age, the sex, or +the situation of the prisoners, he frequently condescended to set +before their eyes every 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, to their families, and to their friends. ^63 If +threats and persuasions proved ineffectual, he had often recourse +to violence; the scourge and the rack were called in to supply +the deficiency of argument, and every art of cruelty was employed +to subdue such inflexible, and, as it appeared to the Pagans, +such criminal, obstinacy. The ancient apologists of Christianity +have censured, with equal truth and severity, the irregular +conduct of their persecutors who, contrary to every principle of +judicial proceeding, admitted the use of torture, in order to +obtain, not a confession, but a denial, of the crime which was +the object of their inquiry. ^64 The monks of succeeding ages, +who, in their peaceful solitudes, entertained themselves with +diversifying the deaths and sufferings of the primitive martyrs, +have frequently invented torments of a much more refined and +ingenious nature. In particular, it has pleased them to suppose, +that the zeal of the Roman magistrates, disdaining every +consideration of moral virtue or public decency, endeavored to +seduce those whom they were unable to vanquish, and that by their +orders the most brutal violence was offered to those whom they +found it impossible to seduce. It is related, that females, who +were prepared to despise death, were sometimes condemned to a +more severe trial, ^! and called upon to determine whether they +set a higher value on their religion or on their chastity. The +youths to whose licentious embraces they were abandoned, received +a solemn exhortation from the judge, to exert their most +strenuous efforts to maintain the honor of Venus against the +impious virgin who refused to burn incense on her altars. Their +violence, however, was commonly disappointed, and the seasonable +interposition of some miraculous power preserved the chaste +spouses of Christ from the dishonor even of an involuntary +defeat. We should not indeed neglect to remark, that the more +ancient as well as authentic memorials of the church are seldom +polluted with these extravagant and indecent fictions. ^65 + +[Footnote 63: See the rescript of Trajan, and the conduct of +Pliny. The most authentic acts of the martyrs abound in these +exhortations. + Note: Pliny's test was the worship of the gods, offerings to +the statue of the emperor, and blaspheming Christ - praeterea +maledicerent Christo. - M.] +[Footnote 64: In particular, see Tertullian, (Apolog. c. 2, 3,) +and Lactantius, (Institut. Divin. v. 9.) Their reasonings are +almost the same; but we may discover, that one of these +apologists had been a lawyer, and the other a rhetorician.] + +[Footnote !: The more ancient as well as authentic memorials of +the church, relate many examples of the fact, (of these severe +trials,) which there is nothing to contradict. Tertullian, among +others, says, Nam proxime ad lenonem damnando Christianam, potius +quam ad leonem, confessi estis labem pudicitiae apud nos +atrociorem omni poena et omni morte reputari, Apol. cap. ult. +Eusebius likewise says, "Other virgins, dragged to brothels, have +lost their life rather than defile their virtue." Euseb. Hist. +Ecc. viii. 14. - G. + The miraculous interpositions were the offspring of the +coarse imaginations of the monks. - M.] + +[Footnote 65: See two instances of this kind of torture in the +Acta Sincere Martyrum, published by Ruinart, p. 160, 399. +Jerome, in his Legend of Paul the Hermit, tells a strange story +of a young man, who was chained naked on a bed of flowers, and +assaulted by a beautiful and wanton courtesan. He quelled the +rising temptation by biting off his tongue.] + + The total disregard of truth and probability in the +representation of these primitive martyrdoms was occasioned by a +very natural mistake. The ecclesiastical writers of the fourth +or fifth centuries ascribed to the magistrates of Rome the same +degree of implacable and unrelenting zeal which filled their own +breasts against the heretics or the idolaters of their own times. + +It is not improbable that some of those persons who were raised +to the dignities of the empire, might have imbibed the prejudices +of the populace, and that the cruel disposition of others might +occasionally be stimulated by motives of avarice or of personal +resentment. ^66 But it is certain, and we may appeal to the +grateful confessions of the first Christians, that the greatest +part of those magistrates who exercised in the provinces the +authority of the emperor, or of the senate, and to whose hands +alone the jurisdiction of life and death was intrusted, behaved +like men of polished manners and liberal education, who respected +the rules of justice, and who were conversant with the precepts +of philosophy. They frequently declined the odious task of +persecution, dismissed the charge with contempt, or suggested to +the accused Christian some legal evasion, by which he might elude +the severity of the laws. ^67 Whenever they were invested with a +discretionary power, ^68 they used it much less for the +oppression, than for the relief and benefit of the afflicted +church. They were far from condemning all the Christians who +were accused before their tribunal, and very far from punishing +with death all those who were convicted of an obstinate adherence +to the new superstition. Contenting themselves, for the most +part, with the milder chastisements of imprisonment, exile, or +slavery in the mines, ^69 they left the unhappy victims of their +justice some reason to hope, that a prosperous event, the +accession, the marriage, or the triumph of an emperor, might +speedily restore them, by a general pardon, to their former +state. The martyrs, devoted to immediate execution by the Roman +magistrates, appear to have been selected from the most opposite +extremes. They were either bishops and presbyters, the persons +the most distinguished among the Christians by their rank and +influence, and whose example might strike terror into the whole +sect; ^70 or else they were the meanest and most abject among +them, particularly those of the servile condition, whose lives +were esteemed of little value, and whose sufferings were viewed +by the ancients with too careless an indifference. ^71 The +learned Origen, who, from his experience as well as reading, was +intimately acquainted with the history of the Christians, +declares, in the most express terms, that the number of martyrs +was very inconsiderable. ^72 His authority would alone be +sufficient to annihilate that formidable army of martyrs, whose +relics, drawn for the most part from the catacombs of Rome, have +replenished so many churches, ^73 and whose marvellous +achievements have been the subject of so many volumes of Holy +Romance. ^74 But the general assertion of Origen may be explained +and confirmed by the particular testimony of his friend +Dionysius, who, in the immense city of Alexandria, and under the +rigorous persecution of Decius, reckons only ten men and seven +women who suffered for the profession of the Christian name. ^75 +[Footnote 66: The conversion of his wife provoked Claudius +Herminianus, governor of Cappadocia, to treat the Christians with +uncommon severity. Tertullian ad Scapulam, c. 3.] + +[Footnote 67: Tertullian, in his epistle to the governor of +Africa, mentions several remarkable instances of lenity and +forbearance, which had happened within his knowledge.] + +[Footnote 68: Neque enim in universum aliquid quod quasi certam +formam habeat, constitui potest; an expression of Trajan, which +gave a very great latitude to the governors of provinces. + + Note: Gibbon altogether forgets that Trajan fully approved +of the course pursued by Pliny. That course was, to order all +who persevered in their faith to be led to execution: +perseverantes duci jussi. - M.] + +[Footnote 69: In Metalla damnamur, in insulas relegamur. +Tertullian, Apolog. c. 12. The mines of Numidia contained nine +bishops, with a proportionable number of their clergy and people, +to whom Cyprian addressed a pious epistle of praise and comfort. +See Cyprian. Epistol. 76, 77.] + +[Footnote 70: Though we cannot receive with entire confidence +either the epistles, or the acts, of Ignatius, (they may be found +in the 2d volume of the Apostolic Fathers,) yet we may quote that +bishop of Antioch as one of these exemplary martyrs. He was sent +in chains to Rome as a public spectacle, and when he arrived at +Troas, he received the pleasing intelligence, that the +persecution of Antioch was already at an end. + + Note: The acts of Ignatius are generally received as +authentic, as are seven of his letters. Eusebius and St. Jerome +mention them: there are two editions; in one, the letters are +longer, and many passages appear to have been interpolated; the +other edition is that which contains the real letters of St. +Ignatius; such at least is the opinion of the wisest and most +enlightened critics. (See Lardner. Cred. of Gospel Hist.) Less, +uber dis Religion, v. i. p. 529. Usser. Diss. de Ign. Epist. +Pearson, Vindic, Ignatianae. It should be remarked, that it was +under the reign of Trajan that the bishop Ignatius was carried +from Antioch to Rome, to be exposed to the lions in the +amphitheatre, the year of J. C. 107, according to some; of 116, +according to others. - G.] + +[Footnote 71: Among the martyrs of Lyons, (Euseb. l. v. c. 1,) +the slave Blandina was distinguished by more exquisite tortures. +Of the five martyrs so much celebrated in the acts of Felicitas +and Perpetua, two were of a servile, and two others of a very +mean, condition.] + +[Footnote 72: Origen. advers. Celsum, l. iii. p. 116. His words +deserve to be transcribed. + + Note: The words that follow should be quoted. "God not +permitting that all his class of men should be exterminated: " +which appears to indicate that Origen thought the number put to +death inconsiderable only 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 Christians. It was during the +reign of the latter that Origen wrote his books against Celsus. - +G.] + +[Footnote 73: If we recollect that all the Plebeians of Rome were +not Christians, and that all the Christians were not saints and +martyrs, we may judge with how much safety religious honors can +be ascribed to bones or urns, indiscriminately taken from the +public burial-place. After ten centuries of a very free and open +trade, some suspicions have arisen among the more learned +Catholics. They now require as a proof of sanctity and +martyrdom, the letters B.M., a vial full of red liquor supposed +to be blood, or the figure of a palm-tree. But the two former +signs are of little weight, and with regard to the last, it is +observed by the critics, 1. That the figure, as it is called, of +a palm, is perhaps a cypress, and perhaps only a stop, the +flourish of a comma used in the monumental inscriptions. 2. That +the palm was the symbol of victory among the Pagans. 3. That +among the Christians it served as the emblem, not only of +martyrdom, but in general of a joyful resurrection. See the +epistle of P. Mabillon, on the worship of unknown saints, and +Muratori sopra le Antichita Italiane, Dissertat. lviii.] + +[Footnote 74: As a specimen of these legends, we may be satisfied +with 10,000 Christian soldiers crucified in one day, either by +Trajan or Hadrian on Mount Ararat. See Baronius ad Martyrologium +Romanum; Tille mont, Mem. Ecclesiast. tom. ii. part ii. p. 438; +and Geddes's Miscellanies, vol. ii. p. 203. The abbreviation of +Mil., which may signify either soldiers or thousands, is said to +have occasioned some extraordinary mistakes.] + +[Footnote 75: Dionysius ap. Euseb l. vi. c. 41 One of the +seventeen was likewise accused of robbery. + + Note: Gibbon ought to have said, was falsely accused of +robbery, for so it is in the Greek text. This Christian, named +Nemesion, falsely accused of robbery before the centurion, was +acquitted of a crime altogether foreign to his character, but he +was led before the governor as guilty of being a Christian, and +the governor inflicted upon him a double torture. (Euseb. loc. +cit.) It must be added, that Saint Dionysius only makes +particular mention of the principal martyrs, [this is very +doubtful. - M.] and that he says, in general, that the fury of +the Pagans against the Christians gave to Alexandria the +appearance of a city taken by storm. [This refers to plunder and +ill usage, not to actual slaughter. - M.] Finally it should be +observed that Origen wrote before the persecution of the emperor +Decius. - G.] + During the same period of persecution, the zealous, the +eloquent, the ambitious Cyprian governed the church, not only of +Carthage, but even of Africa. He possessed every quality which +could engage the reverence of the faithful, or provoke the +suspicions and resentment of the Pagan magistrates. His character +as well as his station seemed to mark out that holy prelate as +the most distinguished object of envy and danger. ^76 The +experience, however, of the life of Cyprian, is sufficient to +prove that our fancy has exaggerated the perilous situation of a +Christian bishop; and the dangers to which he was exposed were +less imminent than those which temporal ambition is always +prepared to encounter in the pursuit of honors. Four Roman +emperors, with their families, their favorites, and their +adherents, perished by the sword in the space of ten years, +during which the bishop of Carthage guided by his authority and +eloquence the councils of the African church. It was only in the +third year of his administration, that he had reason, during a +few months, to apprehend the severe edicts of Decius, the +vigilance of the magistrate and the clamors of the multitude, who +loudly demanded, that Cyprian, the leader of the Christians, +should be thrown to the lions. Prudence suggested the necessity +of a temporary retreat, and the voice of prudence was obeyed. He +withdrew himself into an obscure solitude, from whence he could +maintain a constant correspondence with the clergy and people of +Carthage; and, concealing himself till the tempest was past, he +preserved his life, without relinquishing either his power or his +reputation. His extreme caution did not, however, escape the +censure of the more rigid Christians, who lamented, or the +reproaches of his personal enemies, who insulted, a conduct which +they considered as a pusillanimous and criminal desertion of the +most sacred duty. ^77 The propriety of reserving himself for the +future exigencies of the church, the example of several holy +bishops, ^78 and the divine admonitions, which, as he declares +himself, he frequently received in visions and ecstacies, were +the reasons alleged in his justification. ^79 But his best +apology may be found in the cheerful resolution, with which, +about eight years afterwards, he suffered death in the cause of +religion. The authentic history of his martyrdom has been +recorded with unusual candor and impartiality. A short abstract, +therefore, of its most important circumstances, will convey the +clearest information of the spirit, and of the forms, of the +Roman persecutions. ^80 + +[Footnote 76: The letters of Cyprian exhibit a very curious and +original picture both of the man and of the times. See likewise +the two lives of Cyprian, composed with equal accuracy, though +with very different views; the one by Le Clerc (Bibliotheque +Universelle, tom. xii. p. 208-378,) the other by Tillemont, +Memoires Ecclesiastiques, tom. iv part i. p. 76-459.] +[Footnote 77: See the polite but severe epistle of the clergy of +Rome to the bishop of Carthage. (Cyprian. Epist. 8, 9.) Pontius +labors with the greatest care and diligence to justify his master +against the general censure.] +[Footnote 78: In particular those of Dionysius of Alexandria, and +Gregory Thaumaturgus, of Neo-Caesarea. See Euseb. Hist. +Ecclesiast. l. vi. c. 40; and Memoires de Tillemont, tom. iv. +part ii. p. 685.] + +[Footnote 79: See Cyprian. Epist. 16, and his life by Pontius.] +[Footnote 80: We have an original life of Cyprian by the deacon +Pontius, the companion of his exile, and the spectator of his +death; and we likewise possess the ancient proconsular acts of +his martyrdom. These two relations are consistent with each +other, and with probability; and what is somewhat remarkable, +they are both unsullied by any miraculous circumstances.] + +Chapter XVI: Conduct Towards The Christians, From Nero To +Constantine. + +Part IV. + + When Valerian was consul for the third, and Gallienus for +the fourth time, Paternus, proconsul of Africa, summoned Cyprian +to appear in his private council-chamber. He there acquainted +him with the Imperial mandate which he had just received, ^81 +that those who had abandoned the Roman religion should +immediately return to the practice of the ceremonies of their +ancestors. Cyprian replied without hesitation, that he was a +Christian and a bishop, devoted to the worship of the true and +only Deity, to whom he offered up his daily supplications for the +safety and prosperity of the two emperors, his lawful sovereigns. + +With modest confidence he pleaded the privilege of a citizen, in +refusing to give any answer to some invidious and indeed illegal +questions which the proconsul had proposed. A sentence of +banishment was pronounced as the penalty of Cyprian's +disobedience; and he was conducted without delay to Curubis, a +free and maritime city of Zeugitania, in a pleasant situation, a +fertile territory, and at the distance of about forty miles from +Carthage. ^82 The exiled bishop enjoyed the conveniences of life +and the consciousness of virtue. His reputation was diffused over +Africa and Italy; an account of his behavior was published for +the edification of the Christian world; ^83 and his solitude was +frequently interrupted by the letters, the visits, and the +congratulations of the faithful. On the arrival of a new +proconsul in the province the fortune of Cyprian appeared for +some time to wear a still more favorable aspect. He was recalled +from banishment; and though not yet permitted to return to +Carthage, his own gardens in the neighborhood of the capital were +assigned for the place of his residence. ^84 +[Footnote 81: It should seem that these were circular orders, +sent at the same time to all the governors. Dionysius (ap. +Euseb. l. vii. c. 11) relates the history of his own banishment +from Alexandria almost in the same manner. But as he escaped and +survived the persecution, we must account him either more or less +fortunate than Cyprian.] + +[Footnote 82: See Plin. Hist. Natur. v. 3. Cellarius, Geograph. +Antiq. part iii. p. 96. Shaw's Travels, p. 90; and for the +adjacent country, (which is terminated by Cape Bona, or the +promontory of Mercury,) l'Afrique de Marmol. tom. ii. p. 494. +There are the remains of an aqueduct near Curubis, or Curbis, at +present altered into Gurbes; and Dr. Shaw read an inscription, +which styles that city Colonia Fulvia. The deacon Pontius (in +Vit. Cyprian. c. 12) calls it "Apricum et competentem locum, +hospitium pro voluntate secretum, et quicquid apponi eis ante +promissum est, qui regnum et justitiam Dei quaerunt."] + +[Footnote 83: See Cyprian. Epistol. 77, edit. Fell.] + +[Footnote 84: Upon his conversion, he had sold those gardens for +the benefit of the poor. The indulgence of God (most probably +the liberality of some Christian friend) restored them to +Cyprian. See Pontius, c. 15.] + At length, exactly one year ^85 after Cyprian was first +apprehended, Galerius Maximus, proconsul of Africa, received the +Imperial warrant for the execution of the Christian teachers. +The bishop of Carthage was sensible that he should be singled out +for one of the first victims; and the frailty of nature tempted +him to withdraw himself, by a secret flight, from the danger and +the honor of martyrdom; ^* but soon recovering that fortitude +which his character required, he returned to his gardens, and +patiently expected the ministers of death. Two officers of rank, +who were intrusted with that commission, placed Cyprian between +them in a chariot, and as the proconsul was not then at leisure, +they conducted him, not to a prison, but to a private house in +Carthage, which belonged to one of them. An elegant supper was +provided for the entertainment of the bishop, and his Christian +friends were permitted for the last time to enjoy his society, +whilst the streets were filled with a multitude of the faithful, +anxious and alarmed at the approaching fate of their spiritual +father. ^86 In the morning he appeared before the tribunal of the +proconsul, who, after informing himself of the name and situation +of Cyprian, commanded him to offer sacrifice, and pressed him to +reflect on the consequences of his disobedience. The refusal of +Cyprian was firm and decisive; and the magistrate, when he had +taken the opinion of his council, pronounced with some reluctance +the sentence of death. It was conceived in the following terms: +"That Thascius Cyprianus should be immediately beheaded, as the +enemy of the gods of Rome, and as the chief and ringleader of a +criminal association, which he had seduced into an impious +resistance against the laws of the most holy emperors, Valerian +and Gallienus." ^87 The manner of his execution was the mildest +and least painful that could be inflicted on a person convicted +of any capital offence; nor was the use of torture admitted to +obtain from the bishop of Carthage either the recantation of his +principles or the discovery of his accomplices. +[Footnote 85: When Cyprian; a twelvemonth before, was sent into +exile, he dreamt that he should be put to death the next day. +The event made it necessary to explain that word, as signifying a +year. Pontius, c. 12.] +[Footnote *: This was not, as it appears, the motive which +induced St. Cyprian to conceal himself for a short time; he was +threatened to be carried to Utica; he preferred remaining at +Carthage, in order to suffer martyrdom in the midst of his flock, +and in order that his death might conduce to the edification of +those whom he had guided during life. Such, at least, is his own +explanation of his conduct in one of his letters: Cum perlatum ad +nos fuisset, fratres carissimi, frumentarios esse missos qui me +Uticam per ducerent, consilioque carissimorum persuasum est, ut +de hortis interim recederemus, justa interveniente causa, +consensi; eo quod congruat episcopum in ea civitate, in qua +Ecclesiae dominicae praeest, illie. Dominum confiteri et plebem +universam praepositi praesentis confessione clarificari Ep. 83. - +G] +[Footnote 86: Pontius (c. 15) acknowledges that Cyprian, with +whom he supped, passed the night custodia delicata. The bishop +exercised a last and very proper act of jurisdiction, by +directing that the younger females, who watched in the streets, +should be removed from the dangers and temptations of a nocturnal +crowd. Act. Preconsularia, c. 2.] + +[Footnote 87: See the original sentence in the Acts, c. 4; and in +Pontius, c. 17 The latter expresses it in a more rhetorical +manner.] + + As soon as the sentence was proclaimed, a general cry of "We +will die with him," arose at once among the listening multitude +of Christians who waited before the palace gates. The generous +effusions of their zeal and their affection were neither +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 execution, a spacious and +level plain near the city, which was already filled with great +numbers of spectators. His faithful presbyters and deacons were +permitted to accompany their holy bishop. ^* They assisted him in +laying aside his upper garment, spread linen on the ground to +catch the precious relics of his blood, and received his orders +to bestow five-and-twenty pieces of gold on the executioner. The +martyr then covered his face with his hands, and at one blow his +head was separated from his body. His corpse remained during +some hours exposed to the curiosity of the Gentiles: but in the +night it was removed, and transported in a triumphal procession, +and with a splendid illumination, to the burial-place of the +Christians. The funeral of Cyprian was publicly celebrated +without receiving any interruption from the Roman magistrates; +and those among the faithful, who had performed the last offices +to his person and his memory, were secure from the danger of +inquiry or of punishment. It is remarkable, that of so great a +multitude of bishops in the province of Africa, Cyprian was the +first who was esteemed worthy to obtain the crown of martyrdom. +^88 + +[Footnote *: There is nothing in the life of St. Cyprian, by +Pontius, nor in the ancient manuscripts, which can make us +suppose that the presbyters and deacons in their clerical +character, and known to be such, had the permission to attend +their holy bishop. Setting aside all religious considerations, +it is impossible not to be surprised at the kind of complaisance +with which the historian here insists, in favor of the +persecutors, on some mitigating circumstances allowed at the +death of a man whose only crime was maintaining his own opinions +with frankness and courage. - G.] + +[Footnote 88: Pontius, c. 19. M. de Tillemont (Memoires, tom. +iv. part i. p. 450, note 50) is not pleased with so positive an +exclusion of any former martyr of the episcopal rank. + + Note: M. de. Tillemont, as an honest writer, explains the +difficulties which he felt about the text of Pontius, and +concludes by distinctly stating, that without doubt there is some +mistake, and that Pontius must have meant only Africa Minor or +Carthage; for St. Cyprian, in his 58th (69th) letter addressed to +Pupianus, speaks expressly of many bishops his colleagues, qui +proscripti sunt, vel apprehensi in carcere et catenis fuerunt; +aut qui in exilium relegati, illustri itinere ed Dominum profecti +sunt; aut qui quibusdam locis animadversi, coeleses coronas de +Domini clarificatione sumpserunt. - G.] + It was in the choice of Cyprian, either to die a martyr, or +to live an apostate; but on the choice depended the alternative +of honor or infamy. Could we suppose that the bishop of Carthage +had employed the profession of the Christian faith only as the +instrument of his avarice or ambition, it was still incumbent on +him to support the character he had assumed; ^89 and if he +possessed the smallest degree of manly fortitude, rather to +expose himself to the most cruel tortures, than by a single act +to exchange the reputation of a whole life, for the abhorrence of +his Christian brethren, and the contempt of the Gentile world. +But if the zeal of Cyprian was supported by the sincere +conviction of the truth of those doctrines which he preached, the +crown of martyrdom must have appeared to him as an object of +desire rather than of terror. It is not easy to extract any +distinct ideas from the vague though eloquent declamations of the +Fathers, or to ascertain the degree of immortal glory and +happiness which they confidently promised to those who were so +fortunate as to shed their blood in the cause of religion. ^90 +They inculcated with becoming diligence, that the fire of +martyrdom supplied every defect and expiated every sin; that +while the souls of ordinary Christians were obliged to pass +through a slow and painful purification, the triumphant sufferers +entered into the immediate fruition of eternal bliss, where, in +the society of the patriarchs, the apostles, and the prophets, +they reigned with Christ, and acted as his assessors in the +universal judgment of mankind. The assurance of a lasting +reputation upon earth, a motive so congenial to the vanity of +human nature, often served to animate the courage of the martyrs. + +The honors which Rome or Athens bestowed on those citizens who +had fallen in the cause of their country, were cold and unmeaning +demonstrations of respect, when compared with the ardent +gratitude and devotion which the primitive church expressed +towards the victorious champions of the faith. The annual +commemoration of their virtues and sufferings was observed as a +sacred ceremony, and at length terminated in religious worship. +Among the Christians who had publicly confessed their religious +principles, those who (as it very frequently happened) had been +dismissed from the tribunal or the prisons of the Pagan +magistrates, obtained such honors as were justly due to their +imperfect martyrdom and their generous resolution. The most +pious females courted the permission of imprinting kisses on the +fetters which they had worn, and on the wounds which they had +received. Their persons were esteemed holy, their decisions were +admitted with deference, and they too often abused, by their +spiritual pride and licentious manners, the preeminence which +their zeal and intrepidity had acquired. ^91 Distinctions like +these, whilst they display the exalted merit, betray the +inconsiderable number of those who suffered, and of those who +died, for the profession of Christianity. + +[Footnote 89: Whatever opinion we may entertain of the character +or principles of Thomas Becket, we must acknowledge that he +suffered death with a constancy not unworthy of the primitive +martyrs. See Lord Lyttleton's History of Henry II. vol. ii. p. +592, &c.] + +[Footnote 90: See in particular the treatise of Cyprian de +Lapsis, p. 87- 98, edit. Fell. The learning of Dodwell +(Dissertat. Cyprianic. xii. xiii.,) and the ingenuity of +Middleton, (Free Inquiry, p. 162, &c.,) have left scarcely any +thing to add concerning the merit, the honors, and the motives of +the martyrs.] + +[Footnote 91: Cyprian. Epistol. 5, 6, 7, 22, 24; and de Unitat. +Ecclesiae. The number of pretended martyrs has been very much +multiplied, by the custom which was introduced of bestowing that +honorable name on confessors. + Note: M. Guizot denies that the letters of Cyprian, to which +he refers, bear out the statement in the text. I cannot scruple +to admit the accuracy of Gibbon's quotation. To take only the +fifth letter, we find this passage: Doleo enim quando audio +quosdam improbe et insolenter discurrere, et ad ineptian vel ad +discordias vacare, Christi membra et jam Christum confessa per +concubitus illicitos inquinari, nec a diaconis aut presbyteris +regi posse, sed id agere ut per paucorum pravos et malos mores, +multorum et bonorum confessorum gloria honesta maculetur. +Gibbon's misrepresentation lies in the ambiguous expression "too +often." Were the epistles arranged in a different manner in the +edition consulted by M. Guizot? - M.] + + The sober discretion of the present age will more readily +censure than admire, but can more easily admire than imitate, the +fervor of the first Christians, who, according to the lively +expressions of Sulpicius Severus, desired martyrdom with more +eagerness than his own contemporaries solicited a bishopric. ^92 +The epistles which Ignatius composed as he was carried in chains +through the cities of Asia, breathe sentiments the most repugnant +to the ordinary feelings of human nature. He earnestly beseeches +the Romans, that when he should be exposed in the amphitheatre, +they would not, by their kind but unseasonable intercession, +deprive him of the crown of glory; and he declares his resolution +to provoke and irritate the wild beasts which might be employed +as the instruments of his death. ^93 Some stories are related of +the courage of martyrs, who actually performed what Ignatius had +intended; who exasperated the fury of the lions, pressed the +executioner to hasten his office, cheerfully leaped into the +fires which were kindled to consume them, and discovered a +sensation of joy and pleasure in the midst of the most exquisite +tortures. Several examples have been preserved of a zeal +impatient of those restraints which the emperors had provided for +the security of the church. The Christians sometimes supplied by +their voluntary declaration the want of an accuser, rudely +disturbed the public service of paganism, ^94 and rushing in +crowds round the tribunal of the magistrates, called upon them to +pronounce and to inflict the sentence of the law. The behavior +of the Christians was too remarkable to escape the notice of the +ancient philosophers; but they seem to have considered it with +much less admiration than astonishment. Incapable of conceiving +the motives which sometimes transported the fortitude of +believers beyond the bounds of prudence or reason, they treated +such an eagerness to die as the strange result of obstinate +despair, of stupid insensibility, or of superstitious frenzy. ^95 +"Unhappy men!" exclaimed the proconsul Antoninus to the +Christians of Asia; "unhappy men! if you are thus weary of your +lives, is it so difficult for you to find ropes and precipices?" +^96 He was extremely cautious (as it is observed by a learned and +picus historian) of punishing men who had found no accusers but +themselves, the Imperial laws not having made any provision for +so unexpected a case: condemning therefore a few as a warning to +their brethren, he dismissed the multitude with indignation and +contempt. ^97 Notwithstanding this real or affected disdain, the +intrepid constancy of the faithful was productive of more +salutary effects on those minds which nature or grace had +disposed for the easy reception of religious truth. On these +melancholy occasions, there were many among the Gentiles who +pitied, who admired, and who were converted. The generous +enthusiasm was communicated from the sufferer to the spectators; +and the blood of martyrs, according to a well-known observation, +became the seed of the church. + +[Footnote 92: Certatim gloriosa in certamina ruebatur; multique +avidius tum martyria gloriosis mortibus quaerebantur, quam nunc +Episcopatus pravis ambitionibus appetuntur. Sulpicius Severus, +l. ii. He might have omitted the word nunc.] + +[Footnote 93: See Epist. ad Roman. c. 4, 5, ap. Patres Apostol. +tom. ii. p. 27. It suited the purpose of Bishop Pearson (see +Vindiciae Ignatianae, part ii. c. 9) to justify, by a profusion +of examples and authorities, the sentiments of Ignatius.] + +[Footnote 94: The story of Polyeuctes, on which Corneille has +founded a very beautiful tragedy, is one of the most celebrated, +though not perhaps the most authentic, instances of this +excessive zeal. We should observe, that the 60th canon of the +council of Illiberis refuses the title of martyrs to those who +exposed themselves to death, by publicly destroying the idols.] +[Footnote 95: See Epictetus, l. iv. c. 7, (though there is some +doubt whether he alludes to the Christians.) Marcus Antoninus de +Rebus suis, l. xi. c. 3 Lucian in Peregrin.] + +[Footnote 96: Tertullian ad Scapul. c. 5. The learned are +divided between three persons of the same name, who were all +proconsuls of Asia. I am inclined to ascribe this story to +Antoninus Pius, who was afterwards emperor; and who may have +governed Asia under the reign of Trajan.] +[Footnote 97: Mosheim, de Rebus Christ, ante Constantin. p. 235.] + + But although devotion had raised, and eloquence continued to +inflame, this fever of the mind, it insensibly gave way to the +more natural hopes and fears of the human heart, to the love of +life, the apprehension of pain, and the horror of dissolution. +The more prudent rulers of the church found themselves obliged to +restrain the indiscreet ardor of their followers, and to distrust +a constancy which too often abandoned them in the hour of trial. +^98 As the lives of the faithful became less mortified and +austere, they were every day less ambitious of the honors of +martyrdom; and the soldiers of Christ, instead of distinguishing +themselves by voluntary deeds of heroism, frequently deserted +their post, and fled in confusion before the enemy whom it was +their duty to resist. There were three methods, however, of +escaping the flames of persecution, which were not attended with +an equal degree of guilt: first, indeed, was generally allowed to +be innocent; the second was of a doubtful, or at least of a +venial, nature; but the third implied a direct and criminal +apostasy from the Christian faith. + +[Footnote 98: See the Epistle of the Church of Smyrna, ap. Euseb. +Hist. Eccles. Liv. c. 15 + + Note: The 15th chapter of the 10th book of the Eccles. +History of Eusebius treats principally of the martyrdom of St. +Polycarp, and mentions some other martyrs. A single example of +weakness is related; it is that of a Phrygian named Quintus, who, +appalled at the sight of the wild beasts and the tortures, +renounced his faith. This example proves little against the mass +of Christians, and this chapter of Eusebius furnished much +stronger evidence of their courage than of their timidity. - G + + This Quintus had, however, rashly and of his own accord +appeared before the tribunal; and the church of Smyrna condemn +"his indiscreet ardor," coupled as it was with weakness in the +hour of trial. - M.] + + I. A modern inquisitor would hear with surprise, that +whenever an information was given to a Roman magistrate of any +person within his jurisdiction who had embraced the sect of the +Christians, the charge was communicated to the party accused, and +that a convenient time was allowed him to settle his domestic +concerns, and to prepare an answer to the crime which was imputed +to him. ^99 If he entertained any doubt of his own constancy, +such a delay afforded him the opportunity of preserving his life +and honor by flight, of withdrawing himself into some obscure +retirement or some distant province, and of patiently expecting +the return of peace and security. A measure so consonant to +reason was soon authorized by the advice and example of the most +holy prelates; and seems to have been censured by few except by +the Montanists, who deviated into heresy by their strict and +obstinate adherence to the rigor of ancient discipline. ^100 II. +The provincial governors, whose zeal was less prevalent than +their avarice, had countenanced the practice of selling +certificates, (or libels, as they were called,) which attested, +that the persons therein mentioned had complied with the laws, +and sacrificed to the Roman deities. By producing these false +declarations, the opulent and timid Christians were enabled to +silence the malice of an informer, and to reconcile in some +measure their safety with their religion. A slight penance atoned +for this profane dissimulation. ^101 ^* III. In every +persecution there were great numbers of unworthy Christians who +publicly disowned or renounced the faith which they had +professed; and who confirmed the sincerity of their abjuration, +by the legal acts of burning incense or of offering sacrifices. +Some of these apostates had yielded on the first menace or +exhortation of the magistrate; whilst the patience of others had +been subdued by the length and repetition of tortures. The +affrighted countenances of some betrayed their inward remorse, +while others advanced with confidence and alacrity to the altars +of the gods. ^102 But the disguise which fear had imposed, +subsisted no longer than the present danger. As soon as the +severity of the persecution was abated, the doors of the churches +were assailed by the returning multitude of penitents who +detested their idolatrous submission, and who solicited with +equal ardor, but with various success, their readmission into the +society of Christians. ^103 ^! + +[Footnote 99: In the second apology of Justin, there is a +particular and very curious instance of this legal delay. The +same indulgence was granted to accused Christians, in the +persecution of Decius: and Cyprian (de Lapsis) expressly mentions +the "Dies negantibus praestitutus." + + Note: The examples drawn by the historian from Justin Martyr +and Cyprian relate altogether to particular cases, and prove +nothing as to the general practice adopted towards the accused; +it is evident, on the contrary, from the same apology of St. +Justin, that they hardly ever obtained delay. "A man named +Lucius, himself a Christian, present at an unjust sentence passed +against a Christian by the judge Urbicus, asked him why 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 +appearance of being a Christian." "Yes, without doubt," replied +Lucius. The judge 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, are three examples where no delay was granted. + +[Surely these acts of a single passionate and irritated judge +prove the general practice as little as those quoted by Gibbon. - +M.] There exist a multitude of others, such as those of Ptolemy, +Marcellus, &c. Justin expressly charges the judges with ordering +the accused to be executed without hearing the cause. The words +of St. Cyprian are as particular, and simply say, that he had +appointed a day by which the Christians must have renounced their +faith; those who had not done it by that time were condemned. - +G. This confirms the statement in the text. - M.] +[Footnote 100: Tertullian considers flight from persecution as an +imperfect, but very criminal, apostasy, as an impious attempt to +elude the will of God, &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 most incoherent declamation. +It is, however, somewhat remarkable, that Tertullian did not +suffer martyrdom himself.] + +[Footnote 101: The libellatici, who are chiefly known by the +writings of Cyprian, are described with the utmost precision, in +the copious commentary of Mosheim, p. 483 - 489.] + +[Footnote *: The penance was not so slight, for it was exactly +the same with that of apostates who had sacrificed to idols; it +lasted several years. See Fleun Hist. Ecc. v. ii. p. 171. - G.] + +[Footnote 102: Plin. Epist. x. 97. Dionysius Alexandrin. ap. +Euseb. l. vi. c. 41. Ad prima statim verba minantis inimici +maximus fratrum numerus fidem suam prodidit: nec prostratus est +persecutionis impetu, sed voluntario lapsu seipsum prostravit. +Cyprian. Opera, p. 89. Among these deserters were many priests, +and even bishops.] + +[Footnote 103: It was on this occasion that Cyprian wrote his +treatise De Lapsis, and many of his epistles. The controversy +concerning the treatment of penitent apostates, does not occur +among the Christians of the preceding century. Shall we ascribe +this to the superiority of their faith and courage, or to our +less intimate knowledge of their history!] + +[Footnote !: Pliny says, that the greater part of the Christians +persisted in avowing themselves to be so; the reason for his +consulting Trajan was the periclitantium numerus. Eusebius (l. +vi. c. 41) does not permit us to doubt that the number of those +who renounced their faith was infinitely below the number of +those who boldly confessed it. The prefect, he says and his +assessors present at the council, were alarmed at seeing the +crowd of Christians; the judges themselves trembled. Lastly, St. +Cyprian informs us, that the greater part of those who had +appeared weak brethren in the persecution of Decius, signalized +their courage in that of Gallius. Steterunt fortes, et ipso +dolore poenitentiae facti ad praelium fortiores Epist. lx. p. +142. - G.] + + IV. Notwithstanding the general rules established for the +conviction and punishment of the Christians, the fate of those +sectaries, in an extensive and arbitrary government, must still +in a great measure, have depended on their own behavior, the +circumstances of the times, and the temper of their supreme as +well as subordinate rulers. Zeal might sometimes provoke, and +prudence might sometimes avert or assuage, the superstitious fury +of the Pagans. A variety of motives might dispose the provincial +governors either to enforce or to relax the execution of the +laws; and of these motives the most forcible was their regard not +only for the public edicts, but for the secret intentions of the +emperor, a glance from whose eye was sufficient to kindle or to +extinguish the flames of persecution. As often as any occasional +severities were exercised in the different parts of the empire, +the primitive Christians lamented and perhaps magnified their own +sufferings; but the celebrated number of ten persecutions has +been determined by the ecclesiastical writers of the fifth +century, who possessed a more distinct view of the prosperous or +adverse fortunes of the church, from the age of Nero to that of +Diocletian. The ingenious parallels of the ten plagues of Egypt, +and of the ten horns of the Apocalypse, first suggested this +calculation to their minds; and in their application of the faith +of prophecy to the truth of history, they were careful to select +those reigns which were indeed the most hostile to the Christian +cause. ^104 But these transient persecutions served only to +revive the zeal and to restore the discipline of the faithful; +and the moments of extraordinary rigor were compensated by much +longer intervals of peace and security. The indifference of some +princes, and the indulgence of others, permitted the Christians +to enjoy, though not perhaps a legal, yet an actual and public, +toleration of their religion. + +[Footnote 104: See Mosheim, p. 97. Sulpicius Severus was the +first author of this computation; though he seemed desirous of +reserving the tenth and greatest persecution for the coming of +the Antichrist.] + +Chapter XVI: Conduct Towards The Christians, From Nero To +Constantine. + +Part V. + + The apology of Tertullian contains two very ancient, very +singular, but at the same time very suspicious, instances of +Imperial clemency; the edicts published by Tiberius, and by +Marcus Antoninus, and designed not only to protect the innocence +of the Christians, but even to proclaim those stupendous miracles +which had attested the truth of their doctrine. The first of +these examples is attended with some difficulties which might +perplex a sceptical mind. ^105 We are required to believe, that +Pontius Pilate informed the emperor of the unjust sentence of +death which he had pronounced against an innocent, and, as it +appeared, a divine, person; and that, without acquiring the +merit, he exposed himself to the danger of martyrdom; that +Tiberius, who avowed his contempt for all religion, immediately +conceived the design of placing the Jewish Messiah among the gods +of Rome; that his servile senate ventured to disobey the commands +of their master; that Tiberius, instead of resenting their +refusal, contented himself with protecting the Christians from +the severity of the laws, many years before such laws were +enacted, or before the church had assumed any distinct name or +existence; and lastly, that the memory of this extraordinary +transaction was preserved in the most public and authentic +records, which escaped the knowledge of the historians of Greece +and Rome, and were only visible to the eyes of an African +Christian, who composed his apology one hundred and sixty years +after the death of Tiberius. The edict of Marcus Antoninus is +supposed to have been the effect of his devotion and gratitude +for the miraculous deliverance which he had obtained in the +Marcomannic war. The distress of the legions, the seasonable +tempest of rain and hail, of thunder and of lightning, and the +dismay and defeat of the barbarians, have been celebrated by the +eloquence of several Pagan writers. If there were any Christians +in that army, it was natural that they should ascribe some merit +to the fervent prayers, which, in the moment of danger, they had +offered up for their own and the public safety. But we are still +assured by monuments of brass and marble, by the Imperial medals, +and by the Antonine column, that neither the prince nor the +people entertained any sense of this signal obligation, since +they unanimously attribute their deliverance to the providence of +Jupiter, and to the interposition of Mercury. During the whole +course of his reign, Marcus despised the Christians as a +philosopher, and punished them as a sovereign. ^106 ^* + +[Footnote 105: The testimony given by Pontius Pilate is first +mentioned by Justin. The successive improvements which the story +acquired (as if has passed through the hands of Tertullian, +Eusebius, Epiphanius, Chrysostom, Orosius, Gregory of Tours, and +the authors of the several editions of the acts of Pilate) are +very fairly stated by Dom Calmet Dissertat. sur l'Ecriture, tom. +iii. p. 651, &c.] + +[Footnote 106: On this miracle, as it is commonly called, of the +thundering legion, see the admirable criticism of Mr. Moyle, in +his Works, vol. ii. p. 81 - 390.] + +[Footnote *: Gibbon, with this phrase, and that below, which +admits the injustice of Marcus, has dexterously glossed over one +of the most remarkable facts in the early Christian history, that +the reign of the wisest and most humane of the heathen emperors +was the most fatal to the Christians. Most writers have ascribed +the persecutions under Marcus to the latent bigotry of his +character; Mosheim, to the influence of the philosophic party; +but the fact is admitted by all. A late writer (Mr. Waddington, +Hist. of the Church, p. 47) has not scrupled to assert, that +"this prince polluted every year of a long reign with innocent +blood;" but the causes as well as the date of the persecutions +authorized or permitted by Marcus are equally uncertain. + Of the Asiatic edict recorded by Melito. the date is +unknown, nor is it quite clear that it was an Imperial edict. If +it was the act under which Polycarp suffered, his martyrdom is +placed by Ruinart in the sixth, by Mosheim in the ninth, year of +the reign of Marcus. The martyrs of Vienne and Lyons are +assigned by Dodwell to the seventh, by most writers to the +seventeenth. In fact, the commencement of the persecutions of the +Christians appears to synchronize exactly with the period of the +breaking out of the Marcomannic war, which seems to have alarmed +the whole empire, and the emperor himself, into a paroxysm of +returning piety to their gods, of which the Christians were the +victims. See Jul, Capit. Script. Hist August. p. 181, edit. +1661. It is remarkable that Tertullian [Apologet. c. v.) +distinctly asserts that Verus (M. Aurelius) issued no edicts +against the Christians, and almost positively exempts him from +the charge of persecution. - M. + + This remarkable synchronism, which explains the persecutions +under M Aurelius, is shown at length in Milman's History of +Christianity, book ii. v. - M. 1845.] + + By a singular fatality, the hardships which they had endured +under the government of a virtuous prince, immediately ceased on +the accession of a tyrant; and as none except themselves had +experienced the injustice of Marcus, so they alone were protected +by the lenity of Commodus. The celebrated Marcia, the most +favored of his concubines, and who 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 the practice of vice with the precepts of the gospel, +she might hope to atone for the frailties of her sex and +profession by declaring herself the patroness of the Christians. +^107 Under the gracious protection of Marcia, they passed in +safety the thirteen years of a cruel tyranny; and when the empire +was established in the house of Severus, they formed a domestic +but more honorable connection with the new court. The emperor +was persuaded, that in a dangerous sickness, he had derived some +benefit, either spiritual or physical, from the holy oil, with +which one of his slaves had anointed him. He always treated with +peculiar distinction several persons of both sexes who had +embraced the new religion. The nurse as well as the preceptor of +Caracalla were Christians; ^* and if 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. ^108 Under the reign of Severus, the fury +of the populace was checked; the rigor of ancient laws was for +some time suspended; and the provincial governors were satisfied +with receiving an annual present from the churches within their +jurisdiction, as the price, or as the reward, of their +moderation. ^109 The controversy concerning the precise time of +the celebration of Easter, armed the bishops of Asia and Italy +against each other, and was considered as the most important +business of this period of leisure and tranquillity. ^110 Nor was +the peace of the church interrupted, till the increasing numbers +of proselytes seem at length to have attracted the attention, and +to have alienated the mind of Severus. With the design of +restraining the progress of Christianity, he published an edict, +which, though it was designed to affect only the new converts, +could not be carried into strict execution, without exposing to +danger and punishment the most zealous of their teachers and +missionaries. In this mitigated persecution we may still +discover the indulgent spirit of Rome and of Polytheism, which so +readily admitted every excuse in favor of those who practised the +religious ceremonies of their fathers. ^111 + +[Footnote 107: Dion Cassius, or rather his abbreviator Xiphilin, +l. lxxii. p. 1206. Mr. Moyle (p. 266) has explained the +condition of the church under the reign of Commodus.] + +[Footnote *: The Jews and Christians contest the honor of having +furnished a nurse is the fratricide son of Severus Caracalla. +Hist. of Jews, iii. 158. - M.] + +[Footnote 108: Compare the life of Caracalla in the Augustan +History, with the epistle of Tertullian to Scapula. Dr. Jortin +(Remarks on Ecclesiastical History, vol. ii. p. 5, &c.) considers +the cure of Severus by the means of holy oil, with a strong +desire to convert it into a miracle.] +[Footnote 109: Tertullian de Fuga, c. 13. The present was made +during the feast of the Saturnalia; and it is a matter of serious +concern to Tertullian, that the faithful should be confounded +with the most infamous professions which purchased the connivance +of the government.] + +[Footnote 110: Euseb. l. v. c. 23, 24. Mosheim, p. 435 - 447.] +[Footnote 111: Judaeos fieri sub gravi poena vetuit. Idem etiam +de Christianis sanxit. Hist. August. p. 70.] + + But the laws which Severus had enacted soon expired with the +authority of that emperor; and the Christians, after this +accidental tempest, enjoyed a calm of thirty-eight years. ^112 +Till this period they had usually held their assemblies in +private houses and sequestered places. They were now permitted +to erect and consecrate convenient edifices for the purpose of +religious worship; ^113 to purchase lands, even at Rome itself, +for the use of the community; and to conduct the elections of +their ecclesiastical ministers in so public, but at the same time +in so exemplary a manner, as to deserve the respectful attention +of the Gentiles. ^114 This long repose of the church was +accompanied with dignity. The reigns of those princes who +derived their extraction from the Asiatic provinces, proved the +most favorable to the Christians; the eminent persons of the +sect, instead of being reduced to implore the protection of a +slave or concubine, were admitted into the palace in the +honorable characters of priests and philosophers; and their +mysterious doctrines, which were already diffused among the +people, insensibly attracted the curiosity of their sovereign. +When the empress Mammaea passed through Antioch, she expressed a +desire of conversing with the celebrated Origen, the fame of +whose piety and learning was spread over the East. Origen obeyed +so flattering an invitation, and though he could not expect to +succeed in the conversion of an artful and ambitious woman, she +listened with pleasure to his eloquent exhortations, and +honorably dismissed him to his retirement in Palestine. ^115 The +sentiments of Mammaea were adopted by her son Alexander, and the +philosophic devotion of that emperor was marked by a singular but +injudicious regard for the Christian religion. In his domestic +chapel he placed the statues of Abraham, of Orpheus, of +Apollonius, and of Christ, as an honor justly due to those +respectable sages who had instructed mankind in the various modes +of addressing their homage to the supreme and universal Deity. +^116 A purer faith, as well as worship, was openly professed and +practised among his household. Bishops, perhaps for the first +time, were seen at court; and, after the death of Alexander, when +the inhuman Maximin discharged his fury on the favorites and +servants of his unfortunate benefactor, a great number of +Christians of every rank and of both sexes, were involved in the +promiscuous massacre, which, on their account, has improperly +received the name of Persecution. ^117 ^* + +[Footnote 112: Sulpicius Severus, l. ii. p. 384. This +computation (allowing for a single exception) is confirmed by the +history of Eusebius, and by the writings of Cyprian.] + +[Footnote 113: The 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 the peace of Alexander Severus; +the latter, to the peace of Gallienus.] +[Footnote 114: See the Augustan History, p. 130. The emperor +Alexander adopted their method of publicly proposing the names of +those persons who were candidates for ordination. It is true +that the honor of this practice is likewise attributed to the +Jews.] + +[Footnote 115: Euseb. Hist. Ecclesiast. l. vi. c. 21. Hieronym. +de Script. Eccles. c. 54. Mammaea was styled a holy and pious +woman, both by the Christians and the Pagans. From the former, +therefore, it was impossible that she should deserve that +honorable epithet.] + +[Footnote 116: See the Augustan History, p. 123. Mosheim (p. +465) seems to refine too much on the domestic religion of +Alexander. His design of building a public temple to Christ, +(Hist. August. p. 129,) and the objection which was suggested +either to him, or in similar circumstances to Hadrian, appear to +have no other foundation than an improbable report, invented by +the Christians, and credulously adopted by an historian of the +age of Constantine.] + +[Footnote 117: Euseb. l. vi. c. 28. It may be presumed that the +success of the Christians had exasperated the increasing bigotry +of the Pagans. Dion Cassius, who composed his history under the +former reign, had most probably intended for the use of his +master those counsels of persecution, which he ascribes to a +better age, and to and to the favorite of 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 to the Abbe de +la Bleterie (Memoires de l'Academie, tom. xxiv. p. 303 tom xxv. +p. 432.) + + Note: If this be the case, Dion Cassius must have known the +Christians 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 consequence with what Gibbon has said of +the ignorance of Dion Cassius even of the name of the Christians? + +(c. xvi. n. 24.) [Gibbon speaks of Dion's silence, not of his +ignorance. - M] The supposition in this note is supported by no +proof; it is probable that Dion Cassius has often designated the +Christians by the name of Jews. See Dion Cassius, l. lxvii. c +14, lxviii. l - G. + + On this point I should adopt the view of Gibbon rather than +that of M Guizot. - M] + +[Footnote *: It is with good reason that this massacre has been +called a persecution, for it lasted during the whole reign of +Maximin, as may be seen in Eusebius. (l. vi. c. 28.) Rufinus +expressly confirms it: Tribus annis a Maximino persecutione +commota, in quibus finem et persecutionis fecit et vitas Hist. l. +vi. c. 19. - G.] + + Notwithstanding the cruel disposition of Maximin, the +effects of his resentment against the Christians were of a very +local and temporary nature, and the pious Origen, who had been +proscribed as a devoted victim, was still reserved to convey the +truths of the gospel to the ear of monarchs. ^118 He addressed +several edifying letters to the emperor Philip, to his wife, and +to his mother; and as soon as that prince, who was born in the +neighborhood of Palestine, had usurped the Imperial sceptre, the +Christians acquired a friend and a protector. The public and +even partial favor of Philip towards the sectaries of the new +religion, and his constant reverence for the ministers of the +church, gave some color to the suspicion, which prevailed in his +own times, that the emperor himself was become a convert to the +faith; ^119 and afforded some grounds for a fable which was +afterwards invented, that he had been purified by confession and +penance from the guilt contracted by the murder of his innocent +predecessor. ^120 The fall of Philip introduced, with the change +of masters, a new system of government, so oppressive to the +Christians, that their former condition, ever since the time of +Domitian, was represented as a state of perfect freedom and +security, if compared with the rigorous treatment which they +experienced under the short reign of Decius. ^121 The virtues of +that prince will scarcely allow us to suspect that he was +actuated by a mean resentment against the favorites of his +predecessor; and it is more reasonable to believe, that in the +prosecution of his general design to restore the purity of Roman +manners, he was desirous of delivering the empire from what he +condemned as a recent and criminal superstition. The bishops of +the most considerable cities were removed by exile or death: the +vigilance of the magistrates prevented the clergy of Rome during +sixteen months from proceeding to a new election; and it was the +opinion of the Christians, that the emperor would more patiently +endure a competitor for the purple, than a bishop in the capital. +^122 Were it possible to suppose that the penetration of Decius +had discovered pride under the disguise of humility, or that he +could foresee the temporal dominion which might insensibly arise +from the claims of spiritual authority, we might be less +surprised, that he should consider the successors of St. Peter, +as the most formidable rivals to those of Augustus. + +[Footnote 118: Orosius, l. vii. c. 19, mentions Origen as the +object of Maximin's resentment; and Firmilianus, a Cappadocian +bishop of that age, gives a just and confined idea of this +persecution, (apud Cyprian Epist. 75.)] +[Footnote 119: The mention of those princes who were publicly +supposed to be Christians, as we find it in an epistle of +Dionysius of Alexandria, (ap. Euseb. l. vii. c. 10,) evidently +alludes to Philip and his family, and forms a contemporary +evidence, that such a report had prevailed; but the Egyptian +bishop, who lived at an humble distance from the court of Rome, +expresses himself with a becoming diffidence concerning the truth +of the fact. The epistles of Origen (which were extant in the +time of Eusebius, see l. vi. c. 36) would most probably decide +this curious rather than important question.] +[Footnote 120: Euseb. l. vi. c. 34. The story, as is usual, has +been embellished by succeeding writers, and is confuted, with +much superfluous learning, by Frederick Spanheim, (Opera Varia, +tom. ii. p. 400, &c.)] +[Footnote 121: Lactantius, de Mortibus Persecutorum, c. 3, 4. +After celebrating the felicity and increase of the church, under +a long succession of good princes, he adds, "Extitit post annos +plurimos, execrabile animal, Decius, qui vexaret Ecclesiam."] + +[Footnote 122: Euseb. l. vi. c. 39. Cyprian. Epistol. 55. The +see of Rome remained vacant from the martyrdom of Fabianus, the +20th of January, A. D. 259, till the election of Cornelius, the +4th of June, A. D. 251 Decius had probably left Rome, since he +was killed before the end of that year.] + The administration of Valerian was distinguished by a levity +and inconstancy ill suited to the gravity of the Roman Censor. +In the first part of his reign, he surpassed in clemency those +princes who had been suspected of an attachment to the Christian +faith. In the last three years and a half, listening to the +insinuations of a minister addicted to the superstitions of +Egypt, he adopted the maxims, and imitated the severity, of his +predecessor Decius. ^123 The accession of Gallienus, which +increased the calamities of the empire, restored peace to the +church; and the Christians obtained the free exercise of their +religion by an edict addressed to the bishops, and conceived in +such terms as seemed to acknowledge their office and public +character. ^124 The ancient laws, without being formally +repealed, were suffered to sink into oblivion; and (excepting +only some hostile intentions which are attributed to the emperor +Aurelian ^125) the disciples of Christ passed above forty years +in a state of prosperity, far more dangerous to their virtue than +the severest trials of persecution. + +[Footnote 123: Euseb. l. vii. c. 10. Mosheim (p. 548) has very +clearly shown that the praefect Macrianus, and the Egyptian +Magus, are one and the same person.] + +[Footnote 124: Eusebius (l. vii. c. 13) gives us a Greek version +of this Latin edict, which seems to have been very concise. By +another edict, he directed that the Coemeteria should be restored +to the Christians.] +[Footnote 125: Euseb. l. vii. c. 30. Lactantius de M. P. c. 6. +Hieronym. in Chron. p. 177. Orosius, l. vii. c. 23. Their +language is in general so ambiguous and incorrect, that we are at +a loss to determine how far Aurelian had carried his intentions +before he was assassinated. Most of the moderns (except Dodwell, +Dissertat. Cyprian. vi. 64) have seized the occasion of gaining a +few extraordinary martyrs. + + Note: Dr. Lardner has detailed, with his usual impartiality, +all that has come down to us relating to the persecution of +Aurelian, and concludes by saying, "Upon more carefully examining +the words of Eusebius, and observing the accounts of other +authors, learned men have generally, and, as I think, very +judiciously, determined, that Aurelian not only intended, but did +actually persecute: but his persecution was short, he having died +soon after the publication of his edicts." Heathen Test. c. +xxxvi. - Basmage positively pronounces the same opinion: Non +intentatum modo, sed executum quoque brevissimo tempore mandatum, +nobis infixum est in aniasis. Basn. Ann. 275, No. 2 and compare +Pagi Ann. 272, Nos. 4, 12, 27 - G.] + + The story of Paul of Samosata, who filled the metropolitan +see of Antioch, while the East was in the hands of Odenathus and +Zenobia, may serve to illustrate the condition and character of +the times. The wealth of that prelate was a sufficient evidence +of his guilt, since it was neither derived from the inheritance +of his fathers, nor acquired by the arts of honest industry. But +Paul considered the service of the church as a very lucrative +profession. ^126 His ecclesiastical jurisdiction was venal and +rapacious; he extorted frequent contributions from the most +opulent of the faithful, and converted to his own use a +considerable part of the public revenue. By his pride and +luxury, the Christian religion was rendered odious in the eyes of +the Gentiles. His council chamber and his throne, the splendor +with which he appeared in public, the suppliant crowd who +solicited his attention, the multitude of letters and petitions +to which he dictated his answers, and the perpetual hurry of +business in which he was involved, were circumstances much better +suited to the state of a civil magistrate, ^127 than to the +humility of a primitive bishop. When he harangued his people +from the pulpit, Paul affected the figurative style and the +theatrical gestures of an Asiatic sophist, while the cathedral +resounded with the loudest and most extravagant acclamations in +the praise of his divine eloquence. Against those 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 treasures of the church on his +dependent clergy, who were permitted to imitate their master in +the gratification of every sensual appetite. For Paul indulged +himself very freely in the pleasures of the table, and he had +received into the episcopal palace two young and beautiful women +as the constant companions of his leisure moments. ^128 +[Footnote 126: Paul was better pleased with the title of +Ducenarius, than with that of bishop. The Ducenarius was an +Imperial procurator, so called from his salary of two hundred +Sestertia, or 1600l. a year. (See Salmatius ad Hist. August. p. +124.) Some critics suppose that the bishop of Antioch had +actually obtained such an office from Zenobia, while others +consider it only as a figurative expression of his pomp and +insolence.] + +[Footnote 127: Simony was not unknown in those times; and the +clergy some times bought what they intended to sell. It appears +that the bishopric of Carthage was purchased by a wealthy matron, +named Lucilla, for her servant Majorinus. The price was 400 +Folles. (Monument. Antiq. ad calcem Optati, p. 263.) Every +Follis contained 125 pieces of silver, and the whole sum may be +computed at about 2400l.] + +[Footnote 128: If we are desirous of extenuating the vices of +Paul, we must suspect the assembled bishops of the East of +publishing the most malicious calumnies in circular epistles +addressed to all the churches of the empire, (ap. Euseb. l. vii. +c. 30.)] + + Notwithstanding these scandalous vices, if Paul of Samosata +had preserved the purity of the orthodox faith, his reign over +the capital of Syria would have ended only with his life; and had +a seasonable persecution intervened, an effort of courage might +perhaps have placed him in the rank of saints and martyrs. ^* +Some nice and subtle errors, which he imprudently adopted and +obstinately maintained, concerning the doctrine of the Trinity, +excited the zeal and indignation of the Eastern churches. ^129 +From Egypt to the Euxine Sea, the bishops were in arms and in +motion. Several councils were held, confutations were published, +excommunications were pronounced, ambiguous explanations were by +turns accepted and refused, treaties were concluded and violated, +and at length Paul of Samosata was degraded from his episcopal +character, by the sentence of seventy or eighty bishops, who +assembled for that purpose at Antioch, and who, without +consulting the rights of the clergy or people, appointed a +successor by their own authority. The manifest irregularity of +this proceeding increased the numbers of the discontented +faction; and as Paul, who was no stranger to the arts of courts, +had insinuated himself into the favor of Zenobia, he maintained +above four years the possession of the episcopal house and +office. ^* The victory of Aurelian changed the face of the East, +and the two contending parties, who applied to each other the +epithets of schism and heresy, were either commanded or permitted +to plead their cause before the tribunal of the conqueror. This +public and very singular trial affords a convincing proof that +the existence, the property, the privileges, and the internal +policy of the Christians, were acknowledged, if not by the laws, +at least by the magistrates, of the empire. As a Pagan and as a +soldier, it could scarcely be expected that Aurelian should enter +into the discussion, whether the sentiments of Paul or those of +his adversaries were most agreeable to the true standard of the +orthodox faith. His determination, however, was founded on the +general principles of equity and reason. He considered the +bishops of Italy as the most impartial and respectable judges +among the Christians, and as soon as he was informed that they +had unanimously approved the sentence of the council, he +acquiesced in their opinion, and immediately gave orders that +Paul should be compelled to relinquish the temporal possessions +belonging to an office, of which, in the judgment of his +brethren, he had been regularly deprived. But while we applaud +the justice, we should not overlook the policy, of Aurelian, who +was desirous of restoring and cementing the dependence of the +provinces on the capital, by every means which could bind the +interest or prejudices of any part of his subjects. ^130 + +[Footnote *: It appears, nevertheless, that the vices and +immoralities of Paul of Samosata had much weight in the sentence +pronounced against him by the bishops. The object of the letter, +addressed by the synod to the bishops of Rome and Alexandria, was +to inform them of the change in the faith of Paul, the +altercations and discussions to which it had given rise, as well +as of his morals and the whole of his conduct. Euseb. Hist. +Eccl. l. vii c. xxx - G.] +[Footnote 129: His heresy (like those of Noetus and Sabellius, in +the same century) tended to confound the mysterious distinction +of the divine persons. See Mosheim, p. 702, &c.] + +[Footnote *: "Her favorite, (Zenobia's,) Paul of Samosata, seems +to have entertained some views of attempting a union between +Judaism and Christianity; both parties rejected the unnatural +alliance." Hist. of Jews, iii. 175, and Jost. Geschichte der +Israeliter, iv. 167. The protection of the severe Zenobia is the +only circumstance which may raise a doubt of the notorious +immorality of Paul. - M.] + +[Footnote 130: Euseb. Hist. Ecclesiast. l. vii. c. 30. We are +entirely indebted to him for the curious story of Paul of +Samosata.] + Amidst the frequent revolutions of the empire, the +Christians still flourished in peace and prosperity; and +notwithstanding a celebrated aera of martyrs has been deduced +from the accession of Diocletian, ^131 the new system of policy, +introduced and maintained by the wisdom of that prince, +continued, during more than eighteen years, to breathe the +mildest and most liberal spirit of religious toleration. The +mind of Diocletian himself was less adapted indeed to speculative +inquiries, than to the active labors of war and government. His +prudence rendered him averse to any great innovation, and though +his temper was not very susceptible of zeal or enthusiasm, he +always maintained an habitual regard for the ancient deities of +the empire. But the leisure of the two empresses, of his wife +Prisca, and of Valeria, his daughter, permitted them to listen +with more attention and respect to the truths of Christianity, +which in every age has acknowledged its important obligations to +female devotion. ^132 The principal eunuchs, Lucian ^133 and +Dorotheus, Gorgonius and Andrew, who attended the person, +possessed the favor, and governed the household of Diocletian, +protected by their powerful influence the faith which they had +embraced. Their example was imitated by many of the most +considerable officers of the palace, who, in their respective +stations, had the care of the Imperial ornaments, of the robes, +of the furniture, of the jewels, and even of the private +treasury; and, though it might sometimes be incumbent on them to +accompany the emperor when he sacrificed in the temple, ^134 they +enjoyed, with their wives, their children, and their slaves, the +free exercise of the Christian religion. Diocletian and his +colleagues frequently conferred the most important offices on +those persons who avowed their abhorrence for the worship of the +gods, but who had displayed abilities proper for the service of +the state. The bishops held an honorable rank in their +respective provinces, and were treated with distinction and +respect, not only by the people, but by the magistrates +themselves. Almost in every city, the ancient churches were +found insufficient to contain the increasing multitude of +proselytes; and in their place more stately and capacious +edifices were erected for the public worship of the faithful. +The corruption of manners and principles, so forcibly lamented by +Eusebius, ^135 may be considered, not only as a consequence, but +as a proof, of the liberty which the Christians enjoyed and +abused under the reign of Diocletian. Prosperity had relaxed the +nerves of discipline. Fraud, envy, and malice prevailed in every +congregation. The presbyters aspired to the episcopal office, +which every day became an object more worthy of their ambition. +The bishops, who contended with each other for ecclesiastical +preeminence, appeared by their conduct to claim a secular and +tyrannical power in the church; and the lively faith which still +distinguished the Christians from the Gentiles, was shown much +less in their lives, than in their controversial writings. + +[Footnote 131: The Aera of Martyrs, which is still in use among +the Copts and the Abyssinians, must be reckoned from the 29th of +August, A. D. 284; as the beginning of the Egyptian year was +nineteen days earlier than the real accession of Diocletian. See +Dissertation Preliminaire a l'Art de verifier les Dates. + + Note: On the aera of martyrs see the very curious +dissertations of Mons Letronne on some recently discovered +inscriptions in Egypt and Nubis, p. 102, &c. - M.] + +[Footnote 132: The expression of Lactantius, (de M. P. c. 15,) +"sacrificio pollui coegit," implies their antecedent conversion +to the faith, but does not seem to justify the assertion of +Mosheim, (p. 912,) that they had been privately baptized.] + +[Footnote 133: M. de Tillemont (Memoires Ecclesiastiques, tom. v. +part i. p. 11, 12) has quoted from the Spicilegium of Dom Luc +d'Archeri a very curious instruction which Bishop Theonas +composed for the use of Lucian.] +[Footnote 134: Lactantius, de M. P. c. 10.] + +[Footnote 135: Eusebius, Hist. Ecclesiast. l. viii. c. 1. The +reader who consults the original will not accuse me of +heightening the picture. Eusebius was about sixteen years of age +at the accession of the emperor Diocletian.] + Notwithstanding this seeming security, an attentive observer +might discern some symptoms that threatened the church with a +more violent persecution than any which she had yet endured. The +zeal and rapid progress of the Christians awakened the +Polytheists from their supine indifference in the cause of those +deities, whom custom and education had taught them to revere. +The mutual provocations of a religious war, which had already +continued above two hundred years, exasperated the animosity of +the contending parties. The Pagans were incensed at the rashness +of a recent and obscure sect, which presumed to accuse their +countrymen of error, and to devote their ancestors to eternal +misery. The habits of justifying the popular mythology against +the invectives of an implacable enemy, produced in their minds +some sentiments of faith and reverence for a system which they +had been accustomed to consider with the most careless levity. +The supernatural powers assumed by the church inspired at the +same time terror and emulation. The followers of the established +religion intrenched themselves behind a similar fortification of +prodigies; invented new modes of sacrifice, of expiation, and of +initiation; ^136 attempted to revive the credit of their expiring +oracles; ^137 and listened with eager credulity to every +impostor, who flattered their prejudices by a tale of wonders. +^138 Both parties seemed to acknowledge the truth of those +miracles which were claimed by their adversaries; and while they +were contented with ascribing them to the arts of magic, and to +the power of daemons, they mutually concurred in restoring and +establishing the reign of superstition. ^139 Philosophy, her most +dangerous enemy, was now converted into her most useful ally. +The groves of the academy, the gardens of Epicurus, and even the +portico of the Stoics, were almost deserted, as so many different +schools of scepticism or impiety; ^140 and many among the Romans +were desirous that the writings of Cicero should be condemned and +suppressed by the authority of the senate. ^141 The prevailing +sect of the new Platonicians judged it prudent to connect +themselves with the priests, whom perhaps they despised, against +the Christians, whom they had reason to fear. These fashionable +Philosophers prosecuted the design of extracting allegorical +wisdom from the fictions of the Greek poets; instituted +mysterious rites of devotion for the use of their chosen +disciples; recommended the worship of the ancient gods as the +emblems or ministers of the Supreme Deity, and composed against +the faith of the gospel many elaborate treatises, ^142 which have +since been committed to the flames by the prudence of orthodox +emperors. ^143 +[Footnote 136: We might quote, among a great number of instances, +the mysterious worship of Mythras, and the Taurobolia; the latter +of which became fashionable in the time of the Antonines, (see a +Dissertation of M. de Boze, in the Memoires de l'Academie des +Inscriptions, tom. ii. p. 443.) The romance of Apuleius is as +full of devotion as of satire. + + Note: On the extraordinary progress of the Mahriac rites, in +the West, see De Guigniaud's translation of Creuzer, vol. i. p. +365, and Note 9, tom. i. part 2, p. 738, &c. - M.] + +[Footnote 137: The impostor Alexander very strongly recommended +the oracle of Trophonius at Mallos, and those of Apollo at Claros +and Miletus, (Lucian, tom. ii. p. 236, edit. Reitz.) The last of +these, whose singular history would furnish a very curious +episode, was consulted by Diocletian before he published his +edicts of persecution, (Lactantius, de M. P. c. 11.)] +[Footnote 138: Besides the ancient stories of Pythagoras and +Aristeas, the cures performed at the shrine of Aesculapius, and +the fables related of Apollonius 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 no such +intention.] +[Footnote 139: It is seriously to be lamented, that the Christian +fathers, by acknowledging the supernatural, or, as they deem it, +the infernal part of Paganism, destroy with their own hands the +great advantage which we might otherwise derive from the liberal +concessions of our adversaries.] +[Footnote 140: Julian (p. 301, edit. Spanheim) expresses a pious +joy, that the providence of the gods had extinguished the impious +sects, and for the most part destroyed the books of the +Pyrrhonians and Epicuraeans, which had been very numerous, since +Epicurus himself composed no less than 300 volumes. See Diogenes +Laertius, l. x. c. 26.] + +[Footnote 141: Cumque alios audiam mussitare indignanter, et +dicere opportere statui per Senatum, aboleantur ut haec scripta, +quibus Christiana Religio comprobetur, et vetustatis opprimatur +auctoritas. Arnobius adversus Gentes, l. iii. p. 103, 104. He +adds very properly, Erroris convincite Ciceronem . . . nam +intercipere scripta, et publicatam velle submergere lectionem, +non est Deum defendere sed veritatis testificationem timere.] + +[Footnote 142: Lactantius (Divin. Institut. l. v. c. 2, 3) gives +a very clear and spirited account of two of these philosophic +adversaries of the faith. The large treatise of Porphyry against +the Christians consisted of thirty books, and was composed in +Sicily about the year 270.] + +[Footnote 143: See Socrates, Hist. Ecclesiast. l. i. c. 9, and +Codex Justinian. l. i. i. l. s.] + +Chapter XVI: Conduct Towards The Christians, From Nero To +Constantine. + +Part VI. + + Although the policy of Diocletian and the humanity of +Constantius inclined them to preserve inviolate the maxims of +toleration, it was soon discovered that their two associates, +Maximian and Galerius, entertained the most implacable aversion +for the name and religion of the Christians. The minds of those +princes had never been enlightened by science; education had +never softened their temper. They owed their greatness to their +swords, and in their most elevated fortune they still retained +their superstitious prejudices of soldiers and peasants. In the +general administration of the provinces they obeyed the laws +which their benefactor had established; but they frequently found +occasions of exercising within their camp and palaces a secret +persecution, ^144 for which the imprudent zeal of the Christians +sometimes offered the most specious pretences. A sentence of +death was executed upon Maximilianus, an African youth, who had +been produced by his own father ^* before the magistrate as a +sufficient and legal recruit, but who obstinately persisted in +declaring, that his conscience would not permit him to embrace +the profession of a soldier. ^145 It could scarcely be expected +that any government should suffer the action of Marcellus the +Centurion to pass with impunity. On the day of a public +festival, that officer threw away his belt, his arms, and the +ensigns of his office, and exclaimed with a loud voice, that he +would obey none but Jesus Christ the eternal King, and that he +renounced forever the use of carnal weapons, and the service of +an idolatrous master. The soldiers, as soon as they recovered +from their astonishment, secured the person of Marcellus. He was +examined in the city of Tingi by the president of that part of +Mauritania; and as he was convicted by his own confession, he was +condemned and beheaded for the crime of desertion. ^146 Examples +of such a nature savor much less of religious persecution than of +martial or even civil law; but they served to alienate the mind +of the emperors, to justify the severity of Galerius, who +dismissed a great number of Christian officers from their +employments; and to authorize the opinion, that a sect of +enthusiastics, which avowed principles so repugnant to the public +safety, must either remain useless, or would soon become +dangerous, subjects of the empire. + +[Footnote 144: Eusebius, l. viii. c. 4, c. 17. He limits the +number of military martyrs, by a remarkable expression, of which +neither his Latin nor French translator have rendered the energy. + +Notwithstanding the authority of Eusebius, and the silence of +Lactantius, Ambrose, Sulpicius, Orosius, &c., it has been long +believed, that the Thebaean legion, consisting of 6000 +Christians, suffered martyrdom by the order of Maximian, in the +valley of the Pennine Alps. The story was first published about +the middle of the 5th century, by Eucherius, bishop of Lyons, who +received it from certain persons, who received it from Isaac, +bishop of Geneva, who is said to have received it from Theodore, +bishop of Octodurum. The abbey of St. Maurice still subsists, a +rich monument of the credulity of Sigismund, king of Burgundy. +See an excellent Dissertation in xxxvith volume of the +Bibliotheque Raisonnee, p. 427-454.] + +[Footnote *: M. Guizot criticizes Gibbon's account of this +incident. He supposes that Maximilian was not "produced by his +father as a recruit," but was obliged to appear by the law, which +compelled the sons of soldiers to serve at 21 years old. Was not +this a law of Constantine? Neither does this circumstance appear +in the acts. His father had clearly expected him to serve, as he +had bought him a new dress for the occasion; yet he refused to +force the conscience of his son. and when Maximilian was +condemned to death, the father returned home in joy, blessing God +for having bestowed upon him such a son. - M.] + +[Footnote 145: See the Acta Sincera, p. 299. The accounts of his +martyrdom and that of Marcellus, bear every mark of truth and +authenticity.] +[Footnote 146: Acta Sincera, p. 302. + + Note: M. Guizot here justly observes, that it was the +necessity of sacrificing to the gods, which induced Marcellus to +act in this manner. - M.] + After the success of the Persian war had raised the hopes +and the reputation of Galerius, he passed a winter with +Diocletian in the palace of Nicomedia; and the fate of +Christianity became the object of their secret consultations. +^147 The experienced emperor was still inclined to pursue +measures of lenity; and though he readily consented to exclude +the Christians from holding any employments in the household or +the army, he urged in the strongest terms the danger as well as +cruelty of shedding the blood of those deluded fanatics. +Galerius at length extorted ^!! from him the permission of +summoning a council, composed of a few persons the most +distinguished in the civil and military departments of the state. + +The important question was agitated in their presence, and those +ambitious courtiers easily discerned, that it was incumbent on +them to second, by their eloquence, the importunate violence of +the Caesar. It may be presumed, that they insisted on every +topic which might interest the pride, the piety, or the fears, of +their sovereign in the destruction of Christianity. Perhaps they +represented, that the glorious work of the deliverance of the +empire was left imperfect, as long as an independent people was +permitted to subsist and multiply in the heart of the provinces. +The Christians, (it might specially be alleged,) renouncing the +gods and the institutions of Rome, had constituted a distinct +republic, which might yet be suppressed before it had acquired +any military force; but which was already governed by its own +laws and magistrates, was possessed of a public treasure, and was +intimately connected in all its parts by the frequent assemblies +of the bishops, to whose decrees their numerous and opulent +congregations yielded an implicit obedience. Arguments like +these may seem to have determined the reluctant mind of +Diocletian to embrace a new system of persecution; but though we +may suspect, it is not in our power to relate, the secret +intrigues of the palace, the private views and resentments, the +jealousy of women or eunuchs, and all those trifling but decisive +causes which so often influence the fate of empires, and the +councils of the wisest monarchs. ^148 + +[Footnote 147: De M. P. c. 11. Lactantius (or whoever was the +author of this little treatise) was, at that time, an inhabitant +of Nicomedia; but it seems difficult to conceive how he could +acquire so accurate a knowledge of what passed in the Imperial +cabinet. + + Note: Lactantius, who was subsequently chosen by Constantine +to educate Crispus, might easily have learned these details from +Constantine himself, already of sufficient age to interest +himself in the affairs of the government, and in a position to +obtain the best information. - G. + This assumes the doubtful point of the authorship of the +Treatise. - M.] +[Footnote !!: This permission was not extorted from Diocletian; +he took the step of his own accord. Lactantius says, in truth, +Nec tamen deflectere potuit (Diocletianus) praecipitis hominis +insaniam; placuit ergo amicorum sententiam experiri. (De Mort. +Pers. c. 11.) But this measure was in accordance with the +artificial character of Diocletian, who wished to have the +appearance of doing good by his own impulse and evil by the +impulse of others. Nam erat hujus malitiae, cum bonum quid facere +decrevisse sine consilio faciebat, ut ipse laudaretur. Cum autem +malum. quoniam id reprehendendum sciebat, in consilium multos +advocabat, ut alioram culpao adscriberetur quicquid ipse +deliquerat. Lact. ib. Eutropius says likewise, Miratus callide +fuit, sagax praeterea et admodum subtilis ingenio, et qui +severitatem suam aliena invidia vellet explere. Eutrop. ix. c. +26. - G. + + The manner in which the coarse and unfriendly pencil of the +author of the Treatise de Mort. Pers. has drawn the character of +Diocletian, seems inconsistent with this profound subtilty. Many +readers will perhaps agree with Gibbon. - M.] + +[Footnote 148: The only circumstance which we can discover, is +the devotion and jealousy of the mother of Galerius. She is +described by Lactantius, as Deorum montium cultrix; mulier +admodum superstitiosa. She had a great influence over her son, +and was offended by the disregard of some of her Christian +servants. + + Note: This disregard consisted in the Christians fasting and +praying instead of participating in the banquets and sacrifices +which she celebrated with the Pagans. Dapibus sacrificabat poene +quotidie ac vicariis suis epulis exhibebat. Christiani +abstinebant, et illa cum gentibus epulante, jejuniis hi et +oratiomibus insisteban; hine concepit odium Lact de Hist. Pers. +c. 11. - G.] + + The pleasure of the emperors was at length signified to the +Christians, who, during the course of this melancholy winter, had +expected, with anxiety, the result of so many secret +consultations. The twenty-third of February, which coincided +with the Roman festival of the Terminalia, ^149 was appointed +(whether from accident or design) to set bounds to the progress +of Christianity. At the earliest dawn of day, the Praetorian +praefect, ^150 accompanied by several generals, tribunes, and +officers of the revenue, repaired to the principal church of +Nicomedia, which was situated on an eminence in the most populous +and beautiful part of the city. The doors were instantly broke +open; they rushed into the sanctuary; and as they searched in +vain for some visible object of worship, they were obliged to +content themselves with committing to the flames the volumes of +the holy Scripture. The ministers of Diocletian were followed by +a numerous body of guards and pioneers, who marched in order of +battle, and were provided with all the instruments used in the +destruction of fortified cities. By their incessant labor, a +sacred edifice, which towered above the Imperial palace, and had +long excited the indignation and envy of the Gentiles, was in a +few hours levelled with the ground. ^151 + +[Footnote 149: The worship and festival of the god Terminus are +elegantly illustrated by M. de Boze, Mem. de l'Academie des +Inscriptions, tom. i. p. 50.] + +[Footnote 150: In our only MS. of Lactantius, we read profectus; +but reason, and the authority of all the critics, allow us, +instead of that word, which destroys the sense of the passage, to +substitute proefectus.] +[Footnote 151: Lactantius, de M. P. c. 12, gives a very lively +picture of the destruction of the church.] + + The next day the general edict of persecution was published; +^152 and though Diocletian, still averse to the effusion of +blood, had moderated the fury of Galerius, who proposed, that +every one refusing to offer sacrifice should immediately be burnt +alive, the penalties inflicted on the obstinacy of the Christians +might be deemed sufficiently rigorous and effectual. It was +enacted, that their churches, in all the provinces of the empire, +should be demolished to their foundations; and the punishment of +death was denounced against all who should presume to hold any +secret assemblies for the purpose of religious worship. The +philosophers, who now assumed the unworthy office of directing +the blind zeal of persecution, had diligently studied the nature +and genius of the Christian religion; and as they were not +ignorant that the speculative doctrines of the faith were +supposed to be contained in the writings of the prophets, of the +evangelists, and of the apostles, they most probably suggested +the order, that the bishops and presbyters should deliver all +their sacred books into the hands of the magistrates; who were +commanded, under the severest penalties, to burn them in a public +and solemn manner. By the same edict, the property of the church +was at once confiscated; and the several parts of which it might +consist were either sold to the highest bidder, united to the +Imperial domain, bestowed on the cities and corporations, or +granted to the solicitations of rapacious courtiers. After +taking such effectual measures to abolish the worship, and to +dissolve the government of the Christians, it was thought +necessary to subject to the most intolerable hardships the +condition of those perverse individuals who should still reject +the religion of nature, of Rome, and of their ancestors. Persons +of a liberal birth were declared incapable of holding any honors +or employments; slaves were forever deprived of the hopes of +freedom, and the whole body of the people were put out of the +protection of the law. The judges were authorized to hear and to +determine every action that was brought against a Christian. But +the Christians were not permitted to complain of any injury which +they themselves had suffered; and thus those unfortunate +sectaries were exposed to the severity, while they were excluded +from the benefits, of public justice. This new species of +martyrdom, so painful and lingering, so obscure and ignominious, +was, perhaps, the most proper to weary the constancy of the +faithful: nor can it be doubted that the passions and interest of +mankind were disposed on this occasion to second the designs of +the emperors. But the policy of a well-ordered government must +sometimes have interposed in behalf of the oppressed Christians; +^* nor was it possible for the Roman princes entirely to remove +the apprehension of punishment, or to connive at every act of +fraud and violence, without exposing their own authority and the +rest of their subjects to the most alarming dangers. ^153 +[Footnote 152: Mosheim, (p. 922 - 926,) from man scattered +passages of Lactantius and Eusebius, has collected a very just +and accurate notion of this edict though he sometimes deviates +into conjecture and refinement.] +[Footnote *: This wants proof. The edict of Diocletian was +executed in all its right during the rest of his reign. Euseb. +Hist. Eccl. l viii. c. 13. - G.] + +[Footnote 153: Many ages afterwards, Edward J. practised, with +great success, the same mode of persecution against the clergy of +England. See Hume's History of England, vol. ii. p. 300, last +4to edition.] + + This edict was scarcely exhibited to the public view, in the +most conspicuous place of Nicomedia, before it was torn down by +the hands of a Christian, who expressed at the same time, by the +bitterest invectives, his contempt as well as abhorrence for such +impious and tyrannical governors. His offence, according to the +mildest laws, amounted to treason, and deserved death. And if it +be true that he was a person of rank and education, those +circumstances could serve only to aggravate his guilt. He was +burnt, or rather roasted, by a slow fire; and his executioners, +zealous to revenge the personal insult which had been offered to +the emperors, exhausted every refinement of cruelty, without +being able to subdue his patience, or to alter the steady and +insulting smile which in his dying agonies he still preserved in +his countenance. The Christians, though they confessed that his +conduct had not been strictly conformable to the laws of +prudence, admired the divine fervor of his zeal; and the +excessive commendations which they lavished on the memory of +their hero and martyr, contributed to fix a deep impression of +terror and hatred in the mind of Diocletian. ^154 + +[Footnote 154: Lactantius only calls him quidam, et si non recte, +magno tamer animo, &c., c. 12. Eusebius (l. viii. c. 5) adorns +him with secular honora Neither have condescended to mention his +name; but the Greeks celebrate his memory under that of John. +See Tillemont, Memones Ecclesiastiques, tom. v. part ii. p. 320.] + + His fears were soon alarmed by the view of a danger from +which he very narrowly escaped. Within fifteen days the palace +of Nicomedia, and even the bed-chamber of Diocletian, were twice +in flames; and though both times they were extinguished without +any material damage, the singular repetition of the fire was +justly considered as an evident proof that it had not been the +effect of chance or negligence. The suspicion naturally fell on +the Christians; and it was suggested, with some degree of +probability, that those desperate fanatics, provoked by their +present sufferings, and apprehensive of impending calamities, had +entered into a conspiracy with their faithful brethren, the +eunuchs of the palace, against the lives of two emperors, whom +they detested as the irreconcilable enemies of the church of God. + +Jealousy and resentment prevailed in every breast, but especially +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 into prison. Every mode of +torture was put in practice, and the court, as well as city, was +polluted with many bloody executions. ^155 But as it was found +impossible to extort any discovery of this mysterious +transaction, it seems incumbent on us either to presume the +innocence, or to admire the resolution, of the sufferers. A few +days afterwards Galerius 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 derive a +partial and imperfect knowledge of this persecution, are at a +loss how to account for the fears and dangers of the emperors. +Two of these writers, a prince and a rhetorician, were eye- +witnesses of the fire of Nicomedia. The one ascribes it to +lightning, and the divine wrath; the other affirms, that it was +kindled by the malice of Galerius himself. ^156 +[Footnote 155: Lactantius de M. P. c. 13, 14. Potentissimi +quondam Eunuchi necati, per quos Palatium et ipse constabat. +Eusebius (l. viii. c. 6) mentions the cruel executions of the +eunuchs, Gorgonius and Dorotheus, and of Anthimius, bishop of +Nicomedia; and both those writers describe, in a vague but +tragical manner, the horrid scenes which were acted even in the +Imperial presence.] + +[Footnote 156: See Lactantius, Eusebius, and Constantine, ad +Coetum Sanctorum, c. xxv. Eusebius confesses his ignorance of +the cause of this fire. + Note: As the history of these times affords us no example of +any attempts made by the Christians against their persecutors, we +have no reason, not the slightest probability, to attribute to +them the fire in the palace; and the authority of Constantine and +Lactantius remains to explain it. M. de Tillemont has shown how +they can be reconciled. Hist. des Empereurs, Vie de Diocletian, +xix. - G. Had it been done by a Christian, it would probably +have been a fanatic, who would have avowed and gloried in it. +Tillemont's supposition that the fire was first caused by +lightning, and fed and increased by the malice of Galerius, seems +singularly improbable. - M.] + As the edict against the Christians was designed for a +general law of the whole empire, and as Diocletian and Galerius, +though they might not wait for the consent, were assured of the +concurrence, of the Western princes, it would appear more +consonant to our ideas of policy, that the governors of all the +provinces should have received secret instructions to publish, on +one and the same day, this declaration of war within their +respective departments. It was at least to be expected, that the +convenience of the public highways and established posts would +have enabled the emperors to transmit their orders with the +utmost despatch from the palace of Nicomedia to the extremities +of the Roman world; and that they would not have suffered fifty +days to elapse, before the edict was published in Syria, and near +four months before it was signified to the cities of Africa. ^157 +This delay may perhaps be imputed to the cautious temper of +Diocletian, who had yielded a reluctant consent to the measures +of persecution, and who was desirous of trying the experiment +under his more immediate eye, before he gave way to the disorders +and discontent which it must inevitably occasion in the distant +provinces. At first, indeed, the magistrates were restrained +from the effusion of blood; but the use of every other severity +was permitted, and even recommended to their zeal; nor could the +Christians, though they cheerfully resigned the ornaments of +their churches, resolve to interrupt their religious assemblies, +or to deliver their sacred books to the flames. The pious +obstinacy of Felix, an African bishop, appears to have +embarrassed 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 praefect of Italy; +and Felix, who disdained even to give an evasive answer, was at +length beheaded at Venusia, in Lucania, a place on which the +birth of Horace has conferred fame. ^158 This precedent, and +perhaps some Imperial rescript, which was issued in consequence +of it, appeared to authorize the governors of provinces, in +punishing with death the refusal of the Christians to deliver up +their sacred books. There were undoubtedly many persons who +embraced this opportunity of obtaining the crown of martyrdom; +but there were likewise too many who purchased an ignominious +life, by discovering and betraying the holy Scripture into the +hands of infidels. A great number even of bishops and presbyters +acquired, by this criminal compliance, the opprobrious epithet of +Traditors; and their offence was productive of much present +scandal and of much future discord in the African church. ^159 + +[Footnote 157: Tillemont, Memoires Ecclesiast. tom. v. part i. p. +43.] +[Footnote 158: See the Acta Sincera of Ruinart, p. 353; those of +Felix of Thibara, or Tibiur, appear much less corrupted than in +the other editions, which afford a lively specimen of legendary +license.] + +[Footnote 159: See the first book of Optatus of Milevis against +the Donatiste, Paris, 1700, edit. Dupin. He lived under the +reign of Valens.] + The copies as well as the versions of Scripture, were +already so multiplied in the empire, that the most severe +inquisition could no longer be attended with any fatal +consequences; and even the sacrifice of those volumes, which, in +every congregation, were preserved for public use, required the +consent of some treacherous and unworthy Christians. But the +ruin of the churches was easily effected by the authority of the +government, and by the labor of the Pagans. In some provinces, +however, the magistrates contented themselves with shutting up +the places of religious worship. In others, they more literally +complied with the terms of the edict; and after taking away the +doors, the benches, and the pulpit, which they burnt as it were +in a funeral pile, they completely demolished the remainder of +the edifice. ^160 It is perhaps to this melancholy occasion that +we should apply a very remarkable story, which is related with so +many circumstances of variety and improbability, that it serves +rather to excite than to satisfy our curiosity. In a small town +in Phrygia, of whose names as well as situation we are left +ignorant, it should seem that the magistrates and the body of the +people had embraced the Christian faith; and as some resistance +might be apprehended to the execution of the edict, the governor +of the province was supported by a numerous detachment of +legionaries. On their approach the citizens threw themselves +into the church, with the resolution either of defending by arms +that sacred edifice, or of perishing in its ruins. They +indignantly rejected the notice and permission which was given +them to retire, till the soldiers, provoked by their obstinate +refusal, set fire to the building on all sides, and consumed, by +this extraordinary kind of martyrdom, a great number of +Phrygians, with their wives and children. ^161 + +[Footnote 160: The ancient monuments, published at the end of +Optatus, p. 261, &c. describe, in a very circumstantial manner, +the proceedings of the governors in the destruction of churches. +They made a minute inventory of the plate, &c., which they found +in them. That of the church of 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.] + +[Footnote 161: Lactantius (Institut. Divin. v. 11) confines the +calamity to the conventiculum, with its congregation. Eusebius +(viii. 11) extends it to a whole city, and introduces something +very like a regular siege. His ancient Latin translator, Rufinus, +adds the important circumstance of the permission given to the +inhabitants of retiring from thence. As Phrygia reached to the +confines of Isauria, it is possible that the restless temper of +those independent barbarians may have contributed to this +misfortune. + Note: Universum populum. Lact. Inst. Div. v. 11. - G.] + Some slight disturbances, though they were suppressed almost +as soon as excited, in Syria and the frontiers of Armenia, +afforded the enemies of the church a very plausible occasion to +insinuate, that those troubles had been secretly fomented by the +intrigues of the bishops, who had already forgotten their +ostentatious professions of passive and unlimited obedience. ^162 +The resentment, or the fears, of Diocletian, at length +transported him beyond the bounds of moderation, which he had +hitherto preserved, and he declared, in a series of cruel edicts, +^! his intention of abolishing the Christian name. By the first +of these edicts, the governors of the provinces were directed to +apprehend all persons of the ecclesiastical order; and the +prisons, destined for the vilest criminals, were soon filled with +a multitude of bishops, presbyters, deacons, readers, and +exorcists. By a second edict, the magistrates were commanded to +employ every method of severity, which might reclaim them from +their odious superstition, and oblige them to return to the +established worship of the gods. This rigorous order was +extended, by a subsequent edict, to the whole body of Christians, +who were exposed to a violent and general persecution. ^163 +Instead of those salutary restraints, which had required the +direct and solemn testimony of an accuser, it became the duty as +well as the interest of the Imperial officers to discover, to +pursue, and to torment the most obnoxious among the faithful. +Heavy penalties were denounced against all who should presume to +save a prescribed sectary from the just indignation of the gods, +and of the emperors. Yet, notwithstanding the severity of this +law, the virtuous courage of many of the Pagans, in concealing +their friends or relations, affords an honorable proof, that the +rage of superstition had not extinguished in their minds the +sentiments of nature and humanity. ^164 + +[Footnote 162: Eusebius, l. viii. c. 6. M. de Valois (with some +probability) thinks that he has discovered the Syrian rebellion +in an oration of Libanius; and that it was a rash attempt of the +tribune Eugenius, who with only five hundred men seized Antioch, +and might perhaps allure the Christians by the promise of +religious toleration. From Eusebius, (l. ix. c. 8,) as well as +from Moses of Chorene, (Hist. Armen. l. ii. 77, &c.,) it may be +inferred, that Christianity was already introduced into Armenia.] + +[Footnote !: He had already passed them in his first edict. It +does not appear that resentment or fear had any share in the new +persecutions: perhaps they originated in superstition, and a +specious apparent respect for its ministers. The oracle of +Apollo, consulted by Diocletian, gave no answer; and said that +just men hindered it from speaking. Constantine, who assisted at +the ceremony, affirms, with an oath, that when questioned about +these men, the high priest named the Christians. "The Emperor +eagerly seized on this answer; and drew against the innocent a +sword, destined only to punish the guilty: he instantly issued +edicts, written, if I may use the expression, with a poniard; and +ordered the judges to employ all their skill to invent new modes +of punishment. Euseb. Vit Constant. l. ii c 54." - G.] + +[Footnote 163: See Mosheim, p. 938: the text of Eusebius very +plainly shows that the governors, whose powers were enlarged, not +restrained, by the new laws, could punish with death the most +obstinate Christians as an example to their brethren.] + +[Footnote 164: Athanasius, p. 833, ap. Tillemont, Mem. +Ecclesiast. tom v part i. 90.] + +Chapter XVI: Conduct Towards The Christians, From Nero To +Constantine. + +Part VII. + + Diocletian had no sooner published his edicts against the +Christians, than, as if he had been desirous of committing to +other hands the work of persecution, he divested himself of the +Imperial purple. The character and situation of his colleagues +and successors sometimes urged them to enforce and sometimes +inclined them to suspend, the execution of these rigorous laws; +nor can we acquire a just and distinct idea of this important +period of ecclesiastical history, unless we separately consider +the state of Christianity, in the different parts of the empire, +during the space of ten years, which elapsed between the first +edicts of Diocletian and the final peace of the church. + + The mild and humane temper of Constantius was averse to the +oppression of any part of his subjects. The principal offices of +his palace were exercised by Christians. He loved their persons, +esteemed their fidelity, and entertained not any dislike to their +religious principles. But as long as Constantius remained in the +subordinate station of Caesar, it was not in his power openly to +reject the edicts of Diocletian, or to disobey the commands of +Maximian. His authority contributed, however, to alleviate the +sufferings which he pitied and abhorred. He consented with +reluctance to the ruin of the churches; but he ventured to +protect the Christians themselves from the fury of the populace, +and from the rigor of the laws. The provinces of Gaul (under +which we may probably include those of Britain) were indebted for +the singular tranquillity which they enjoyed, to the gentle +interposition of their sovereign. ^165 But Datianus, the +president or governor of Spain, actuated either by zeal or +policy, chose rather to execute the public edicts of the +emperors, than to understand the secret intentions of +Constantius; and it can scarcely be doubted, that his provincial +administration was stained with the blood of a few martyrs. ^166 +The elevation of Constantius to the supreme and independent +dignity of Augustus, gave a free scope to the exercise of his +virtues, and the shortness of his reign did not prevent him from +establishing a system of toleration, of which he 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 deserved the appellation of +the first emperor who publicly professed and established the +Christian religion. The motives of his conversion, as they may +variously be deduced from benevolence, from policy, from +conviction, or from remorse, and the progress of the revolution, +which, under his powerful influence and that of his sons, +rendered Christianity the reigning religion of the Roman empire, +will form a very interesting and important chapter in the present +volume of this history. At present it may be sufficient to +observe, that every victory of Constantine was productive of some +relief or benefit to the church. +[Footnote 165: Eusebius, l. viii. c. 13. Lactantius de M. P. c. +15. Dodwell (Dissertat. Cyprian. xi. 75) represents them as +inconsistent with each other. But the former evidently speaks of +Constantius in the station of Caesar, and the latter of the same +prince in the rank of Augustus.] + +[Footnote 166: Datianus is mentioned, in Gruter's Inscriptions, +as having determined the limits between the territories of Pax +Julia, and those of Ebora, both cities in the southern part of +Lusitania. If we recollect the neighborhood of those places to +Cape St. Vincent, we may suspect that the celebrated deacon and +martyr of that name had been inaccurately assigned by Prudentius, +&c., to Saragossa, or Valentia. See the pompous history of his +sufferings, in the Memoires de Tillemont, tom. v. part ii. p. +58-85. Some critics are of opinion, that the department of +Constantius, as Caesar, did not include Spain, which still +continued under the immediate jurisdiction of Maximian.] + + The provinces of Italy and Africa experienced a short but +violent persecution. The rigorous edicts of Diocletian were +strictly and cheerfully executed by his associate Maximian, who +had long hated the Christians, and who delighted in acts of blood +and violence. In the autumn of the first year of the +persecution, the two emperors met at Rome to celebrate their +triumph; several oppressive laws appear to have issued from their +secret consultations, and the diligence of the magistrates was +animated by the presence of their sovereigns. After Diocletian +had divested himself of the purple, Italy and Africa were +administered under the name of Severus, and were exposed, without +defence, to the implacable resentment of his master Galerius. +Among the martyrs 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 +important office of treasurer of the private Jemesnes. Adauctus +is the more remarkable for being the only person of rank and +distinction who appears to have suffered death, during the whole +course of this general persecution. ^167 + +[Footnote 167: Eusebius, l. viii. c. 11. Gruter, Inscrip. p. +1171, No. 18. Rufinus has mistaken the office of Adauctus, as +well as the place of his martyrdom. + + Note: M. Guizot suggests the powerful cunuchs of the palace. +Dorotheus, Gorgonius, and Andrew, admitted by Gibbon himself to +have been put to death, p. 66.] + + The revolt of Maxentius immediately restored peace to the +churches of Italy and Africa; and the same tyrant who oppressed +every other class of his subjects, showed himself just, humane, +and even partial, towards the afflicted Christians. He depended +on their gratitude and affection, and very naturally presumed, +that the injuries which they had suffered, and the dangers which +they still apprehended from his most inveterate enemy, would +secure the fidelity of a party already considerable by their +numbers and opulence. ^168 Even the conduct of Maxentius towards +the bishops of Rome and Carthage may be considered as the proof +of his toleration, since it is probable that the most orthodox +princes would adopt the same measures with regard to their +established clergy. Marcellus, the former of these prelates, had +thrown the capital into confusion, by the severe penance which he +imposed on a great number of Christians, who, during the late +persecution, had renounced or dissembled their religion. The +rage of faction broke out in frequent and violent seditions; the +blood of the faithful was shed by each other's hands, and the +exile of Marcellus, whose prudence seems to have been less +eminent than his zeal, was found to be the only measure capable +of restoring peace to the distracted church of Rome. ^169 The +behavior of Mensurius, bishop of Carthage, appears to have been +still more reprehensible. A deacon of that city had published a +libel against the emperor. The offender took refuge in the +episcopal palace; and though it was somewhat early to advance any +claims of ecclesiastical immunities, the bishop refused to +deliver him up to the officers of justice. For this treasonable +resistance, Mensurius was summoned to court, and instead of +receiving a legal sentence of death or banishment, he was +permitted, after a short examination, to return to his diocese. +^170 Such was the happy condition of the Christian subjects of +Maxentius, that whenever they were desirous of procuring for +their own use any bodies of martyrs, they were obliged to +purchase them from the most distant provinces of the East. A +story is related of Aglae, a Roman lady, descended from a +consular family, and possessed of so ample an estate, that it +required the management of seventy-three stewards. Among these +Boniface was the favorite of his mistress; and as Aglae mixed +love with devotion, it is reported that he was admitted to share +her bed. Her fortune enabled her to gratify the pious desire of +obtaining some sacred relics from the East. She intrusted +Boniface with a considerable sum of gold, and a large quantity of +aromatics; and her lover, attended by twelve horsemen and three +covered chariots, undertook a remote pilgrimage, as far as Tarsus +in Cilicia. ^171 + +[Footnote 168: Eusebius, l. viii. c. 14. But as Maxentius was +vanquished by Constantine, it suited the purpose of Lactantius to +place his death among those of the persecutors. + + Note: M. Guizot directly contradicts this statement of +Gibbon, and appeals to Eusebius. Maxentius, who assumed the +power in Italy, pretended at first to be a Christian, to gain the +favor of the Roman people; he ordered his ministers to cease to +persecute the Christians, affecting a hypocritical piety, in +order to appear more mild than his predecessors; but his actions +soon proved that he was very different from what they had at +first hoped." The actions of Maxentius were those of a cruel +tyrant,but not those of a persecutor: the Christians, like the +rest of his subjects, suffered from his vices, but they were not +oppressed as a sect. Christian females were exposed to his +lusts, as well as to the brutal violence of his colleague +Maximian, but they were not selected as Christians. - M.] + +[Footnote 169: The epitaph of Marcellus is to be found in Gruter, +Inscrip. p 1172, No. 3, and it contains all that we know of his +history. Marcellinus and Marcellus, whose names follow in the +list of popes, are supposed by many critics to be different +persons; but the learned Abbe de Longuerue was convinced that +they were one and the same. + + Veridicus rector lapsis quia crimina flere + Praedixit miseris, fuit omnibus hostis amarus. + Hinc furor, hinc odium; sequitur discordia, lites, + Seditio, caedes; solvuntur foedera pacis. + Crimen ob alterius, Christum qui in pace negavit + Finibus expulsus patriae est feritate Tyranni. + Haec breviter Damasus voluit comperta referre: + Marcelli populus meritum cognoscere posset. + +We may observe that Damasus was made Bishop of Rome, A. D. 366.] +[Footnote 170: Optatus contr. Donatist. l. i. c. 17, 18. + + Note: The words of Optatus are, Profectus (Roman) causam +dixit; jussus con reverti Carthaginem; perhaps, in pleading his +cause, he exculpated himself, since he received an order to +return to Carthage. - G.] +[Footnote 171: The Acts of the Passion of St. Boniface, which +abound in miracles and declamation, are published by Ruinart, (p. +283 - 291,) both in Greek and Latin, from the authority of very +ancient manuscripts. + Note: We are ignorant whether Aglae and Boniface were +Christians at the time of their unlawful connection. See +Tillemont. Mem, Eccles. Note on the Persecution of Domitian, +tom. v. note 82. M. de Tillemont proves also that the history is +doubtful. - G. + + Sir D. Dalrymple (Lord Hailes) calls the story of Aglae and +Boniface as of equal authority with our popular histories of +Whittington and Hickathrift. Christian Antiquities, ii. 64. - M.] + + The sanguinary temper of Galerius, the first and principal +author of the persecution, was formidable to those Christians +whom their misfortunes had placed within the limits of his +dominions; and it may fairly be presumed that many persons of a +middle rank, who were not confined by the chains either of wealth +or of poverty, very frequently deserted their native country, and +sought a refuge in the milder climate of the West. ^! As long as +he commanded only the armies and provinces of Illyricum, he could +with difficulty either find or make a considerable number of +martyrs, in a warlike country, which had entertained the +missionaries of the gospel with more coldness and reluctance than +any other part of the empire. ^172 But when Galerius had obtained +the supreme power, and the government of the East, he indulged in +their fullest extent his zeal and cruelty, not only in the +provinces of Thrace and Asia, which acknowledged his immediate +jurisdiction, but in those of Syria, Palestine, and Egypt, where +Maximin gratified his own inclination, by yielding a rigorous +obedience to the stern commands of his benefactor. ^173 The +frequent disappointments of his ambitious views, the experience +of six years of persecution, and the salutary reflections which a +lingering and painful distemper suggested to the mind of +Galerius, at length convinced him that the most violent efforts +of despotism are insufficient to extirpate a whole people, or to +subdue their religious prejudices. Desirous of repairing the +mischief that he had occasioned, he published in his own name, +and in those of Licinius and Constantine, a general edict, which, +after a pompous recital of the Imperial titles, proceeded in the +following manner: - + +[Footnote !: A little after this, Christianity was propagated to +the north of the Roman provinces, among the tribes of Germany: a +multitude of Christians, forced by the persecutions of the +Emperors to take refuge among the Barbarians, were received with +kindness. Euseb. de Vit. Constant. ii. 53. Semler Select. cap. +H. E. p. 115. The Goths owed their first knowledge of +Christianity to a young girl, a prisoner of war; she continued in +the midst of them her exercises of piety; she fasted, prayed, and +praised God day and night. When she was asked what good would +come of so much painful trouble she answered, "It is thus that +Christ, the Son of God, is to be honored." Sozomen, ii. c. 6. - +G.] + +[Footnote 172: During the four first centuries, there exist few +traces of either bishops or bishoprics in the western Illyricum. +It has been thought probable that the primate of Milan extended +his jurisdiction over Sirmium, the capital of that great +province. See the Geographia Sacra of Charles de St. Paul, p. +68-76, with the observations of Lucas Holstenius.] +[Footnote 173: The viiith book of Eusebius, as well as the +supplement concerning the martyrs of Palestine, principally +relate to the persecution of Galerius and Maximin. The general +lamentations with which Lactantius opens the vth book of his +Divine Institutions allude to their cruelty.] + "Among the important cares which have occupied our mind for +the utility and preservation of the empire, it was our intention +to correct and reestablish all things according to the ancient +laws and public discipline of the Romans. We were particularly +desirous of reclaiming into the way of reason and nature, the +deluded Christians who had renounced the religion and ceremonies +instituted by their fathers; and presumptuously despising the +practice of antiquity, had invented extravagant laws and +opinions, according to the dictates of their fancy, and had +collected a various society from the different provinces of our +empire. The edicts, which we have published to enforce the +worship of the gods, having exposed many of the Christians to +danger and distress, many having suffered death, and many more, +who still persist in their impious folly, being left destitute of +any public exercise of religion, we are disposed to extend to +those unhappy men the effects of our wonted clemency. We permit +them therefore freely to profess their private opinions, and to +assemble in their conventicles without fear or molestation, +provided always that they preserve a due respect to the +established laws and government. By another rescript we shall +signify our intentions to the judges and magistrates; and we hope +that our indulgence will engage the Christians to offer up their +prayers to the Deity whom they adore, for our safety and +prosperity for their own, and for that of the republic." ^174 It +is not usually in the language of edicts and manifestos that we +should search for the real character or the secret motives of +princes; but as these were the words of a dying emperor, his +situation, perhaps, may be admitted as a pledge of his sincerity. + +[Footnote 174: Eusebius (l. viii. c. 17) has given us a Greek +version, and Lactantius (de M. P. c. 34) the Latin original, of +this memorable edict. Neither of these writers seems to recollect +how directly it contradicts whatever they have just affirmed of +the remorse and repentance of Galerius. + Note: But Gibbon has answered this by his just observation, +that it is not in the language of edicts and manifestos that we +should search * * for the secre motives of princes. - M.] + + When Galerius subscribed this edict of toleration, he was +well assured that Licinius would readily comply with the +inclinations of his friend and benefactor, and that any measures +in favor of the Christians would obtain the approbation of +Constantine. But the emperor would not venture to insert in the +preamble the name of Maximin, whose consent was of the greatest +importance, and who succeeded a few days afterwards to the +provinces of Asia. In the first six months, however, of his new +reign, Maximin affected to adopt the prudent counsels of his +predecessor; and though he never condescended to secure the +tranquillity of the church by a public edict, Sabinus, his +Praetorian praefect, addressed a circular letter to all the +governors and magistrates of the provinces, expatiating on the +Imperial clemency, acknowledging the invincible obstinacy of the +Christians, and directing the officers of justice to cease their +ineffectual prosecutions, and to connive at the secret assemblies +of those enthusiasts. In consequence of these orders, great +numbers of Christians were released from prison, or delivered +from the mines. The confessors, singing hymns of triumph, +returned into their own countries; and those who had yielded to +the violence of the tempest, solicited with tears of repentance +their readmission into the bosom of the church. ^175 +[Footnote 175: Eusebius, l. ix. c. 1. He inserts the epistle of +the praefect.] + + But this treacherous calm was of short duration; nor could +the Christians of the East place any confidence in the character +of their sovereign. Cruelty and superstition were the ruling +passions of the soul of Maximin. The former suggested the means, +the latter pointed out the objects of persecution. The emperor +was devoted to the worship of the gods, to the study of magic, +and to the belief of oracles. The prophets or philosophers, whom +he revered as the favorites of Heaven, were frequently raised to +the government of provinces, and admitted into his most secret +councils. They easily convinced him that the Christians had been +indebted for their victories to their regular discipline, and +that the weakness of polytheism had principally flowed from a +want of union and subordination among the ministers of religion. +A system of government was therefore instituted, which was +evidently copied from the policy of the church. In all the great +cities of the empire, the temples were repaired and beautified by +the order of Maximin, and the officiating priests of the various +deities were subjected to the authority of a superior pontiff +destined to oppose the bishop, and to promote the cause of +paganism. These pontiffs acknowledged, in their turn, the +supreme jurisdiction of the metropolitans or high priests of the +province, who acted as the immediate vicegerents of the emperor +himself. A white robe was the ensign of their dignity; and these +new prelates were carefully selected from the most noble and +opulent families. By the influence of the magistrates, and of +the sacerdotal order, a great number of dutiful addresses were +obtained, particularly from the cities of Nicomedia, Antioch, and +Tyre, which artfully represented the well-known intentions of the +court as the general sense of the people; solicited the emperor +to consult the laws of justice rather than the dictates of his +clemency; expressed their abhorrence of the Christians, and +humbly prayed that those impious sectaries might at least be +excluded from the limits of their respective territories. The +answer of Maximin to the address which he obtained from the +citizens of Tyre is still extant. He praises their zeal and +devotion in terms of the highest satisfaction, descants on the +obstinate impiety of the Christians, and betrays, by the +readiness with which he consents to their banishment, that he +considered himself as receiving, rather than as conferring, an +obligation. The priests as well as the magistrates were +empowered to enforce the execution of his edicts, which were +engraved on tables of brass; and though it was recommended to +them to avoid the effusion of blood, the most cruel and +ignominious punishments were inflicted on the refractory +Christians. ^176 + +[Footnote 176: See Eusebius, l. viii. c. 14, l. ix. c. 2 - 8. +Lactantius de M. P. c. 36. These writers agree in representing +the arts of Maximin; but the former relates the execution of +several martyrs, while the latter expressly affirms, occidi +servos Dei vetuit. + + Note: It is easy to reconcile them; it is sufficient to +quote the entire text of Lactantius: Nam cum clementiam specie +tenus profiteretur, occidi servos Dei vetuit, debilitari jussit. +Itaque confessoribus effodiebantur oculi, amputabantur manus, +nares vel auriculae desecabantur. Haec ille moliens Constantini +litteris deterretur. Dissimulavit ergo, et tamen, si quis +inciderit. mari occulte mergebatur. This detail of torments +inflicted on the Christians easily reconciles Lactantius and +Eusebius. Those who died in consequence of their tortures, those +who were plunged into the sea, might well pass for martyrs. The +mutilation of the words of Lactantius has alone given rise to the +apparent contradiction. - G. + + Eusebius. ch. vi., relates the public martyrdom of the aged +bishop of Emesa, with two others, who were thrown to the wild +beasts, the beheading of Peter, bishop of Alexandria, with +several others, and the death of Lucian, presbyter of Antioch, +who was carried to Numidia, and put to death in prison. The +contradiction is direct and undeniable, for although Eusebius may +have misplaced the former martyrdoms, it may be doubted whether +the authority of Maximin extended to Nicomedia till after the +death of Galerius. The last edict of toleration issued by +Maximin and published by Eusebius himself, Eccl. Hist. ix. 9. +confirms the statement of Lactantius. - M.] + + The Asiatic Christians had every thing to dread from the +severity of a bigoted monarch who prepared his measures of +violence with such deliberate policy. But a few months had +scarcely elapsed before the edicts published by the two Western +emperors obliged Maximin to suspend the prosecution of his +designs: the civil war which he so rashly undertook against +Licinius employed all his attention; and the defeat and death of +Maximin soon delivered the church from the last and most +implacable of her enemies. ^177 +[Footnote 177: A few days before his death, he published a very +ample edict of toleration, in which he imputes all the severities +which the Christians suffered to the judges and governors, who +had misunderstood his intentions.See the edict of Eusebius, l. +ix. c. 10.] + + In this general view of the persecution, which was first +authorized by the edicts of Diocletian, I have purposely +refrained from describing the particular sufferings and deaths of +the Christian martyrs. It would have been an easy task, from the +history of Eusebius, from the declamations of Lactantius, and +from the most ancient acts, to collect a long series of horrid +and disgustful pictures, and to fill many pages with 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 inflict upon the human body. These +melancholy scenes might be enlivened by a crowd of visions and +miracles destined either to delay the death, to celebrate the +triumph, or to discover the relics of those canonized saints who +suffered for the name of Christ. But I cannot determine what I +ought to transcribe, till I am satisfied how much I ought to +believe. The gravest of the ecclesiastical historians, Eusebius +himself, indirectly confesses, that he has related whatever might +redound to the glory, and that he has suppressed all that could +tend to the disgrace, of religion. ^178 Such an acknowledgment +will naturally excite a suspicion that a writer who has so openly +violated one of the fundamental laws of history, has not paid a +very strict regard to the observance of the other; and the +suspicion will derive additional credit from the character of +Eusebius, ^* which was less tinctured with credulity, and more +practised in the arts of courts, than that of almost any of his +contemporaries. On some particular occasions, when the +magistrates were exasperated by some personal motives of interest +or resentment, the rules of prudence, and perhaps of decency, to +overturn the altars, to pour out imprecations against the +emperors, or to strike the judge as he sat on his tribunal, it +may be presumed, that every mode of torture which cruelty could +invent, or constancy could endure, was exhausted on those devoted +victims. ^179 Two circumstances, however, have been unwarily +mentioned, which insinuate that the general treatment of the +Christians, who had been apprehended by the officers of justice, +was less intolerable than it is usually imagined to have been. +1. The confessors who were condemned to work in the mines were +permitted by the humanity or the negligence of their keepers to +build chapels, and freely to profess their religion in the midst +of those dreary habitations. ^180 2. The bishops were obliged to +check and to censure the forward zeal of the Christians, who +voluntarily threw themselves into the hands of the magistrates. +Some of these were persons oppressed by poverty and debts, who +blindly sought to terminate a miserable existence by a glorious +death. Others were allured by the hope that a short confinement +would expiate the sins of a whole life; and others again were +actuated by the less honorable motive of deriving a plentiful +subsistence, and perhaps a considerable profit, from the alms +which the charity of the faithful bestowed on the prisoners. ^181 +After the church had triumphed over all her enemies, the interest +as well as vanity of the captives prompted them to magnify the +merit of their respective sufferings. A convenient distance of +time or place gave an ample scope to the progress of fiction; and +the frequent instances which might be alleged of holy martyrs, +whose wounds had been instantly healed, whose strength had been +renewed, and whose lost members had miraculously been restored, +were extremely convenient for the purpose of removing every +difficulty, and of silencing every objection. The most +extravagant legends, as they conduced to the honor of the church, +were applauded by the credulous multitude, countenanced by the +power of the clergy, and attested by the suspicious evidence of +ecclesiastical history. + +[Footnote 178: Such is the fair deduction from two remarkable +passages in Eusebius, l. viii. c. 2, and de Martyr. Palestin. c. +12. The prudence of the historian has exposed his own character +to censure and suspicion. It was well known that he himself had +been thrown into prison; and it was suggested that he had +purchased his deliverance by some dishonorable compliance. The +reproach was urged in his lifetime, and even in his presence, at +the council of Tyre. See Tillemont, Memoires Ecclesiastiques, +tom. viii. part i. p. 67.] +[Footnote *: Historical criticism does not consist in rejecting +indiscriminately all the facts which do not agree with a +particular system, as Gibbon does in this chapter, in which, +except at the last extremity, he will not consent to believe a +martyrdom. Authorities are to be weighed, not excluded from +examination. Now, the Pagan historians justify in many places +the detail which have been transmitted to us by the historians of +the church, concerning the tortures endured by the Christians. +Celsus reproaches the Christians with holding their assemblies in +secret, on account of the fear inspired by their sufferings, "for +when you are arrested," he says, "you are dragged to punishment: +and, before you are put to death, you have to suffer all kinds of +tortures." Origen cont. Cels. l. i. ii. vi. viii. passing. +Libanius, the panegyrist of Julian, says, while speaking of the +Christians. + Those who followed a corrupt religion were in continual +apprehensions; they feared lest Julian should invent tortures +still more refined than those to which they had been exposed +before, as mutilation, burning alive, &c.; for the emperors had +inflicted upon them all these barbarities." Lib. Parent in +Julian. ap. Fab. Bib. Graec. No. 9, No. 58, p. 283 - G.] +[Footnote *: This sentence of Gibbon has given rise to several +learned dissertation: Moller, de Fide Eusebii Caesar, &c., +Havniae, 1813. Danzius, de Eusebio Caes. Hist. Eccl. Scriptore, +ejusque tide historica recte aestimanda, &c., Jenae, 1815. +Kestner Commentatio de Eusebii Hist. Eccles. conditoris +auctoritate et fide, &c. See also Reuterdahl, de Fontibus +Historiae Eccles. Eusebianae, Lond. Goth., 1826. Gibbon's +inference may appear stronger than the text will warrant, yet it +is difficult, after reading the passages, to dismiss all +suspicion of partiality from the mind. - M.] + +[Footnote 179: The ancient, and perhaps authentic, account of the +sufferings of Tarachus and his companions, (Acta Sincera Ruinart, +p. 419 - 448,) is filled with strong expressions of resentment +and contempt, which could not fail of irritating the magistrate. +The behavior of Aedesius to Hierocles, praefect of Egypt, was +still more extraordinary. Euseb. de Martyr. Palestin. c. 5. + + Note: M. Guizot states, that the acts of Tarachus and his +companion contain nothing that appears dictated by violent +feelings, (sentiment outre.) Nothing can be more painful than the +constant attempt of Gibbon throughout this discussion, to find +some flaw in the virtue and heroism of the martyrs, some +extenuation for the cruelty of the persecutors. But truth must +not be sacrificed even to well-grounded moral indignation. +Though the language of these martyrs is in great part that of +calm de fiance, of noble firmness, yet there are many expressions +which betray "resentment and contempt." "Children of Satan, +worshippers of Devils," is their common appellation of the +heathen. One of them calls the judge another, one curses, and +declares that he will curse the Emperors, as pestilential and +bloodthirsty tyrants, whom God will soon visit in his wrath. On +the other hand, though at first they speak the milder language of +persuasion, the cold barbarity of the judges and officers might +surely have called forth one sentence of abhorrence from Gibbon. +On the first unsatisfactory answer, "Break his jaw," is the order +of the judge. They direct and witness the most excruciating +tortures; the people, as M. Guizot observers, were so much +revolted by the cruelty of Maximus that when the martyrs appeared +in the amphitheatre, fear seized on all hearts, and general +murmurs against the unjust judge rank through the assembly. It +is singular, at least, that Gibbon should have quoted "as +probably authentic," acts so much embellished with miracle as +these of Tarachus are, particularly towards the end. - M. + + Note: Scarcely were the authorities informed of this, than +the president of the province, a man, says Eusebius, harsh and +cruel, banished the confessors, some to Cyprus, others to +different parts of Palestine, and ordered them to be tormented by +being set to the most painful labors. Four of them, whom he +required to abjure their faith and refused, were burnt alive. +Euseb. de Mart. Palest. c. xiii. - G. Two of these were bishops; +a fifth, Silvanus, bishop of Gaza, was the last martyr; another, +named John was blinded, but used to officiate, and recite from +memory long passages of the sacred writings - M.] + +[Footnote 180: Euseb. de Martyr. Palestin. c. 13.] + +[Footnote 181: Augustin. 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 the African church.] + +Chapter XVI: Conduct Towards The Christians, From Nero To +Constantine. + +Part VIII. + + The vague descriptions of exile and imprisonment, of pain +and torture, are so easily exaggerated or softened by the pencil +of an artful orator, ^* that we are naturally induced to inquire +into a fact of a more distinct and stubborn kind; the number of +persons who suffered death in consequence of the edicts published +by Diocletian, his associates, and his successors. The recent +legendaries record whole armies and cities, which were at once +swept away by the undistinguishing rage of persecution. The more +ancient writers content themselves with pouring out a liberal +effusion of loose and tragical invectives, without condescending +to ascertain the precise number of those persons who were +permitted to seal with their blood their belief of the gospel. +From the history of Eusebius, it may, however, be collected, that +only nine bishops were punished with death; and we are assured, +by his particular enumeration of the martyrs of Palestine, that +no more than ninety-two Christians were entitled to that +honorable appellation. ^182 ^! As we are unacquainted with the +degree of episcopal zeal and courage which prevailed at that +time, it is not in our power to draw any useful inferences from +the former of these facts: but the latter may serve to justify a +very important and probable conclusion. According to the +distribution of Roman provinces, Palestine may be considered as +the sixteenth part of the Eastern empire: ^183 and since there +were some governors, who from a real or affected clemency had +preserved their hands unstained with the blood of the faithful, +^184 it is reasonable to believe, that the country which had +given birth to Christianity, produced at least the sixteenth part +of the martyrs who suffered death within the dominions of +Galerius and Maximin; the whole might consequently amount to +about fifteen hundred, a number which, if it is equally divided +between the ten years of the persecution, will allow an annual +consumption of one hundred and fifty martyrs. Allotting the same +proportion to the provinces of Italy, Africa, and perhaps Spain, +where, at the end of two or three years, the rigor of the penal +laws was either suspended or abolished, the multitude of +Christians in the Roman empire, on whom a capital punishment was +inflicted by a judicia, sentence, will be reduced to somewhat +less than two thousand persons. Since it cannot be doubted that +the Christians were more numerous, and their enemies more +exasperated, in the time of Diocletian, than they had ever been +in any former persecution, this probable and moderate computation +may teach us to estimate the number of primitive saints and +martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the important purpose of +introducing Christianity into the world. + +[Footnote *: Perhaps there never was an instance of an author +committing so deliberately the fault which he reprobates so +strongly in others. What is the dexterous management of the more +inartificial historians of Christianity, in exaggerating the +numbers of the martyrs, compared to the unfair address with which +Gibbon here quietly dismisses from the account all the horrible +and excruciating tortures which fell short of death? The reader +may refer to the xiith chapter (book viii.) of Eusebius for the +description and for the scenes of these tortures. - M.] + +[Footnote 182: Eusebius de Martyr. Palestin. c. 13. He closes +his narration by assuring us that these were the martyrdoms +inflicted in Palestine, during the whole course of the +persecution. The 9th chapter of his viiith book, which relates +to the province of Thebais in Egypt, may seem to contradict our +moderate computation; but it will only lead us to admire the +artful management of the historian. Choosing for the scene of +the most exquisite cruelty the most remote and sequestered +country of the Roman empire, he relates that in Thebais from ten +to one hundred persons had frequently suffered martyrdom in the +same day. But when he proceeds to mention his own journey into +Egypt, his language insensibly becomes more cautious and +moderate. Instead of a large, but definite number, he speaks of +many Christians, and most artfully selects two ambiguous words, +which may signify either what he had seen, or what he had heard; +either the expectation, or the execution of the punishment. +Having thus provided a secure evasion, he commits the equivocal +passage to his readers and translators; justly conceiving that +their piety would induce them to prefer the most favorable sense. + +There 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.) + +[Footnote !: This calculation is made from the martyrs, of whom +Eusebius speaks by name; but he recognizes a much greater number. + +Thus the ninth and tenth chapters of his work are entitled, "Of +Antoninus, Zebinus, Germanus, and other martyrs; of Peter the +monk. of Asclepius the Maroionite, and other martyrs." [Are +these vague contents of chapters very good authority? - M.] +Speaking of those who suffered under Diocletian, he says, "I will +only relate the death of one of these, from which, the reader may +divine what befell the rest." Hist. Eccl. viii. 6. [This relates +only to the martyrs in the royal household. - M.] Dodwell had +made, before Gibbon, this calculation and these objections; but +Ruinart (Act. Mart. Pref p. 27, et seq.) has answered him in a +peremptory manner: Nobis constat Eusebium in historia infinitos +passim martyres admisisse. quamvis revera paucorum nomina +recensuerit. Nec alium Eusebii interpretem quam ipsummet +Eusebium proferimus, qui (l. iii. c. 33) ait sub Trajano +plurimosa ex fidelibus martyrii certamen subiisse (l. v. init.) +sub Antonino et Vero innumerabiles prope martyres per universum +orbem enituisse affirmat. (L. vi. c. 1.) Severum persecutionem +concitasse refert, in qua per omnes ubique locorum Ecclesias, ab +athletis pro pietate certantibus, illustria confecta fuerunt +martyria. Sic de Decii, sic de Valeriani, persecutionibus +loquitur, quae an Dodwelli faveant conjectionibus judicet aequus +lector. Even in the persecutions which Gibbon has represented as +much more mild than that of Diocletian, the number of martyrs +appears much greater than that to which he limits the martyrs of +the latter: and this number is attested by incontestable +monuments. I will quote but one example. We find among the +letters of St. Cyprian one from Lucianus to Celerinus, written +from the depth of a prison, in which Lucianus names seventeen of +his brethren dead, some in the quarries, some in the midst of +tortures some of starvation in prison. Jussi sumus (he proceeds) +secundum prae ceptum imperatoris, fame et siti necari, et reclusi +sumus in duabus cellis, ta ut nos afficerent fame et siti et +ignis vapore. - G.] + +[Footnote 183: When Palestine was divided into three, the +praefecture of the East contained forty-eight provinces. As the +ancient distinctions of nations were long since abolished, the +Romans distributed the provinces according to a general +proportion of their extent and opulence.] + +[Footnote 184: Ut gloriari possint nullam se innocentium +poremisse, nam et ipse audivi aloquos gloriantes, quia +administratio sua, in hac paris merit incruenta. Lactant. +Institur. Divin v. 11.] + + We shall conclude this chapter by a melancholy truth, which +obtrudes itself on the reluctant mind; that even admitting, +without hesitation or inquiry, all that history has recorded, or +devotion has feigned, on the subject of martyrdoms, it must still +be acknowledged, that the Christians, in the course of their +intestine dissensions, have inflicted far greater severities on +each other, than they had experienced from the zeal of infidels. +During the ages of ignorance which followed the subversion of the +Roman empire in the West, the bishops of the Imperial city +extended their dominion over the laity as well as clergy of the +Latin church. The fabric of superstition which they had erected, +and which might long have defied the feeble efforts of reason, +was at length assaulted by a crowd of daring fanatics, who from +the twelfth to the sixteenth century assumed the popular +character of reformers. The church of Rome defended by violence +the empire which she had acquired by fraud; a system of peace and +benevolence was soon disgraced by proscriptions, war, massacres, +and the institution of the holy office. And as the reformers +were animated by the love of civil as well as of religious +freedom, the Catholic princes connected their own interest with +that of the clergy, and enforced by fire and the sword the +terrors of spiritual censures. In the Netherlands alone, more +than one hundred thousand of the subjects of Charles V. are said +to have suffered by the hand of the executioner; and this +extraordinary number is attested by Grotius, ^185 a man of genius +and learning, who preserved his moderation amidst the fury of +contending sects, and who composed the annals of his own age and +country, at a time when the invention of printing had facilitated +the means of intelligence, and increased the danger of detection. + +If we are obliged to submit our belief to the authority of +Grotius, 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 of three +centuries, and of the Roman empire. But if the improbability of +the fact itself should prevail over the weight of evidence; if +Grotius should be convicted of exaggerating the merit and +sufferings of the Reformers; ^186 we shall be naturally led to +inquire what confidence can be placed in the doubtful and +imperfect monuments of ancient credulity; what degree of credit +can be assigned to a courtly bishop, and a passionate declaimer, +^* who, under the protection of Constantine, enjoyed the +exclusive privilege of recording the persecutions inflicted on +the Christians by the vanquished rivals or disregarded +predecessors of their gracious sovereign. + +[Footnote 185: Grot. Annal. de Rebus Belgicis, l. i. p. 12, edit. +fol.] +[Footnote 186: Fra Paola (Istoria del Concilio Tridentino, l. +iii.) reduces the number of the Belgic martyrs to 50,000. In +learning and moderation Fra Paola was not inferior to Grotius. +The priority of time gives some advantage to the evidence of the +former, which he loses, on the other hand, by the distance of +Venice from the Netherlands.] + +[Footnote *: Eusebius and the author of the Treatise de Mortibus +Persecutorum. It is deeply to be regretted that the history of +this period rest so much on the loose and, it must be admitted, +by no means scrupulous authority of Eusebius. Ecclesiastical +history is a solemn and melancholy lesson that the best, even the +most sacred, cause will eventually the least departure from +truth! - M.] + +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 opposed the +greatness, and the last captive who adorned the triumph, of +Constantine. After a tranquil and prosperous reign, the +conquerer bequeathed to his family the inheritance of the Roman +empire; a new capital, a new policy, and a new religion; and the +innovations which he established have been embraced and +consecrated by succeeding generations. The age of the great +Constantine and his sons is filled with important events; but the +historian must be oppressed by their number and variety, unless +he diligently separates from each other the scenes which are +connected only by the order of time. He will describe the +political institutions that gave strength and stability to the +empire, before he proceeds to relate the wars and revolutions +which hastened its decline. He will adopt the division unknown +to the ancients of civil and ecclesiastical affairs: the victory +of the Christians, and their intestine discord, will supply +copious and distinct materials both for edification and for +scandal. + + After the defeat and abdication of Licinius, his victorious +rival proceeded to lay the foundations of a city destined to +reign in future times, the mistress of the East, and to survive +the empire and religion of Constantine. The motives, whether of +pride or of policy, which first induced Diocletian to withdraw +himself from the ancient seat of government, had acquired +additional weight by the example of his successors, and the +habits of forty years. Rome was insensibly confounded with the +dependent kingdoms which had once acknowledged her supremacy; and +the country of the Caesars was viewed with cold indifference by a +martial prince, born in the neighborhood of the Danube, educated +in the courts and armies of Asia, and invested with the purple by +the legions of Britain. The Italians, who had received +Constantine as their deliverer, submissively obeyed the edicts +which he sometimes condescended to address to the senate and +people of Rome; but they were seldom honored with the presence of +their new sovereign. During the vigor of his age, Constantine, +according to the various exigencies of peace and war, moved with +slow dignity, or with active diligence, along the frontiers of +his extensive dominions; and was always prepared to take the +field either against a foreign or a domestic enemy. But as he +gradually reached the summit of prosperity and the decline of +life, he began to meditate the design of fixing in a more +permanent station the strength as well as majesty of the throne. +In the choice of an advantageous situation, he preferred the +confines of Europe and Asia; to curb with a powerful arm the +barbarians who dwelt between the Danube and the Tanais; to watch +with an eye of jealousy the conduct of the Persian monarch, who +indignantly supported the yoke of an ignominious treaty. With +these views, Diocletian had selected and embellished the +residence of Nicomedia: but the memory of Diocletian was justly +abhorred by the protector of the church: and Constantine was not +insensible to the ambition of founding a city which might +perpetuate the glory of his own name. During the late operations +of the war against Licinius, he had sufficient opportunity to +contemplate, both as a soldier and as a statesman, the +incomparable position of Byzantium; and to observe how strongly +it was guarded by nature against a hostile attack, whilst it was +accessible on every side to the benefits of commercial +intercourse. Many ages before Constantine, one of the most +judicious historians of antiquity ^1 had described the advantages +of a situation, from whence a feeble colony of Greeks derived the +command of the sea, and the honors of a flourishing and +independent republic. ^2 +[Footnote 1: Polybius, l. iv. p. 423, edit. Casaubon. He +observes that the peace of the Byzantines was frequently +disturbed, and the extent of their territory contracted, by the +inroads of the wild Thracians.] +[Footnote 2: The navigator Byzas, who was styled the son of +Neptune, founded the city 656 years before the Christian aera. +His followers were drawn from Argos and Megara. Byzantium was +afterwards rebuild and fortified by the Spartan general +Pausanias. See Scaliger Animadvers. 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 writers who +lived before the greatness of the Imperial city had excited a +spirit of flattery and fiction.] + If we survey Byzantium in the extent which it acquired with +the august name of Constantinople, the figure of the Imperial +city may be represented under that of an unequal triangle. The +obtuse point, which advances towards the east and the shores of +Asia, meets and repels the waves of the Thracian Bosphorus. The +northern side of the city is bounded by the harbor; and the +southern is washed by the Propontis, or Sea of Marmara. The basis +of the triangle is opposed to the west, and terminates the +continent of Europe. But the admirable form and division of the +circumjacent land and water cannot, without a more ample +explanation, be clearly or sufficiently understood. + The winding channel through which the waters of the Euxine +flow with a rapid and incessant course towards the Mediterranean, +received the appellation of Bosphorus, a name not less celebrated +in the history, than in the fables, of antiquity. ^3 A crowd of +temples and of votive altars, profusely scattered along its steep +and woody banks, attested the unskilfulness, the terrors, and the +devotion of the Grecian navigators, who, after the example of the +Argonauts, explored the dangers of the inhospitable Euxine. On +these banks tradition long preserved the memory of the palace of +Phineus, infested by the obscene harpies; ^4 and of the sylvan +reign of Amycus, who defied the son of Leda to the combat of the +cestus. ^5 The straits of the Bosphorus are terminated by the +Cyanean rocks, which, according to the description of the poets, +had once floated on the face of the waters; and were destined by +the gods to protect the entrance of the Euxine against the eye of +profane curiosity. ^6 From the Cyanean rocks to the point and +harbor of Byzantium, the winding length of the Bosphorus extends +about sixteen miles, ^7 and its most ordinary breadth may be +computed at about one mile and a half. The new castles of Europe +and Asia are constructed, on either continent, upon the +foundations of two celebrated temples, of Serapis and of Jupiter +Urius. The old castles, a work of the Greek emperors, command +the narrowest part of the channel in a place where the opposite +banks advance within five hundred paces of each other. These +fortresses were destroyed and strengthened by Mahomet the Second, +when he meditated the siege of Constantinople: ^8 but the Turkish +conqueror was most probably ignorant, that near two thousand +years before his reign, Darius had chosen the same situation to +connect the two continents by a bridge of boats. ^9 At a small +distance from the old castles we discover the little town of +Chrysopolis, or Scutari, which may almost be considered as the +Asiatic suburb of Constantinople. The Bosphorus, as it begins to +open into the Propontis, passes between Byzantium and Chalcedon. +The latter of those cities was built by the Greeks, a few years +before the former; and the blindness of its founders, who +overlooked the superior advantages of the opposite coast, has +been stigmatized by a proverbial expression of contempt. ^10 + +[Footnote 3: The Bosphorus has been very minutely described by +Dionysius of Byzantium, who lived in the time of Domitian, +(Hudson, Geograph Minor, tom. iii.,) and by Gilles or Gyllius, a +French traveller of the XVIth century. Tournefort (Lettre XV.) +seems to have used his own eyes, and the learning of Gyllius. +[Add Von Hammer, Constantinopolis und der Bosphoros, 8vo. - M.] +[Footnote 4: There are very few conjectures so happy as that of +Le Clere, (Bibliotehque Universelle, tom. i. p. 148,) who +supposes that the harpies were only locusts. The Syriac or +Phoenician name of those insects, their noisy flight, the stench +and devastation which they occasion, and the north wind which +drives them into the sea, all contribute to form the striking +resemblance.] + +[Footnote 5: The residence of Amycus was in Asia, between the old +and the new castles, at a place called Laurus Insana. That of +Phineus was in Europe, near the village of Mauromole and the +Black Sea. See Gyllius de Bosph. l. ii. c. 23. Tournefort, +Lettre XV.] + +[Footnote 6: The deception was occasioned by several pointed +rocks, alternately sovered and abandoned by the waves. At +present there are two small islands, one towards either shore; +that of Europe is distinguished by the column of Pompey.] + +[Footnote 7: The ancients computed one hundred and twenty stadia, +or fifteen Roman miles. They measured only from the new castles, +but they carried the straits as far as the town of Chalcedon.] + +[Footnote 8: Ducas. Hist. c. 34. Leunclavius Hist. Turcica +Mussulmanica, l. xv. p. 577. Under the Greek empire these +castles were used as state prisons, under the tremendous name of +Lethe, or towers of oblivion.] +[Footnote 9: Darius engraved in Greek and Assyrian letters, on +two marble columns, the names of his subject nations, and the +amazing numbers of his land and sea forces. The Byzantines +afterwards transported these columns into the city, and used them +for the altars of their tutelar deities. Herodotus, l. iv. c. +87.] + +[Footnote 10: Namque arctissimo inter Europam Asiamque divortio +Byzantium in extrema Europa posuere Greci, quibus, Pythium +Apollinem consulentibus ubi conderent urbem, redditum oraculum +est, quaererent sedem oecerum terris adversam. Ea ambage +Chalcedonii monstrabantur quod priores illuc advecti, praevisa +locorum utilitate pejora legissent Tacit. Annal. xii. 63.] + The harbor of Constantinople, which may be considered as an +arm of the Bosphorus, obtained, in a very remote period, the +denomination of the Golden Horn. The curve which it describes +might be compared to the horn of a stag, or as it should seem, +with more propriety, to that of an ox. ^11 The epithet of golden +was expressive of the riches which every wind wafted from the +most distant countries into the secure and capacious port of +Constantinople. The River Lycus, formed by the conflux of two +little streams, pours into the harbor a perpetual supply of fresh +water, which serves to cleanse the bottom, and to invite the +periodical shoals of fish to seek their retreat in that +convenient recess. As the vicissitudes of tides are scarcely +felt in those seas, the constant depth of the harbor allows goods +to be landed on the quays without the assistance of boats; and it +has been observed, that in many places the largest vessels may +rest their prows against the houses, while their sterns are +floating in the water. ^12 From the mouth of the Lycus to that of +the harbor, this arm of the Bosphorus is more than seven miles in +length. The entrance is about five hundred yards broad, and a +strong chain could be occasionally drawn across it, to guard the +port and city from the attack of a hostile navy. ^13 + +[Footnote 11: Strabo, l. vii. p. 492, [edit. Casaub.] Most of the +antlers are now broken off; or, to speak less figuratively, most +of the recesses of the harbor are filled up. See Gill. de +Bosphoro Thracio, l. i. c. 5.] +[Footnote 12: Procopius de Aedificiis, l. i. c. 5. His +description is confirmed by modern travellers. See Thevenot, +part i. l. i. c. 15. Tournefort, Lettre XII. Niebuhr, Voyage +d'Arabie, p. 22.] +[Footnote 13: See Ducange, C. P. l. i. part i. c. 16, and his +Observations sur Villehardouin, p. 289. The chain was drawn from +the Acropolis near the modern Kiosk, to the tower of Galata; and +was supported at convenient distances by large wooden piles.] + + Between the Bosphorus and the Hellespont, the shores of +Europe and Asia, receding on either side, enclose the sea of +Marmara, which was known to the ancients by the denomination of +Propontis. The navigation from the issue of the Bosphorus to the +entrance of the Hellespont is about one hundred and twenty miles. + +Those who steer their westward course through the middle of the +Propontis, may at once descry the high lands of Thrace and +Bithynia, and never lose sight of the lofty summit of Mount +Olympus, covered with eternal snows. ^14 They leave on the left a +deep gulf, at the bottom of which Nicomedia was seated, the +Imperial residence of Diocletian; and they pass the small islands +of Cyzicus and Proconnesus before they cast anchor at Gallipoli; +where the sea, which separates Asia from Europe, is again +contracted into a narrow channel. + +[Footnote 14: Thevenot (Voyages au Levant, part i. l. i. c. 14) +contracts the measure to 125 small Greek miles. Belon +(Observations, l. ii. c. 1.) gives a good description of the +Propontis, but contents himself with the vague expression 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 suppose +some mistake of the press in the text of that judicious +traveller.] + The geographers who, with the most skilful accuracy, have +surveyed the form and extent of the Hellespont, assign about +sixty miles for the winding course, and about three miles for the +ordinary breadth of those celebrated straits. ^15 But the +narrowest part of the channel is found to the northward of the +old Turkish castles between the cities of Sestus and Abydus. It +was here that the adventurous Leander braved the passage of the +flood for the possession of his mistress. ^16 It was here +likewise, in a place where the distance between the opposite +banks cannot exceed five hundred paces, that Xerxes imposed a +stupendous bridge of boats, for the purpose of transporting into +Europe a hundred and seventy myriads of barbarians. ^17 A sea +contracted within such narrow limits may seem but ill to deserve +the singular epithet of broad, which Homer, as well as Orpheus, +has frequently bestowed on the Hellespont. ^* But our ideas of +greatness are of a relative nature: the traveller, and especially +the poet, who sailed along the Hellespont, who pursued the +windings of the stream, and contemplated the rural scenery, which +appeared on every side to terminate the prospect, insensibly lost +the remembrance of the sea; and his fancy painted those +celebrated straits, with all the attributes of a mighty river +flowing with a swift current, in the midst of a woody and inland +country, and at length, through a wide mouth, discharging itself +into the Aegean or Archipelago. ^18 Ancient Troy, ^19 seated on a +an eminence at the foot of Mount Ida, overlooked the mouth of the +Hellespont, which scarcely received an accession of waters from +the tribute of those immortal rivulets the Simois and Scamander. +The Grecian camp had stretched twelve miles along the shore from +the Sigaean to the Rhaetean promontory; and the flanks of the +army were guarded by the bravest chiefs who fought under the +banners of Agamemnon. The first of those promontories was +occupied by Achilles with his invincible myrmidons, and the +dauntless Ajax pitched his tents on the other. After Ajax had +fallen a sacrifice to his disappointed pride, and to the +ingratitude of the Greeks, his sepulchre was erected on the +ground where he had defended the navy against the rage of Jove +and of Hector; and the citizens of the rising town of Rhaeteum +celebrated his memory with divine honors. ^20 Before Constantine +gave a just preference to the situation of Byzantium, he had +conceived the design of erecting the seat of empire on this +celebrated spot, from whence the Romans derived their fabulous +origin. The extensive plain which lies below ancient Troy, +towards the Rhaetean promontory and the tomb of Ajax, was first +chosen for his new capital; and though the undertaking was soon +relinquished the stately remains of unfinished walls and towers +attracted the notice of all who sailed through the straits of the +Hellespont. ^21 + +[Footnote 15: See an admirable dissertation of M. d'Anville upon +the Hellespont or Dardanelles, in the Memoires tom. xxviii. p. +318 - 346. Yet even that ingenious geographer is too fond of +supposing new, and perhaps imaginary measures, for the purpose of +rendering ancient writers as accurate as himself. The stadia +employed by Herodotus in the description of the Euxine, the +Bosphorus, &c., (l. iv. c. 85,) must undoubtedly be all of the +same species; but it seems impossible to reconcile them either +with truth or with each other.] + +[Footnote 16: The oblique distance between Sestus and Abydus was +thirty stadia. The improbable tale of Hero and Leander is +exposed by M. Mahudel, but is defended on the authority of poets +and medals by M. de la Nauze. See the Academie des Inscriptions, +tom. vii. Hist. p. 74. elem. p. 240. + Note: The practical illustration of the possibility of +Leander's feat by Lord Byron and other English swimmers is too +well known to need particularly reference - M.] + +[Footnote 17: See the seventh book of Herodotus, who has erected +an elegant trophy to his own fame and to that of his country. +The review appears to have been made with tolerable accuracy; but +the vanity, first of the Persians, and afterwards of the Greeks, +was interested to magnify the armament and the victory. I should +much doubt whether the invaders have ever outnumbered the men of +any country which they attacked.] + +[Footnote *: Gibbon does not allow greater width between the two +nearest points of the shores of the Hellespont than between those +of the Bosphorus; yet all the ancient writers speak of the +Hellespontic strait as broader than the other: they agree in +giving it seven stadia in its narrowest 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 fifteenth +note of this chapter reproaches d'Anville with being fond of +supposing new and perhaps imaginary measures, has here adopted +the peculiar measurement which d'Anville has assigned to the +stadium. This great geographer 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 of these 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.] + +[Footnote 18: See Wood's Observations on Homer, p. 320. I have, +with pleasure, selected this remark from an author who in general +seems to have disappointed the expectation of the public as a +critic, and still more as a traveller. He had visited the banks +of the Hellespont; and had read Strabo; he ought to have +consulted the Roman itineraries. How was it possible for him to +confound Ilium and Alexandria Troas, (Observations, p. 340, 341,) +two cities which were sixteen miles distant from each other? + + Note: Compare Walpole's Memoirs on Turkey, v. i. p. 101. Dr. +Clarke adopted Mr. Walpole's interpretation of the salt +Hellespont. But the old interpretation is more graphic and +Homeric. Clarke's Travels, ii. 70. - M.] +[Footnote 19: Demetrius of Scepsis wrote sixty books on thirty +lines of Homer's catalogue. The XIIIth Book of Strabo is +sufficient for our curiosity.] + +[Footnote 20: Strabo, 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.] +[Footnote 21: Zosim. l. ii. [c. 30,] p. 105. Sozomen, l. ii. c. +3. Theophanes, p. 18. Nicephorus Callistus, l. vii. p. 48. +Zonaras, tom. ii. l. xiii. p. 6. Zosimus places the new city +between Ilium and Alexandria, but this apparent difference may be +reconciled by the large extent of its circumference. Before the +foundation of Constantinople, Thessalonica is mentioned by +Cedrenus, (p. 283,) and Sardica by Zonaras, as the intended +capital. They both suppose with very little probability, that +the emperor, if he had not been prevented by a prodigy, would +have repeated the mistake of the blind Chalcedonians.] + + We are at present qualified to view the advantageous +position of Constantinople; which appears to have been formed by +nature for the centre and capital of a great monarchy. Situated +in the forty-first degree of latitude, the Imperial city +commanded, from her seven hills, ^22 the opposite shores of +Europe and Asia; the climate was healthy and temperate, the soil +fertile, the harbor secure and capacious; and the approach on the +side of the continent was of small extent and easy defence. The +Bosphorus and the Hellespont may be considered as the two gates +of Constantinople; and the prince who possessed those important +passages could always shut them against a naval enemy, and open +them to the fleets of commerce. The preservation of the eastern +provinces may, in some degree, be ascribed to the policy of +Constantine, as the barbarians of the Euxine, who in the +preceding age had poured their armaments into the heart of the +Mediterranean, soon desisted from the exercise of piracy, and +despaired of forcing this insurmountable barrier. When the gates +of the Hellespont and Bosphorus were shut, the capital still +enjoyed within their spacious enclosure every production which +could supply the wants, or gratify the luxury, of its numerous +inhabitants. The sea-coasts of Thrace and Bithynia, which +languish under the weight of Turkish oppression, still exhibit a +rich prospect of vineyards, of gardens, and of plentiful +harvests; and the Propontis has ever been renowned for an +inexhaustible store of the most exquisite fish, that are taken in +their stated seasons, without skill, and almost without labor. +^23 But when the passages of the straits were thrown open for +trade, they alternately admitted the natural and artificial +riches of the north and south, of the Euxine, and of the +Mediterranean. Whatever rude commodities were collected in the +forests of Germany and Scythia, and far as the sources of the +Tanais and the Borysthenes; whatsoever was manufactured by the +skill of Europe or Asia; the corn of Egypt, and the gems and +spices of the farthest India, were brought by the varying winds +into the port of Constantinople, which for many ages attracted +the commerce of the ancient world. ^24 + +[See Basilica Of Constantinople] + +[Footnote 22: Pocock's Description of the East, vol. ii. part ii. +p. 127. His plan of the seven hills is clear and accurate. That +traveller is seldom unsatisfactory.] + +[Footnote 23: See Belon, Observations, c. 72 - 76. Among a +variety of different species, the Pelamides, a sort of Thunnies, +were the most celebrated. We may learn from Polybius, Strabo, +and Tacitus, that the profits of the fishery constituted the +principal revenue of Byzantium.] +[Footnote 24: See the eloquent description of Busbequius, +epistol. i. p. 64. Est in Europa; habet in conspectu Asiam, +Egyptum. Africamque a dextra: quae tametsi contiguae non sunt, +maris tamen navigandique commoditate veluti junguntur. A +sinistra vero Pontus est Euxinus, &c.] + + The prospect of beauty, of safety, and of wealth, united in +a single spot, was sufficient to justify the choice of +Constantine. But as some decent mixture of prodigy and fable +has, in every age, been supposed to reflect a becoming majesty on +the origin of great cities, ^25 the emperor was desirous of +ascribing his resolution, not so much to the uncertain counsels +of human policy, as to the infallible and eternal decrees of +divine wisdom. In one of his laws he has been careful to +instruct posterity, that in obedience to the commands of God, he +laid the everlasting foundations of Constantinople: ^26 and +though he has not condescended to relate in what manner the +celestial inspiration was communicated to his mind, the defect of +his modest silence has been liberally supplied by the ingenuity +of succeeding writers; who describe the nocturnal vision which +appeared to the fancy of Constantine, as he slept within the +walls of Byzantium. The tutelar genius of the city, a venerable +matron sinking under the weight of years and infirmities, was +suddenly transformed into a blooming maid, whom his own hands +adorned with all the symbols of Imperial greatness. ^27 The +monarch awoke, interpreted the auspicious omen, and obeyed, +without hesitation, the will of Heaven The day which gave birth +to a city or colony was celebrated by the Romans with such +ceremonies as had been ordained by a generous superstition; ^28 +and though Constantine might omit some rites which savored too +strongly of their Pagan origin, yet he was anxious to leave a +deep impression of hope and respect on the minds of the +spectators. On foot, with a lance in his hand, the emperor +himself led the solemn procession; and directed the line, which +was traced as the boundary of the destined capital: till the +growing circumference was observed with astonishment by the +assistants, who, at length, ventured to observe, that he had +already exceeded the most ample measure of a great city. "I shall +still advance," replied Constantine, "till He, the invisible +guide who marches before me, thinks proper to stop." ^29 Without +presuming to investigate the nature or motives of this +extraordinary conductor, we shall content ourselves with the more +humble task of describing the extent and limits of +Constantinople. ^30 + +[Footnote 25: Datur haec venia antiquitati, ut miscendo humana +divinis, primordia urbium augustiora faciat. T. Liv. in prooem.] + +[Footnote 26: He says in one of his laws, pro commoditate urbis +quam aeteras nomine, jubente Deo, donavimus. Cod. Theodos. l. +xiii. tit. v. leg. 7.] +[Footnote 27: The Greeks, Theophanes, Cedrenus, and the author of +the Alexandrian Chronicle, confine themselves to vague and +general expressions. For a more particular account of the vision, +we are obliged to have recourse to such Latin writers as William +of Malmesbury. See Ducange, C. P. l. i. p. 24, 25.] + +[Footnote 28: See Plutarch in Romul. tom. i. p. 49, edit. Bryan. +Among other ceremonies, a large hole, which had been dug for that +purpose, was filled up with handfuls of earth, which each of the +settlers brought from the place of his birth, and thus adopted +his new country.] + +[Footnote 29: Philostorgius, l. ii. c. 9. This incident, though +borrowed from a suspected writer, is characteristic and +probable.] + +[Footnote 30: See in the Memoires de l'Academie, tom. xxxv p. 747 +- 758, a dissertation of M. d'Anville on the extent of +Constantinople. He takes the plan inserted in the Imperium +Orientale of Banduri as the most complete; but, by a series of +very nice observations, he reduced the extravagant proportion of +the scale, and instead of 9500, determines the circumference of +the city as consisting of about 7800 French toises.] + + In the actual state of the city, the palace and gardens of +the Seraglio occupy the eastern promontory, the first of the +seven hills, and cover about one hundred and fifty acres of our +own measure. The seat of Turkish jealousy and despotism is +erected on the foundations of a Grecian republic; but it may be +supposed that the Byzantines were tempted by the conveniency of +the harbor to extend their habitations on that side beyond the +modern limits of the Seraglio. The new walls of Constantine +stretched from the port to the Propontis across the enlarged +breadth of the triangle, at the distance of fifteen stadia from +the ancient fortification; and with the city of Byzantium they +enclosed five of the seven hills, which, to the eyes of those who +approach Constantinople, appear to rise above each other in +beautiful order. ^31 About a century after the death of the +founder, the new buildings, extending on one side up the harbor, +and on the other along the Propontis, already covered the narrow +ridge of the sixth, and the broad summit of the seventh hill. +The necessity of protecting those suburbs from the incessant +inroads of the barbarians engaged the younger Theodosius to +surround his capital with an adequate and permanent enclosure of +walls. ^32 From the eastern promontory to the golden gate, the +extreme length of Constantinople was about three Roman miles; ^33 +the circumference measured between ten and eleven; and the +surface might be computed as equal to about two thousand English +acres. It is impossible to justify the vain and credulous +exaggerations of modern travellers, who have sometimes stretched +the limits of Constantinople over the adjacent villages of the +European, and even of the Asiatic coast. ^34 But the suburbs of +Pera and Galata, though situate beyond the harbor, may deserve to +be considered as a part of the city; ^35 and this addition may +perhaps authorize the measure of a Byzantine historian, who +assigns sixteen Greek (about fourteen Roman) miles for the +circumference of his native city. ^36 Such an extent may not seem +unworthy of an Imperial residence. Yet Constantinople must yield +to Babylon and Thebes, ^37 to ancient Rome, to London, and even +to Paris. ^38 + +[Footnote 31: Codinus, Antiquitat. Const. p. 12. He assigns the +church of St. Anthony as the boundary on the side of the harbor. +It is mentioned in Ducange, l. iv. c. 6; but I have tried, +without success, to discover the exact place where it was +situated.] + +[Footnote 32: The new wall of Theodosius was constructed in the +year 413. In 447 it was thrown down by an earthquake, and rebuilt +in three months by the diligence of the praefect Cyrus. The +suburb of the Blanchernae was first taken into the city in the +reign of Heraclius Ducange, Const. l. i. c. 10, 11.] + +[Footnote 33: The measurement is expressed in the Notitia by +14,075 feet. It is reasonable to suppose that these were Greek +feet, the proportion of which has been ingeniously determined by +M. d'Anville. He compares the 180 feet with 78 Hashemite cubits, +which in different writers are assigned for the heights of St. +Sophia. Each of these cubits was equal to 27 French inches.] +[Footnote 34: The accurate Thevenot (l. i. c. 15) walked in one +hour and three quarters round two of the sides of the triangle, +from the Kiosk of the Seraglio to the seven towers. D'Anville +examines with care, and receives with confidence, this decisive +testimony, which gives a circumference of ten or twelve miles. +The extravagant computation of Tournefort (Lettre XI) of +thirty-tour or thirty miles, without including Scutari, is a +strange departure from his usual character.] + +[Footnote 35: The sycae, or fig-trees, formed the thirteenth +region, and were very much embellished by Justinian. It has +since borne the names of Pera and Galata. The etymology of the +former is obvious; that of the latter is unknown. See Ducange, +Const. l. i. c. 22, and Gyllius de Byzant. l. iv. c. 10.] + +[Footnote 36: One hundred and eleven stadia, which may be +translated into modern Greek miles each of seven stadia, or 660, +sometimes only 600 French toises. See D'Anville, Mesures +Itineraires, p. 53.] + +[Footnote 37: When the ancient texts, which describe the size of +Babylon and Thebes, are settled, the exaggerations reduced, and +the measures ascertained, we find that those famous cities filled +the great but not incredible circumference of about twenty-five +or thirty miles. Compare D'Anville, Mem. de l'Academie, tom. +xxviii. p. 235, with his Description de l'Egypte, p. 201, 202.] + +[Footnote 38: If we divide Constantinople and Paris into equal +squares of 50 French toises, the former contains 850, and the +latter 1160, of those divisions.] + +Chapter XVII: Foundation Of Constantinople. + +Part II. + + The master of the Roman world, who aspired to erect an +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 obedient millions. Some +estimate may be formed of the expense bestowed with Imperial +liberality on the foundation of Constantinople, by the allowance +of about two millions five hundred thousand pounds for the +construction of the walls, the porticos, and the aqueducts. ^39 +The forests that overshadowed the shores of the Euxine, and the +celebrated quarries of white marble in the little island of +Proconnesus, supplied an inexhaustible stock of materials, ready +to be conveyed, by the convenience of a short water carriage, to +the harbor of Byzantium. ^40 A multitude of laborers and +artificers urged the conclusion of the work with incessant toil: +but the impatience of Constantine soon discovered, that, in the +decline of the arts, the skill as well as numbers of his +architects bore a very unequal proportion to the greatness of his +designs. The magistrates of the most distant provinces were +therefore directed to institute schools, to appoint professors, +and by the hopes of rewards and privileges, to engage in the +study and practice of architecture a sufficient number of +ingenious youths, who had received a liberal education. ^41 The +buildings of the new city were executed by such artificers as the +reign of Constantine could afford; but they were decorated by the +hands of the most celebrated masters of the age of Pericles and +Alexander. To revive the genius of Phidias and Lysippus, +surpassed indeed the power of a Roman emperor; but the immortal +productions which they had bequeathed to posterity were exposed +without defence to the rapacious vanity of a despot. By his +commands the cities of Greece and Asia were despoiled of their +most valuable ornaments. ^42 The trophies of memorable wars, the +objects of religious veneration, the most finished statues of the +gods and heroes, of the sages and poets, of ancient times, +contributed to the splendid triumph of Constantinople; and gave +occasion to the remark of the historian Cedrenus, ^43 who +observes, with some enthusiasm, that nothing seemed wanting +except the souls of the illustrious men whom these admirable +monuments were intended to represent. But it is not in the city +of Constantine, nor in the declining period of an empire, when +the human mind was depressed by civil and religious slavery, that +we should seek for the souls of Homer and of Demosthenes. + +[Footnote 39: Six hundred centenaries, or sixty thousand pounds' +weight of gold. This sum is taken from Codinus, Antiquit. +Const. p. 11; but unless that contemptible author had derived his +information from some purer sources, he would probably have been +unacquainted with so obsolete a mode of reckoning.] + +[Footnote 40: For the forests of the Black Sea, consult +Tournefort, Lettre XVI. for the marble quarries of Proconnesus, +see Strabo, l. xiii. p. 588, (881, edit. Casaub.) The latter had +already furnished the materials of the stately buildings of +Cyzicus.] + +[Footnote 41: See the Codex Theodos. l. xiii. tit. iv. leg. 1. +This law is dated in the year 334, and was addressed to the +praefect of Italy, whose jurisdiction extended over Africa. The +commentary of Godefroy on the whole title well deserves to be +consulted.] + +[Footnote 42: Constantinopolis dedicatur poene omnium urbium +nuditate. Hieronym. Chron. p. 181. See Codinus, p. 8, 9. The +author of the Antiquitat. Const. l. iii. (apud Banduri Imp. +Orient. tom. i. p. 41) enumerates Rome, Sicily, Antioch, Athens, +and a long list of other cities. The provinces of Greece and Asia +Minor may be supposed to have yielded the richest booty.] +[Footnote 43: Hist. Compend. p. 369. He describes the statue, or +rather bust, of Homer with a degree of taste which plainly +indicates that Cadrenus copied the style of a more fortunate +age.] + + During the siege of Byzantium, the conqueror had pitched his +tent on the commanding eminence of the second hill. To +perpetuate the memory of his success, he chose the same +advantageous position for the principal Forum; ^44 which appears +to have been of a circular, or rather elliptical form. The two +opposite entrances formed triumphal arches; the porticos, which +enclosed it on every side, were filled with statues; and the +centre of the Forum was occupied by a lofty column, of which a +mutilated fragment is now degraded by the appellation of the +burnt pillar. This column was erected on a pedestal of white +marble twenty feet high; and was composed of ten pieces of +porphyry, each of which measured about ten feet in height, and +about thirty-three in circumference. ^45 On the summit of the +pillar, above one hundred and twenty feet from the ground, stood +the colossal statue of Apollo. It was a bronze, had been +transported either from Athens or from a town of Phrygia, and was +supposed to be the work of Phidias. The artist had represented +the god of day, or, as it was afterwards interpreted, the emperor +Constantine himself, with a sceptre in his right hand, the globe +of the world in his left, and a crown of rays glittering on his +head. ^46 The Circus, or Hippodrome, was a stately building about +four hundred paces in length, and one hundred in breadth. ^47 The +space between the two metoe or goals were filled with statues and +obelisks; and we may still remark a very singular fragment of +antiquity; the bodies of three serpents, twisted into one pillar +of brass. Their triple heads had once supported the golden +tripod which, after the defeat of Xerxes, was consecrated in the +temple of Delphi by the victorious Greeks. ^48 The beauty of the +Hippodrome has been long since defaced by the rude hands of the +Turkish conquerors; ^! but, under the similar appellation of +Atmeidan, it still serves as a place of exercise for their +horses. From the throne, whence the emperor viewed the +Circensian games, a winding staircase ^49 descended to the +palace; a magnificent edifice, which scarcely yielded to the +residence of Rome itself, and which, together with the dependent +courts, gardens, and porticos, covered a considerable extent of +ground upon the banks of the Propontis between the Hippodrome and +the church of St. Sophia. ^50 We might likewise celebrate the +baths, which still retained the name of Zeuxippus, after they had +been enriched, by the munificence of Constantine, with lofty +columns, various marbles, and above threescore statues of bronze. +^51 But we should deviate from the design of this history, if we +attempted minutely to describe the different buildings or +quarters of the city. It may be sufficient to observe, that +whatever could adorn the dignity of a great capital, or +contribute to the benefit or pleasure of its numerous +inhabitants, was contained within the walls of Constantinople. A +particular description, composed about a century after its +foundation, enumerates a capitol or school of learning, a circus, +two theatres, eight public, and one hundred and fifty-three +private baths, fifty-two porticos, five granaries, eight +aqueducts or reservoirs of water, four spacious halls for the +meetings of the senate 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 from the multitude of plebeian inhabitants. ^52 +[Footnote 44: Zosim. 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 the Forum of Constantine with the +Augusteum, or court of the palace. I am not satisfied whether I +have properly distinguished what belongs to the one and the +other.] + +[Footnote 45: The most tolerable account of this column is given +by Pocock. Description of the East, vol. ii. part ii. p. 131. +But it is still in many instances perplexed and unsatisfactory.] + +[Footnote 46: Ducange, Const. l. i. c. 24, p. 76, and his notes +ad Alexiad. p. 382. The statue of Constantine or Apollo was +thrown down under the reign of Alexius Comnenus. + + Note: On this column (says M. von Hammer) Constantine, with +singular shamelessness, placed his own statue with the attributes +of Apollo and Christ. He substituted the nails of the Passion for +the rays of the sun. Such is the direct testimony of the author +of the Antiquit. Constantinop. apud Banduri. Constantine was +replaced by the "great and religious" Julian, Julian, by +Theodosius. A. D. 1412, the key stone was loosened by an +earthquake. The statue fell in the reign of Alexius Comnenus, +and was replaced by the cross. The Palladium was said to be +buried under the pillar. Von Hammer, Constantinopolis und der +Bosporos, i. 162. - M.] + +[Footnote 47: Tournefort (Lettre XII.) computes the Atmeidan at +four hundred paces. If he means geometrical paces of five feet +each, it was three hundred toises in length, about forty more +than the great circus of Rome. See D'Anville, Mesures +Itineraires, p. 73.] + +[Footnote 48: The guardians of the most holy relics would rejoice +if they were able to produce such a chain of evidence as may be +alleged on this occasion. See Banduri ad Antiquitat. Const. p. +668. Gyllius de Byzant. l. ii. c. 13. 1. The original +consecration of the tripod and pillar in the temple of Delphi may +be proved from Herodotus and Pausanias. 2. The Pagan Zosimus +agrees with the three ecclesiastical historians, Eusebius, +Socrates, and Sozomen, that the sacred ornaments of the temple of +Delphi were removed to Constantinople by the order of +Constantine; and among these the serpentine pillar of the +Hippodrome is particularly mentioned. 3. All the European +travellers who have visited Constantinople, from Buondelmonte to +Pocock, describe it in the same place, and almost in the same +manner; the differences between them are occasioned only by the +injuries which it has sustained from the Turks. Mahomet the +Second broke the under jaw of one of the serpents with a stroke +of his battle axe Thevenot, l. i. c. 17. + + Note: See note 75, ch. lxviii. for Dr. Clarke's rejection of +Thevenot's authority. Von Hammer, however, repeats the story of +Thevenot without questioning its authenticity. - M.] + +[Footnote !: In 1808 the Janizaries revolted against the vizier +Mustapha Baisactar, who wished to introduce a new system of +military organization, besieged the quarter of the Hippodrome, in +which stood the palace of the viziers, and the Hippodrome was +consumed in the conflagration. - G.] +[Footnote 49: The Latin name Cochlea was adopted by the Greeks, +and very frequently occurs in the Byzantine history. Ducange, +Const. i. c. l, p. 104.] +[Footnote 50: There are three topographical points which indicate +the situation of the palace. 1. The staircase which connected it +with the Hippodrome or Atmeidan. 2. A small artificial port on +the Propontis, from whence there was an easy ascent, by a flight +of marble steps, to the gardens of the palace. 3. The Augusteum +was a spacious court, one side of which was occupied by the front +of the palace, and another by the church of St. Sophia.] +[Footnote 51: Zeuxippus was an epithet of Jupiter, and the baths +were a part of old Byzantium. The difficulty of assigning their +true situation has not been felt by Ducange. History seems to +connect them with St. Sophia and the palace; but the original +plan inserted in Banduri places them on the other side of the +city, near the harbor. For their beauties, see Chron. Paschal. +p. 285, and Gyllius de Byzant. l. ii. c. 7. Christodorus (see +Antiquitat. Const. l. vii.) composed inscriptions in verse for +each of the statues. He was a Theban poet in genius as well as +in birth: - + + Baeotum in crasso jurares aere natum. + + Note: Yet, for his age, the description of the statues of +Hecuba and of Homer are by no means without merit. See Antholog. +Palat. (edit. Jacobs) i. 37 - M.] + +[Footnote 52: See the Notitia. Rome only reckoned 1780 large +houses, domus; but the word must have had a more dignified +signification. No insulae are mentioned at Constantinople. The +old capital consisted of 42 streets, the new of 322.] + + The populousness of his favored city was the next and most +serious object of the attention of its founder. In the dark ages +which succeeded the translation of the empire, the remote and the +immediate consequences of that memorable event were strangely +confounded by the vanity of the Greeks and the credulity of the +Latins. ^53 It was asserted, and believed, that all the noble +families of Rome, the senate, and the equestrian order, with +their innumerable attendants, had followed their emperor to the +banks of the Propontis; that a spurious race of strangers and +plebeians was left to possess the solitude of the ancient +capital; and that the lands of Italy, long since converted into +gardens, were at once deprived of cultivation and inhabitants. +^54 In the course of this history, such exaggerations will be +reduced to their just value: yet, since the growth of +Constantinople cannot be ascribed to the general increase of +mankind and of industry, it must be admitted that this artificial +colony was raised at the expense of the ancient cities of the +empire. Many opulent senators of Rome, and of the eastern +provinces, were probably invited by Constantine to adopt for +their country the fortunate spot, which he had chosen for his own +residence. The invitations of a master are scarcely to be +distinguished from commands; and the liberality of the emperor +obtained a ready and cheerful obedience. He bestowed on his +favorites the palaces which he had built in the several quarters +of the city, assigned them lands and pensions for the support of +their dignity, ^55 and alienated the demesnes of Pontus and Asia +to grant hereditary estates by the easy tenure of maintaining a +house in the capital. ^56 But these encouragements and +obligations soon became superfluous, and were gradually +abolished. Wherever the seat of government is fixed, a +considerable part of the public revenue will be expended by the +prince himself, by his ministers, by the officers of justice, and +by the domestics of the palace. The most wealthy of the +provincials will be attracted by the powerful motives of interest +and duty, of amusement and curiosity. A third and more numerous +class of inhabitants will insensibly be formed, of servants, of +artificers, and of merchants, who derive their subsistence from +their own labor, and from the wants or luxury of the superior +ranks. In less than a century, Constantinople disputed with Rome +itself the preeminence of riches and numbers. New piles of +buildings, crowded together with too little regard to health or +convenience, scarcely allowed the intervals of narrow streets for +the perpetual throng of men, of horses, and of carriages. The +allotted space of ground was insufficient to contain the +increasing people; and the additional foundations, which, on +either side, were advanced into the sea, might alone have +composed a very considerable city. ^57 +[Footnote 53: Liutprand, Legatio ad Imp. Nicephornm, p. 153. The +modern Greeks have strangely disfigured the antiquities of +Constantinople. We might excuse the errors of the Turkish or +Arabian writers; but it is somewhat astonishing, that the Greeks, +who had access to the authentic materials preserved in their own +language, should prefer fiction to truth, and loose tradition to +genuine history. In a single page of Codinus we may detect +twelve unpardonable mistakes; the reconciliation of Severus and +Niger, the marriage of their son and daughter, the siege of +Byzantium by the Macedonians, the invasion of the Gauls, which +recalled Severus to Rome, the sixty years which elapsed from his +death to the foundation of Constantinople, &c.] +[Footnote 54: Montesquieu, Grandeur et Decadence des Romains, c. +17.] +[Footnote 55: Themist. Orat. iii. p. 48, edit. Hardouin. +Sozomen, l. ii. c. 3. Zosim. l. ii. p. 107. Anonym. Valesian. +p. 715. If we could credit Codinus, (p. 10,) Constantine built +houses for the senators on the exact model of their Roman +palaces, and gratified them, as well as himself, with the +pleasure of an agreeable surprise; but the whole story is full of +fictions and inconsistencies.] + +[Footnote 56: The law by which the younger Theodosius, in the +year 438, abolished this tenure, may be found among the Novellae +of that emperor at the end of the Theodosian Code, tom. vi. nov. +12. M. de Tillemont (Hist. des Empereurs, tom. iv. p. 371) has +evidently mistaken the nature of these estates. With a grant +from the Imperial demesnes, the same condition was accepted as a +favor, which would justly have been deemed a hardship, if it had +been imposed upon private property.] + +[Footnote 57: The passages of Zosimus, of Eunapius, of Sozomen, +and of Agathias, which relate to the increase of buildings and +inhabitants at Constantinople, are collected and connected by +Gyllius de Byzant. l. i. c. 3. Sidonius Apollinaris (in Panegyr. +Anthem. 56, p. 279, edit. Sirmond) describes the moles that were +pushed forwards into the sea, they consisted of the famous +Puzzolan sand, which hardens in the water.] + + The frequent and regular distributions of wine and oil, of +corn or bread, of money or provisions, had almost exempted the +poorest citizens of Rome from the necessity of labor. The +magnificence of the first Caesars was in some measure imitated by +the founder of Constantinople: ^58 but his liberality, however it +might excite the applause of the people, has in curred the +censure of posterity. A nation of legislators and conquerors +might assert their claim to the harvests of Africa, which had +been purchased with their blood; and it was artfully contrived by +Augustus, that, in the enjoyment of plenty, the Romans should +lose the memory of freedom. But the prodigality of Constantine +could not be excused by any consideration either of public or +private interest; and the annual tribute of corn imposed upon +Egypt for the benefit of his new capital, was applied to feed a +lazy and insolent populace, at the expense of the husbandmen of +an industrious province. ^59 ^* Some other regulations of this +emperor are less liable to blame, but they are less deserving of +notice. He divided Constantinople into fourteen regions or +quarters, ^60 dignified the public council with the appellation +of senate, ^61 communicated to the citizens the privileges of +Italy, ^62 and bestowed on the rising city the title of Colony, +the first and most favored daughter of ancient Rome. The +venerable parent still maintained the legal and acknowledged +supremacy, which was due to her age, her dignity, and to the +remembrance of her former greatness. ^63 + +[Footnote 58: Sozomen, l. ii. c. 3. Philostorg. l. ii. c. 9. +Codin. Antiquitat. Const. p. 8. It appears by Socrates, l. ii. +c. 13, that the daily allowance of the city consisted of eight +myriads of which we may either translate, with Valesius, by the +words modii of corn, or consider us expressive of the number of +loaves of bread. + + Note: At Rome the poorer citizens who received these +gratuities were inscribed in a register; they had only a personal +right. Constantine attached the right to the houses in his new +capital, to engage the lower classes of the people to build their +houses with expedition. Codex Therodos. l. xiv. - G.] +[Footnote 59: See Cod. Theodos. l. xiii. and xiv., and Cod. +Justinian. Edict. xii. tom. ii. p. 648, edit. Genev. See the +beautiful complaint of Rome in the poem of Claudian de Bell. +Gildonico, ver. 46-64. + + Cum subiit par Roma mihi, divisaque sumsit + Aequales aurora togas; Aegyptia rura + In partem cessere novam.] + +[Footnote *: This was also at the expense of Rome. The emperor +ordered that the fleet of Alexandria should transport to +Constantinople the grain of Egypt which it carried before to +Rome: this grain supplied Rome during four months of the year. +Claudian has described with force the famine occasioned by this +measure: - + + Haec nobis, haec ante dabas; nunc pabula tantum + Roma precor: miserere tuae; pater optime, gentis: + Extremam defende famem. + + Claud. de Bell. Gildon. v. 34. + + - G. + + It was scarcely this measure. Gildo had cut off the African +as well as the Egyptian supplies. - M.] + +[Footnote 60: The regions of Constantinople are mentioned in the +code of Justinian, and particularly described in the Notitia of +the younger Theodosius; but as the four last of them are not +included within the wall of Constantine, it may be doubted +whether this division of the city should be referred to the +founder.] + +[Footnote 61: Senatum constituit secundi ordinis; Claros vocavit. + +Anonym Valesian. p. 715. The senators of old Rome were styled +Clarissimi. See a curious note of Valesius ad Ammian. +Marcellin. xxii. 9. From the eleventh epistle of Julian, it +should seem that the place of senator was considered 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 +relate to Constantinople. Might we not read, instead of the +celebrated name of the obscure but more probable word Bisanthe or +Rhoedestus, now Rhodosto, was a small maritime city of Thrace. +See Stephan. Byz. de Urbibus, p. 225, and Cellar. Geograph. tom. +i. p. 849.] + +[Footnote 62: Cod. 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 Jus Italicum could consist, +after the freedom of the city had been communicated to the whole +empire. + + Note: "This right, (the Jus Italicum,) which by most writers +is referred with out foundation to the personal condition of the +citizens, properly related to the city as a whole, and contained +two parts. First, the Roman or quiritarian property in the soil, +(commercium,) and its capability of mancipation, usucaption, and +vindication; moreover, as an inseparable consequence of this, +exemption from land-tax. Then, secondly, a free constitution in +the Italian form, with Duumvirs, Quinquennales. and Aediles, and +especially with Jurisdiction." Savigny, Geschichte des Rom. +Rechts i. p. 51 - M.] + +[Footnote 63: Julian (Orat. i. p. 8) celebrates Constantinople as +not less superior to all other cities than she was inferior to +Rome itself. His learned commentator (Spanheim, p. 75, 76) +justifies this language by several parallel and contemporary +instances. Zosimus, as well as Socrates and Sozomen, flourished +after the division of the empire between the two sons of +Theodosius, which established a perfect equality between the old +and the new capital.] + + As Constantine urged the progress of the work with the +impatience of a lover, the walls, the porticos, and the principal +edifices were completed in a few years, or, according to another +account, in a few months; ^64 but this extraordinary diligence +should excite the less admiration, since many of the buildings +were finished in so hasty and imperfect a manner, that under the +succeeding reign, they were preserved with difficulty from +impending ruin. ^65 But while they displayed the vigor and +freshness of youth, the founder prepared to celebrate the +dedication of his city. ^66 The games and largesses which crowned +the pomp of this memorable festival may easily be supposed; but +there is one circumstance of a more singular and permanent +nature, which ought not entirely to be overlooked. As often as +the birthday of the city returned, the statute of Constantine, +framed by his order, of gilt wood, and bearing in his right hand +a small image of the genius of the place, was erected on a +triumphal car. The guards, carrying white tapers, and clothed in +their richest apparel, accompanied the solemn procession as it +moved through the Hippodrome. When it was opposite to the throne +of the reigning emperor, he rose from his seat, and with grateful +reverence adored the memory of his predecessor. ^67 At the +festival of the dedication, an edict, engraved on a column of +marble, bestowed the title of Second or New Rome on the city of +Constantine. ^68 But the name of Constantinople ^69 has prevailed +over that honorable epithet; and after the revolution of fourteen +centuries, still perpetuates the fame of its author. ^70 + +[Footnote 64: Codinus (Antiquitat. p. 8) affirms, that the +foundations of Constantinople were laid in the year of the world +5837, (A. D. 329,) on the 26th of September, and that the city +was dedicated the 11th of May, 5838, (A. D. 330.) He connects +those dates with several characteristic epochs, but they +contradict each other; the authority of Codinus is of little +weight, and the space which he assigns must appear insufficient. +The term of ten years is given us by Julian, (Orat. i. p. 8;) and +Spanheim labors to establish the truth of it, (p. 69-75,) by the +help of two passages from Themistius, (Orat. iv. p. 58,) and of +Philostorgius, (l. ii. c. 9,) which form a period from the year +324 to the year 334. Modern critics are divided concerning this +point of chronology and their different sentiments are very +accurately described by Tillemont, Hist. des Empereurs, tom. iv. +p. 619-625.] + +[Footnote 65: Themistius. Orat. iii. p. 47. Zosim. l. ii. p. +108. Constantine himself, in one of his laws, (Cod. Theod. l. xv. +tit. i.,) betrays his impatience.] + +[Footnote 66: Cedrenus and Zonaras, faithful to the mode of +superstition which prevailed in their own times, assure us that +Constantinople was consecrated to the virgin Mother of God.] + +[Footnote 67: The earliest and most complete account of this +extraordinary ceremony may be found in the Alexandrian Chronicle, +p. 285. Tillemont, and the other friends of Constantine, who are +offended with the air of Paganism which seems unworthy of a +Christian prince, had a right to consider it as doubtful, but +they were not authorized to omit the mention of it.] +[Footnote 68: Sozomen, l. ii. c. 2. Ducange C. P. l. i. c. 6. +Velut ipsius Romae filiam, is the expression of Augustin. de +Civitat. Dei, l. v. c. 25.] +[Footnote 69: Eutropius, l. x. c. 8. Julian. Orat. i. p. 8. +Ducange C. P. l. i. c. 5. The name of Constantinople is extant +on the medals of Constantine.] +[Footnote 70: The lively Fontenelle (Dialogues des Morts, xii.) +affects to deride the vanity of human ambition, and seems to +triumph in the disappointment of Constantine, whose immortal name +is now lost in the vulgar appellation of Istambol, a Turkish +corruption of. Yet the original name is still preserved, 1. By +the nations of Europe. 2. By the modern Greeks. 3. By the +Arabs, whose writings are diffused over the wide extent of their +conquests in Asia and Africa. See D'Herbelot, Bibliotheque +Orientale, p. 275. 4. By the more learned Turks, and by the +emperor himself in his public mandates Cantemir's History of the +Othman Empire, p. 51.] + + The foundation of a new capital is naturally connected with +the establishment of a new form of civil and military +administration. The distinct view of the complicated system of +policy, introduced by Diocletian, improved by Constantine, and +completed by his immediate successors, may not only amuse the +fancy by the singular picture of a great empire, but will tend to +illustrate the secret and internal causes of its rapid decay. In +the pursuit of any remarkable institution, we may be frequently +led into the more early or the more recent times of the Roman +history; but the proper limits of this inquiry will be included +within a period of about one hundred and thirty years, from the +accession of Constantine to the publication of the Theodosian +code; ^71 from which, as well as from the Notitia ^* of the East +and West, ^72 we derive the most copious and authentic +information of the state of the empire. This variety of objects +will suspend, for some time, the course of the narrative; but the +interruption will be censured only by those readers who are +insensible to the importance of laws and manners, while they +peruse, with eager curiosity, the transient intrigues of a court, +or the accidental event of a battle. + +[Footnote 71: The Theodosian code was promulgated A. D. 438. See +the Prolegomena of Godefroy, c. i. p. 185.] + +[Footnote *: The Notitia Dignitatum Imperii is a description of +all the offices in the court and the state, of the legions, &c. +It resembles our court almanacs, (Red Books,) with this single +difference, that our almanacs name the persons in office, the +Notitia only the offices. It is of the time of the emperor +Theodosius II., that is to say, of the fifth century, when the +empire was divided into the Eastern and Western. It is probable +that it was not made for the first time, and that descriptions of +the same kind existed before. - G.] + +[Footnote 72: Pancirolus, in his elaborate Commentary, assigns to +the Notitia a date almost similar to that of the Theodosian Code; +but his proofs, or rather conjectures, are extremely feeble. I +should be rather inclined to place this useful work between the +final division of the empire (A. D. 395) and the successful +invasion of Gaul by the barbarians, (A. D. 407.) See Histoire des +Anciens Peuples de l'Europe, tom. vii. p. 40.] + +Chapter XVII: Foundation Of Constantinople. + +Part III. + + The manly pride of the Romans, content with substantial +power, had left to the vanity of the East the forms and +ceremonies of ostentatious greatness. ^73 But when they lost even +the semblance of those virtues which were derived from their +ancient freedom, the simplicity of Roman manners was insensibly +corrupted by the stately affectation of the courts of Asia. The +distinctions of personal merit and influence, so conspicuous in a +republic, so feeble and obscure under a monarchy, were abolished +by the despotism of the emperors; who substituted in their room a +severe subordination of rank and office from the titled slaves +who were seated on the steps of the throne, to the meanest +instruments of arbitrary power. This multitude of abject +dependants was interested in the support of the actual government +from the dread of a revolution, which might at once confound +their hopes and intercept the reward of their services. In this +divine hierarchy (for such it is frequently styled) every rank +was marked with the most scrupulous exactness, and its dignity +was displayed in a variety of trifling and solemn ceremonies, +which it was a study to learn, and a sacrilege to neglect. ^74 +The purity of the Latin language was debased, by adopting, in the +intercourse of pride and flattery, a profusion of epithets, which +Tully would scarcely have understood, and which Augustus would +have rejected with indignation. The principal officers of the +empire were saluted, even by the sovereign himself, with the +deceitful titles of your Sincerity, your Gravity, your +Excellency, your Eminence, your sublime and wonderful Magnitude, +your illustrious and magnificent Highness. ^75 The codicils or +patents of their office were curiously emblazoned with such +emblems as were best adapted to explain its nature and high +dignity; the image or portrait of the reigning emperors; a +triumphal car; the book of mandates placed on a table, covered +with a rich carpet, and illuminated by four tapers; the +allegorical figures of the provinces which they governed; or the +appellations and standards of the troops whom they commanded Some +of these official ensigns were really exhibited in their hall of +audience; others preceded their pompous march whenever they +appeared in public; and every circumstance of their demeanor, +their dress, their ornaments, and their train, was calculated to +inspire a deep reverence for the representatives of supreme +majesty. By a philosophic observer, the system of the Roman +government might have been mistaken for a splendid theatre, +filled with players of every character and degree, who repeated +the language, and imitated the passions, of their original model. +^76 + +[Footnote 73: Scilicet externae superbiae sueto, non inerat +notitia nostri, (perhaps nostroe;) apud quos vis Imperii valet, +inania transmittuntur. Tacit. Annal. xv. 31. The gradation from +the style of freedom and simplicity, to that of form and +servitude, may be traced in the Epistles of Cicero, of Pliny, and +of Symmachus.] + +[Footnote 74: The emperor Gratian, after confirming a law of +precedency published by Valentinian, the father of his Divinity, +thus continues: Siquis igitur indebitum sibi locum usurpaverit, +nulla se ignoratione defendat; sitque plane sacrilegii reus, qui +divina praecepta neglexerit. Cod. Theod. l. vi. tit. v. leg. 2.] + +[Footnote 75: Consult the Notitia Dignitatum at the end of the +Theodosian code, tom. vi. p. 316. + + Note: Constantin, qui remplaca le grand Patriciat par une +noblesse titree et qui changea avec d'autres institutions la +nature de la societe Latine, est le veritable fondateur de la +royaute moderne, dans ce quelle conserva de Romain. +Chateaubriand, Etud. Histor. Preface, i. 151. Manso, (Leben +Constantins des Grossen,) p. 153, &c., has given a lucid view of +the dignities and duties of the officers in the Imperial court. - +M.] + +[Footnote 76: Pancirolus ad Notitiam utriusque Imperii, p. 39. +But his explanations are obscure, and he does not sufficiently +distinguish the painted emblems from the effective ensigns of +office.] + + All the magistrates of sufficient importance to find a place +in the general state of the empire, were accurately divided into +three classes. 1. The Illustrious. 2. The Spectabiles, or +Respectable. And, 3. the Clarissimi; whom we may translate by +the word Honorable. In the times of Roman simplicity, the +last-mentioned epithet was used only as a vague expression of +deference, till it became at length the peculiar and appropriated +title of all who were members of the senate, ^77 and consequently +of all who, from that venerable body, were selected to govern the +provinces. The vanity of those who, from their rank and office, +might claim a superior distinction above the rest of the +senatorial order, was long afterwards indulged with the new +appellation of Respectable; but the title of Illustrious was +always reserved to some eminent personages who were obeyed or +reverenced by the two subordinate classes. It was communicated +only, I. To the consuls and patricians; II. To the Praetorian +praefects, with the praefects of Rome and Constantinople; III. To +the masters-general of the cavalry and the infantry; and IV. To +the seven ministers of the palace, who exercised their sacred +functions about the person of the emperor. ^78 Among those +illustrious magistrates who were esteemed coordinate with each +other, the seniority of appointment gave place to the union of +dignities. ^79 By the expedient of honorary codicils, the +emperors, who were fond of multiplying their favors, might +sometimes gratify the vanity, though not the ambition, of +impatient courtiers. ^80 + +[Footnote 77: In the Pandects, which may be referred to the +reigns of the Antonines, Clarissimus is the ordinary and legal +title of a senator.] +[Footnote 78: Pancirol. p. 12-17. I have not taken any notice of +the two inferior ranks, Prefectissimus and Egregius, which were +given to many persons who were not raised to the senatorial +dignity.] + +[Footnote 79: Cod. Theodos. l. vi. tit. vi. The rules of +precedency are ascertained with the most minute accuracy by the +emperors, and illustrated with equal prolixity by their learned +interpreter.] + +[Footnote 80: Cod. Theodos. l. vi. tit. xxii.] + + I. As long as the Roman consuls were the first magistrates +of a free state, they derived their right to power from the +choice of the people. As long as the emperors condescended to +disguise the servitude which they imposed, the consuls were still +elected by the real or apparent suffrage of the senate. From the +reign of Diocletian, even these vestiges of liberty were +abolished, and the successful candidates who were invested with +the annual honors of the consulship, affected to deplore the +humiliating condition of their predecessors. The Scipios and the +Catos had been reduced to solicit the votes of plebeians, to pass +through the tedious and expensive forms of a popular election, +and to expose their dignity to the shame of a public refusal; +while their own happier fate had reserved them for an age and +government in which the rewards of virtue were assigned by the +unerring wisdom of a gracious sovereign. ^81 In the epistles +which the emperor addressed to the two consuls elect, it was +declared, that they were created by his sole authority. ^82 Their +names and portraits, engraved on gilt tables of ivory, were +dispersed over the empire as presents to the provinces, the +cities, the magistrates, the senate, and the people. ^83 Their +solemn inauguration was performed at the place of the Imperial +residence; and during a period of one hundred and twenty years, +Rome was constantly deprived of the presence of her ancient +magistrates. ^84 + +[Footnote 81: Ausonius (in Gratiarum Actione) basely expatiates +on this unworthy topic, which is managed by Mamertinus (Panegyr. +Vet. xi. [x.] 16, 19) with somewhat more freedom and ingenuity.] + +[Footnote 82: Cum de Consulibus in annum creandis, solus mecum +volutarem .... te Consulem et designavi, et declaravi, et priorem +nuncupavi; are some of the expressions employed by the emperor +Gratian to his preceptor, the poet Ausonius.] + +[Footnote 83: Immanesque. . . dentes + + Qui secti ferro in tabulas auroque micantes, + Inscripti rutilum coelato Consule nomen + Per proceres et vulgus eant. + + Claud. in ii. Cons. Stilichon. 456. + +Montfaucon has represented some of these tablets or dypticks see +Supplement a l'Antiquite expliquee, tom. iii. p. 220.] + +[Footnote 84: Consule laetatur post plurima seculo viso + + Pallanteus apex: agnoscunt rostra curules + Auditas quondam proavis: desuetaque cingit + Regius auratis Fora fascibus Ulpia lictor. + + Claud. in vi. Cons. Honorii, 643. + +From the reign of Carus to the sixth consulship of Honorius, +there was an interval of one hundred and twenty years, during +which the emperors were always absent from Rome on the first day +of January. See the Chronologie de Tillemonte, tom. iii. iv. and +v.] + + On the morning of the first of January, the consuls assumed +the ensigns of their dignity. Their dress was a robe of purple, +embroidered in silk and gold, and sometimes ornamented with +costly gems. ^85 On this solemn occasion they were attended by +the most eminent officers of the state and army, in the habit of +senators; and the useless fasces, armed with the once formidable +axes, were borne before them by the lictors. ^86 The procession +moved from the palace ^87 to the Forum or principal square of the +city; where the consuls ascended their tribunal, and seated +themselves in the curule chairs, which were framed after the +fashion of ancient times. They immediately exercised an act of +jurisdiction, by the manumission of a slave, who was brought +before them for that purpose; and the ceremony was intended to +represent the celebrated action of the elder Brutus, the author +of liberty and of the consulship, when he admitted among his +fellow-citizens the faithful Vindex, who had revealed the +conspiracy of the Tarquins. ^88 The public festival was continued +during several days in all the principal cities in Rome, from +custom; in Constantinople, from imitation in Carthage, Antioch, +and Alexandria, from the love of pleasure, and the superfluity of +wealth. ^89 In the two capitals of the empire the annual games of +the theatre, the circus, and the amphitheatre, ^90 cost four +thousand pounds of gold, (about) one hundred and sixty thousand +pounds sterling: and if so heavy an expense surpassed the +faculties or the inclinations of the magistrates themselves, the +sum was supplied from the Imperial treasury. ^91 As soon as the +consuls had discharged these customary duties, they were at +liberty to retire into the shade of private life, and to enjoy, +during the remainder of the year, the undisturbed contemplation +of their own greatness. They no longer presided in the national +councils; they no longer executed the resolutions of peace or +war. Their abilities (unless they were employed in more effective +offices) were of little moment; and their names served only as +the legal date of the year in which they had filled the chair of +Marius and of Cicero. Yet it was still felt and acknowledged, in +the last period of Roman servitude, that this empty name might be +compared, and even preferred, to the possession of substantial +power. The title of consul was still the most splendid object of +ambition, the noblest reward of virtue and loyalty. The emperors +themselves, who disdained the faint shadow of the republic, were +conscious that they acquired an additional splendor and majesty +as often as they assumed the annual honors of the consular +dignity. ^92 + +[Footnote 85: See Claudian in Cons. Prob. et Olybrii, 178, &c.; +and in iv. Cons. Honorii, 585, &c.; though in the latter it is +not easy to separate the ornaments of the emperor from those of +the consul. Ausonius received from the liberality of Gratian a +vestis palmata, or robe of state, in which the figure of the +emperor Constantius was embroidered. + + Cernis et armorum proceres legumque potentes: + Patricios sumunt habitus; et more Gabino + Discolor incedit legio, positisque parumper + Bellorum signis, sequitur vexilla Quirini. + Lictori cedunt aquilae, ridetque togatus + Miles, et in mediis effulget curia castris. + + Claud. in iv. Cons. Honorii, 5. + + - strictaque procul radiare secures. + + In Cons. Prob. 229] + +[Footnote 87: See Valesius ad Ammian. Marcellin. l. xxii. c. 7.] + +[Footnote 88: Auspice mox laeto sonuit clamore tribunal; + Te fastos ineunte quater; solemnia ludit + Omina libertas; deductum Vindice morem + Lex servat, famulusque jugo laxatus herili + Ducitur, et grato remeat securior ictu. + + Claud. in iv Cons. Honorii, 611] + +[Footnote 89: Celebrant quidem solemnes istos dies omnes ubique +urbes quae sub legibus agunt; et Roma de more, et +Constantinopolis de imitatione, et Antiochia pro luxu, et +discincta Carthago, et domus fluminis Alexandria, sed Treviri +Principis beneficio. Ausonius in Grat. Actione.] + +[Footnote 90: Claudian (in Cons. Mall. Theodori, 279-331) +describes, in a lively and fanciful manner, the various games of +the circus, the theatre, and the amphitheatre, exhibited by the +new consul. The sanguinary combats of gladiators had already +been prohibited.] + +[Footnote 91: Procopius in Hist. Arcana, c. 26.] + +[Footnote 92: In Consulatu honos sine labore suscipitur. +(Mamertin. in Panegyr. Vet. xi. [x.] 2.) This exalted idea of +the consulship is borrowed from an oration (iii. p. 107) +pronounced by Julian in the servile court of Constantius. See +the Abbe de la Bleterie, (Memoires de l'Academie, tom. xxiv. p. +289,) who delights to pursue the vestiges of the old +constitution, and who sometimes finds them in his copious fancy] + + The proudest and most perfect separation which can be found +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 republic. Wealth and +honors, the offices of the state, and the ceremonies of religion, +were almost exclusively possessed by the former who, preserving +the purity of their blood with the most insulting jealousy, ^93 +held their clients in a condition of specious vassalage. But +these distinctions, so incompatible with the spirit of a free +people, were removed, after a long struggle, by the persevering +efforts of the Tribunes. The most active and successful of the +Plebeians accumulated wealth, aspired to honors, deserved +triumphs, contracted alliances, and, after some generations, +assumed the pride of ancient nobility. ^94 The Patrician +families, on the other hand, whose original number was never +recruited till the end of the commonwealth, either failed in the +ordinary course of nature, or were extinguished in so many +foreign and domestic wars, or, through a want of merit or +fortune, insensibly mingled with the mass of the people. ^95 Very +few remained who could derive their pure and genuine origin from +the infancy of the city, or even from that of the republic, when +Caesar and Augustus, Claudius and Vespasian, created from the +body of the senate a competent number of new Patrician families, +in the hope of perpetuating an order, which was still considered +as honorable and sacred. ^96 But these artificial supplies (in +which the reigning house was always included) were rapidly swept +away by the rage of tyrants, by frequent revolutions, by the +change of manners, and by the intermixture of nations. ^97 Little +more was left when Constantine ascended the throne, than a vague +and imperfect tradition, that the Patricians had once been the +first of the Romans. To form a body of nobles, whose influence +may restrain, while it secures the authority of the monarch, +would have been very inconsistent with the character and policy +of Constantine; but had he seriously entertained such a design, +it might have exceeded the measure of his power to ratify, by an +arbitrary edict, an institution which must expect the sanction of +time and of opinion. He revived, indeed, the title of +Patricians, but he revived it as a personal, not as an hereditary +distinction. They yielded only to the transient superiority of +the annual consuls; but they enjoyed the pre-eminence over all +the great officers of state, with the most familiar access to the +person of the prince. This honorable rank was bestowed on them +for life; and as they were usually favorites, and ministers who +had grown old in the Imperial court, the true etymology of the +word was perverted by ignorance and flattery; and the Patricians +of Constantine were reverenced as the adopted Fathers of the +emperor and the republic. ^98 + +[Footnote 93: Intermarriages between the Patricians and Plebeians +were prohibited by the laws of the XII Tables; and the uniform +operations of human nature may attest that the custom survived +the law. See in Livy (iv. 1-6) the pride of family urged by the +consul, and the rights of mankind asserted by the tribune +Canuleius.] + +[Footnote 94: See the animated picture drawn by Sallust, in the +Jugurthine war, of the pride of the nobles, and even of the +virtuous Metellus, who was unable to brook the idea that the +honor of the consulship should be bestowed on the obscure merit +of his lieutenant Marius. (c. 64.) Two hundred years before, the +race of the Metelli themselves were confounded among the +Plebeians of Rome; and from the etymology of their name of +Coecilius, there is reason to believe that those haughty nobles +derived their origin from a sutler.] +[Footnote 95: In the year of Rome 800, very few remained, not +only of the old Patrician families, but even of those which had +been created by Caesar and Augustus. (Tacit. Annal. xi. 25.) The +family of Scaurus (a branch of the Patrician Aemilii) was +degraded so low that his father, who exercised the trade of a +charcoal merchant, left him only teu slaves, and somewhat less +than three hundred pounds sterling. (Valerius Maximus, l. iv. c. +4, n. 11. Aurel. Victor in Scauro.) The family was saved from +oblivion by the merit of the son.] + +[Footnote 96: Tacit. Annal. xi. 25. Dion Cassius, l. iii. p. +698. The virtues of Agricola, who was created a Patrician by the +emperor Vespasian, reflected honor on that ancient order; but his +ancestors had not any claim beyond an Equestrian nobility.] + +[Footnote 97: This failure would have been almost impossible if +it were true, as Casaubon compels Aurelius Victor to affirm (ad +Sueton, in Caesar v. 24. See Hist. August p. 203 and Casaubon +Comment., p. 220) that Vespasian created at once a thousand +Patrician families. But this extravagant number is too much even +for the whole Senatorial order. unless we should include all the +Roman knights who were distinguished by the permission of wearing +the laticlave.] + +[Footnote 98: Zosimus, l. ii. p. 118; and Godefroy ad Cod. +Theodos. l. vi. tit. vi.] + + II. The fortunes of the Praetorian praefects were +essentially different from those of the consuls and Patricians. +The latter saw their ancient greatness evaporate in a vain title. + +The former, rising by degrees from the most humble condition, +were invested with the civil and military administration of the +Roman world. From the reign of Severus to that of Diocletian, +the guards and the palace, the laws and the finances, the armies +and the provinces, were intrusted to their superintending care; +and, like the Viziers of the East, they held with one hand the +seal, and with the other the standard, of the empire. The +ambition of the praefects, always formidable, and sometimes fatal +to the masters whom they served, was supported by the strength of +the Praetorian bands; but after those haughty troops had been +weakened by Diocletian, and finally suppressed by Constantine, +the praefects, who survived their fall, were reduced without +difficulty to the station of useful and obedient ministers. When +they were no longer responsible for the safety of the emperor's +person, they resigned the jurisdiction which they had hitherto +claimed and exercised over all the departments of the palace. +They were deprived by Constantine of all military command, as +soon as they had ceased to lead into the field, under their +immediate orders, the flower of the Roman troops; and at length, +by a singular revolution, the captains of the guards were +transformed into the civil magistrates of the provinces. +According to the plan of government instituted by Diocletian, the +four princes had each their Praetorian praefect; and after the +monarchy was once more united in the person of Constantine, he +still continued to create the same number of Four Praefects, and +intrusted to their care the same provinces which they already +administered. 1. The praefect of the East stretched his ample +jurisdiction into the three parts of the globe which were subject +to the Romans, from the cataracts of the Nile to the banks of the +Phasis, and from the mountains of Thrace to the frontiers of +Persia. 2. The important provinces of Pannonia, Dacia, +Macedonia, and Greece, once acknowledged the authority of the +praefect of Illyricum. 3. The power of the praefect of Italy was +not confined to the country from whence he derived his title; it +extended over the additional territory of Rhaetia as far as the +banks of the Danube, over the dependent islands of the +Mediterranean, and over that part of the continent of Africa +which lies between the confines of Cyrene and those of +Tingitania. 4. The praefect of the Gauls comprehended under that +plural denomination the kindred provinces of Britain and Spain, +and his authority was obeyed from the wall of Antoninus to the +foot of Mount Atlas. ^99 +[Footnote 99: Zosimus, l. ii. p. 109, 110. If we had not +fortunately possessed this satisfactory account of the division +of the power and provinces of the Praetorian praefects, we should +frequently have been perplexed amidst the copious details of the +Code, and the circumstantial minuteness of the Notitia.] + + After the Praetorian praefects had been dismissed from all +military command, the civil functions which they were ordained to +exercise over so many subject nations, were adequate to the +ambition and abilities of the most consummate ministers. To +their wisdom was committed the supreme administration of justice +and of the finances, the two objects which, in a state of peace, +comprehend almost all the respective duties of the sovereign and +of the people; of the former, to protect the citizens who are +obedient to the laws; of the latter, to contribute the share of +their property which is required for the expenses of the state. +The coin, the highways, the posts, the granaries, the +manufactures, whatever could interest the public prosperity, was +moderated by the authority of the Praetorian praefects. As the +immediate representatives of the Imperial majesty, they were +empowered to explain, to enforce, and on some occasions to +modify, the general edicts by their discretionary proclamations. +They watched over the conduct of the provincial governors, +removed the negligent, and inflicted punishments on the guilty. +From all the inferior jurisdictions, an appeal in every matter of +importance, either civil or criminal, might be brought before the +tribunal of the praefect; but his sentence was final and +absolute; and the emperors themselves refused to admit any +complaints against the judgment or the integrity of a magistrate +whom they honored with such unbounded confidence. ^100 His +appointments were suitable to his dignity; ^101 and if avarice +was his ruling passion, he enjoyed frequent opportunities of +collecting a rich harvest of fees, of presents, and of +perquisites. Though the emperors no longer dreaded the ambition +of their praefects, they were attentive to counterbalance the +power of this great office by the uncertainty and shortness of +its duration. ^102 + +[Footnote 100: See a law of Constantine himself. A praefectis +autem praetorio provocare, non sinimus. Cod. Justinian. l. vii. +tit. lxii. leg. 19. Charisius, a lawyer of the time of +Constantine, (Heinec. Hist. Romani, p. 349,) who admits this law +as a fundamental principle of jurisprudence, compares the +Praetorian praefects to the masters of the horse of the ancient +dictators. Pandect. l. i. tit. xi.] + +[Footnote 101: When Justinian, in the exhausted condition of the +empire, instituted a Praetorian praefect for Africa, he allowed +him a salary of one hundred pounds of gold. Cod. Justinian. l. +i. tit. xxvii. leg. i.] +[Footnote 102: For this, and the other dignities of the empire, +it may be sufficient to refer to the ample commentaries of +Pancirolus and Godefroy, who have diligently collected and +accurately digested in their proper order all the legal and +historical materials. From those authors, Dr. Howell (History of +the World, vol. ii. p. 24-77) has deduced a very distinct +abridgment of the state of the Roman empire] + + From their superior importance and dignity, Rome and +Constantinople were alone excepted from the jurisdiction of the +Praetorian praefects. The immense size of the city, and the +experience of the tardy, ineffectual operation of the laws, had +furnished the policy of Augustus with a specious pretence for +introducing a new magistrate, who alone could restrain a servile +and turbulent populace by the strong arm of arbitrary power. ^103 +Valerius Messalla was appointed the first praefect of Rome, that +his reputation might countenance so invidious a measure; but, at +the end of a few days, that accomplished citizen ^104 resigned +his office, declaring, with a spirit worthy of the friend of +Brutus, that he found himself incapable of exercising a power +incompatible with public freedom. ^105 As the sense of liberty +became less exquisite, the advantages of order were more clearly +understood; and the praefect, who seemed to have been designed as +a terror only to slaves and vagrants, was permitted to extend his +civil and criminal jurisdiction over the equestrian and noble +families of Rome. The praetors, annually created as the judges of +law and equity, could not long dispute the possession of the +Forum with a vigorous and permanent magistrate, who was usually +admitted into the confidence of the prince. Their courts were +deserted, their number, which had once fluctuated between twelve +and eighteen, ^106 was gradually reduced to two or three, and +their important functions were confined to the expensive +obligation ^107 of exhibiting games for the amusement of the +people. After the office of the Roman consuls had been changed +into a vain pageant, which was rarely displayed in the capital, +the praefects assumed their vacant place in the senate, and were +soon acknowledged as the ordinary presidents of that venerable +assembly. They received appeals from the distance of one hundred +miles; and it was allowed as a principle of jurisprudence, that +all municipal authority was derived from them alone. ^108 In the +discharge of his laborious employment, the governor of Rome was +assisted by fifteen officers, some of whom had been originally +his equals, or even his superiors. The principal departments +were relative to the command of a numerous watch, established as +a safeguard against fires, robberies, and nocturnal disorders; +the custody and distribution of the public allowance of corn and +provisions; the care of the port, of the aqueducts, of the common +sewers, and of the navigation and bed of the Tyber; the +inspection of the markets, the theatres, and of the private as +well as the public works. Their vigilance insured the three +principal objects of a regular police, safety, plenty, and +cleanliness; and as a proof of the attention of government to +preserve the splendor and ornaments of the capital, a particular +inspector was appointed for the statues; the guardian, as it +were, of that inanimate people, which, according to the +extravagant computation of an old writer, was scarcely inferior +in number to the living inhabitants of Rome. About thirty years +after the foundation of Constantinople, a similar magistrate was +created in that rising metropolis, for the same uses and with the +same powers. A perfect equality was established between the +dignity of the two municipal, and that of the four Praetorian +praefects. ^109 + +[Footnote 103: Tacit. Annal. vi. 11. Euseb. in Chron. p. 155. +Dion Cassius, in the oration of Maecenas, (l. lvii. p. 675,) +describes the prerogatives of the praefect of the city as they +were established in his own time.] +[Footnote 104: The fame of Messalla has been scarcely equal to +his merit. In the earliest youth he was recommended by Cicero to +the friendship of Brutus. He followed the standard of the +republic till it was broken in the fields of Philippi; he then +accepted and deserved the favor of the most moderate of the +conquerors; and uniformly asserted his freedom and dignity in the +court of Augustus. The triumph of Messalla was justified by the +conquest of Aquitain. As an orator, he disputed the palm of +eloquence with Cicero himself. Messalla cultivated every muse, +and was the patron of every man of genius. He spent his evenings +in philosophic conversation with Horace; assumed his place at +table between Delia and Tibullus; and amused his leisure by +encouraging the poetical talents of young Ovid.] + +[Footnote 105: Incivilem esse potestatem contestans, says the +translator of Eusebius. Tacitus expresses the same idea in other +words; quasi nescius exercendi.] + +[Footnote 106: See Lipsius, Excursus D. ad 1 lib. Tacit. Annal.] +[Footnote 107: Heineccii. Element. Juris Civilis secund ordinem +Pandect i. p. 70. See, likewise, Spanheim de Usu. Numismatum, +tom. ii. dissertat. x. p. 119. In the year 450, Marcian +published a law, that three citizens should be annually created +Praetors of Constantinople by the choice of the senate, but with +their own consent. Cod. Justinian. li. i. tit. xxxix. leg. 2.] +[Footnote 108: Quidquid igitur intra urbem admittitur, ad P. U. +videtur pertinere; sed et siquid intra contesimum milliarium. +Ulpian in Pandect l. i. tit. xiii. n. 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 +and command all city magistrates sine injuria ac detrimento +honoris alieni.] + +[Footnote 109: Besides our usual guides, we may observe that +Felix Cantelorius has written a separate treatise, De Praefecto +Urbis; and that many curious details concerning the police of +Rome and Constantinople are contained in the fourteenth book of +the Theodosian Code.] + +Chapter XVII: Foundation Of Constantinople. + +Part IV. + + Those who, in the imperial hierarchy, were distinguished by +the title of Respectable, formed an intermediate class between +the illustrious praefects, and the honorable magistrates of the +provinces. In this class the proconsuls of Asia, Achaia, and +Africa, claimed a preeminence, which was yielded to the +remembrance of their ancient dignity; and the appeal from their +tribunal to that of the praefects was almost the only mark of +their dependence. ^110 But the civil government of the empire was +distributed into thirteen great Dioceses, each of which equalled +the just measure of a powerful kingdom. The first of these +dioceses was subject to the jurisdiction of the count of the +east; and we may convey some idea of the importance and variety +of his functions, by observing, that six hundred apparitors, who +would be styled at present either secretaries, or clerks, or +ushers, or messengers, were employed in his immediate office. +^111 The place of Augustal proefect of Egypt was no longer filled +by a Roman knight; but the name was retained; and the +extraordinary powers which the situation of the country, and the +temper of the inhabitants, had once made indispensable, were +still continued to the governor. The eleven remaining dioceses, +of Asiana, Pontica, and Thrace; of Macedonia, Dacia, and +Pannonia, or Western Illyricum; of Italy and Africa; of Gaul, +Spain, and Britain; were governed by twelve vicars or +vice-proefects, ^112 whose name sufficiently explains the nature +and dependence of their office. It may be added, that the +lieutenant-generals of the Roman armies, the military counts and +dukes, who will be hereafter mentioned, were allowed the rank and +title of Respectable. + +[Footnote 110: Eunapius affirms, that the proconsul of Asia was +independent of the praefect; which must, however, be understood +with some allowance. the jurisdiction of the vice-praefect he +most assuredly disclaimed. Pancirolus, p. 161.] + +[Footnote 111: The proconsul of Africa had four hundred +apparitors; and they all received large salaries, either from the +treasury or the province See Pancirol. p. 26, and Cod. Justinian. +l. xii. tit. lvi. lvii.] +[Footnote 112: In Italy there was likewise the Vicar of Rome. It +has been much disputed whether his jurisdiction measured one +hundred miles from the city, or whether it stretched over the ten +thousand provinces of Italy.] + As the spirit of jealousy and ostentation prevailed in the +councils of the emperors, they proceeded with anxious diligence +to divide the substance and to multiply the titles of power. The +vast countries which the Roman conquerors had united under the +same simple form of administration, were imperceptibly crumbled +into minute fragments; till at length the whole empire was +distributed into one hundred and sixteen provinces, each of which +supported an expensive and splendid establishment. Of these, +three were governed by proconsuls, thirty-seven by consulars, +five by correctors, and seventy-one by presidents. The +appellations of these magistrates were different; they ranked in +successive order, the ensigns of and their situation, from +accidental circumstances, might be more or less agreeable or +advantageous. But they were all (excepting only the pro-consuls) +alike included in the class of honorable persons; and they were +alike intrusted, during the pleasure of the prince, and under the +authority of the praefects or their deputies, with the +administration of justice and the finances in their respective +districts. The ponderous volumes of the Codes and Pandects ^113 +would furnish ample materials for a minute inquiry into the +system of provincial government, as in the space of six centuries +it was approved by the wisdom of the Roman statesmen and lawyers. + +It may be sufficient for the historian to select two singular and +salutary provisions, intended to restrain the abuse of authority. + +1. For the preservation of peace and order, the governors of the +provinces were armed with the sword of justice. They inflicted +corporal punishments, and they exercised, in capital offences, +the power of life and death. But they were not authorized to +indulge the condemned criminal with the choice of his own +execution, or to pronounce a sentence of the mildest and most +honorable kind of exile. These prerogatives were reserved to the +praefects, who alone could impose the heavy fine of fifty pounds +of gold: their vicegerents were confined to the trifling weight +of a few ounces. ^114 This distinction, which seems to grant the +larger, while it denies the smaller degree of authority, was +founded on a very rational motive. The smaller degree was +infinitely more liable to abuse. The passions of a provincial +magistrate might frequently provoke him into acts of oppression, +which affected only the freedom or the fortunes of the subject; +though, from a principle of prudence, perhaps of humanity, he +might still be terrified by the guilt of innocent blood. It may +likewise be considered, that exile, considerable fines, or the +choice of an easy death, relate more particularly to the rich and +the noble; and the persons the most exposed to the avarice or +resentment of a provincial magistrate, were thus removed from his +obscure persecution to the more august and impartial tribunal of +the Praetorian praefect. 2. As it was reasonably apprehended +that the integrity of the judge might be biased, if his interest +was concerned, or his affections were engaged, the strictest +regulations were established, to exclude any person, without the +special dispensation of the emperor, from the government of the +province where he was born; ^115 and to prohibit the governor or +his son from contracting marriage with a native, or an +inhabitant; ^116 or from purchasing slaves, lands, or houses, +within the extent of his jurisdiction. ^117 Notwithstanding these +rigorous precautions, the emperor Constantine, after a reign of +twenty-five years, still deplores the venal and oppressive +administration of justice, and expresses the warmest indignation +that the audience of the judge, his despatch of business, his +seasonable delays, and his final sentence, were publicly sold, +either by himself or by the officers of his court. The +continuance, and perhaps the impunity, of these crimes, is +attested by the repetition of impotent laws and ineffectual +menaces. ^118 +[Footnote 113: Among the works of the celebrated Ulpian, there +was one in ten books, concerning the office of a proconsul, whose +duties in the most essential articles were the same as those of +an ordinary governor of a province.] + +[Footnote 114: The presidents, or consulars, could impose only +two ounces; the vice-praefects, three; the proconsuls, count of +the east, and praefect of Egypt, six. See Heineccii Jur. Civil. +tom. i. p. 75. Pandect. l. xlviii. tit. xix. n. 8. Cod. +Justinian. l. i. tit. liv. leg. 4, 6.] +[Footnote 115: Ut nulli patriae suae administratio sine speciali +principis permissu permittatur. Cod. Justinian. l. i. tit. xli. +This law was first enacted by the emperor Marcus, after the +rebellion of Cassius. (Dion. l. lxxi.) The same regulation is +observed in China, with equal strictness, and with equal effect.] + +[Footnote 116: Pandect. l. xxiii. tit. ii. n. 38, 57, 63.] +[Footnote 117: In jure continetur, ne quis in administratione +constitutus aliquid compararet. Cod. Theod. l. viii. tit. xv. +leg. l. This maxim of common law was enforced by a series of +edicts (see the remainder of the title) from Constantine to +Justin. From this prohibition, which is extended to the meanest +officers of the governor, they except only clothes and +provisions. The purchase within five years may be recovered; +after which on information, it devolves to the treasury.] + +[Footnote 118: Cessent rapaces jam nunc officialium manus; +cessent, inquam nam si moniti non cessaverint, gladiis +praecidentur, &c. Cod. Theod. l. i. tit. vii. leg. l. Zeno +enacted that all governors should remain in the province, to +answer any accusations, fifty days after the expiration of their +power. Cod Justinian. l. ii. tit. xlix. leg. l.] + + All the civil magistrates were drawn from the profession of +the law. The celebrated Institutes of Justinian are addressed to +the youth of his dominions, who had devoted themselves to the +study of Roman jurisprudence; and the sovereign condescends to +animate their diligence, by the assurance that their skill and +ability would in time be rewarded by an adequate share in the +government of the republic. ^119 The rudiments of this lucrative +science were taught in all the considerable cities of the east +and west; but the most famous school was that of Berytus, ^120 on +the coast of Phoenicia; which flourished above three centuries +from the time of Alexander Severus, the author perhaps of an +institution so advantageous to his native country. After 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 an inexhaustible supply +of business in a great empire already corrupted by the multiplicity +of laws, of arts, and of vices. The court of the Praetorian +praefect of the east could alone furnish employment for one +hundred and fifty advocates, sixty-four of whom were +distinguished by peculiar privileges, and two were annually +chosen, with a salary of sixty pounds of gold, to defend the +causes of the treasury. The first experiment was made of their +judicial talents, by appointing them to act occasionally as +assessors to the magistrates; from thence they were often raised +to preside in the tribunals before which they had pleaded. They +obtained the government of a province; and, by the aid of merit, +of reputation, or of favor, they ascended, by successive steps, +to the illustrious dignities of the state. ^121 In the practice +of the bar, these men had considered reason as the instrument of +dispute; they interpreted the laws according to the dictates of +private interest and the same pernicious habits might still +adhere to their characters in the public administration of the +state. The honor of a liberal profession has indeed been +vindicated by ancient and modern advocates, who have filled the +most important stations, with pure integrity and consummate +wisdom: but in the decline of Roman jurisprudence, the ordinary +promotion of lawyers was pregnant with mischief and disgrace. +The noble art, which had once been preserved as the sacred +inheritance of the patricians, was fallen into the hands of +freedmen and plebeians, ^122 who, with cunning rather than with +skill, exercised a sordid and pernicious trade. Some of them +procured admittance into families for the purpose of fomenting +differences, of encouraging suits, and of preparing a harvest of +gain for themselves or their brethren. Others, recluse in their +chambers, maintained the dignity of legal professors, by +furnishing a rich client with subtleties to confound the plainest +truths, and with arguments to color the most unjustifiable +pretensions. The splendid and popular class was composed of the +advocates, who filled the Forum with the sound of their turgid +and loquacious rhetoric. Careless of fame and of justice, they +are described, for the most part, as ignorant and rapacious +guides, who conducted their clients through a maze of expense, of +delay, and of disappointment; from whence, after a tedious series +of years, they were at length dismissed, when their patience and +fortune were almost exhausted. ^123 + +[Footnote 119: Summa igitur ope, et alacri studio has leges +nostras accipite; et vosmetipsos sic eruditos ostendite, ut spes +vos pulcherrima foveat; toto legitimo opere perfecto, posse etiam +nostram rempublicam in par tibus ejus vobis credendis gubernari. +Justinian in proem. Institutionum.] +[Footnote 120: The splendor of the school of Berytus, which +preserved in the east the language and jurisprudence of the +Romans, may be computed to have lasted from the third to the +middle of the sixth century Heinecc. Jur. Rom. Hist. p. 351-356.] + +[Footnote 121: As in a former period I have traced the civil and +military promotion of Pertinax, I shall here insert the civil +honors of Mallius Theodorus. 1. He was distinguished by his +eloquence, while he pleaded as an advocate in the court of the +Praetorian praefect. 2. He governed one of the provinces of +Africa, either as president or consular, and deserved, by his +administration, the honor of a brass statue. 3. He was appointed +vicar, or vice-praefect, of Macedonia. 4. Quaestor. 5. Count of +the sacred largesses. 6. Praetorian praefect of the Gauls; whilst +he might yet be represented as a young man. 7. After a retreat, +perhaps a disgrace of many years, which Mallius (confounded by +some critics with the poet Manilius; see Fabricius Bibliothec. +Latin. Edit. Ernest. tom. i.c. 18, p. 501) employed in the study +of the Grecian philosophy he was named Praetorian praefect of +Italy, in the year 397. 8. While he still exercised that great +office, he was created, it the year 399, consul for the West; and +his name, on account of the infamy of his colleague, the eunuch +Eutropius, often stands alone in the Fasti. 9. In the year 408, +Mallius was appointed a second time Praetorian praefect of Italy. + +Even in the venal panegyric of Claudian, we may discover the +merit of Mallius Theodorus, who, by a rare felicity, was the +intimate friend, both of Symmachus and of St. Augustin. See +Tillemont, Hist. des Emp. tom. v. p. 1110-1114.] + +[Footnote 122: Mamertinus in Panegyr. Vet. xi. [x.] 20. Asterius +apud Photium, p. 1500.] + +[Footnote 123: The curious passage of Ammianus, (l. xxx. c. 4,) +in which he paints the manners of contemporary lawyers, affords a +strange mixture of sound sense, false rhetoric, and extravagant +satire. Godefroy (Prolegom. ad. Cod. Theod. c. i. p. 185) +supports the historian by similar complaints and authentic facts. + +In the fourth century, many camels might have been laden with +law-books. Eunapius in Vit. Aedesii, p. 72.] + + III. In the system of policy introduced by Augustus, the +governors, those at least of the Imperial provinces, were +invested with the full powers of the sovereign himself. +Ministers of peace and war, the distribution of rewards and +punishments depended on them alone, and they successively +appeared on their tribunal in the robes of civil magistracy, and +in complete armor at the head of the Roman legions. ^124 The +influence of the revenue, the authority of law, and the command +of a military force, concurred to render their power supreme and +absolute; and whenever they were tempted to violate their +allegiance, the loyal province which they involved in their +rebellion was scarcely sensible of any change in its political +state. From the time of Commodus to the reign of Constantine, +near one hundred governors might be enumerated, who, with various +success, erected the standard of revolt; and though the innocent +were too often sacrificed, the guilty might be sometimes +prevented, by the suspicious cruelty of their master. ^125 To +secure his throne and the public tranquillity from these +formidable servants, Constantine resolved to divide the military +from the civil administration, and to establish, as a permanent +and professional distinction, a practice which had been adopted +only as an occasional expedient. The supreme jurisdiction +exercised by the Praetorian praefects over the armies of the +empire, was transferred to the two masters-general whom he +instituted, the one for the cavalry, the other for the infantry; +and though each of these illustrious officers was more peculiarly +responsible for the discipline of those troops which were under +his immediate inspection, they both indifferently commanded in +the field the several bodies, whether of horse or foot, which +were united in the same army. ^126 Their number was soon doubled +by the division of the east and west; and as separate generals of +the same rank and title were appointed on the four important +frontiers of the Rhine, of the Upper and the Lower Danube, and of +the Euphrates, the defence of the Roman empire was at length +committed to eight masters-general of the cavalry and infantry. +Under their orders, thirty-five military commanders were +stationed in the provinces: three in Britain, six in Gaul, one in +Spain, one in Italy, five on the Upper, and four on the Lower +Danube; in Asia, eight, three in Egypt, and four in Africa. The +titles of counts, and dukes, ^127 by which they were properly +distinguished, have obtained in modern languages so very +different a sense, that the use of them may occasion some +surprise. But it should be recollected, that the second of those +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 no more than ten +among them were dignified with the rank of counts or companions, +a title of honor, or rather of favor, which had been recently +invented in the court of Constantine. A gold belt was the ensign +which distinguished the office of the counts and dukes; and +besides their pay, they received a liberal allowance sufficient +to maintain one hundred and ninety servants, and one hundred and +fifty-eight horses. They were strictly prohibited from +interfering in any matter which related to the administration of +justice or the revenue; but the command which they exercised over +the troops of their department, was independent of the authority +of the magistrates. About the same time that Constantine gave a +legal sanction to the ecclesiastical order, he instituted in the +Roman empire the nice balance of the civil and the military +powers. The emulation, and sometimes the discord, which reigned +between two professions of opposite interests and incompatible +manners, was productive of beneficial and of pernicious +consequences. It was seldom to be expected that the general and +the civil governor of a province should either conspire for the +disturbance, or should unite for the service, of their country. +While the one delayed to offer the assistance which the other +disdained to solicit, the troops very frequently remained without +orders or without supplies; the public safety was betrayed, and +the defenceless subjects were left exposed to the fury of the +Barbarians. The divided administration which had been formed by +Constantine, relaxed the vigor of the state, while it secured the +tranquillity of the monarch. + +[Footnote 124: See a very splendid example in the life of +Agricola, particularly c. 20, 21. The lieutenant of Britain was +intrusted with the same powers which Cicero, proconsul of +Cilicia, had exercised in the name of the senate and people.] + +[Footnote 125: The Abbe Dubos, who has examined with accuracy +(see Hist. de la Monarchie Francoise, tom. i. p. 41-100, edit. +1742) the institutions of Augustus and of Constantine, observes, +that if Otho had been put to death the day before he executed his +conspiracy, Otho would now appear in history as innocent as +Corbulo.] + +[Footnote 126: Zosimus, l. ii. p. 110. Before the end of the +reign of Constantius, the magistri militum were already increased +to four. See Velesius ad Ammian. l. xvi. c. 7.] + +[Footnote 127: Though the military counts and dukes are +frequently mentioned, both in history and the codes, we must have +recourse to the Notitia for the exact knowledge of their number +and stations. For the institution, rank, privileges, &c., of the +counts in general see Cod. Theod. l. vi. tit. xii. - xx., with +the commentary of Godefroy.] + + The memory of Constantine has been deservedly censured for +another innovation, which corrupted military discipline and +prepared the ruin of the empire. The nineteen years which +preceded his final victory over Licinius, had been a period of +license and intestine war. The rivals who contended for the +possession of the Roman world, had withdrawn the greatest part of +their forces from the guard of the general frontier; and the +principal cities which formed the boundary of their respective +dominions were filled with soldiers, who considered their +countrymen as their most implacable enemies. After the use of +these internal garrisons had ceased with the civil war, the +conqueror wanted either wisdom or firmness to revive the severe +discipline of Diocletian, and to suppress a fatal indulgence, +which habit had endeared and almost confirmed to the military +order. From the reign of Constantine, a popular and even legal +distinction was admitted between the Palatines ^128 and the +Borderers; the troops of the court, as they were improperly +styled, and the troops of the frontier. The former, elevated by +the superiority of their pay and privileges, were permitted, +except in the extraordinary emergencies of war, to occupy their +tranquil stations in the heart of the provinces. The most +flourishing cities were oppressed by the intolerable weight of +quarters. The soldiers insensibly forgot the virtues of their +profession, and contracted only the vices of civil life. They +were either degraded by the industry of mechanic trades, or +enervated by the luxury of baths and theatres. They soon became +careless of their martial exercises, curious in their diet and +apparel; and while they inspired terror to the subjects of the +empire, they trembled at the hostile approach of the Barbarians. +^129 The chain of fortifications which Diocletian and his +colleagues had extended along the banks of the great rivers, was +no longer maintained with the same care, or defended with the +same vigilance. The numbers which still remained under the name +of the troops of the frontier, might be sufficient for the +ordinary defence; but their spirit was degraded by the +humiliating reflection, that they who were exposed to the +hardships and dangers of a perpetual warfare, were rewarded only +with about two thirds of the pay and emoluments which were +lavished on the troops of the court. Even the bands or legions +that were raised the nearest to the level of those unworthy +favorites, were in some measure disgraced by the title of honor +which they were allowed to assume. It was in vain that +Constantine repeated the most dreadful menaces of fire and sword +against the Borderers who should dare desert their colors, to +connive at the inroads of the Barbarians, or to participate in +the spoil. ^130 The mischiefs which flow from injudicious +counsels are seldom removed by the application of partial +severities; and though succeeding princes labored to restore the +strength and numbers of the frontier garrisons, the empire, till +the last moment of its dissolution, continued to languish under +the mortal wound which had been so rashly or so weakly inflicted +by the hand of Constantine. + +[Footnote 128: Zosimus, l ii. p. 111. The distinction between +the two classes of Roman 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, of the Theodosian Code, l. vii. +tit. i. leg. 18, l. viii. tit. i. leg. 10.] + +[Footnote 129: Ferox erat in suos miles et rapax, ignavus vero in +hostes et fractus. Ammian. l. xxii. c. 4. He observes, that +they loved downy beds and houses of marble; and that their cups +were heavier than their swords.] +[Footnote 130: Cod. Theod. l. vii. tit. i. leg. 1, tit. xii. leg. +i. See Howell's Hist. of the World, vol. ii. p. 19. That +learned historian, who is not sufficiently known, labors to +justify the character and policy of Constantine.] + + The same timid policy, of dividing whatever is united, of +reducing whatever is eminent, of dreading every active power, and +of expecting that the most feeble will prove the most obedient, +seems to pervade the institutions of several princes, and +particularly those of Constantine. The martial pride of the +legions, whose victorious camps had so often been the scene of +rebellion, was nourished by the memory of their past exploits, +and the consciousness of their actual strength. As long as they +maintained their ancient establishment of six thousand men, they +subsisted, under the reign of Diocletian, each of them singly, a +visible and important object in the military history of the Roman +empire. A few years afterwards, these gigantic bodies were +shrunk to a very diminutive size; and when seven legions, with +some auxiliaries, defended the city of Amida against the +Persians, the total garrison, with the inhabitants of both sexes, +and the peasants of the deserted country, did not exceed the +number of twenty thousand persons. ^131 From this fact, and from +similar examples, there is reason to believe, that the +constitution of the legionary troops, to which they partly owed +their valor and discipline, was dissolved by Constantine; and +that the bands of Roman infantry, which still assumed the same +names and the same honors, consisted only of one thousand or +fifteen hundred men. ^132 The conspiracy of so many separate +detachments, each of which was awed by the sense of its own +weakness, could easily be checked; and the successors of +Constantine might indulge their love of ostentation, by issuing +their orders to one hundred and thirty-two legions, inscribed on +the muster-roll of their numerous armies. The remainder of their +troops was distributed into several hundred cohorts of infantry, +and squadrons of cavalry. Their arms, and titles, and ensigns, +were calculated to inspire terror, and to display the variety of +nations who marched under the Imperial standard. And not a +vestige was left of that severe simplicity, which, in the ages of +freedom and victory, had distinguished the line of battle of a +Roman army from the confused host of an Asiatic monarch. ^133 A +more particular enumeration, drawn from the Notitia, might +exercise the diligence of an antiquary; but the historian will +content himself with observing, that the number of permanent +stations or garrisons established on the frontiers of the empire, +amounted to five hundred and eighty-three; and that, under the +successors of Constantine, the complete force of the military +establishment was computed at six hundred and forty-five thousand +soldiers. ^134 An effort so prodigious surpassed the wants of a +more ancient, and the faculties of a later, period. + +[Footnote 131: Ammian. l. xix. c. 2. He observes, (c. 5,) that +the desperate sallies of two Gallic legions were like a handful +of water thrown on a great conflagration.] + +[Footnote 132: Pancirolus ad Notitiam, p. 96. Memoires de +l'Academie des Inscriptions, tom. xxv. p. 491.] + +[Footnote 133: Romana acies unius prope formae erat et hominum et +armorum genere. - Regia acies varia magis multis gentibus +dissimilitudine armorum auxiliorumque erat. T. Liv. l. xxxvii. +c. 39, 40. Flaminius, even before the event, had compared the +army of Antiochus to a supper in which the flesh of one vile +animal was diversified by the skill of the cooks. See the Life +of Flaminius in Plutarch.] + +[Footnote 134: Agathias, l. v. p. 157, edit. Louvre.] + + In the various states of society, armies are recruited from +very different motives. Barbarians are urged by the love of war; +the citizens of a free republic may be prompted by a principle of +duty; the subjects, or at least the nobles, of a monarchy, are +animated by a sentiment of honor; but the timid and luxurious +inhabitants of a declining empire must be allured into the +service by the hopes of profit, or compelled by the dread of +punishment. The resources of the Roman treasury were exhausted +by the increase of pay, by the repetition of donatives, and by +the invention of new emolument and indulgences, which, in the +opinion of the provincial youth might compensate the hardships +and dangers of a military life. Yet, although the stature was +lowered, ^135 although slaves, least by a tacit connivance, were +indiscriminately received into the ranks, the insurmountable +difficulty of procuring a regular and adequate supply of +volunteers, obliged the emperors to adopt more effectual and +coercive methods. The lands bestowed on the veterans, as the +free reward of their valor were henceforward granted under a +condition which contain the first rudiments of the feudal +tenures; that their sons, who succeeded to the inheritance, +should devote themselves to the profession of arms, as soon as +they attained the age of manhood; and their cowardly refusal was +punished by the loss of honor, of fortune, or even of life. ^136 +But as the annual growth of the sons of the veterans bore a very +small proportion to the demands of the service, levies of men +were frequently required from the provinces, and every proprietor +was obliged either to take up arms, or to procure a substitute, +or to purchase his exemption by the payment of a heavy fine. The +sum of forty-two pieces of gold, to which it was reduced +ascertains the exorbitant price of volunteers, and the reluctance +with which the government admitted of this alterative. ^137 Such +was the horror for the profession of a soldier, which had +affected the minds of the degenerate Romans, that many of the +youth of Italy and the provinces chose to cut off the fingers of +their right hand, to escape from being pressed into the service; +and this strange expedient was so commonly practised, as to +deserve the severe animadversion of the laws, ^138 and a peculiar +name in the Latin language. ^139 + +[Footnote 135: Valentinian (Cod. Theodos. l. vii. tit. xiii. leg. +3) fixes the standard at five feet seven inches, about five feet +four inches and a half, English measure. It had formerly been +five feet ten inches, and in the best corps, six Roman feet. Sed +tunc erat amplior multitude se et plures sequebantur militiam +armatam. Vegetius de Re Militari l. i. c. v.] +[Footnote 136: See the two titles, De Veteranis and De Filiis +Veteranorum, in the seventh book of the Theodosian Code. The age +at which their military service was required, varied from +twenty-five to sixteen. If the sons of the veterans appeared +with a horse, they had a right to serve in the cavalry; two +horses gave them some valuable privileges] + +[Footnote 137: Cod. Theod. l. vii. tit. xiii. leg. 7. According +to the historian Socrates, (see Godefroy ad loc.,) the same +emperor Valens sometimes required eighty pieces of gold for a +recruit. In the following law it is faintly expressed, that +slaves shall not be admitted inter optimas lectissimorum militum +turmas.] + +[Footnote 138: The person and property of a Roman knight, who had +mutilated his two sons, were sold at public auction by order of +Augustus. (Sueton. in August. c. 27.) The moderation of that +artful usurper proves, that this example of severity was +justified by the spirit of the times. Ammianus makes a +distinction between the effeminate Italians and the hardy Gauls. +(L. xv. c. 12.) Yet only 15 years afterwards, Valentinian, in a +law addressed to the praefect of Gaul, is obliged to enact that +these cowardly deserters shall be burnt alive. Cod. Theod. l. +vii. tit. xiii. leg. 5.) Their numbers in Illyricum were so +considerable, that the province complained of a scarcity of +recruits. (Id. leg. 10.)] + +[Footnote 139: They were called Murci. Murcidus is found in +Plautus and Festus, to denote a lazy and cowardly person, who, +according to Arnobius and Augustin, was under the immediate +protection of the goddess Murcia. From this particular instance +of cowardice, murcare is used as synonymous to mutilare, by the +writers of the middle Latinity. See Linder brogius and Valesius +ad Ammian. Marcellin, l. xv. c. 12] + +Chapter XVII: Foundation Of Constantinople. + +Part V. + + The introduction of Barbarians into the Roman armies became +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 found it more profitable to defend +than to ravage the provinces, were enrolled, not only in the +auxiliaries of their respective nations, but in the legions +themselves, and among the most distinguished of the Palatine +troops. As they freely mingled with the subjects of the empire, +they gradually learned to despise their manners, and to imitate +their arts. They abjured the implicit reverence which the pride +of Rome had exacted from their ignorance, while they acquired the +knowledge and possession of those advantages by which alone she +supported her declining greatness. The Barbarian soldiers, who +displayed any military talents, were advanced, without exception, +to the most important commands; and the names of the tribunes, of +the counts and dukes, and of the generals themselves, betray a +foreign origin, which they no longer condescended to disguise. +They were often intrusted with the conduct of a war against their +countrymen; and though most of them preferred the ties of +allegiance to those of blood, they did not always avoid the +guilt, or at least the suspicion, of holding a treasonable +correspondence with the enemy, of inviting his invasion, or of +sparing his retreat. The camps and the palace of the son of +Constantine were governed by the powerful faction of the Franks, +who preserved the strictest connection with each other, and with +their country, and who resented every personal affront as a +national indignity. ^140 When the tyrant Caligula was suspected +of an intention to invest a very extraordinary candidate with the +consular robes, the sacrilegious profanation would have scarcely +excited less astonishment, if, instead of a horse, the noblest +chieftain of Germany or Britain had been the object of his +choice. The revolution of three centuries had produced so +remarkable a change in the prejudices of the people, that, with +the public approbation, Constantine showed his successors the +example of bestowing the honors of the consulship on the +Barbarians, who, by their merit and services, had deserved to be +ranked among the first of the Romans. ^141 But as these hardy +veterans, who had been educated in the ignorance or contempt of +the laws, were incapable of exercising any civil offices, the +powers of the human mind were contracted by the irreconcilable +separation of talents as well as of professions. The +accomplished citizens of the Greek and Roman republics, whose +characters could adapt themselves to the bar, the senate, the +camp, or the schools, had learned to write, to speak, and to act +with the same spirit, and with equal abilities. +[Footnote 140: Malarichus - adhibitis Francis quorum ea +tempestate in palatio multitudo florebat, erectius jam loquebatur +tumultuabaturque. Ammian. l. xv. c. 5.] + +[Footnote 141: Barbaros omnium primus, ad usque fasces auxerat et +trabeas consulares. Ammian. l. xx. c. 10. Eusebius (in Vit. +Constantin. l. iv c.7) and Aurelius Victor seem to confirm the +truth of this assertion yet in the thirty-two consular Fasti of +the reign of Constantine cannot discover the name of a single +Barbarian. I should therefore interpret the liberality of that +prince as relative to the ornaments rather than to the office, of +the consulship.] + + IV. Besides the magistrates and generals, who at a distance +from the court diffused their delegated authority over the +provinces and armies, the emperor conferred the rank of +Illustrious on seven of his more immediate servants, to whose +fidelity he intrusted his safety, or his counsels, or his +treasures. 1. The private apartments of the palace were governed +by a favorite eunuch, who, in the language of that age, was +styled the proepositus, or praefect of the sacred bed-chamber. +His duty was to attend the emperor in his hours of state, or in +those of amusement, and to perform about his person all those +menial services, which can only derive their splendor from the +influence of royalty. Under a prince who deserved to reign, the +great chamberlain (for such we may call him) was a useful and +humble domestic; but an artful domestic, who improves every +occasion of unguarded confidence, will insensibly acquire over a +feeble mind that ascendant which harsh wisdom and uncomplying +virtue can seldom obtain. The degenerate grandsons of +Theodosius, who were invisible to their subjects, and +contemptible to their enemies, exalted the praefects of their +bed- chamber above the heads of all the ministers of the palace; +^142 and even his deputy, the first of the splendid train of +slaves who waited in the presence, was thought worthy to rank +before the respectable proconsuls of Greece or Asia. The +jurisdiction of the chamberlain was acknowledged by the counts, +or superintendents, who regulated the two important provinces of +the magnificence of the wardrobe, and of the luxury of the +Imperial table. ^143 2. The principal administration of public +affairs was committed to the diligence and abilities of the +master of the offices. ^144 He was the supreme magistrate of the +palace, inspected the discipline of the civil and military +schools, and received appeals from all parts of the empire, in +the causes which related to that numerous army of privileged +persons, who, as the servants of the court, had obtained for +themselves and families a right to decline the authority of the +ordinary judges. The correspondence between the prince and his +subjects was managed by the four scrinia, or offices of this +minister of state. The first was appropriated to memorials, the +second to epistles, the third to petitions, and the fourth to +papers and orders of a miscellaneous kind. Each of these was +directed by an inferior master of respectable dignity, and the +whole business was despatched by a hundred and forty-eight +secretaries, chosen for the most part from the profession of the +law, on account of the variety of abstracts of reports and +references which frequently occurred in the exercise of their +several functions. From a condescension, which in former ages +would have been esteemed unworthy the Roman majesty, a particular +secretary was allowed for the Greek language; and interpreters +were appointed to receive the ambassadors of the Barbarians; but +the department of foreign affairs, which constitutes so essential +a part of modern policy, seldom diverted the attention of the +master of the offices. His mind was more seriously engaged by +the general direction of the posts and arsenals of the empire. +There were thirty-four cities, fifteen in the East, and nineteen +in the West, in which regular companies of workmen were +perpetually employed in fabricating defensive armor, offensive +weapons of all sorts, and military engines, which were deposited +in the arsenals, and occasionally delivered for the service of +the troops. 3. In the course of nine centuries, the office of +quaestor had experienced a very singular revolution. In the +infancy of Rome, two inferior magistrates were annually elected +by the people, to relieve the consuls from the invidious +management of the public treasure; ^145 a similar assistant was +granted to every proconsul, and to every praetor, who exercised a +military or provincial command; with the extent of conquest, the +two quaestors were gradually multiplied to the number of four, of +eight, of twenty, and, for a short time, perhaps, of forty; ^146 +and the noblest citizens ambitiously solicited an office which +gave them a seat in the senate, and a just hope of obtaining the +honors of the republic. Whilst Augustus affected to maintain the +freedom of election, he consented to accept the annual privilege +of recommending, or rather indeed of nominating, a certain +proportion of candidates; and it was his custom to select one of +these distinguished youths, to read his orations or epistles in +the assemblies of the senate. ^147 The practice of Augustus was +imitated by succeeding princes; the occasional commission was +established as a permanent office; and the favored quaestor, +assuming a new and more illustrious character, alone survived the +suppression of his ancient and useless colleagues. ^148 As the +orations which he composed in the name of the emperor, ^149 +acquired the force, and, at length, the form, of absolute edicts, +he was considered as the representative of the legislative power, +the oracle of the council, and the original source of the civil +jurisprudence. He was sometimes invited to take his seat in the +supreme judicature of the Imperial consistory, with the +Praetorian praefects, and the master of the offices; and he was +frequently requested to resolve the doubts of inferior judges: +but as he was not oppressed with a variety of subordinate +business, his leisure and talents were employed to cultivate that +dignified style of eloquence, which, in the corruption of taste +and language, still preserves the majesty of the Roman laws. ^150 +In some respects, the office of the Imperial quaestor may be +compared with that of a modern chancellor; but the use of a great +seal, which seems to have been adopted by the illiterate +barbarians, was never introduced to attest the public acts of the +emperors. 4. The extraordinary title of count of the sacred +largesses was bestowed on the treasurer-general of the revenue, +with the intention perhaps of inculcating, that every payment +flowed from the voluntary bounty of the monarch. To conceive the +almost infinite detail of the annual and daily expense of the +civil and 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 artfully contrived to +examine and control their respective operations. The multitude +of these agents had a natural tendency to increase; and it was +more than once thought expedient to dismiss to their native homes +the useless supernumeraries, who, deserting their honest labors, +had pressed with too much eagerness into the lucrative profession +of the finances. ^151 Twenty-nine provincial receivers, of whom +eighteen were honored with the title of count, corresponded with +the treasurer; and he extended his jurisdiction over the mines +from whence the precious metals were extracted, over the mints, +in which they were converted into the current coin, and over the +public treasuries of the most important cities, where they were +deposited for the service of the state. The foreign trade of the +empire was regulated by this minister, who directed likewise all +the linen and woollen manufactures, in which the successive +operations of spinning, weaving, and dyeing were executed, +chiefly by women of a servile condition, for the use of the +palace and army. Twenty-six of these institutions are enumerated +in the West, where the arts had been more recently introduced, +and a still larger proportion may be allowed for the industrious +provinces of the East. ^152 5. Besides the public revenue, which +an absolute monarch might levy and expend according to his +pleasure, the emperors, in the capacity of opulent citizens, +possessed a very extensive property, which was administered by +the count or treasurer of the private estate. Some part had +perhaps been the ancient demesnes of kings and republics; some +accessions might be derived from the families which were +successively invested with the purple; but the most considerable +portion flowed from the impure source of confiscations and +forfeitures. The Imperial estates were scattered through the +provinces, from Mauritania to Britain; but the rich and fertile +soil of Cappadocia tempted the monarch to acquire in that country +his fairest possessions, ^153 and either Constantine or his +successors embraced the occasion of justifying avarice by +religious zeal. They suppressed the rich temple of Comana, where +the high priest of the goddess of war supported the dignity of a +sovereign prince; and they applied to their private use the +consecrated lands, which were inhabited by six thousand subjects +or slaves of the deity and her ministers. ^154 But these were not +the valuable inhabitants: the plains that stretch from the foot +of Mount Argaeus to the banks of the Sarus, bred a generous race +of horses, renowned above all others in the ancient world for +their majestic shape and incomparable swiftness. These sacred +animals, destined for the service of the palace and the Imperial +games, were protected by the laws from the profanation of a +vulgar master. ^155 The demesnes of Cappadocia were important +enough to require the inspection of a count; ^156 officers of an +inferior rank were stationed in the other parts of the empire; +and the deputies of the private, as well as those of the public, +treasurer were maintained in the exercise of their independent +functions, and encouraged to control the authority of the +provincial magistrates. ^157 6, 7. The chosen bands of cavalry +and infantry, which guarded the person of the emperor, were under +the immediate command of the two counts of the domestics. The +whole number consisted of three thousand five hundred men, +divided into seven schools, or troops, of five hundred each; and +in the East, this honorable service was almost entirely +appropriated 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 silver +and gold, displayed a martial pomp not unworthy of the Roman +majesty. ^158 From the seven schools two companies of horse and +foot were selected, of the protectors, whose advantageous station +was the hope and reward of the most deserving soldiers. They +mounted guard in the interior apartments, and were occasionally +despatched into the provinces, to execute with celerity and vigor +the orders of their master. ^159 The counts of the domestics had +succeeded to the office of the Praetorian praefects; like the +praefects, they aspired from the service of the palace to the +command of armies. + +[Footnote 142: Cod. Theod. l. vi. tit. 8.] + +[Footnote 143: By a very singular metaphor, borrowed from the +military character of the first emperors, the steward of their +household was styled the count of their camp, (comes castrensis.) +Cassiodorus very seriously represents to him, that his own fame, +and that of the empire, must depend on the opinion which foreign +ambassadors may conceive of the plenty and magnificence of the +royal table. (Variar. l. vi. epistol. 9.)] + +[Footnote 144: Gutherius (de Officiis Domus Augustae, l. ii. c. +20, l. iii.) has very accurately explained the functions of the +master of the offices, and the constitution of the subordinate +scrinia. But he vainly attempts, on the most doubtful authority, +to deduce from the time of the Antonines, or even of Nero, the +origin of a magistrate who cannot be found in history before the +reign of Constantine.] + +[Footnote 145: Tacitus (Annal. xi. 22) says, that the first +quaestors were elected by the people, sixty-four years after the +foundation of the republic; but he is of opinion, that they had, +long before that period, been annually appointed by the consuls, +and even by the kings. But this obscure point of antiquity is +contested by other writers.] + +[Footnote 146: Tacitus (Annal. xi. 22) seems to consider twenty +as the highest number of quaestors; and Dion (l. xliii. p 374) +insinuates, that if the dictator Caesar once created forty, it +was only to facilitate the payment of an immense debt of +gratitude. Yet the augmentation which he made of praetors +subsisted under the succeeding reigns.] + +[Footnote 147: Sueton. in August. c. 65, and Torrent. ad loc. +Dion. Cas. p. 755.] + +[Footnote 148: The 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 treasury; and though they were +restored by Claudius, they seem to have been finally dismissed by +Nero. (Tacit Annal. xiii. 29. Sueton. in Aug. c. 36, in Claud. +c. 24. Dion, p. 696, 961, &c. Plin. Epistol. x. 20, et alibi.) +In the provinces of the Imperial division, the place of the +quaestors was more ably supplied by the procurators, (Dion Cas. +p. 707. Tacit. in Vit. Agricol. c. 15;) or, as they were +afterwards called, rationales. (Hist. August. p. 130.) But in +the provinces of the senate we may still discover a series of +quaestors till the reign of Marcus Antoninus. (See the +Inscriptions of Gruter, the Epistles of Pliny, and a decisive +fact in the Augustan History, p. 64.) From Ulpian we may learn, +(Pandect. l. i. tit. 13,) that under the government of the house +of Severus, their provincial administration was abolished; and in +the subsequent troubles, the annual or triennial elections of +quaestors must have naturally ceased.] + +[Footnote 149: Cum patris nomine et epistolas ipse dictaret, et +edicta conscrib eret, orationesque in senatu recitaret, etiam +quaestoris vice. Sueton, in Tit. c. 6. The office must have +acquired new dignity, which was occasionally executed by the heir +apparent of the empire. Trajan intrusted the same care to +Hadrian, his quaestor and cousin. See Dodwell, Praelection. +Cambden, x. xi. p. 362-394.] + +[Footnote 150: Terris edicta daturus; + Supplicibus responsa. - Oracula regis + Eloquio crevere tuo; nec dignius unquam + Majestas meminit sese Romana locutam. + +Claudian in Consulat. Mall. Theodor. 33. See likewise Symmachus +(Epistol. i. 17) and Cassiodorus. (Variar. iv. 5.)] + +[Footnote 151: Cod. Theod. l. vi. tit. 30. Cod. Justinian. l. +xii. tit. 24.] +[Footnote 152: In 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 manufacture at Winchester. But Britain +was not thought worthy either of a mint or of an arsenal. Gaul +alone possessed three of the former, and eight of the latter.] +[Footnote 153: Cod. Theod. l. vi. tit. xxx. leg. 2, and Godefroy +ad loc.] +[Footnote 154: Strabon. Geograph. l. xxii. p. 809, [edit. +Casaub.] The other temple of Comana, in Pontus, was a colony from +that of Cappadocia, l. xii. p. 835. The President Des Brosses +(see his Saluste, tom. ii. p. 21, [edit. Causub.]) conjectures +that the deity adored in both Comanas was Beltis, the Venus of +the east, the goddess of generation; a very different being +indeed from the goddess of war.] + +[Footnote 155: Cod. Theod. l. x. tit. vi. de Grege Dominico. +Godefroy has collected every circumstance of antiquity relative +to the Cappadocian horses. One of the finest breeds, the +Palmatian, was the forfeiture of a rebel, whose estate lay about +sixteen miles from Tyana, near the great road between +Constantinople and Antioch.] + +[Footnote 156: Justinian (Novell. 30) subjected the province of +the count of Cappadocia to the immediate authority of the +favorite eunuch, who presided over the sacred bed-chamber.] + +[Footnote 157: Cod. Theod. l. vi. tit. xxx. leg. 4, &c.] + +[Footnote 158: Pancirolus, p. 102, 136. The appearance of these +military domestics is described in the Latin poem of Corippus, de +Laudibus Justin. l. iii. 157-179. p. 419, 420 of the Appendix +Hist. Byzantin. Rom. 177.] +[Footnote 159: Ammianus Marcellinus, who served so many years, +obtained only the rank of a protector. The first ten among these +honorable soldiers were Clarissimi.] + + The perpetual intercourse between the court and the +provinces was facilitated by the construction of roads and the +institution of posts. But these beneficial establishments were +accidentally connected with a pernicious and intolerable abuse. +Two or three hundred agents or messengers were employed, under +the jurisdiction of the master of the offices, to announce the +names of the annual consuls, and the edicts or victories of the +emperors. They insensibly assumed the license of reporting +whatever they could observe of the conduct either of magistrates +or of private citizens; and were soon considered as the eyes of +the monarch, ^160 and the scourge of the people. Under the warm +influence of a feeble reign, they multiplied to the incredible +number of ten thousand, disdained the mild though frequent +admonitions of the laws, and exercised in the profitable +management of the posts a rapacious and insolent oppression. +These official spies, who regularly corresponded with the palace, +were encouraged by favor and reward, anxiously to watch the +progress of every treasonable design, from the faint and latent +symptoms of disaffection, to the actual preparation of an open +revolt. Their careless or criminal violation of truth and +justice was covered by the consecrated mask of zeal; and they +might securely aim their poisoned arrows at the breast either of +the guilty or the innocent, who had provoked their resentment, or +refused to purchase their silence. A faithful subject, of Syria +perhaps, or of Britain, was exposed to the danger, or at least to +the dread, of being dragged in chains to the court of Milan or +Constantinople, to defend his life and fortune against the +malicious charge of these privileged informers. The ordinary +administration was conducted by those methods which extreme +necessity can alone palliate; and the defects of evidence were +diligently supplied by the use of torture. ^161 + +[Footnote 160: Xenophon, Cyropaed. l. viii. Brisson, de Regno +Persico, l. i No 190, p. 264. The emperors adopted with pleasure +this Persian metaphor.] +[Footnote 161: For 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. xxviii. xxix. Among +the passages collected in the Commentary of Godefroy, the most +remarkable is one from Libanius, in his discourse concerning the +death of Julian.] + + The deceitful and dangerous experiment of the criminal +quaestion, as it is emphatically styled, was admitted, rather +than approved, in the jurisprudence of the Romans. They applied +this sanguinary mode of examination only to servile bodies, whose +sufferings were seldom weighed by those haughty republicans in +the scale of justice or humanity; but they would never consent to +violate the sacred person of a citizen, till they possessed the +clearest evidence of his guilt. ^162 The annals of tyranny, from +the reign of Tiberius to that of Domitian, circumstantially +relate the executions of many innocent victims; but, as long as +the faintest remembrance was kept alive of the national freedom +and honor, the last hours of a Roman were secured from the danger +of ignominions torture. ^163 The conduct of the provincial +magistrates was not, however, regulated by the practice of the +city, or the strict maxims of the civilians. They found the use +of torture established not only among the slaves of oriental +despotism, but among the Macedonians, who obeyed a limited +monarch; among the Rhodians, who flourished by the liberty of +commerce; and even among the sage Athenians, who had asserted and +adorned the dignity of human kind. ^164 The acquiescence of the +provincials encouraged their governors to acquire, or perhaps to +usurp, a discretionary power of employing the rack, to extort +from vagrants or plebeian criminals the confession of their +guilt, till they insensibly proceeded to confound the distinction +of rank, and to disregard the privileges of Roman citizens. The +apprehensions of the subjects urged them to solicit, and the +interest of the sovereign engaged him to grant, a variety of +special exemptions, which tacitly allowed, and even authorized, +the general use of torture. They protected all persons of +illustrious or honorable rank, bishops and their presbyters, +professors of the liberal arts, soldiers and their families, +municipal officers, and their posterity to the third generation, +and all children under the age of puberty. ^165 But a fatal maxim +was introduced into the new jurisprudence of the empire, that in +the case of treason, which included every offence that the +subtlety of lawyers could derive from a hostile intention towards +the prince or republic, ^166 all privileges were suspended, and +all conditions were reduced to the same ignominious level. As the +safety of the emperor was avowedly preferred to every +consideration of justice or humanity, the dignity of age and the +tenderness of youth were alike exposed to the most cruel +tortures; and the terrors of a malicious information, which might +select them as the accomplices, or even as the witnesses, +perhaps, of an imaginary crime, perpetually hung over the heads +of the principal citizens of the Roman world. ^167 + +[Footnote 162: The Pandects (l. xlviii. tit. xviii.) contain the +sentiments of the most celebrated civilians on the subject of +torture. They strictly confine it to slaves; and Ulpian himself +is ready to acknowledge that Res est fragilis, et periculosa, et +quae veritatem fallat.] + +[Footnote 163: In the conspiracy of Piso against Nero, Epicharis +(libertina mulier) was the only person tortured; the rest were +intacti tormentis. It would be superfluous to add a weaker, and +it would be difficult to find a stronger, example. Tacit. Annal. +xv. 57.] + +[Footnote 164: Dicendum . . . de Institutis Atheniensium, +Rhodiorum, doctissimorum hominum, apud quos etiam (id quod +acerbissimum est) liberi, civesque torquentur. Cicero, Partit. +Orat. c. 34. We may learn from the trial of Philotas the +practice of the Macedonians. (Diodor. Sicul. l. xvii. p. 604. +Q. Curt. l. vi. c. 11.] + +[Footnote 165: Heineccius (Element. Jur. Civil. part vii. p. 81) +has collected these exemptions into one view.] + +[Footnote 166: This definition of the sage Ulpian (Pandect. l. +xlviii. tit. iv.) seems to have been adapted to the court of +Caracalla, rather than to that of Alexander Severus. See the +Codes of Theodosius and ad leg. Juliam majestatis.] + +[Footnote 167: Arcadius Charisius is the oldest lawyer quoted to +justify the universal practice of torture in all cases of +treason; but this maxim of tyranny, which is admitted by Ammianus +with the most respectful terror, is enforced by several laws of +the successors of Constantine. See Cod. Theod. l. ix. tit. xxxv. +majestatis crimine omnibus aequa est conditio.] + These evils, however terrible they may appear, were confined +to the smaller number of Roman subjects, whose dangerous +situation was in some degree compensated by the enjoyment of +those advantages, either of nature or of fortune, which exposed +them to the jealousy of the monarch. The obscure millions of a +great empire have much less to dread from the cruelty than from +the avarice of their masters, and their humble happiness is +principally affected by the grievance of excessive taxes, which, +gently pressing on the wealthy, descend with accelerated weight +on the meaner and more indigent classes of society. An ingenious +philosopher ^168 has calculated the universal measure of the +public impositions by the degrees of freedom and servitude; and +ventures to assert, that, according to an invariable law of +nature, it must always increase with the former, and diminish in +a just proportion to the latter. But this reflection, which +would tend to alleviate the miseries of despotism, is +contradicted at least by the history of the Roman empire; which +accuses the same princes of despoiling the senate of its +authority, and the provinces of their wealth. Without abolishing +all the various customs and duties on merchandises, which are +imperceptibly discharged by the apparent choice of the purchaser, +the policy of Constantine and his successors preferred a simple +and direct mode of taxation, more congenial to the spirit of an +arbitrary government. ^169 + +[Footnote 168: Montesquieu, Esprit des Loix, l. xii. c. 13.] +[Footnote 169: Mr. Hume (Essays, vol. i. p. 389) has seen this +importance with some degree of perplexity.] + +Chapter XVII: Foundation Of Constantinople. + +Part VI. + + The name and use of the indictions, ^170 which serve to +ascertain the chronology of the middle ages, were derived from +the regular practice of the Roman tributes. ^171 The emperor +subscribed with his own hand, and in purple ink, the solemn +edict, or indiction, which was fixed up in the principal city of +each diocese, during two months previous to the first day of +September. And by a very easy connection of ideas, the word +indiction was transferred to the measure of tribute which it +prescribed, and to the annual term which it allowed for the +payment. This general estimate of the supplies was proportioned +to the real and imaginary wants of the state; but as often as the +expense exceeded the revenue, or the revenue fell short of the +computation, an additional tax, under the name of superindiction, +was imposed on the people, and the most valuable attribute of +sovereignty was communicated to the Praetorian praefects, who, on +some occasions, were permitted to provide for the unforeseen and +extraordinary exigencies of the public service. The execution of +these laws (which it would be tedious to pursue in their minute +and intricate detail) consisted of two distinct operations: the +resolving the general imposition into its constituent parts, +which were assessed on the provinces, the cities, and the +individuals of the Roman world; and the collecting the separate +contributions of the individuals, the cities, and the provinces, +till the accumulated sums were poured into the Imperial +treasuries. But as the account between the monarch and the +subject was perpetually open, and as the renewal of the demand +anticipated the perfect discharge of the preceding obligation, +the weighty machine of the finances was moved by the same hands +round the circle of its yearly revolution. Whatever was +honorable or important in the administration of the revenue, was +committed to the wisdom of the praefects, and their provincia. +representatives; the lucrative functions were claimed by a crowd +of subordinate officers, some of whom depended on the treasurer, +others on the governor of the province; and who, in the +inevitable conflicts of a perplexed jurisdiction, had frequent +opportunities of disputing with each other the spoils of the +people. The laborious offices, which could be productive only of +envy and reproach, of expense and danger, were imposed on the +Decurions, who formed the corporations of the cities, and whom +the severity of the Imperial laws had condemned to sustain the +burdens of civil society. ^172 The whole landed property of the +empire (without excepting the patrimonial estates of the monarch) +was the object of ordinary taxation; and every new purchaser +contracted the obligations of the former proprietor. An accurate +census, ^173 or survey, was the only equitable mode of +ascertaining the proportion which every citizen should be obliged +to contribute for the public service; and from the well-known +period of the indictions, there is reason to believe that this +difficult and expensive operation was repeated at the regular +distance of fifteen years. The lands were measured by surveyors, +who were sent into the provinces; their nature, whether arable or +pasture, or vineyards or woods, was distinctly reported; and an +estimate was made of their common value from the average produce +of five years. The numbers of slaves and of cattle constituted +an essential part of the report; an oath was administered to the +proprietors, which bound them to disclose the true state of their +affairs; and their attempts to prevaricate, or elude the +intention of the legislator, were severely watched, and punished +as a capital crime, which included the double guilt of treason +and sacrilege. ^174 A large portion of the tribute was paid in +money; and of the current coin of the empire, gold alone could be +legally accepted. ^175 The remainder of the taxes, according to +the proportions determined by the annual indiction, was furnished +in a manner still more direct, and still more oppressive. +According to the different nature of lands, their real produce in +the various articles of wine or oil, corn or barley, wood or +iron, was transported by the labor or at the expense of the +provincials ^* to the Imperial magazines, from whence they were +occasionally distributed for the use of the court, of the army, +and of two capitals, Rome and Constantinople. The commissioners +of the revenue were so frequently obliged to make considerable +purchases, that they were strictly prohibited from allowing any +compensation, or from receiving in money the value of those +supplies which were exacted in kind. In the primitive simplicity +of small communities, this method may be well adapted to collect +the almost voluntary offerings of the people; but it is at once +susceptible of the utmost latitude, and of the utmost strictness, +which in a corrupt and absolute monarchy must introduce a +perpetual contest between the power of oppression and the arts of +fraud. ^176 The agriculture of the Roman provinces was insensibly +ruined, and, in the progress of despotism which tends to +disappoint its own purpose, the emperors were obliged to derive +some merit from the forgiveness of debts, or the remission of +tributes, which their subjects were utterly incapable of paying. +According to the new division of Italy, the fertile and happy +province of Campania, the scene of the early victories and of the +delicious retirements of the citizens of Rome, extended between +the sea and the Apennine, from the Tiber to the Silarus. Within +sixty years after the death of Constantine, and on the evidence +of an actual survey, an exemption was granted in favor of three +hundred and thirty thousand English acres of desert and +uncultivated land; which amounted to one eighth of the whole +surface of the province. As the footsteps of the Barbarians had +not yet been seen in Italy, the cause of this amazing desolation, +which is recorded in the laws, can be ascribed only to the +administration of the Roman emperors. ^177 +[Footnote 170: The cycle of indictions, which may be traced as +high as the reign of Constantius, or perhaps of his father, +Constantine, is still employed by the Papal court; but the +commencement of the year has been very reasonably 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 +accurate treatises, which come from the workshop of the +Benedictines.] +[Footnote *: It does not appear that the establishment of the +indiction is to be at tributed to Constantine: it existed before +he had been created Augustus at Rome, and the remission granted +by him to the city of Autun is the proof. He would not have +ventured while only Caesar, and under the necessity of courting +popular favor, to establish such an odious impost. Aurelius +Victor and Lactantius agree in designating Diocletian as the +author of this despotic institution. Aur. Vict. de Caes. c. 39. +Lactant. de Mort. Pers. c. 7 - G.] +[Footnote 171: The first twenty-eight titles of the eleventh book +of the Theodosian Code are filled with the circumstantial +regulations on the important subject of tributes; but they +suppose a clearer knowledge of fundamental principles than it is +at present in our power to attain.] +[Footnote 172: The title concerning the Decurions (l. xii. tit. +i.) is the most ample in the whole Theodosian Code; since it +contains not less than one hundred and ninety-two distinct laws +to ascertain the duties and privileges of that useful order of +citizens. + + Note: The Decurions were charged with assessing, according +to the census of property prepared by the tabularii, the payment +due from each proprietor. This odious office was authoritatively +imposed on the richest citizens of each town; they had no salary, +and all their compensation was, to be exempt from certain +corporal punishments, in case they should have incurred them. +The Decurionate was the ruin of all the rich. Hence they tried +every way 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 dread inspired by this title was termed +Impiety. - G. + + The Decurions were mutually responsible; they were obliged +to undertake for pieces of ground abandoned by their owners on +account of the pressure of the taxes, and, finally, to make up +all deficiencies. Savigny chichte des Rom. Rechts, i. 25. - M.] + +[Footnote 173: Habemus enim et hominum numerum qui delati sunt, +et agrun modum. Eumenius in Panegyr. Vet. viii. 6. See Cod. +Theod. l. xiii. tit. x. xi., with Godefroy's Commentary.] + +[Footnote 174: Siquis sacrilega vitem falce succiderit, aut +feracium ramorum foetus hebetaverit, quo delinet fidem Censuum, +et mentiatur callide paupertatis ingenium, mox detectus capitale +subibit exitium, et bona ejus in Fisci jura migrabunt. Cod. +Theod. l. xiii. tit. xi. leg. 1. Although this law is not +without its studied obscurity, it is, however clear enough to +prove the minuteness of the inquisition, and the disproportion of +the penalty.] +[Footnote 175: The astonishment of Pliny would have ceased. +Equidem miror P. R. victis gentibus argentum semper imperitasse +non aurum. Hist Natur. xxxiii. 15.] + +[Footnote *: The proprietors were not charged with the expense of +this transport in the provinces situated on the sea-shore or near +the great rivers, there were companies of boatmen, and of masters +of vessels, who had this commission, and furnished the means of +transport at their own expense. In return, they were themselves +exempt, altogether, or in part, from the indiction and other +imposts. They had certain privileges; particular regulations +determined their rights and obligations. (Cod. Theod. l. xiii. +tit. v. ix.) The transports by land were made in the same manner, +by the intervention of a privileged company called Bastaga; the +members were called Bastagarii Cod. Theod. l. viii. tit. v. - G.] + +[Footnote 176: Some precautions were taken (see Cod. Theod. l. +xi. tit. ii. and Cod. Justinian. l. x. tit. xxvii. leg. 1, 2, 3) +to restrain the magistrates from the abuse of their authority, +either in the exaction or in the purchase of corn: but those who +had learning enough to read the orations of Cicero against +Verres, (iii. de Frumento,) might instruct themselves in all the +various arts of oppression, with regard to the weight, the price, +the quality, and the carriage. The avarice of an unlettered +governor would supply the ignorance of precept or precedent.] + +[Footnote 177: Cod. Theod. l. xi. tit. xxviii. leg. 2, published +the 24th of March, A. D. 395, by the emperor Honorius, only two +months after the death of his father, Theodosius. He speaks of +528,042 Roman jugera, which I have reduced to the English +measure. The jugerum contained 28,800 square Roman feet.] + + Either from design or from accident, the mode of assessment +seemed to unite the substance of a land tax with the forms of a +capitation. ^178 The returns which were sent of every province or +district, expressed the number of tributary subjects, and the +amount of the public impositions. The latter of these sums was +divided by the former; and the estimate, that such a province +contained so many capita, or heads of tribute; and that each head +was rated at such a price, was universally received, not only in +the popular, but even in the legal computation. The value of a +tributary head must have varied, according to many accidental, or +at least fluctuating circumstances; but some knowledge has been +preserved of a very curious fact, the more important, since it +relates to one of the richest provinces of the Roman empire, and +which now flourishes as the most splendid of the European +kingdoms. The rapacious ministers of Constantius had exhausted +the wealth of Gaul, by exacting twenty-five pieces of gold for +the annual tribute of every head. The humane policy of his +successor reduced the capitation to seven pieces. ^179 A moderate +proportion between these opposite extremes of extraordinary +oppression and of transient indulgence, may therefore be fixed at +sixteen pieces of gold, or about nine pounds sterling, the common +standard, perhaps, of the impositions of Gaul. ^180 But this +calculation, or rather, indeed, the facts from whence it is +deduced, cannot fail of suggesting two difficulties to a thinking +mind, who will be at once surprised by the equality, and by the +enormity, of the capitation. An attempt to explain them may +perhaps reflect some light on the interesting subject of the +finances of the declining empire. +[Footnote 178: Godefroy (Cod. Theod. tom. vi. p. 116) argues with +weight and learning on the subject of the capitation; but while +he explains the caput, as a share or measure of property, he too +absolutely excludes the idea of a personal assessment.] + +[Footnote 179: Quid profuerit (Julianus) anhelantibus extrema +penuria Gallis, hinc maxime claret, quod primitus partes eas +ingressus, pro capitibusingulis tributi nomine vicenos quinos +aureos reperit flagitari; discedens vero septenos tantum numera +universa complentes. Ammian. l. xvi. c. 5.] +[Footnote 180: In the calculation of any sum of money under +Constantine and his successors, we need only refer to the +excellent discourse of Mr. Greaves on the Denarius, for the proof +of the following principles; 1. That the ancient and modern Roman +pound, containing 5256 grains of Troy weight, is about one +twelfth lighter than the English pound, which is composed of 5760 +of the same grains. 2. That the pound of gold, which had once +been divided into forty-eight aurei, was at this time coined into +seventy-two smaller pieces of the same denomination. 3. That +five of these aurei were the legal tender for a pound of silver, +and that consequently the pound of gold was exchanged for +fourteen pounds eight ounces of silver, according to the Roman, +or about thirteen pounds according to the English weight. 4. +That the English pound of silver is coined into sixty-two +shillings. From these elements we may compute the Roman pound of +gold, the usual method of reckoning large sums, at forty pounds +sterling, and we may fix the currency of the aureus at somewhat +more than eleven shillings. + + Note: See, likewise, a Dissertation of M. Letronne, +"Considerations Generales sur l'Evaluation des Monnaies Grecques +et Romaines" Paris, 1817 - M.] + + I. It is obvious, that, as long as the immutable +constitution of human nature produces and maintains so unequal a +division of property, the most numerous part of the community +would be deprived of their subsistence, by the equal assessment +of a tax from which the sovereign would derive a very trifling +revenue. Such indeed might be the theory of the Roman +capitation; but in the practice, this unjust equality was no +longer felt, as the tribute was collected on the principle of a +real, not of a personal imposition. ^* Several indigent citizens +contributed to compose a single head, or share of taxation; while +the wealthy provincial, in proportion to his fortune, alone +represented several of those imaginary beings. In a poetical +request, addressed to one of the last and most deserving of the +Roman princes who reigned in Gaul, Sidonius Apollinaris +personifies his tribute under the figure of a triple monster, the +Geryon of the Grecian fables, and entreats the new Hercules that +he would most graciously be pleased to save his life by cutting +off three of his heads. ^181 The fortune of Sidonius far exceeded +the customary wealth of a poet; but if he had pursued the +allusion, he might have painted many of the Gallic nobles with +the hundred heads of the deadly Hydra, spreading over the face of +the country, and devouring the substance of a hundred families. +II. The difficulty of allowing an annual sum of about nine +pounds sterling, even for the average of the capitation of Gaul, +may be rendered more evident by the comparison of the present +state of the same country, as it is now governed by the absolute +monarch of an industrious, wealthy, and affectionate people. The +taxes of France cannot be magnified, either by fear or by +flattery, beyond the annual amount of eighteen millions sterling, +which ought perhaps to be shared among four and twenty millions +of inhabitants. ^182 Seven millions of these, in the capacity of +fathers, or brothers, or husbands, may discharge the obligations +of the remaining multitude of women and children; yet the equal +proportion of each tributary subject will scarcely rise above +fifty shillings of our money, instead of a proportion almost four +times as considerable, which was regularly imposed on their +Gallic ancestors. The reason of this difference may be found, +not so much in the relative scarcity or plenty of gold and +silver, as in the different state of society, in ancient Gaul and +in modern France. In a country where personal freedom is the +privilege of every subject, the whole mass of taxes, whether they +are levied on property or on consumption, may be fairly divided +among the whole body of the nation. But the far greater part of +the lands of ancient Gaul, as well as of the other provinces of +the Roman world, were cultivated by slaves, or by peasants, whose +dependent condition was a less rigid servitude. ^183 In such a +state the poor were maintained at the expense of the masters who +enjoyed the fruits of their labor; and as the rolls of tribute +were filled only with the names of those citizens who possessed +the means of an honorable, or at least of a decent subsistence, +the comparative smallness of their numbers explains and justifies +the high rate of their capitation. The truth of this assertion +may be illustrated by the following example: The Aedui, one of +the most powerful and civilized tribes or cities of Gaul, +occupied an extent of territory, which now contains about five +hundred thousand inhabitants, in the two ecclesiastical dioceses +of Autun and Nevers; ^184 and with the probable accession of +those of Chalons and Macon, ^185 the population would amount to +eight hundred thousand souls. In the time of Constantine, the +territory of the Aedui afforded no more than twenty-five thousand +heads of capitation, of whom seven thousand were discharged by +that prince from the intolerable weight of tribute. ^186 A just +analogy would seem to countenance the opinion of an ingenious +historian, ^187 that the free and tributary citizens did not +surpass the number of half a million; and if, in the ordinary +administration of government, their annual payments may be +computed at about four millions and a half of our money, it would +appear, that although the share of each individual was four times +as considerable, a fourth part only of the modern taxes of France +was levied on the Imperial province of Gaul. The exactions of +Constantius may be calculated at seven millions sterling, which +were reduced to two millions by the humanity or the wisdom of +Julian. + +[Footnote *: Two masterly dissertations of M. Savigny, in the +Mem. of the Berlin Academy (1822 and 1823) have thrown new light +on the taxation system of the Empire. Gibbon, according to M. +Savigny, is mistaken in supposing that there was but one kind of +capitation tax; there was a land tax, and a capitation tax, +strictly so called. The land tax was, in its operation, a +proprietor's or landlord's tax. But, besides this, there was a +direct capitation tax on all who were not possessed of landed +property. This tax dates from the time of the Roman conquests; +its amount is not clearly known. Gradual exemptions released +different persons and classes from this tax. One edict exempts +painters. In Syria, all under twelve or fourteen, or above +sixty-five, were exempted; at a later period, all under twenty, +and all unmarried females; still later, all under twenty-five, +widows and nuns, soldiers, veterani and clerici - whole dioceses, +that of Thrace and Illyricum. Under Galerius and Licinius, the +plebs urbana became exempt; though this, perhaps, was only an +ordinance for the East. By degrees, however, the exemption was +extended to all the inhabitants of towns; and as it was strictly +capitatio plebeia, from which all possessors were exempted it +fell at length altogether on the coloni and agricultural slaves. +These were registered in the same cataster (capitastrum) with the +land tax. It was paid by the proprietor, who raised it again +from his coloni and laborers. - M.] +[Footnote 181: Geryones nos esse puta, monstrumque tributum, + + Hic capita ut vivam, tu mihi tolle tria. + Sidon. Apollinar. Carm. xiii. + + The reputation of Father Sirmond led me to expect more +satisfaction than I have found in his note (p. 144) on this +remarkable passage. The words, suo vel suorum nomine, betray the +perplexity of the commentator.] +[Footnote 182: This assertion, however formidable it may seem, is +founded on the original registers of births, deaths, and +marriages, collected by public authority, and now deposited in +the Controlee General at Paris. The annual average of births +throughout the whole kingdom, taken in five years, (from 1770 to +1774, both inclusive,) is 479,649 boys, and 449,269 girls, in all +928,918 children. The province of French Hainault alone +furnishes 9906 births; and we are assured, by an actual +enumeration of the people, annually repeated from the year 1773 +to the year 1776, that upon an average, Hainault contains 257,097 +inhabitants. By the rules of fair analogy, we might infer, that +the ordinary proportion of annual births to the whole people, is +about 1 to 26; and that the kingdom of France contains 24,151,868 +persons of both sexes and of every age. If we content ourselves +with the more moderate proportion of 1 to 25, the whole +population will amount to 23,222,950. From the diligent +researches of the French Government, (which are not unworthy of +our own imitation,) we may hope to obtain a still greater degree +of certainty on this important subject + + Note: On no subject has so much valuable information been +collected since the time of Gibbon, as the statistics of the +different countries of Europe but much is still wanting as to our +own - M.] + +[Footnote 183: Cod. Theod. l. v. tit. ix. x. xi. Cod. Justinian. +l. xi. tit. lxiii. Coloni appellantur qui conditionem debent +genitali solo, propter agriculturum sub dominio possessorum. +Augustin. de Civitate Dei, l. x. c. i.] +[Footnote 184: The 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, p. 491. The two dioceses of Autun and Nevers +are now composed, the former of 610, and the latter of 160 +parishes. The registers of births, taken during eleven years, in +476 parishes of the same province of Burgundy, and multiplied by +the moderate proportion of 25, (see Messance Recherches sur la +Population, p. 142,) may authorizes us to assign an average +number of 656 persons for each parish, which being again +multiplied by the 770 parishes of the dioceses of Nevers and +Autun, will produce the sum of 505,120 persons for the extent of +country which was once possessed by the Aedui.] + +[Footnote 185: We might derive an additional supply of 301,750 +inhabitants from the dioceses of Chalons (Cabillonum) and of +Macon, (Matisco,) since they contain, the one 200, and the other +260 parishes. This accession of territory might be justified by +very specious reasons. 1. Chalons and Macon were undoubtedly +within the original jurisdiction of the Aedui. (See D'Anville, +Notice, p. 187, 443.) 2. In the Notitia of Gaul, they are +enumerated not as Civitates, but merely as Castra. 3. They do +not appear to have been episcopal seats before the fifth and +sixth centuries. Yet there is a passage in Eumenius (Panegyr. +Vet. viii. 7) which very forcibly deters me from extending the +territory of the Aedui, in the reign of Constantine, along the +beautiful banks of the navigable Saone. + + Note: In this passage of Eumenius, Savigny supposes the +original number to have been 32,000: 7000 being discharged, there +remained 25,000 liable to the tribute. See Mem. quoted above. - +M.] + +[Footnote 186: Eumenius in Panegyr Vet. viii. 11.] + +[Footnote 187: L'Abbe du Bos, Hist. Critique de la M. F. tom. i. +p. 121] + But this tax, or capitation, on the proprietors of land, +would have suffered a rich and numerous class of free citizens to +escape. With the view of sharing that species of wealth which is +derived from art or labor, and which exists in money or in +merchandise, the emperors imposed a distinct and personal tribute +on the trading part of their subjects. ^188 Some exemptions, very +strictly confined both in time and place, were allowed to the +proprietors who disposed of the produce of their own estates. +Some indulgence was granted to the profession of the liberal +arts: but every other branch of commercial industry was affected +by the severity of the law. The honorable merchant of +Alexandria, who imported the gems and spices of India for the use +of the western world; the usurer, who derived from the interest +of money a silent and ignominious profit; the ingenious +manufacturer, the diligent mechanic, and even the most obscure +retailer of a sequestered village, were obliged to admit the +officers of the revenue into the partnership of their gain; and +the sovereign of the Roman empire, who tolerated the profession, +consented to share the infamous salary, of public prostitutes. ^! +As this general tax upon industry was collected every fourth +year, it was styled the Lustral Contribution: and the historian +Zosimus ^189 laments that the approach of the fatal period was +announced by the tears and terrors of the citizens, who were +often compelled by the impending scourge to embrace the most +abhorred and unnatural methods of procuring the sum at which +their property had been assessed. The testimony of Zosimus +cannot indeed be justified from the charge of passion and +prejudice; but, from the nature of this tribute it seems +reasonable to conclude, that it was arbitrary in the +distribution, and extremely rigorous in the mode of collecting. +The secret wealth of commerce, and the precarious profits of art +or labor, are susceptible only of a discretionary valuation, +which is seldom disadvantageous to the interest of the treasury; +and as the person of the trader supplies the want of a visible +and permanent security, the payment of the imposition, which, in +the case of a land tax, may be obtained by the seizure of +property, can rarely be extorted by any other means than those of +corporal punishments. The cruel treatment of the insolvent +debtors of the state, is attested, and was perhaps mitigated by a +very humane edict of Constantine, who, disclaiming the use of +racks and of scourges, allots a spacious and airy prison for the +place of their confinement. ^190 + +[Footnote 188: See Cod. Theod. l. xiii. tit. i. and iv.] + +[Footnote !: The emperor Theodosius put an end, by a law. to this +disgraceful source of revenue. (Godef. ad Cod. Theod. xiii. tit. +i. c. 1.) But before he deprived himself of it, he made sure of +some way of replacing this deficit. A rich patrician, +Florentius, indignant at this legalized licentiousness, had made +representations on the subject to the emperor. To induce him to +tolerate it no longer, he offered his own property to supply the +diminution of the revenue. The emperor had the baseness to +accept his offer - G.] +[Footnote 189: Zosimus, l. ii. p. 115. There is probably as much +passion and prejudice in the attack of Zosimus, as in the +elaborate defence of the memory of Constantine by the zealous Dr. +Howell. Hist. of the World, vol. ii. p. 20.] + +[Footnote 190: Cod. Theod. l. xi. tit vii. leg. 3.] + + These general taxes were imposed and levied by the absolute +authority of the monarch; but the occasional offerings of the +coronary gold still retained the name and semblance of popular +consent. It was an ancient custom that the allies of the +republic, who ascribed their safety or deliverance to the success +of the Roman arms, and even the cities of Italy, who admired the +virtues of their victorious general, adorned the pomp of his +triumph by their voluntary gifts of crowns of gold, which after +the ceremony were consecrated in the temple of Jupiter, to remain +a lasting monument of his glory to future ages. The progress of +zeal and flattery soon multiplied the number, and increased the +size, of these popular donations; and the triumph of Caesar was +enriched with two thousand eight hundred and twenty-two massy +crowns, whose weight amounted to twenty thousand four hundred and +fourteen pounds of gold. This treasure was immediately melted +down by the prudent dictator, who was satisfied that it would be +more serviceable to his soldiers than to the gods: his example +was imitated by his successors; and the custom was introduced of +exchanging these splendid ornaments for the more acceptable +present of the current gold coin of the empire. ^191 The +spontaneous offering was at length exacted as the debt of duty; +and instead of being confined to the occasion of a triumph, it +was supposed to be granted by the several cities and provinces of +the monarchy, as often as the emperor condescended to announce +his accession, his consulship, the birth of a son, the creation +of a Caesar, a victory over the Barbarians, or any other real or +imaginary event which graced the annals of his reign. The +peculiar free gift of the senate of Rome was fixed by custom at +sixteen hundred pounds of gold, or about sixty-four thousand +pounds sterling. The oppressed subjects celebrated their own +felicity, that their sovereign should graciously consent to +accept this feeble but voluntary testimony of their loyalty and +gratitude. ^192 +[Footnote 191: See Lipsius de Magnitud. Romana, l. ii. c. 9. The +Tarragonese Spain presented the emperor Claudius with a crown of +gold of seven, and Gaul with another of nine, hundred pounds +weight. I have followed the rational emendation of Lipsius. + + Note: This custom is of still earlier date, the Romans had +borrowed it from Greece. Who is not acquainted with the famous +oration of Demosthenes for the golden crown, which his citizens +wished to bestow, and Aeschines to deprive him of? - G.] + +[Footnote 192: Cod. Theod. l. xii. tit. xiii. The senators were +supposed to be exempt from the Aurum Coronarium; but the Auri +Oblatio, which was required at their hands, was precisely of the +same nature.] + + A people elated by pride, or soured by discontent, are +seldom qualified to form a just estimate of their actual +situation. The subjects of Constantine were incapable of +discerning the decline of genius and manly virtue, which so far +degraded them below the dignity of their ancestors; but they +could feel and lament the rage of tyranny, the relaxation of +discipline, and the increase of taxes. The impartial historian, +who acknowledges the justice of their complaints, will observe +some favorable circumstances which tended to alleviate the misery +of their condition. The threatening tempest of Barbarians, which +so soon subverted the foundations of Roman greatness, was still +repelled, or suspended, on the frontiers. The arts of luxury and +literature were cultivated, and the elegant pleasures of society +were enjoyed, by the inhabitants of a considerable portion of the +globe. The forms, the pomp, and the expense of the civil +administration contributed to restrain the irregular license of +the soldiers; and although the laws were violated by power, or +perverted by subtlety, the sage principles of the Roman +jurisprudence preserved a sense of order and equity, unknown to +the despotic governments of the East. The rights of mankind +might derive some protection from religion and philosophy; and +the name of freedom, which could no longer alarm, might sometimes +admonish, the successors of Augustus, that they did not reign +over a nation of Slaves or Barbarians. ^193 + +[Footnote 193: The great Theodosius, in his judicious advice to +his son, (Claudian in iv. Consulat. Honorii, 214, &c.,) +distinguishes the station of a Roman prince from that of a +Parthian monarch. Virtue was necessary for the one; birth might +suffice for the other.] + +Chapter XVIII: Character Of Constantine And His Sons. + +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 removed the seat of empire, +and introduced such important changes into the civil and +religious constitution of his country, has fixed the attention, +and divided the opinions, of mankind. By the grateful zeal of the +Christians, the deliverer of the church has been decorated with +every attribute of a hero, and even of a saint; while the +discontent of the vanquished party has compared Constantine to +the most abhorred of those tyrants, who, by their vice and +weakness, dishonored the Imperial purple. The same passions have +in some degree been perpetuated to succeeding generations, and +the character of Constantine is considered, even in the present +age, as an object either of satire or of panegyric. By the +impartial union of those defects which are confessed by his +warmest admirers, and of those virtues which are acknowledged by +his most-implacable enemies, we might hope to delineate a just +portrait of that extraordinary man, which the truth and candor of +history should adopt without a blush. ^1 But it would soon +appear, that the vain attempt to blend such discordant colors, +and to reconcile such inconsistent qualities, must produce a +figure monstrous rather than human, unless it is viewed in its +proper and distinct lights, by a careful separation of the +different periods of the reign of Constantine. +[Footnote 1: On ne se trompera point sur Constantin, en croyant +tout le mal ru'en dit Eusebe, et tout le bien qu'en dit Zosime. +Fleury, Hist. Ecclesiastique, tom. iii. p. 233. Eusebius and +Zosimus form indeed the two extremes of flattery and invective. +The intermediate shades are expressed by those writers, whose +character or situation variously tempered the influence of their +religious zeal.] + + The person, as well as the mind, of Constantine, had been +enriched by nature with her choices endowments. His stature was +lofty, his countenance majestic, his deportment graceful; his +strength and activity were displayed in every manly exercise, and +from his earliest youth, to a very advanced season of life, he +preserved the vigor of his constitution by a strict adherence to +the domestic virtues of chastity and temperance. He delighted in +the social intercourse of familiar conversation; and though he +might sometimes indulge his disposition to raillery with less +reserve than was required by the severe dignity of his station, +the courtesy and liberality of his manners gained the hearts of +all who approached him. The sincerity of his friendship has been +suspected; yet he showed, on some occasions, that he was not +incapable of a warm and lasting attachment. The disadvantage of +an illiterate education had not prevented him from forming a just +estimate of the value of learning; and the arts and sciences +derived some encouragement from the munificent protection of +Constantine. In the despatch of business, his diligence was +indefatigable; and the active powers of his mind were almost +continually exercised in reading, writing, or meditating, in +giving audiences to ambassadors, and in examining the complaints +of his subjects. Even those who censured the propriety of his +measures were compelled to acknowledge, that he possessed +magnanimity to conceive, and patience to execute, the most +arduous designs, without being checked either by the prejudices +of education, or by the clamors of the multitude. In the field, +he infused his own intrepid spirit into the troops, whom he +conducted with the talents of a consummate general; and to his +abilities, rather than to his fortune, we may ascribe the signal +victories which he obtained over the foreign and domestic foes of +the republic. He loved glory as the reward, perhaps as the +motive, of his labors. The boundless ambition, which, from the +moment of his accepting the purple at York, appears as the ruling +passion of his soul, may be justified by the dangers of his own +situation, by the character of his rivals, by the consciousness +of superior merit, and by the prospect that his success would +enable him to restore peace and order to the distracted +empire. In his civil wars against Maxentius and Licinius, he had +engaged on his side the inclinations of the people, who compared +the undissembled vices of those tyrants with the spirit of wisdom +and justice which seemed to direct the general tenor of the +administration of Constantine. ^2 + +[Footnote 2: The virtues of Constantine are collected for the +most part from Eutropius and the younger Victor, two sincere +pagans, who wrote after the extinction of his family. Even +Zosimus, and the Emperor Julian, acknowledge his personal courage +and military achievements.] + + Had Constantine fallen on the banks of the Tyber, or even in +the plains of Hadrianople, such is the character which, with a +few exceptions, he might have transmitted to posterity. But the +conclusion of his reign (according to the moderate and indeed +tender sentence of a writer of the same age) degraded him from +the rank which he had acquired among the most deserving of the +Roman princes. ^3 In the life of Augustus, we behold the tyrant +of the republic, converted, almost by imperceptible degrees, into +the father of his country, and of human kind. In that of +Constantine, we may contemplate a hero, who had so long inspired +his subjects with love, and his enemies with terror, degenerating +into a cruel and dissolute monarch, corrupted by his fortune, or +raised by conquest above the necessity of dissimulation. The +general peace which he maintained during the last fourteen years +of his reign, was a period of apparent splendor rather than of +real prosperity; and the old age of Constantine was disgraced by +the opposite yet reconcilable vices of rapaciousness and +prodigality. The accumulated treasures found in the palaces of +Maxentius and Licinius, were lavishly consumed; the various +innovations introduced by the conqueror, were attended with an +increasing expense; the cost of his buildings, his court, and his +festivals, required an immediate and plentiful supply; and the +oppression of the people was the only fund which could support +the magnificence of the sovereign. ^4 His unworthy favorites, +enriched by the boundless liberality of their master, usurped +with impunity the privilege of rapine and corruption. ^5 A secret +but universal decay was felt in every part of the public +administration, and the emperor himself, though he still retained +the obedience, gradually lost the esteem, of his subjects. The +dress and manners, which, towards the decline of life, he chose +to affect, served only to degrade him in the eyes of mankind. +The Asiatic pomp, which had been adopted by the pride of +Diocletian, assumed an air of softness and effeminacy in the +person of Constantine. He is represented with false hair of +various colors, laboriously arranged by the skilful artists to +the times; a diadem of a new and more expensive fashion; a +profusion of gems and pearls, of collars and bracelets, and a +variegated flowing robe of silk, most curiously embroidered with +flowers of gold. In such apparel, scarcely to be excused by the +youth and folly of Elagabalus, we are at a loss to discover the +wisdom of an aged monarch, and the simplicity of a Roman veteran. +^6 A mind thus relaxed by prosperity and indulgence, was +incapable of rising to that magnanimity which disdains suspicion, +and dares to forgive. The deaths of Maximian and Licinius may +perhaps be justified by the maxims of policy, as they are taught +in the schools of tyrants; but an impartial narrative of the +executions, or rather murders, which sullied the declining age of +Constantine, will suggest to our most candid thoughts the idea of +a prince who could sacrifice without reluctance the laws of +justice, and the feelings of nature, to the dictates either of +his passions or of his interest. +[Footnote 3: See Eutropius, x. 6. In primo Imperii tempore +optimis principibus, ultimo mediis comparandus. From the ancient +Greek version of Poeanius, (edit. Havercamp. p. 697,) I am +inclined to suspect that Eutropius had originally written vix +mediis; and that the offensive monosyllable was dropped by the +wilful inadvertency of transcribers. Aurelius Victor expresses +the general opinion by a vulgar and indeed obscure proverb. +Trachala decem annis praestantissimds; duodecim sequentibus +latro; decem novissimis pupillus ob immouicas profusiones.] + +[Footnote 4: Julian, Orat. i. p. 8, in a flattering discourse +pronounced before the son of Constantine; and Caesares, p. 336. +Zosimus, p. 114, 115. The stately buildings of Constantinople, +&c., may be quoted as a lasting and unexceptionable proof of the +profuseness of their founder.] +[Footnote 5: The impartial Ammianus deserves all our confidence. +Proximorum fauces aperuit primus omnium Constantinus. L. xvi. c. +8. Eusebius himself confesses the abuse, (Vit. Constantin. l. iv. +c. 29, 54;) and some of the Imperial laws feebly point out the +remedy. See above, p. 146 of this volume.] +[Footnote 6: Julian, in the Caesars, attempts to ridicule his +uncle. His suspicious testimony is confirmed, however, by the +learned Spanheim, with the authority of medals, (see Commentaire, +p. 156, 299, 397, 459.) Eusebius (Orat. c. 5) alleges, that +Constantine dressed for the public, not for himself. Were this +admitted, the vainest coxcomb could never want an excuse.] + The same fortune which so invariably followed the standard +of Constantine, seemed to secure the hopes and comforts of his +domestic life. Those among his predecessors who had enjoyed the +longest and most prosperous reigns, Augustus Trajan, and +Diocletian, had been disappointed of posterity; and the frequent +revolutions had never allowed sufficient time for any Imperial +family to grow up and multiply under the shade of the purple. +But the royalty of the Flavian line, which had been first +ennobled by the Gothic Claudius, descended through several +generations; and Constantine himself derived from his royal +father the hereditary honors which he transmitted to his +children. The emperor had been twice married. Minervina, the +obscure but lawful object of his youthful attachment, ^7 had left +him only one son, who was called Crispus. By Fausta, the +daughter of Maximian, he had three daughters, and three sons +known by the kindred names of Constantine, Constantius, and +Constans. The unambitious brothers of the great Constantine, +Julius Constantius, Dalmatius, and Hannibalianus, ^8 were +permitted to enjoy the most honorable rank, and the most affluent +fortune, that could be consistent with a private station. The +youngest of the three lived without a name, and died without +posterity. His two elder brothers obtained in marriage the +daughters of wealthy senators, and propagated new branches of the +Imperial race. Gallus and Julian afterwards became the most +illustrious of the children of Julius Constantius, the Patrician. + +The two sons of Dalmatius, who had been decorated with the vain +title of Censor, were named Dalmatius and Hannibalianus. The two +sisters of the great Constantine, Anastasia and Eutropia, were +bestowed on Optatus and Nepotianus, two senators of noble birth +and of consular dignity. His third sister, Constantia, was +distinguished by her preeminence of greatness and of misery. She +remained the widow of the vanquished Licinius; and it was by her +entreaties, that an innocent boy, the offspring of their +marriage, preserved, for some time, his life, the title of +Caesar, and a precarious hope of the succession. Besides the +females, and the allies of the Flavian house, ten or twelve +males, to whom the language of modern courts would apply the +title of princes of the blood, seemed, according to the order of +their birth, to be destined either to inherit or to support the +throne of Constantine. But in less than thirty years, this +numerous and increasing family was reduced to the persons of +Constantius and Julian, who alone had survived a series of crimes +and calamities, such as the tragic poets have deplored in the +devoted lines of Pelops and of Cadmus. [Footnote 7: Zosimus and +Zonaras agree in representing Minervina as the concubine of +Constantine; but Ducange has very gallantly rescued her +character, by producing a decisive passage from one of the +panegyrics: "Ab ipso fine pueritiae te matrimonii legibus +dedisti."] + +[Footnote 8: Ducange (Familiae Byzantinae, p. 44) bestows on him, +after Zosimus, the name of Constantine; a name somewhat unlikely, +as it was already occupied by the elder brother. That of +Hannibalianus is mentioned in the Paschal Chronicle, and is +approved by Tillemont. Hist. des Empereurs, tom. iv. p. 527.] + + Crispus, the eldest son of Constantine, and the presumptive +heir of the empire, is represented by impartial historians as an +amiable and accomplished youth. The care of his education, or at +least of his studies, was intrusted to Lactantius, the most +eloquent of the Christians; a preceptor admirably qualified to +form the taste, and the excite the virtues, of his illustrious +disciple. ^9 At the age of seventeen, Crispus was invested with +the title of Caesar, and the administration of the Gallic +provinces, where the inroads of the Germans gave him an early +occasion of signalizing his military prowess. In the civil war +which broke out soon afterwards, the father and son divided their +powers; and this history has already celebrated the valor as well +as conduct displayed by the latter, in forcing the straits of the +Hellespont, so obstinately defended by the superior fleet of +Lacinius. This naval victory contributed to determine the event +of the war; and the names of Constantine and of Crispus were +united in the joyful acclamations of their eastern subjects; who +loudly proclaimed, that the world had been subdued, and was now +governed, by an emperor endowed with every virtue; and by his +illustrious son, a prince beloved of Heaven, and the lively image +of his father's perfections. The public favor, which seldom +accompanies old age, diffused its lustre over the youth of +Crispus. He deserved the esteem, and he engaged the affections, +of the court, the army, and the people. The experienced merit of +a reigning monarch is acknowledged by his subjects with +reluctance, and frequently denied with partial and discontented +murmurs; while, from the opening virtues of his successor, they +fondly conceive the most unbounded hopes of private as well as +public felicity. ^10 + +[Footnote 9: Jerom. in Chron. The poverty of Lactantius may be +applied either to the praise of the disinterested philosopher, or +to the shame of the unfeeling patron. See Tillemont, Mem. +Ecclesiast. tom. vi. part 1. p. 345. Dupin, Bibliotheque +Ecclesiast. tom. i. p. 205. Lardner's Credibility of the Gospel +History, part ii. vol. vii. p. 66.] + +[Footnote 10: Euseb. Hist. Ecclesiast. l. x. c. 9. Eutropius +(x. 6) styles him "egregium virum;" and Julian (Orat. i.) very +plainly alludes to the exploits of Crispus in the civil war. See +Spanheim, Comment. p. 92.] + This dangerous popularity soon excited the attention of +Constantine, who, both as a father and as a king, was impatient +of an equal. Instead of attempting to secure the allegiance of +his son by the generous ties of confidence and gratitude, he +resolved to prevent the mischiefs which might be apprehended from +dissatisfied ambition. Crispus soon had reason to complain, that +while his infant brother Constantius was sent, with the title of +Caesar, to reign over his peculiar department of the Gallic +provinces, ^11 he, a prince of mature years, who had performed +such recent and signal services, instead of being raised to the +superior rank of Augustus, was confined almost a prisoner to his +father's court; and exposed, without power or defence, to every +calumny which the malice of his enemies could suggest. Under +such painful circumstances, the royal youth might not always be +able to compose his behavior, or suppress his discontent; and we +may be assured, that he was encompassed by a train of indiscreet +or perfidious followers, who assiduously studied to inflame, and +who were perhaps instructed to betray, the unguarded warmth of +his resentment. An edict of Constantine, published about this +time, manifestly indicates his real or affected suspicions, that +a secret conspiracy had been formed against his person and +government. By all the allurements of honors and rewards, he +invites informers of every degree to accuse without exception his +magistrates or ministers, his friends or his most intimate +favorites, protesting, with a solemn asseveration, that he +himself will listen to the charge, that he himself will revenge +his injuries; and concluding with a prayer, which discovers some +apprehension of danger, that the providence of the Supreme Being +may still continue to protect the safety of the emperor and of +the empire. ^12 + +[Footnote 11: Compare Idatius and the Paschal Chronicle, with +Ammianus, (l, xiv. c. 5.) The year in which Constantius was +created Caesar seems to be more accurately fixed by the two +chronologists; but the historian who lived in his court could not +be ignorant of the day of the anniversary. For the appointment +of the new Caesar to the provinces of Gaul, see Julian, Orat. i. +p. 12, Godefroy, Chronol. Legum, p. 26. and Blondel, de Primaute +de l'Eglise, p. 1183.] + +[Footnote 12: Cod. Theod. l. ix. tit. iv. Godefroy suspected the +secret motives of this law. Comment. tom. iii. p. 9.] + + The informers, who complied with so liberal an invitation, +were sufficiently versed in the arts of courts to select the +friends and adherents of Crispus as the guilty persons; nor is +there any reason to distrust the veracity of the emperor, who had +promised an ample measure of revenge and punishment. The policy +of Constantine maintained, however, the same appearances of +regard and confidence towards a son, whom he began to consider as +his most irreconcilable enemy. Medals were struck with the +customary vows for the long and auspicious reign of the young +Caesar; ^13 and as the people, who were not admitted into the +secrets of the palace, still loved his virtues, and respected his +dignity, a poet who solicits his recall from exile, adores with +equal devotion the majesty of the father and that of the son. ^14 +The time was now arrived for celebrating the august ceremony of +the twentieth year of the reign of Constantine; and the emperor, +for that purpose, removed his court from Nicomedia to Rome, where +the most splendid preparations had been made for his reception. +Every eye, and every tongue, affected to express their sense of +the general happiness, and the veil of ceremony and dissimulation +was drawn for a while over the darkest designs of revenge and +murder. ^15 In the midst of the festival, the unfortunate Crispus +was apprehended by order of the emperor, who laid aside the +tenderness of a father, without assuming the equity of a judge. +The examination was short and private; ^16 and as it was thought +decent to conceal the fate of the young prince from the eyes of +the Roman people, he was sent under a strong guard to Pola, in +Istria, where, soon afterwards, he was put to death, either by +the hand of the executioner, or by the more gentle operations of +poison. ^17 The Caesar Licinius, a youth of amiable manners, was +involved in the ruin of Crispus: ^18 and the stern jealousy of +Constantine was unmoved by the prayers and tears of his favorite +sister, pleading for the life of a son, whose rank was his only +crime, and whose loss she did not long survive. The story of +these unhappy princes, the nature and evidence of their guilt, +the forms of their trial, and the circumstances of their death, +were buried in mysterious obscurity; and the courtly bishop, who +has celebrated in an elaborate work the virtues and piety of his +hero, observes a prudent silence on the subject of these tragic +events. ^19 Such haughty contempt for the opinion of mankind, +whilst it imprints an indelible stain on the memory of +Constantine, must remind us of the very different behavior of one +of the greatest monarchs of the present age. The Czar Peter, in +the full possession of despotic power, submitted to the judgment +of Russia, of Europe, and of posterity, the reasons which had +compelled him to subscribe the condemnation of a criminal, or at +least of a degenerate son. ^20 + +[Footnote 13: Ducange, Fam. Byzant. p. 28. Tillemont, tom. iv. +p. 610.] +[Footnote 14: His name was Porphyrius Optatianus. The date of +his panegyric, written, according to the taste of the age, in +vile acrostics, is settled by Scaliger ad Euseb. p. 250, +Tillemont, tom. iv. p. 607, and Fabricius, Biblioth. Latin, l. +iv. c. 1.] + +[Footnote 15: Zosim. l. ii. p. 103. Godefroy, Chronol. Legum, p. +28.] +[Footnote 16: The elder Victor, who wrote under the next reign, +speaks with becoming caution. "Natu grandior incertum qua causa, +patris judicio occidisset." If we consult the succeeding writers, +Eutropius, the younger Victor, Orosius, Jerom, Zosimus, +Philostorgius, and Gregory of Tours, their knowledge will appear +gradually to increase, as their means of information must have +diminished - a circumstance which frequently occurs in historical +disquisition.] + +[Footnote 17: Ammianus (l. xiv. c. 11) uses the general +expression of peremptum Codinus (p. 34) beheads the young prince; +but Sidonius Apollinaris (Epistol. v. 8,) for the sake perhaps of +an antithesis to Fausta's warm bath, chooses to administer a +draught of cold poison.] + +[Footnote 18: Sororis filium, commodae indolis juvenem. +Eutropius, x. 6 May I not be permitted to conjecture that Crispus +had married Helena the daughter of the emperor Licinius, and that +on the happy delivery of the princess, in the year 322, a general +pardon was granted by Constantine? See Ducange, Fam. Byzant. p. +47, and the law (l. ix. tit. xxxvii.) of the Theodosian code, +which has so much embarrassed the interpreters. Godefroy, tom. +iii. p. 267 + Note: This conjecture is very doubtful. The obscurity of +the law quoted from the Theodosian code scarcely allows any +inference, and there is extant but one meda which can be +attributed to a Helena, wife of Crispus.] +[Footnote 19: See the life of Constantine, particularly l. ii. c. +19, 20. Two hundred and fifty years afterwards Evagrius (l. iii. +c. 41) deduced from the silence of Eusebius a vain argument +against the reality of the fact.] +[Footnote 20: Histoire de Pierre le Grand, par Voltaire, part ii. +c. 10.] + The innocence of Crispus was so universally acknowledged, +that the modern Greeks, who adore the memory of their founder, +are reduced to palliate the guilt of a parricide, which the +common feelings of human nature forbade them to justify. They +pretend, that as soon as the afflicted father discovered the +falsehood of the accusation by which his credulity had been so +fatally misled, he published to the world his repentance and +remorse; that he mourned forty days, during which he abstained +from the use of the bath, and all the ordinary comforts of life; +and that, for the lasting instruction of posterity, he erected a +golden statue of Crispus, with this memorable inscription: To my +son, whom I unjustly condemned. ^21 A tale so moral and so +interesting would deserve to be supported by less exceptionable +authority; but if we consult the more ancient and authentic +writers, they will inform us, that the repentance of Constantine +was manifested only in acts of blood and revenge; and that he +atoned for the murder of an innocent son, by the execution, +perhaps, of a guilty wife. They ascribe the misfortunes of +Crispus to the arts of his step-mother Fausta, whose implacable +hatred, or whose disappointed love, renewed in the palace of +Constantine the ancient tragedy of Hippolitus and of Phaedra. ^22 +Like the daughter of Minos, the daughter of Maximian accused her +son-in-law of an incestuous attempt on the chastity of his +father's wife; and easily obtained, from the jealousy of the +emperor, a sentence of death against a young prince, whom she +considered with reason as the most formidable rival of her own +children. But Helena, the aged mother of Constantine, lamented +and revenged the untimely fate of her grandson Crispus; nor was +it long before a real or pretended discovery was made, that +Fausta herself entertained a criminal connection with a slave +belonging to the Imperial stables. ^23 Her condemnation and +punishment were the instant consequences of the charge; and the +adulteress was suffocated by the steam of a bath, which, for that +purpose, had been heated to an extraordinary degree. ^24 By some +it will perhaps be thought, that the remembrance of a conjugal +union of twenty years, and the honor of their common offspring, +the destined heirs of the throne, might have softened the +obdurate heart of Constantine, and persuaded him to suffer his +wife, however guilty she might appear, to expiate her offences in +a solitary prison. But it seems a superfluous labor to weigh the +propriety, unless we could ascertain the truth, of this singular +event, which is attended with some circumstances of doubt and +perplexity. Those who have attacked, and those who have +defended, the character of Constantine, have alike disregarded +two very remarkable passages of two orations pronounced under the +succeeding reign. The former celebrates the virtues, the beauty, +and the fortune of the empress Fausta, the daughter, wife, +sister, and mother of so many princes. ^25 The latter asserts, in +explicit terms, that the mother of the younger Constantine, who +was slain three years after his father's death, survived to weep +over the fate of her son. ^26 Notwithstanding the positive +testimony of several writers of the Pagan as well as of the +Christian religion, there may still remain some reason to +believe, or at least to suspect, that Fausta escaped the blind +and suspicious cruelty of her husband. ^* The deaths of a son and +a nephew, with the execution of a great number of respectable, +and perhaps innocent friends, ^27 who were involved in their +fall, may be sufficient, however, to justify the discontent of +the Roman people, and to explain the satirical verses affixed to +the palace gate, comparing the splendid and bloody reigns of +Constantine and Nero. ^28 + +[Footnote 21: In order to prove that the statue was erected by +Constantine, and afterwards concealed by the malice of the +Arians, Codinus very readily creates (p. 34) two witnesses, +Hippolitus, and the younger Herodotus, to whose imaginary +histories he appeals with unblushing confidence.] +[Footnote 22: Zosimus (l. ii. p. 103) may be considered as our +original. The ingenuity of the moderns, assisted by a few hints +from the ancients, has illustrated and improved his obscure and +imperfect narrative.] +[Footnote 23: Philostorgius, l. ii. c. 4. Zosimus (l. ii. p. 104, +116) imputes to Constantine the death of two wives, of the +innocent Fausta, and of an adulteress, who was the mother of his +three successors. According to Jerom, three or four years +elapsed between the death of Crispus and that of Fausta. The +elder Victor is prudently silent.] + +[Footnote 24: If Fausta was put to death, it is reasonable to +believe that the private apartments of the palace were the scene +of her execution. The orator Chrysostom indulges his fancy by +exposing the naked desert mountain to be devoured by wild +beasts.] + +[Footnote 25: Julian. Orat. i. He seems to call her the mother +of Crispus. She might assume that title by adoption. At least, +she was not considered as his mortal enemy. Julian compares the +fortune of Fausta with that of Parysatis, the Persian queen. A +Roman would have more naturally recollected the second Agrippina: +- + + Et moi, qui sur le trone ai suivi mes ancetres: + Moi, fille, femme, soeur, et mere de vos maitres.] + +[Footnote 26: Monod. in Constantin. Jun. c. 4, ad Calcem Eutrop. +edit. Havercamp. The orator styles her the most divine and pious +of queens [Footnote *: Manso (Leben Constantins, p. 65) treats +this inference o: Gibbon, and the authorities to which he +appeals, with too much contempt, considering the general +scantiness of proof on this curious question. - M.] +[Footnote 27: Interfecit numerosos amicos. Eutrop. xx. 6.] +[Footnote 28: Saturni aurea saecula quis requirat? + Sunt haec gemmea, sed Neroniana. + + Sidon. Apollinar. v. 8. + +It is somewhat singular that these satirical lines should be +attributed, not to an obscure libeller, or a disappointed +patriot, but to Ablavius, prime minister and favorite of the +emperor. We may now perceive that the imprecations of the Roman +people were dictated by humanity, as well as by superstition. +Zosim. l. ii. p. 105.] + +Chapter XVIII: Character Of Constantine And His Sons. + +Part II. + + By the death of Crispus, the inheritance of the empire +seemed to devolve on the three sons of Fausta, who have been +already mentioned under the names of Constantine, of Constantius, +and of Constans. These young princes were successively invested +with the title of Caesar; and the dates of their promotion may be +referred to the tenth, the twentieth, and the thirtieth years of +the reign of their father. ^29 This conduct, though it tended to +multiply the future masters of the Roman world, might be excused +by the partiality of paternal affection; but it is not so easy to +understand the motives of the emperor, when he endangered the +safety both of his family and of his people, by the unnecessary +elevation of his two nephews, Dalmatius and Hannibalianus. The +former was raised, by the title of Caesar, to an equality with +his cousins. In favor of the latter, Constantine invented the +new and singular appellation of Nobilissimus; ^30 to which he +annexed the flattering distinction of a robe of purple and gold. +But of the whole series of Roman princes in any age of the +empire, Hannibalianus alone was distinguished by the title of +King; a name which the subjects of Tiberius would have detested, +as the profane and cruel insult of capricious tyranny. The use +of such a title, even as it appears under the reign of +Constantine, is a strange and unconnected fact, which can +scarcely be admitted on the joint authority of Imperial medals +and contemporary writers. ^31 + +[Footnote 29: Euseb. Orat. in Constantin. c. 3. These dates are +sufficiently correct to justify the orator.] + +[Footnote 30: Zosim. l. ii. p. 117. Under the predecessors of +Constantine, No bilissimus was a vague epithet, rather than a +legal and determined title.] + +[Footnote 31: Adstruunt nummi veteres ac singulares. Spanheim de +Usu Numismat. 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 of kings; and the Paschal +Chronicle acquires the weight of Latin evidence.] + +[Footnote *: Hannibalianus is always designated in these authors +by the title of king. There still exist medals struck to his +honor, on which the same title is found, Fl. Hannibaliano Regi. +See Eckhel, Doct. Num. t. viii. 204. Armeniam nationesque circum +socias habebat, says Aur. Victor, p. 225. The writer means the +Lesser Armenia. Though it is not possible to question a fact +supported by such respectable authorities, Gibbon considers it +inexplicable and incredible. It is a strange abuse of the +privilege of doubting, to refuse all belief in a fact of such +little importance in itself, and attested thus formally by +contemporary authors and public monuments. St. Martin note to Le +Beau i. 341. - M.] + + The whole empire was deeply interested in the education of +these five youths, the acknowledged successors of Constantine. +The exercise of the body prepared them for the fatigues of war +and the duties of active life. Those who occasionally mention the +education or talents of Constantius, allow that he excelled in +the gymnastic arts of leaping and running that he was a dexterous +archer, a skilful horseman, and a master of all the different +weapons used in the service either of the cavalry or of the +infantry. ^32 The same assiduous cultivation was bestowed, though +not perhaps with equal success, to improve the minds of the sons +and nephews of Constantine. ^33 The most celebrated professors of +the Christian faith, of the Grecian philosophy, and of the Roman +jurisprudence, were invited by the liberality of the emperor, who +reserved for himself the important task of instructing the royal +youths in the science of government, and the knowledge of +mankind. But the genius of Constantine himself had been formed +by adversity and experience. In the free intercourse of private +life, and amidst the dangers of the court of Galerius, he had +learned to command his own passions, to encounter those of his +equals, and to depend for his present safety and future greatness +on the prudence and firmness of his personal conduct. His +destined successors had the misfortune of being born and educated +in the imperial purple. Incessantly surrounded with a train of +flatterers, they passed their youth in the enjoyment of luxury, +and the expectation of a throne; nor would the dignity of their +rank permit them to descend from that elevated station from +whence the various characters of human nature appear to wear a +smooth and uniform aspect. The indulgence of Constantine +admitted them, at a very tender age, to share the administration +of the empire; and they studied the art of reigning, at the +expense of the people intrusted to their care. The younger +Constantine was appointed to hold his court in Gaul; and his +brother Constantius exchanged that department, the ancient +patrimony of their father, for the more opulent, but less +martial, countries of the East. Italy, the Western Illyricum, +and Africa, were accustomed to revere Constans, the third of his +sons, as the representative of the great Constantine. He fixed +Dalmatius on the Gothic frontier, to which he annexed the +government of Thrace, Macedonia, and Greece. The city of +Caesarea was chosen for the residence of Hannibalianus; and the +provinces of Pontus, Cappadocia, and the Lesser Armenia, were +destined to form the extent of his new kingdom. For each of +these princes a suitable establishment was provided. A just +proportion of guards, of legions, and of auxiliaries, was +allotted for their respective dignity and defence. The ministers +and generals, who were placed about their persons, were such as +Constantine could trust to assist, and even to control, these +youthful sovereigns in the exercise of their delegated power. As +they advanced in years and experience, the limits of their +authority were insensibly enlarged: but the emperor always +reserved for himself the title of Augustus; and while he showed +the Caesars to the armies and provinces, he maintained every part +of the empire in equal obedience to its supreme head. ^34 The +tranquillity of the last fourteen years of his reign was scarcely +interrupted by the contemptible insurrection of a camel-driver in +the Island of Cyprus, ^35 or by the active part which the policy +of Constantine engaged him to assume in the wars of the Goths and +Sarmatians. + +[Footnote 32: His dexterity in martial exercises is celebrated by +Julian, (Orat. i. p. 11, Orat. ii. p. 53,) and allowed by +Ammianus, (l. xxi. c. 16.)] + +[Footnote 33: Euseb. in Vit. Constantin. l. iv. c. 51. Julian, +Orat. i. p. 11-16, with Spanheim's elaborate Commentary. +Libanius, Orat. iii. p. 109. Constantius studied with laudable +diligence; but the dulness of his fancy prevented him from +succeeding in the art of poetry, or even of rhetoric.] +[Footnote 34: Eusebius, (l. iv. c. 51, 52,) with a design of +exalting the authority and glory of Constantine, affirms, that he +divided the Roman empire as a private citizen might have divided +his patrimony. His distribution of the provinces may be +collected from Eutropius, the two Victors and the Valesian +fragment.] + +[Footnote 35: Calocerus, the obscure leader of this rebellion, or +rather tumult, was apprehended and burnt alive in the +market-place of Tarsus, by the vigilance of Dalmatius. See the +elder Victor, the Chronicle of Jerom, and the doubtful traditions +of Theophanes and Cedrenus.] + + Among the different branches of the human race, the +Sarmatians form a very remarkable shade; as they seem to unite +the manners of the Asiatic barbarians with the figure and +complexion of the ancient inhabitants of Europe. According to +the various accidents of peace and war, of alliance or conquest, +the Sarmatians were sometimes confined to the banks of the +Tanais; and they sometimes spread themselves over the immense +plains which lie between the Vistula and the Volga. ^36 The care +of their numerous flocks and herds, the pursuit of game, and the +exercises of war, or rather of rapine, directed the vagrant +motions of the Sarmatians. The movable camps or cities, the +ordinary residence of their wives and children, consisted only of +large wagons drawn by oxen, and covered in the form of tents. +The military strength of the nation was composed of cavalry; and +the custom of their warriors, to lead in their hand one or two +spare horses, enabled them to advance and to retreat with a rapid +diligence, which surprised the security, and eluded the pursuit, +of a distant enemy. ^37 Their poverty of iron prompted their rude +industry to invent a sort of cuirass, which was capable of +resisting a sword or javelin, though it was formed only of +horses' hoofs, cut into thin and polished slices, carefully laid +over each other in the manner of scales or feathers, and strongly +sewed upon an under garment of coarse linen. ^38 The offensive +arms of the Sarmatians were short daggers, long lances, and a +weighty bow with a quiver of arrows. They were reduced to +the necessity of employing fish-bones for the points of their +weapons; but the custom of dipping them in a venomous liquor, +that poisoned the wounds which they inflicted, is alone +sufficient to prove the most savage manners, since a people +impressed with a sense of humanity would have abhorred so cruel a +practice, and a nation skilled in the arts of war would have +disdained so impotent a resource. ^39 Whenever these Barbarians +issued from their deserts in quest of prey, their shaggy beards, +uncombed locks, the furs with which they were covered from head +to foot, and their fierce countenances, which seemed to express +the innate cruelty of their minds, inspired the more civilized +provincials of Rome with horror and dismay. + +[Footnote 36: Cellarius has collected the opinions of the +ancients concerning the European and Asiatic Sarmatia; and M. +D'Anville has applied them to modern geography with the skill and +accuracy which always distinguish that excellent writer.] + +[Footnote 37: Ammian. l. xvii. c. 12. The Sarmatian horses were +castrated to prevent the mischievous accidents which might happen +from the noisy and ungovernable passions of the males.] + +[Footnote 38: Pausanius, l. i. p. 50,. edit. Kuhn. That +inquisitive traveller had carefully examined a Sarmatian cuirass, +which was preserved in the temple of Aesculapius at Athens.] + +[Footnote 39: Aspicis et mitti sub adunco toxica ferro, + Et telum causas mortis habere duas. + + Ovid, ex Ponto, l. iv. ep. 7, ver. 7. + + See in the Recherches sur les Americains, tom. ii. p. 236 - +271, a very curious dissertation on poisoned darts. The venom +was commonly extracted from the vegetable reign: but that +employed by the Scythians appears to have been drawn from the +viper, and a mixture of human blood. The use of poisoned arms, +which has been spread over both worlds, never preserved a savage +tribe from the arms of a disciplined enemy.] + The tender Ovid, after a youth spent in the enjoyment of +fame and luxury, was condemned to a hopeless exile on the frozen +banks of the Danube, where he was exposed, almost without +defence, to the fury of these monsters of the desert, with whose +stern spirits he feared that his gentle shade might hereafter be +confounded. In his pathetic, but sometimes unmanly lamentations, +^40 he describes in the most lively colors the dress and manners, +the arms and inroads, of the Getae and Sarmatians, who were +associated for the purposes of destruction; and from the accounts +of history there is some reason to believe that these Sarmatians +were the Jazygae, one of the most numerous and warlike tribes of +the nation. The allurements of plenty engaged them to seek a +permanent establishment on the frontiers of the empire. Soon +after the reign of Augustus, they obliged the Dacians, who +subsisted by fishing on the banks of the River Teyss or Tibiscus, +to retire into the hilly country, and to abandon to the +victorious Sarmatians the fertile plains of the Upper Hungary, +which are bounded by the course of the Danube and the +semicircular enclosure of the Carpathian Mountains. ^41 In this +advantageous position, they watched or suspended the moment of +attack, as they were provoked by injuries or appeased by +presents; they gradually acquired the skill of using more +dangerous weapons, and although the Sarmatians did not illustrate +their name by any memorable exploits, they occasionally assisted +their eastern and western neighbors, the Goths and the Germans, +with a formidable body of cavalry. They lived under the +irregular aristocracy of their chieftains: ^42 but after they had +received into their bosom the fugitive Vandals, who yielded to +the pressure of the Gothic power, they seem to have chosen a king +from that nation, and from the illustrious race of the Astingi, +who had formerly dwelt on the hores of the northern ocean. ^43 +[Footnote 40: The nine books of Poetical Epistles which Ovid +composed during the seven first years of his melancholy exile, +possess, beside the merit of elegance, a double value. They +exhibit a picture of the human mind under very singular +circumstances; and they contain many curious observations, which +no Roman except Ovid, could have an opportunity of making. Every +circumstance which tends to illustrate the history of the +Barbarians, has been drawn together by the very accurate Count de +Buat. Hist. Ancienne des Peuples de l'Europe, tom. iv. c. xvi. p. +286-317] +[Footnote 41: The Sarmatian Jazygae were settled on the banks of +Pathissus or Tibiscus, when Pliny, in the year 79, published his +Natural History. See l. 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 the Euxine.] + +[Footnote 42: Principes Sarmaturum Jazygum penes quos civitatis +regimen plebem quoque et vim equitum, qua sola valent, +offerebant. Tacit. Hist. iii. p. 5. This offer was made in the +civil war between Vitellino and Vespasian.] + +[Footnote 43: This hypothesis of a Vandal king reigning over +Sarmatian subjects, seems necessary to reconcile the Goth +Jornandes with the Greek and Latin historians of Constantine. It +may be observed that Isidore, who lived in Spain under the +dominion of the Goths, gives them for enemies, not the Vandals, +but the Sarmatians. See his Chronicle in Grotius, p. 709. + Note: I have already noticed the confusion which must +necessarily arise in history, when names purely geographical, as +this of Sarmatia, are taken for historical names belonging to a +single nation. We perceive it here; it has forced Gibbon to +suppose, without any reason but the necessity of extricating +himself from his perplexity, that the Sarmatians had taken a king +from among the Vandals; a supposition entirely contrary to the +usages of Barbarians Dacia, at this period, was occupied, not by +Sarmatians, who have never formed a distinct race, but by +Vandals, whom the ancients have often confounded under the +general term Sarmatians. See Gatterer's Welt-Geschiehte p. 464 - +G.] + This motive of enmity must have inflamed the subjects of +contention, which perpetually arise on the confines of warlike +and independent nations. The Vandal princes were stimulated by +fear and revenge; the Gothic kings aspired to extend their +dominion from the Euxine to the frontiers of Germany; and the +waters of the Maros, a small river which falls into the Teyss, +were stained with the blood of the contending Barbarians. After +some experience of the superior strength and numbers of their +adversaries, the Sarmatians implored the protection of the Roman +monarch, who beheld with pleasure the discord of the nations, but +who was justly alarmed by the progress of the Gothic arms. As +soon as Constantine had declared himself in favor of the weaker +party, the haughty Araric, king of the Goths, instead of +expecting the attack of the legions, boldly passed the Danube, +and spread terror and devastation through the province of Maesia. + +To oppose the inroad of this destroying host, the aged emperor +took the field in person; but on this occasion either his conduct +or his fortune betrayed the glory which he had acquired in so +many foreign and domestic wars. He had the mortification of +seeing his troops fly before an inconsiderable detachment of the +Barbarians, who pursued them to the edge of their fortified camp, +and obliged him to consult his safety by a precipitate and +ignominious retreat. ^* The event of a second and more successful +action retrieved the honor of the Roman name; and the powers of +art and discipline prevailed, after an obstinate contest, over +the efforts of irregular valor. The broken army of the Goths +abandoned the field of battle, the wasted province, and the +passage of the Danube: and although the eldest of the sons of +Constantine was permitted to supply the place of his father, the +merit of the victory, which diffused universal joy, was ascribed +to the auspicious counsels of the emperor himself. + +[Footnote *: Gibbon states, that Constantine was defeated by the +Goths in a first battle. No ancient author mentions such an +event. It is, no doubt, a mistake in Gibbon. St Martin, note to +Le Beau. i. 324. - M.] + He contributed at least to improve this advantage, by his +negotiations with the free and warlike people of Chersonesus, ^44 +whose capital, situate on the western coast of the Tauric or +Crimaean peninsula, still retained some vestiges of a Grecian +colony, and was governed by a perpetual magistrate, assisted by a +council of senators, emphatically styled the Fathers of the City. + +The Chersonites were animated against the Goths, by the memory of +the wars, which, in the preceding century, they had maintained +with unequal forces against the invaders of their country. They +were connected with the Romans by the mutual benefits of +commerce; as they were supplied from the provinces of Asia with +corn and manufactures, which they purchased with their only +productions, salt, wax, and hides. Obedient to the requisition +of Constantine, they prepared, under the conduct of their +magistrate Diogenes, a considerable army, of which the principal +strength consisted in cross-bows and military chariots. The +speedy march and intrepid attack of the Chersonites, by diverting +the attention of the Goths, assisted the operations of the +Imperial generals. The Goths, vanquished on every side, were +driven into the mountains, where, in the course of a severe +campaign, above a hundred thousand were computed to have perished +by cold and hunger Peace was at length granted to their humble +supplications; the eldest son of Araric was accepted as the most +valuable hostage; and Constantine endeavored to convince their +chiefs, by a liberal distribution of honors and rewards, how far +the friendship of the Romans was preferable to their enmity. In +the expressions of his gratitude towards the faithful +Chersonites, the emperor was still more magnificent. The pride of +the nation was gratified by the splendid and almost royal +decorations bestowed on their magistrate and his successors. A +perpetual exemption from all duties was stipulated for their +vessels which traded to the ports of the Black Sea. A regular +subsidy was promised, of iron, corn, oil, and of every supply +which could be useful either in peace or war. But it was thought +that the Sarmatians were sufficiently rewarded by their +deliverance from impending ruin; and the emperor, perhaps with +too strict an economy, deducted some part of the expenses of the +war from the customary gratifications which were allowed to that +turbulent nation. +[Footnote 44: I may stand in need of some apology for having +used, without scruple, the authority of Constantine +Porphyrogenitus, in all that relates to the wars and negotiations +of the Chersonites. I am aware that he was a Greek of the tenth +century, and that his accounts of ancient history are frequently +confused and fabulous. But on this occasion his narrative is, +for the most part, consistent and probable nor is there much +difficulty in conceiving that an emperor might have access to +some secret archives, which had escaped the diligence of meaner +historians. For the situation and history of Chersone, see +Peyssonel, des Peuples barbares qui ont habite les Bords du +Danube, c. xvi. 84-90.] + +[Footnote !: Gibbon has confounded the inhabitants of the city of +Cherson, the ancient Chersonesus, with the people of the +Chersonesus Taurica. If he had read with more attention the +chapter of Constantius Porphyrogenitus, from which this narrative +is derived, he would have seen that the author clearly +distinguishes the republic of Cherson from the rest of the Tauric +Peninsula, then possessed by the kings of the Cimmerian +Bosphorus, and that the city of Cherson alone furnished succors +to the Romans. The English historian is also mistaken in saying +that the Stephanephoros of the Chersonites was a perpetual +magistrate; since it is easy to discover from the great number of +Stephanephoroi mentioned by Constantine Porphyrogenitus, that +they were annual magistrates, like almost all those which +governed the Grecian republics. St. Martin, note to Le Beau i. +326. - M.] + + Exasperated by this apparent neglect, the Sarmatians soon +forgot, with the levity of barbarians, the services which they +had so lately received, and the dangers which still threatened +their safety. Their inroads on the territory of the empire +provoked the indignation of Constantine to leave them to their +fate; and he no longer opposed the ambition of Geberic, a +renowned warrior, who had recently ascended the Gothic throne. +Wisumar, the Vandal king, whilst alone, and unassisted, he +defended his dominions with undaunted courage, was vanquished and +slain in a decisive battle, which swept away the flower of the +Sarmatian youth. ^* The remainder of the nation embraced the +desperate expedient of arming their slaves, a hardy race of +hunters and herdsmen, by whose tumultuary aid they revenged their +defeat, and expelled the invader from their confines. But they +soon discovered that they had exchanged a foreign for a domestic +enemy, more dangerous and more implacable. Enraged by their +former servitude, elated by their present glory, the slaves, +under the name of Limigantes, claimed and usurped the possession +of the country which they had saved. Their masters, unable to +withstand the ungoverned fury of the populace, preferred the +hardships of exile to the tyranny of their servants. Some of the +fugitive Sarmatians solicited a less ignominious dependence, +under the hostile standard of the Goths. A more numerous band +retired beyond the Carpathian Mountains, among the Quadi, their +German allies, and were easily admitted to share a superfluous +waste of uncultivated land. But the far greater part of the +distressed nation turned their eyes towards the fruitful +provinces of Rome. Imploring the protection and forgiveness of +the emperor, they solemnly promised, as subjects in peace, and as +soldiers in war, the most inviolable fidelity to the empire which +should graciously receive them into its bosom. According to the +maxims adopted by Probus and his successors, the offers of this +barbarian colony were eagerly accepted; and a competent portion +of lands in the provinces of Pannonia, Thrace, Macedonia, and +Italy, were immediately assigned for the habitation and +subsistence of three hundred thousand Sarmatians. ^45 + +[Footnote *: Gibbon supposes that this war took place because +Constantine had deducted a part of the customary gratifications, +granted by his predecessors to the Sarmatians. Nothing of this +kind appears in the authors. We see, on the contrary, that after +his victory, and to punish the Sarmatia is for the ravages they +had committed, he withheld the sums which it had been the custom +to bestow. St. Martin, note to Le Beau, i. 327. - M.] + +[Footnote 45: The Gothic and Sarmatian wars are related in so +broken and imperfect a manner, that I have been obliged to +compare the following writers, who mutually supply, correct, and +illustrate each other. Those who will take the same trouble, may +acquire a right of criticizing my narrative. Ammianus, l. xvii. +c. 12. Anonym. Valesian. p. 715. Eutropius, x. 7. Sextus Rufus +de Provinciis, c. 26. Julian Orat. i. p. 9, and Spanheim, +Comment. 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, c. 22. +Isidorus in Chron. p. 709; in Hist. Gothorum Grotii. Constantin. + +Porphyrogenitus de Administrat. Imperii, c. 53, p. 208, edit. +Meursii.] + +[Footnote *: Compare, on this very obscure but remarkable war, +Manso, Leben Coa xantius, p. 195 - M.] + + By chastising the pride of the Goths, and by accepting the +homage of a suppliant nation, Constantine asserted the majesty of +the Roman empire; and the ambassadors of Aethiopia, Persia, and +the most remote countries of India, congratulated the peace and +prosperity of his government. ^46 If he reckoned, among the +favors of fortune, the death of his eldest son, of his nephew, +and perhaps of his wife, he enjoyed an uninterrupted flow of +private as well as public felicity, till the thirtieth year of +his reign; a period which none of his predecessors, since +Augustus, had been permitted to celebrate. Constantine survived +that solemn festival about ten months; and at the mature age of +sixty-four, after a short illness, he ended his memorable life at +the palace of Aquyrion, in the suburbs of Nicomedia, whither he +had retired for the benefit of the air, and with the hope of +recruiting his exhausted strength by the use of the warm baths. +The excessive demonstrations of grief, or at least of mourning, +surpassed whatever had been practised on any former occasion. +Notwithstanding the claims of the senate and people of ancient +Rome, the corpse of the deceased emperor, according to his last +request, was transported to the city, which was destined to +preserve the name and memory of its founder. The body of +Constantine adorned with the vain symbols of greatness, the +purple and diadem, was deposited on a golden bed in one of the +apartments of the palace, which for that purpose had been +splendidly furnished and illuminated. The forms of the court +were strictly maintained. Every day, at the appointed hours, the +principal officers of the state, the army, and the household, +approaching the person of their sovereign with bended knees and a +composed countenance, offered their respectful homage as +seriously as if he had been still alive. From motives of policy, +this theatrical representation was for some time continued; nor +could flattery neglect the opportunity of remarking that +Constantine alone, by the peculiar indulgence of Heaven, had +reigned after his death. ^47 + +[Footnote 46: Eusebius (in Vit. Const. l. iv. c. 50) remarks +three circumstances relative 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 Coromandel. 2. They presented +shining gems, and unknown animals. 3. They protested their kings +had erected statues to represent the supreme majesty of +Constantine.] + +[Footnote 47: Funus relatum in urbem sui nominis, quod sane P. R. +aegerrime tulit. Aurelius Victor. Constantine prepared for +himself a stately tomb in the church of the Holy Apostles. +Euseb. l. iv. c. 60. The best, and indeed almost the only +account of the sickness, death, and funeral of Constantine, is +contained in the fourth book of his Life by Eusebius.] + But this reign could subsist only in empty pageantry; and it +was soon discovered that the will of the most absolute monarch is +seldom obeyed, when his subjects have no longer anything to hope +from his favor, or to dread from his resentment. The same +ministers and generals, who bowed with such referential awe +before the inanimate corpse of their deceased sovereign, were +engaged in secret consultations to exclude his two nephews, +Dalmatius and Hannibalianus, from the share which he had assigned +them in the succession of the empire. We are too imperfectly +acquainted with the court of Constantine to form any judgment of +the real motives which influenced the leaders of the conspiracy; +unless we should suppose that they were actuated by a spirit of +jealousy and revenge against the praefect Ablavius, a proud +favorite, who had long directed the counsels and abused the +confidence of the late emperor. The arguments, by which they +solicited the concurrence of the soldiers and people, are of a +more obvious nature; and they might with decency, as well as +truth, insist on the superior rank of the children of +Constantine, the danger of multiplying the number of sovereigns, +and the impending mischiefs which threatened the republic, from +the discord of so many rival princes, who were not connected by +the tender sympathy of fraternal affection. The intrigue was +conducted with zeal and secrecy, till a loud and unanimous +declaration was procured from the troops, that they would suffer +none except the sons of their lamented monarch to reign over the +Roman empire. ^48 The younger Dalmatius, who was united with his +collateral relations by the ties of friendship and interest, is +allowed to have inherited a considerable share of the abilities +of the great Constantine; but, on this occasion, he does not +appear to have concerted any measure for supporting, by arms, the +just claims which himself and his royal brother derived from the +liberality of their uncle. Astonished and overwhelmed by the +tide of popular fury, they seem to have remained, without the +power of flight or of resistance, in the hands of their +implacable enemies. Their fate was suspended till the arrival of +Constantius, the second, and perhaps the most favored, of the +sons of Constantine. + +[Footnote 48: Eusebius (l. iv. c. 6) terminates his narrative by +this loyal declaration of the troops, and avoids all the +invidious circumstances of the subsequent massacre.] + +[Footnote 49: The character of Dalmatius is advantageously, +though concisely drawn by Eutropius. (x. 9.) Dalmatius Ceasar +prosperrima indole, neque patrou absimilis, haud multo post +oppressus est factione militari. As both Jerom and the +Alexandrian Chronicle mention the third year of the Ceasar, which +did not commence till the 18th or 24th of September, A. D. 337, +it is certain that these military factions continued above four +months.] + +Chapter XVIII: Character Of Constantine And His Sons. + +Part III. + + The voice of the dying emperor had recommended the care of +his funeral to the piety of Constantius; and that prince, by the +vicinity of his eastern station, could easily prevent the +diligence of his brothers, who resided in their distant +government of Italy and Gaul. As soon as he had taken possession +of the palace of Constantinople, his first care was to remove the +apprehensions of his kinsmen, by a solemn oath which he pledged +for their security. His next employment was to find some +specious pretence which might release his conscience from the +obligation of an imprudent promise. The arts of fraud were made +subservient to the designs of cruelty; and a manifest forgery was +attested by a person of the most sacred character. From the +hands of the Bishop of Nicomedia, Constantius received a fatal +scroll, affirmed to be the genuine testament of his father; in +which the emperor expressed his suspicions that he had been +poisoned by his brothers; and conjured his sons to revenge his +death, and to consult their own safety, by the punishment of the +guilty. ^50 Whatever reasons might have been alleged by these +unfortunate princes to defend their life and honor against so +incredible an accusation, they were silenced by the furious +clamors of the soldiers, who declared themselves, at once, their +enemies, their judges, and their executioners. The spirit, and +even the forms of legal proceedings were repeatedly violated in a +promiscuous massacre; which involved the two uncles of +Constantius, seven of his cousins, of whom Dalmatius and +Hannibalianus were the most illustrious, the Patrician Optatus, +who had married a sister of the late emperor, and the Praefect +Ablavius, whose power and riches had inspired him with some hopes +of obtaining the purple. If it were necessary to aggravate the +horrors of this bloody scene, we might add, that Constantius +himself had espoused the daughter of his uncle Julius, and that +he had bestowed his sister in marriage on his cousin +Hannibalianus. These alliances, which the policy of Constantine, +regardless of the public prejudice, ^51 had formed between the +several branches of the Imperial house, served only to convince +mankind, that these princes were as cold to the endearments of +conjugal affection, as they were insensible to the ties of +consanguinity, and the moving entreaties of youth and innocence. +Of so numerous a family, Gallus and Julian alone, the two +youngest children of Julius Constantius, were saved from the +hands of the assassins, till their rage, satiated with slaughter, +had in some measure subsided. The emperor Constantius, who, in +the absence of his brothers, was the most obnoxious to guilt and +reproach, discovered, on some future occasions, a faint and +transient remorse for those cruelties which the perfidious +counsels of his ministers, and the irresistible violence of the +troops, had extorted from his unexperienced youth. ^52 +[Footnote 50: I have related this singular anecdote on the +authority of Philostorgius, l. ii. c. 16. But if such a pretext +was ever used by Constantius and his adherents, it was laid aside +with contempt, as soon as it served their immediate purpose. +Athanasius (tom. i. p. 856) mention the oath which Constantius +had taken for the security of his kinsmen.] +[Footnote *: The authority of Philostorgius is so suspicious, as +not to be sufficient to establish this fact, which Gibbon has +inserted in his history as certain, while in the note he appears +to doubt it. - G.] + +[Footnote 51: Conjugia sobrinarum diu ignorata, tempore addito +percrebuisse. Tacit. Annal. xii. 6, and Lipsius ad loc. The +repeal of the ancient law, and the practice of five hundred +years, were insufficient to eradicate the prejudices of the +Romans, who still considered the marriages of cousins-german as a +species of imperfect incest. (Augustin de Civitate Dei, xv. 6;) +and Julian, whose mind was biased by superstition and resentment, +stigmatizes these unnatural alliances between his own cousins +with the opprobrious epithet (Orat. vii. p. 228.). The +jurisprudence of the canons has since received and enforced this +prohibition, without being able to introduce it either into the +civil or the common law 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 Ecclesiastiques, part iii. c. 5. +Fleury, Institutions du Droit Canonique, tom. i. p. 331. Paris, +1767, and Fra Paolo, Istoria del Concilio Trident, l. viii.] + +[Footnote 52: Julian (ad S. P.. Q. Athen. p. 270) charges his +cousin Constantius with the whole guilt of a massacre, from which +he himself so narrowly escaped. His assertion is confirmed by +Athanasius, who, for reasons of a very different nature, was not +less an enemy of Constantius, (tom. i. p. 856.) Zosimus joins in +the same accusation. But the three abbreviators, Eutropius and +the Victors, use very qualifying expressions: "sinente potius +quam jubente;" "incertum quo suasore;" "vi militum."] + The massacre of the Flavian race was succeeded by a new +division of the provinces; which was ratified in a personal +interview of the three brothers. Constantine, the eldest of the +Caesars, obtained, with a certain preeminence of rank, the +possession of the new capital, which bore his own name and that +of his father. Thrace, and the countries of the East, were +allotted for the patrimony of Constantius; and Constans was +acknowledged as the lawful sovereign of Italy, Africa, and the +Western Illyricum. The armies submitted to their hereditary +right; and they condescended, after some delay, to accept from +the Roman senate the title of Augustus. When they first assumed +the reins of government, the eldest of these princes was +twenty-one, the second twenty, and the third only seventeen, +years of age. ^53 + +[Footnote 53: Euseb. in Vit. Constantin. l. iv. c. 69. Zosimus, +l. ii. p. 117. Idat. in Chron. See two notes of Tillemont, Hist. +des Empereurs, tom. iv. p. 1086-1091. The reign of the eldest +brother at Constantinople is noticed only in the Alexandrian +Chronicle.] + + While the martial nations of Europe followed the standards +of his brothers, Constantius, at the head of the effeminate +troops of Asia, was left to sustain the weight of the Persian +war. At the decease of Constantine, the throne of the East was +filled by Sapor, son of Hormouz, or Hormisdas, and grandson of +Narses, who, after the victory of Galerius, had humbly confessed +the superiority of the Roman power. Although Sapor was in the +thirtieth year of his long reign, he was still in the vigor of +youth, as the date of his accession, by a very strange fatality, +had preceded that of his birth. The wife of Hormouz remained +pregnant at the time of her husband's death; and the uncertainty +of the sex, as well as of the event, excited the ambitious hopes +of the princes of the house of Sassan. The apprehensions of +civil war were at length removed, by the positive assurance of +the Magi, that the widow of Hormouz had conceived, and would +safely produce a son. Obedient to the voice of superstition, the +Persians prepared, without delay, the ceremony of his coronation. + +A royal bed, on which the queen lay in state, was exhibited in +the midst of the palace; the diadem was placed on the spot, which +might be supposed to conceal the future heir of Artaxerxes, and +the prostrate satraps adored the majesty of their invisible and +insensible sovereign. ^54 If any credit can be given to this +marvellous tale, which seems, however, to be countenanced by the +manners of the people, and by the extraordinary duration of his +reign, we must admire not only the fortune, but the genius, of +Sapor. In the soft, sequestered education of a Persian harem, +the royal youth could discover the importance of exercising the +vigor of his mind and body; and, by his personal merit, deserved +a throne, on which he had been seated, while he was yet +unconscious of the duties and temptations of absolute power. His +minority was exposed to the almost inevitable calamities of +domestic discord; his capital was surprised and plundered by +Thair, a powerful king of Yemen, or Arabia; and the majesty of +the royal family was degraded by the captivity of a princess, the +sister of the deceased king. But as soon as Sapor attained the +age of manhood, the presumptuous Thair, his nation, and his +country, fell beneath the first effort of the young warrior; who +used his victory with so judicious a mixture of rigor and +clemency, that he obtained from the fears and gratitude of the +Arabs the title of Dhoulacnaf, or protector of the nation. ^55 + +[Footnote 54: Agathias, who lived in the sixth century, is the +author of this story, (l. iv. p. 135, edit. Louvre.) He derived +his information from some extracts of the Persian Chronicles, +obtained and translated by the interpreter Sergius, during his +embassy at that country. The coronation of the mother of Sapor +is likewise mentioned by Snikard, (Tarikh. p. 116,) and +D'Herbelot (Bibliotheque Orientale, p. 703.)] + +[Footnote *: The author of the Zenut-ul-Tarikh states, that the +lady herself affirmed her belief of this from the extraordinary +liveliness of the infant, and its lying on the right side. Those +who are sage on such subjects must determine what right she had +to be positive from these symptoms. Malcolm, Hist. of Persia, i +83. - M.] + +[Footnote 55: D'Herbelot, Bibliotheque Orientale, p. 764.] +[Footnote *: Gibbon, according to Sir J. Malcolm, has greatly +mistaken the derivation of this name; it means Zoolaktaf, the +Lord of the Shoulders, from his directing the shoulders of his +captives to be pierced and then dislocated by a string passed +through them. Eastern authors are agreed with respect to the +origin of this title. Malcolm, i. 84. Gibbon took his +derivation from D'Herbelot, who gives both, the latter on the +authority of the Leb. Tarikh. - M.] + + The ambition of the Persian, to whom his enemies ascribe the +virtues of a soldier and a statesman, was animated by the desire +of revenging the disgrace of his fathers, and of wresting from +the hands of the Romans the five provinces beyond the Tigris. +The military fame of Constantine, and the real or apparent +strength of his government, suspended the attack; and while the +hostile conduct of Sapor provoked the resentment, his artful +negotiations amused the patience of the Imperial court. The +death of Constantine was the signal of war, ^56 and the actual +condition of the Syrian and Armenian frontier seemed to encourage +the Persians by the prospect of a rich spoil and an easy +conquest. The example of the massacres of the palace diffused a +spirit of licentiousness and sedition among the troops of the +East, who were no longer restrained by their habits of obedience +to a veteran commander. By the prudence of Constantius, who, +from the interview with his brothers in Pannonia, immediately +hastened to the banks of the Euphrates, the legions were +gradually restored to a sense of duty and discipline; but the +season of anarchy had permitted Sapor to form the siege of +Nisibis, and to occupy several of the mo st important fortresses +of Mesopotamia. ^57 In Armenia, the renowned Tiridates had long +enjoyed the peace and glory which he deserved by his valor and +fidelity to the cause of Rome. ^! The firm alliance which he +maintained with Constantine was productive of spiritual as well +as of temporal benefits; by the conversion of Tiridates, the +character of a saint was applied to that of a hero, the Christian +faith was preached and established from the Euphrates to the +shores of the Caspian, and Armenia was attached to the empire by +the double ties of policy and religion. But as many of the +Armenian nobles still refused to abandon the plurality of their +gods and of their wives, the public tranquillity was disturbed by +a discontented faction, which insulted the feeble age of their +sovereign, and impatiently expected the hour of his death. He +died at length after a reign of fifty- six years, and the fortune +of the Armenian monarchy expired with Tiridates. His lawful heir +was driven into exile, the Christian priests were either murdered +or expelled from their churches, the barbarous tribes of Albania +were solicited to descend from their mountains; and two of the +most powerful governors, usurping the ensigns or the powers of +royalty, implored the assistance of Sapor, and opened the gates +of their cities to the Persian garrisons. The Christian party, +under the guidance of the Archbishop of Artaxata, the immediate +successor of St. Gregory the Illuminator, had recourse to the +piety of Constantius. After the troubles had continued about +three years, Antiochus, one of the officers of the household, +executed with success the Imperial commission of restoring +Chosroes, ^* the son of Tiridates, to the throne of his fathers, +of distributing honors and rewards among the faithful servants of +the house of Arsaces, and of proclaiming a general amnesty, which +was accepted by the greater part of the rebellious satraps. But +the Romans derived more honor than advantage from this +revolution. Chosroes was a prince of a puny stature and a +pusillanimous spirit. Unequal to the fatigues of war, averse to +the society of mankind, he withdrew from his capital to a retired +palace, which he built on the banks of the River Eleutherus, and +in the centre of a shady grove; where he consumed his vacant +hours in the rural sports of hunting and hawking. To secure this +inglorious ease, he submitted to the conditions of peace which +Sapor condescended to impose; the payment of an annual tribute, +and the restitution of the fertile province of Atropatene, which +the courage of Tiridates, and the victorious arms of Galerius, +had annexed to the Armenian monarchy. ^58 + +[Footnote 56: Sextus Rufus, (c. 26,) who on this occasion is no +contemptible authority, affirms, that the Persians sued in vain +for peace, and that Constantine was preparing to march against +them: yet the superior weight of the testimony of Eusebius +obliges us to admit the preliminaries, if not the ratification, +of the treaty. See Tillemont, Hist. des Empereurs, tom. iv. p. +420.] + +[Footnote *: Constantine had endeavored to allay the fury of the +prosecutions, which, at the instigation of the Magi and the Jews, +Sapor had commenced against the Christians. Euseb Vit. Hist. +Theod. i. 25. Sozom. ii. c. 8, 15. - M.] + +[Footnote 57: Julian. Orat. i. p. 20.] + +[Footnote *: Tiridates had sustained a war against Maximin. +caused by the hatred of the latter against Christianity. Armenia +was the first nation which embraced Christianity. About the year +276 it was the religion of the king, the nobles, and the people +of Armenia. From St. Martin, Supplement to Le Beau, v. i. p. 78. + +Compare Preface to History of Vartan by Professor Neumann, p ix. +- M.] + +[Footnote *: Chosroes was restored probably by Licinius, between +314 and 319. There was an Antiochus who was praefectus vigilum at +Rome, as appears 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 Peyron, 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 of the Caesar who +ruled in the East? - M.] Chosroes was succeeded in the year 322 +by his son Diran. Diran was a weak prince, and in the sixteenth +year of his reign. A. D. 337. was betrayed into the power of the +Persians by the treachery of his chamberlain and the Persian +governor of Atropatene or Aderbidjan. He was blinded: his wife +and his son Arsaces shared his captivity, but the princes and +nobles of Armenia claimed the protection of Rome; and this was +the cause of Constantine's declaration of war against the +Persians. - The king of Persia attempted to make himself master +of Armenia; but the brave resistance of the people, the advance +of Constantius, and a defeat which his army suffered at Oskha in +Armenia, and the failure before Nisibis, forced Shahpour to +submit to terms of peace. Varaz-Shahpour, the perfidious governor +of Atropatene, was flayed alive; Diran and his son were released +from captivity; Diran refused to ascend the throne, and retired +to an obscure retreat: his son Arsaces was crowned king of +Armenia. Arsaces pursued a vacillating policy between the +influence of Rome and Persia, and the war recommenced in the year +345. At least, that was the period of the expedition of +Constantius to the East. See St. Martin, additions to Le Beau, +i. 442. The Persians have made an extraordinary romance out of +the history of Shahpour, who went as a spy to Constantinople, was +taken, harnessed like a horse, and carried to witness the +devastation of his kingdom. Malcolm. 84 - M.] + +[Footnote 58: Julian. Orat. i. p. 20, 21. Moses of Chorene, l. +ii. c. 89, l. iii. c. 1 - 9, p. 226 - 240. The perfect agreement +between the vague hints of the contemporary orator, and the +circumstantial narrative of the national historian, gives light +to the former, and weight to the latter. For the credit of Moses, +it may be likewise observed, that the name of Antiochus is found +a few years before in a civil office of inferior dignity. See +Godefroy, Cod. Theod. tom. vi. p. 350.] + +[Footnote *: Gibbon has endeavored, in his History, to make use +of the information furnished by Moses of Chorene, the only +Armenian historian then translated into Latin. Gibbon has not +perceived all the chronological difficulties which occur in the +narrative of that writer. He has not thought of all the critical +discussions which his text ought to undergo before it can be +combined with the relations of the western writers. From want of +this attention, Gibbon has made the facts which he has drawn from +this source more erroneous than they are in the original. This +judgment applies to all which the English historian has derived +from the Armenian author. I have made the History of Moses a +subject of 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 notes. In order to form a judgment of the +difference which exists between me and Gibbon, I will content +myself with remarking, that throughout he has committed an +anachronism of thirty years, from whence it follows, that he +assigns to the reign of Constantius many events which took place +during that of Constantine. He could not, therefore, discern the +true connection which exists between the Roman history and that +of Armenia, or form a correct notion of the reasons which induced +Constantine, at the close of his life, to make war upon the +Persians, or of the motives which detained Constantius so long in +the East; he does not even mention them. St. Martin, note on Le +Beau, i. 406. I have inserted M. St. Martin's observations, but +I must add, that the chronology which he proposes, is not +generally received by Armenian scholars, not, I believe, by +Professor Neumann. - M.] + During the long period of the reign of Constantius, the +provinces of the East were afflicted by the calamities of the +Persian war. ^! The irregular incursions of the light troops +alternately spread terror and devastation beyond the Tigris and +beyond the Euphrates, from the gates of Ctesiphon to those of +Antioch; and this active service was performed by the Arabs of +the desert, who were divided in their interest and affections; +some of their independent chiefs being enlisted in the party of +Sapor, whilst others had engaged their doubtful fidelity to the +emperor. ^59 The more grave and important operations of the war +were conducted with equal vigor; and the armies of Rome and +Persia encountered each other in nine bloody fields, in two of +which Constantius himself commanded in person. ^60 The event of +the day was most commonly adverse to the Romans, but in the +battle of Singara, their imprudent valor had almost achieved a +signal and decisive victory. The stationary troops of Singara ^* +retired on the approach of Sapor, who passed the Tigris over +three bridges, and occupied near the village of Hilleh an +advantageous camp, which, by the labor of his numerous pioneers, +he surrounded in one day with a deep ditch and a lofty rampart. +His formidable host, when it was drawn out in order of battle, +covered the banks of the river, the adjacent heights, and the +whole extent of a plain of above twelve miles, which separated +the two armies. Both were alike impatient to engage; but the +Barbarians, after a slight resistance, fled in disorder; unable +to resist, or desirous to weary, the strength of the heavy +legions, who, fainting with heat and thirst, pursued them across +the plain, and cut in pieces a line of cavalry, clothed in +complete armor, which had been posted before the gates of the +camp to protect their retreat. Constantius, who was hurried +along in the pursuit, attempted, without effect, to restrain the +ardor of his troops, by representing to them the dangers of the +approaching night, and the certainty of completing their success +with the return of day. As they depended much more on their own +valor than on the experience or the abilities of their chief, +they silenced by their clamors his timid remonstrances; and +rushing with fury to the charge, filled up the ditch, broke down +the rampart, and dispersed themselves through the tents to +recruit their exhausted strength, and to enjoy the rich harvest +of their labors. But the prudent Sapor had watched the moment of +victory. His army, of which the greater part, securely posted on +the heights, had been spectators of the action, advanced in +silence, and under the shadow of the night; and his Persian +archers, guided by the illumination of the camp, poured a shower +of arrows on a disarmed and licentious crowd. The sincerity of +history ^61 declares, that the Romans were vanquished with a +dreadful slaughter, and that the flying remnant of the legions +was exposed to the most intolerable hardships. Even the +tenderness of panegyric, confessing that the glory of the emperor +was sullied by the disobedience of his soldiers, chooses to draw +a veil over the circumstances of this melancholy retreat. Yet +one of those venal orators, so jealous of the fame of +Constantius, relates, with amazing coolness, an act of such +incredible cruelty, as, in the judgment of posterity, must +imprint a far deeper stain on the honor of the Imperial name. +The son of Sapor, the heir of his crown, had been made a captive +in the Persian camp. The unhappy youth, who might have excited +the compassion of the most savage enemy, was scourged, tortured, +and publicly executed by the inhuman Romans. ^62 + +[Footnote *: It was during this war that a bold flatterer (whose +name is unknown) published the Itineraries of Alexander and +Trajan, in order to direct the victorious Constantius in the +footsteps of those great conquerors of the East. The former of +these has been published for the first time by M. Angelo Mai +(Milan, 1817, reprinted at Frankfort, 1818.) It adds so little to +our knowledge of Alexander's campaigns, that it only excites our +regret that it is not the Itinerary of Trajan, of whose eastern +victories we have no distinct record - M] + +[Footnote 59: Ammianus (xiv. 4) gives a lively description of the +wandering and predatory life of the Saracens, who stretched from +the confines of Assyria to the cataracts of the Nile. It appears +from the adventures of Malchus, which Jerom has related in so +entertaining a manner, that the high road between Beraea and +Edessa was infested by these robbers. See Hieronym. tom. i. p. +256.] + +[Footnote 60: We shall take from Eutropius the general idea of +the war. A Persis enim multa et gravia perpessus, saepe captis, +oppidis, obsessis urbibus, caesis exercitibus, nullumque ei +contra Saporem prosperum praelium fuit, nisi quod apud Singaram, +&c. This honest account is confirmed by the hints of Ammianus, +Rufus, and Jerom. The two first orations of Julian, and the +third oration of Libanius, exhibit a more flattering picture; but +the recantation of both those orators, after the death of +Constantius, while it restores us to the possession of the truth, +degrades their own character, and that of the emperor. The +Commentary of Spanheim on the first oration of Julian is +profusely learned. See likewise the judicious observations of +Tillemont, Hist. des Empereurs, tom. iv. p. 656.] + +[Footnote *: Now Sinjar, or the River Claboras. - M.] + +[Footnote 61: Acerrima nocturna concertatione pugnatum est, +nostrorum copiis ngenti strage confossis. Ammian. xviii. 5. See +likewise Eutropius, x. 10, and S. Rufus, c. 27.] + +[Footnote *: The Persian historians, or romancers, do not mention +the battle of Singara, but make the captive Shahpour escape, +defeat, and take prisoner, the Roman emperor. The Roman captives +were forced to repair all the ravages they had committed, even to +replanting the smallest trees. Malcolm. i. 82. - M.] + +[Footnote 62: Libanius, Orat. iii. p. 133, with Julian. Orat. i. +p. 24, and Spanneism's Commentary, p. 179.] + + Whatever advantages might attend the arms of Sapor in the +field, though nine repeated victories diffused among the nations +the fame of his valor and conduct, he could not hope to succeed +in the execution of his designs, while the fortified towns of +Mesopotamia, and, above all, the strong and ancient city of +Nisibis, remained in the possession of the Romans. In the space +of twelve years, Nisibis, which, since the time of Lucullus, had +been deservedly esteemed the bulwark of the East, sustained three +memorable sieges against the power of Sapor; and the disappointed +monarch, after urging his attacks above sixty, eighty, and a +hundred days, was thrice repulsed with loss and ignominy. ^63 +This large and populous city was situate about two days' journey +from the Tigris, in the midst of a pleasant and fertile plain at +the foot of Mount Masius. A treble enclosure of brick walls was +defended by a deep ditch; ^64 and the intrepid resistance of +Count Lucilianus, and his garrison, was seconded by the desperate +courage of the people. The citizens of Nisibis were animated by +the exhortations of their bishop, ^65 inured to arms by the +presence of danger, and convinced of the intentions of Sapor to +plant a Persian colony in their room, and to lead them away into +distant and barbarous captivity. The event of the two former +sieges elated their confidence, and exasperated the haughty +spirit of the Great King, who advanced a third time towards +Nisibis, at the head of the united forces of Persia and India. +The ordinary machines, invented to batter or undermine the walls, +were rendered ineffectual by the superior skill of the Romans; +and many days had vainly elapsed, when Sapor embraced a +resolution worthy of an eastern monarch, who believed that the +elements themselves were subject to his power. At the stated +season of the melting of the snows in Armenia, the River +Mygdonius, which divides the plain and the city of Nisibis, +forms, like the Nile, ^66 an inundation over the adjacent +country. By the labor of the Persians, the course of the river +was stopped below the town, and the waters were confined on every +side by solid mounds of earth. On this artificial lake, a fleet +of armed vessels filled with soldiers, and with engines which +discharged stones of five hundred pounds weight, advanced in +order of battle, and engaged, almost upon a level, the troops +which defended the ramparts. ^* The irresistible force of the +waters was alternately fatal to the contending parties, till at +length a portion of the walls, unable to sustain the accumulated +pressure, gave way at once, and exposed an ample breach of one +hundred and fifty feet. The Persians were instantly driven to +the assault, and the fate of Nisibis depended on the event of the +day. The heavy-armed cavalry, who led the van of a deep column, +were embarrassed in the mud, and great numbers were drowned in +the unseen holes which had been filled by the rushing waters. +The elephants, made furious by their wounds, increased the +disorder, and trampled down thousands of the Persian archers. +The Great King, who, from an exalted throne, beheld the +misfortunes of his arms, sounded, with reluctant indignation, the +signal of the retreat, and suspended for some hours the +prosecution of the attack. But the vigilant citizens improved the +opportunity of the night; and the return of day discovered a new +wall of six feet in height, rising every moment to fill up the +interval of the breach. Notwithstanding the disappointment of +his hopes, and the loss of more than twenty thousand men, Sapor +still pressed the reduction of Nisibis, with an obstinate +firmness, which could have yielded only to the necessity of +defending the eastern provinces of Persia against a formidable +invasion of the Massagetae. ^67 Alarmed by this intelligence, he +hastily relinquished the siege, and marched with rapid diligence +from the banks of the Tigris to those of the Oxus. The danger +and difficulties of the Scythian war engaged him soon afterwards +to conclude, or at least to observe, a truce with the Roman +emperor, which was equally grateful to both princes; as +Constantius himself, after the death of his two brothers, was +involved, by the revolutions of the West, in a civil contest, +which required and seemed to exceed the most vigorous exertion of +his undivided strength. +[Footnote 63: See Julian. Orat. i. p. 27, Orat. ii. p. 62, &c., +with the Commentary of Spanheim, (p. 188-202,) who illustrates +the circumstances, and ascertains the time of the three sieges of +Nisibis. Their dates are likewise examined by Tillemont, (Hist. +des Empereurs, tom. iv. p. 668, 671, 674.) Something is added +from Zosimus, l. iii. p. 151, and the Alexandrine Chronicle, p. +290.] + +[Footnote 64: Sallust. Fragment. lxxxiv. edit. Brosses, and +Plutarch in Lucull. tom. iii. p. 184. Nisibis is now reduced to +one hundred and fifty houses: the marshy lands produce rice, and +the fertile meadows, as far as Mosul and the Tigris, are covered +with the ruins of towns and allages. See Niebuhr, Voyages, tom. +ii. p. 300-309.] + +[Footnote 65: The miracles which Theodoret (l. ii. c. 30) +ascribes to St. James, Bishop of Edessa, were at least performed +in a worthy cause, the defence of his couutry. He appeared on +the walls under the figure of the Roman emperor, and sent an army +of gnats to sting the trunks of the elephants, and to discomfit +the host of the new Sennacherib.] +[Footnote 66: Julian. Orat. i. p. 27. Though Niebuhr (tom. ii. +p. 307) allows a very considerable swell to the Mygdonius, over +which he saw a bridge of twelve arches: it is difficult, however, +to understand this parallel of a trifling rivulet with a mighty +river. There are many circumstances obscure, and almost +unintelligible, in the description of these stupendous +water-works.] + +[Footnote *: Macdonald Kinnier observes on these floating +batteries, "As the elevation of place is considerably above the +level of the country in its immediate 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 at his disposal" +Geographical Memoir. p. 262. - M.] + +[Footnote 67: We are obliged to Zonaras (tom. ii. l. xiii. p. 11) +for this invasion of the Massagetae, which is perfectly +consistent with the general series of events to which we are +darkly led by the broken history of Ammianus.] + + After the partition of the empire, three years had scarcely +elapsed before the sons of Constantine seemed impatient to +convince mankind that they were incapable of contenting +themselves with the dominions which they were unqualified to +govern. The eldest of those princes soon complained, that he was +defrauded of his just proportion of the spoils of their murdered +kinsmen; and though he might yield to the superior guilt and +merit of Constantius, he exacted from Constans the cession of the +African provinces, as an equivalent for the rich countries of +Macedonia and Greece, which his brother had acquired by the death +of Dalmatius. The want of sincerity, which Constantine +experienced in a tedious and fruitless negotiation, exasperated +the fierceness of his temper; and he eagerly listened to those +favorites, who suggested to him that his honor, as well as his +interest, was concerned in the prosecution of the quarrel. At +the head of a tumultuary band, suited for rapine rather than for +conquest, he suddenly broke onto the dominions of Constans, by +the way of the Julian Alps, and the country round Aquileia felt +the first effects of his resentment. The measures of Constans, +who then resided in Dacia, were directed with more prudence and +ability. On the news of his brother's invasion, he detached a +select and disciplined body of his Illyrian troops, proposing to +follow them in person, with the remainder of his forces. But the +conduct of his lieutenants soon terminated the unnatural contest. + +By the artful appearances of flight, Constantine was betrayed +into an ambuscade, which had been concealed in a wood, where the +rash youth, with a few attendants, was surprised, surrounded, and +slain. His body, after it had been found in the obscure stream +of the Alsa, obtained the honors of an Imperial sepulchre; but +his provinces transferred their allegiance to the conqueror, who, +refusing to admit his elder brother Constantius to any share in +these new acquisitions, maintained the undisputed possession of +more than two thirds of the Roman empire. ^68 + +[Footnote 68: The causes and the events of this civil war are +related with much perplexity and contradiction. I have chiefly +followed Zonaras and the younger Victor. The monody (ad Calcem +Eutrop. edit. Havercamp.) pronounced on the death of Constantine, +might have been very instructive; but prudence and false taste +engaged the orator to involve himself in vague declamation.] + +Chapter XVIII: Character Of Constantine And His Sons. + +Part IV. + + The fate of Constans himself was delayed about ten years +longer, and the revenge of his brother's death was reserved for +the more ignoble hand of a domestic traitor. The pernicious +tendency of the system introduced by Constantine was displayed in +the feeble administration of his sons; who, by their vices and +weakness, soon lost the esteem and affections of their people. +The pride assumed by Constans, from the unmerited success of his +arms, was rendered more contemptible by his want of abilities and +application. His fond partiality towards some German captives, +distinguished only by the charms of youth, was an object of +scandal to the people; ^69 and Magnentius, an ambitious soldier, +who was himself of Barbarian extraction, was encouraged by the +public discontent to assert the honor of the Roman name. ^70 The +chosen bands of Jovians and Herculians, who acknowledged +Magnentius as their leader, maintained the most respectable and +important station in the Imperial camp. The friendship of +Marcellinus, count of the sacred largesses, supplied with a +liberal hand the means of seduction. The soldiers were convinced +by the most specious arguments, that the republic summoned them +to break the bonds of hereditary servitude; and, by the choice of +an active and vigilant prince, to reward the same virtues which +had raised the ancestors of the degenerate Constans from a +private condition to the throne of the world. As soon as the +conspiracy was ripe for execution, Marcellinus, under the +pretence of celebrating his son's birthday, gave a splendid +entertainment to the illustrious and honorable persons of the +court of Gaul, which then resided in the city of Autun. The +intemperance of the feast was artfully protracted till a very +late hour of the night; and the unsuspecting guests were tempted +to indulge themselves in a dangerous and guilty freedom of +conversation. On a sudden the doors were thrown open, and +Magnentius, who had retired for a few moments, returned into the +apartment, invested with the diadem and purple. The conspirators +instantly saluted him with the titles of Augustus and Emperor. +The surprise, the terror, the intoxication, the ambitious hopes, +and the mutual ignorance of the rest of the assembly, prompted +them to join their voices to the general acclamation. The guards +hastened to take the oath of fidelity; the gates of the town were +shut; and before the dawn of day, Magnentius became master of the +troops and treasure of the palace and city of Autun. By his +secrecy and diligence he entertained some hopes of surprising the +person of Constans, who was pursuing in the adjacent forest his +favorite amusement of hunting, or perhaps some pleasures of a +more private and criminal nature. The rapid progress of fame +allowed him, however, an instant for flight, though the desertion +of his soldiers and subjects deprived him of the power of +resistance. Before he could reach a seaport in Spain, where he +intended to embark, he was overtaken near Helena, ^71 at the foot +of the Pyrenees, by a party of light cavalry, whose chief, +regardless of the sanctity of a temple, executed his commission +by the murder of the son of Constantine. ^72 + +[Footnote 69: Quarum (gentium) obsides pretio quaesitos pueros +venustiore quod cultius habuerat libidine hujusmodi arsisse pro +certo habet. Had not the depraved taste of Constans been +publicly avowed, the elder Victor, who held a considerable office +in his brother's reign, would not have asserted it in such +positive terms.] + +[Footnote 70: Julian. Orat. i. and ii. Zosim. l. ii. p. 134. +Victor in Epitome. There is reason to believe that Magnentius +was born in one of those Barbarian colonies which Constantius +Chlorus had established in Gaul, (see this History, vol. i. p. +414.) His behavior may remind us of the patriot earl of +Leicester, the famous Simon de Montfort, who could persuade the +good people of England, that he, a Frenchman by birth had taken +arms to deliver them from foreign favorites.] + +[Footnote 71: This ancient city had once flourished under the +name of Illiberis (Pomponius Mela, ii. 5.) The munificence of +Constantine gave it new splendor, and his mother's name. Helena +(it is still called Elne) became the seat of a bishop, who long +afterwards transferred his residence to Perpignan, the capital of +modern Rousillon. See D'Anville. Notice de l'Ancienne Gaule, p. +380. Longuerue, Description de la France, p. 223, and the Marca +Hispanica, l. i. c. 2.] + +[Footnote 72: Zosimus, l. ii. p. 119, 120. Zonaras, tom. ii. l. +xiii. p. 13, and the Abbreviators.] + + As soon as the death of Constans had decided this easy but +important revolution, the example of the court of Autun was +imitated by the provinces of the West. The authority of +Magnentius was acknowledged through the whole extent of the two +great praefectures of Gaul and Italy; and the usurper prepared, +by every act of oppression, to collect a treasure, which might +discharge the obligation of an immense donative, and supply the +expenses of a civil war. The martial countries of Illyricum, +from the Danube to the extremity of Greece, had long obeyed the +government of Vetranio, an aged general, beloved for the +simplicity of his manners, and who had acquired some reputation +by his experience and services in war. ^73 Attached by habit, by +duty, and by gratitude, to the house of Constantine, he +immediately gave the strongest assurances to the only surviving +son of his late master, that he would expose, with unshaken +fidelity, his person and his troops, to inflict a just revenge on +the traitors of Gaul. But the legions of Vetranio were seduced, +rather than provoked, by the example of rebellion; their leader +soon betrayed a want of firmness, or a want of sincerity; and his +ambition derived a specious pretence from the approbation of the +princess Constantina. That cruel and aspiring woman, who had +obtained from the great Constantine, her father, the rank of +Augusta, placed the diadem with her own hands on the head of the +Illyrian general; and seemed to expect from his victory the +accomplishment of those unbounded hopes, of which she had been +disappointed by the death of her husband Hannibalianus. Perhaps +it was without the consent of Constantina, that the new emperor +formed a necessary, though dishonorable, alliance with the +usurper of the West, whose purple was so recently stained with +her brother's blood. ^74 + +[Footnote 73: Eutropius (x. 10) describes Vetranio with more +temper, and probably with more truth, than either of the two +Victors. Vetranio was born of obscure parents in the wildest +parts of Maesia; and so much had his education been neglected, +that, after his elevation, he studied the alphabet.] + +[Footnote 74: The doubtful, fluctuating conduct of Vetranio is +described by Julian in his first oration, and accurately +explained by Spanheim, who discusses the situation and behavior +of Constantina.] + + The intelligence of these important events, which so deeply +affected the honor and safety of the Imperial house, recalled the +arms of Constantius from the inglorious prosecution of the +Persian war. He recommended the care of the East to his +lieutenants, and afterwards to his cousin Gallus, whom he raised +from a prison to a throne; and marched towards Europe, with a +mind agitated by the conflict of hope and fear, of grief and +indignation. On his arrival at Heraclea in Thrace, the emperor +gave audience to the ambassadors of Magnentius and Vetranio. The +first author of the conspiracy Marcellinus, who in some measure +had bestowed the purple on his new master, boldly accepted this +dangerous commission; and his three colleagues were selected from +the illustrious personages of the state and army. These deputies +were instructed to soothe the resentment, and to alarm the fears, +of Constantius. They were empowered to offer him the friendship +and alliance of the western princes, to cement their union by a +double marriage; of Constantius with the daughter of Magnentius, +and of Magnentius himself with the ambitious Constantina; and to +acknowledge in the treaty the preeminence of rank, which might +justly be claimed by the emperor of the East. Should pride and +mistaken piety urge him to refuse these equitable conditions, the +ambassadors were ordered to expatiate on the inevitable ruin +which must attend his rashness, if he ventured to provoke the +sovereigns of the West to exert their superior strength; and to +employ against him that valor, those abilities, and those +legions, to which the house of Constantine had been indebted for +so many triumphs. Such propositions and such arguments appeared +to deserve the most serious attention; the answer of Constantius +was deferred till the next day; and as he had reflected on the +importance of justifying a civil war in the opinion of the +people, he thus addressed his council, who listened with real or +affected credulity: "Last night," said he, "after I retired to +rest, the shade of the great Constantine, embracing the corpse of +my murdered brother, rose before my eyes; his well-known voice +awakened me to revenge, forbade me to despair of the republic, +and assured me of the success and immortal glory which would +crown the justice of my arms." The authority of such a vision, or +rather of the prince who alleged it, silenced every doubt, and +excluded all negotiation. The ignominious terms of peace were +rejected with disdain. One of the ambassadors of the tyrant was +dismissed with the haughty answer of Constantius; his colleagues, +as unworthy of the privileges of the law of nations, were put in +irons; and the contending powers prepared to wage an implacable +war. ^75 + +[Footnote 75: See Peter the Patrician, in the Excerpta Legationem +p. 27.] + Such was the conduct, and such perhaps was the duty, of the +brother of Constans towards the perfidious usurper of Gaul. The +situation and character of Vetranio admitted of milder measures; +and the policy of the Eastern emperor was directed to disunite +his antagonists, and to separate the forces of Illyricum from the +cause of rebellion. It was an easy task to deceive the frankness +and simplicity of Vetranio, who, fluctuating some time between +the opposite views of honor and interest, displayed to the world +the insincerity of his temper, and was insensibly engaged in the +snares of an artful negotiation. Constantius acknowledged him as +a legitimate and equal colleague in the empire, on condition that +he would renounce his disgraceful alliance with Magnentius, and +appoint a place of interview on the frontiers of their respective +provinces; where they might pledge their friendship by mutual +vows of fidelity, and regulate by common consent the future +operations of the civil war. In consequence of this agreement, +Vetranio advanced to the city of Sardica, ^76 at the head of +twenty thousand horse, and of a more numerous body of infantry; a +power so far superior to the forces of Constantius, that the +Illyrian emperor appeared to command the life and fortunes of his +rival, who, depending on the success of his private negotiations, +had seduced the troops, and undermined the throne, of Vetranio. +The chiefs, who had secretly embraced the party of Constantius, +prepared in his favor a public spectacle, calculated to discover +and inflame the passions of the multitude. ^77 The united armies +were commanded to assemble in a large plain near the city. In the +centre, according to the rules of ancient discipline, a military +tribunal, or rather scaffold, was erected, from whence the +emperors were accustomed, on solemn and important occasions, to +harangue the troops. The well-ordered ranks of Romans and +Barbarians, with drawn swords, or with erected spears, the +squadrons of cavalry, and the cohorts of infantry, distinguished +by the variety of their arms and ensigns, formed an immense +circle round the tribunal; and the attentive silence which they +preserved was sometimes interrupted by loud bursts of clamor or +of applause. In the presence of this formidable assembly, the +two emperors were called upon to explain the situation of public +affairs: the precedency of rank was yielded to the royal birth of +Constantius; and though he was indifferently skilled in the arts +of rhetoric, he acquitted himself, under these difficult +circumstances, with firmness, dexterity, and eloquence. The +first part of his oration seemed to be pointed only against the +tyrant of Gaul; but while he tragically lamented the cruel murder +of Constans, he insinuated, that none, except a brother, could +claim a right to the succession of his brother. He displayed, +with some complacency, the glories of his Imperial race; and +recalled to the memory of the troops the valor, the triumphs, the +liberality of the great Constantine, to whose sons they had +engaged their allegiance by an oath of fidelity, which the +ingratitude of his most favored servants had tempted them to +violate. The officers, who surrounded the tribunal, and were +instructed to act their part in this extraordinary scene, +confessed the irresistible power of reason and eloquence, by +saluting the emperor Constantius as their lawful sovereign. The +contagion of loyalty and repentance was communicated from rank to +rank; till the plain of Sardica resounded with the universal +acclamation of "Away with these upstart usurpers! Long life and +victory to the son of Constantine! Under his banners alone we +will fight and conquer." The shout of thousands, their menacing +gestures, the fierce clashing of their arms, astonished and +subdued the courage of Vetranio, who stood, amidst the defection +of his followers, in anxious and silent suspense. Instead of +embracing the last refuge of generous despair, he tamely +submitted to his fate; and taking the diadem from his head, in +the view of both armies fell prostrate at the feet of his +conqueror. Constantius used his victory with prudence and +moderation; and raising from the ground the aged suppliant, whom +he affected to style by the endearing name of Father, he gave him +his hand to descend from the throne. The city of Prusa was +assigned for the exile or retirement of the abdicated monarch, +who lived six years in the enjoyment of ease and affluence. He +often expressed his grateful sense of the goodness of +Constantius, and, with a very amiable simplicity, advised his +benefactor to resign the sceptre of the world, and to seek for +content (where alone it could be found) in the peaceful obscurity +of a private condition. ^78 + +[Footnote 76: Zonaras, tom. ii. l. xiii. p. 16. The position of +Sardica, near the modern city of Sophia, appears better suited to +this interview than the situation of either Naissus or Sirmium, +where it is placed by Jerom, Socrates, and Sozomen.] + +[Footnote 77: See the two first orations of Julian, particularly +p. 31; and Zosimus, l. ii. p. 122. The distinct narrative of the +historian serves to illustrate the diffuse but vague descriptions +of the orator.] +[Footnote 78: The younger Victor assigns to his exile the +emphatical appellation of "Voluptarium otium." Socrates (l. ii. +c. 28) is the voucher for the correspondence with the emperor, +which would seem to prove that Vetranio was indeed, prope ad +stultitiam simplicissimus.] + + The behavior of Constantius on this memorable occasion was +celebrated with some appearance of justice; and his courtiers +compared the studied orations which a Pericles or a Demosthenes +addressed to the populace of Athens, with the victorious +eloquence which had persuaded an armed multitude to desert and +depose the object of their partial choice. ^79 The approaching +contest with Magnentius was of a more serious and bloody kind. +The tyrant advanced by rapid marches to encounter Constantius, at +the head of a numerous army, composed of Gauls and Spaniards, of +Franks and Saxons; of those provincials who supplied the strength +of the legions, and of those barbarians who were dreaded as the +most formidable enemies of the republic. The fertile plains ^80 +of the Lower Pannonia, between the Drave, the Save, and the +Danube, presented a spacious theatre; and the operations of the +civil war were protracted during the summer months by the skill +or timidity of the combatants. ^81 Constantius had declared his +intention of deciding the quarrel in the fields of Cibalis, a +name that would animate his troops by the remembrance of the +victory, which, on the same auspicious ground, had been obtained +by the arms of his father Constantine. Yet by the impregnable +fortifications with which the emperor encompassed his camp, he +appeared to decline, rather than to invite, a general engagement. + +It was the object of Magnentius to tempt or to compel his +adversary to relinquish this advantageous position; and he +employed, with that view, the various marches, evolutions, and +stratagems, which the knowledge of the art of war could suggest +to an experienced officer. He carried by assault the important +town of Siscia; made an attack on the city of Sirmium, which lay +in the rear of the Imperial camp, attempted to force a passage +over the Save into the eastern provinces of Illyricum; and cut in +pieces a numerous detachment, which he had allured into the +narrow passes of Adarne. During the greater part of the summer, +the tyrant of Gaul showed himself master of the field. The +troops of Constantius were harassed and dispirited; his +reputation declined in the eye of the world; and his pride +condescended to solicit a treaty of peace, which would have +resigned to the assassin of Constans the sovereignty of the +provinces beyond the Alps. These offers were enforced by the +eloquence of Philip the Imperial ambassador; and the council as +well as the army of Magnentius were disposed to accept them. But +the haughty usurper, careless of the remonstrances of his +friends, gave orders that Philip should be detained as a captive, +or, at least, as a hostage; while he despatched an officer to +reproach Constantius with the weakness of his reign, and to +insult him by the promise of a pardon if he would instantly +abdicate the purple. "That he should confide in the justice of +his cause, and the protection of an avenging Deity," was the only +answer which honor permitted the emperor to return. But he was +so sensible of the difficulties of his situation, that he no +longer dared to retaliate the indignity which had been offered to +his representative. The negotiation of Philip was not, however, +ineffectual, since he determined Sylvanus the Frank, a general of +merit and reputation, to desert with a considerable body of +cavalry, a few days before the battle of Mursa. +[Footnote 79: Eum Constantius . . . . . facundiae vi dejectum +Imperio in pri vatum otium removit. Quae gloria post natum +Imperium soli proces sit eloquio clementiaque, &c. Aurelius +Victor, Julian, and Themistius (Orat. iii. and iv.) adorn this +exploit with all the artificial and gaudy coloring of their +rhetoric.] + +[Footnote 80: Busbequius (p. 112) traversed the Lower Hungary and +Sclavonia at a time when they were reduced almost to a desert, by +the reciprocal hostilities of the Turks and Christians. Yet he +mentions with admiration the unconquerable fertility of the soil; +and observes that the height of the grass was sufficient to +conceal a loaded wagon from his sight. See likewise Browne's +Travels, in Harris's Collection, vol ii. p. 762 &c.] +[Footnote 81: Zosimus gives a very large account of the war, and +the negotiation, (l. ii. p. 123-130.) But as he neither shows +himself a soldier nor a politician, his narrative must be weighed +with attention, and received with caution.] + + The city of Mursa, or Essek, celebrated in modern times for +a bridge of boats, five miles in length, over the River Drave, +and the adjacent morasses, ^82 has been always considered as a +place of importance in the wars of Hungary. Magnentius, +directing his march towards Mursa, set fire to the gates, and, by +a sudden assault, had almost scaled the walls of the town. The +vigilance of the garrison extinguished the flames; the approach +of Constantius left him no time to continue the operations of the +siege; and the emperor soon removed the only obstacle that could +embarrass his motions, by forcing a body of troops which had +taken post in an adjoining amphitheatre. The field of battle +round Mursa was a naked and level plain: on this ground the army +of Constantius formed, with the Drave on their right; while their +left, either from the nature of their disposition, or from the +superiority of their cavalry, extended far beyond the right flank +of Magnentius. ^83 The troops on both sides remained under arms, +in anxious expectation, during the greatest part of the morning; +and the son of Constantine, after animating his soldiers by an +eloquent speech, retired into a church at some distance from the +field of battle, and committed to his generals the conduct of +this decisive day. ^84 They deserved his confidence by the valor +and military skill which they exerted. They wisely began the +action upon the left; and advancing their whole wing of cavalry +in an oblique line, they suddenly wheeled it on the right flank +of the enemy, which was unprepared to resist the impetuosity of +their charge. But the Romans of the West soon rallied, by the +habits of discipline; and the Barbarians of Germany supported the +renown of their national bravery. The engagement soon became +general; was maintained with various and singular turns of +fortune; and scarcely ended with the darkness of the night. The +signal victory which Constantius obtained is attributed to the +arms of his cavalry. His cuirassiers are described as so many +massy statues of steel, glittering with their scaly armor, and +breaking with their ponderous lances the firm array of the Gallic +legions. As soon as the legions gave way, the lighter and more +active squadrons of the second line rode sword in hand into the +intervals, and completed the disorder. In the mean while, the +huge bodies of the Germans were exposed almost naked to the +dexterity of the Oriental archers; and whole troops of those +Barbarians were urged by anguish and despair to precipitate +themselves into the broad and rapid stream of the Drave. ^85 The +number of the slain was computed at fifty-four thousand men, and +the slaughter of the conquerors was more considerable than that +of the vanquished; ^86 a circumstance which proves the obstinacy +of the contest, and justifies the observation of an ancient +writer, that the forces of the empire were consumed in the fatal +battle of Mursa, by the loss of a veteran army, sufficient to +defend the frontiers, or to add new triumphs to the glory of +Rome. ^87 Notwithstanding the invectives of a servile orator, +there is not the least reason to believe that the tyrant deserted +his own standard in the beginning of the engagement. He seems to +have displayed the virtues of a general and of a soldier till the +day was irrecoverably lost, and his camp in the possession of the +enemy. Magnentius then consulted his safety, and throwing away +the Imperial ornaments, escaped with some difficulty from the +pursuit of the light horse, who incessantly followed his rapid +flight from the banks of the Drave to the foot of the Julian +Alps. ^88 + +[Footnote 82: This remarkable bridge, which is flanked with +towers, and supported on large wooden piles, was constructed A. +D. 1566, by Sultan Soliman, to facilitate the march of his armies +into Hungary.] +[Footnote 83: This position, and the subsequent evolutions, are +clearly, though concisely, described by Julian, Orat. i. p. 36.] +[Footnote 84: Sulpicius Severus, l. ii. p. 405. The emperor +passed the day in prayer with Valens, the Arian bishop of Mursa, +who gained his confidence by announcing the success of the +battle. M. de Tillemont (Hist. des Empereurs, tom. iv. p. 1110) +very properly remarks the silence of Julian with regard to the +personal prowess of Constantius in the battle of Mursa. The +silence of flattery is sometimes equal to the most positive and +authentic evidence.] + +[Footnote 85: Julian. Orat. i. p. 36, 37; and Orat. ii. p. 59, +60. Zonaras, tom ii. l. xiii. p. 17. Zosimus, l. ii. p. 130-133. + +The last of these celebrates the dexterity of the archer +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.] + +[Footnote 86: According to Zonaras, Constantius, out of 80,000 +men, lost 30,000; and Magnentius lost 24,000 out of 36,000. The +other articles of this account seem probable and authentic, but +the numbers of the tyrant's army must have been mistaken, either +by the author or his transcribers. Magnentius had collected the +whole force of the West, Romans and Barbarians, into one +formidable body, which cannot fairly be estimated at less than +100,000 men. Julian. Orat. i. p. 34, 35.] + +[Footnote 87: Ingentes R. I. vires ea dimicatione consumptae +sunt, ad quaelibet bella externa idoneae, quae multum triumphorum +possent securitatisque conferre. Eutropius, x. 13. The younger +Victor expresses himself to the same effect.] + +[Footnote 88: On this occasion, we must prefer the unsuspected +testimony of Zosimus and Zonaras to the flattering assertions of +Julian. The younger Victor paints the character of Magnentius in +a singular light: "Sermonis acer, animi tumidi, et immodice +timidus; artifex tamen ad occultandam audaciae specie +formidinem." Is it most likely that in the battle of Mursa his +behavior was governed by nature or by art should incline for the +latter.] + The approach of winter supplied the indolence of Constantius +with specious reasons for deferring the prosecution of the war +till the ensuing spring. Magnentius had fixed his residence in +the city of Aquileia, and showed a seeming resolution to dispute +the passage of the mountains and morasses which fortified the +confines of the Venetian province. The surprisal of a castle in +the Alps by the secret march of the Imperialists, could scarcely +have determined him to relinquish the possession of Italy, if the +inclinations of the people had supported the cause of their +tyrant. ^89 But the memory of the cruelties exercised by his +ministers, after the unsuccessful revolt of Nepotian, had left a +deep impression of horror and resentment on the minds of the +Romans. That rash youth, the son of the princess Eutropia, and +the nephew of Constantine, had seen with indignation the sceptre +of the West usurped by a perfidious barbarian. Arming a +desperate troop of slaves and gladiators, he overpowered the +feeble guard of the domestic tranquillity of Rome, received the +homage of the senate, and assuming the title of Augustus, +precariously reigned during a tumult of twenty-eight days. The +march of some regular forces put an end to his ambitious hopes: +the rebellion was extinguished in the blood of Nepotian, of his +mother Eutropia, and of his adherents; and the proscription was +extended to all who had contracted a fatal alliance with the name +and family of Constantine. ^90 But as soon as Constantius, after +the battle of Mursa, became master of the sea-coast of Dalmatia, +a band of noble exiles, who had ventured to equip a fleet in some +harbor of the Adriatic, sought protection and revenge in his +victorious camp. By their secret intelligence with their +countrymen, Rome and the Italian cities were persuaded to display +the banners of Constantius on their walls. The grateful +veterans, enriched by the liberality of the father, signalized +their gratitude and loyalty to the son. The cavalry, the +legions, and the auxiliaries of Italy, renewed their oath of +allegiance to Constantius; and the usurper, alarmed by the +general desertion, was compelled, with the remains of his +faithful troops, to retire beyond the Alps into the provinces of +Gaul. The detachments, however, which were ordered either to +press or to intercept the flight of Magnentius, conducted +themselves with the usual imprudence of success; and allowed him, +in the plains of Pavia, an opportunity of turning on his +pursuers, and of gratifying his despair by the carnage of a +useless victory. ^91 + +[Footnote 89: Julian. Orat. i. p. 38, 39. In that place, +however, as well as in Oration ii. p. 97, he insinuates the +general disposition of the senate, the people, and the soldiers +of Italy, towards the party of the emperor.] + +[Footnote 90: The elder Victor describes, in a pathetic manner, +the miserable condition of Rome: "Cujus stolidum ingenium adeo P. +R. patribusque exitio fuit, uti passim domus, fora, viae, +templaque, cruore, cadaveri busque opplerentur bustorum modo." +Athanasius (tom. i. p. 677) deplores the fate of several +illustrious victims, and Julian (Orat. ii p 58) execrates the +cruelty of Marcellinus, the implacable enemy of the house of +Constantine.] + +[Footnote 91: Zosim. l. ii. p. 133. Victor in Epitome. The +panegyrists of Constantius, with their usual candor, forget to +mention this accidental defeat.] + + The pride of Magnentius was reduced, by repeated +misfortunes, to sue, and to sue in vain, for peace. He first +despatched a senator, in whose abilities he confided, and +afterwards several bishops, whose holy character might obtain a +more favorable audience, with the offer of resigning the purple, +and the promise of devoting the remainder of his life to the +service of the emperor. But Constantius, though he granted fair +terms of pardon and reconciliation to all who abandoned the +standard of rebellion, ^92 avowed his inflexible resolution to +inflict a just punishment on the crimes of an assassin, whom he +prepared to overwhelm on every side by the effort of his +victorious arms. An Imperial fleet acquired the easy possession +of Africa and Spain, confirmed the wavering faith of the Moorish +nations, and landed a considerable force, which passed the +Pyrenees, and advanced towards Lyons, the last and fatal station +of Magnentius. ^93 The temper of the tyrant, which was never +inclined to clemency, was urged by distress to exercise every act +of oppression which could extort an immediate supply from the +cities of Gaul. ^94 Their patience was at length exhausted; and +Treves, the seat of Praetorian government, gave the signal of +revolt, by shutting her gates against Decentius, who had been +raised by his brother to the rank either of Caesar or of +Augustus. ^95 From Treves, Decentius was obliged to retire to +Sens, where he was soon surrounded by an army of Germans, whom +the pernicious arts of Constantius had introduced into the civil +dissensions of Rome. ^96 In the mean time, the Imperial troops +forced the passages of the Cottian Alps, and in the bloody combat +of Mount Seleucus irrevocably fixed the title of rebels on the +party of Magnentius. ^97 He was unable to bring another army into +the field; the fidelity of his guards was corrupted; and when he +appeared in public to animate them by his exhortations, he was +saluted with a unanimous shout of "Long live the emperor +Constantius!" The tyrant, who perceived that they were preparing +to deserve pardon and rewards by the sacrifice of the most +obnoxious criminal, prevented their design by falling on his +sword; ^98 a death more easy and more honorable than he could +hope to obtain from the hands of an enemy, whose revenge would +have been colored with the specious pretence of justice and +fraternal piety. The example of suicide was imitated by +Decentius, who strangled himself on the news of his brother's +death. The author of the conspiracy, Marcellinus, had long since +disappeared in the battle of Mursa, ^99 and the public +tranquillity was confirmed by the execution of the surviving +leaders of a guilty and unsuccessful faction. A severe +inquisition was extended over all who, either from choice or from +compulsion, had been involved in the cause of rebellion. Paul, +surnamed Catena from his superior skill in the judicial exercise +of tyranny, ^* was sent to explore the latent remains of the +conspiracy in the remote province of Britain. The honest +indignation expressed by Martin, vice-praefect of the island, was +interpreted as an evidence of his own guilt; and the governor was +urged to the necessity of turning against his breast the sword +with which he had been provoked to wound the Imperial minister. +The most innocent subjects of the West were exposed to exile and +confiscation, to death and torture; and as the timid are always +cruel, the mind of Constantius was inaccessible to mercy. ^100 +[Footnote 92: Zonaras, tom. ii. l. xiii. p. 17. Julian, in +several places of the two orations, expatiates on the clemency of +Constantius to the rebels.] + +[Footnote 93: Zosim. l. ii. p. 133. Julian. Orat. i. p. 40, ii. +p. 74.] +[Footnote 94: Ammian. xv. 6. Zosim. l. ii. p. 123. Julian, who +(Orat. i. p. 40) unveighs against the cruel effects of the +tyrant's despair, mentions (Orat. i. p. 34) the oppressive edicts +which were dictated by his necessities, or by his avarice. His +subjects were compelled to purchase the Imperial demesnes; a +doubtful and dangerous species of property, which, in case of a +revolution, might be imputed to them as a treasonable +usurpation.] + +[Footnote 95: The medals of Magnentius celebrate the victories of +the two Augusti, and of the Caesar. The Caesar was another +brother, named Desiderius. See Tillemont, Hist. des Empereurs, +tom. iv. p. 757.] +[Footnote 96: Julian. Orat. i. p. 40, ii. p. 74; with Spanheim, +p. 263. His Commentary illustrates the transactions of this civil +war. Mons Seleuci was a small place in the Cottian Alps, a few +miles distant from Vapincum, or Gap, an episcopal city of +Dauphine. See D'Anville, Notice de la Gaule, p. 464; and +Longuerue, Description de la France, p. 327.] +[Footnote *: the Itinerary of Antoninus (p. 357, ed. Wess.) +places Mons Seleucu twenty-four miles from Vapinicum, (Gap,) and +twenty-six from Lucus. (le Luc,) on the road to Die, (Dea +Vocontiorum.) The situation answers to Mont Saleon, a little +place on the right of the small river Buech, which falls into the +Durance. Roman antiquities have been found in this place. St. +Martin. Note to Le Beau, ii. 47. - M.] + +[Footnote 97: Zosimus, l. ii. p. 134. Liban. Orat. x. p. 268, +269. The latter most vehemently arraigns this cruel and selfish +policy of Constantius.] + +[Footnote 98: Julian. Orat. i. p. 40. Zosimus, l. ii. p. 134. +Socrates, l. ii. c. 32. Sozomen, l. iv. c. 7. The younger +Victor describes his death with some horrid circumstances: +Transfosso latere, ut erat vasti corporis, vulnere naribusque et +ore cruorem effundens, exspiravit. If we can give credit to +Zonaras, the tyrant, before he expired, had the pleasure of +murdering, with his own hand, his mother and his brother +Desiderius.] + +[Footnote 99: Julian (Orat. i. p. 58, 59) seems at a loss to +determine, whether he inflicted on himself the punishment of his +crimes, whether he was drowned in the Drave, or whether he was +carried by the avenging daemons from the field of battle to his +destined place of eternal tortures.] + +[Footnote *: This is scarcely correct, ut erat in complicandis +negotiis artifex dirum made ei Catenae inditum est cognomentum. +Amm. Mar. loc. cit. - M.] + +[Footnote 100: Ammian. xiv. 5, xxi. 16.] + +Chapter XIX: Constantius Sole Emperor. + +Part I. + + Constantius 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 united by the +victory of Constantius; but as that feeble prince was destitute +of personal merit, either in peace or war; as he feared his +generals, and distrusted his ministers; the triumph of his arms +served only to establish the reign of the eunuchs over the Roman +world. Those unhappy beings, the ancient production of Oriental +jealousy and despotism, ^1 were introduced into Greece and Rome +by the contagion of Asiatic luxury. ^2 Their progress was rapid; +and the eunuchs, who, in the time of Augustus, had been abhorred, +as the monstrous retinue of an Egyptian queen, ^3 were gradually +admitted into the families of matrons, of senators, and of the +emperors themselves. ^4 Restrained by the severe edicts of +Domitian and Nerva, cherished by the pride of Diocletian, reduced +to an humble station by the prudence of Constantine, ^6 they +multiplied in the palaces of his degenerate sons, and insensibly +acquired the knowledge, and at length the direction, of the +secret councils of Constantius. The aversion and contempt which +mankind had so uniformly entertained for that imperfect species, +appears to have degraded their character, and to have rendered +them almost as incapable as they were supposed to be, of +conceiving any generous sentiment, or of performing any worthy +action. ^7 But the eunuchs were skilled in the arts of flattery +and intrigue; and they alternately governed the mind of +Constantius by his fears, his indolence, and his vanity. ^8 +Whilst he viewed in a deceitful mirror the fair appearance of +public prosperity, he supinely permitted them to intercept the +complaints of the injured provinces, to accumulate immense +treasures by the sale of justice and of honors; to disgrace the +most important dignities, by the promotion of those who had +purchased at their hands the powers of oppression, ^9 and to +gratify their resentment against the few independent spirits, who +arrogantly refused to solicit the protection of slaves. Of these +slaves the most distinguished was the chamberlain Eusebius, who +ruled the monarch and the palace with such absolute sway, that +Constantius, according to the sarcasm of an impartial historian, +possessed some credit with this haughty favorite. ^10 By his +artful suggestions, the emperor was persuaded to subscribe the +condemnation of the unfortunate Gallus, and to add a new crime to +the long list of unnatural murders which pollute the honor of the +house of Constantine. + +[Footnote 1: Ammianus (l. xiv. c. 6) imputes the first practice +of castration to the cruel ingenuity of Semiramis, who is +supposed to have reigned above nineteen hundred years before +Christ. The use of eunuchs is of high antiquity, both in Asia +and Egypt. They are mentioned in the law of Moses, Deuteron. +xxxiii. 1. See Goguet, Origines des Loix, &c., Part i. l. i. c. +3.] + +[Footnote 2: Eunuchum dixti velle te; + + Quia solae utuntur his reginae - + Terent. Eunuch. act i. scene 2. + + This play is translated from Meander, and the original must +have appeared soon after the eastern conquests of Alexander.] + +[Footnote 3: Miles. . . . spadonibus + + Servire rugosis potest. + Horat. Carm. v. 9, and Dacier ad loe. + + By the word spado, the Romans very forcibly expressed their +abhorrence of this mutilated condition. The Greek appellation of +eunuchs, which insensibly prevailed, had a milder sound, and a +more ambiguous sense.] +[Footnote 4: We need only mention Posides, a freedman and eunuch +of Claudius, in whose favor the emperor prostituted some of the +most honorable rewards of military valor. See Sueton. in +Claudio, c. 28. Posides employed a great part of his wealth in +building. + + Ut Spado vincebat Capitolia Nostra + Posides. + Juvenal. Sat. xiv.] + +[Footnote 5: Castrari mares vetuit. Sueton. in Domitian. c. 7. +See Dion Cassius, l. lxvii. p. 1107, l. lxviii. p. 1119.] + +[Footnote 6: There is a passage in the Augustan History, p. 137, +in which Lampridius, whilst he praises Alexander Severus and +Constantine for restraining the tyranny of the eunuchs, deplores +the mischiefs which they occasioned in other reigns. Huc accedit +quod eunuchos nec in consiliis nec in ministeriis habuit; qui +soli principes perdunt, dum eos more gentium aut regum Persarum +volunt vivere; qui a populo etiam amicissimum semovent; qui +internuntii sunt, aliud quam respondetur, referentes; claudentes +principem suum, et agentes ante omnia ne quid sciat.] + +[Footnote 7: Xenophon (Cyropaedia, l. viii. p. 540) has stated +the specious reasons which engaged Cyrus to intrust his person to +the guard of eunuchs. He had observed in animals, that although +the practice of castration might tame their ungovernable +fierceness, it did not diminish their strength or spirit; and he +persuaded himself, that those who were separated from the rest of +human kind, would be more firmly attached to the person of their +benefactor. But a long experience has contradicted the judgment +of Cyrus. Some particular instances may occur of eunuchs +distinguished by their fidelity, their valor, and their +abilities; but if we examine the general history of Persia, +India, and China, we shall find that the power of the eunuchs has +uniformly marked the decline and fall of every dynasty.] +[Footnote 8: See Ammianus Marcellinus, l. xxi. c. 16, l. xxii. c. +4. The whole tenor of his impartial history serves to justify +the invectives of Mamertinus, of Libanius, and of Julian himself, +who have insulted the vices of the court of Constantius.] + +[Footnote 9: Aurelius Victor censures the negligence of his +sovereign in choosing the governors of the provinces, and the +generals of the army, and concludes his history with a very bold +observation, as it is much more dangerous under a feeble reign to +attack the ministers than the master himself. "Uti verum +absolvam brevi, ut Imperatore ipso clarius ita apparitorum +plerisque magis atrox nihil."] + +[Footnote 10: Apud quem (si vere dici debeat) multum Constantius +potuit. Ammian. l. xviii. c. 4.] + + When the two nephews of Constantine, Gallus and Julian, were +saved from the fury of the soldiers, the former was about twelve, +and the latter about six, years of age; and, as the eldest was +thought to be of a sickly constitution, they obtained with the +less difficulty a precarious and dependent life, from the +affected pity of Constantius, who was sensible that the execution +of these helpless orphans would have been esteemed, by all +mankind, an act of the most deliberate cruelty. ^11 ^* Different +cities of Ionia and Bithynia were assigned for the places of +their exile and education; but as soon as their growing years +excited the jealousy of the emperor, he judged it more prudent to +secure those unhappy youths in the strong castle of Macellum, +near Caesarea. The treatment which they experienced during a six +years' confinement, was partly such as they could hope from a +careful guardian, and partly such as they might dread from a +suspicious tyrant. ^12 Their prison was an ancient palace, the +residence of the kings of Cappadocia; the situation was pleasant, +the buildings of stately, the enclosure spacious. They pursued +their studies, and practised their exercises, under the tuition +of the most skilful masters; and the numerous household appointed +to attend, or rather to guard, the nephews of Constantine, was +not unworthy of the dignity of their birth. But they could not +disguise to themselves that they were deprived of fortune, of +freedom, and of safety; secluded from the society of all whom +they could trust or esteem, and condemned to pass their +melancholy hours in the company of slaves devoted to the commands +of a tyrant who had already injured them beyond the hope of +reconciliation. At length, however, the emergencies of the state +compelled the emperor, or rather his eunuchs, to invest Gallus, +in the twenty-fifth year of his age, with the title of Caesar, +and to cement this political connection by his marriage with the +princess Constantina. After a formal interview, in which the two +princes mutually engaged their faith never to undertake any thing +to the prejudice of each other, they repaired without delay to +their respective stations. Constantius continued his march +towards the West, and Gallus fixed his residence at Antioch; from +whence, with a delegated authority, he administered the five +great dioceses of the eastern praefecture. ^13 In this fortunate +change, the new Caesar was not unmindful of his brother Julian, +who obtained the honors of his rank, the appearances of liberty, +and the restitution of an ample patrimony. ^14 + +[Footnote 11: Gregory Nazianzen (Orat. iii. p. 90) reproaches the +apostate with his ingratitude towards Mark, bishop of Arethusa, +who had contributed to save his life; and we learn, though from a +less respectable authority, (Tillemont, Hist. des Empereurs, tom. +iv. p. 916,) that Julian was concealed in the sanctuary of a +church. + + Note: Gallus and Julian were not sons of the same mother. +Their father, Julius Constantius, had had Gallus by his first +wife, named Galla: Julian was the son of Basilina, whom he had +espoused in a second marriage. Tillemont. Hist. des Emp. Vie de +Constantin. art. 3. - G.] + +[Footnote 12: The most authentic account of the education and +adventures of Julian is contained in the epistle or manifesto +which he himself addressed 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 Christians, have +preserved several interesting circumstances.] + +[Footnote 13: For the promotion of Gallus, see Idatius, Zosimus, +and the two Victors. According to Philostorgius, (l. iv. c. 1,) +Theophilus, an Arian bishop, was the witness, and, as it were, +the guarantee of this solemn engagement. He supported that +character with generous firmness; but M. de Tillemont (Hist. des +Empereurs, tom. iv. p. 1120) thinks it very improbable that a +heretic should have possessed such virtue.] + +[Footnote 14: Julian was at first permitted to pursue his studies +at Constantinople, but the reputation which he acquired soon +excited the jealousy of Constantius; and the young prince was +advised to withdraw himself to the less conspicuous scenes of +Bithynia and Ionia.] + + The writers the most indulgent to the memory of Gallus, and +even Julian himself, though he wished to cast a veil over the +frailties of his brother, are obliged to confess that the Caesar +was incapable of reigning. Transported from a prison to a throne, +he possessed neither genius nor application, nor docility to +compensate for the want of knowledge and experience. A temper +naturally morose and violent, instead of being corrected, was +soured by solitude and adversity; the remembrance of what he had +endured disposed him to retaliation rather than to sympathy; and +the ungoverned sallies of his rage were often fatal to those who +approached his person, or were subject to his power. ^15 +Constantina, his wife, is described, not as a woman, but as one +of the infernal furies tormented with an insatiate thirst of +human blood. ^16 Instead of employing her influence to insinuate +the mild counsels of prudence and humanity, she exasperated the +fierce passions of her husband; and as she retained the vanity, +though she had renounced, the gentleness of her sex, a pearl +necklace was esteemed an equivalent price for the murder of an +innocent and virtuous nobleman. ^17 The cruelty of Gallus was +sometimes displayed in the undissembled violence of popular or +military executions; and was sometimes disguised by the abuse of +law, and the forms of judicial proceedings. The private houses +of Antioch, and the places of public resort, were besieged by +spies and informers; and the Caesar himself, concealed in a a +plebeian habit, very frequently condescended to assume that +odious character. Every apartment of the palace was adorned with +the instruments of death and torture, and a general consternation +was diffused through the capital of Syria. The prince of the +East, as if he had been conscious how much he had to fear, and +how little he deserved to reign, selected for the objects of his +resentment the provincials accused of some imaginary treason, and +his own courtiers, whom with more reason he suspected of +incensing, by their secret correspondence, the timid and +suspicious mind of Constantius. But he forgot that he was +depriving himself of his only support, the affection of the +people; whilst he furnished the malice of his enemies with the +arms of truth, and afforded the emperor the fairest pretence of +exacting the forfeit of his purple, and of his life. ^18 + +[Footnote 15: See Julian. ad S. P. Q. A. p. 271. Jerom. in +Chron. Aurelius Victor, Eutropius, x. 14. I shall copy the words +of Eutropius, who wrote his abridgment about fifteen years after +the death of Gallus, when there was no longer any motive either +to flatter or to depreciate his character. "Multis incivilibus +gestis Gallus Caesar . . . . vir natura ferox et ad tyrannidem +pronior, si suo jure imperare licuisset."] + +[Footnote 16: Megaera quidem mortalis, inflammatrix saevientis +assidua, humani cruoris avida, &c. Ammian. Marcellin. l. xiv. c. +1. The sincerity of Ammianus would not suffer him to +misrepresent facts or characters, but his love of ambitious +ornaments frequently betrayed him into an unnatural vehemence of +expression.] + +[Footnote 17: His name was Clematius of Alexandria, and his only +crime was a refusal to gratify the desires of his mother-in-law; +who solicited his death, because she had been disappointed of his +love. Ammian. xiv. c. i.] +[Footnote 18: See in Ammianus (l. xiv. c. 1, 7) a very ample +detail of the cruelties of Gallus. His brother Julian (p. 272) +insinuates, that a secret conspiracy had been formed against him; +and Zosimus names (l. ii. p. 135) the persons engaged in it; a +minister of considerable rank, and two obscure agents, who were +resolved to make their fortune.] + + As long as the civil war suspended the fate of the Roman +world, Constantius dissembled his knowledge of the weak and cruel +administration to which his choice had subjected the East; and +the discovery of some assassins, secretly despatched to Antioch +by the tyrant of Gaul, was employed to convince the public, that +the emperor and the Caesar were united by the same interest, and +pursued by the same enemies. ^19 But when the victory was decided +in favor of Constantius, his dependent colleague became less +useful and less formidable. Every circumstance of his conduct +was severely and suspiciously examined, and it was privately +resolved, either to deprive Gallus of the purple, or at least to +remove him from the indolent luxury of Asia to the hardships and +dangers of a German war. The death of Theophilus, consular of +the province of Syria, who in a time of scarcity had been +massacred by the people of Antioch, with the connivance, and +almost at the instigation, of Gallus, was justly resented, not +only as an act of wanton cruelty, but as a dangerous insult on +the supreme majesty of Constantius. Two ministers of illustrious +rank, Domitian the Oriental praefect, and Montius, quaestor of +the palace, were empowered by a special commission ^* to visit +and reform the state of the East. They were instructed to behave +towards Gallus with moderation and respect, and, by the gentlest +arts of persuasion, to engage him to comply with the invitation +of his brother and colleague. The rashness of the praefect +disappointed these prudent measures, and hastened his own ruin, +as well as that of his enemy. On his arrival at Antioch, +Domitian passed disdainfully before the gates of the palace, and +alleging a slight pretence of indisposition, continued several +days in sullen retirement, to prepare an inflammatory memorial, +which he transmitted to the Imperial court. Yielding at length to +the pressing solicitations of Gallus, the praefect condescended +to take his seat in council; but his first step was to signify a +concise and haughty mandate, importing that the Caesar should +immediately repair to Italy, and threatening that he himself +would punish his delay or hesitation, by suspending the usual +allowance of his household. The nephew and daughter of +Constantine, who could ill brook the insolence of a subject, +expressed their resentment by instantly delivering Domitian to +the custody of a guard. The quarrel still admitted of some terms +of accommodation. They were rendered impracticable by the +imprudent behavior of Montius, a statesman whose arts and +experience were frequently betrayed by the levity of his +disposition. ^20 The quaestor reproached Gallus in a haughty +language, that a prince who was scarcely authorized to remove a +municipal magistrate, should presume to imprison a Praetorian +praefect; convoked a meeting of the civil and military officers; +and required them, in the name of their sovereign, to defend the +person and dignity of his representatives. By this rash +declaration of war, the impatient temper of Gallus was provoked +to embrace the most desperate counsels. He ordered his guards to +stand to their arms, assembled the populace of Antioch, and +recommended to their zeal the care of his safety and revenge. +His commands were too fatally obeyed. They rudely seized the +praefect and the quaestor, and tying their legs together with +ropes, they dragged them through the streets of the city, +inflicted a thousand insults and a thousand wounds on these +unhappy victims, and at last precipitated their mangled and +lifeless bodies into the stream of the Orontes. ^21 + +[Footnote 19: Zonaras, l. xiii. tom. ii. p. 17, 18. The +assassins had seduced a great number of legionaries; but their +designs were discovered and revealed by an old woman in whose +cottage they lodged.] +[Footnote *: The commission seems to have been granted to +Domitian alone. Montius interfered to support his authority. +Amm. Marc. loc. cit. - M] +[Footnote 20: In the present text of Ammianus, we read Asper, +quidem, sed ad lenitatem propensior; which forms a sentence of +contradictory nonsense. With the aid of an old manuscript, +Valesius has rectified the first of these corruptions, and we +perceive a ray of light in the substitution of the word vafer. +If we venture to change lenitatem into lexitatem, this alteration +of a single letter will render the whole passage clear and +consistent.] + +[Footnote 21: Instead of being obliged to collect scattered and +imperfect hints from various sources, we now enter into the full +stream of the history of Ammianus, and need only refer to the +seventh and ninth chapters of his fourteenth book. +Philostorgius, however, (l. iii. c. 28) though partial to Gallus, +should not be entirely overlooked.] + + After such a deed, whatever might have been the designs of +Gallus, it was only in a field of battle that he could assert his +innocence with any hope of success. But the mind of that prince +was formed of an equal mixture of violence and weakness. Instead +of assuming the title of Augustus, instead of employing in his +defence the troops and treasures of the East, he suffered himself +to be deceived by the affected tranquillity of Constantius, who, +leaving him the vain pageantry of a court, imperceptibly recalled +the veteran legions from the provinces of Asia. But as it still +appeared dangerous to arrest Gallus in his capital, the slow and +safer arts of dissimulation were practised with success. The +frequent and pressing epistles of Constantius were filled with +professions of confidence and friendship; exhorting the Caesar to +discharge the duties of his high station, to relieve his +colleague from a part of the public cares, and to assist the West +by his presence, his counsels, and his arms. After so many +reciprocal injuries, Gallus had reason to fear and to distrust. +But he had neglected the opportunities of flight and of +resistance; he was seduced by the flattering assurances of the +tribune Scudilo, who, under the semblance of a rough soldier, +disguised the most artful insinuation; and he depended on the +credit of his wife Constantina, till the unseasonable death of +that princess completed the ruin in which he had been involved by +her impetuous passions. ^22 + +[Footnote 22: She had preceded her husband, but died of a fever +on the road at a little place in Bithynia, called Coenum +Gallicanum.] + +Chapter XIX: Constantius Sole Emperor. + +Part II. + + After a long delay, the reluctant Caesar set forwards on his +journey to the Imperial court. From Antioch to Hadrianople, he +traversed the wide extent of his dominions with a numerous and +stately train; and as he labored to conceal his apprehensions +from the world, and perhaps from himself, he entertained the +people of Constantinople with 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 ministers of confidence, commissioned to seize the offices +of government, to observe his motions, and to prevent the hasty +sallies of his despair. The persons despatched to secure the +provinces which he left behind, passed him with cold salutations, +or affected disdain; and the troops, whose station lay along the +public road, were studiously removed on his approach, lest they +might be tempted to offer their swords for the service of a civil +war. ^23 After Gallus had been permitted to repose himself a few +days at Hadrianople, he received a mandate, expressed in the most +haughty and absolute style, that his splendid retinue should halt +in that city, while the Caesar himself, with only ten +post-carriages, should hasten to the Imperial residence at Milan. + +In this rapid journey, the profound respect which was due to the +brother and colleague of Constantius, was insensibly changed into +rude familiarity; and Gallus, who discovered in the countenances +of the attendants that they already considered themselves as his +guards, and might soon be employed as his executioners, began to +accuse his fatal rashness, and to recollect, with terror and +remorse, the conduct by which he had provoked his fate. The +dissimulation which had hitherto been preserved, was laid aside +at Petovio, ^* in Pannonia. He was conducted to a palace in the +suburbs, where the general Barbatio, with a select band of +soldiers, who could neither be moved by pity, nor corrupted by +rewards, expected the arrival of his illustrious victim. In the +close of the evening he was arrested, ignominiously stripped of +the ensigns of Caesar, and hurried away to Pola, ^! in Istria, a +sequestered prison, which had been so recently polluted with +royal blood. The horror which he felt was soon increased by the +appearance of his implacable enemy the eunuch Eusebius, who, with +the assistance of a notary and a tribune, proceeded to +interrogate him concerning the administration of the East. The +Caesar sank under the weight of shame and guilt, confessed all +the criminal actions and all the treasonable designs with which +he was charged; and by imputing them to the advice of his wife, +exasperated the indignation of Constantius, who reviewed with +partial prejudice the minutes of the examination. The emperor +was easily convinced, that his own safety was incompatible with +the life of his cousin: the sentence of death was signed, +despatched, and executed; and the nephew of Constantine, with his +hands tied behind his back, was beheaded in prison like the +vilest malefactor. ^24 Those who are inclined to palliate the +cruelties of Constantius, assert that he soon relented, and +endeavored to recall the bloody mandate; but that the second +messenger, intrusted with the reprieve, was detained by the +eunuchs, who dreaded the unforgiving temper of Gallus, and were +desirous of reuniting to their empire the wealthy provinces of +the East. ^25 + +[Footnote 23: The Thebaean legions, which were then quartered at +Hadrianople, sent a deputation to Gallus, with a tender of their +services. Ammian. l. xiv. c. 11. The Notitia (s. 6, 20, 38, +edit. Labb.) mentions three several legions which bore the name +of Thebaean. The zeal of M. de Voltaire to destroy a despicable +though celebrated legion, has tempted him on the slightest +grounds to deny the existence of a Thenaean legion in the Roman +armies. See Oeuvres de Voltaire, tom. xv. p. 414, quarto +edition.] +[Footnote *: Pettau in Styria. - M] + +[Footnote *: Rather to Flanonia. now Fianone, near Pola. St. +Martin. - M.] +[Footnote 24: See the complete narrative of the journey and death +of Gallus in Ammianus, l. xiv. c. 11. Julian complains that his +brother was put to death without a trial; attempts to justify, or +at least to excuse, the cruel revenge which he had inflicted on +his enemies; but seems at last to acknowledge that he might +justly have been deprived of the purple.] +[Footnote 25: Philostorgius, l. iv. c. 1. Zonaras, l. xiii. tom. +ii. p. 19. But the former was partial towards an Arian monarch, +and the latter transcribed, without choice or criticism, whatever +he found in the writings of the ancients.] + + Besides the reigning emperor, Julian alone survived, of all +the numerous posterity of Constantius Chlorus. The misfortune of +his royal birth involved him in the disgrace of Gallus. From his +retirement in the happy country of Ionia, he was conveyed under a +strong guard to the court of Milan; where he languished above +seven months, in the continual apprehension of suffering the same +ignominious death, which was daily inflicted almost before his +eyes, on the friends and adherents of his persecuted family. His +looks, his gestures, his silence, were scrutinized with malignant +curiosity, and he was perpetually assaulted by enemies whom he +had never offended, and by arts to which he was a stranger. ^26 +But in the school of adversity, Julian insensibly acquired the +virtues of firmness and discretion. He defended his honor, as +well as his life, against the insnaring subtleties of the +eunuchs, who endeavored to extort some declaration of his +sentiments; and whilst he cautiously suppressed his grief and +resentment, he nobly disdained to flatter the tyrant, by any +seeming approbation of his brother's murder. Julian most +devoutly ascribes his miraculous deliverance to the protection of +the gods, who had exempted his innocence from the sentence of +destruction pronounced by their justice against the impious house +of Constantine. ^27 As the most effectual instrument of their +providence, he gratefully acknowledges the steady and generous +friendship of the empress Eusebia, ^28 a woman of beauty and +merit, who, by the ascendant which she had gained over the mind +of her husband, counterbalanced, in some measure, the powerful +conspiracy of the eunuchs. By the intercession of his patroness, +Julian was admitted into the Imperial presence: he pleaded his +cause with a decent freedom, he was heard with favor; and, +notwithstanding the efforts of his enemies, who urged the danger +of sparing an avenger of the blood of Gallus, the milder +sentiment of Eusebia prevailed in the council. But the effects +of a second interview were dreaded by the eunuchs; and Julian was +advised to withdraw for a while into the neighborhood of Milan, +till the emperor thought proper to assign the city of Athens for +the place of his honorable exile. As he had discovered, from his +earliest youth, a propensity, or rather passion, for the +language, the manners, the learning, and the religion of the +Greeks, he obeyed with pleasure an order so agreeable to his +wishes. Far from the tumult of arms, and the treachery of +courts, he spent six months under the groves of the academy, in a +free intercourse with the philosophers of the age, who studied to +cultivate the genius, to encourage the vanity, and to inflame the +devotion of their royal pupil. Their labors were not +unsuccessful; and Julian inviolably preserved for Athens that +tender regard which seldom fails to arise in a liberal mind, from +the recollection of the place where it has discovered and +exercised its growing powers. The gentleness and affability of +manners, which his temper suggested and his situation imposed, +insensibly engaged the affections of the strangers, as well as +citizens, with whom he conversed. Some of his fellow-students +might perhaps examine his behavior with an eye of prejudice and +aversion; but Julian established, in the schools of Athens, a +general prepossession in favor of his virtues and talents, which +was soon diffused over the Roman world. ^29 + +[Footnote 26: See Ammianus Marcellin. l. xv. c. 1, 3, 8. Julian +himself in his epistle to the Athenians, draws a very lively and +just picture of his own danger, and of his sentiments. He shows, +however, a tendency to exaggerate his sufferings, by insinuating, +though in obscure terms, that they lasted above a year; a period +which cannot be reconciled with the truth of chronology.] + +[Footnote 27: Julian has worked the crimes and misfortunes of the +family of Constantine into an allegorical fable, which is happily +conceived and agreeably related. It forms the conclusion of the +seventh Oration, from whence it has been detached and translated +by the Abbe de la Bleterie, Vie de Jovien, tom. ii. p. 385-408.] + +[Footnote 28: She was a native of Thessalonica, in Macedonia, of +a noble family, and the daughter, as well as sister, of consuls. +Her marriage with the emperor may be placed in the year 352. In +a divided age, the historians of all parties agree in her +praises. See their testimonies collected by Tillemont, Hist. des +Empereurs, tom. iv. p. 750-754.] +[Footnote 29: Libanius and Gregory Nazianzen have exhausted the +arts as well as the powers of their eloquence, to represent +Julian as the first of heroes, or the worst of tyrants. Gregory +was his fellow-student at Athens; and the symptoms which he so +tragically describes, of the future wickedness of the apostate, +amount only to some bodily imperfections, and to some +peculiarities in his speech and manner. He protests, however, +that he then foresaw and foretold the calamities of the church +and state. (Greg. Nazianzen, Orat. iv. p. 121, 122.)] + + Whilst his hours were passed in studious retirement, the +empress, resolute to achieve the generous design which she had +undertaken, was not unmindful of the care of his fortune. The +death of the late Caesar had left Constantius invested with the +sole command, and oppressed by the accumulated weight, of a +mighty empire. Before the wounds of civil discord could be +healed, the provinces of Gaul were overwhelmed by a deluge of +Barbarians. The Sarmatians no longer respected the barrier of +the Danube. The impunity of rapine had increased the boldness and +numbers of the wild Isaurians: those robbers descended from their +craggy mountains to ravage the adjacent country, and had even +presumed, though without success, to besiege the important city +of Seleucia, which was defended by a garrison of three Roman +legions. Above all, the Persian monarch, elated by victory, +again threatened the peace of Asia, and the presence of the +emperor was indispensably required, both in the West and in the +East. For the first time, Constantius sincerely acknowledged, +that his single strength was unequal to such an extent of care +and of dominion. ^30 Insensible to the voice of flattery, which +assured him that his all-powerful virtue, and celestial fortune, +would still continue to triumph over every obstacle, he listened +with complacency to the advice of Eusebia, which gratified his +indolence, without offending his suspicious pride. As she +perceived that the remembrance of Gallus dwelt on the emperor's +mind, she artfully turned his attention to the opposite +characters of the two brothers, which from their infancy had been +compared to those of Domitian and of Titus. ^31 She accustomed +her husband to consider Julian as a youth of a mild, unambitious +disposition, whose allegiance and gratitude might be secured by +the gift of the purple, and who was qualified to fill with honor +a subordinate station, without aspiring to dispute the commands, +or to shade the glories, of his sovereign and benefactor. After +an obstinate, though secret struggle, the opposition of the +favorite eunuchs submitted to the ascendency of the empress; and +it was resolved that Julian, after celebrating his nuptials with +Helena, sister of Constantius, should be appointed, with the +title of Caesar, to reign over the countries beyond the Alps. ^32 + +[Footnote 30: Succumbere tot necessitatibus tamque crebris unum +se, quod nunquam fecerat, aperte demonstrans. Ammian. l. xv. c. +8. He then expresses, in their own words, the fattering +assurances of the courtiers.] +[Footnote 31: Tantum a temperatis moribus Juliani differens +fratris quantum inter Vespasiani filios fuit, Domitianum et +Titum. Ammian. l. xiv. c. 11. The circumstances and education of +the two brothers, were so nearly the same, as to afford a strong +example of the innate difference of characters.] + +[Footnote 32: Ammianus, l. xv. c. 8. Zosimus, l. iii. p. 137, +138.] + Although the order which recalled him to court was probably +accompanied by some intimation of his approaching greatness, he +appeals to the people of Athens to witness his tears of +undissembled sorrow, when he was reluctantly torn away from his +beloved retirement. ^33 He trembled for his life, for his fame, +and even for his virtue; and his sole confidence was derived from +the persuasion, that Minerva inspired all his actions, and that +he was protected by an invisible guard of angels, whom for that +purpose she had borrowed from the Sun and Moon. He approached, +with horror, the palace of Milan; nor could the ingenuous youth +conceal his indignation, when he found himself accosted with +false and servile respect by the assassins of his family. +Eusebia, rejoicing in the success of her benevolent schemes, +embraced him with the tenderness of a sister; and endeavored, by +the most soothing caresses, to dispel his terrors, and reconcile +him to his fortune. But the ceremony of shaving his beard, and +his awkward demeanor, when he first exchanged the cloak of a +Greek philosopher for the military habit of a Roman prince, +amused, during a few days, the levity of the Imperial court. ^34 + +[Footnote 33: Julian. ad S. P. Q. A. p. 275, 276. Libanius, +Orat. x. p. 268. Julian did not yield till the gods had +signified their will by repeated visions and omens. His piety +then forbade him to resist.] +[Footnote 34: Julian himself relates, (p. 274) with some humor, +the circumstances of his own metamorphoses, his downcast looks, +and his perplexity at being thus suddenly transported into a new +world, where every object appeared strange and hostile.] + + The emperors of the age of Constantine no longer deigned to +consult with the senate in the choice of a colleague; but they +were anxious that their nomination should be ratified by the +consent of the army. On this solemn occasion, the guards, with +the other troops whose stations were in the neighborhood of +Milan, appeared under arms; and Constantius ascended his lofty +tribunal, holding by the hand his cousin Julian, who entered the +same day into the twenty-fifth year of his age. ^35 In a studied +speech, conceived and delivered with dignity, the emperor +represented the various dangers which threatened the prosperity +of the republic, the necessity of naming a Caesar for the +administration of the West, and his own intention, if it was +agreeable to their wishes, of rewarding with the honors of the +purple the promising virtues of the nephew of Constantine. The +approbation of the soldiers was testified by a respectful murmur; +they gazed on the manly countenance of Julian, and observed with +pleasure, that the fire which sparkled in his eyes was tempered +by a modest blush, on being thus exposed, for the first time, to +the public view of mankind. As soon as the ceremony of his +investiture had been performed, Constantius addressed him with +the tone of authority which his superior age and station +permitted him to assume; and exhorting the new Caesar to deserve, +by heroic deeds, that sacred and immortal name, the emperor gave +his colleague the strongest assurances of a friendship which +should never be impaired by time, nor interrupted by their +separation into the most distant climes. As soon as the speech +was ended, the troops, as a token of applause, clashed their +shields against their knees; ^36 while the officers who +surrounded the tribunal expressed, with decent reserve, their +sense of the merits of the representative of Constantius. + +[Footnote 35: See Ammian. Marcellin. l. xv. c. 8. Zosimus, l. +iii. p. 139. Aurelius Victor. Victor Junior in Epitom. Eutrop. +x. 14.] +[Footnote 36: Militares omnes horrendo fragore scuta genibus +illidentes; quod est prosperitatis indicium plenum; nam contra +cum hastis clypei feriuntur, irae documentum est et doloris. . . +. . . Ammianus adds, with a nice distinction, Eumque ut potiori +reverentia servaretur, nec supra modum laudabant nec infra quam +decebat.] + + The two princes returned to the palace in the same chariot; +and during the slow procession, Julian repeated to himself a +verse of his favorite Homer, which he might equally apply to his +fortune and to his fears. ^37 The four-and-twenty days which the +Caesar spent at Milan after his investiture, and the first months +of his Gallic reign, were devoted to a splendid but severe +captivity; nor could the acquisition of honor compensate for the +loss of freedom. ^38 His steps were watched, his correspondence +was intercepted; and he was obliged, by prudence, to decline the +visits of his most intimate friends. Of his former domestics, +four only were permitted to attend him; two pages, his physician, +and his librarian; the last of whom was employed in the care of a +valuable collection of books, the gift of the empress, who +studied the inclinations as well as the interest of her friend. +In the room of these faithful servants, a household was formed, +such indeed as became the dignity of a Caesar; but it was filled +with a crowd of slaves, destitute, and perhaps incapable, of any +attachment for their new master, to whom, for the most part, they +were either unknown or suspected. His want of experience might +require the assistance of a wise council; but the minute +instructions which regulated the service of his table, and the +distribution of his hours, were adapted to a youth still under +the discipline of his preceptors, rather than to the situation of +a prince intrusted with the conduct of an important war. If he +aspired to deserve the esteem of his subjects, he was checked by +the fear of displeasing his sovereign; and even the fruits of his +marriage-bed were blasted by the jealous artifices of Eusebia ^39 +herself, who, on this occasion alone, seems to have been +unmindful of the tenderness of her sex, and the generosity of her +character. The memory of his father and of his brothers reminded +Julian of his own danger, and his apprehensions were increased by +the recent and unworthy fate of Sylvanus. In the summer which +preceded his own elevation, that general had been chosen to +deliver Gaul from the tyranny of the Barbarians; but Sylvanus +soon discovered that he had left his most dangerous enemies in +the Imperial court. A dexterous informer, countenanced by +several of the principal ministers, procured from him some +recommendatory letters; and erasing the whole of the contents, +except the signature, filled up the vacant parchment with matters +of high and treasonable import. By the industry and courage of +his friends, the fraud was however detected, and in a great +council of the civil and military officers, held in the presence +of the emperor himself, the innocence of Sylvanus was publicly +acknowledged. But the discovery came too late; the report of the +calumny, and the hasty seizure of his estate, had already +provoked the indignant chief to the rebellion of which he was so +unjustly accused. He assumed the purple at his head- quarters of +Cologne, and his active powers appeared to menace Italy with an +invasion, and Milan with a siege. In this emergency, Ursicinus, +a general of equal rank, regained, by an act of treachery, the +favor which he had lost by his eminent services in the East. +Exasperated, as he might speciously allege, by the injuries of a +similar nature, he hastened with a few followers to join the +standard, and to betray the confidence, of his too credulous +friend. After a reign of only twenty-eight days, Sylvanus was +assassinated: the soldiers who, without any criminal intention, +had blindly followed the example of their leader, immediately +returned to their allegiance; and the flatterers of Constantius +celebrated the wisdom and felicity of the monarch who had +extinguished a civil war without the hazard of a battle. ^40 + +[Footnote 37: The word purple which Homer had used as a vague +but common epithet for death, was applied by Julian to express, +very aptly, the nature and object of his own apprehensions.] + +[Footnote 38: He represents, in the most pathetic terms, (p. +277,) the distress of his new situation. The provision for his +table was, however, so elegant and sumptuous, that the young +philosopher rejected it with disdain. Quum legeret libellum +assidue, quem Constantius ut privignum ad studia mittens manu sua +conscripserat, praelicenter disponens quid in convivio Caesaris +impendi deberit: Phasianum, et vulvam et sumen exigi vetuit et +inferri. Ammian. Marcellin. l. xvi. c. 5.] + +[Footnote 39: If we recollect that Constantine, the father of +Helena, died above eighteen years before, in a mature old age, it +will appear probable, that the daughter, though a virgin, could +not be very young at the time of her marriage. She was soon +afterwards delivered of a son, who died immediately, quod +obstetrix corrupta mercede, mox natum praesecto plusquam +convenerat umbilico necavit. She accompanied the emperor and +empress in their journey to Rome, and the latter, quaesitum +venenum bibere per fraudem illexit, ut quotiescunque concepisset, +immaturum abjicerit partum. Ammian. l. xvi. c. 10. Our +physicians will determine whether there exists such a poison. +For my own part I am inclined to hope that the public malignity +imputed the effects of accident as the guilt of Eusebia.] + +[Footnote 40: Ammianus (xv. v.) was perfectly well informed of +the conduct and fate of Sylvanus. He himself was one of the few +followers who attended Ursicinus in his dangerous enterprise.] + + The protection of the Rhaetian frontier, and the persecution +of the Catholic church, detained Constantius in Italy above +eighteen months after the departure of Julian. Before the +emperor returned into the East, he indulged his pride and +curiosity in a visit to the ancient capital. ^41 He proceeded +from Milan to Rome along the Aemilian and Flaminian ways, and as +soon as he approached within forty miles of the city, the march +of a prince who had never vanquished a foreign enemy, assumed the +appearance of a triumphal procession. His splendid train was +composed of all the ministers of luxury; but in a time of +profound peace, he was encompassed by the glittering arms of the +numerous squadrons of his guards and cuirassiers. Their streaming +banners of silk, embossed with gold, and shaped in the form of +dragons, waved round the person of the emperor. Constantius sat +alone in a lofty car, resplendent with gold and precious gems; +and, except when he bowed his head to pass under the gates of the +cities, he affected a stately demeanor of inflexible, and, as it +might seem, of insensible gravity. The severe discipline of the +Persian youth had been introduced by the eunuchs into the +Imperial palace; and such were the habits of patience which they +had inculcated, that during a slow and sultry march, he was never +seen to move his hand towards his face, or to turn his eyes +either to the right or to the left. He was received by the +magistrates and senate of Rome; and the emperor surveyed, with +attention, the civil honors of the republic, and the consular +images of the noble families. The streets were lined with an +innumerable multitude. Their repeated acclamations expressed +their joy at beholding, after an absence of thirty-two years, the +sacred person of their sovereign, and Constantius himself +expressed, with some pleasantry, he affected surprise that the +human race should thus suddenly be collected on the same spot. +The son of Constantine was lodged in the ancient palace of +Augustus: he presided in the senate, harangued the people from +the tribunal which Cicero had so often ascended, assisted with +unusual courtesy at the games of the Circus, and accepted the +crowns of gold, as well as the Panegyrics which had been prepared +for the ceremony by the deputies of the principal cities. His +short visit of thirty days was employed in viewing the monuments +of art and power which were scattered over the seven hills and +the interjacent valleys. He admired the awful majesty of the +Capitol, the vast extent of the baths of Caracalla and +Diocletian, the severe simplicity of the Pantheon, the massy +greatness of the amphitheatre of Titus, the elegant architecture +of the theatre of Pompey and the Temple of Peace, and, above all, +the stately structure of the Forum and column of Trajan; +acknowledging that the voice of fame, so prone to invent and to +magnify, had made an inadequate report of the metropolis of the +world. The traveller, who has contemplated the ruins of ancient +Rome, may conceive some imperfect idea of the sentiments which +they must have inspired when they reared their heads in the +splendor of unsullied beauty. + +[See The Pantheon: The severe simplicity of the Pantheon] + +[Footnote 41: For the particulars of the visit of Constantius to +Rome, see Ammianus, l. xvi. c. 10. We have only to add, that +Themistius was appointed deputy from Constantinople, and that he +composed his fourth oration for his ceremony.] + + The satisfaction which Constantius had received from this +journey excited him to the generous emulation of bestowing on the +Romans some memorial of his own gratitude and munificence. His +first idea was to imitate the equestrian and colossal statue +which he had seen in the Forum of Trajan; but when he had +maturely weighed the difficulties of the execution, ^42 he chose +rather to embellish the capital by the gift of an Egyptian +obelisk. In a remote but polished age, which seems to have +preceded the invention of alphabetical writing, a great number of +these obelisks had been erected, in the cities of Thebes and +Heliopolis, by the ancient sovereigns of Egypt, in a just +confidence that the simplicity of their form, and the hardness of +their substance, would resist the injuries of time and violence. +^43 Several of these extraordinary columns had been transported +to Rome by Augustus and his successors, as the most durable +monuments of their power and victory; ^44 but there remained one +obelisk, which, from its size or sanctity, escaped for a long +time the rapacious vanity of the conquerors. It was designed by +Constantine to adorn his new city; ^45 and, after being removed +by his order from the pedestal where it stood before the Temple +of the Sun at Heliopolis, was floated down the Nile to +Alexandria. The death of Constantine suspended the execution of +his purpose, and this obelisk was destined by his son to the +ancient capital of the empire. A vessel of uncommon strength and +capaciousness was provided to convey this enormous weight of +granite, at least a hundred and fifteen feet in length, from the +banks of the Nile to those of the Tyber. The obelisk of +Constantius was landed about three miles from the city, and +elevated, by the efforts of art and labor, in the great Circus of +Rome. ^46 +[Footnote 42: Hormisdas, a fugitive prince of Persia, observed to +the emperor, that if he made such a horse, he must think of +preparing a similar stable, (the Forum of Trajan.) Another saying +of Hormisdas is recorded, "that one thing only had displeased +him, to find that men died at Rome as well as elsewhere." If we +adopt this reading of the text of Ammianus, (displicuisse, +instead of placuisse,) we may consider it as a reproof of Roman +vanity. The contrary sense would be that of a misanthrope.] +[Footnote 43: When Germanicus visited the ancient monuments of +Thebes, the eldest of the priests explained to him the meaning of +these hiero glyphics. Tacit. Annal. ii. c. 60. But it seems +probable, that before the useful invention of an alphabet, these +natural or arbitrary signs were the common characters of the +Egyptian nation. See Warburton's Divine Legation of Moses, vol. +iii. p. 69-243.] + +[Footnote 44: See Plin. Hist. Natur. l. xxxvi. c. 14, 15.] +[Footnote 45: Ammian. Marcellin l. xvii. c. 4. He gives us a +Greek interpretation of the hieroglyphics, and his commentator +Lindenbrogius adds a Latin inscription, which, in twenty verses +of the age of Constantius, contain a short history of the +obelisk.] + +[Footnote 46: See Donat. Roma. Antiqua, l. iii. c. 14, l. iv. c. +12, and the learned, though confused, Dissertation of Bargaeus on +Obelisks, inserted in the fourth volume of Graevius's Roman +Antiquities, p. 1897- 1936. This dissertation is dedicated to +Pope Sixtus V., who erected the obelisk of Constantius in the +square before the patriarchal church of at. John Lateran.] + +[Footnote *: It is doubtful whether the obelisk transported by +Constantius to Rome now exists. Even from the text of Ammianus, +it is uncertain whether the interpretation of Hermapion refers to +the older obelisk, (obelisco incisus est veteri quem videmus in +Circo,) raised, as he himself states, in the Circus Maximus, long +before, by Augustus, or to the one brought by Constantius. The +obelisk in the square before the church of St. John Lateran is +ascribed not to Rameses the Great but to Thoutmos II. +Champollion, 1. Lettre a M. de Blacas, p. 32. - M] + + The departure of Constantius from Rome was hastened by the +alarming intelligence of the distress and danger of the Illyrian +provinces. The distractions of civil war, and the irreparable +loss which the Roman legions had sustained in the battle of +Mursa, exposed those countries, almost without defence, to the +light cavalry of the Barbarians; and particularly to the inroads +of the Quadi, a fierce and powerful nation, who seem to have +exchanged the institutions of Germany for the arms and military +arts of their Sarmatian allies. ^47 The garrisons of the +frontiers were insufficient to check their progress; and the +indolent monarch was at length compelled to assemble, from the +extremities of his dominions, the flower of the Palatine troops, +to take the field in person, and to employ a whole campaign, with +the preceding autumn and the ensuing spring, in the serious +prosecution of the war. The emperor passed the Danube on a +bridge of boats, cut in pieces all that encountered his march, +penetrated into the heart of the country of the Quadi, and +severely retaliated the calamities which they had inflicted on +the Roman province. The dismayed Barbarians were soon reduced to +sue for peace: they offered the restitution of his captive +subjects as an atonement for the past, and the noblest hostages +as a pledge of their future conduct. The generous courtesy which +was shown to the first among their chieftains who implored the +clemency of Constantius, encouraged the more timid, or the more +obstinate, to imitate their example; and the Imperial camp was +crowded with the princes and ambassadors of the most distant +tribes, who occupied the plains of the Lesser Poland, and who +might have deemed themselves secure behind the lofty ridge of the +Carpathian Mountains. While Constantius gave laws to the +Barbarians beyond the Danube, he distinguished, with specious +compassion, the Sarmatian exiles, who had been expelled from +their native country by the rebellion of their slaves, and who +formed a very considerable accession to the power of the Quadi. +The emperor, embracing a generous but artful system of policy, +released the Sarmatians from the bands of this humiliating +dependence, and restored them, by a separate treaty, to the +dignity of a nation united under the government of a king, the +friend and ally of the republic. He declared his resolution of +asserting the justice of their cause, and of securing the peace +of the provinces by the extirpation, or at least the banishment, +of the Limigantes, whose manners were still infected with the +vices of their servile origin. The execution of this design was +attended with more difficulty than glory. The territory of the +Limigantes was protected against the Romans by the Danube, +against the hostile Barbarians by the Teyss. The marshy lands +which lay between those rivers, and were often covered by their +inundations, formed an intricate wilderness, pervious only to the +inhabitants, who were acquainted with its secret paths and +inaccessible fortresses. On the approach of Constantius, the +Limigantes tried the efficacy of prayers, of fraud, and of arms; +but he sternly rejected their supplications, defeated their rude +stratagems, and repelled with skill and firmness the efforts of +their irregular valor. One of their most warlike tribes, +established in a small island towards the conflux of the Teyss +and the Danube, consented to pass the river with the intention of +surprising the emperor during the security of an amicable +conference. They soon became the victims of the perfidy which +they meditated. Encompassed on every side, trampled down by the +cavalry, slaughtered by the swords of the legions, they disdained +to ask for mercy; and with an undaunted countenance, still +grasped their weapons in the agonies of death. After this +victory, a considerable body of Romans was landed on the opposite +banks of the Danube; the Taifalae, a Gothic tribe engaged in the +service of the empire, invaded the Limigantes on the side of the +Teyss; and their former masters, the free Sarmatians, animated by +hope and revenge, penetrated through the hilly country, into the +heart of their ancient possessions. A general conflagration +revealed the huts of the Barbarians, which were seated in the +depth of the wilderness; and the soldier fought with confidence +on marshy ground, which it was dangerous for him to tread. In +this extremity, the bravest of the Limigantes were resolved to +die in arms, rather than to yield: but the milder sentiment, +enforced by the authority of their elders, at length prevailed; +and the suppliant crowd, followed by their wives and children, +repaired to the Imperial camp, to learn their fate from the mouth +of the conqueror. After celebrating his own clemency, which was +still inclined to pardon their repeated crimes, and to spare the +remnant of a guilty nation, Constantius assigned for the place of +their exile a remote country, where they might enjoy a safe and +honorable repose. The Limigantes obeyed with reluctance; but +before they could reach, at least before they could occupy, their +destined habitations, they returned to the banks of the Danube, +exaggerating the hardships of their situation, and requesting, +with fervent professions of fidelity, that the emperor would +grant them an undisturbed settlement within the limits of the +Roman provinces. Instead of consulting his own experience of +their incurable perfidy, Constantius listened to his flatterers, +who were ready to represent the honor and advantage of accepting +a colony of soldiers, at a time when it was much easier to obtain +the pecuniary contributions than the military service of the +subjects of the empire. The Limigantes were permitted to pass +the Danube; and the emperor gave audience to the multitude in a +large plain near the modern city of Buda. They surrounded the +tribunal, and seemed to hear with respect an oration full of +mildness and dignity when one of the Barbarians, casting his shoe +into the air, exclaimed with a loud voice, Marha! Marha! ^* a +word of defiance, which was received as a signal of the tumult. +They rushed with fury to seize the person of the emperor; his +royal throne and golden couch were pillaged by these rude hands; +but the faithful defence of his guards, who died at his feet, +allowed him a moment to mount a fleet horse, and to escape from +the confusion. The disgrace which had been incurred by a +treacherous surprise was soon retrieved by the numbers and +discipline of the Romans; and the combat was only terminated by +the extinction of the name and nation of the Limigantes. The +free Sarmatians were reinstated in the possession of their +ancient seats; and although Constantius distrusted the levity of +their character, he entertained some hopes that a sense of +gratitude might influence their future conduct. He had remarked +the lofty stature and obsequious demeanor of Zizais, one of the +noblest of their chiefs. He conferred on him the title of King; +and Zizais proved that he was not unworthy to reign, by a sincere +and lasting attachment to the interests of his benefactor, who, +after this splendid success, received the name of Sarmaticus from +the acclamations of his victorious army. ^48 + +[Footnote 47: The events of this Quadian and Sarmatian war are +related by Ammianus, xvi. 10, xvii. 12, 13, xix. 11] +[Footnote *: Reinesius reads Warrha, Warrha, Guerre, War. Wagner +note as a mm. Marc xix. ll. - M.] + +[Footnote 48: Genti Sarmatarum magno decori confidens apud eos +regem dedit. Aurelius Victor. In a pompous oration pronounced by +Constantius himself, he expatiates on his own exploits with much +vanity, and some truth] + +Chapter XIX: Constantius Sole Emperor. + +Part III. + + While the Roman emperor and the Persian monarch, at the +distance of three thousand miles, defended their extreme limits +against the Barbarians of the Danube and of the Oxus, their +intermediate frontier experienced the vicissitudes of a languid +war, and a precarious truce. Two of the eastern ministers of +Constantius, the Praetorian praefect Musonian, whose abilities +were disgraced by the want of truth and integrity, and Cassian, +duke of Mesopotamia, a hardy and veteran soldier, opened a secret +negotiation with the satrap Tamsapor. ^49 ^! These overtures of +peace, translated into the servile and flattering language of +Asia, were transmitted to the camp of the Great King; who +resolved to signify, by an ambassador, the terms which he was +inclined to grant to the suppliant Romans. Narses, whom he +invested with that character, was honorably received in his +passage through Antioch and Constantinople: he reached Sirmium +after a long journey, and, at his first audience, respectfully +unfolded the silken veil which covered the haughty epistle of his +sovereign. Sapor, King of Kings, and Brother of the Sun and +Moon, (such were the lofty titles affected by Oriental vanity,) +expressed his satisfaction that his brother, Constantius Caesar, +had been taught wisdom by adversity. As the lawful successor of +Darius Hystaspes, Sapor asserted, that the River Strymon, in +Macedonia, was the true and ancient boundary of his empire; +declaring, however, that as an evidence of his moderation, he +would content himself with the provinces of Armenia and +Mesopotamia, which had been fraudulently extorted from his +ancestors. He alleged, that, without the restitution of these +disputed countries, it was impossible to establish any treaty on +a solid and permanent basis; and he arrogantly threatened, that +if his ambassador returned in vain, he was prepared to take the +field in the spring, and to support the justice of his cause by +the strength of his invincible arms. Narses, who was endowed +with the most polite and amiable manners, endeavored, as far as +was consistent with his duty, to soften the harshness of the +message. ^50 Both the style and substance were maturely weighed +in the Imperial council, and he was dismissed with the following +answer: "Constantius had a right to disclaim the officiousness of +his ministers, who had acted without any specific orders from the +throne: he was not, however, averse to an equal and honorable +treaty; but it was highly indecent, as well as absurd, to propose +to the sole and victorious emperor of the Roman world, the same +conditions of peace which he had indignantly rejected at the time +when his power was contracted within the narrow limits of the +East: the chance of arms was uncertain; and Sapor should +recollect, that if the Romans had sometimes been vanquished in +battle, they had almost always been successful in the event of +the war." A few days after the departure of Narses, three +ambassadors were sent to the court of Sapor, who was already +returned from the Scythian expedition to his ordinary residence +of Ctesiphon. A count, a notary, and a sophist, had been selected +for this important commission; and Constantius, who was secretly +anxious for the conclusion of the peace, entertained some hopes +that the dignity of the first of these ministers, the dexterity +of the second, and the rhetoric of the third, ^51 would persuade +the Persian monarch to abate of the rigor of his demands. But +the progress of their negotiation was opposed and defeated by the +hostile arts of Antoninus, ^52 a Roman subject of Syria, who had +fled from oppression, and was admitted into the councils of +Sapor, and even to the royal table, where, according to the +custom of the Persians, the most important business was +frequently discussed. ^53 The dexterous fugitive promoted his +interest by the same conduct which gratified his revenge. He +incessantly urged the ambition of his new master to embrace the +favorable opportunity when the bravest of the Palatine troops +were employed with the emperor in a distant war on the Danube. He +pressed Sapor to invade the exhausted and defenceless provinces +of the East, with the numerous armies of Persia, now fortified by +the alliance and accession of the fiercest Barbarians. The +ambassadors of Rome retired without success, and a second +embassy, of a still more honorable rank, was detained in strict +confinement, and threatened either with death or exile. +[Footnote 49: Ammian. xvi. 9.] + +[Footnote *: In Persian, Ten-schah-pour. St. Martin, ii. 177. - +M.] +[Footnote 50: Ammianus (xvii. 5) transcribes the haughty letter. +Themistius (Orat. iv. p. 57, edit. Petav.) takes notice of the +silken covering. Idatius and Zonaras mention the journey of the +ambassador; and Peter the Patrician (in Excerpt. Legat. p. 58) +has informed us of his behavior.] + +[Footnote 51: Ammianus, xvii. 5, and Valesius ad loc. The +sophist, or philosopher, (in that age these words were almost +synonymous,) was Eustathius the Cappadocian, the disciple of +Jamblichus, and the friend of St. Basil. Eunapius (in Vit. +Aedesii, p. 44-47) fondly attributes to this philosophic +ambassador the glory of enchanting the Barbarian king by the +persuasive charms of reason and eloquence. See Tillemont, Hist. +des Empereurs, tom. iv. p. 828, 1132.] + +[Footnote 52: Ammian. xviii. 5, 6, 8. The decent and respectful +behavior of Antoninus towards the Roman general, sets him in a +very interesting light; and Ammianus himself speaks of the +traitor with some compassion and esteem.] + +[Footnote 53: This circumstance, as it is noticed by Ammianus, +serves to prove the veracity of Herodotus, (l. i. c. 133,) and +the permanency of the Persian manners. In every age the Persians +have been addicted to intemperance, and the wines of Shiraz have +triumphed over the law of Mahomet. Brisson de Regno Pers. l. ii. +p. 462-472, and Voyages en Perse, tom, iii. p. 90.] + The military historian, ^54 who was himself despatched to +observe the army of the Persians, as they were preparing to +construct a bridge of boats over the Tigris, beheld from an +eminence the plain of Assyria, as far as the edge of the horizon, +covered with men, with horses, and with arms. Sapor appeared in +the front, conspicuous by the splendor of his purple. On his +left hand, the place of honor among the Orientals, Grumbates, +king of the Chionites, displayed the stern countenance of an aged +and renowned warrior. The monarch had reserved a similar place +on his right hand for the king of the Albanians, who led his +independent tribes from the shores of the Caspian. ^* The satraps +and generals were distributed according to their several ranks, +and the whole army, besides the numerous train of Oriental +luxury, consisted of more than one hundred thousand effective +men, inured to fatigue, and selected from the bravest nations of +Asia. The Roman deserter, who in some measure guided the +councils of Sapor, had prudently advised, that, instead of +wasting the summer in tedious and difficult sieges, he should +march directly to the Euphrates, and press forwards without delay +to seize the feeble and wealthy metropolis of Syria. But the +Persians were no sooner advanced into the plains of Mesopotamia, +than they discovered that every precaution had been used which +could retard their progress, or defeat their design. The +inhabitants, with their cattle, were secured in places of +strength, the green forage throughout the country was set on +fire, the fords of the rivers were fortified by sharp stakes; +military engines were planted on the opposite banks, and a +seasonable swell of the waters of the Euphrates deterred the +Barbarians from attempting the ordinary passage of the bridge of +Thapsacus. Their skilful guide, changing his plan of operations, +then conducted the army by a longer circuit, but through a +fertile territory, towards the head of the Euphrates, where the +infant river is reduced to a shallow and accessible stream. +Sapor overlooked, with prudent disdain, the strength of Nisibis; +but as he passed under the walls of Amida, he resolved to try +whether the majesty of his presence would not awe the garrison +into immediate submission. The sacrilegious insult of a random +dart, which glanced against the royal tiara, convinced him of his +error; and the indignant monarch listened with impatience to the +advice of his ministers, who conjured him not to sacrifice the +success of his ambition to the gratification of his resentment. +The following day Grumbates advanced towards the gates with a +select body of troops, and required the instant surrender of the +city, as the only atonement which could be accepted for such an +act of rashness and insolence. His proposals were answered by a +general discharge, and his only son, a beautiful and valiant +youth, was pierced through the heart by a javelin, shot from one +of the balistae. The funeral of the prince of the Chionites was +celebrated according to the rites of the country; and the grief +of his aged father was alleviated by the solemn promise of Sapor, +that the guilty city of Amida should serve as a funeral pile to +expiate the death, and to perpetuate the memory, of his son. + +[Footnote 54: Ammian. lxviii. 6, 7, 8, 10.] + +[Footnote *: These perhaps were the barbarous tribes who inhabit +the northern part of the present Schirwan, the Albania of the +ancients. This country, now inhabited by the Lezghis, the terror +of the neighboring districts, was then occupied by the same +people, called by the ancients Legae, by the Armenians Gheg, or +Leg. The latter represent them as constant allies of the +Persians in their wars against Armenia and the Empire. A little +after this period, a certain Schergir was their king, and it is +of him doubtless Ammianus Marcellinus speaks. St. Martin, ii. +285. - M.] + + The ancient city of Amid or Amida, ^55 which sometimes +assumes the provincial appellation of Diarbekir, ^56 is +advantageously situate in a fertile plain, watered by the natural +and artificial channels of the Tigris, of which the least +inconsiderable stream bends in a semicircular form round the +eastern part of the city. The emperor Constantius had recently +conferred on Amida the honor of his own name, and the additional +fortifications of strong walls and lofty towers. It was provided +with an arsenal of military engines, and the ordinary garrison +had been reenforced to the amount of seven legions, when the +place was invested by the arms of Sapor. ^57 His first and most +sanguine hopes depended on the success of a general assault. To +the several nations which followed his standard, their respective +posts were assigned; the south to the Vertae; the north to the +Albanians; the east to the Chionites, inflamed with grief and +indignation; the west to the Segestans, the bravest of his +warriors, who covered their front with a formidable line of +Indian elephants. ^58 The Persians, on every side, supported +their efforts, and animated their courage; and the monarch +himself, careless of his rank and safety, displayed, in the +prosecution of the siege, the ardor of a youthful soldier. After +an obstinate combat, the Barbarians were repulsed; they +incessantly returned to the charge; they were again driven back +with a dreadful slaughter, and two rebel legions of Gauls, who +had been banished into the East, signalized their undisciplined +courage by a nocturnal sally into the heart of the Persian camp. +In one of the fiercest of these repeated assaults, Amida was +betrayed by the treachery of a deserter, who indicated to the +Barbarians a secret and neglected staircase, scooped out of the +rock that hangs over the stream of the Tigris. Seventy chosen +archers of the royal guard ascended in silence to the third story +of a lofty tower, which commanded the precipice; they elevated on +high the Persian banner, the signal of confidence to the +assailants, and of dismay to the besieged; and if this devoted +band could have maintained their post a few minutes longer, the +reduction of the place might have been purchased by the sacrifice +of their lives. After Sapor had tried, without success, the +efficacy of force and of stratagem, he had recourse to the slower +but more certain operations of a regular siege, in the conduct of +which he was instructed by the skill of the Roman deserters. The +trenches were opened at a convenient distance, and the troops +destined for that service advanced under the portable cover of +strong hurdles, to fill up the ditch, and undermine the +foundations of the walls. Wooden towers were at the same time +constructed, and moved forwards on wheels, till the soldiers, who +were provided with every species of missile weapons, could engage +almost on level ground with the troops who defended the rampart. +Every mode of resistance which art could suggest, or courage +could execute, was employed in the defence of Amida, and the +works of Sapor were more than once destroyed by the fire of the +Romans. But the resources of a besieged city may be exhausted. +The Persians repaired their losses, and pushed their approaches; +a large preach was made by the battering-ram, and the strength of +the garrison, wasted by the sword and by disease, yielded to the +fury of the assault. The soldiers, the citizens, their wives, +their children, all who had not time to escape through the +opposite gate, were involved by the conquerors in a promiscuous +massacre. +[Footnote 55: For the description of Amida, see D'Herbelot, +Bebliotheque Orientale, p. Bibliotheque Orientale, p. 108. +Histoire de Timur Bec, par Cherefeddin Ali, l. iii. c. 41. Ahmed +Arabsiades, tom. i. p. 331, c. 43. Voyages de Tavernier, tom. i. +p. 301. Voyages d'Otter, tom. ii. p. 273, and Voyages de +Niebuhr, tom. ii. p. 324-328. The last of these travellers, a +learned and accurate Dane, has given a plan of Amida, which +illustrates the operations of the siege.] + +[Footnote 56: Diarbekir, which is styled Amid, or Kara Amid, in +the public writings of the Turks, contains above 16,000 houses, +and is the residence of a pacha with three tails. The epithet of +Kara is derived from the blackness of the stone which composes +the strong and ancient wall of Amida.] + +[Footnote *: In my Mem. Hist. sur l'Armenie, l. i. p. 166, 173, I +conceive that I have proved this city, still called, by the +Armenians, Dirkranagerd, the city of Tigranes, to be the same +with the famous Tigranocerta, of which the situation was unknown. + +St. Martin, i. 432. On the siege of Amida, see St. Martin's +Notes, ii. 290. Faustus of Byzantium, nearly a contemporary, +(Armenian,) states that the Persians, on becoming masters of it, +destroyed 40,000 houses though Ammianus describes the city as of +no great extent, (civitatis ambitum non nimium amplae.) Besides +the ordinary population, and those who took refuge from the +country, it contained 20,000 soldiers. St. Martin, ii. 290. +This interpretation is extremely doubtful. Wagner (note on +Ammianus) considers the whole population to amount only to - M.] +[Footnote 57: The operations of the siege of Amida are very +minutely described by Ammianus, (xix. 1-9,) who acted an +honorable part in the defence, and escaped with difficulty when +the city was stormed by the Persians.] + +[Footnote 58: Of these four nations, the Albanians are too well +known to require any description. The Segestans [Sacastene. St. +Martin.] inhabited a large and level country, which still +preserves their name, to the south of Khorasan, and the west of +Hindostan. (See Geographia Nubiensis. p. 133, and D'Herbelot, +Biblitheque Orientale, p. 797.) Notwithstanding the boasted +victory of Bahram, (vol. i. p. 410,) the Segestans, above +fourscore years afterwards, appear as an independent nation, the +ally of 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 confines of India and Scythia. See Ammian. +xvi. 9.] + +[Footnote *: Klaproth considers the real Albanians the same with +the ancient Alani, and quotes a passage of the emperor Julian in +support of his opinion. They are the Ossetae, now inhabiting part +of Caucasus. Tableaux Hist. de l'Asie, p. 179, 180. - M. + + The Vertae are still unknown. It is possible that the +Chionites are the same as the Huns. These people were already +known; and we find from Armenian authors that they were making, +at this period, incursions into Asia. They were often at war +with the Persians. The name was perhaps pronounced differently +in the East and in the West, and this prevents us from +recognizing it. St. Martin, ii. 177. - M.] + + But the ruin of Amida was the safety of the Roman provinces. + +As soon as the first transports of victory had subsided, Sapor +was at leisure to reflect, that to chastise a disobedient city, +he had lost the flower of his troops, and the most favorable +season for conquest. ^59 Thirty thousand of his veterans had +fallen under the walls of Amida, during the continuance of a +siege, which lasted seventy-three days; and the disappointed +monarch returned to his capital with affected triumph and secret +mortification. It is more than probable, that the inconstancy of +his Barbarian allies was tempted to relinquish a war in which +they had encountered such unexpected difficulties; and that the +aged king of the Chionites, satiated with revenge, turned away +with horror from a scene of action where he had been deprived of +the hope of his family and nation. The strength as well as the +spirit of the army with which Sapor took the field in the ensuing +spring was no longer equal to the unbounded views of his +ambition. Instead of aspiring to the conquest of the East, he +was obliged to content himself with the reduction of two +fortified cities of Mesopotamia, Singara and Bezabde; ^60 the one +situate in the midst of a sandy desert, the other in a small +peninsula, surrounded almost on every side by the deep and rapid +stream of the Tigris. Five Roman legions, of the diminutive size +to which they had been reduced in the age of Constantine, were +made prisoners, and sent into remote captivity on the extreme +confines of Persia. After dismantling the walls of Singara, the +conqueror abandoned that solitary and sequestered place; but he +carefully restored the fortifications of Bezabde, and fixed in +that important post a garrison or colony of veterans; amply +supplied with every means of defence, and animated by high +sentiments of honor and fidelity. Towards the close of the +campaign, the arms of Sapor incurred some disgrace by an +unsuccessful enterprise against Virtha, or Tecrit, a strong, or, +as it was universally esteemed till the age of Tamerlane, an +impregnable fortress of the independent Arabs. ^61 +[Footnote 59: Ammianus has marked the chronology of this year by +three signs, which do not perfectly coincide with each other, or +with the series of the history. 1 The corn was ripe when Sapor +invaded Mesopotamia; "Cum jam stipula flaveate turgerent;" a +circumstance, which, in the latitude of Aleppo, would naturally +refer us to the month of April or May. 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 overflowing of the +Euphrates, which generally happens in July and August. Plin. +Hist. Nat. v. 21. Viaggi di Pietro della Valle, tom. i. p. 696. +3. When Sapor had taken Amida, after a siege of seventy-three +days, the autumn was far advanced. "Autumno praecipiti +haedorumque improbo sidere exorto." To reconcile these apparent +contradictions, we must allow for some delay in the Persian king, +some inaccuracy in the historian, and some disorder in the +seasons.] + +[Footnote 60: The account of these sieges is given by Ammianus, +xx. 6, 7.] +[Footnote *: The Christian bishop of Bezabde went to the camp of +the king of Persia, to persuade him to check the waste of human +blood Amm. Mare xx. 7. - M.] + +[Footnote 61: For the identity of Virtha and Tecrit, see +D'Anville, Geographie. For the siege of that castle by Timur Bec +or Tamerlane, see Cherefeddin, l. iii. c. 33. The Persian +biographer exaggerates the merit and difficulty of this exploit, +which delivered the caravans of Bagdad from a formidable gang of +robbers.] + +[Footnote *: St. Martin doubts whether it lay so much to the +south. "The word Girtha means in Syriac a castle or fortress, and +might be applied to many places."] + + The defence of the East against the arms of Sapor required +and would have exercised, the abilities of the most consummate +general; and it seemed fortunate for the state, that it was the +actual province of the brave Ursicinus, who alone deserved the +confidence of the soldiers and people. In the hour of danger, ^62 +Ursicinus was removed from his station by the intrigues of the +eunuchs; and the military command of the East was bestowed, by +the same influence, on Sabinian, a wealthy and subtle veteran, +who had attained the infirmities, without acquiring the +experience, of age. By a second order, which issued from the same +jealous and inconstant councils, Ursicinus was again despatched +to the frontier of Mesopotamia, and condemned to sustain the +labors of a war, the honors of which had been transferred to his +unworthy rival. Sabinian fixed his indolent station under the +walls of Edessa; and while he amused himself with the idle parade +of military exercise, and moved to the sound of flutes in the +Pyrrhic dance, the public defence was abandoned to the boldness +and diligence of the former general of the East. But whenever +Ursicinus recommended any vigorous plan of operations; when he +proposed, at the head of a light and active army, to wheel round +the foot of the mountains, to intercept the convoys of the enemy, +to harass the wide extent of the Persian lines, and to relieve +the distress of Amida; the timid and envious commander alleged, +that he was restrained by his positive orders from endangering +the safety of the troops. Amida was at length taken; its bravest +defenders, who had escaped the sword of the Barbarians, died in +the Roman camp by the hand of the executioner: and Ursicinus +himself, after supporting the disgrace of a partial inquiry, was +punished for the misconduct of Sabinian by the loss of his +military rank. But Constantius soon experienced the truth of the +prediction which honest indignation had extorted from his injured +lieutenant, that as long as such maxims of government were +suffered to prevail, the emperor himself would find it is no easy +task to defend his eastern dominions from the invasion of a +foreign enemy. When he had subdued or pacified the Barbarians of +the Danube, Constantius proceeded by slow marches into the East; +and after he had wept over the smoking ruins of Amida, he formed, +with a powerful army, the siege of Becabde. The walls were +shaken by the reiterated efforts of the most enormous of the +battering-rams; the town was reduced to the last extremity; but +it was still defended by the patient and intrepid valor of the +garrison, till the approach of the rainy season obliged the +emperor to raise the siege, and ingloviously to retreat into his +winter quarters at Antioch. ^63 The pride of Constantius, and the +ingenuity of his courtiers, were at a loss to discover any +materials for panegyric in the events of the Persian war; while +the glory of his cousin Julian, to whose military command he had +intrusted the provinces of Gaul, was proclaimed to the world in +the simple and concise narrative of his exploits. +[Footnote 62: Ammianus (xviii. 5, 6, xix. 3, xx. 2) represents +the merit and disgrace of Ursicinus with that faithful attention +which a soldier owed to his general. Some partiality may be +suspected, yet the whole account is consistent and probable.] + +[Footnote 63: Ammian. xx. 11. Omisso vano incepto, hiematurus +Antiochiae redit in Syriam aerumnosam, perpessus et ulcerum sed +et atrocia, diuque deflenda. It is thus that James Gronovius has +restored an obscure passage; and he thinks that this correction +alone would have deserved a new edition of his author: whose +sense may now be darkly perceived. I expected some additional +light from the recent labors of the learned Ernestus. (Lipsiae, +1773.) + + Note: The late editor (Wagner) has nothing better to +suggest, and le menta with Gibbon, the silence of Ernesti. - M.] + + In the blind fury of civil discord, Constantius had +abandoned to the Barbarians of Germany the countries of Gaul, +which still acknowledged the authority of his rival. A numerous +swarm of Franks and Alemanni were invited to cross the Rhine by +presents and promises, by the hopes of spoil, and by a perpetual +grant of all the territories which they should be able to subdue. +^64 But the emperor, who for a temporary service had thus +imprudently provoked the rapacious spirit of the Barbarians, soon +discovered and lamented the difficulty of dismissing these +formidable allies, after they had tasted the richness of the +Roman soil. Regardless of the nice distinction of loyalty and +rebellion, these undisciplined robbers treated as their natural +enemies all the subjects of the empire, who possessed any +property which they were desirous of acquiring Forty-five +flourishing cities, Tongres, Cologne, Treves, Worms, Spires, +Strasburgh, &c., besides a far greater number of towns and +villages, were pillaged, and for the most part reduced to ashes. +The Barbarians of Germany, still faithful to the maxims of their +ancestors, abhorred the confinement of walls, to which they +applied the odious names of prisons and sepulchres; and fixing +their independent habitations on the banks of rivers, the Rhine, +the Moselle, and the Meuse, they secured themselves against the +danger of a surprise, by a rude and hasty fortification of large +trees, which were felled and thrown across the roads. The +Alemanni were established in the modern countries of Alsace and +Lorraine; the Franks occupied the island of the Batavians, +together with an extensive district of Brabant, which was then +known by the appellation of Toxandria, ^65 and may deserve to be +considered as the original seat of their Gallic monarchy. ^66 +From the sources, to the mouth, of the Rhine, the conquests of +the Germans extended above forty miles to the west of that river, +over a country peopled by colonies of their own name and nation: +and the scene of their devastations was three times more +extensive than that of their conquests. At a still greater +distance the open towns of Gaul were deserted, and the +inhabitants of the fortified cities, who trusted to their +strength and vigilance, were obliged to content themselves with +such supplies of corn as they could raise on the vacant land +within the enclosure of their walls. The diminished legions, +destitute of pay and provisions, of arms and discipline, trembled +at the approach, and even at the name, of the Barbarians. + +[Footnote 64: The ravages of the Germans, and the distress of +Gaul, may be collected from Julian himself. Orat. ad S. P. Q. +Athen. p. 277. Ammian. xv. ll. Libanius, Orat. x. Zosimus, l. +iii. p. 140. Sozomen, l. iii. c. l. (Mamertin. Grat. Art. c. +iv.)] + +[Footnote 65: Ammianus, xvi. 8. This name seems to be derived +from the Toxandri of Pliny, and very frequently occurs in the +histories of the middle age. Toxandria was a country of woods +and morasses, which extended from the neighborhood of Tongres to +the conflux of the Vahal and the Rhine. See Valesius, Notit. +Galliar. p. 558.] + +[Footnote 66: The paradox of P. Daniel, that the Franks never +obtained any permanent settlement on this side of the Rhine +before the time of Clovis, is refuted with much learning and good +sense by M. Biet, who has proved by a chain of evidence, their +uninterrupted possession of Toxandria, one hundred and thirty +years before the accession of Clovis. The Dissertation of M. +Biet was crowned by the Academy of Soissons, in the year 1736, +and seems to have been justly preferred to the discourse of his +more celebrated competitor, the Abbe le Boeuf, an antiquarian, +whose name was happily expressive of his talents.] + +Chapter XIX: Constantius Sole Emperor. + +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 exhibit the vain image of +Imperial greatness. The retired scholastic education of Julian, +in which he had been more conversant with books than with arms, +with the dead than with the living, left him in profound +ignorance of the practical arts of war and government; and when +he awkwardly repeated some military exercise which it was +necessary for him to learn, he exclaimed with a sigh, "O Plato, +Plato, what a task for a philosopher!" Yet even this speculative +philosophy, which men of business are too apt to despise, had +filled the mind of Julian with the noblest precepts and the most +shining examples; had animated him with the love of virtue, the +desire of fame, and the contempt of death. The habits of +temperance recommended in the schools, are still more essential +in the severe discipline of a camp. The simple wants of nature +regulated the measure of his food and sleep. Rejecting with +disdain the delicacies provided for his table, he satisfied his +appetite with the coarse and common fare which was allotted to +the meanest soldiers. During the rigor of a Gallic winter, he +never suffered a fire in his bed-chamber; and after a short and +interrupted slumber, he frequently rose in the middle of the +night from a carpet spread on the floor, to despatch any urgent +business, to visit his rounds, or to steal a few moments for the +prosecution of his favorite studies. ^67 The precepts of +eloquence, which he had hitherto practised on fancied topics of +declamation, were more usefully applied to excite or to assuage +the passions of an armed multitude: and although Julian, from his +early habits of conversation and literature, was more familiarly +acquainted with the beauties of the Greek language, he had +attained a competent knowledge of the Latin tongue. ^68 Since +Julian was not originally designed for the character of a +legislator, or a judge, it is probable that the civil +jurisprudence of the Romans had not engaged any considerable +share of his attention: but he derived from his philosophic +studies an inflexible regard for justice, tempered by a +disposition to clemency; the knowledge of the general principles +of equity and evidence, and the faculty of patiently +investigating the most intricate and tedious questions which +could be proposed for his discussion. The measures of policy, +and the operations of war, must submit to the various accidents +of circumstance and character, and the unpractised student will +often be perplexed in the application of the most perfect theory. + +But in the acquisition of this important science, Julian was +assisted by the active vigor of his own genius, as well as by the +wisdom and experience of Sallust, and officer of rank, who soon +conceived a sincere attachment for a prince so worthy of his +friendship; and whose incorruptible integrity was adorned by the +talent of insinuating the harshest truths without wounding the +delicacy of a royal ear. ^69 + +[Footnote 67: The private life of Julian in Gaul, and the severe +discipline which he embraced, are displayed by Ammianus, (xvi. +5,) who professes to praise, and by Julian himself, who affects +to ridicule, (Misopogon, p. 340,) a conduct, which, in a prince +of the house of Constantine, might justly excite the surprise of +mankind.] + +[Footnote 68: Aderat Latine quoque disserenti sufficiens sermo. +Ammianus xvi. 5. But Julian, educated in the schools of Greece, +always considered the language of the Romans as a foreign and +popular dialect which he might use on necessary occasions.] + +[Footnote 69: We are ignorant of the actual office of this +excellent minister, whom Julian afterwards created praefect of +Gaul. Sallust was speedly recalled by the jealousy of the +emperor; and we may still read a sensible but pedantic discourse, +(p. 240-252,) in which Julian deplores the loss of so valuable a +friend, to whom he acknowledges himself indebted for his +reputation. See La Bleterie, Preface a la Vie de lovien, p. 20.] + + Immediately after Julian had received the purple at Milan, +he was sent into Gaul with a feeble retinue of three hundred and +sixty soldiers. At Vienna, where he passed a painful and anxious +winter in the hands of those ministers to whom Constantius had +intrusted the direction of his conduct, the Caesar was informed +of the siege and deliverance of Autun. That large and ancient +city, protected only by a ruined wall and pusillanimous garrison, +was saved by the generous resolution of a few veterans, who +resumed their arms for the defence of their country. In his +march from Autun, through the heart of the Gallic provinces, +Julian embraced with ardor the earliest opportunity of +signalizing his courage. At the head of a small body of archers +and heavy cavalry, he preferred the shorter but the more +dangerous of two roads; ^* and sometimes eluding, and sometimes +resisting, the attacks of the Barbarians, who were masters of the +field, he arrived with honor and safety at the camp near Rheims, +where the Roman troops had been ordered to assemble. The aspect +of their young prince revived the drooping spirits of the +soldiers, and they marched from Rheims in search of the enemy, +with a confidence which had almost proved fatal to them. The +Alemanni, familiarized to the knowledge of the country, secretly +collected their scattered forces, and seizing the opportunity of +a dark and rainy day, poured with unexpected fury on the +rear-guard of the Romans. Before the inevitable disorder could be +remedied, two legions were destroyed; and Julian was taught by +experience that caution and vigilance are the most important +lessons of the art of war. In a second and more successful +action, ^* he recovered and established his military fame; but as +the agility of the Barbarians saved them from the pursuit, his +victory was neither bloody nor decisive. He advanced, however, +to the banks of the Rhine, surveyed the ruins of Cologne, +convinced himself of the difficulties of the war, and retreated +on the approach of winter, discontented with the court, with his +army, and with his own success. ^70 The power of the enemy was +yet unbroken; and the Caesar had no sooner separated his troops, +and fixed his own quarters at Sens, in the centre of Gaul, than +he was surrounded and besieged, by a numerous host of Germans. +Reduced, in this extremity, to the resources of his own mind, he +displayed a prudent intrepidity, which compensated for all the +deficiencies of the place and garrison; and the Barbarians, at +the end of thirty days, were obliged to retire with disappointed +rage. +[Footnote *: Aliis per Arbor - quibusdam per Sedelaucum et Coram +in debere firrantibus. Amm. Marc. xvi. 2. I do not know what +place can be meant by the mutilated name Arbor. Sedelanus is +Saulieu, a small town of the department of the Cote d'Or, six +leagues from Autun. Cora answers to the village of Cure, on the +river of the same name, between Autun and Nevera 4; Martin, ii. +162. - M. + + Note: At Brocomages, Brumat, near Strasburgh. St. Martin, +ii. 184. - M.] +[Footnote 70: Ammianus (xvi. 2, 3) appears much better satisfied +with the success of his first campaign than Julian himself; who +very fairly owns that he did nothing of consequence, and that he +fled before the enemy.] + The conscious pride of Julian, who was indebted only to his +sword for this signal deliverance, was imbittered by the +reflection, that he was abandoned, betrayed, and perhaps devoted +to destruction, by those who were bound to assist him, by every +tie of honor and fidelity. Marcellus, master-general of the +cavalry in Gaul, interpreting too strictly the jealous orders of +the court, beheld with supine indifference the distress of +Julian, and had restrained the troops under his command from +marching to the relief of Sens. If the Caesar had dissembled in +silence so dangerous an insult, his person and authority would +have been exposed to the contempt of the world; and if an action +so criminal had been suffered to pass with impunity, the emperor +would have confirmed the suspicions, which received a very +specious color from his past conduct towards the princes of the +Flavian family. Marcellus was recalled, and gently dismissed +from his office. ^71 In his room Severus was appointed general of +the cavalry; an experienced soldier, of approved courage and +fidelity, who could advise with respect, and execute with zeal; +and who submitted, without reluctance to the supreme command +which Julian, by the inrerest of his patroness Eusebia, at length +obtained over the armies of Gaul. ^72 A very judicious plan of +operations was adopted for the approaching campaign. Julian +himself, at the head of the remains of the veteran bands, and of +some new levies which he had been permitted to form, boldly +penetrated into the centre of the German cantonments, and +carefully reestablished the fortifications of Saverne, in an +advantageous post, which would either check the incursions, or +intercept the retreat, of the enemy. At the same time, Barbatio, +general of the infantry, advanced from Milan with an army of +thirty thousand men, and passing the mountains, prepared to throw +a bridge over the Rhine, in the neighborhood of Basil. It was +reasonable to expect that the Alemanni, pressed on either side by +the Roman arms, would soon be forced to evacuate the provinces of +Gaul, and to hasten to the defence of their native country. But +the hopes of the campaign were defeated by the incapacity, or the +envy, or the secret instructions, of Barbatio; who acted as if he +had been the enemy of the Caesar, and the secret ally of the +Barbarians. The negligence with which he permitted a troop of +pillagers freely to pass, and to return almost before the gates +of his camp, may be imputed to his want of abilities; but the +treasonable act of burning a number of boats, and a superfluous +stock of provisions, which would have been of the most essential +service to the army of Gaul, was an evidence of his hostile and +criminal intentions. The Germans despised an enemy who appeared +destitute either of power or of inclination to offend them; and +the ignominious retreat of Barbatio deprived Julian of the +expected support; and left him to extricate himself from a +hazardous situation, where he could neither remain with safety, +nor retire with honor. ^73 + +[Footnote 71: Ammian. xvi. 7. Libanius speaks rather more +advantageously of the military talents of Marcellus, Orat. x. p. +272. And Julian insinuates, that he would not have been so +easily recalled, unless he had given other reasons of offence to +the court, p. 278.] + +[Footnote 72: Severus, non discors, non arrogans, sed longa +militiae frugalitate compertus; et eum recta praeeuntem +secuturus, ut duetorem morigeran miles. Ammian xvi. 11. +Zosimus, l. iii. p. 140.] +[Footnote 73: On the design and failure of the cooperation +between Julian and Barbatio, see Ammianus (xvi. 11) and Libanius, +(Orat. x. p. 273.) + Note: Barbatio seems to have allowed himself to be surprised +and defeated - M.] + + As soon as they were delivered from the fears of invasion, +the Alemanni prepared to chastise the Roman youth, who presumed +to dispute the possession of that country, which they claimed as +their own by the right of conquest and of treaties. They +employed three days, and as many nights, in transporting over the +Rhine their military powers. The fierce Chnodomar, shaking the +ponderous javelin which he had victoriously wielded against the +brother of Magnentius, led the van of the Barbarians, and +moderated by his experience the martial ardor which his example +inspired. ^74 He was followed by six other kings, by ten princes +of regal extraction, by a long train of high-spirited nobles, and +by thirty-five thousand of the bravest warriors of the tribes of +Germany. The confidence derived from the view of their own +strength, was increased by the intelligence which they received +from a deserter, that the Caesar, with a feeble army of thirteen +thousand men, occupied a post about one-and-twenty miles from +their camp of Strasburgh. With this inadequate force, Julian +resolved to seek and to encounter the Barbarian host; and the +chance of a general action was preferred to the tedious and +uncertain operation of separately engaging the dispersed parties +of the Alemanni. The Romans marched in close order, and in two +columns; the cavalry on the right, the infantry on the left; and +the day was so far spent when they appeared in sight of the +enemy, that Julian was desirous of deferring the battle till the +next morning, and of allowing his troops to recruit their +exhausted strength by the necessary refreshments of sleep and +food. Yielding, however, with some reluctance, to the clamors of +the soldiers, and even to the opinion of his council, he exhorted +them to justify by their valor the eager impatience, which, in +case of a defeat, would be universally branded with the epithets +of rashness and presumption. The trumpets sounded, the military +shout was heard through the field, and the two armies rushed with +equal fury to the charge. The Caesar, who conducted in person his +right wing, depended on the dexterity of his archers, and the +weight of his cuirassiers. But his ranks were instantly broken +by an irregular mixture of light horse and of light infantry, and +he had the mortification of beholding the flight of six hundred +of his most renowned cuirassiers. ^75 The fugitives were stopped +and rallied by the presence and authority of Julian, who, +careless of his own safety, threw himself before them, and urging +every motive of shame and honor, led them back against the +victorious enemy. The conflict between the two lines of infantry +was obstinate and bloody. The Germans possessed the superiority +of strength and stature, the Romans that of discipline and +temper; and as the Barbarians, who served under the standard of +the empire, united the respective advantages of both parties, +their strenuous efforts, guided by a skilful leader, at length +determined the event of the day. The Romans lost four tribunes, +and two hundred and forty-three soldiers, in this memorable +battle of Strasburgh, so glorious to the Caesar, ^76 and so +salutary to the afflicted provinces of Gaul. Six thousand of the +Alemanni were slain in the field, without including those who +were drowned in the Rhine, or transfixed with darts while they +attempted to swim across the river. ^77 Chnodomar himself was +surrounded and taken prisoner, with three of his brave +companions, who had devoted themselves to follow in life or death +the fate of their chieftain. Julian received him with military +pomp in the council of his officers; and expressing a generous +pity for the fallen state, dissembled his inward contempt for the +abject humiliation, of his captive. Instead of exhibiting the +vanquished king of the Alemanni, as a grateful spectacle to the +cities of Gaul, he respectfully laid at the feet of the emperor +this splendid trophy of his victory. Chnodomar experienced an +honorable treatment: but the impatient Barbarian could not long +survive his defeat, his confinement, and his exile. ^78 + +[Footnote 74: Ammianus (xvi. 12) describes with his inflated +eloquence the figure and character of Chnodomar. Audax et fidens +ingenti robore lacertorum, ubi ardor proelii sperabatur immanis, +equo spumante sublimior, erectus in jaculum formidandae +vastitatis, armorumque nitore conspicuus: antea strenuus et +miles, et utilis praeter caeteros ductor . . . Decentium Caesarem +superavit aequo marte congressus.] + +[Footnote 75: After the battle, Julian ventured to revive the +rigor of ancient discipline, by exposing these fugitives in +female apparel to the derision of the whole camp. In the next +campaign, these troops nobly retrieved their honor. Zosimus, l. +iii. p. 142.] + +[Footnote 76: Julian himself (ad S. P. Q. Athen. p. 279) speaks +of the battle of Strasburgh with the modesty of conscious merit;. + +Zosimus compares it with the victory of Alexander over Darius; +and yet we are at a loss to discover any of those strokes of +military genius which fix the attention of ages on the conduct +and success of a single day.] + +[Footnote 77: Ammianus, xvi. 12. Libanius adds 2000 more to the +number of the slain, (Orat. x. p. 274.) But these trifling +differences disappear before the 60,000 Barbarians, whom Zosimus +has sacrificed to the glory of his hero, (l. iii. p. 141.) We +might attribute this extravagant number to the carelessness of +transcribers, if this credulous or partial historian had not +swelled the army of 35,000 Alemanni to an innumerable multitude +of Barbarians,. It is our own fault if this detection does not +inspire us with proper distrust on similar occasions.] + +[Footnote 78: Ammian. xvi. 12. Libanius, Orat. x. p. 276.] + After Julian had repulsed the Alemanni from the provinces of +the Upper Rhine, he turned his arms against the Franks, who were +seated nearer to the ocean, on the confines of Gaul and Germany; +and who, from their numbers, and still more from their intrepid +valor, had ever been esteemed the most formidable of the +Barbarians. ^79 Although they were strongly actuated by the +allurements of rapine, they professed a disinterested love of +war; which they considered as the supreme honor and felicity of +human nature; and their minds and bodies were so completely +hardened by perpetual action, that, according to the lively +expression of an orator, the snows of winter were as pleasant to +them as the flowers of spring. In the month of December, which +followed the battle of Strasburgh, Julian attacked a body of six +hundred Franks, who had thrown themselves into two castles on the +Meuse. ^80 In the midst of that severe season they sustained, +with inflexible constancy, a siege of fifty-four days; till at +length, exhausted by hunger, and satisfied that the vigilance of +the enemy, in breaking the ice of the river, left them no hopes +of escape, the Franks consented, for the first time, to dispense +with the ancient law which commanded them to conquer or to die. +The Caesar immediately sent his captives to the court of +Constantius, who, accepting them as a valuable present, ^81 +rejoiced in the opportunity of adding so many heroes to the +choicest troops of his domestic guards. The obstinate resistance +of this handful of Franks apprised Julian of the difficulties of +the expedition which he meditated for the ensuing spring, against +the whole body of the nation. His rapid diligence surprised and +astonished the active Barbarians. Ordering his soldiers to +provide themselves with biscuit for twenty days, he suddenly +pitched his camp near Tongres, while the enemy still supposed him +in his winter quarters of Paris, expecting the slow arrival of +his convoys from Aquitain. Without allowing the Franks to unite +or deliberate, he skilfully spread his legions from Cologne to +the ocean; and by the terror, as well as by the success, of his +arms, soon reduced the suppliant tribes to implore the clemency, +and to obey the commands, of their conqueror. The Chamavians +submissively retired to their former habitations beyond the +Rhine; but the Salians were permitted to possess their new +establishment of Toxandria, as the subjects and auxiliaries of +the Roman empire. ^82 The treaty was ratified by solemn oaths; +and perpetual inspectors were appointed to reside among the +Franks, with the authority of enforcing the strict observance of +the conditions. An incident is related, interesting enough in +itself, and by no means repugnant to the character of Julian, who +ingeniously contrived both the plot and the catastrophe of the +tragedy. When the Chamavians sued for peace, he required the son +of their king, as the only hostage on whom he could rely. A +mournful silence, interrupted by tears and groans, declared the +sad perplexity of the Barbarians; and their aged chief lamented +in pathetic language, that his private loss was now imbittered by +a sense of public calamity. While the Chamavians lay prostrate +at the foot of his throne, the royal captive, whom they believed +to have been slain, unexpectedly appeared before their eyes; and +as soon as the tumult of joy was hushed into attention, the +Caesar addressed the assembly in the following terms: "Behold the +son, the prince, whom you wept. You had lost him by your fault. +God and the Romans have restored him to you. I shall still +preserve and educate the youth, rather as a monument of my own +virtue, than as a pledge of your sincerity. Should you presume +to violate the faith which you have sworn, the arms of the +republic will avenge the perfidy, not on the innocent, but on the +guilty." The Barbarians withdrew from his presence, impressed +with the warmest sentiments of gratitude and admiration. ^83 + +[Footnote 79: Libanius (Orat. iii. p. 137) draws a very lively +picture of the manners of the Franks.] + +[Footnote 80: Ammianus, xvii. 2. Libanius, Orat. x. p. 278. The +Greek orator, by misapprehending a passage of Julian, has been +induced to represent the Franks as consisting of a thousand men; +and as his head was always full of the Peloponnesian war, he +compares them to the Lacedaemonians, who were besieged and taken +in the Island of Sphatoria.] + +[Footnote 81: Julian. ad S. P. Q. Athen. p. 280. Libanius, Orat. +x. p. 278. According to the expression of Libanius, the emperor, +which La Bleterie understands (Vie de Julien, p. 118) as an +honest confession, and Valesius (ad Ammian. xvii. 2) as a mean +evasion, of the truth. Dom Bouquet, (Historiens de France, tom. +i. p. 733,) by substituting another word, would suppress both the +difficulty and the spirit of this passage.] + +[Footnote 82: Ammian. xvii. 8. Zosimus, l. iii. p. 146-150, (his +narrative is darkened by a mixture of fable,) and Julian. ad S. +P. Q. Athen. p. 280. His expression. This difference of +treatment confirms the opinion that the Salian Franks were +permitted to retain the settlements in Toxandria. + Note: A newly discovered fragment of Eunapius, whom Zosimus +probably transcribed, illustrates this transaction. "Julian +commanded the Romans to abstain from all hostile measures against +the Salians, neither to waste or ravage their own country, for he +called every country their own which was surrendered without +resistance or toil on the part of the conquerors." Mai, Script. +Vez Nov. Collect. ii. 256, and Eunapius in Niebuhr, Byzant. +Hist.] +[Footnote 83: This interesting story, which Zosimus has abridged, +is related by Eunapius, (in Excerpt. Legationum, p. 15, 16, 17,) +with all the amplifications of Grecian rhetoric: but the silence +of Libanius, of Ammianus, and of Julian himself, renders the +truth of it extremely suspicious.] + It was not enough for Julian to have delivered the provinces +of Gaul from the Barbarians of Germany. He aspired to emulate +the glory of the first and most illustrious of the emperors; +after whose example, he composed his own commentaries of the +Gallic war. ^84 Caesar has related, with conscious pride, the +manner in which he twice passed the Rhine. Julian could boast, +that before he assumed the title of Augustus, he had carried the +Roman eagles beyond that great river in three successful +expeditions. ^85 The consternation of the Germans, after the +battle of Strasburgh, encouraged him to the first attempt; and +the reluctance of the troops soon yielded to the persuasive +eloquence of a leader, who shared the fatigues and dangers which +he imposed on the meanest of the soldiers. The villages on +either side of the Meyn, which were plentifully stored with corn +and cattle, felt the ravages of an invading army. The principal +houses, constructed with some imitation of Roman elegance, were +consumed by the flames; and the Caesar boldly advanced about ten +miles, till his progress was stopped by a dark and impenetrable +forest, undermined by subterraneous passages, which threatened +with secret snares and ambush every step of the assailants. The +ground was already covered with snow; and Julian, after repairing +an ancient castle which had been erected by Trajan, granted a +truce of ten months to the submissive Barbarians. At the +expiration of the truce, Julian undertook a second expedition +beyond the Rhine, to humble the pride of Surmar and Hortaire, two +of the kings of the Alemanni, who had been present at the battle +of Strasburgh. They promised to restore all the Roman captives +who yet remained alive; and as the Caesar had procured an exact +account from the cities and villages of Gaul, of the inhabitants +whom they had lost, he detected every attempt to deceive him, +with a degree of readiness and accuracy, which almost established +the belief of his supernatural knowledge. His third expedition +was still more splendid and important than the two former. The +Germans had collected their military powers, and moved along the +opposite banks of the river, with a design of destroying the +bridge, and of preventing the passage of the Romans. But this +judicious plan of defence was disconcerted by a skilful +diversion. Three hundred light-armed and active soldiers were +detached in forty small boats, to fall down the stream in +silence, and to land at some distance from the posts of the +enemy. They executed their orders with so much boldness and +celerity, that they had almost surprised the Barbarian chiefs, +who returned in the fearless confidence of intoxication from one +of their nocturnal festivals. Without repeating the uniform and +disgusting tale of slaughter and devastation, it is sufficient to +observe, that Julian dictated his own conditions of peace to six +of the haughtiest kings of the Alemanni, three of whom were +permitted to view the severe discipline and martial pomp of a +Roman camp. Followed by twenty thousand captives, whom he had +rescued from the chains of the Barbarians, the Caesar repassed +the Rhine, after terminating a war, the success of which has been +compared to the ancient glories of the Punic and Cimbric +victories. +[Footnote 84: Libanius, the friend of Julian, clearly insinuates +(Orat. ix. p. 178) that his hero had composed the history of his +Gallic campaigns But Zosimus (l. iii. p, 140) seems to have +derived his information only from the Orations and the Epistles +of Julian. The discourse which is addressed to the Athenians +contains an accurate, though general, account of the war against +the Germans.] + +[Footnote 85: See Ammian. xvii. 1, 10, xviii. 2, and Zosim. l. +iii. p. 144. Julian ad S. P. Q. Athen. p. 280.] + + As soon as the valor and conduct of Julian had secured an +interval of peace, he applied himself to a work more congenial to +his humane and philosophic temper. The cities of Gaul, which had +suffered from the inroads of the Barbarians, he diligently +repaired; and seven important posts, between Mentz and the mouth +of the Rhine, are particularly mentioned, as having been rebuilt +and fortified by the order of Julian. ^86 The vanquished Germans +had submitted to the just but humiliating condition of preparing +and conveying the necessary materials. The active zeal of Julian +urged the prosecution of the work; and such was the spirit which +he had diffused among the troops, that the auxiliaries +themselves, waiving their exemption from any duties of fatigue, +contended in the most servile labors with the diligence of the +Roman soldiers. It was incumbent on the Caesar to provide for the +subsistence, as well as for the safety, of the inhabitants and of +the garrisons. The desertion of the former, and the mutiny of +the latter, must have been the fatal and inevitable consequences +of famine. The tillage of the provinces of Gaul had been +interrupted by the calamities of war; but the scanty harvests of +the continent were supplied, by his paternal care, from the +plenty of the adjacent island. Six hundred large barks, framed in +the forest of the Ardennes, made several voyages to the coast of +Britain; and returning from thence, laden with corn, sailed up +the Rhine, and distributed their cargoes to the several towns and +fortresses along the banks of the river. ^87 The arms of Julian +had restored a free and secure navigation, which Constantinius +had offered to purchase at the expense of his dignity, and of a +tributary present of two thousand pounds of silver. The emperor +parsimoniously refused to his soldiers the sums which he granted +with a lavish and trembling hand to the Barbarians. The +dexterity, as well as the firmness, of Julian was put to a severe +trial, when he took the field with a discontented army, which had +already served two campaigns, without receiving any regular pay +or any extraordinary donative. ^88 +[Footnote 86: Ammian. 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, and Castra Herculis, or +Heraclea, no longer subsist; but there is room to believe, that +on the ground of Quadriburgium the Dutch have constructed the +fort of Schenk, a name so offensive to the fastidious delicacy of +Boileau. See D'Anville, Notice de l'Ancienne Gaule, p. 183. +Boileau, Epitre iv. and the notes. + Note: Tricesimae, Kellen, Mannert, quoted by Wagner. +Heraclea, Erkeleus in the district of Juliers. St. Martin, ii. +311. - M.] + +[Footnote 87: We may credit Julian himself, (Orat. ad S. P. Q. +Atheniensem, p. 280,) who gives a very particular account of the +transaction. Zosimus adds two hundred vessels more, (l. iii. p. +145.) If we compute the 600 corn ships of Julian at only seventy +tons each, they were capable of exporting 120,000 quarters, (see +Arbuthnot's Weights and Measures, p. 237;) and the country which +could bear so large an exportation, must already have attained an +improved state of agriculture.] + +[Footnote 88: The troops once broke out into a mutiny, +immediately before the second passage of the Rhine. Ammian. +xvii. 9.] + + A tender regard for the peace and happiness of his subjects +was the ruling principle which directed, or seemed to direct, the +administration of Julian. ^89 He devoted the leisure of his +winter quarters to the offices of civil government; and affected +to assume, with more pleasure, the character of a magistrate than +that of a general. Before he took the field, he devolved on the +provincial governors most of the public and private causes which +had been referred to his tribunal; but, on his return, he +carefully revised their proceedings, mitigated the rigor of the +law, and pronounced a second judgment on the judges themselves. +Superior to the last temptation of virtuous minds, an indiscreet +and intemperate zeal for justice, he restrained, with calmness +and dignity, the warmth of an advocate, who prosecuted, for +extortion, the president of the Narbonnese province. "Who will +ever be found guilty," exclaimed the vehement Delphidius, "if it +be enough to deny?" "And who," replied Julian, "will ever be +innocent, if it be sufficient to affirm?" In the general +administration of peace and war, the interest of the sovereign is +commonly the same as that of his people; but Constantius would +have thought himself deeply injured, if the virtues of Julian had +defrauded him of any part of the tribute which he extorted from +an oppressed and exhausted country. The prince who was invested +with the ensigns of royalty, might sometimes presume to correct +the rapacious insolence of his inferior agents, to expose their +corrupt arts, and to introduce an equal and easier mode of +collection. But the management of the finances was more safely +intrusted to Florentius, praetorian praefect of Gaul, an +effeminate tyrant, incapable of pity or remorse: and the haughty +minister complained of the most decent and gentle opposition, +while Julian himself was rather inclined to censure the weakness +of his own behavior. The Caesar had rejected, with abhorrence, a +mandate for the levy of an extraordinary tax; a new +superindiction, which the praefect had offered for his signature; +and the faithful picture of the public misery, by which he had +been obliged to justify his refusal, offended the court of +Constantius. We may enjoy the pleasure of reading the sentiments +of Julian, as he expresses them with warmth and freedom in a +letter to one of his most intimate friends. After stating his +own conduct, he proceeds in the following terms: "Was it possible +for the disciple of Plato and Aristotle to act otherwise than I +have done? Could I abandon the unhappy subjects intrusted to my +care? Was I not called upon to defend them from the repeated +injuries of these unfeeling robbers? A tribune who deserts his +post is punished with death, and deprived of the honors of +burial. With what justice could I pronounce his sentence, if, in +the hour of danger, I myself neglected a duty far more sacred and +far more important? God has placed me in this elevated post; his +providence will guard and support me. Should I be condemned to +suffer, I shall derive comfort from the testimony of a pure and +upright conscience. Would to Heaven that I still possessed a +counsellor like Sallust! If they think proper to send me a +successor, I shall submit without reluctance; and had much rather +improve the short opportunity of doing good, than enjoy a long +and lasting impunity of evil." ^90 The precarious and dependent +situation of Julian displayed his virtues and concealed his +defects. The young hero who supported, in Gaul, the throne of +Constantius, was not permitted to reform the vices of the +government; but he had courage to alleviate or to pity the +distress of the people. Unless he had been able to revive the +martial spirit of the Romans, or to introduce the arts of +industry and refinement among their savage enemies, he could not +entertain any rational hopes of securing the public tranquillity, +either by the peace or conquest of Germany. Yet the victories of +Julian suspended, for a short time, the inroads of the +Barbarians, and delayed the ruin of the Western Empire. +[Footnote 89: Ammian. xvi. 5, xviii. 1. Mamertinus in Panegyr. +Vet. xi. 4] +[Footnote 90: Ammian. xvii. 3. Julian. Epistol. xv. edit. +Spanheim. Such a conduct almost justifies the encomium of +Mamertinus. Ita illi anni spatia divisa sunt, ut aut Barbaros +domitet, aut civibus jura restituat, perpetuum professus, aut +contra hostem, aut contra vitia, certamen.] + His salutary influence restored the cities of Gaul, which +had been so long exposed to the evils of civil discord, Barbarian +war, and domestic tyranny; and the spirit of industry was revived +with the hopes of enjoyment. Agriculture, manufactures, and +commerce, again flourished under the protection of the laws; and +the curioe, or civil corporations, were again filled with useful +and respectable members: the youth were no longer apprehensive of +marriage; and married persons were no longer apprehensive of +posterity: the public and private festivals were celebrated with +customary pomp; and the frequent and secure intercourse of the +provinces displayed the image of national prosperity. ^91 A mind +like that of Julian must have felt the general happiness of which +he was the author; but he viewed, with particular satisfaction +and complacency, the city of Paris; the seat of his winter +residence, and the object even of his partial affection. ^92 That +splendid capital, which now embraces an ample territory on either +side of the Seine, was originally confined to the small island in +the midst of the river, from whence the inhabitants derived a +supply of pure and salubrious water. The river bathed the foot +of the walls; and the town was accessible only by two wooden +bridges. A forest overspread the northern side of the Seine, but +on the south, the ground, which now bears the name of the +University, was insensibly covered with houses, and adorned with +a palace and amphitheatre, baths, an aqueduct, and a field of +Mars for the exercise of the Roman troops. The severity of the +climate was tempered by the neighborhood of the ocean; and with +some precautions, which experience had taught, the vine and +fig-tree were successfully cultivated. But in remarkable winters, +the Seine was deeply frozen; and the huge pieces of ice that +floated down the stream, might be compared, by an Asiatic, to the +blocks of white marble which were extracted from the quarries of +Phrygia. The licentiousness and corruption of Antioch recalled +to the memory of Julian the severe and simple manners of his +beloved Lutetia; ^93 where the amusements of the theatre were +unknown or despised. He indignantly contrasted the effeminate +Syrians with the brave and honest simplicity of the Gauls, and +almost forgave the intemperance, which was the only stain of the +Celtic character. ^94 If Julian could now revisit the capital of +France, he might converse with men of science and genius, capable +of understanding and of instructing a disciple of the Greeks; he +might excuse the lively and graceful follies of a nation, whose +martial spirit has never been enervated by the indulgence of +luxury; and he must applaud the perfection of that inestimable +art, which softens and refines and embellishes the intercourse of +social life. + +[Footnote 91: Libanius, Orat. Parental. in Imp. Julian. c. 38, in +Fabricius Bibliothec. Graec. tom. vii. p. 263, 264.] + +[Footnote 92: See Julian. in Misopogon, p. 340, 341. The +primitive state of Paris is illustrated by Henry Valesius, (ad +Ammian. xx. 4,) his brother Hadrian Valesius, or de Valois, and +M. D'Anville, (in their respective Notitias of ancient Gaul,) the +Abbe de Longuerue, (Description de la France, tom. i. p. 12, 13,) +and M. Bonamy, (in the Mem. de l'Aca demie des Inscriptions, tom. +xv. p. 656-691.)] + +[Footnote 93: Julian, in Misopogon, p. 340. Leuce tia, or +Lutetia, was the ancient name of the city, which, according to +the fashion of the fourth century, assumed the territorial +appellation of Parisii.] + +[Footnote 94: Julian in Misopogon, p. 359, 360.] + +Chapter XX: Conversion Of Constantine. + +Part I. + + The Motives, Progress, And Effects Of The Conversion Of +Constantine. - Legal Establishment And Constitution Of The +Christian Or Catholic Church. + + The public establishment of Christianity may be considered +as one of those important and domestic revolutions which excite +the most lively curiosity, and afford the most valuable +instruction. The victories and the civil policy of Constantine +no longer influence the state of Europe; but a considerable +portion of the globe still retains the impression which it +received from the conversion of that monarch; and the +ecclesiastical institutions of his reign are still connected, by +an indissoluble chain, with the opinions, the passions, and the +interests of the present generation. + In the consideration of a subject which may be examined with +impartiality, but cannot be viewed with indifference, a +difficulty immediately arises of a very unexpected nature; that +of ascertaining the real and precise date of the conversion of +Constantine. The eloquent Lactantius, in the midst of his court, +seems impatient ^1 to proclaim to the world the glorious example +of the sovereign of Gaul; who, in the first moments of his reign, +acknowledged and adored the majesty of the true and only God. ^2 +The learned Eusebius has ascribed the faith of Constantine to the +miraculous sign which was displayed in the heavens whilst he +meditated and prepared the Italian expedition. ^3 The historian +Zosimus maliciously asserts, that the emperor had imbrued his +hands in the blood of his eldest son, before he publicly +renounced the gods of Rome and of his ancestors. ^4 The +perplexity produced by these discordant authorities is derived +from the behavior of Constantine himself. According to the +strictness of ecclesiastical language, the first of the Christian +emperors was unworthy of that name, till the moment of his death; +since it was only during his last illness that he received, as a +catechumen, the imposition of hands, ^5 and was afterwards +admitted, by the initiatory rites of baptism, into the number of +the faithful. ^6 The Christianity of Constantine must be allowed +in a much more vague and qualified sense; and the nicest accuracy +is required in tracing the slow and almost imperceptible +gradations by which the monarch declared himself the protector, +and at length the proselyte, of the church. It was an arduous +task to eradicate the habits and prejudices of his education, to +acknowledge the divine power of Christ, and to understand that +the truth of his revelation was incompatible with the worship of +the gods. The obstacles which he had probably experienced in his +own mind, instructed him to proceed with caution in the momentous +change of a national religion; and he insensibly discovered his +new opinions, as far as he could enforce them with safety and +with effect. During the whole course of his reign, the stream of +Christianity flowed with a gentle, though accelerated, motion: +but its general direction was sometimes checked, and sometimes +diverted, by the accidental circumstances of the times, and by +the prudence, or possibly by the caprice, of the monarch. His +ministers were permitted to signify the intentions of their +master in the various language which was best adapted to their +respective principles; ^7 and he artfully balanced the hopes and +fears of his subjects, by publishing in the same year two edicts; +the first of which enjoined the solemn observance of Sunday, ^8 +and the second directed the regular consultation of the +Aruspices. ^9 While this important revolution yet remained in +suspense, the Christians and the Pagans watched the conduct of +their sovereign with the same anxiety, but with very opposite +sentiments. The former were prompted by every motive of zeal, as +well as vanity, to exaggerate the marks of his favor, and the +evidences of his faith. The latter, till their just +apprehensions were changed into despair and resentment, attempted +to conceal from the world, and from themselves, that the gods of +Rome could no longer reckon the emperor in the number of their +votaries. The same passions and prejudices have engaged the +partial writers of the times to connect the public profession of +Christianity with the most glorious or the most ignominious aera +of the reign of Constantine. + +[Footnote 1: The date of the Divine Institutions of Lactantius +has been accurately discussed, difficulties have been started, +solutions proposed, and an expedient imagined of two original +editions; the former published during the persecution of +Diocletian, the latter under that of Licinius. See Dufresnoy, +Prefat. p. v. Tillemont, Mem. Ecclesiast. tom. vi. p. 465- 470. +Lardner's Credibility, part ii. vol. vii. p. 78-86. For my own +part, I am almost convinced that Lactantius dedicated his +Institutions to the sovereign of Gaul, at a time when Galerius, +Maximin, and even Licinius, persecuted the Christians; that is, +between the years 306 and 311.] + +[Footnote 2: Lactant. Divin. Instit. i. l. vii. 27. The first +and most important of these passages is indeed wanting in +twenty-eight manuscripts; but it is found in nineteen. If we +weigh the comparative value of these manuscripts, one of 900 +years old, in the king of France's library may be alleged in its +favor; but the passage is omitted in the correct manuscript of +Bologna, which the P. de Montfaucon ascribes to the sixth or +seventh century (Diarium Italic. p. 489.) The taste of most of +the editors (except Isaeus; see Lactant. edit. Dufresnoy, tom. i. +p. 596) has felt the genuine style of Lactantius.] + +[Footnote 3: Euseb. in Vit. Constant. l. i. c. 27-32.] + +[Footnote 4: Zosimus, l. ii. p. 104.] + +[Footnote 5: That rite was always used in making a catechumen, +(see Bingham'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 Vit Constant. l. iv. c. 61) +immediately before his baptism and death. From the connection of +these two facts, Valesius (ad loc. Euseb.) has drawn the +conclusion which is reluctantly admitted by Tillemont, (Hist. des +Empereurs, tom. iv. p. 628,) and opposed with feeble arguments by +Mosheim, (p. 968.)] + +[Footnote 6: Euseb. in Vit. Constant. l. iv. c. 61, 62, 63. The +legend of Constantine's baptism at Rome, thirteen years before +his death, was invented in the eighth century, as a proper motive +for his donation. Such has been the gradual progress of +knowledge, that a story, of which Cardinal Baronius (Annual +Ecclesiast. A. D. 324, No. 43-49) declared himself the unblushing +advocate, is now feebly supported, even within the verge of the +Vatican. See the Antiquitates Christianae, tom. ii. p. 232; a +work published with six approbations at Rome, in the year 1751 by +Father Mamachi, a learned Dominican.] + +[Footnote 7: The quaestor, or secretary, who composed the law of +the Theodosian Code, makes his master say with indifference, +"hominibus supradictae religionis," (l. xvi. tit. ii. leg. 1.) +The minister of ecclesiastical affairs was allowed a more devout +and respectful style, the legal, most holy, and Catholic +worship.] + +[Footnote 8: Cod. Theodos. l. ii. viii. tit. leg. 1. Cod. +Justinian. l. iii. tit. xii. leg. 3. Constantine styles the +Lord's day dies solis, a name which could not offend the ears of +his pagan subjects.] + +[Footnote 9: Cod. Theodos. l. xvi. tit. x. leg. l. Godefroy, in +the character of a commentator, endeavors (tom. vi. p. 257) to +excuse Constantine; but the more zealous Baronius (Annal. Eccles. +A. D. 321, No. 17) censures his profane conduct with truth and +asperity.] + + Whatever symptoms of Christian piety might transpire in the +discourses or actions of Constantine, he persevered till he was +near forty years of age in the practice of the established +religion; ^10 and the same conduct which in the court of +Nicomedia might be imputed to his fear, could be ascribed only to +the inclination or policy of the sovereign of Gaul. His +liberality restored and enriched the temples of the gods; the +medals which issued from his Imperial mint are impressed with the +figures and attributes of Jupiter and Apollo, of Mars and +Hercules; and his filial piety increased the council of Olympus +by the solemn apotheosis of his father Constantius. ^11 But the +devotion of Constantine was more peculiarly directed to the +genius of the Sun, the Apollo of Greek and Roman mythology; and +he was pleased to be represented with the symbols of the God of +Light and Poetry. The unerring shafts of that deity, the +brightness of his eyes, his laurel wreath, immortal beauty, and +elegant accomplishments, seem to point him out as the patron of a +young hero. The altars of Apollo were crowned with the votive +offerings of Constantine; and the credulous multitude were taught +to believe, that the emperor was permitted to behold with mortal +eyes the visible majesty of their tutelar deity; and that, either +walking or in a vision, he was blessed with the auspicious omens +of a long and victorious reign. The Sun was universally +celebrated as the invincible guide and protector of Constantine; +and the Pagans might reasonably expect that the insulted god +would pursue with unrelenting vengeance the impiety of his +ungrateful favorite. ^12 +[Footnote 10: Theodoret. (l. i. c. 18) seems to insinuate that +Helena gave her son a Christian education; but we may be assured, +from the superior authority of Eusebius, (in Vit. Constant. l. +iii. c. 47,) that she herself was indebted to Constantine for the +knowledge of Christianity.] + +[Footnote 11: See the medals of Constantine in Ducange and +Banduri. As few cities had retained the privilege of coining, +almost all the medals of that age issued from the mint under the +sanction of the Imperial authority.] +[Footnote 12: The panegyric of Eumenius, (vii. inter Panegyr. +Vet.,) which was pronounced a few months before the Italian war, +abounds with the most unexceptionable evidence of the Pagan +superstition of Constantine, and of his particular veneration for +Apollo, or the Sun; to which Julian alludes.] + As long as Constantine exercised a limited sovereignty over +the provinces of Gaul, his Christian subjects were protected by +the authority, and perhaps by the laws, of a prince, who wisely +left to the gods the care of vindicating their own honor. If we +may credit the assertion of Constantine himself, he had been an +indignant spectator of the savage cruelties which were inflicted, +by the hands of Roman soldiers, on those citizens whose religion +was their only crime. ^13 In the East and in the West, he had +seen the different effects of severity and indulgence; and as the +former was rendered still more odious by the example of Galerius, +his implacable enemy, the latter was recommended to his imitation +by the authority and advice of a dying father. The son of +Constantius immediately suspended or repealed the edicts of +persecution, and granted the free exercise of their religious +ceremonies to all those who had already professed themselves +members of the church. They were soon encouraged to depend on +the favor as well as on the justice of their sovereign, who had +imbibed a secret and sincere reverence for the name of Christ, +and for the God of the Christians. ^14 + +[Footnote 13: Constantin. Orat. ad Sanctos, c. 25. But it might +easily be shown, that the Greek translator has improved the sense +of the Latin original; and the aged emperor might recollect the +persecution of Diocletian with a more lively abhorrence than he +had actually felt to the days of his youth and Paganism.] + +[Footnote 14: See Euseb. Hist. Eccles. l. viii. 13, l. ix. 9, and +in Vit. Const. l. i. c. 16, 17 Lactant. Divin. Institut. i. l. +Caecilius de Mort. Persecut. c. 25.] + + About five months after the conquest of Italy, the emperor +made a solemn and authentic declaration of his sentiments by the +celebrated edict of Milan, which restored peace to the Catholic +church. In the personal interview of the two western princes, +Constantine, by the ascendant of genius and power, obtained the +ready concurrence of his colleague, Licinius; the union of their +names and authority disarmed the fury of Maximin; and after the +death of the tyrant of the East, the edict of Milan was received +as a general and fundamental law of the Roman world. ^15 + +[Footnote 15: Caecilius (de Mort. Persecut. c. 48) has preserved +the Latin original; and Eusebius (Hist. Eccles. l. x. c. 5) has +given a Greek translation of this perpetual edict, which refers +to some provisional regulations.] + + The wisdom of the emperors provided for the restitution of +all the civil and religious rights of which the Christians had +been so unjustly deprived. It was enacted that the places of +worship, and public lands, which had been confiscated, should be +restored to the church, without dispute, without delay, and +without expense; and this severe injunction was accompanied with +a gracious promise, that if any of the purchasers had paid a fair +and adequate price, they should be indemnified from the Imperial +treasury. The salutary regulations which guard the future +tranquillity of the faithful are framed on the principles of +enlarged and equal toleration; and such an equality must have +been interpreted by a recent sect as an advantageous and +honorable distinction. The two emperors proclaim to the world, +that they have granted a free and absolute power to the +Christians, and to all others, of following the religion which +each individual thinks proper to prefer, to which he has addicted +his mind, and which he may deem the best adapted to his own use. +They carefully explain every ambiguous word, remove every +exception, and exact from the governors of the provinces a strict +obedience to the true and simple meaning of an edict, which was +designed to establish and secure, without any limitation, the +claims of religious liberty. They condescend to assign two +weighty reasons which have induced them to allow this universal +toleration: the humane intention of consulting the peace and +happiness of their people; and the pious hope, that, by such a +conduct, they shall appease and propitiate the Deity, whose seat +is in heaven. They gratefully acknowledge the many signal proofs +which they have received of the divine favor; and they trust that +the same Providence will forever continue to protect the +prosperity of the prince and people. From these vague and +indefinite expressions of piety, three suppositions may be +deduced, of a different, but not of an incompatible nature. The +mind of Constantine might fluctuate between the Pagan and the +Christian religions. According to the loose and complying +notions of Polytheism, he might acknowledge the God of the +Christians as one of the many deities who compose the hierarchy +of heaven. Or perhaps he might embrace the philosophic and +pleasing idea, that, notwithstanding the variety of names, of +rites, and of opinions, all the sects, and all the nations of +mankind, are united in the worship of the common Father and +Creator of the universe. ^16 +[Footnote 16: A panegyric of Constantine, pronounced seven or +eight months after the edict of Milan, (see Gothofred. Chronolog. +Legum, p. 7, and Tillemont, Hist. des Empereurs, tom. iv. p. +246,) uses the following remarkable 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's progress in the faith, +Mosheim (p. 971, &c.) is ingenious, subtle, prolix.] + + But the counsels of princes are more frequently influenced +by views of temporal advantage, than by considerations of +abstract and speculative truth. The partial and increasing favor +of Constantine may naturally be referred to the esteem which he +entertained for the moral character of the Christians; and to a +persuasion, that the propagation of the gospel would inculcate +the practice of private and public virtue. Whatever latitude an +absolute monarch may assume in his own conduct, whatever +indulgence he may claim for his own passions, it is undoubtedly +his interest that all his subjects should respect the natural and +civil obligations of society. But the operation of the wisest +laws is imperfect and precarious. They seldom inspire virtue, +they cannot always restrain vice. Their power is insufficient to +prohibit all that they condemn, nor can they always punish the +actions which they prohibit. The legislators of antiquity had +summoned to their aid the powers of education and of opinion. +But every principle which had once maintained the vigor and +purity of Rome and Sparta, was long since extinguished in a +declining and despotic empire. Philosophy still exercised her +temperate sway over the human mind, but the cause of virtue +derived very feeble support from the influence of the Pagan +superstition. Under these discouraging circumstances, a prudent +magistrate might observe with pleasure the progress of a religion +which diffused among the people a pure, benevolent, and universal +system of ethics, adapted to every duty and every condition of +life; recommended as the will and reason of the supreme Deity, +and enforced by the sanction of eternal rewards or punishments. +The experience of Greek and Roman history could not inform the +world how far the system of national manners might be reformed +and improved by the precepts of a divine revelation; and +Constantine might listen with some confidence to the flattering, +and indeed reasonable, assurances of Lactantius. The eloquent +apologist seemed firmly to expect, and almost ventured to +promise, that the establishment of Christianity would restore the +innocence and felicity of the primitive age; that the worship of +the true God would extinguish war and dissension among those who +mutually considered themselves as the children of a common +parent; that every impure desire, every angry or selfish passion, +would be restrained by the knowledge of the gospel; and that the +magistrates might sheath the sword of justice among a people who +would be universally actuated by the sentiments of truth and +piety, of equity and moderation, of harmony and universal love. +^17 + +[Footnote 17: See the elegant description of Lactantius, (Divin +Institut. v. 8,) who is much more perspicuous and positive than +becomes a discreet prophet.] + + The passive and unresisting obedience, which bows under the +yoke of authority, or even of oppression, must have appeared, in +the eyes of an absolute monarch, the most conspicuous and useful +of the evangelic virtues. ^18 The primitive Christians derived +the institution of civil government, not from the consent of the +people, but from the decrees of Heaven. The reigning emperor, +though he had usurped the sceptre by treason and murder, +immediately assumed the sacred character of vicegerent of the +Deity. To the Deity alone he was accountable for the abuse of +his power; and his subjects were indissolubly bound, by their +oath of fidelity, to a tyrant, who had violated every law of +nature and society. The humble Christians were sent into the +world as sheep among wolves; and since they were not permitted to +employ force even in the defence of their religion, they should +be still more criminal if they were tempted to shed the blood of +their fellow-creatures in disputing the vain privileges, or the +sordid possessions, of this transitory life. Faithful to the +doctrine of the apostle, who in the reign of Nero had preached +the duty of unconditional submission, the Christians of the three +first centuries preserved their conscience pure and innocent of +the guilt of secret conspiracy, or open rebellion. While they +experienced the rigor of persecution, they were never provoked +either to meet their tyrants in the field, or indignantly to +withdraw themselves into some remote and sequestered corner of +the globe. ^19 The Protestants of France, of Germany, and of +Britain, who asserted with such intrepid courage their civil and +religious freedom, have been insulted by the invidious comparison +between the conduct of the primitive and of the reformed +Christians. ^20 Perhaps, instead of censure, some applause may be +due to the superior sense and spirit of our ancestors, who had +convinced themselves that religion cannot abolish the unalienable +rights of human nature. ^21 Perhaps the patience of the primitive +church may be ascribed to its weakness, as well as to its virtue. + +A sect of unwarlike plebeians, without leaders, without arms, +without fortifications, must have encountered inevitable +destruction in a rash and fruitless resistance to the master of +the Roman legions. But the Christians, when they deprecated the +wrath of Diocletian, or solicited the favor of Constantine, could +allege, with truth and confidence, that they held the principle +of passive obedience, and that, in the space of three centuries, +their conduct had always been conformable to their principles. +They might add, that the throne of the emperors would be +established on a fixed and permanent basis, if all their +subjects, embracing the Christian doctrine, should learn to +suffer and to obey. + +[Footnote 18: The political system of the Christians is explained +by Grotius, de Jure 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 established powers.] + +[Footnote 19: Tertullian. Apolog. c. 32, 34, 35, 36. Tamen +nunquam Albiniani, nec Nigriani vel Cassiani inveniri potuerunt +Christiani. Ad Scapulam, c. 2. If this assertion be strictly +true, it excludes the Christians of that age from all civil and +military employments, which would have compelled them to take an +active part in the service of their respective governors. See +Moyle's Works, vol. ii. p. 349.] + +[Footnote 20: See the artful Bossuet, (Hist. des Variations des +Eglises Protestantes, tom. iii. p. 210-258.) and the malicious +Bayle, (tom ii. p. 820.) I name Bayle, for he was certainly the +author of the Avis aux Refugies; consult the Dictionnaire +Critique de Chauffepie, tom. i. part ii. p. 145.] +[Footnote 21: Buchanan is the earliest, or at least the most +celebrated, of the reformers, who has justified the theory of +resistance. See his Dialogue de Jure Regni apud Scotos, tom. ii. +p. 28, 30, edit. fol. Rudiman.] + In the general order of Providence, princes and tyrants are +considered as the ministers of Heaven, appointed to rule or to +chastise the nations of the earth. But sacred history affords +many illustrious examples of the more immediate interposition of +the Deity in the government of his chosen people. The sceptre and +the sword were committed to the hands of Moses, of Joshua, of +Gideon, of David, of the Maccabees; the virtues of those heroes +were the motive or the effect of the divine favor, the success of +their arms was destined to achieve the deliverance or the triumph +of the church. If the judges of Israel were occasional and +temporary magistrates, the kings of Judah derived from the royal +unction of their great ancestor an hereditary and indefeasible +right, which could not be forfeited by their own vices, nor +recalled by the caprice of their subjects. The same +extraordinary providence, which was no longer confined to the +Jewish people, might elect Constantine and his family as the +protectors of the Christian world; and the devout Lactantius +announces, in a prophetic tone, the future glories of his long +and universal reign. ^22 Galerius and Maximin, Maxentius and +Licinius, were the rivals who shared with the favorite of heaven +the provinces of the empire. The tragic deaths of Galerius and +Maximin soon gratified the resentment, and fulfilled the sanguine +expectations, of the Christians. The success of Constantine +against Maxentius and Licinius removed the two formidable +competitors who still opposed the triumph of the second David, +and his cause might seem to claim the peculiar interposition of +Providence. The character of the Roman tyrant disgraced the +purple and human nature; and though the Christians might enjoy +his precarious favor, they were exposed, with the rest of his +subjects, to the effects of his wanton and capricious cruelty. +The conduct of Licinius soon betrayed the reluctance with which +he had consented to the wise and humane regulations of the edict +of Milan. The convocation of provincial synods was prohibited in +his dominions; his Christian officers were ignominiously +dismissed; and if he avoided the guilt, or rather danger, of a +general persecution, his partial oppressions were rendered still +more odious by the violation of a solemn and voluntary +engagement. ^23 While the East, according to the lively +expression of Eusebius, was involved in the shades of infernal +darkness, the auspicious rays of celestial light warmed and +illuminated the provinces of the West. The piety of Constantine +was admitted as an unexceptionable proof of the justice of his +arms; and his use of victory confirmed the opinion of the +Christians, that their hero was inspired, and conducted, by the +Lord of Hosts. The conquest of Italy produced a general edict of +toleration; and as soon as the defeat of Licinius had invested +Constantine with the sole dominion of the Roman world, he +immediately, by circular letters, exhorted all his subjects to +imitate, without delay, the example of their sovereign, and to +embrace the divine truth of Christianity. ^24 + +[Footnote 22: Lactant Divin. Institut. i. l. Eusebius in the +course of his history, his life, and his oration, repeatedly +inculcates the divine right of Constantine to the empire.] + +[Footnote 23: Our imperfect knowledge of the persecution of +Licinius is derived from Eusebius, (Hist. l. x. c. 8. Vit. +Constantin. l. i. c. 49-56, l. ii. c. 1, 2.) Aurelius Victor +mentions his cruelty in general terms.] +[Footnote 24: Euseb. in Vit. Constant. l. ii. c. 24-42 48-60.] + +Chapter XX: Conversion Of Constantine. + +Part II. + + The assurance that the elevation of Constantine was +intimately connected with the designs of Providence, instilled +into the minds of the Christians two opinions, which, by very +different means, assisted the accomplishment of the prophecy. +Their warm and active loyalty exhausted in his favor every +resource of human industry; and they confidently expected that +their strenuous efforts would be seconded by some divine and +miraculous aid. The enemies of Constantine have imputed to +interested motives the alliance which he insensibly contracted +with the Catholic church, and which apparently contributed to the +success of his ambition. In the beginning of the fourth century, +the Christians still bore a very inadequate proportion to the +inhabitants of the empire; but among a degenerate people, who +viewed the change of masters with the indifference of slaves, the +spirit and union of a religious party might assist the popular +leader, to whose service, from a principle of conscience, they +had devoted their lives and fortunes. ^25 The example of his +father had instructed Constantine to esteem and to reward the +merit of the Christians; and in the distribution of public +offices, he had the advantage of strengthening his government, by +the choice of ministers or generals, in whose fidelity he could +repose a just and unreserved confidence. By the influence of +these dignified missionaries, the proselytes of the new faith +must have multiplied in the court and army; the Barbarians of +Germany, who filled the ranks of the legions, were of a careless +temper, which acquiesced without resistance in the religion of +their commander; and when they passed the Alps, it may fairly be +presumed, that a great number of the soldiers had already +consecrated their swords to the service of Christ and of +Constantine. ^26 The habits of mankind and the interests of +religion gradually abated the horror of war and bloodshed, which +had so long prevailed among the Christians; and in the councils +which were assembled under the gracious protection of +Constantine, the authority of the bishops was seasonably employed +to ratify the obligation of the military oath, and to inflict the +penalty of excommunication on those soldiers who threw away their +arms during the peace of the church. ^27 While Constantine, in +his own dominions, increased the number and zeal of his faithful +adherents, he could depend on the support of a powerful faction +in those provinces which were still possessed or usurped by his +rivals. A secret disaffection was diffused among the Christian +subjects of Maxentius and Licinius; and the resentment, which the +latter did not attempt to conceal, served only to engage them +still more deeply in the interest of his competitor. The regular +correspondence which connected the bishops of the most distant +provinces, enabled them freely to communicate their wishes and +their designs, and to transmit without danger any useful +intelligence, or any pious contributions, which might promote the +service of Constantine, who publicly declared that he had taken +up arms for the deliverance of the church. ^28 + +[Footnote 25: In the beginning of the last century, the Papists +of England were only a thirtieth, and the Protestants of France +only a fifteenth, part of the respective nations, to whom their +spirit and power were a constant object of apprehension. See the +relations which Bentivoglio (who was then nuncio at Brussels, and +afterwards cardinal) transmitted to the court of Rome, +(Relazione, tom. ii. p. 211, 241.) Bentivoglio was curious, well +informed, but somewhat partial.] + +[Footnote 26: This careless temper of the Germans appears almost +uniformly on the history of the conversion of each of the tribes. + +The legions of Constantine were recruited with Germans, (Zosimus, +l. ii. p. 86;) and the court even of his father had been filled +with Christians. See the first book of the Life of Constantine, +by Eusebius.] + +[Footnote 27: De his qui arma projiciunt in pace, placuit eos +abstinere a communione. Council. Arelat. Canon. iii. The best +critics apply these words to the peace of the church.] + +[Footnote 28: Eusebius always considers the second civil war +against Licinius as a sort of religious crusade. At the +invitation of the tyrant, some Christian officers had resumed +their zones; or, in other words, had returned to the military +service. Their conduct was afterwards censured by the twelfth +canon of the Council of Nice; if this particular application may +be received, instead of the lo se and general sense of the Greek +interpreters, Balsamor Zonaras, and Alexis Aristenus. See +Beveridge, Pandect. Eccles. Graec. tom. i. p. 72, tom. ii. p. 73 +Annotation.] + + The enthusiasm which inspired the troops, and perhaps the +emperor himself, had sharpened their swords while it satisfied +their conscience. They marched to battle with the full assurance, +that the same God, who had formerly opened a passage to the +Israelites through the waters of Jordan, and had thrown down the +walls of Jericho at the sound of the trumpets of Joshua, would +display his visible majesty and power in the victory of +Constantine. The evidence of ecclesiastical history is prepared +to affirm, that their expectations were justified by the +conspicuous miracle to which the conversion of the first +Christian emperor has been almost unanimously ascribed. The real +or imaginary cause of so important an event, deserves and demands +the attention of posterity; and I shall endeavor to form a just +estimate of the famous vision of Constantine, by a distinct +consideration of the standard, the dream, and the celestial sign; +by separating the historical, the natural, and the marvellous +parts of this extraordinary story, which, in the composition of a +specious argument, have been artfully confounded in one splendid +and brittle mass. + + I. An instrument of the tortures which were inflicted only +on slaves and strangers, became on object of horror in the eyes +of a Roman citizen; and the ideas of guilt, of pain, and of +ignominy, were closely united with the idea of the cross. ^29 The +piety, rather than the humanity, of Constantine soon abolished in +his dominions the punishment which the Savior of mankind had +condescended to suffer; ^30 but the emperor had already learned +to despise the prejudices of his education, and of his people, +before he could erect in the midst of Rome his own statue, +bearing a cross in its right hand; with an inscription which +referred the victory of his arms, and the deliverance of Rome, to +the virtue of that salutary sign, the true symbol of force and +courage. ^31 The same symbol sanctified the arms of the soldiers +of Constantine; the cross glittered on their helmet, was engraved +on their shields, was interwoven into their banners; and the +consecrated emblems which adorned the person of the emperor +himself, were distinguished only by richer materials and more +exquisite workmanship. ^32 But the principal standard which +displayed the triumph of the cross was styled the Labarum, ^33 an +obscure, though celebrated name, which has been vainly derived +from almost all the languages of the world. It is described ^34 +as a long pike intersected by a transversal beam. The silken +veil, which hung down from the beam, was curiously inwrought with +the images of the reigning monarch and his children. The summit +of the pike supported a crown of gold which enclosed the +mysterious monogram, at once expressive of the figure of the +cross, and the initial letters, of the name of Christ. ^35 The +safety of the labarum was intrusted to fifty guards, of approved +valor and fidelity; their station was marked by honors and +emoluments; and some fortunate accidents soon introduced an +opinion, that as long as the guards of the labarum were engaged +in the execution of their office, they were secure and +invulnerable amidst the darts of the enemy. In the second civil +war, Licinius felt and dreaded the power of this consecrated +banner, the sight of which, in the distress of battle, animated +the soldiers of Constantine with an invincible enthusiasm, and +scattered terror and dismay through the ranks of the adverse +legions. ^36 The Christian emperors, who respected the example of +Constantine, displayed in all their military expeditions the +standard of the cross; but when the degenerate successors of +Theodosius had ceased to appear in person at the head of their +armies, the labarum was deposited as a venerable but useless +relic in the palace of Constantinople. ^37 Its honors are still +preserved on the medals of the Flavian family. Their grateful +devotion has placed the monogram of Christ in the midst of the +ensigns of Rome. The solemn epithets of, safety of the republic, +glory of the army, restoration of public happiness, are equally +applied to the religious and military trophies; and there is +still extant a medal of the emperor Constantius, where the +standard of the labarum is accompanied with these memorable +words, By This Sign Thou Shalt Conquer. ^38 +[Footnote 29: Nomen ipsum crucis absit non modo a corpore civium +Romano rum, sed etiam a cogitatione, oculis, auribus. Cicero pro +Raberio, c. 5. The Christian writers, Justin, Minucius Felix, +Tertullian, Jerom, and Maximus of Turin, have investigated with +tolerable success the figure or likeness of a cross in almost +every object of nature or art; in the intersection of the +meridian and equator, the human face, a bird flying, a man +swimming, a mast and yard, a plough, a standard, &c., &c., &c. +See Lipsius de Cruce, l. i. c. 9.] + +[Footnote 30: See Aurelius Victor, who considers this law as one +of the examples of Constantine's piety. An edict so honorable to +Christianity deserved a place in the Theodosian Code, instead of +the indirect mention of it, which seems to result from the +comparison of the fifth and eighteenth titles of the ninth book.] + +[Footnote 31: Eusebius, in Vit. Constantin. l. i. c. 40. This +statue, or at least the cross and inscription, may be ascribed +with more probability to the second, or even third, visit of +Constantine to Rome. Immediately after the defeat of Maxentius, +the minds of the senate and people were scarcely ripe for this +public monument.] + +[Footnote 32: Agnoscas, regina, libens mea signa necesse est; + In quibus effigies crucis aut gemmata refulget + Aut longis solido ex auro praefertur in hastis. + Hoc signo invictus, transmissis Alpibus Ultor + Servitium solvit miserabile Constantinus. + + Christus purpureum gemmanti textus in auro + Signabat Labarum, clypeorum insignia Christus + Scripserat; ardebat summis crux addita cristis. + + Prudent. in Symmachum, l. ii. 464, 486.] + +[Footnote 33: The 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, who have ineffectually tortured the +Latin, Greek, Spanish, Celtic, Teutonic, Illyric, Armenian, &c., +in search of an etymology. See Ducange, in Gloss. Med. et infim. +Latinitat. sub voce Labarum, and Godefroy, ad Cod. Theodos. tom. +ii. p. 143.] + +[Footnote 34: Euseb. in Vit. Constantin. l. i. c. 30, 31. +Baronius (Annal. Eccles. A. D. 312, No. 26) has engraved a +representation of the Labarum.] +[Footnote 35: Transversa X litera, summo capite circumflexo, +Christum in scutis notat. Caecilius de M. P. c. 44, Cuper, (ad +M. P. in edit. Lactant. tom. ii. p. 500,) and Baronius (A. D. +312, No. 25) have engraved from ancient monuments several +specimens (as thus of these monograms) which became extremely +fashionable in the Christian world.] + +[Footnote 36: Euseb. in Vit. Constantin. l. ii. c. 7, 8, 9. He +introduces the Labarum before the Italian expedition; but his +narrative seems to indicate that it was never shown at the head +of an army till Constantine above ten years afterwards, declared +himself the enemy of Licinius, and the deliverer of the church.] + +[Footnote 37: See Cod. Theod. l. vi. tit. xxv. Sozomen, l. i. c. +2. Theophan. Chronograph. p. 11. Theophanes lived towards the +end of the eighth century, almost five hundred years after +Constantine. The modern Greeks were not inclined to display in +the field the standard of the empire and of Christianity; and +though they depended on every superstitious hope of defence, the +promise of victory would have appeared too bold a fiction.] +[Footnote 38: The 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.] + + II. In all occasions of danger and distress, it was the +practice of the primitive Christians to fortify their minds and +bodies by the sign of the cross, which they used, in all their +ecclesiastical rites, in all the daily occurrences of life, as an +infallible preservative against every species of spiritual or +temporal evil. ^39 The authority of the church might alone have +had sufficient weight to justify the devotion of Constantine, who +in the same prudent and gradual progress acknowledged the truth, +and assumed the symbol, of Christianity. But the testimony of a +contemporary writer, who in a formal treatise has avenged the +cause of religion, bestows on the piety of the emperor a more +awful and sublime character. He affirms, with the most perfect +confidence, that in the night which preceded the last battle +against Maxentius, Constantine was admonished in a dream ^* to +inscribe the shields of his soldiers with the celestial sign of +God, the sacred monogram of the name of Christ; that he executed +the commands of Heaven, and that his valor and obedience were +rewarded by the decisive victory of the Milvian Bridge. Some +considerations might perhaps incline a sceptical mind to suspect +the judgment or the veracity of the rhetorician, whose pen, +either from zeal or interest, was devoted to the cause of the +prevailing faction. ^40 He appears to have published his deaths +of the persecutors at Nicomedia about three years after the Roman +victory; but the interval of a thousand miles, and a thousand +days, will allow an ample latitude for the invention of +declaimers, the credulity of party, and the tacit approbation of +the emperor himself who might listen without indignation to a +marvellous tale, which exalted his fame, and promoted his +designs. In favor of Licinius, who still dissembled his +animosity to the Christians, the same author has provided a +similar vision, of a form of prayer, which was communicated by an +angel, and repeated by the whole army before they engaged the +legions of the tyrant Maximin. The frequent repetition of +miracles serves to provoke, where it does not subdue, the reason +of mankind; ^41 but if the dream of Constantine is separately +considered, it may be naturally explained either by the policy or +the enthusiasm of the emperor. Whilst his anxiety for the +approaching day, which must decide the fate of the empire, was +suspended by a short and interrupted slumber, the venerable form +of Christ, and the well-known symbol of his religion, might +forcibly offer themselves to the active fancy of a prince who +reverenced the name, and had perhaps secretly implored the power, +of the God of the Christians. As readily might a consummate +statesman indulge himself in the use of one of those military +stratagems, one of those pious frauds, which Philip and Sertorius +had employed with such art and effect. ^42 The praeternatural +origin of dreams was universally admitted by the nations of +antiquity, and a considerable part of the Gallic army was already +prepared to place their confidence in the salutary sign of the +Christian religion. The secret vision of Constantine could be +disproved only by the event; and the intrepid hero who had passed +the Alps and the Apennine, might view with careless despair the +consequences of a defeat under the walls of Rome. The senate and +people, exulting in their own deliverance from an odious tyrant, +acknowledged that the victory of Constantine surpassed the powers +of man, without daring to insinuate that it had been obtained by +the protection of the gods. The triumphal arch, which was +erected about three years after the event, proclaims, in +ambiguous language, that by the greatness of his own mind, and by +an instinct or impulse of the Divinity, he had saved and avenged +the Roman republic. ^43 The Pagan orator, who had seized an +earlier opportunity of celebrating the virtues of the conqueror, +supposes that he alone enjoyed a secret and intimate commerce +with the Supreme Being, who delegated the care of mortals to his +subordinate deities; and thus assigns a very plausible reason why +the subjects of Constantine should not presume to embrace the new +religion of their sovereign. ^44 + +[Footnote 39: Tertullian de Corona, c. 3. Athanasius, tom. i. p. +101. The learned Jesuit Petavius (Dogmata Theolog. l. xv. c. 9, +10) has collected many similar passages on the virtues of the +cross, which in the last age embarrassed our Protestant +disputants.] + +[Footnote *: Manso has observed, that Gibbon ought not to have +separated the vision of Constantine from the wonderful apparition +in the sky, as the two wonders are closely connected in Eusebius. + +Manso, Leben Constantine, p. 82 - M.] + +[Footnote 40: Caecilius de M. P. c. 44. It is certain, that this +historical declamation was composed and published while Licinius, +sovereign of the East, still preserved the friendship of +Constantine and of the Christians. Every reader of taste must +perceive that the style is of a very different and inferior +character to that of Lactantius; and such indeed is the judgment +of Le Clerc and Lardner, (Bibliotheque Ancienne et Moderne, tom. +iii. p. 438. Credibility of the Gospel, &c., part ii. vol. vii. +p. 94.) Three arguments from the title of the book, and from the +names of Donatus and Caecilius, are produced by the advocates for +Lactantius. (See the P. Lestocq, tom. ii. p. 46-60.) Each of +these proofs is singly weak and defective; but their concurrence +has great weight. I have often fluctuated, and shall tamely +follow the Colbert Ms. in calling the author (whoever he was) +Caecilius.] +[Footnote 41: Caecilius de M. P. c. 46. There seems to be some +reason in the observation of M. de Voltaire, (Euvres, tom. xiv. +p. 307.) who ascribes to the success of Constantine the superior +fame of his Labarum above the angel of Licinius. Yet even this +angel is favorably entertained by Pagi, Tillemont, Fleury, &c., +who are fond of increasing their stock of miracles.] +[Footnote 42: Besides these well-known examples, Tollius (Preface +to Boileau's translation of Longinus) has discovered a vision of +Antigonus, who assured his troops that he had seen a pentagon +(the symbol of safety) with these words, "In this conquer." But +Tollius has most inexcusably omitted to produce his authority, +and his own character, literary as well as moral, is not free +from reproach. (See Chauffepie, Dictionnaire Critique, tom. iv. +p. 460.) Without insisting on the silence of Diodorus Plutarch, +Justin, &c., it may be observed that Polyaenus, who in a separate +chapter (l. iv. c. 6) has collected nineteen military stratagems +of Antigonus, is totally ignorant of this remarkable vision.] + +[Footnote 43: Instinctu Divinitatis, mentis magnitudine. The +inscription on the triumphal arch of Constantine, which has been +copied by Baronius, Gruter, &c., may still be perused by every +curious traveller.] + +[Footnote 44: Habes profecto aliquid cum illa mente Divina +secretum; qua delegata nostra Diis Minoribus cura uni se tibi +dignatur ostendere Panegyr. Vet. ix. 2.] + + III. The philosopher, who with calm suspicion examines the +dreams and omens, the miracles and prodigies, of profane or even +of ecclesiastical history, will probably conclude, that if the +eyes of the spectators have sometimes been deceived by fraud, the +understanding of the readers has much more frequently been +insulted by fiction. Every event, or appearance, or accident, +which seems to deviate from the ordinary course of nature, has +been rashly ascribed to the immediate action of the Deity; and +the astonished fancy of the multitude has sometimes given shape +and color, language and motion, to the fleeting but uncommon +meteors of the air. ^45 Nazarius and Eusebius are the two most +celebrated orators, who, in studied panegyrics, have labored to +exalt the glory of Constantine. Nine years after the Roman +victory, Nazarius ^46 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 which beamed from their +celestial armor, their patience in suffering themselves to be +heard, as well as seen, by mortals; and their declaration that +they were sent, that they flew, to the assistance of the great +Constantine. For the truth of this prodigy, the Pagan orator +appeals to the whole Gallic nation, in whose presence he was then +speaking; and seems to hope that the ancient apparitions ^47 +would now obtain credit from this recent and public event. The +Christian fable of Eusebius, which, in the space of twenty-six +years, might arise from the original dream, is cast in a much +more correct and elegant mould. In one of the marches of +Constantine, he is reported to have seen with his own eyes the +luminous trophy of the cross, placed above the meridian sun and +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 undetermined in the choice of a +religion: but his astonishment was converted into faith by the +vision of the ensuing night. Christ appeared before his eyes; and +displaying the same celestial sign of the cross, he directed +Constantine to frame a similar standard, and to march, with an +assurance of victory, against Maxentius and all his enemies. ^48 +The learned bishop of Caesarea appears to be sensible, that the +recent discovery of this marvellous anecdote would excite some +surprise and distrust among the most pious of his readers. Yet, +instead of ascertaining the precise circumstances of time and +place, which always serve to detect falsehood or establish truth; +^49 instead of collecting and recording the evidence of so many +living witnesses who must have been spectators of this stupendous +miracle; ^50 Eusebius contents himself with alleging a very +singular testimony; that of the deceased Constantine, who, many +years after the event, in the freedom of conversation, had +related to him this extraordinary incident of his own life, and +had attested the truth of it by a solemn oath. The prudence and +gratitude of the learned prelate forbade him to suspect the +veracity of his victorious master; but he plainly intimates, that +in a fact of such a nature, he should have refused his assent to +any meaner authority. This motive of credibility could not +survive the power of the Flavian family; and the celestial sign, +which the Infidels might afterwards deride, ^51 was disregarded +by the Christians of the age which immediately followed the +conversion of Constantine. ^52 But the Catholic church, both of +the East and of the West, has adopted a prodigy which favors, or +seems to favor, the popular worship of the cross. The vision of +Constantine maintained an honorable place in the legend of +superstition, till the bold and sagacious spirit of criticism +presumed to depreciate the triumph, and to arraign the truth, of +the first Christian emperor. ^53 + +[Footnote 45: M. 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 introduce the celestial cross of +Constantine among the solar halos. Bibliothec. Graec. tom. iv. p. +8-29. + + Note: The great difficulty in resolving it into a natural +phenomenon, arises from the inscription; even the most heated or +awe-struck imagination would hardly discover distinct and legible +letters in a solar halo. But the inscription may have been a +later embellishment, or an interpretation of the meaning which +the sign was construed to convey. Compare Heirichen, Excur in +locum Eusebii, and the authors quoted.] + +[Footnote 46: Nazarius inter Panegyr. Vet. x. 14, 15. It is +unnecessary to name the moderns, whose undistinguishing and +ravenous appetite has swallowed even the Pagan bait of Nazarius.] + +[Footnote 47: The apparitions of Castor and Pollux, particularly +to announce the Macedonian victory, are attested by historians +and public monuments. See Cicero de Natura Deorum, ii. 2, iii. +5, 6. Florus, ii. 12. Valerius Maximus, l. i. c. 8, No. 1. Yet +the most recent of these miracles is omitted, and indirectly +denied, by Livy, (xlv. i.)] + +[Footnote 48: Eusebius, l. i. c. 28, 29, 30. The silence of the +same Eusebius, in his Ecclesiastical History, is deeply felt by +those advocates for the miracle who are not absolutely callous.] + +[Footnote 49: The narrative of Constantine seems to indicate, +that he saw the cross in the sky before he passed the Alps +against Maxentius. The scene has been fixed by provincial vanity +at Treves, Besancon, &c. See Tillemont, Hist. des Empereurs, +tom. iv. p. 573.] + +[Footnote 50: The pious Tillemont (Mem. Eccles. tom. vii. p. +1317) rejects with a sigh the useful Acts of Artemius, a veteran +and a martyr, who attests as an eye-witness to the vision of +Constantine.] + +[Footnote 51: Gelasius Cyzic. in Act. Concil. Nicen. l. i. c. 4.] + +[Footnote 52: The advocates for the vision are unable to produce +a single testimony from the Fathers of the fourth and fifth +centuries, who, in their voluminous writings, repeatedly +celebrate the triumph of the church and of Constantine. As these +venerable men had not any dislike to a miracle, we may suspect, +(and the suspicion is confirmed by the ignorance of Jerom,) that +they were all unacquainted with the life of Constantine by +Eusebius. This tract was recovered by the diligence of those who +translated or continued his Ecclesiastical History, and who have +represented in various colors the vision of the cross.] + +[Footnote 53: Godefroy was the first, who, in the year 1643, (Not +ad Philostorgium, l. i. c. 6, p. 16,) expressed any doubt of a +miracle which had been supported with equal zeal by Cardinal +Baronius, and the Centuriators of Magdeburgh. Since that time, +many of the Protestant critics have inclined towards doubt and +disbelief. The objections are urged, with great force, by M. +Chauffepie, (Dictionnaire Critique, tom. iv. p. 6 - 11;) and, in +the year 1774, a doctor of Sorbonne, the Abbe du Veisin published +an apology, which deserves the praise of learning and moderation. + + Note: The first Excursus of Heinichen (in Vitam Constantini, +p. 507) contains a full summary of the opinions and arguments of +the later writers who have discussed this interminable subject. +As to his conversion, where interest and inclination, state +policy, and, if not a sincere conviction of its truth, at least a +respect, an esteem, an awe of Christianity, thus coincided, +Constantine himself would probably have been unable to trace the +actual history of the workings of his own mind, or to assign its +real influence to each concurrent motive. - M] + + The Protestant and philosophic readers of the present age +will incline to believe, that in the account of his own +conversion, Constantine attested a wilful falsehood by a solemn +and deliberate perjury. They may not hesitate to pronounce, that +in the choice of a religion, his mind was determined only by a +sense of interest; and that (according to the expression of a +profane poet ^54) he used the altars of the church as a +convenient footstool to the throne of the empire. A conclusion +so harsh and so absolute is not, however, warranted by our +knowledge of human nature, of Constantine, or of Christianity. +In an age of religious fervor, the most artful statesmen are +observed to feel some part of the enthusiasm which they inspire, +and the most orthodox saints assume the dangerous privilege of +defending the cause of truth by the arms of deceit and falsehood. + +Personal interest is often the standard of our belief, as well as +of our practice; and the same motives of temporal advantage which +might influence the public conduct and professions of +Constantine, would insensibly dispose his mind to embrace a +religion so propitious to his fame and fortunes. His vanity was +gratified by the flattering assurance, that he had been chosen by +Heaven to reign over the earth; success had justified his divine +title to the throne, and that title was founded on the truth of +the Christian revelation. As real virtue is sometimes excited by +undeserved applause, the specious piety of Constantine, if at +first it was only specious, might gradually, by the influence of +praise, of habit, and of example, be matured into serious faith +and fervent devotion. The bishops and teachers of the new sect, +whose dress and manners had not qualified them for the residence +of a court, were admitted to the Imperial table; they accompanied +the monarch in his expeditions; and the ascendant which one of +them, an Egyptian or a Spaniard, ^55 acquired over his mind, was +imputed by the Pagans to the effect of magic. ^56 Lactantius, who +has adorned the precepts of the gospel with the eloquence of +Cicero, ^57 and Eusebius, who has consecrated the learning and +philosophy of the Greeks to the service of religion, ^58 were +both received into the friendship and familiarity of their +sovereign; and those able masters of controversy could patiently +watch the soft and yielding moments of persuasion, and +dexterously apply the arguments which were the best adapted to +his character and understanding. Whatever advantages might be +derived from the acquisition of an Imperial proselyte, he was +distinguished by the splendor of his purple, rather than by the +superiority of wisdom, or virtue, from the many thousands of his +subjects who had embraced the doctrines of Christianity. Nor can +it be deemed incredible, that the mind of an unlettered soldier +should have yielded to the weight of evidence, which, in a more +enlightened age, has satisfied or subdued the reason of a +Grotius, a Pascal, or a Locke. In the midst of the incessant +labors of his great office, this soldier employed, or affected to +employ, the hours of the night in the diligent study of the +Scriptures, and the composition of theological discourses; which +he afterwards pronounced in the presence of a numerous and +applauding audience. In a very long discourse, which is still +extant, the royal preacher expatiates on the various proofs still +extant, the royal preacher expatiates on the various proofs of +religion; but he dwells with peculiar complacency on the +Sibylline verses, ^59 and the fourth eclogue of Virgil. ^60 Forty +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 Virgin, the +fall of the serpent, the approaching birth of a godlike child, +the offspring of the great Jupiter, who should expiate the guilt +of human kind, and govern the peaceful universe with the virtues +of his father; the rise and appearance of a heavenly race, +primitive nation throughout the world; and the gradual +restoration of the innocence and felicity of the golden age. The +poet was perhaps unconscious of the secret sense and object of +these sublime predictions, which have been so unworthily applied +to the infant son of a consul, or a triumvir; ^61 but if a more +splendid, and indeed specious interpretation of the fourth +eclogue contributed to the conversion of the first Christian +emperor, Virgil may deserve to be ranked among the most +successful missionaries of the gospel. ^62 + +[Footnote 54: Lors Constantin dit ces propres paroles: + J'ai renverse le culte des idoles: + Sur les debris de leurs temples fumans + Au Dieu du Ciel j'ai prodigue l'encens. + Mais tous mes soins pour sa grandeur supreme + + N'eurent jamais d'autre objet que moi-meme; + +Les saints autels n'etoient a mes regards + Qu'un marchepie du trone des Cesars. + L'ambition, la fureur, les delices + Etoient mes Dieux, avoient mes sacrifices. + L'or des Chretiens, leur intrigues, leur sang + + Ont cimente ma fortune et mon rang. + + The poem which contains these lines may be read with +pleasure, but cannot be named with decency.] + +[Footnote 55: This favorite was probably the great Osius, bishop +of Cordova, who preferred the pastoral care of the whole church +to the government of a particular diocese. His character is +magnificently, though concisely, expressed by Athanasius, (tom. +i. p. 703.) See Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. vii. p. 524-561. +Osius was accused, perhaps unjustly, of retiring from court with +a very ample fortune.] + +[Footnote 56: See Eusebius (in Vit. Constant. passim) and +Zosimus, l. ii. p. 104.] + +[Footnote 57: The Christianity of Lactantius was of a moral +rather than of a mysterious cast. "Erat paene rudis (says the +orthodox Bull) disciplinae Christianae, et in rhetorica melius +quam in theologia versatus." Defensio Fidei Nicenae, sect. ii. c. +14.] + +[Footnote 58: Fabricius, with his usual diligence, has collected +a list of between three and four hundred authors quoted in the +Evangelical Preparation of Eusebius. See Bibl. Graec. l. v. c. +4, tom. vi. p. 37-56.] +[Footnote 59: See Constantin. Orat. ad Sanctos, c. 19 20. He +chiefly depends on a mysterious acrostic, composed in the sixth +age after the Deluge, by the Erythraean Sibyl, and translated by +Cicero into Latin. The initial letters of the thirty-four Greek +verses form this prophetic sentence: Jesus Christ, Son of God, +Savior of the World.] + +[Footnote 60: In his paraphrase of Virgil, the emperor has +frequently assisted and improved the literal sense of the Latin +ext. See Blondel des Sibylles, l. i. c. 14, 15, 16.] + +[Footnote 61: The 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.] + +[Footnote 62: See Lowth de Sacra Poesi Hebraeorum Praelect. xxi. +p. 289- 293. In the examination of the fourth eclogue, the +respectable bishop of London has displayed learning, taste, +ingenuity, and a temperate enthusiasm, which exalts his fancy +without degrading his judgment.] + + +Chapter XX: Conversion Of Constantine. + +Part III. + + The awful mysteries of the Christian faith and worship were +concealed from the eyes of strangers, and even of catechu mens, +with an affected secrecy, which served to excite their wonder and +curiosity. ^63 But the severe rules of discipline which the +prudence of the bishops had instituted, were relaxed by the same +prudence in favor of an Imperial proselyte, whom it was so +important to allure, by every gentle condescension, into the pale +of the church; and Constantine was permitted, at least by a tacit +dispensation, to enjoy most of the privileges, before he had +contracted any of the obligations, of a Christian. Instead of +retiring from the congregation, when the voice of the deacon +dismissed the profane multitude, he prayed with the faithful, +disputed with the bishops, preached on the most sublime and +intricate subjects of theology, celebrated with sacred rites the +vigil of Easter, and publicly declared himself, not only a +partaker, but, in some measure, a priest and hierophant of the +Christian mysteries. ^64 The pride of Constantine might assume, +and his services had deserved, some extraordinary distinction: +and ill-timed rigor might have blasted the unripened fruits of +his conversion; and if the doors of the church had been strictly +closed against a prince who had deserted the altars of the gods, +the master of the empire would have been left destitute of any +form of religious worship. In his last visit to Rome, he piously +disclaimed and insulted the superstition of his ancestors, by +refusing to lead the military procession of the equestrian order, +and to offer the public vows to the Jupiter of the Capitoline +Hill. ^65 Many years before his baptism and death, Constantine +had proclaimed to the world, that neither his person nor his +image should ever more be seen within the walls of an idolatrous +temple; while he distributed through the provinces a variety of +medals and pictures, which represented the emperor in an humble +and suppliant posture of Christian devotion. ^66 + +[Footnote 63: The distinction between the public and the secret +parts of divine service, the missa catechumenorum and the missa +fidelium, and the mysterious veil which piety or policy had cast +over the latter, are very judiciously explained by Thiers, +Exposition du Saint Sacrament, l. i. c. 8- 12, p. 59-91: but as, +on this subject, the Papists may reasonably be suspected, a +Protestant reader will depend with more confidence on the learned +Bingham, Antiquities, l. x. c. 5.] + +[Footnote 64: See Eusebius in Vit. Const. l. iv. c. 15-32, and +the whole tenor of Constantine's Sermon. The faith and devotion +of the emperor has furnished Batonics with a specious argument in +favor of his early baptism. + Note: Compare Heinichen, Excursus iv. et v., where these +questions are examined with candor and acuteness, and with +constant reference to the opinions of more modern writers. - M.] + +[Footnote 65: Zosimus, l. ii. p. 105.] + +[Footnote 66: Eusebius in Vit. Constant. l. iv. c. 15, 16.] + The pride of Constantine, who refused the privileges of a +catechumen, cannot easily be explained or excused; but the delay +of his baptism may be justified by the maxims and the practice of +ecclesiastical antiquity. The sacrament of baptism ^67 was +regularly administered by the bishop himself, with his assistant +clergy, in the cathedral church of the diocese, during the fifty +days between the solemn festivals of Easter and Pentecost; and +this holy term admitted a numerous band of infants and adult +persons into the bosom of the church. The discretion of parents +often suspended the baptism of their children till they could +understand the obligations which they contracted: the severity of +ancient bishops exacted from the new converts a novitiate of two +or three years; and the catechumens themselves, from different +motives of a temporal or a spiritual nature, were seldom +impatient to assume the character of perfect and initiated +Christians. The sacrament of baptism was supposed to contain a +full and absolute expiation of sin; and the soul was instantly +restored to its original purity, and entitled to the promise of +eternal salvation. Among the proselytes of Christianity, there +are many who judged it imprudent to precipitate a salutary rite, +which could not be repeated; to throw away an inestimable +privilege, which could never be recovered. By the delay of their +baptism, they could venture freely to indulge their passions in +the enjoyments of this world, while they still retained in their +own hands the means of a sure and easy absolution. ^68 The +sublime theory of the gospel had made a much fainter impression +on the heart than on the understanding of Constantine himself. +He pursued the great object of his ambition through the dark and +bloody paths of war and policy; and, after the victory, he +abandoned himself, without moderation, to the abuse of his +fortune. Instead of asserting his just superiority above the +imperfect heroism and profane philosophy of Trajan and the +Antonines, the mature age of Constantine forfeited the reputation +which he had acquired in his youth. As he gradually advanced in +the knowledge of truth, he proportionally declined in the +practice of virtue; and the same year of his reign in which he +convened the council of Nice, was polluted by the execution, or +rather murder, of his eldest son. This date is alone sufficient +to refute the ignorant and malicious suggestions of Zosimus, ^69 +who affirms, that, after the death of Crispus, the remorse of his +father accepted from the ministers of christianity the expiation +which he had vainly solicited from the Pagan pontiffs. At the +time of the death of Crispus, the emperor could no longer +hesitate in the choice of a religion; he could no longer be +ignorant that the church was possessed of an infallible remedy, +though he chose to defer the application of it till the approach +of death had removed the temptation and danger of a relapse. The +bishops whom he summoned, in his last illness, to the palace of +Nicomedia, were edified by the fervor with which he requested and +received the sacrament of baptism, by the solemn protestation +that the remainder of his life should be worthy of a disciple of +Christ, and by his humble refusal to wear the Imperial purple +after he had been clothed in the white garment of a Neophyte. +The example and reputation of Constantine seemed to countenance +the delay of baptism. ^70 Future tyrants were encouraged to +believe, that the innocent blood which they might shed in a long +reign would instantly be washed away in the waters of +regeneration; and the abuse of religion dangerously undermined +the foundations of moral virtue. +[Footnote 67: The theory and practice of antiquity, with regard +to the sacrament of baptism, have been copiously explained by Dom +Chardon, Hist. des Sacremens, tom. i. p. 3-405; Dom Martenne de +Ritibus Ecclesiae Antiquis, tom. i.; and by Bingham, in the tenth +and eleventh books of his Christian Antiquities. One +circumstance may be observed, in which the modern churches have +materially departed from the ancient custom. The sacrament of +baptism (even when it was administered to infants) was +immediately followed by confirmation and the holy communion.] + +[Footnote 68: The Fathers, who censured this criminal delay, +could not deny the certain and victorious efficacy even of a +death-bed baptism. The ingenious rhetoric of Chrysostom could +find only three arguments against these prudent Christians. 1. +That we should love and pursue virtue for her own sake, and not +merely for the reward. 2. That we may be surprised by death +without an opportunity of baptism. 3. That although we shall be +placed in heaven, we shall only twinkle like little stars, when +compared to the suns of righteousness who have run their +appointed course with labor, with success, and with glory. +Chrysos tom in Epist. ad Hebraeos, Homil. xiii. apud Chardon, +Hist. des Sacremens, tom. i. p. 49. I believe that this delay of +baptism, though attended with the most pernicious consequences, +was never condemned by any general or provincial council, or by +any public act or declaration of the church. The zeal of the +bishops was easily kindled on much slighter occasion. + + Note: This passage of Chrysostom, though not in his more +forcible manner, is not quite fairly represented. He is stronger +in other places, in Act. Hom. xxiii. - and Hom. i. Compare, +likewise, the sermon of Gregory of Nysea on this subject, and +Gregory Nazianzen. After all, to those who believed in the +efficacy of baptism, what argument could be more conclusive, than +the danger of dying without it? Orat. xl. - M.] + +[Footnote 69: Zosimus, l. ii. p. 104. For this disingenuous +falsehood he has deserved and experienced the harshest treatment +from all the ecclesiastical writers, except Cardinal Baronius, +(A. D. 324, No. 15-28,) who had occasion to employ the infidel on +a particular service against the Arian Eusebius. + Note: Heyne, in a valuable note on this passage of Zosimus, +has shown decisively that this malicious way of accounting for +the conversion of Constantine was not an invention of Zosimus. +It appears to have been the current calumny eagerly adopted and +propagated by the exasperated Pagan party. Reitemeter, a later +editor of Zosimus, whose notes are retained in the recent +edition, in the collection of the Byzantine historians, has a +disquisition on the passage, as candid, but not more conclusive +than some which have preceded him - M.] + +[Footnote 70: Eusebius, l. iv. c. 61, 62, 63. The bishop of +Caesarea supposes the salvation of Constantine with the most +perfect confidence.] + The gratitude of the church has exalted the virtues and +excused the failings of a generous patron, who seated +Christianity on the throne of the Roman world; and the Greeks, +who celebrate the festival of the Imperial saint, seldom mention +the name of Constantine without adding the title of equal to the +Apostles. ^71 Such a comparison, if it allude to the character of +those divine missionaries, must be imputed to the extravagance of +impious flattery. But if the parallel be confined to the extent +and number of their evangelic victories the success of +Constantine might perhaps equal that of the Apostles themselves. +By the edicts of toleration, he removed the temporal +disadvantages which had hitherto retarded the progress of +Christianity; and its active and numerous ministers received a +free permission, a liberal encouragement, to recommend the +salutary truths of revelation by every argument which could +affect the reason or piety of mankind. The exact balance of the +two religions continued but a moment; and the piercing eye of +ambition and avarice soon discovered, that the profession of +Christianity might contribute to the interest of the present, as +well as of a future life. ^72 The hopes of wealth and honors, the +example of an emperor, his exhortations, his irresistible smiles, +diffused conviction among the venal and obsequious crowds which +usually fill the apartments of a palace. The cities which +signalized a forward zeal by the voluntary destruction of their +temples, were distinguished by municipal privileges, and rewarded +with popular donatives; and the new capital of the East gloried +in the singular advantage that Constantinople was never profaned +by the worship of idols. ^73 As the lower ranks of society are +governed by imitation, the conversion of those who possessed any +eminence of birth, of power, or of riches, was soon followed by +dependent multitudes. ^74 The salvation of the common people was +purchased at an easy rate, if it be true that, in one year, +twelve thousand men were baptized at Rome, besides a +proportionable number of women and children, and that a white +garment, with twenty pieces of gold, had been promised by the +emperor to every convert. ^75 The powerful influence of +Constantine was not circumscribed by the narrow limits of his +life, or of his dominions. The education which he bestowed on +his sons and nephews secured to the empire a race of princes, +whose faith was still more lively and sincere, as they imbibed, +in their earliest infancy, the spirit, or at least the doctrine, +of Christianity. War and commerce had spread the knowledge of +the gospel beyond the confines of the Roman provinces; and the +Barbarians, who had disdained as humble and proscribed sect, soon +learned to esteem a religion which had been so lately embraced by +the greatest monarch, and the most civilized nation, of the +globe. ^76 The Goths and Germans, who enlisted under the standard +of Rome, revered the cross which glittered at the head of the +legions, and their fierce countrymen received at the same time +the lessons of faith and of humanity. The kings of Iberia and +Armenia ^* worshipped the god of their protector; and their +subjects, who have invariably preserved the name of Christians, +soon formed a sacred 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 +as peace subsisted between the two empires, the persecuting +spirit of the Magi was effectually restrained by the +interposition of Constantine. ^77 The rays of the gospel +illuminated the coast of India. The colonies of Jews, who had +penetrated into Arabia and Ethiopia, ^78 opposed the progress of +Christianity; but the labor of the missionaries was in some +measure facilitated by a previous knowledge of the Mosaic +revelation; and Abyssinia still reveres the memory of Frumentius, +^* who, in the time of Constantine, devoted his life to the +conversion of those sequestered regions. Under the reign of his +son Constantius, Theophilus, ^79 who was himself of Indian +extraction, was invested with the double character of ambassador +and bishop. He embarked on the Red Sea with two hundred horses +of the purest breed of Cappadocia, which were sent by the emperor +to the prince of the Sabaeans, or Homerites. Theophilus was +intrusted with many other useful or curious presents, which might +raise the admiration, and conciliate the friendship, of the +Barbarians; and he successfully employed several years in a +pastoral visit to the churches of the torrid zone. ^80 +[Footnote 71: See Tillemont, Hist. des Empereurs, tom. iv. p. +429. The Greeks, the Russians, and, in the darker ages, the +Latins themselves, have been desirous of placing Constantine in +the catalogue of saints.] +[Footnote 72: See the third and fourth books of his life. He was +accustomed to say, that whether Christ was preached in pretence, +or in truth, he should still rejoice, (l. iii. c. 58.)] + +[Footnote 73: M. de Tillemont (Hist. des Empereurs, tom. iv. p. +374, 616) has defended, with strength and spirit, the virgin +purity of Constantinople against some malevolent insinuations of +the Pagan Zosimus.] +[Footnote 74: The author of the Histoire Politique et +Philosophique des deux Indes (tom. i. p. 9) condemns a law of +Constantine, which gave freedom to all the slaves who should +embrace Christianity. The emperor did indeed publish a law, +which restrained the Jews from circumcising, perhaps from +keeping, any Christian slave. (See Euseb. in Vit. Constant. l. +iv. c. 27, and Cod. Theod. l. xvi. tit. ix., with Godefroy's +Commentary, tom. vi. p. 247.) But this imperfect exception +related only to the Jews, and the great body of slaves, who were +the property of Christian or Pagan masters, could not improve +their temporal condition by changing their religion. I am +ignorant by what guides the Abbe Raynal was deceived; as the +total absence of quotations is the unpardonable blemish of his +entertaining history.] + +[Footnote 75: See 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 contemptible enough; but these +circumstances are in themselves so probable, that the learned Dr. +Howell (History of the World, vol. iii. p. 14) has not scrupled +to adopt them.] + +[Footnote 76: The conversion of the Barbarians under the reign of +Constantine is celebrated by the ecclesiastical historians. (See +Sozomen, l. ii. c. 6, and Theodoret, l. i. c. 23, 24.) But +Rufinus, the Latin translator of Eusebius, deserves to be +considered as an original authority. His information was +curiously collected from one of the companions of the Apostle of +Aethiopia, and from Bacurius, an Iberian prince, who was count of +the domestics. Father Mamachi has given an ample compilation on +the progress of Christianity, in the first and second volumes of +his great but imperfect work.] + +[Footnote *: According to the Georgian chronicles, Iberia +(Georgia) was converted by the virgin Nino, who effected an +extraordinary cure on the wife of the king Mihran. The temple of +the god Aramazt, or Armaz, not far from the capital Mtskitha, was +destroyed, and the cross erected in its place. Le Beau, i. 202, +with St. Martin's Notes. + + St. Martin has likewise clearly shown (St. Martin, Add. to +Le Beau, i. 291) Armenia was the first nation w hich embraced +Christianity, (Addition to Le Beau, i. 76. and Memoire sur +l'Armenie, i. 305.) Gibbon himself suspected this truth. - +"Instead of maintaining that the conversion of Armenia was not +attempted with any degree of success, till the sceptre was in the +hands of an orthodox emperor," I ought to have said, that the +seeds of the faith were deeply sown during the season of the last +and greatest persecution, that many Roman exiles might assist the +labors of Gregory, and that the renowned Tiridates, the hero of +the East, may dispute with Constantine the honor of being the +first sovereign who embraced the Christian religion Vindication] +[Footnote 77: See, in Eusebius, (in Vit. l. iv. c. 9,) the +pressing and pathetic epistle of Constantine in favor of his +Christian brethren of Persia.] +[Footnote 78: See Basnage, Hist. des Juifs, tom. vii. p. 182, +tom. viii. p. 333, tom. ix. p. 810. The curious diligence of +this writer pursues the Jewish exiles to the extremities of the +globe.] + +[Footnote *: Abba Salama, or Fremonatus, is mentioned in the +Tareek Negushti, chronicle of the kings of Abyssinia. Salt's +Travels, vol. ii. p. 464. - M.] +[Footnote 79: Theophilus had been given in his infancy as a +hostage by his countrymen of the Isle of Diva, and was educated +by the Romans in learning and piety. The Maldives, of which +Male, or Diva, may be the capital, are a cluster of 1900 or 2000 +minute islands in the Indian Ocean. The ancients were +imperfectly acquainted with the Maldives; but they are 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.] + +[Footnote !: See the dissertation of M. Letronne on this +question. He conceives that Theophilus was born in the island of +Dahlak, in the Arabian Gulf. His embassy was to Abyssinia rather +than to India. Letronne, Materiaux pour l'Hist. du Christianisme +en Egypte Indie, et Abyssinie. Paris, 1832 3d Dissert. - M.] + +[Footnote 80: Philostorgius, l. iii. c. 4, 5, 6, with Godefroy's +learned observations. The historical narrative is soon lost in +an inquiry concerning the seat of Paradise, strange monsters, +&c.] + + The irresistible power of the Roman emperors was displayed +in the important and dangerous change of the national religion. +The terrors of a military force silenced the faint and +unsupported murmurs of the Pagans, and there was reason to +expect, that the cheerful submission of the Christian clergy, as +well as people, would be the result of conscience and gratitude. +It was long since established, as a fundamental maxim of the +Roman constitution, that every rank of citizens was alike subject +to the laws, and that the care of religion was the right as well +as duty of the civil magistrate. Constantine and his successors +could not easily persuade themselves that they had forfeited, by +their conversion, any branch of the Imperial prerogatives, or +that they were incapable of giving laws to a religion which they +had protected and embraced. The emperors still continued to +exercise a supreme jurisdiction over the ecclesiastical order, +and the sixteenth book of the Theodosian code represents, under a +variety of titles, the authority which they assumed in the +government of the Catholic church. + But the distinction of the spiritual and temporal powers, +^81 which had never been imposed on the free spirit of Greece and +Rome, was introduced and confirmed by the legal establishment of +Christianity. The office of supreme pontiff, which, from the +time of Numa to that of Augustus, had always been exercised by +one of the most eminent of the senators, was at length united to +the Imperial dignity. The first magistrate of the state, as +often as he was prompted by superstition or policy, performed +with his own hands the sacerdotal functions; ^82 nor was there +any order of priests, either at Rome or in the provinces, who +claimed a more sacred character among men, or a more intimate +communication with the gods. But in the Christian church, which +instrusts the service of the altar to a perpetual succession of +consecrated ministers, the monarch, whose spiritual rank is less +honorable than that of the meanest deacon, was seated below the +rails of the sanctuary, and confounded with the rest of the +faithful multitude. ^83 The emperor might be saluted as the +father of his people, but he owed a filial duty and reverence to +the fathers of the church; and the same marks of respect, which +Constantine had paid to the persons of saints and confessors, +were soon exacted by the pride of the episcopal order. ^84 A +secret conflict between the civil and ecclesiastical +jurisdictions embarrassed the operation of the Roman government; +and a pious emperor was alarmed by the guilt and danger of +touching with a profane hand the ark of the covenant. The +separation of men into the two orders of the clergy and of the +laity was, indeed, familiar to many nations of antiquity; and the +priests of India, of Persia, of Assyria, of Judea, of Aethiopia, +of Egypt, and of Gaul, derived from a celestial origin the +temporal power and possessions which they had acquired. These +venerable institutions had gradually assimilated themselves to +the manners and government of their respective countries; ^85 but +the opposition or contempt of the civil power served to cement +the discipline of the primitive church. The Christians had been +obliged to elect their own magistrates, to raise and distribute a +peculiar revenue, and to regulate the internal policy of their +republic by a code of laws, which were ratified by the consent of +the people and the practice of three hundred years. When +Constantine embraced the faith of the Christians, he seemed to +contract a perpetual alliance with a distinct and independent +society; and the privileges granted or confirmed by that emperor, +or by his successors, were accepted, not as the precarious favors +of the court, but as the just and inalienable rights of the +ecclesiastical order. +[Footnote 81: See the epistle of Osius, ap. Athanasium, vol. i. +p. 840. The public remonstrance which Osius was forced to address +to the son, contained the same principles of ecclesiastical and +civil government which he had secretly instilled into the mind of +the father.] + +[Footnote 82: M. de la Bastiel has evidently proved, that +Augustus and his successors exercised in person all the sacred +functions of pontifex maximus, of high priest, of the Roman +empire.] + +[Footnote 83: Something of a contrary practice had insensibly +prevailed in the church of Constantinople; but the rigid Ambrose +commanded Theodosius to retire below the rails, and taught him to +know the difference between a king and a priest. See Theodoret, +l. v. c. 18.] + +[Footnote 84: At the table of the emperor Maximus, Martin, bishop +of Tours, received the cup from an attendant, and gave it to the +presbyter, his companion, before he allowed the emperor to drink; +the empress waited on Martin at table. Sulpicius Severus, in +Vit. S Martin, c. 23, and Dialogue ii. 7. Yet it may be doubted, +whether these extraordinary compliments were paid to the bishop +or the saint. The honors usually granted to the former character +may be seen in Bingham's Antiquities, l. ii. c. 9, and Vales ad +Theodoret, l. iv. c. 6. See the haughty ceremonial which +Leontius, bishop of Tripoli, imposed on the empress. Tillemont, +Hist. des Empereurs, tom. iv. p. 754. (Patres Apostol. tom. ii. +p. 179.)] + +[Footnote 85: Plutarch, in his treatise of Isis and Osiris, +informs us that the kings of Egypt, who were not already priests, +were initiated, after their election, into the sacerdotal order.] + + The Catholic church was administered by the spiritual and +legal jurisdiction of eighteen hundred bishops; ^86 of whom one +thousand were seated in the Greek, and eight hundred in the +Latin, provinces of the empire. The extent and boundaries of +their respective dioceses had been variously and accidentally +decided by the zeal and success of the first missionaries, by the +wishes of the people, and by the propagation of the gospel. +Episcopal churches were closely planted along the banks of the +Nile, on the sea-coast of Africa, in the proconsular Asia, and +through the southern provinces of Italy. The bishops of Gaul and +Spain, of Thrace and Pontus, reigned over an ample territory, and +delegated their rural suffragans to execute the subordinate +duties of the pastoral office. ^87 A Christian diocese might be +spread over a province, or reduced to a village; but all the +bishops possessed an equal and indelible character: they all +derived the same powers and privileges from the apostles, from +the people, and from the laws. While the civil and military +professions were separated by the policy of Constantine, a new +and perpetual order of ecclesiastical ministers, always +respectable, sometimes dangerous, was established in the church +and state. The important review of their station and attributes +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 of +public oratory. VII. Privilege of legislative assemblies. + +[Footnote 86: The numbers are not ascertained by any ancient +writer or original catalogue; for the partial lists of the +eastern churches are comparatively modern. The patient diligence +of Charles a Sto Paolo, of Luke Holstentius, and of Bingham, has +laboriously investigated all the episcopal sees of the Catholic +church, which was almost commensurate with the Roman empire. The +ninth book of the Christian antiquities is a very accurate map of +ecclesiastical geography.] + +[Footnote 87: On the subject of rural bishops, or Chorepiscopi, +who voted in tynods, and conferred the minor orders, See +Thomassin, Discipline de l'Eglise, tom. i. p. 447, &c., and +Chardon, Hist. des Sacremens, tom. v. p. 395, &c. They do not +appear till the fourth century; and this equivocal character, +which had excited the jealousy of the prelates, was abolished +before the end of the tenth, both in the East and the West.] + + I. The freedom of election subsisted long after the legal +establishment of Christianity; ^88 and the subjects of Rome +enjoyed in the church the privilege which they had lost in the +republic, of choosing the magistrates whom they were bound to +obey. As soon as a bishop had closed his eyes, the metropolitan +issued a commission to one of his suffragans to administer the +vacant see, and prepare, within a limited time, the future +election. The right of voting was vested in the inferior clergy, +who were best qualified to judge of the merit 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 the appointed day, flocked in +multitudes from the most remote parts of the diocese, ^89 and +sometimes silenced by their tumultuous acclamations, the voice of +reason and the laws of discipline. These acclamations might +accidentally fix on the head of the most deserving competitor; of +some ancient presbyter, some holy monk, or some layman, +conspicuous for his zeal and piety. But the episcopal chair was +solicited, especially in the great and opulent cities of the +empire, as a temporal rather than as a spiritual dignity. The +interested views, the selfish and angry passions, the arts of +perfidy and dissimulation, the secret corruption, the open and +even bloody violence which had formerly disgraced the freedom of +election in the commonwealths of Greece and Rome, too often +influenced the choice of the successors of the apostles. While +one of the candidates boasted the honors of his family, a second +allured his judges by the delicacies of a plentiful table, and a +third, more guilty than his rivals, offered to share the plunder +of the church among the accomplices of his sacrilegious hopes ^90 +The civil as well as ecclesiastical laws attempted to exclude the +populace from this solemn and important transaction. The canons +of ancient discipline, by requiring several episcopal +qualifications, of age, station, &c., restrained, in some +measure, the indiscriminate caprice of the electors. The +authority of the provincial bishops, who were assembled in the +vacant church to consecrate the choice of the people, was +interposed to moderate their passions and to correct their +mistakes. The bishops could refuse to ordain an unworthy +candidate, and the rage of contending factions sometimes accepted +their impartial mediation. The submission, or the resistance, of +the clergy and people, on various occasions, afforded different +precedents, which were insensibly converted into positive laws +and provincial customs; ^91 but it was every where admitted, as a +fundamental maxim of religious policy, that no bishop could be +imposed on an orthodox church, without the consent of its +members. The emperors, as the guardians of the public peace, and +as the first citizens of Rome and Constantinople, might +effectually declare their wishes in the choice of a primate; but +those absolute monarchs respected the freedom of ecclesiastical +elections; and while they distributed and resumed the honors of +the state and army, they allowed eighteen hundred perpetual +magistrates to receive their important offices from the free +suffrages of the people. ^92 It was agreeable to the dictates of +justice, that these magistrates should not desert an honorable +station from which they could not be removed; but the wisdom of +councils endeavored, without much success, to enforce the +residence, and to prevent the translation, of bishops. The +discipline of the West was indeed less relaxed than that of the +East; but the same passions which made those regulations +necessary, rendered them ineffectual. The reproaches which angry +prelates have so vehemently urged against each other, serve only +to expose their common guilt, and their mutual indiscretion. + +[Footnote 88: Thomassin (Discipline de l'Eglise, tom, ii. l. ii. +c. 1-8, p. 673-721) has copiously treated of the election of +bishops during the five first centuries, both in the East and in +the West; but he shows a very partial bias in 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 +and concise. + + Note: This freedom was extremely limited, and soon +annihilated; already, from the third century, the deacons were no +longer nominated by the members of the community, but by the +bishops. Although it appears by the letters of Cyprian, that +even in his time, no priest could be elected without the consent +of the community. (Ep. 68,) that election was far from being +altogether free. The bishop proposed to his parishioners the +candidate whom he had chosen, and they were permitted to make +such objections as might be suggested by his conduct and morals. +(St. Cyprian, Ep. 33.) They lost this last right towards the +middle of the fourth century. - G] + +[Footnote 89: Incredibilis multitudo, non solum ex eo oppido, +(Tours,) sed etiam ex vicinis urbibus ad suffragia ferenda +convenerat, &c. Sulpicius Severus, in Vit. Martin. c. 7. The +council of Laodicea, (canon xiii.) prohibits mobs and tumults; +and Justinian confines confined the right of election to the +nobility. Novel. cxxiii. l.] + +[Footnote 90: The epistles of Sidonius Apollinaris (iv. 25, vii. +5, 9) exhibit some of the scandals of the Gallican church; and +Gaul was less polished and less corrupt than the East.] + +[Footnote 91: A compromise was sometimes introduced by law or by +consent; either the bishops or the people chose one of the three +candidates who had been named by the other party.] + +[Footnote 92: All 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 Alexandria is mentioned by +Philostorgius as a more regular proceeding. (Hist Eccles. l. ii. +ll.) + + Note: The statement of Planck is more consistent with +history: "From the middle of the fourth century, the bishops of +some of the larger churches, particularly those of the Imperial +residence, were almost always chosen under the influence of the +court, and often directly and immediately nominated by the +emperor." Planck, Geschichte der Christlich-kirchlichen +Gesellschafteverfassung, verfassung, vol. i p 263. - M.] + + II. The bishops alone possessed the faculty of spiritual +generation: and this extraordinary privilege might compensate, in +some degree, for the painful celibacy ^93 which was imposed as a +virtue, as a duty, and at length as a positive obligation. The +religions of antiquity, which established a separate order of +priests, dedicated a holy race, a tribe or family, to the +perpetual service of the gods. ^94 Such institutions were founded +for possession, rather than conquest. The children of the +priests enjoyed, with proud and indolent security, their sacred +inheritance; and the fiery spirit of enthusiasm was abated by the +cares, the pleasures, and the endearments of domestic life. But +the Christian sanctuary was open to every ambitious candidate, +who aspired to its heavenly promises or temporal possessions. +This office of priests, like that of soldiers or magistrates, was +strenuously exercised by those men, whose temper and abilities +had prompted them to embrace the ecclesiastical profession, or +who had been selected by a discerning bishop, as the best +qualified to promote the glory and interest of the church. The +bishops ^95 (till the abuse was restrained by the prudence of the +laws) might constrain the reluctant, and protect the distressed; +and the imposition of hands forever bestowed some of the most +valuable privileges of civil society. The whole body of the +Catholic clergy, more numerous perhaps than the legions, was +exempted ^* by the emperors from all service, private or public, +all municipal offices, and all personal taxes and contributions, +which pressed on their fellow- citizens with intolerable weight; +and the duties of their holy profession were accepted as a full +discharge of their obligations to the republic. ^96 Each bishop +acquired an absolute and indefeasible right to the perpetual +obedience of the clerk whom he ordained: the clergy of each +episcopal church, with its dependent parishes, formed a regular +and permanent society; and the cathedrals of Constantinople ^97 +and Carthage ^98 maintained their peculiar establishment of five +hundred ecclesiastical ministers. Their ranks ^99 and numbers +were insensibly multiplied by the superstition of the times, +which introduced into the church the splendid ceremonies of a +Jewish or Pagan temple; and a long train of priests, deacons, +sub-deacons, acolythes, exorcists, readers, singers, and +doorkeepers, contributed, in their respective stations, to swell +the pomp and harmony of religious worship. The clerical name and +privileges were extended to many pious fraternities, who devoutly +supported the ecclesiastical throne. ^100 Six hundred parabolani, +or adventurers, visited the sick at Alexandria; eleven hundred +copiatoe, or grave-diggers, buried the dead at Constantinople; +and the swarms of monks, who arose from the Nile, overspread and +darkened the face of the Christian world. +[Footnote 93: The celibacy of the clergy during the first five or +six centuries, is a subject of discipline, and indeed of +controversy, which has been very diligently examined. See in +particular, Thomassin, Discipline de l'Eglise, tom. i. l. ii. c. +lx. lxi. p. 886-902, and Bingham's Antiquities, l. iv. c. 5. By +each of these learned but partial critics, one half of the truth +is produced, and the other is concealed. + + Note: Compare Planck, (vol. i. p. 348.) This century, the +third, first brought forth the monks, or the spirit of monkery, +the celibacy of the clergy. Planck likewise observes, that from +the history of Eusebius alone, names of married bishops and +presbyters may be adduced by dozens. - M.] +[Footnote 94: Diodorus Siculus attests and approves the +hereditary succession of the priesthood among the Egyptians, the +Chaldeans, and the Indians, (l. i. p. 84, l. ii. p. 142, 153, +edit. Wesseling.) The magi are described by Ammianus as a very +numerous family: "Per saecula multa ad praesens una eademque +prosapia multitudo creata, Deorum cultibus dedicata." (xxiii. 6.) +Ausonius celebrates the Stirps Druidarum, (De Professorib. +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 emulation.] + +[Footnote 95: The subject of the vocation, ordination, obedience, +&c., of the clergy, is laboriously discussed by Thomassin +(Discipline de l'Eglise, tom. ii. p. 1-83) and Bingham, (in the +4th book of his Antiquities, more especially the 4th, 6th, and +7th chapters.) When the brother of St. Jerom was ordained in +Cyprus, the deacons forcibly stopped his mouth, lest he should +make a solemn protestation, which might invalidate the holy +rites.] + +[Footnote *: This exemption was very much limited. The municipal +offices were of two kinds; the one attached to the individual in +his character of inhabitant, the other in that of proprietor. +Constantine had exempted ecclesiastics from offices of the first +description. (Cod. Theod. xvi. t. ii. leg. 1, 2 Eusebius, Hist. +Eccles. l. x. c. vii.) They sought, also, to be exempted from +those of the second, (munera patrimoniorum.) The rich, to obtain +this privilege, obtained subordinate situations among the clergy. +Constantine published in 320 an edict, by which he prohibited the +more opulent citizens (decuriones and curiales) from embracing +the ecclesiastical profession, and the bishops from admitting new +ecclesiastics, before a place should be vacant by the death of +the occupant, (Godefroy ad Cod. Theod.t. xii. t. i. de Decur.) +Valentinian the First, by a rescript still more general enacted +that no rich citizen should obtain a situation in the church, (De +Episc 1. lxvii.) He also enacted that ecclesiastics, who wished +to be exempt from offices which they were bound to discharge as +proprietors, should be obliged to give up their property to their +relations. Cod Theodos l. xii t. i. leb. 49 - G.] +[Footnote 96: The charter of immunities, which the clergy +obtained from the Christian emperors, is contained in the 16th +book of the Theodosian code; and is illustrated with tolerable +candor by the learned Godefroy, whose mind was balanced by the +opposite prejudices of a civilian and a Protestant.] +[Footnote 97: Justinian. Novell. ciii. Sixty presbyters, or +priests, one hundred deacons, forty deaconesses, ninety +sub-deacons, one hundred and ten readers, twenty-five chanters, +and one hundred door-keepers; in all, five hundred and +twenty-five. This moderate number was fixed by the emperor to +relieve the distress of the church, which had been involved in +debt and usury by the expense of a much higher establishment.] + +[Footnote 98: Universus clerus ecclesiae Carthaginiensis . . . . +fere quingenti vei amplius; inter quos quamplurima erant lectores +infantuli. Victor Vitensis, de Persecut. Vandal. v. 9, p. 78, +edit. Ruinart. This remnant of a more prosperous state still +subsisted under the oppression of the Vandals.] +[Footnote 99: The number of seven orders has been fixed in the +Latin church, exclusive of the episcopal character. But the four +inferior ranks, the minor orders, are now reduced to empty and +useless titles.] + +[Footnote 100: See Cod. Theodos. l. xvi. tit. ii. leg. 42, 43. +Godefroy's Commentary, and the Ecclesiastical History of +Alexandria, show the danger of these pious institutions, which +often disturbed the peace of that turbulent capital.] + +Chapter XX: Conversion Of Constantine. + +Part IV. + + III. The edict of Milan secured the revenue as well as the +peace of the church. ^101 The Christians not only recovered the +lands and houses of which they had been stripped by the +persecuting laws of Diocletian, but they acquired a perfect title +to all the possessions which they had hitherto enjoyed by the +connivance of the magistrate. As soon as Christianity became the +religion of the emperor and the empire, the national clergy might +claim a decent and honorable maintenance; and the payment of an +annual tax might have delivered the people from the more +oppressive tribute, which superstition imposes on her votaries. +But as the wants and expenses of the church increased with her +prosperity, the ecclesiastical order was still supported and +enriched by the voluntary oblations of the faithful. Eight years +after the edict of Milan, Constantine granted to all his subjects +the free and universal permission of bequeathing their fortunes +to the holy Catholic church; ^102 and their devout liberality, +which during their lives was checked by luxury or avarice, flowed +with a profuse stream at the hour of their death. The wealthy +Christians were encouraged by the example of their sovereign. An +absolute monarch, who is rich without patrimony, may be +charitable without merit; and Constantine too easily believed +that he should purchase the favor of Heaven, if he maintained the +idle at the expense of the industrious; and distributed among the +saints the wealth of the republic. The same messenger who carried +over to Africa the head of Maxentius, might be intrusted with an +epistle to Caecilian, bishop of Carthage. The emperor acquaints +him, that the treasurers of the province are directed to pay into +his hands the sum of three thousand folles, or eighteen thousand +pounds sterling, and to obey his further requisitions for the +relief of the churches of Africa, Numidia, and Mauritania. ^103 +The liberality of Constantine increased in a just proportion to +his faith, and to his vices. He assigned in each city a regular +allowance of corn, to supply the fund of ecclesiastical charity; +and the persons of both sexes who embraced the monastic life +became the peculiar favorites of their sovereign. The Christian +temples of Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem, Constantinople &c., +displayed the ostentatious piety of a prince, ambitious in a +declining age to equal the perfect labors of antiquity. ^104 The +form of these religious edifices was simple and oblong; though +they might sometimes swell into the shape of a dome, and +sometimes branch into the figure of a cross. The timbers were +framed for the most part of cedars of Libanus; the roof was +covered with tiles, perhaps of gilt brass; and the walls, the +columns, the pavement, were encrusted with variegated marbles. +The most precious ornaments of gold and silver, of silk and gems, +were profusely dedicated to the service of the altar; and this +specious magnificence was supported on the solid and perpetual +basis of landed property. In the space of two centuries, from +the reign of Constantine to that of Justinian, the eighteen +hundred churches of the empire were enriched by the frequent and +unalienable gifts of the prince and people. An annual income of +six hundred pounds sterling may be reasonably assigned to the +bishops, who were placed at an equal distance between riches and +poverty, ^105 but the standard of their wealth insensibly rose +with the dignity and opulence of the cities which they governed. +An authentic but imperfect ^106 rent-roll specifies some houses, +shops, gardens, and farms, which belonged to the three Basilicoe +of Rome, St. Peter, St. Paul, and St. John Lateran, in the +provinces of Italy, Africa, and the East. They produce, besides +a reserved rent of oil, linen, paper, aromatics, &c., a clear +annual revenue of twenty-two thousand pieces of gold, or twelve +thousand pounds sterling. In the age of Constantine and +Justinian, the bishops no longer possessed, perhaps they no +longer deserved, the unsuspecting confidence of their clergy and +people. The ecclesiastical revenues of each diocese were divided +into four parts for the respective uses of the bishop himself, of +his inferior clergy, of the poor, and of the public worship; and +the abuse of this sacred trust was strictly and repeatedly +checked. ^107 The patrimony of the church was still subject to +all the public compositions of the state. ^108 The clergy of +Rome, Alexandria, Chessaionica, &c., might solicit and obtain +some partial exemptions; but the premature attempt of the great +council of Rimini, which aspired to universal freedom, was +successfully resisted by the son of Constantine. ^109 + +[Footnote 101: The edict of Milan (de M. P. c. 48) acknowledges, +by reciting, that there existed a species of landed property, ad +jus corporis eorum, id est, ecclesiarum non hominum singulorum +pertinentia. Such a solemn declaration of the supreme magistrate +must have been received in all the tribunals as a maxim of civil +law.] + +[Footnote 102: Habeat unusquisque licentiam sanctissimo +Catholicae (ecclesioe) venerabilique concilio, decedens bonorum +quod optavit relinquere. Cod. 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 rupture with the +emperor of the East.] + +[Footnote 103: Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. l. x. 6; in Vit. +Constantin. l. iv. c. 28. He repeatedly expatiates on the +liberality of the Christian hero, which the bishop himself had an +opportunity of knowing, and even of lasting.] +[Footnote 104: Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. l. x. c. 2, 3, 4. The +bishop of Caesarea who studied and gratified the taste of his +master, pronounced in public an elaborate 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. iii. +c. 36) a short account of the architecture and ornaments. He +likewise mentions the church of the Holy Apostles at +Constantinople, (l. iv. c. 59.)] + +[Footnote 105: See Justinian. Novell. cxxiii. 3. The revenue of +the patriarchs, and the most wealthy bishops, is not expressed: +the highest annual valuation of 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 much below the real value.] + +[Footnote 106: See Baronius, (Annal. Eccles. A. D. 324, No. 58, +65, 70, 71.) Every record 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, were the objects of +papal avarice.] + +[Footnote 107: See Thomassin, Discipline de l'Eglise, tom. iii. +l. ii. c. 13, 14, 15, p. 689-706. The legal division of the +ecclesiastical revenue does not appear to have been established +in the time of Ambrose and Chrysostom. Simplicius and Gelasius, +who were bishops of Rome in the latter part of the fifth century, +mention it in their pastoral letters as a general law, which was +already confirmed by the custom of Italy.] + +[Footnote 108: Ambrose, the most strenuous assertor of +ecclesiastical privileges, submits without a murmur to the +payment of the land tax. "Si tri butum petit Imperator, non +negamus; agri ecclesiae solvunt tributum solvimus quae sunt +Caesaris Caesari, et quae sunt Dei Deo; tributum Caesaris est; +non negatur." Baronius labors to interpret this tribute as an act +of charity rather than of duty, (Annal. Eccles. A. D. 387;) but +the words, if not the intentions of Ambrose are more candidly +explained by Thomassin, Discipline de l'Eglise, tom. iii. l. i. +c. 34. p. 668.] + +[Footnote 109: In Ariminense synodo super ecclesiarum et +clericorum privilegiis tractatu habito, usque eo dispositio +progressa est, ut juqa quae viderentur ad ecclesiam pertinere, a +publica functione cessarent inquietudine desistente; quod nostra +videtur dudum sanctio repulsisse. Cod. Theod. l. xvi. tit. ii. +leg. 15. Had the synod of Rimini carried this point, such +practical merit might have atoned for some speculative heresies.] + + IV. The Latin clergy, who erected their tribunal on the +ruins of the civil and common law, have modestly accepted, as the +gift of Constantine, ^110 the independent jurisdiction, which was +the fruit of time, of accident, and of their own industry. But +the liberality of the Christian emperors had actually endowed +them with some legal prerogatives, which secured and dignified +the sacerdotal character. ^111 1. Under a despotic government, +the bishops alone enjoyed and asserted the inestimable privilege +of being tried only by their peers; and even in a capital +accusation, a synod of their brethren were the sole judges of +their guilt or innocence. Such a tribunal, unless it was +inflamed by personal resentment or religious discord, might be +favorable, or even partial, to the sacerdotal order: but +Constantine was satisfied, ^112 that secret impunity would be +less pernicious than public scandal: and the Nicene council was +edited by his public declaration, that if he surprised a bishop +in the act of adultery, he should cast his Imperial mantle over +the episcopal sinner. 2. The domestic jurisdiction of the +bishops was at once a privilege and a restraint of the +ecclesiastical order, whose civil causes were decently withdrawn +from the cognizance of a secular judge. Their venial offences +were not exposed to the shame of a public trial or punishment; +and the gentle correction which the tenderness of youth may +endure from its parents or instructors, was inflicted by the +temperate severity of the bishops. But if the clergy were guilty +of any crime which could not be sufficiently expiated by their +degradation from an honorable and beneficial profession, the +Roman magistrate drew the sword of justice, without any regard to +ecclesiastical immunities. 3. The arbitration of the bishops was +ratified by a positive law; and the judges were instructed to +execute, without appeal or delay, the episcopal decrees, whose +validity had hitherto depended on the consent of the parties. +The conversion of the magistrates themselves, and of the whole +empire, might gradually remove the fears and scruples of the +Christians. But they still resorted to the tribunal of the +bishops, whose abilities and integrity they esteemed; and the +venerable Austin enjoyed the satisfaction of complaining that his +spiritual functions were perpetually interrupted by the invidious +labor of deciding the claim or the possession of silver and gold, +of lands and cattle. 4. The ancient privilege of sanctuary was +transferred to the Christian temples, and extended, by the +liberal piety of the younger Theodosius, to the precincts of +consecrated ground. ^113 The fugitive, and even guilty +suppliants,were permitted to implore either the justice, or the +mercy, of the Deity and his ministers. The rash violence of +despotism was suspended by the mild interposition of the church; +and the lives or fortunes of the most eminent subjects might be +protected by the mediation of the bishop. + +[Footnote 110: From Eusebius (in Vit. Constant. l. iv. c. 27) and +Sozomen (l. i. c. 9) we are assured that the episcopal +jurisdiction was extended and confirmed by Constantine; but the +forgery of a famous edict, which was never fairly inserted in the +Theodosian Code (see at the end, tom. vi. p. 303,) is +demonstrated by Godefroy in the most satisfactory manner. It is +strange that M. de Montesquieu, who was a lawyer as well as a +philosopher, should allege this edict of Constantine (Esprit des +Loix, l. xxix. c. 16) without intimating any suspicion.] + +[Footnote 111: The subject of ecclesiastical jurisdiction has +been involved in a mist of passion, of prejudice, and of +interest. Two of the fairest books which have fallen into my +hands, are the Institutes of Canon Law, by the Abbe de Fleury, +and the Civil History of Naples, by Giannone. Their moderation +was the effect of situation as well as of temper. Fleury was a +French ecclesiastic, who respected the authority of the +parliaments; Giannone was an Italian lawyer, who dreaded the +power of the church. And here let me observe, that as the +general propositions which I advance are the result of many +particular and imperfect facts, I must either refer the reader to +those modern authors who have expressly treated the subject, or +swell these notes disproportioned size.] + +[Footnote 112: Tillemont has collected from Rufinus, Theodoret, +&c., the sentiments and language of Constantine. Mem Eccles tom. +iii p. 749, 759.] +[Footnote 113: See Cod. Theod. l. ix. tit. xlv. leg. 4. In the +works of Fra Paolo. (tom. iv. p. 192, &c.,) there is an +excellent discourse on the origin, claims, abuses, and limits of +sanctuaries. He justly observes, that ancient Greece might +perhaps contain fifteen or twenty axyla or sanctuaries; a number +which at present may be found in Italy within the walls of a +single city.] + V. The bishop was the perpetual censor of the morals of his +people The discipline of penance was digested into a system of +canonical jurisprudence, ^114 which accurately defined the duty +of private or public confession, the rules of evidence, the +degrees of guilt, and the measure of punishment. It was +impossible to execute this spiritual censure, if the Christian +pontiff, who punished the obscure sins of the multitude, +respected the conspicuous vices and destructive crimes of the +magistrate: but it was impossible to arraign the conduct of the +magistrate, without, controlling the administration of civil +government. Some considerations of religion, or loyalty, or +fear, protected the sacred persons of the emperors from the zeal +or resentment of the bishops; but they boldly censured and +excommunicated the subordinate tyrants, who were not invested +with the majesty of the purple. St. Athanasius excommunicated +one of the ministers of Egypt; and the interdict which he +pronounced, of fire and water, was solemnly transmitted to the +churches of Cappadocia. ^115 Under the reign of the younger +Theodosius, the polite and eloquent Synesius, one of the +descendants of Hercules, ^116 filled the episcopal seat of +Ptolemais, near the ruins of ancient Cyrene, ^117 and the +philosophic bishop supported with dignity the character which he +had assumed with reluctance. ^118 He vanquished the monster of +Libya, the president Andronicus, who abused the authority of a +venal office, invented new modes of rapine and torture, and +aggravated the guilt of oppression by that of sacrilege. ^119 +After a fruitless attempt to reclaim the haughty magistrate by +mild and religious admonition, Synesius proceeds to inflict the +last sentence of ecclesiastical justice, ^120 which devotes +Andronicus, with his associates and their families, to the +abhorrence of earth and heaven. The impenitent sinners, more +cruel than Phalaris or Sennacherib, more destructive than war, +pestilence, or a cloud of locusts, are deprived of the name and +privileges of Christians, of the participation of the sacraments, +and of the hope of Paradise. The bishop exhorts the clergy, the +magistrates, and the people, to renounce all society with the +enemies of Christ; to exclude them from their houses and tables; +and to refuse them the common offices of life, and the decent +rites of burial. The church of Ptolemais, obscure and +contemptible as she may appear, addresses this declaration to all +her sister churches of the world; and the profane who reject her +decrees, will be involved in the guilt and punishment of +Andronicus and his impious followers. These spiritual terrors +were enforced by a dexterous application to the Byzantine court; +the trembling president implored the mercy of the church; and the +descendants of Hercules enjoyed the satisfaction of raising a +prostrate tyrant from the ground. ^121 Such principles and such +examples insensibly prepared the triumph of the Roman pontiffs, +who have trampled on the necks of kings. +[Footnote 114: The penitential jurisprudence was continually +improved by the canons of the councils. But as many cases were +still left to the discretion of the bishops, they occasionally +published, after the example of the Roman Praetor, the rules of +discipline which they proposed to observe. Among the canonical +epistles of the fourth century, those of Basil the Great were the +most celebrated. They are inserted in the Pandects of Beveridge, +(tom. ii. p. 47-151,) and are translated by Chardon, Hist. des +Sacremens, tom. iv. p. 219-277.] + +[Footnote 115: Basil, Epistol. xlvii. in Baronius, (Annal. +Eccles. A. D. 370. N. 91,) who declares that he purposely relates +it, to convince govern that they were not exempt from a sentence +of excommunication his opinion, even a royal head is not safe +from the thunders of the Vatican; and the cardinal shows himself +much more consistent than the lawyers and theologians of the +Gallican church.] + +[Footnote 116: The long series of his ancestors, as high as +Eurysthenes, the first Doric king of Sparta, and the fifth in +lineal descent from Hercules, was inscribed in the public +registers of Cyrene, a Lacedaemonian colony. (Synes. Epist. +lvii. p. 197, edit. Petav.) Such a pure and illustrious pedigree +of seventeen hundred years, without adding the royal ancestors of +Hercules, cannot be equalled in the history of mankind.] + +[Footnote 117: Synesius (de Regno, p. 2) pathetically deplores +the fallen and ruined state of Cyrene. Ptolemais, a new city, 82 +miles to the westward of Cyrene, assumed the metropolitan honors +of the Pentapolis, or Upper Libya, which were afterwards +transferred to Sozusa.] + +[Footnote 118: Synesius had previously represented his own +disqualifications. He loved profane studies and profane sports; +he was incapable of supporting a life of celibacy; he disbelieved +the resurrection; and he refused to preach fables to the people +unless he might be permitted to philosophize at home. Theophilus +primate of Egypt, who knew his merit, accepted this extraordinary +compromise.] + +[Footnote 119: The promotion of Andronicus was illegal; since he +was a native of Berenice, in the same province. The instruments +of torture are curiously specified; the press that variously +pressed on distended the fingers, the feet, the nose, the ears, +and the lips of the victims.] + +[Footnote 120: The sentence of excommunication is expressed in a +rhetorical style. (Synesius, Epist. lviii. p. 201-203.) The +method of involving whole families, though somewhat unjust, was +improved into national interdicts.] +[Footnote 121: See Synesius, Epist. xlvii. p. 186, 187. Epist. +lxxii. p. 218, 219 Epist. lxxxix. p. 230, 231.] + + VI. Every popular government has experienced the effects of +rude or artificial eloquence. The coldest nature is animated, +the firmest reason is moved, by the rapid communication of the +prevailing impulse; and each hearer is affected by his own +passions, and by those of the surrounding multitude. The ruin of +civil liberty had silenced the demagogues of Athens, and the +tribunes of Rome; the custom of preaching which seems to +constitute a considerable part of Christian devotion, had not +been introduced into the temples of antiquity; and the ears of +monarchs were never invaded by the harsh sound of popular +eloquence, till the pulpits of the empire were filled with sacred +orators, who possessed some advantages unknown to their profane +predecessors. ^122 The arguments and rhetoric of the tribune were +instantly opposed with equal arms, by skilful and resolute +antagonists; and the cause of truth and reason might derive an +accidental support from the conflict of hostile passions. The +bishop, or some distinguished presbyter, to whom he cautiously +delegated the powers of preaching, harangued, without the danger +of interruption or reply, a submissive multitude, whose minds had +been prepared and subdued by the awful ceremonies of religion. +Such was the strict subordination of the Catholic church, that +the same concerted sounds might issue at once from a hundred +pulpits of Italy or Egypt, if they were tuned ^123 by the master +hand of the Roman or Alexandrian primate. The design of this +institution was laudable, but the fruits were not always +salutary. The preachers recommended the practice of the social +duties; 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 the clergy +might be permitted to manage the wealth of the faithful, for the +benefit of the poor. The most sublime representations of the +attributes and laws of the Deity were sullied by an idle mixture +of metaphysical subleties, puerile rites, and fictitious +miracles: and they expatiated, with the most fervent zeal, on the +religious merit of hating the adversaries, and obeying the +ministers of the church. When the public peace was distracted by +heresy and schism, the sacred orators sounded the trumpet of +discord, and, perhaps, of sedition. The understandings of their +congregations were perplexed by mystery, their passions were +inflamed by invectives; and they rushed from the Christian +temples of Antioch or Alexandria, prepared either to suffer or to +inflict martyrdom. The corruption of taste and language is +strongly marked in the vehement declamations of the Latin +bishops; but the compositions of Gregory and Chrysostom have been +compared with the most splendid models of Attic, or at least of +Asiatic, eloquence. ^124 + +[Footnote 122: See 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.) Preaching was considered as the most +important office of the bishop but this function was sometimes +intrusted to such presbyters as Chrysoetom and Augustin.] + +[Footnote 123: Queen Elizabeth used this expression, and +practised this art whenever she wished to prepossess the minds of +her people in favor of any extraordinary measure of government. +The hostile effects of this music were apprehended by her +successor, and severely felt by his son. "When pulpit, drum +ecclesiastic," &c. See Heylin's Life of Archbishop Laud, p. +153.] +[Footnote 124: Those modest orators acknowledged, that, as they +were destitute of the gift of miracles, they endeavored to +acquire the arts of eloquence.] + VII. The representatives of the Christian republic were +regularly assembled in the spring and autumn of each year; and +these synods diffused the spirit of ecclesiastical discipline and +legislation through the hundred and twenty provinces of the Roman +world. ^125 The archbishop or metropolitan was empowered, by the +laws, to summon the suffragan bishops of his province; to revise +their conduct, to vindicate their rights, to declare their faith, +and to examine the merits of the candidates who were elected by +the clergy and people to supply the vacancies of the episcopal +college. The primates of Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, Carthage, +and afterwards Constantinople, who exercised a more ample +jurisdiction, convened the numerous assembly of their dependent +bishops. But the convocation of great and extraordinary synods +was the prerogative of the emperor alone. Whenever the +emergencies of the church required this decisive measure, he +despatched a peremptory summons to the bishops, or the deputies +of each province, with an order for the use of post-horses, and a +competent allowance for the expenses of their journey. At an +early period, when Constantine was the protector, rather than the +proselyte, of Christianity, he referred the African controversy +to the council of Arles; in which the bishops of York of Treves, +of Milan, and of Carthage, met as friends and brethren, to debate +in their native tongue on the common interest of the Latin or +Western church. ^126 Eleven years afterwards, a more numerous and +celebrated assembly was convened at Nice in Bithynia, to +extinguish, by their final sentence, the subtle disputes which +had arisen in Egypt on the subject of the Trinity. Three hundred +and eighteen bishops obeyed the summons of their indulgent +master; the ecclesiastics of every rank, and sect, and +denomination, have been computed at two thousand and forty-eight +persons; ^127 the Greeks appeared in person; and the consent of +the Latins was expressed by the legates of the Roman pontiff. +The session, which lasted about two months, was frequently +honored by the presence of the emperor. Leaving his guards at the +door, he seated himself (with the permission of the council) on a +low stool in the midst of the hall. Constantine listened with +patience, and spoke with modesty: and while he influenced the +debates, he humbly professed that he was the minister, not the +judge, of the successors of the apostles, who had been +established as priests and as gods upon earth. ^128 Such profound +reverence of an absolute monarch towards a feeble and unarmed +assembly of his own subjects, can only be compared to the respect +with which the senate had been treated by the Roman princes who +adopted the policy of Augustus. Within the space of fifty years, +a philosophic spectator of the vicissitudes of human affairs +might have contemplated Tacitus in the senate of Rome, and +Constantine in the council of Nice. The fathers of the Capitol +and those of the church had alike degenerated from the virtues of +their founders; but as the bishops were more deeply rooted in the +public opinion, they sustained their dignity with more decent +pride, and sometimes opposed with a manly spirit the wishes of +their sovereign. The progress of time and superstition erased +the memory of the weakness, the passion, the ignorance, which +disgraced these ecclesiastical synods; and the Catholic world has +unanimously submitted ^129 to the infallible decrees of the +general councils. ^130 + +[Footnote 125: The council of Nice, in the fourth, fifth, sixth, +and seventh canons, has made some fundamental regulations +concerning synods, metropolitan, and primates. The Nicene canons +have been variously tortured, abused, interpolated, or forged, +according to the interest of the clergy. The Suburbicarian +churches, assigned (by Rufinus) to the bishop of Rome, have been +made the subject of vehement controversy (See Sirmond, Opera, +tom. iv. p. 1-238.)] + +[Footnote 126: We have only thirty-three or forty-seven episcopal +subscriptions: but Addo, a writer indeed of small account, +reckons six hundred bishops in the council of Arles. Tillemont, +Mem. Eccles. tom. vi. p. 422.] +[Footnote 127: See Tillemont, tom. vi. p. 915, and Beausobre, +Hist. du Mani cheisme, tom i p. 529. The name of bishop, which +is given by Eusychius to the 2048 ecclesiastics, (Annal. tom. i. +p. 440, vers. Pocock,) must be extended far beyond the limits of +an orthodox or even episcopal ordination.] +[Footnote 128: See Euseb. in Vit. Constantin. l. iii. c. 6-21. +Tillemont, Mem. Ecclesiastiques, tom. vi. p. 669-759.] + +[Footnote 129: Sancimus igitur vicem legum obtinere, quae a +quatuor Sanctis Coueiliis . . . . expositae sunt act firmatae. +Praedictarum enim quat uor synodorum dogmata sicut sanctas +Scripturas et regulas sicut leges observamus. Justinian. Novell. +cxxxi. Beveridge (ad Pandect. proleg. p. 2) remarks, that the +emperors never made new laws in ecclesiastical matters; and +Giannone observes, in a very different spirit, that they gave a +legal sanction to the canons of councils. Istoria Civile di +Napoli, tom. i. p. 136.] +[Footnote 130: See the article Concile in the Eucyclopedie, tom. +iii. p. 668-879, edition de Lucques. The author, M. de docteur +Bouchaud, has discussed, according to the principles of the +Gallican church, the principal questions which relate to the form +and constitution of general, national, and provincial councils. +The editors (see Preface, p. xvi.) have reason to be proud of +this article. Those who consult their immense compilation, +seldom depart so well satisfied.] + +Chapter XXI: Persecution Of Heresy, State Of The Church. + +Part I. + + Persecution Of Heresy. - The Schism Of The Donatists. - The +Arian Controversy. - Athanasius. - Distracted State Of The Church +And Empire Under Constantine And His Sons. - Toleration Of +Paganism. + + The grateful applause of the clergy has consecrated the +memory of a prince who indulged their passions and promoted their +interest. Constantine gave them security, wealth, honors, and +revenge; and the support of the orthodox faith was considered as +the most sacred and important duty of the civil magistrate. The +edict of Milan, the great charter of toleration, had confirmed to +each individual of the Roman world the privilege of choosing and +professing his own religion. But this inestimable privilege was +soon violated; with the knowledge of truth, the emperor imbibed +the maxims of persecution; and the sects which dissented from the +Catholic church were afflicted and oppressed by the triumph of +Christianity. Constantine easily believed that the Heretics, who +presumed to dispute his opinions, or to oppose his commands, were +guilty of the most absurd and criminal obstinacy; and that a +seasonable application of moderate severities might save those +unhappy men from the danger of an everlasting condemnation. Not +a moment was lost in excluding the ministers and teachers of the +separated congregations from any share of the rewards and +immunities which the emperor had so liberally bestowed on the +orthodox clergy. But as the sectaries might still exist under +the cloud of royal disgrace, the conquest of the East was +immediately followed by an edict which announced their total +destruction. ^1 After a preamble filled with passion and +reproach, Constantine absolutely prohibits the assemblies of the +Heretics, and confiscates their public property to 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; the Montanists of Phrygia, who +maintained an enthusiastic succession of prophecy; the Novatians, +who sternly rejected the temporal efficacy of repentance; the +Marcionites and Valentinians, under whose leading banners the +various Gnostics of Asia and Egypt had insensibly rallied; and +perhaps the Manichaeans, who had recently imported from Persia a +more artful composition of Oriental and Christian theology. ^2 +The design of extirpating the name, or at least of restraining +the progress, of these odious Heretics, was prosecuted with vigor +and effect. Some of the penal regulations were copied from the +edicts of Diocletian; and this method of conversion was applauded +by the same bishops who had felt the hand of oppression, and +pleaded for the rights of humanity. Two immaterial circumstances +may serve, however, to prove that the mind of Constantine was not +entirely corrupted by the spirit of zeal and bigotry. Before he +condemned the Manichaeans and their kindred sects, he resolved to +make an accurate inquiry into the nature of their religious +principles. As if he distrusted the impartiality of his +ecclesiastical counsellors, this delicate commission was +intrusted to a civil magistrate, whose learning and moderation he +justly esteemed, and of whose venal character he was probably +ignorant. ^3 The emperor was soon convinced, that he had too +hastily proscribed the orthodox faith and the exemplary morals of +the Novatians, who had dissented from the church in some articles +of discipline which were not perhaps essential to salvation. By +a particular edict, he exempted them from the general penalties +of the law; ^4 allowed them to build a church at Constantinople, +respected the miracles of their saints, invited their bishop +Acesius to the council of Nice; and gently ridiculed the narrow +tenets of his sect by a familiar jest; which, from the mouth of a +sovereign, must have been received with applause and gratitude. +^5 + +[Footnote 1: Eusebius in Vit. Constantin. l. iii. c. 63, 64, 65, +66.] +[Footnote 2: After some examination of the various opinions of +Tillemont, Beausobre, Lardner, &c., I am convinced that Manes did +not propagate his sect, even in Persia, before the year 270. It +is strange, that a philosophic and foreign heresy should have +penetrated so rapidly into the African provinces; yet I cannot +easily reject the edict of Diocletian against the Manichaeans, +which may be found in Baronius. (Annal Eccl. A. D. 287.)] +[Footnote 3: Constantinus enim, cum limatius superstitionum +quaeroret sectas, Manichaeorum et similium, &c. Ammian. xv. 15. +Strategius, who from this commission obtained the surname of +Musonianus, was a Christian of the Arian sect. He acted as one +of the counts at the council of Sardica. Libanius praises his +mildness and prudence. Vales. ad locum Ammian.] +[Footnote 4: Cod. Theod. l. xvi. tit. 5, leg. 2. As the general +law is not inserted in the Theodosian Code, it probable that, in +the year 438, the sects which it had condemned were already +extinct.] + +[Footnote 5: Sozomen, l. i. c. 22. Socrates, l. i. c. 10. These +historians have been suspected, but I think without reason, of an +attachment to the Novatian doctrine. The emperor said to the +bishop, "Acesius, take a ladder, and get up to heaven by +yourself." Most of the Christian sects have, by turns, borrowed +the ladder of Acesius.] + + The complaints and mutual accusations which assailed the +throne of Constantine, as soon as the death of Maxentius had +submitted Africa to his victorious arms, were ill adapted to +edify an imperfect proselyte. He learned, with surprise, that +the provinces of that great country, from the confines of Cyrene +to the columns of Hercules, were distracted with religious +discord. ^6 The source of the division was derived from a double +election in the church of Carthage; the second, in rank and +opulence, of the ecclesiastical thrones of the West. Caecilian +and Majorinus were the two rival prelates of Africa; and the +death of the latter soon made room for Donatus, who, by his +superior abilities and apparent virtues, was the firmest support +of his party. The advantage which Caecilian might claim from the +priority of his ordination, was destroyed by the illegal, or at +least 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 seventy, condemned +Caecilian, and consecrated Majorinus, is again weakened by the +infamy of some of their personal characters; and by the female +intrigues, sacrilegious bargains, and tumultuous proceedings, +which are imputed to this Numidian council. ^7 The bishops of the +contending factions maintained, with equal ardor and obstinacy, +that their adversaries were degraded, or at least dishonored, by +the odious crime of delivering the Holy Scriptures to the +officers of Diocletian. From their mutual reproaches, as well as +from the story of this dark transaction, it may justly be +inferred, that the late persecution had imbittered the zeal, +without reforming the manners, of the African Christians. That +divided church was incapable of affording an impartial +judicature; the controversy was solemnly tried in five successive +tribunals, which were appointed by the emperor; and the whole +proceeding, from the first appeal to the final sentence, lasted +above three years. A severe inquisition, which was taken by the +Praetorian vicar, and the proconsul of Africa, the report of two +episcopal visitors who had been sent to Carthage, the decrees of +the councils of Rome and of Arles, and the supreme judgment of +Constantine himself in his sacred consistory, were all favorable +to the cause of Caecilian; and he was unanimously acknowledged by +the civil and ecclesiastical powers, as the true and lawful +primate of Africa. The honors and estates of the church were +attributed to his suffragan bishops, and it was not without +difficulty, that Constantine was satisfied with inflicting the +punishment of exile on the principal leaders of the Donatist +faction. As their cause was examined with attention, perhaps it +was determined with justice. Perhaps their complaint was not +without foundation, that the credulity of the emperor had been +abused by the insidious arts of his favorite Osius. The +influence of falsehood and corruption might procure the +condemnation of the innocent, or aggravate the sentence of the +guilty. Such an act, however, of injustice, if it concluded an +importunate dispute, might be numbered among the transient evils +of a despotic administration, which are neither felt nor +remembered by posterity. + +[Footnote 6: The best materials for this part of ecclesiastical +history may be found in the edition of Optatus Milevitanus, +published (Paris, 1700) by M. Dupin, who has enriched it with +critical notes, geographical discussions, original records, and +an accurate abridgment of the whole controversy. M. de Tillemont +has bestowed on the Donatists the greatest part of a volume, +(tom. vi. part i.;) and I am indebted to him for an ample +collection of all the passages of his favorite St. Augustin, +which relate to those heretics.] +[Footnote 7: Schisma igitur illo tempore confusae mulieris +iracundia peperit; ambitus nutrivit; avaritia roboravit. +Optatus, l. i. c. 19. The language of Purpurius is that of a +furious madman. Dicitur te necasse lilios sororis tuae duos. +Purpurius respondit: Putas me terreri a te . . occidi; et occido +eos qui contra me faciunt. Acta Concil. Cirtenais, ad calc. +Optat. p. 274. When Caecilian was invited to an assembly of +bishops, Purpurius said to his brethren, or rather to his +accomplices, "Let him come hither to receive our imposition of +hands, and we will break his head by way of penance." Optat. l. +i. c. 19.] + + But this incident, so inconsiderable that it scarcely +deserves a place in history, was productive of a memorable schism +which afflicted the provinces of Africa above three hundred +years, and was extinguished only with Christianity itself. The +inflexible zeal of freedom and fanaticism animated the Donatists +to refuse obedience to the usurpers, whose election they +disputed, and whose spiritual powers they denied. Excluded from +the civil and religious communion of mankind, they boldly +excommunicated the rest of mankind, who had embraced the impious +party of Caecilian, and of the Traditors, from which he derived +his pretended ordination. They asserted with confidence, and +almost with exultation, that the Apostolical succession was +interrupted; that all the bishops of Europe and Asia were +infected by the contagion of guilt and schism; and that the +prerogatives of the Catholic church were confined to the chosen +portion of the African believers, who alone had preserved +inviolate the integrity of their faith and discipline. This +rigid theory was supported by the most uncharitable conduct. +Whenever they acquired a proselyte, even from the distant +provinces of the East, they carefully repeated the sacred rites +of baptism ^8 and ordination; as they rejected the validity of +those which he had already received from the hands of heretics or +schismatics. Bishops, virgins, and even spotless infants, were +subjected to the disgrace of a public penance, before they could +be admitted to the communion of the Donatists. If they obtained +possession of a church which had been used by their Catholic +adversaries, they purified the unhallowed building with the same +zealous care which a temple of idols might have required. They +washed the pavement, scraped the walls, burnt the altar, which +was commonly of wood, melted the consecrated plate, and cast the +Holy Eucharist to the dogs, with every circumstance of ignominy +which could provoke and perpetuate the animosity of religious +factions. ^9 Notwithstanding this irreconcilable aversion, the +two parties, who were mixed and separated in all the cities of +Africa, had the same language and manners, the same zeal and +learning, the same faith and worship. Proscribed by the civil +and ecclesiastical powers of the empire, the Donatists still +maintained in some provinces, particularly in Numidia, their +superior numbers; and four hundred bishops acknowledged the +jurisdiction of their primate. But the invincible spirit of the +sect sometimes preyed on its own vitals: and the bosom of their +schismatical church was torn by intestine divisions. A fourth +part of the Donatist bishops followed the independent standard of +the Maximianists. The narrow and solitary path which their first +leaders had marked out, continued to deviate from the great +society of mankind. Even the imperceptible sect of the Rogatians +could affirm, without a blush, that when Christ should descend to +judge the earth, he would find his true religion preserved only +in a few nameless villages of the Caesarean Mauritania. ^10 + +[Footnote 8: The councils of Arles, of Nice, and of Trent, +confirmed the wise and moderate practice of the church of Rome. +The Donatists, however, had the advantage of maintaining the +sentiment of Cyprian, and of a considerable part of the primitive +church. Vincentius Lirinesis (p. 532, ap. Tillemont, Mem. +Eccles. tom. vi. p. 138) has explained why the Donatists are +eternally burning with the Devil, while St. Cyprian reigns in +heaven with Jesus Christ.] +[Footnote 9: See the sixth book of Optatus Milevitanus, p. +91-100.] +[Footnote 10: Tillemont, Mem. Ecclesiastiques, tom. vi. part i. +p. 253. He laughs at their partial credulity. He revered +Augustin, the great doctor of the system of predestination.] + + The schism of the Donatists was confined to Africa: the more +diffusive mischief of the Trinitarian controversy successively +penetrated into every part of the Christian world. The former +was an accidental quarrel, occasioned by the abuse of freedom; +the latter was a high and mysterious argument, derived from the +abuse of philosophy. From the age of Constantine to that of +Clovis and Theodoric, the temporal interests both of the Romans +and Barbarians were deeply involved in the theological disputes +of Arianism. The historian may therefore be permitted +respectfully to withdraw the veil of the sanctuary; and to deduce +the progress of reason and faith, of error and passion from the +school 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, ^11 had +ventured to explore the mysterious nature of the Deity. When he +had elevated his mind to the sublime contemplation of the first +self-existent, necessary cause of the universe, the Athenian sage +was incapable of conceiving how the simple unity of his essence +could admit the infinite variety of distinct and successive ideas +which compose the model of the intellectual world; how a Being +purely incorporeal could execute that perfect model, and mould +with a plastic hand the rude and independent chaos. The vain +hope of extricating himself from these difficulties, which must +ever oppress the feeble powers of the human mind, might induce +Plato to consider the divine nature under the threefold +modification - of the first cause, the reason, or Logos, and the +soul or spirit of the universe. His poetical imagination +sometimes fixed and animated these metaphysical abstractions; the +three archical on original principles were represented in the +Platonic system as three Gods, united with each other by a +mysterious and ineffable generation; and the Logos was +particularly considered under the more accessible character of +the Son of an Eternal Father, and the Creator and Governor of the +world. Such appear to have been the secret doctrines which were +cautiously whispered in the gardens of the academy; and which, +according to the more recent disciples of Plato, ^* could not be +perfectly understood, till after an assiduous study of thirty +years. ^12 + +[Footnote 11: Plato Aegyptum peragravit ut a sacerdotibus +Barbaris numeros et coelestia acciperet. Cicero de Finibus, v. +25. The Egyptians might still preserve the traditional creed of +the Patriarchs. Josephus has persuaded many of the Christian +fathers, that Plato derived a part of his knowledge from the +Jews; but this vain opinion cannot be reconciled with the obscure +state and unsocial manners of the Jewish people, whose scriptures +were not accessible to Greek curiosity till more than one hundred +years after the death of Plato. See Marsham Canon. Chron. p. 144 +Le Clerc, Epistol. Critic. vii. p. 177-194.] +[Footnote *: This exposition of the doctrine of Plato appears to +me contrary to the true sense of that philosopher's writings. +The brilliant imagination which he carried into metaphysical +inquiries, his style, full of allegories and figures, have misled +those interpreters who did not seek, from the whole tenor of his +works and beyond the images which the writer employs, the system +of this philosopher. In my opinion, there is no Trinity in +Plato; he has established no mysterious generation between the +three pretended principles which he is made to distinguish. +Finally, he conceives only as attributes of the Deity, or of +matter, those ideas, of which it is supposed that he made +substances, real beings. + + According to Plato, God and matter existed from all +eternity. Before the creation of the world, matter had in itself +a principle of motion, but without end or laws: it is this +principle which Plato calls the irrational soul of the world, +because, according to his doctrine, every spontaneous and +original principle of motion is called soul. God wished to +impress form upon matter, that is to say, 1. To mould matter, and +make it into a body; 2. To regulate its motion, and subject it to +some end and to certain laws. The Deity, in this operation, +could not act but according 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 divine intelligence, +existing with God from all eternity, and called by Plato which he +is supposed to personify, to substantialize; while an attentive +examination is sufficient to convince us that he has never +assigned it an existence external to the Deity, (hors de la +Divinite,) and that he considered the as the aggregate of the +ideas of God, the divine understanding in its relation to the +world. The contrary opinion is irreconcilable with all his +philosophy: thus he says that to the idea of the Deity is +essentially united that of intelligence, of a logos. He would +thus have admitted a double logos; one inherent in the Deity as +an attribute, the other independently existing as a substance. +He affirms that the intelligence, the principle of order cannot +exist but as an attribute of a soul, the principle of motion and +of life, of which the nature is unknown to us. How, then, +according to this, could he consider the logos as a substance +endowed with an independent existence? In other 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, +according to his system, God has proceeded, at the creation, to +unite the principle of order which he had within himself, his +proper intelligence, the principle of motion, to the principle of +motion, the irrational soul which was in matter. When he speaks +of the place occupied by the ideal world, it is to designate the +divine intelligence, which is its cause. Finally, in no part of +his writings do we find a true personification of the pretended +beings of which he is said to have formed a trinity: and if this +personification existed, it would equally apply to many other +notions, of which might be formed many different trinities. + + This error, into which many ancient as well as modern +interpreters of Plato have fallen, was very natural. Besides the +snares which were concealed in his figurative style; besides the +necessity of comprehending as a whole the system of his ideas, +and not to explain isolated passages, the nature of his doctrine +itself would conduce to this error. When Plato appeared, the +uncertainty of human knowledge, and the continual illusions of +the senses, were acknowledged, and had given rise to a general +scepticism. Socrates had aimed at raising morality above the +influence of this scepticism: Plato endeavored to save +metaphysics, by seeking in the human intellect a source of +certainty which the senses could not furnish. He invented the +system of innate ideas, of which the aggregate formed, according +to him, the ideal world, and affirmed that these ideas were real +attributes, not only attached to our conceptions of objects, but +to the nature of the objects themselves; a nature of which from +them we might obtain a knowledge. He gave, then, to these ideas +a positive existence as attributes; his commentators could easily +give them a real existence as substances; especially as the terms +which he used to designate them, essential beauty, essential +goodness, lent themselves to this substantialization, +(hypostasis.) - G. + + We have retained this view of the original philosophy of +Plato, in which there is probably much truth. The genius of +Plato was rather metaphysical than impersonative: his poetry was +in his language, rather than, like that of the Orientals, in his +conceptions. - M.] + +[Footnote 12: The modern guides who lead me to the knowledge of +the Platonic system are Cudworth, Basnage, Le Clerc, and Brucker. + +As the learning of these writers was equal, and their intention +different, an inquisitive observer may derive instruction from +their disputes, and certainty from their agreement.] + The arms of the Macedonians diffused over Asia and Egypt the +language and learning of Greece; and the theological system of +Plato was taught, with less reserve, and perhaps with some +improvements, in the celebrated school of Alexandria. ^13 A +numerous colony of Jews had been invited, by the favor of the +Ptolemies, to settle in their new capital. ^14 While the bulk of +the nation practised the legal ceremonies, and pursued the +lucrative occupations of commerce, a few Hebrews, of a more +liberal spirit, devoted their lives to religious and +philosophical contemplation. ^15 They cultivated with diligence, +and embraced with ardor, the theological system of the Athenian +sage. But their national pride would have been mortified by a +fair confession of their former poverty: and they boldly marked, +as the sacred inheritance of their ancestors, the gold and jewels +which they had so lately stolen from their Egyptian masters. One +hundred years before the birth of Christ, a philosophical +treatise, which manifestly betrays the style and sentiments of +the school of Plato, was produced by the Alexandrian Jews, and +unanimously received as a genuine and valuable relic of the +inspired Wisdom of Solomon. ^16 A similar union of the Mosaic +faith and the Grecian philosophy, distinguishes the works of +Philo, which were composed, for the most part, under the reign of +Augustus. ^17 The material soul of the universe ^18 might offend +the piety of the Hebrews: but they applied the character of the +Logos to the Jehovah of Moses and the patriarchs; and the Son of +God was introduced upon earth under a visible, and even human +appearance, to perform those familiar offices which seem +incompatible with the nature and attributes of the Universal +Cause. ^19 + +[Footnote 13: Brucker, Hist. Philosoph. tom. i. p. 1349-1357. +The Alexandrian school is celebrated by Strabo (l. xvii.) and +Ammianus, (xxii. 6.) + Note: The philosophy of Plato was not the only source of +that professed in the school of Alexandria. That city, in which +Greek, Jewish, and Egyptian men of letters were assembled, was +the scene of a strange fusion of the system of these three +people. The Greeks brought a Platonism, already much changed; +the Jews, who had acquired at Babylon a great number of Oriental +notions, and whose theological opinions had undergone great +changes by this intercourse, endeavored to reconcile Platonism +with their new doctrine, and disfigured it entirely: lastly, the +Egyptians, who were not willing to abandon notions for which the +Greeks themselves entertained respect, endeavored on their side +to reconcile their own with those of their neighbors. It is in +Ecclesiasticus and the Wisdom of Solomon that we trace the +influence of Oriental philosophy rather than that of Platonism. +We find in these books, and in those of the later prophets, as in +Ezekiel, notions unknown to the Jews before the Babylonian +captivity, of which we do not discover the germ in Plato, but +which are manifestly derived from the Orientals. Thus God +represented under the image of light, and the principle of evil +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 the positive determination, can only be referred to the +Oriental philosophy. Plato supposed matter eternal; the +Orientals and the Jews considered it as a creation of God, who +alone was eternal. It is impossible to explain the philosophy of +the Alexandrian school solely by the blending of the Jewish +theology with the Greek philosophy. The Oriental philosophy, +however little it may be known, is recognized at every instant. +Thus, according to the Zend Avesta, it is by the Word (honover) +more ancient than the world, that Ormuzd created the universe. +This word is the logos of Philo, consequently very different from +that of Plato. I have shown that Plato never personified the +logos as the ideal archetype of the world: Philo ventured this +personification. The Deity, according to him, 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 itself +of God, personified under the image of a being acting to create +the sensible 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 to personify anew the ideal world, under the image +of a celestial man, the primitive type of man, and the sensible +world under the image of another man less perfect than the +celestial man. Certain notions of the Oriental philosophy may +have given rise to this strange abuse of allegory, which it is +sufficient to relate, to show what alterations Platonism had +already undergone, and what was their source. Philo, moreover, of +all the Jews of Alexandria, is the one whose Platonism is the +most pure. It is from this mixture of Orientalism, Platonism, and +Judaism, that Gnosticism arose, which had produced so many +theological and philosophical extravagancies, and in which +Oriental notions evidently predominate. - G.] +[Footnote 14: Joseph. Antiquitat, l. xii. c. 1, 3. Basnage, +Hist. des Juifs, l. vii. c. 7.] + +[Footnote 15: For the origin of the Jewish philosophy, see +Eusebius, Praeparat. Evangel. viii. 9, 10. According to Philo, +the Therapeutae studied philosophy; and Brucker has proved (Hist. +Philosoph. tom. ii. p. 787) that they gave the preference to that +of Plato.] + +[Footnote 16: See Calmet, Dissertations sur la Bible, tom. ii. p. +277. The book of the Wisdom of Solomon was received by many of +the fathers as the work of that monarch: and although rejected by +the Protestants for want of a Hebrew original, it has obtained, +with the rest of the Vulgate, the sanction of the council of +Trent.] + +[Footnote 17: The Platonism of Philo, which was famous to a +proverb, is proved beyond a doubt by Le Clerc, (Epist. Crit. +viii. p. 211-228.) Basnage (Hist. des Juifs, l. iv. c. 5) has +clearly ascertained, that the theological works of Philo were +composed before the death, and most probably before the birth, of +Christ. In such a time of darkness, the knowledge of Philo is +more astonishing than his errors. Bull, Defens. Fid. Nicen. s. +i. c. i. p. 12.] +[Footnote 18: Mens agitat molem, et magno se corpore miscet. + Besides this material soul, Cudworth has discovered (p. 562) +in Amelius, Porphyry, Plotinus, and, as he thinks, in Plato +himself, a superior, spiritual upercosmian soul of the universe. +But this double soul is exploded by Brucker, Basnage, and Le +Clerc, as an idle fancy of the latter Platonists.] +[Footnote 19: Petav. Dogmata Theologica, tom. ii. l. viii. c. 2, +p. 791. Bull, Defens. Fid. 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, with +indiscreet wit, the nature of God, and the actions of Jehovah, he +concludes: Scilicet ut haec de filio Dei non credenda fuisse, si +non scripta essent; fortasse non credenda de l'atre licet +scripta. + + Note: Tertullian is here arguing against the Patripassians; +those who asserted that the Father was born of the Virgin, died +and was buried. - M.] + +Chapter XXI: Persecution Of Heresy, State Of The Church. + +Part II. + + The eloquence of Plato, the name of Solomon, the authority +of the school of Alexandria, and the consent of the Jews and +Greeks, were insufficient to establish the truth of a mysterious +doctrine, which might please, but could not satisfy, a rational +mind. A prophet, or apostle, inspired by the Deity, can alone +exercise a lawful dominion over the faith of mankind: and the +theology of Plato might have been forever confounded with the +philosophical visions of the Academy, the Porch, and the Lycaeum, +if the name and divine attributes of the Logos had not been +confirmed by the celestial pen of the last and most sublime of +the Evangelists. ^20 The Christian Revelation, which was +consummated under the reign of Nerva, disclosed to the world the +amazing secret, that the Logos, who was with God from the +beginning, and was God, who had made all things, and for whom all +things had been made, was incarnate in the person of Jesus of +Nazareth; who had been born of a virgin, and suffered death on +the cross. Besides the genera design of fixing on a perpetual +basis the divine honors of Christ, the most ancient and +respectable of the ecclesiastical writers have ascribed to the +evangelic theologian a particular intention to confute two +opposite heresies, which disturbed the peace of the primitive +church. ^21 I. The faith of the Ebionites, ^22 perhaps of the +Nazarenes, ^23 was gross and imperfect. They revered Jesus as +the greatest of the prophets, endowed with supernatural virtue +and power. They ascribed to his person and to his future reign +all the predictions of the Hebrew oracles which relate to the +spiritual and everlasting kingdom of the promised Messiah. ^24 +Some of them might confess that he was born of a virgin; but they +obstinately rejected the preceding existence and divine +perfections of the Logos, or Son of God, which are so clearly +defined in the Gospel of St. John. About fifty years afterwards, +the Ebionites, whose errors are mentioned by Justin Martyr with +less severity than they seem to deserve, ^25 formed a very +inconsiderable portion of the Christian name. II. The Gnostics, +who were distinguished by the epithet of Docetes, deviated into +the contrary extreme; and betrayed the human, while they asserted +the divine, nature of Christ. Educated in the school of Plato, +accustomed to the sublime idea of the Logos, they readily +conceived that the brightest Aeon, or Emanation of the Deity, +might assume the outward shape and visible appearances of a +mortal; ^26 but they vainly pretended, that the imperfections of +matter are incompatible with the purity of a celestial substance. + +While the blood of Christ yet smoked on Mount Calvary, the +Docetes invented the impious and extravagant hypothesis, that, +instead of issuing from the womb of the Virgin, ^27 he had +descended on the banks of the Jordan in the form of perfect +manhood; that he had imposed on the senses of his enemies, and of +his disciples; and that the ministers of Pilate had wasted their +impotent rage on an ury phantom, who seemed to expire on the +cross, and, after three days, to rise from the dead. ^28 +[Footnote 20: The Platonists admired the beginning of the Gospel +of St. John as containing an exact transcript of their own +principles. Augustin de Civitat. Dei, x. 29. Amelius apud +Cyril. advers. Julian. l. viii. p. 283. But in the third and +fourth centuries, the Platonists of Alexandria might improve +their Trinity by the secret study of the Christian theology. + Note: A short discussion on the sense in which St. John has +used the word Logos, will prove that he has not borrowed it from +the philosophy of Plato. The evangelist adopts this word without +previous explanation, as a term with which his contemporaries +were already familiar, and which they could at once comprehend. +To know the sense which he gave to it, we must inquire that which +it generally bore in his time. We find two: the one attached to +the word logos by the Jews of Palestine, the other by the school +of Alexandria, particularly by Philo. The Jews had feared at all +times to pronounce the name of Jehovah; they had formed a habit +of designating God by one of his attributes; they called him +sometimes Wisdom, sometimes the Word. By the word of the Lord +were the heavens made. (Psalm xxxiii. 6.) Accustomed to +allegories, they often addressed themselves to this attribute of +the Deity as a real being. Solomon makes Wisdom say "The Lord +possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of +old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever +the earth was." (Prov. viii. 22, 23.) Their residence in Persia +only increased this inclination to sustained allegories. In the +Ecclesiasticus of the son of Sirach, and the Book of Wisdom, we +find allegorical descriptions of Wisdom like the following: "I +came out of the mouth of the Most High; I covered the earth as a +cloud; . . . I alone compassed the circuit of heaven, and walked +in the bottom of the deep . . . The Creator created me from the +beginning, before the world, and I shall never fail." (Eccles. +xxiv. 35- 39.) See also the Wisdom of Solomon, c. vii. v. 9. [The +latter book is clearly Alexandrian. - M.] We see from this that +the Jews understood from the Hebrew and Chaldaic words which +signify Wisdom, the Word, and which were translated into Greek, a +simple attribute of the Deity, allegorically personified, but of +which they did not make a real particular being separate from the +Deity. + + The school of Alexandria, on the contrary, and Philo among +the rest, mingling Greek with Jewish and Oriental notions, and +abandoning himself to his inclination to mysticism, personified +the logos, and represented it a distinct being, created by God, +and intermediate between God and man. This is the second logos +of Philo, that which acts from the beginning of the world, alone +in its kind, creator of the sensible world, formed by God +according to the ideal world which he had in himself, and which +was the first logos, the first-born of the Deity. The logos +taken in this sense, then, was a created being, but, anterior to +the creation of the world, near to God, and charged with his +revelations to mankind. + + Which of these two senses is that which St. John intended to +assign to the word logos in the first chapter of his Gospel, and +in all his writings? + St. John was a Jew, born and educated in Palestine; he had +no knowledge, at least very little, of the philosophy of the +Greeks, and that of the Grecizing Jews: he would naturally, then, +attach to the word logos the sense attached to it by the Jews of +Palestine. If, in fact, we compare the attributes which he +assigns to the logos with those which are assigned to it in +Proverbs, in the Wisdom of Solomon, in Ecclesiasticus, we shall +see that they are the same. The Word was in the world, and the +world was made by him; in him was life, and the life was the +light of men, (c. i. v. 10-14.) It is impossible not to trace in +this chapter the ideas which the Jews had formed of the +allegorized logos. The evangelist afterwards really personifies +that which his predecessors have personified only poetically; for +he affirms "that the Word became flesh," (v. 14.) It was to prove +this that he wrote. Closely examined, the ideas which he gives +of the logos cannot agree with those of Philo and the school of +Alexandria; they correspond, on the contrary, with those of the +Jews of Palestine. Perhaps St. John, employing a well-known term +to explain a doctrine which was yet unknown, has slightly altered +the sense; it is this alteration which we appear to discover on +comparing different passages of his writings. + + It is worthy of remark, that the Jews of Palestine, who did +not perceive this alteration, could find nothing extraordinary in +what St. John said of the Logos; at least they comprehended it +without difficulty, while the Greeks and Grecizing Jews, on their +part, brought to it prejudices and preconceptions easily +reconciled with those of the evangelist, who did not expressly +contradict them. This circumstance must have much favored the +progress of Christianity. Thus the fathers of the church in the +two first centuries and later, formed almost all in the school of +Alexandria, gave to the Logos of St. John a sense nearly similar +to that which it received from Philo. Their doctrine approached +very near to that which in the fourth century the council of Nice +condemned in the person of Arius. - G. + + M. Guizot has forgotten the long residence of St. John at +Ephesus, the centre of the mingling opinions of the East and +West, which were gradually growing up into Gnosticism. (See +Matter. Hist. du Gnosticisme, vol. i. p. 154.) St. John's sense +of the Logos seems as far removed from the simple allegory +ascribed to the Palestinian Jews as from the Oriental +impersonation of the Alexandrian. 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 is used in his +writings. - M.] + +[Footnote 21: See Beausobre, Hist. Critique du Manicheisme, tom. +i. p. 377. The Gospel according to St. John is supposed to have +been published about seventy years after the death of Christ.] + +[Footnote 22: The sentiments of the Ebionites are fairly stated +by Mosheim (p. 331) and Le Clerc, (Hist. Eccles. p. 535.) The +Clementines, published among the apostolical fathers, are +attributed by the critics to one of these sectaries.] + +[Footnote 23: Stanch polemics, like a Bull, (Judicium Eccles. +Cathol. c. 2,) insist on the orthodoxy of the Nazarenes; which +appears less pure and certain in the eyes of Mosheim, (p. 330.)] + +[Footnote 24: The humble condition and sufferings of Jesus have +always been a stumbling-block to the Jews. "Deus . . . +contrariis coloribus Messiam depinxerat: futurus erat Rex, Judex, +Pastor," &c. See Limborch et Orobio Amica Collat. p. 8, 19, +53-76, 192-234. But this objection has obliged the believing +Christians to lift up their eyes to a spiritual and everlasting +kingdom.] + +[Footnote 25: Justin Martyr, Dialog. cum Tryphonte, p. 143, 144. +See Le Clerc, Hist. Eccles. p. 615. Bull and his editor Grabe +(Judicium Eccles. Cathol. c. 7, and Appendix) attempt to distort +either the sentiments or the words of Justin; but their violent +correction of the text is rejected even by the Benedictine +editors.] + +[Footnote 26: The Arians reproached the orthodox party with +borrowing their Trinity from the Valentinians and Marcionites. +See Beausobre, Hist. de Manicheisme, l. iii. c. 5, 7.] + +[Footnote 27: Non dignum est ex utero credere Deum, et Deum +Christum .... non dignum est ut tanta majestas per sordes et +squalores muli eris transire credatur. The Gnostics asserted the +impurity of matter, and of marriage; and they were scandalized by +the gross interpretations of the fathers, and even of Augustin +himself. See Beausobre, tom. ii. p. 523, + + Note: The greater part of the Docetae rejected the true +divinity of Jesus Christ, as well as his human nature. They +belonged to the Gnostics, whom some philosophers, in whose party +Gibbon has enlisted, make to derive their opinions from those of +Plato. These philosophers did not consider that Platonism had +undergone continual alterations, and that those who gave it some +analogy with the notions of the Gnostics were later in their +origin than most of the sects comprehended under this name +Mosheim has proved (in his Instit. Histor. Eccles. Major. s. i. +p. 136, sqq and p. 339, sqq.) that the Oriental philosophy, +combined with the cabalistical philosophy of the Jews, had given +birth to Gnosticism. The relations which exist between this +doctrine and the records which remain to us of that of the +Orientals, the Chaldean and Persian, have been the source of the +errors of the Gnostic Christians, who wished to reconcile their +ancient notions with their new belief. It is on this account +that, denying the human nature of Christ, they also denied his +intimate union with God, and took him for one of the substances +(aeons) created by God. As they believed in the eternity of +matter, and considered it to be the principle of evil, in +opposition to the Deity, the first cause and principle of good, +they were unwilling to admit that one of the pure substances, one +of the aeons which came forth from God, had, by partaking in the +material nature, allied himself to the principle of evil; and +this was their motive for rejecting the real humanity of Jesus +Christ. See Ch. G. F. Walch, Hist. of Heresies in Germ. t. i. p. +217, sqq. Brucker, Hist. Crit. Phil. ii. p 639. - G.] +[Footnote 28: Apostolis adhuc in saeculo superstitibus apud +Judaeam Christi sanguine recente, et phanlasma corpus Domini +asserebatur. Cotelerius thinks (Patres Apostol. tom. ii. p. 24) +that those who will not allow the Docetes to have arisen in the +time of the Apostles, may with equal reason deny that the sun +shines at noonday. These Docetes, who formed the most +considerable party among the Gnostics, were so called, because +they granted only a seeming body to Christ. + + Note: The name of Docetae was given to these sectaries only +in the course of the second century: this name did not designate +a sect, properly so called; it applied to all the sects who +taught the non- reality of the material body of Christ; of this +number were the Valentinians, the Basilidians, the Ophites, the +Marcionites, (against whom Tertullian wrote his book, De Carne +Christi,) and other Gnostics. In truth, Clement of Alexandria +(l. iii. Strom. c. 13, p. 552) makes express mention of a sect of +Docetae, and even names as one of its heads a certain Cassianus; +but every thing leads us to believe that it was not a distinct +sect. Philastrius (de Haeres, c. 31) reproaches Saturninus with +being a Docete. Irenaeus (adv. Haer. c. 23) makes the same +reproach against Basilides. Epiphanius and Philastrius, who have +treated in detail on each particular heresy, do not specially +name that of the Docetae. Serapion, bishop of Antioch, (Euseb. +Hist. 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 found in any earlier record, though the error +which it points out existed even in the time of the Apostles. +See Ch. G. F. Walch, Hist. of Her. v. i. p. 283. Tillemont, +Mempour servir a la Hist Eccles. ii. p. 50. Buddaeus de Eccles. +Apost. c. 5 & 7 - G.] + + The divine sanction, which the Apostle had bestowed on the +fundamental principle of the theology of Plato, encouraged the +learned proselytes of the second and third centuries to admire +and study the writings of the Athenian sage, who had thus +marvellously anticipated one of the most surprising discoveries +of the Christian revelation. The respectable name of Plato was +used by the orthodox, ^29 and abused by the heretics, ^30 as the +common support of truth and error: the authority of his skilful +commentators, and the science of dialectics, were employed to +justify the remote consequences of his opinions and to supply the +discreet silence of the inspired writers. The same subtle and +profound questions concerning the nature, the generation, the +distinction, and the equality of the three divine persons of the +mysterious Triad, or Trinity, ^31 were agitated in the +philosophical and in the Christian schools of Alexandria. An +eager spirit of curiosity urged them to explore the secrets of +the abyss; and the pride of the professors, and of their +disciples, was satisfied with the sciences of words. But the +most sagacious of the Christian theologians, the great Athanasius +himself, has candidly confessed, ^32 that whenever he forced his +understanding to meditate on the divinity of the Logos, his +toilsome and unavailing efforts recoiled on themselves; that the +more he thought, the less he comprehended; and the more he wrote, +the less capable was he of expressing his thoughts. In every +step of the inquiry, we are compelled to feel and acknowledge the +immeasurable disproportion between the size of the object and the +capacity of the human mind. We may strive to abstract the +notions of time, of space, and of matter, which so closely adhere +to all the perceptions of our experimental knowledge. But as +soon as we presume to reason of infinite substance, of spiritual +generation; as often as we deduce any positive conclusions from a +negative idea, we are involved in darkness, perplexity, and +inevitable contradiction. As these difficulties arise from the +nature of the subject, they oppress, with the same insuperable +weight, the philosophic and the theological disputant; but we may +observe two essential and peculiar circumstances, which +discriminated the doctrines of the Catholic church from the +opinions of the Platonic school. + +[Footnote 29: Some proofs of the respect which the Christians +entertained for the 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.] +[Footnote 30: Doleo bona fide, Platonem omnium heraeticorum +condimentarium factum. Tertullian. de Anima, c. 23. Petavius +(Dogm. Theolog. tom. iii. proleg. 2) shows that this was a +general complaint. Beausobre (tom. i. l. iii. c. 9, 10) has +deduced the Gnostic errors from Platonic principles; and as, in +the school of Alexandria, those principles were blended with the +Oriental philosophy, (Brucker, tom. i. p. 1356,) the sentiment of +Beausobre may be reconciled with the opinion of Mosheim, (General +History of the Church, vol. i. p. 37.)] + +[Footnote 31: If Theophilus, bishop of Antioch, (see Dupin, +Bibliotheque Ecclesiastique, tom. i. p. 66,) was the first who +employed the word Triad, Trinity, that abstract term, which was +already familiar to the schools of philosophy, must have been +introduced into the theology of the Christians after the middle +of the second century.] + +[Footnote 32: Athanasius, tom. i. p. 808. His expressions have +an uncommon energy; and as he was writing to monks, there could +not be any occasion for him to affect a rational language.] + + I. A chosen society of philosophers, men of a liberal +education and curious disposition, might silently meditate, and +temperately discuss in the gardens of Athens or the library of +Alexandria, the abstruse questions of metaphysical science. The +lofty speculations, which neither convinced the understanding, +nor agitated the passions, of the Platonists themselves, were +carelessly overlooked by the idle, the busy, and even the +studious part of mankind. ^33 But after the Logos had been +revealed as the sacred object of the faith, the hope, and the +religious worship of the Christians, the mysterious system was +embraced by a numerous and increasing multitude in every province +of the Roman world. Those persons who, from their age, or sex, +or occupations, were the least qualified to judge, who were the +least exercised in the habits of abstract reasoning, aspired to +contemplate the economy of the Divine Nature: and it is the boast +of Tertullian, ^34 that a Christian mechanic could readily answer +such questions as had perplexed the wisest of the Grecian sages. +Where the subject lies so far beyond our reach, the difference +between the highest and the lowest of human understandings may +indeed be calculated as infinitely small; yet the degree of +weakness may perhaps be measured by the degree of obstinacy and +dogmatic confidence. These speculations, instead of being +treated as the amusement of a vacant hour, became the most +serious business of the present, and the most useful preparation +for a future, life. A theology, which it was incumbent to +believe, which it was impious to doubt, and which it might be +dangerous, and even fatal, to mistake, became the familiar topic +of private meditation and popular discourse. The cold +indifference of philosophy was inflamed by the fervent spirit of +devotion; and even the metaphors of common language suggested the +fallacious prejudices of sense and experience. The Christians, +who abhorred the gross and impure generation of the Greek +mythology, ^35 were tempted to argue from the familiar analogy of +the filial and paternal relations. The character of Son seemed +to imply a perpetual subordination to the voluntary author of his +existence; ^36 but as the act of generation, in the most +spiritual and abstracted sense, must be supposed to transmit the +properties of a common nature, ^37 they durst not presume to +circumscribe the powers or the duration of the Son of an eternal +and omnipotent Father. Fourscore years after the death of Christ, +the Christians of Bithynia, declared before the tribunal of +Pliny, that they invoked him as a god: and his divine honors have +been perpetuated in every age and country, by the various sects +who assume the name of his disciples. ^38 Their tender reverence +for the memory of Christ, and their horror for the profane +worship of any created being, would have engaged them to assert +the equal and absolute divinity of the Logos, if their rapid +ascent towards the throne of heaven had not been imperceptibly +checked by the apprehension of violating the unity and sole +supremacy of the great Father of Christ and of the Universe. The +suspense and fluctuation produced in the minds of the Christians +by these opposite tendencies, may be observed in the writings of +the theologians who flourished after the end of the apostolic +age, and before the origin of the Arian controversy. Their +suffrage is claimed, with equal confidence, by the orthodox and +by the heretical parties; and the most inquisitive critics have +fairly allowed, that if they had the good fortune of possessing +the Catholic verity, they have delivered their conceptions in +loose, inaccurate, and sometimes contradictory language. ^39 + +[Footnote 33: In a treatise, which professed to explain the +opinions of the ancient philosophers concerning the nature of the +gods we might expect to discover the theological Trinity of +Plato. But Cicero very honestly confessed, that although he had +translated the Timaeus, he could never understand that mysterious +dialogue. See Hieronym. praef. ad l. xii. in Isaiam, tom. v. p. +154.] + +[Footnote 34: Tertullian. in Apolog. c. 46. See Bayle, +Dictionnaire, au mot Simonide. His remarks on the presumption of +Tertullian are profound and interesting.] + +[Footnote 35: Lactantius, iv. 8. Yet the Probole, or Prolatio, +which the most orthodox divines borrowed without scruple from the +Valentinians, and illustrated by the comparisons of a fountain +and stream, the sun and its rays, &c., either meant nothing, or +favored a material idea of the divine generation. See Beausobre, +tom. i. l. iii. c. 7, p. 548.] +[Footnote 36: Many of the primitive writers have frankly +confessed, that the Son owed his being to the will of the Father. + +See Clarke's Scripture Trinity, p. 280-287. On the other hand, +Athanasius and his followers seem unwilling to grant what they +are afraid to deny. The schoolmen extricate themselves from this +difficulty by the distinction of a preceding and a concomitant +will. Petav. Dogm. Theolog. tom. ii. l. vi. c. 8, p. 587-603.] + +[Footnote 37: See Petav. Dogm. Theolog. tom. ii. l. ii. c. 10, p. +159.] +[Footnote 38: Carmenque Christo quasi Deo dicere secum invicem. +Plin. Epist. x. 97. The sense of Deus, Elohim, in the ancient +languages, is critically examined by Le Clerc, (Ars Critica, p. +150-156,) and the propriety of worshipping a very excellent +creature is ably defended by the Socinian Emlyn, (Tracts, p. +29-36, 51-145.)] + +[Footnote 39: See Daille de Usu Patrum, and Le Clerc, +Bibliotheque Universelle, tom. x. p. 409. To arraign the faith +of the Ante-Nicene fathers, was the object, or at least has been +the effect, of the stupendous work of Petavius on the Trinity, +(Dogm. Theolog. tom. ii.;) nor has the deep impression been +erased by the learned defence of Bishop Bull. + Note: Dr. Burton's work on the doctrine of the Ante-Nicene +fathers must be consulted by those who wish to obtain clear +notions on this subject. - M.] + +Chapter XXI: Persecution Of Heresy, State Of The Church. + +Part III. + + II. The devotion of individuals was the first circumstance +which distinguished the Christians from the Platonists: the +second was the authority of the church. The disciples of +philosophy asserted the rights of intellectual freedom, and their +respect for the sentiments of their teachers was a liberal and +voluntary tribute, which they offered to superior reason. But the +Christians formed a numerous and disciplined society; and the +jurisdiction of their laws and magistrates was strictly exercised +over the minds of the faithful. The loose wanderings of the +imagination were gradually confined by creeds and confessions; +^40 the freedom of private judgment submitted to the public +wisdom of synods; the authority of a theologian was determined by +his ecclesiastical rank; and the episcopal successors of the +apostles inflicted the censures of the church on those who +deviated from the orthodox belief. But in an age of religious +controversy, every act of oppression adds new force to the +elastic vigor of the mind; and the zeal or obstinacy of a +spiritual rebel was sometimes stimulated by secret motives of +ambition or avarice. A metaphysical argument became the cause or +pretence of political contests; the subtleties of the Platonic +school were used as the badges of popular factions, and the +distance which separated their respective tenets were enlarged or +magnified by the acrimony of dispute. As long as the dark +heresies of Praxeas and Sabellius labored to confound the Father +with the Son, ^41 the orthodox party might be excused if they +adhered more strictly and more earnestly to the distinction, than +to the equality, of the divine persons. But as soon as the heat +of controversy had subsided, and the progress of the Sabellians +was no longer an object of terror to the churches of Rome, of +Africa, or of Egypt, the tide of theological opinion began to +flow with a gentle but steady motion towards the contrary +extreme; and the most orthodox doctors allowed themselves the use +of the terms and definitions which had been censured in the mouth +of the sectaries. ^42 After the edict of toleration had restored +peace and leisure to the Christians, the Trinitarian controversy +was revived in the ancient seat of Platonism, the learned, the +opulent, the tumultuous city of Alexandria; and the flame of +religious discord was rapidly communicated from the schools to +the clergy, the people, the province, and the East. The abstruse +question of the eternity of the Logos was agitated in +ecclesiastic conferences and popular sermons; and the heterodox +opinions of Arius ^43 were soon made public by his own zeal, and +by that of his adversaries. His most implacable adversaries have +acknowledged the learning and blameless life of that eminent +presbyter, who, in a former election, had declared, and perhaps +generously declined, his pretensions to the episcopal throne. ^44 +His competitor Alexander assumed the office of his judge. The +important cause was argued before him; and if at first he seemed +to hesitate, he at length pronounced his final sentence, as an +absolute rule of faith. ^45 The undaunted presbyter, who presumed +to resist the authority of his angry bishop, was separated from +the community of the church. But the pride of Arius was +supported by the applause of a numerous party. He reckoned among +his immediate followers two bishops of Egypt, seven presbyters, +twelve deacons, and (what may appear almost incredible) seven +hundred virgins. A large majority of the bishops of Asia +appeared to support or favor his cause; and their measures were +conducted by Eusebius of Caesarea, the most learned of the +Christian prelates; and by Eusebius of Nicomedia, who had +acquired the reputation of a statesman without forfeiting that of +a saint. Synods in Palestine and Bithynia were opposed to the +synods of Egypt. The attention of the prince and people was +attracted by this theological dispute; and the decision, at the +end of six years, ^46 was referred to the supreme authority of +the general council of Nice. + +[Footnote 40: The most ancient creeds were drawn up with the +greatest latitude. See Bull, (Judicium Eccles. Cathol.,) who +tries to prevent Episcopius from deriving any advantage from this +observation.] +[Footnote 41: The heresies of Praxeas, Sabellius, &c., are +accurately explained by Mosheim (p. 425, 680-714.) Praxeas, who +came to Rome about the end of the second century, deceived, for +some time, the simplicity of the bishop, and was confuted by the +pen of the angry Tertullian.] +[Footnote 42: Socrates acknowledges, that the heresy of Arius +proceeded from his strong desire to embrace an opinion the most +diametrically opposite to that of Sabellius.] + +[Footnote 43: The figure and manners of Arius, the character and +numbers of his first proselytes, are painted in very lively +colors by Epiphanius, (tom. i. Haeres. lxix. 3, p. 729,) and we +cannot but regret that he should soon forget the historian, to +assume the task of controversy.] + +[Footnote 44: See Philostorgius (l. i. c. 3,) and Godefroy's +ample Commentary. Yet the credibility of Philostorgius is +lessened, in the eyes of the orthodox, by his Arianism; and in +those of rational critics, by his passion, his prejudice, and his +ignorance.] + +[Footnote 45: Sozomen (l. i. c. 15) represents Alexander as +indifferent, and even ignorant, in the beginning of the +controversy; while Socrates (l. i. c. 5) ascribes the origin of +the dispute to the vain curiosity of his theological +speculations. Dr. Jortin (Remarks on Ecclesiastical History, +vol. ii. p. 178) has censured, with his usual freedom, the +conduct of Alexander.] +[Footnote 46: The flames of Arianism might burn for some time in +secret; but there is reason to believe that they burst out with +violence as early as the year 319. Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. +vi. p. 774-780.] + + When the mysteries of the Christian faith were dangerously +exposed to public debate, it might be observed, that the human +understanding was capable of forming three district, though +imperfect systems, concerning the nature of the Divine Trinity; +and it was pronounced, that none of these systems, in a pure and +absolute sense, were exempt from heresy and error. ^47 I. +According to the first hypothesis, which was maintained by Arius +and his disciples, the Logos was a dependent and spontaneous +production, created from nothing by the will of the father. The +Son, by whom all things were made, ^48 had been begotten before +all worlds, and the longest of the astronomical periods could be +compared only as a fleeting moment to the extent of his duration; +yet this duration was not infinite, ^49 and there had been a time +which preceded the ineffable generation of the Logos. On this +only-begotten Son, the Almighty Father had transfused his ample +spirit, and impressed the effulgence of his glory. Visible image +of invisible perfection, he saw, at an immeasurable distance +beneath his feet, the thrones of the brightest archangels; yet he +shone only with a reflected light, and, like the sons of the +Romans emperors, who were invested with the titles of Caesar or +Augustus, ^50 he governed the universe in obedience to the will +of his Father and Monarch. II. In the second hypothesis, the +Logos possessed all the inherent, incommunicable perfections, +which religion and philosophy appropriate to the Supreme God. +Three distinct and infinite minds or substances, three coequal +and coeternal beings, composed the Divine Essence; ^51 and it +would have implied contradiction, that any of them should not +have existed, or that they should ever cease to exist. ^52 The +advocates of a system which seemed to establish three independent +Deities, attempted to preserve the unity of the First Cause, so +conspicuous in the design and order of the world, by the +perpetual concord of their administration, and the essential +agreement of their will. A faint resemblance of this unity of +action may be discovered in the societies of men, and even of +animals. The causes which disturb their harmony, proceed only +from the imperfection and inequality of their faculties; but the +omnipotence which is guided by infinite wisdom and goodness, +cannot fail of choosing the same means for the accomplishment of +the same ends. III. Three beings, who, by the self-derived +necessity of their existence, possess all the divine attributes +in the most perfect degree; who are eternal in duration, infinite +in space, and intimately present to each other, and to the whole +universe; irresistibly force themselves on the astonished mind, +as one and the same being, ^53 who, in the economy of grace, as +well as in that of nature, may manifest himself under different +forms, and be considered under different aspects. By this +hypothesis, a real substantial trinity is refined into a trinity +of names, and abstract modifications, that subsist only in the +mind which conceives them. The Logos is no longer a person, but +an attribute; and it is only in a figurative sense that the +epithet of Son can be applied to the eternal reason, which was +with God from the beginning, and by which, not by whom, all +things were made. The incarnation of the Logos is reduced to a +mere inspiration of the Divine Wisdom, which filled the soul, and +directed all the actions, of the man Jesus. Thus, after +revolving around the theological circle, we are surprised to find +that the Sabellian ends where the Ebionite had begun; and that +the incomprehensible mystery which excites our adoration, eludes +our inquiry. ^54 + +[Footnote 47: Quid credidit? Certe, aut tria nomina audiens tres +Deos esse credidit, et idololatra effectus est; aut in tribus +vocabulis trinominem credens Deum, in Sabellii haeresim incurrit; +aut edoctus ab Arianis unum esse verum Deum Patrem, filium et +spiritum sanctum credidit creaturas. Aut extra haec quid credere +potuerit nescio. Hieronym adv. Luciferianos. Jerom reserves for +the last the orthodox system, which is more complicated and +difficult.] +[Footnote 48: As the doctrine of absolute creation from nothing +was gradually introduced among the Christians, (Beausobre, tom. +ii. p. 165- 215,) the dignity of the workman very naturally rose +with that of the work.] +[Footnote 49: The metaphysics of Dr. Clarke (Scripture Trinity, +p. 276-280) could digest an eternal generation from an infinite +cause.] +[Footnote 50: This profane and absurd simile is employed by +several of the primitive fathers, particularly by Athenagoras, in +his Apology to the emperor Marcus and his son; and it is alleged, +without censure, by Bull himself. See Defens. Fid. Nicen. sect. +iii. c. 5, No. 4.] + +[Footnote 51: See Cudworth's Intellectual System, p. 559, 579. +This dangerous hypothesis was countenanced by the two Gregories, +of Nyssa and Nazianzen, by Cyril of Alexandria, John of Damascus, +&c. See Cudworth, p. 603. Le Clerc, Bibliotheque Universelle, +tom xviii. p. 97-105.] + +[Footnote 52: Augustin seems to envy the freedom of the +Philosophers. Liberis verbis loquuntur philosophi . . . . Nos +autem non dicimus duo vel tria principia, duos vel tres Deos. De +Civitat. Dei, x. 23.] + +[Footnote 53: Boetius, who was deeply versed in the philosophy of +Plato and Aristotle, explains the unity of the Trinity by the +indifference of the three persons. See the judicious remarks of +Le Clerc, Bibliotheque Choisie, tom. xvi. p. 225, &c.] + +[Footnote 54: If the Sabellians were startled at this conclusion, +they were driven another precipice into the confession, that the +Father was born of a virgin, that he had suffered on the cross; +and thus deserved the epithet of Patripassians, with which they +were branded by their adversaries. See the invectives of +Tertullian against Praxeas, and the temperate reflections of +Mosheim, (p. 423, 681;) and Beausobre, tom. i. l. iii. c. 6, p. +533.] + If the bishops of the council of Nice ^55 had been permitted +to follow the unbiased dictates of their conscience, Arius and +his associates could scarcely have flattered themselves with the +hopes of obtaining a majority of votes, in favor of an hypothesis +so directly averse to the two most popular opinions of the +Catholic world. The Arians soon perceived the danger of their +situation, and prudently assumed those modest virtues, which, in +the fury of civil and religious dissensions, are seldom +practised, or even praised, except by the weaker party. They +recommended the exercise of Christian charity and moderation; +urged the incomprehensible nature of the controversy, disclaimed +the use of any terms or definitions which could not be found in +the Scriptures; and offered, by very liberal concessions, to +satisfy their adversaries without renouncing the integrity of +their own principles. The victorious faction received all their +proposals with haughty suspicion; and anxiously sought for some +irreconcilable mark of distinction, the rejection of which might +involve the Arians in the guilt and consequences of heresy. A +letter was publicly read, and ignominiously torn, in which their +patron, Eusebius of Nicomedia, ingenuously confessed, that the +admission of the Homoousion, or Consubstantial, a word already +familiar to the Platonists, was incompatible with the principles +of their theological system. The fortunate opportunity was +eagerly embraced by the bishops, who governed the resolutions of +the synod; and, according to the lively expression of Ambrose, +^56 they used the sword, which heresy itself had drawn from the +scabbard, to cut off the head of the hated monster. The +consubstantiality of the Father and the Son was established by +the council of Nice, and has been unanimously received as a +fundamental article of the Christian faith, by the consent of the +Greek, the Latin, the Oriental, and the Protestant churches. But +if the same word had not served to stigmatize the heretics, and +to unite the Catholics, it would have been inadequate to the +purpose of the majority, by whom it was introduced into the +orthodox creed. This majority was divided into two parties, +distinguished by a contrary tendency to the sentiments of the +Tritheists and of the Sabellians. But as those opposite extremes +seemed to overthrow the foundations either of natural or revealed +religion, they mutually agreed to qualify the rigor of their +principles; and to disavow the just, but invidious, consequences, +which might be urged by their antagonists. The interest of the +common cause inclined them to join their numbers, and to conceal +their differences; their animosity was softened by the healing +counsels of toleration, and their disputes were suspended by the +use of the mysterious Homoousion, which either party was free to +interpret according to their peculiar tenets. The Sabellian +sense, which, about fifty years before, had obliged the council +of Antioch ^57 to prohibit this celebrated term, had endeared it +to those theologians who entertained a secret but partial +affection for a nominal Trinity. But the more fashionable saints +of the Arian times, the intrepid Athanasius, the learned Gregory +Nazianzen, and the other pillars of the church, who supported +with ability and success the Nicene doctrine, appeared to +consider the expression of substance as if it had been synonymous +with that of nature; and they ventured to illustrate their +meaning, by affirming that three men, as they belong to the same +common species, are consubstantial, or homoousian to each other. +^58 This pure and distinct equality was tempered, on the one +hand, by the internal connection, and spiritual penetration which +indissolubly unites the divine persons; ^59 and, on the other, by +the preeminence of the Father, which was acknowledged as far as +it is compatible with the independence of the Son. ^60 Within +these limits, the almost invisible and tremulous ball of +orthodoxy was allowed securely to vibrate. On either side, +beyond this consecrated ground, the heretics and the daemons +lurked in ambush to surprise and devour the unhappy wanderer. +But as the degrees of theological hatred depend on the spirit of +the war, rather than on the importance of the controversy, the +heretics who degraded, were treated with more severity than those +who annihilated, the person of the Son. The life of Athanasius +was consumed in irreconcilable opposition to the impious madness +of the Arians; ^61 but he defended above twenty years the +Sabellianism of Marcellus of Ancyra; and when at last he was +compelled to withdraw himself from his communion, he continued to +mention, with an ambiguous smile, the venial errors of his +respectable friend. ^62 + +[Footnote 55: The 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 as Fra Paolo would have drawn, can never +be recovered; but such rude sketches as have been traced by the +pencil of bigotry, and that of reason, may be seen in Tillemont, +(Mem. Eccles. tom. v. p. 669-759,) and in Le Clerc, (Bibliotheque +Universelle, tom. x p. 435-454.)] + +[Footnote 56: We are indebted to Ambrose (De Fide, l. iii. +knowledge of this curious anecdote. Hoc verbum quod viderunt +adversariis esse formidini; ut ipsis gladio, ipsum nefandae caput +haereseos.] + +[Footnote 57: See Bull, Defens. Fid. Nicen. sect. ii. c. i. p. +25-36. He thinks it his duty to reconcile two orthodox synods.] + +[Footnote 58: According to Aristotle, the stars were homoousian +to each other. "That Homoousios means of one substance in kind, +hath been shown by Petavius, Curcellaeus, Cudworth, Le Clerc, +&c., and to prove it would be actum agere." This is the just +remark of Dr. Jortin, (vol. ii p. 212,) who examines the Arian +controversy with learning, candor, and ingenuity.] + +[Footnote 59: See Petavius, (Dogm. Theolog. tom. ii. l. iv. c. +16, p. 453, &c.,) Cudworth, (p. 559,) Bull, (sect. iv. p. +285-290, edit. Grab.) The circumincessio, is perhaps the deepest +and darkest he whole theological abyss.] + +[Footnote 60: The third section of Bull's Defence of the Nicene +Faith, which some of his antagonists have called nonsense, and +others heresy, is consecrated to the supremacy of the Father.] + +[Footnote 61: The ordinary appellation with which Athanasius and +his followers chose to compliment the Arians, was that of +Ariomanites.] + +[Footnote 62: Epiphanius, tom i. Haeres. lxxii. 4, p. 837. See +the adventures of Marcellus, in Tillemont, (Mem. Eccles. tom. v. +i. p. 880- 899.) His work, in one book, of the unity of God, was +answered in the three books, which are still extant, of Eusebius. + +After a long and careful examination, Petavius (tom. ii. l. i. c. +14, p. 78) has reluctantly pronounced the condemnation of +Marcellus.] + + The authority of a general council, to which the Arians +themselves had been compelled to submit, inscribed on the banners +of the orthodox party the mysterious characters of the word +Homoousion, which essentially contributed, notwithstanding some +obscure disputes, some nocturnal combats, to maintain and +perpetuate the uniformity of faith, or at least of language. The +consubstantialists, who by their success 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 sincerity or the cunning of the Arian +chiefs, the fear of the laws or of the people, their reverence +for Christ, their hatred of Athanasius, all the causes, human and +divine, that influence and disturb the counsels of a theological +faction, introduced among the sectaries a spirit of discord and +inconstancy, which, in the course of a few years, erected +eighteen different models of religion, ^63 and avenged the +violated dignity of the church. The zealous Hilary, ^64 who, +from the peculiar hardships of his situation, was inclined to +extenuate rather than to aggravate the errors of the Oriental +clergy, declares, that in the wide extent of the ten provinces of +Asia, to which he had been banished, there could be found very +few prelates who had preserved the knowledge of the true God. ^65 +The oppression which he had felt, the disorders of which he was +the spectator and the victim, appeased, during a short interval, +the angry passions of his soul; and in the following passage, of +which I shall transcribe a few lines, the bishop of Poitiers +unwarily deviates into the style of a Christian philosopher. "It +is a thing," says Hilary, "equally deplorable and dangerous, that +there are as many creeds as opinions among men, as many doctrines +as inclinations, and as many sources of blasphemy as there are +faults among us; because we make creeds arbitrarily, and explain +them as arbitrarily. The Homoousion is rejected, and received, +and explained away by successive synods. The partial or total +resemblance of the Father and of the Son is a subject of dispute +for these unhappy times. Every year, nay, every moon, we make +new creeds to describe invisible mysteries. We repent of what we +have done, we defend those who repent, we anathematize those whom +we defended. We condemn either the doctrine of others in +ourselves, or our own in that of others; and reciprocally tearing +one another to pieces, we have been the cause of each other's +ruin." ^66 + +[Footnote 63: Athanasius, in his epistle concerning the Synods of +Seleucia and Rimini, (tom. i. p. 886-905,) has given an ample +list of Arian creeds, which has been enlarged and improved by the +labors of the indefatigable Tillemont, (Mem. Eccles. tom. vi. p. +477.)] + +[Footnote 64: Erasmus, with admirable sense and freedom, has +delineated the just character of Hilary. To revise his text, to +compose the annals of his life, and to justify his sentiments and +conduct, is the province of the Benedictine editors.] + +[Footnote 65: Absque episcopo Eleusio et paucis cum eo, ex majore +parte Asianae decem provinciae, inter quas consisto, vere Deum +nesciunt. Atque utinam penitus nescirent! cum procliviore enim +venia ignorarent quam obtrectarent. Hilar. de Synodis, sive de +Fide Orientalium, c. 63, p. 1186, edit. Benedict. In the +celebrated parallel between atheism and superstition, the bishop +of Poitiers would have been surprised in the philosophic society +of Bayle and Plutarch.] + +[Footnote 66: Hilarius ad Constantium, l. i. c. 4, 5, p. 1227, +1228. This remarkable passage deserved the attention of Mr. +Locke, who has transcribed it (vol. iii. p. 470) into the model +of his new common-place book.] + It will not be expected, it would not perhaps be endured, +that I should swell this theological digression, by a minute +examination of the eighteen creeds, the authors of which, for the +most part, disclaimed the odious name of their parent Arius. It +is amusing enough to delineate the form, and to trace the +vegetation, of a singular plant; but the tedious detail of leaves +without flowers, and of branches without fruit, would soon +exhaust the patience, and disappoint the curiosity, of the +laborious student. One question, which gradually arose from the +Arian controversy, may, however, be noticed, as it served to +produce and discriminate the three sects, who were united only by +their common aversion to the Homoousion of the Nicene synod. 1. +If they were asked whether the Son was like unto the Father, the +question was resolutely answered in the negative, by the heretics +who adhered to the principles of Arius, or indeed to those of +philosophy; which seem to establish an infinite difference +between the Creator and the most excellent of his creatures. +This obvious consequence was maintained by Aetius, ^67 on whom +the zeal of his adversaries bestowed the surname of the Atheist. +His restless and aspiring spirit urged him to try almost every +profession of human life. He was successively a slave, or at +least a husbandman, a travelling tinker, a goldsmith, a +physician, a schoolmaster, a theologian, and at last the apostle +of a new church, which was propagated by the abilities of his +disciple Eunomius. ^68 Armed with texts of Scripture, and with +captious syllogisms from the logic of Aristotle, the subtle +Aetius had acquired the fame of an invincible disputant, whom it +was impossible either to silence or to convince. Such talents +engaged the friendship of the Arian bishops, till they were +forced to renounce, and even to persecute, a dangerous ally, who, +by the accuracy of his reasoning, had prejudiced their cause in +the popular opinion, and offended the piety of their most devoted +followers. 2. The omnipotence of the Creator suggested a +specious and respectful solution of the likeness of the Father +and the Son; and faith might humbly receive what reason could not +presume to deny, that the Supreme God might communicate his +infinite perfections, and create a being similar only to himself. +^69 These Arians were powerfully supported by the weight and +abilities of their leaders, who had succeeded to the management +of the Eusebian interest, and who occupied the principal thrones +of the East. They detested, perhaps with some affectation, the +impiety of Aetius; they professed to believe, either without +reserve, or according to the Scriptures, that the Son was +different from all other creatures, and similar only to the +Father. But they denied, the he was either of the same, or of a +similar substance; sometimes boldly justifying their dissent, and +sometimes objecting to the use of the word substance, which seems +to imply an adequate, or at least, a distinct, notion of the +nature of the Deity. 3. The sect which deserted the doctrine of +a similar substance, was the most numerous, at least in the +provinces of Asia; and when the leaders of both parties were +assembled in the council of Seleucia, ^70 their opinion would +have prevailed by a majority of one hundred and five to +forty-three bishops. The Greek word, which was chosen to express +this mysterious resemblance, bears so close an affinity to the +orthodox symbol, that the profane of every age have derided the +furious contests which the difference of a single diphthong +excited between the Homoousians and the Homoiousians. As it +frequently happens, that the sounds and characters which approach +the nearest to each other accidentally represent the most +opposite ideas, the observation would be itself ridiculous, if it +were possible to mark any real and sensible distinction between +the doctrine of the Semi-Arians, as they were improperly styled, +and that of the Catholics themselves. The bishop of Poitiers, +who in his Phrygian exile very wisely aimed at a coalition of +parties, endeavors to prove that by a pious and faithful +interpretation, ^71 the Homoiousion may be reduced to a +consubstantial sense. Yet he confesses 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. +[Footnote 67: In Philostorgius (l. iii. c. 15) the character and +adventures of Aetius appear singular enough, though they are +carefully softened by the hand of a friend. The editor, +Godefroy, (p. 153,) who was more attached to his principles than +to his author, has collected the odious circumstances which his +various adversaries have preserved or invented.] + +[Footnote 68: According to the judgment of a man who respected +both these sectaries, Aetius had been endowed with a stronger +understanding and Eunomius had acquired more art and learning. +(Philostorgius l. viii. c. 18.) The confession and apology of +Eunomius (Fabricius, Bibliot. Graec. tom. viii. p. 258-305) is +one of the few heretical pieces which have escaped.] +[Footnote 69: Yet, according to the opinion of Estius and Bull, +(p. 297,) there is one power - that of creation - which God +cannot communicate to a creature. Estius, who so accurately +defined the limits of Omnipotence was a Dutchman by birth, and by +trade a scholastic divine. Dupin Bibliot. Eccles. tom. xvii. p. +45.] + +[Footnote 70: Sabinus ap. Socrat. (l. ii. c. 39) had copied the +acts: Athanasius and Hilary have explained the divisions of this +Arian synod; the other circumstances which are relative to it are +carefully collected by Baro and Tillemont] + +[Footnote 71: Fideli et pia intelligentia. . . De Synod. c. 77, +p. 1193. In his his short apologetical notes (first published by +the Benedictines from a MS. of Chartres) he observes, that he +used this cautious expression, qui intelligerum et impiam, p. +1206. See p. 1146. Philostorgius, who saw those objects through +a different medium, is inclined to forget the difference of the +important diphthong. See in particular viii. 17, and Godefroy, +p. 352.] + The provinces of Egypt and Asia, which cultivated the +language and manners of the Greeks, had deeply imbibed the venom +of the Arian controversy. The familiar study of the Platonic +system, a vain and argumentative disposition, a copious and +flexible idiom, supplied the clergy and people of the East with +an inexhaustible flow of words and distinctions; and, in the +midst of their fierce contentions, they easily forgot the doubt +which is recommended by philosophy, and the submission which is +enjoined by religion. The inhabitants of the West were of a less +inquisitive spirit; their passions were not so forcibly moved by +invisible objects, their minds were less frequently exercised by +the habits of dispute; and such was the happy ignorance of the +Gallican church, that Hilary himself, above thirty years after +the first general council, was still a stranger to the Nicene +creed. ^72 The Latins had received the rays of divine knowledge +through the dark and doubtful medium of a translation. The +poverty and stubbornness of their native tongue was not always +capable of affording just equivalents for the Greek terms, for +the technical words of the Platonic philosophy, ^73 which had +been consecrated, by the gospel or by the church, to express the +mysteries of the Christian faith; and a verbal defect might +introduce into the Latin theology a long train of error or +perplexity. ^74 But as the western provincials had the good +fortune of deriving their religion from an orthodox source, they +preserved with steadiness the doctrine which they had accepted +with docility; and when the Arian pestilence approached their +frontiers, they were supplied with the seasonable preservative of +the Homoousion, by the paternal care of the Roman pontiff. Their +sentiments and their temper were displayed in the memorable synod +of Rimini, which surpassed in numbers the council of Nice, since +it was composed of above four hundred bishops of Italy, Africa, +Spain, Gaul, Britain, and Illyricum. From the first debates it +appeared, that only fourscore prelates adhered to the party, +though they affected to anathematize the name and memory, of +Arius. But this inferiority was compensated by the advantages of +skill, of experience, and of discipline; and the minority was +conducted by Valens and Ursacius, two bishops of Illyricum, who +had spent their lives in the intrigues of courts and councils, +and who had been trained under the Eusebian banner in the +religious wars of the East. By their arguments and negotiations, +they embarrassed, they confounded, they at last deceived, the +honest simplicity of the Latin bishops; who suffered the +palladium of the faith to be extorted from their hand by fraud +and importunity, rather than by open violence. The council of +Rimini was not allowed to separate, till the members had +imprudently subscribed a captious creed, in which some +expressions, susceptible of an heretical sense, were inserted in +the room of the Homoousion. It was on this occasion, that, +according to Jerom, the world was surprised to find itself Arian. +^75 But the bishops of the Latin provinces had no sooner reached +their respective dioceses, than they discovered their mistake, +and repented of their weakness. The ignominious capitulation was +rejected with disdain and abhorrence; and the Homoousian +standard, which had been shaken but not overthrown, was more +firmly replanted in all the churches of the West. ^76 + +[Footnote 72: Testor Deumcoeli atque terrae me cum neutrum +audissem, semper tamen utrumque sensisse. . . . Regeneratus +pridem et in episcopatu aliquantisper manens fidem Nicenam +nunquam nisi exsulaturus audivi. Hilar. de Synodis, c. xci. p. +1205. The Benedictines are persuaded that he governed the +diocese of Poitiers several years before his exile.] + +[Footnote 73: Seneca (Epist. lviii.) complains that even the of +the Platonists (the ens of the bolder schoolmen) could not be +expressed by a Latin noun.] +[Footnote 74: The preference which the fourth council of the +Lateran at length gave to a numerical rather than a generical +unity (See Petav. tom. ii. l. v. c. 13, p. 424) was favored by +the Latin language: seems to excite the idea of substance, +trinitas of qualities.] + +[Footnote 75: Ingemuit totus orbis, et Arianum se esse miratus +est. Hieronym. adv. Lucifer. tom. i. p. 145.] + +[Footnote 76: The story of the council of Rimini is very +elegantly told by Sulpicius Severus, (Hist. Sacra, l. ii. p. +419-430, edit. Lugd. Bat. 1647,) and by Jerom, in his dialogue +against the Luciferians. The design of the latter is to +apologize for the conduct of the Latin bishops, who were +deceived, and who repented.] + +Chapter XXI: Persecution Of Heresy, State Of The Church. + +Part IV. + + Such was the rise and progress, and such were the natural +revolutions of those theological disputes, which disturbed the +peace of Christianity under the reigns of Constantine and of his +sons. But as those princes presumed to extend their despotism +over the faith, as well as over the lives and fortunes, of their +subjects, the weight of their suffrage sometimes inclined the +ecclesiastical balance: and the prerogatives of the King of +Heaven were settled, or changed, or modified, in the cabinet of +an earthly monarch. + The unhappy spirit of discord which pervaded the provinces +of the East, interrupted the triumph of Constantine; but the +emperor continued for some time to view, with cool and careless +indifference, the object of the dispute. As he was yet ignorant +of the difficulty of appeasing the quarrels of theologians, he +addressed to the contending parties, to Alexander and to Arius, a +moderating epistle; ^77 which may be ascribed, with far greater +reason, to the untutored sense of a soldier and statesman, than +to the dictates of any of his episcopal counsellors. He +attributes the origin of the whole controversy to a trifling and +subtle question, concerning an incomprehensible point of law, +which was foolishly asked by the bishop, and imprudently resolved +by the presbyter. He laments that the Christian people, who had +the same God, the same religion, and the same worship, should be +divided by such inconsiderable distinctions; and he seriously +recommend to the clergy of Alexandria the example of the Greek +philosophers; who could maintain their arguments without losing +their temper, and assert their freedom without violating their +friendship. The indifference and contempt of the sovereign would +have been, perhaps, the most effectual method of silencing the +dispute, if the popular current had been less rapid and +impetuous, and if Constantine himself, in the midst of faction +and fanaticism, could have preserved the calm possession of his +own mind. But his ecclesiastical ministers soon contrived to +seduce the impartiality of the magistrate, and to awaken the zeal +of the proselyte. He was provoked by the insults which had been +offered to his statues; he was alarmed by the real, as well as +the imaginary magnitude of the spreading mischief; and he +extinguished the hope of peace and toleration, from the moment +that he assembled three hundred bishops within the walls of the +same palace. The presence of the monarch swelled the importance +of the debate; his attention multiplied the arguments; and he +exposed his person with a patient intrepidity, which animated the +valor of the combatants. Notwithstanding the applause which has +been bestowed on the eloquence and sagacity of Constantine, ^78 a +Roman general, whose religion might be still a subject of doubt, +and whose mind had not been enlightened either by study or by +inspiration, was indifferently qualified to discuss, in the Greek +language, a metaphysical question, or an article of faith. But +the credit of his favorite Osius, who appears to have presided in +the council of Nice, might dispose the emperor in favor of the +orthodox party; and a well-timed insinuation, that the same +Eusebius of Nicomedia, who now protected the heretic, had lately +assisted the tyrant, ^79 might exasperate him against their +adversaries. The Nicene creed was ratified by Constantine; and +his firm declaration, that those who resisted the divine judgment +of the synod, must prepare themselves for an immediate exile, +annihilated the murmurs of a feeble opposition; which, from +seventeen, was almost instantly reduced to two, protesting +bishops. Eusebius of Caesarea yielded a reluctant and ambiguous +consent to the Homoousion; ^80 and the wavering conduct of the +Nicomedian Eusebius served only to delay, about three months, his +disgrace and exile. ^81 The impious Arius was banished into one +of the remote provinces of Illyricum; his person and disciples +were branded by law with the odious name of Porphyrians; his +writings were condemned to the flames, and a capital punishment +was denounced against those in whose possession they should be +found. The emperor had now imbibed the spirit of controversy, +and the angry, sarcastic style of his edicts was designed to +inspire his subjects with the hatred which he had conceived +against the enemies of Christ. ^82 +[Footnote 77: Eusebius, in Vit. Constant. l. ii. c. 64-72. The +principles of toleration and religious indifference, contained in +this epistle, have given great offence to Baronius, Tillemont, +&c., who suppose that the emperor had some evil counsellor, +either Satan or Eusebius, at his elbow. See Cortin's Remarks, +tom. ii. p. 183. + + Note: Heinichen (Excursus xi.) quotes with approbation the +term "golden words," applied by Ziegler to this moderate and +tolerant letter of Constantine. May an English clergyman venture +to express his regret that "the fine gold soon became dim" in the +Christian church? - M.] + +[Footnote 78: Eusebius in Vit. Constantin. l. iii. c. 13.] +[Footnote 79: Theodoret has preserved (l. i. c. 20) an epistle +from Constantine to the people of Nicomedia, in which the monarch +declares himself the public accuser of one of his subjects; he +styles Eusebius and complains of his hostile behavior during the +civil war.] + +[Footnote 80: See in Socrates, (l. i. c. 8,) or rather in +Theodoret, (l. i. c. 12,) an original letter of Eusebius of +Caesarea, in which he attempts to justify his subscribing the +Homoousion. The character of Eusebius has always been a problem; +but those who have read the second critical epistle of Le Clerc, +(Ars Critica, tom. iii. p. 30-69,) must entertain a very +unfavorable opinion of the orthodoxy and sincerity of the bishop +of Caesarea.] +[Footnote 81: Athanasius, tom. i. p. 727. Philostorgius, l. i. +c. 10, and Godefroy's Commentary, p. 41.] + +[Footnote 82: Socrates, l. i. c. 9. In his circular letters, +which were addressed to the several cities, Constantine employed +against the heretics the arms of ridicule and comic raillery.] + + But, as if the conduct of the emperor had been guided by +passion instead of principle, three years from the council of +Nice were scarcely elapsed before he discovered some symptoms of +mercy, and even of indulgence, towards the proscribed sect, which +was secretly protected by his favorite sister. The exiles were +recalled, and Eusebius, who gradually resumed his influence over +the mind of Constantine, was restored to the episcopal throne, +from which he had been ignominiously degraded. Arius himself was +treated by the whole court with the respect which would have been +due to an innocent and oppressed man. His faith was approved by +the synod of Jerusalem; and the emperor seemed impatient to +repair his injustice, by issuing an absolute command, that he +should be solemnly admitted to the communion in the cathedral of +Constantinople. On the same day, which had been fixed for the +triumph of Arius, he expired; and the strange and horrid +circumstances of his death might excite a suspicion, that the +orthodox saints had contributed more efficaciously than by their +prayers, to deliver the church from the most formidable of her +enemies. ^83 The three principal leaders of the Catholics, +Athanasius of Alexandria, Eustathius of Antioch, and Paul of +Constantinople were deposed on various f accusations, by the +sentence of numerous councils; and were afterwards banished into +distant provinces by the first of the Christian emperors, who, in +the last moments of his life, received the rites of baptism from +the Arian bishop of Nicomedia. The ecclesiastical government of +Constantine cannot be justified from the reproach of levity and +weakness. But the credulous monarch, unskilled in the stratagems +of theological warfare, might be deceived by the modest and +specious professions of the heretics, whose sentiments he never +perfectly understood; and while he protected Arius, and +persecuted Athanasius, he still considered the council of Nice as +the bulwark of the Christian faith, and the peculiar glory of his +own reign. ^84 +[Footnote 83: We derive the original story from Athanasius, (tom. +i. p. 670,) who expresses some reluctance to stigmatize the +memory of the dead. He might exaggerate; but the perpetual +commerce of Alexandria and Constantinople would have rendered it +dangerous to invent. Those who press the literal narrative of +the death of Arius (his bowels suddenly burst out in a privy) +must make their option between poison and miracle.] + +[Footnote 84: The change in the sentiments, or at least in the +conduct, of Constantine, may be traced in Eusebius, (in Vit. +Constant. l. iii. c. 23, l. iv. c. 41,) 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 too near the scene of action, and the others were too +remote from it. It is singular enough, that the important task +of continuing the history of the church should have been left for +two laymen and a heretic.] + The sons of Constantine must have been admitted from their +childhood into the rank of catechumens; but they imitated, in the +delay of their baptism, the example of their father. Like him +they presumed to pronounce their judgment on mysteries into which +they had never been regularly initiated; ^85 and the fate of the +Trinitarian controversy depended, in a great measure, on the +sentiments of Constantius; who inherited the provinces of the +East, and acquired the possession of the whole empire. The Arian +presbyter or bishop, who had secreted for his use the testament +of the deceased emperor, improved the fortunate occasion which +had introduced him to the familiarity of a prince, whose public +counsels were always swayed by his domestic favorites. The +eunuchs and slaves diffused the spiritual poison through the +palace, and the dangerous infection was communicated by the +female attendants to the guards, and by the empress to her +unsuspicious husband. ^86 The partiality which Constantius always +expressed towards the Eusebian faction, was insensibly fortified +by the dexterous management of their leaders; and his victory +over the tyrant Magnentius increased his inclination, as well as +ability, to employ the arms of power in the cause of Arianism. +While the two armies were engaged in the plains of Mursa, and the +fate of the two rivals depended on the chance of war, the son of +Constantine passed the anxious moments in a church of the martyrs +under the walls of the city. His spiritual comforter, Valens, +the Arian bishop of the diocese, employed the most artful +precautions to obtain such early intelligence as might secure +either his favor or his escape. A secret chain of swift and +trusty messengers informed him of the vicissitudes of the battle; +and while the courtiers stood trembling round their affrighted +master, Valens assured him that the Gallic legions gave way; and +insinuated with some presence of mind, that the glorious event +had been revealed to him by an angel. The grateful emperor +ascribed his success to the merits and intercession of the bishop +of Mursa, whose faith had deserved the public and miraculous +approbation of Heaven. ^87 The Arians, who considered as their +own the victory of Constantius, preferred his glory to that of +his father. ^88 Cyril, bishop of Jerusalem, immediately composed +the description of a celestial cross, encircled with a splendid +rainbow; which during the festival of Pentecost, about the third +hour of the day, had appeared over the Mount of Olives, to the +edification of the devout pilgrims, and the people of the holy +city. ^89 The size of the meteor was gradually magnified; and the +Arian historian has ventured to affirm, that it was conspicuous +to the two armies in the plains of Pannonia; and that the tyrant, +who is purposely represented as an idolater, fled before the +auspicious sign of orthodox Christianity. ^90 + +[Footnote 85: Quia etiam tum catechumenus sacramentum fidei +merito videretiu potuisse nescire. Sulp. Sever. Hist. Sacra, l. +ii. p. 410.] +[Footnote 86: Socrates, 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. Compare Dr. Jortin's Remarks on +Ecclesiastical History, vol. iv. p. 3 with a certain genealogy in +Candide, (ch. iv.,) which ends with one of the first companions +of Christopher Columbus.] + +[Footnote 87: Sulpicius Severus in Hist. Sacra, l. ii. p. 405, +406.] +[Footnote 88: Cyril (apud Baron. A. D. 353, No. 26) expressly +observes that in the reign of Constantine, the cross had been +found in the bowels of the earth; but that it had appeared, in +the reign of Constantius, in the midst of the heavens. This +opposition evidently proves, that Cyril was ignorant of the +stupendous miracle to which the conversion of Constantine is +attributed; and this ignorance is the more surprising, since it +was no more than twelve years after his death that Cyril was +consecrated bishop of Jerusalem, by the immediate successor of +Eusebius of Caesarea. See Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. viii. p. +715.] + +[Footnote 89: It is not easy to determine how far the ingenuity +of Cyril might be assisted by some natural appearances of a solar +halo.] + +[Footnote 90: Philostorgius, l. iii. c. 26. He is followed by +the author of the Alexandrian Chronicle, by Cedrenus, and by +Nicephorus. See Gothofred. Dissert. p. 188.) They could not +refuse a miracle, even from the hand of an enemy.] + + The sentiments of a judicious stranger, who has impartially +considered the progress of civil or ecclesiastical discord, are +always entitled to our notice; and a short passage of Ammianus, +who served in the armies, and studied the character of +Constantius, is perhaps of more value than many pages of +theological invectives. "The Christian religion, which, in +itself," says that moderate historian, "is plain and simple, he +confounded by the dotage of superstition. Instead of reconciling +the parties by the weight of his authority, he cherished and +promulgated, by verbal disputes, the differences which his vain +curiosity had excited. The highways were covered with troops of +bishops galloping from every side to the assemblies, which they +call synods; and while they labored to reduce the whole sect to +their own particular opinions, the public establishment of the +posts was almost ruined by their hasty and repeated journeys." +^91 Our more intimate knowledge of the ecclesiastical +transactions of the reign of Constantius would furnish an ample +commentary on this remarkable passage, which justifies the +rational apprehensions of Athanasius, that the restless activity +of the clergy, who wandered round the empire in search of the +true faith, would excite the contempt and laughter of the +unbelieving world. ^92 As soon as the emperor was relieved from +the terrors of the civil war, he devoted the leisure of his +winter quarters at Arles, Milan, Sirmium, and Constantinople, to +the amusement or toils of controversy: the sword of the +magistrate, and even of the tyrant, was unsheathed, to enforce +the reasons of the theologian; and as he opposed the orthodox +faith of Nice, it is readily confessed that his incapacity and +ignorance were equal to his presumption. ^93 The eunuchs, the +women, and the bishops, who governed the vain and feeble mind of +the emperor, had inspired him with an insuperable dislike to the +Homoousion; but his timid conscience was alarmed by the impiety +of Aetius. The guilt of that atheist was aggravated by the +suspicious favor of the unfortunate Gallus; and even the death of +the Imperial ministers, who had been massacred at Antioch, were +imputed to the suggestions of that dangerous sophist. The mind +of Constantius, which could neither be moderated by reason, nor +fixed by faith, was blindly impelled to either side of the dark +and empty abyss, by his horror of the opposite extreme; he +alternately embraced and condemned the sentiments, he +successively banished and recalled the leaders, of the Arian and +Semi-Arian factions. ^94 During the season of public business or +festivity, he employed whole days, and even nights, in selecting +the words, and weighing the syllables, which composed his +fluctuating creeds. The subject of his meditations still pursued +and occupied his slumbers: the incoherent dreams of the emperor +were received as celestial visions, and he accepted with +complacency the lofty title of bishop of bishops, from those +ecclesiastics who forgot the interest of their order for the +gratification of their passions. The design of establishing a +uniformity of doctrine, which had engaged him to convene so many +synods in Gaul, Italy, Illyricum, and Asia, was repeatedly +baffled by his own levity, by the divisions of the Arians, and by +the resistance of the Catholics; and he resolved, as the last and +decisive effort, imperiously to dictate the decrees of a general +council. The destructive earthquake of Nicomedia, the difficulty +of finding a convenient place, and perhaps some secret motives of +policy, produced an alteration in the summons. The bishops of the +East were directed to meet at Seleucia, in Isauria; while those +of the West held their deliberations at Rimini, on the coast of +the Hadriatic; and instead of two or three deputies from each +province, the whole episcopal body was ordered to march. The +Eastern council, after consuming four days in fierce and +unavailing debate, separated without any definitive conclusion. +The council of the West was protracted till the seventh month. +Taurus, the Praetorian praefect was instructed not to dismiss the +prelates till they should all be united in the same opinion; and +his efforts were supported by the power of banishing fifteen of +the most refractory, and a promise of the consulship if he +achieved so difficult an adventure. His prayers and threats, the +authority of the sovereign, the sophistry of Valens and Ursacius, +the distress of cold and hunger, and the tedious melancholy of a +hopeless exile, at length extorted the reluctant consent of the +bishops of Rimini. The deputies of the East and of the West +attended the emperor in the palace of Constantinople, and he +enjoyed the satisfaction of imposing on the world a profession of +faith which established the likeness, without expressing the +consubstantiality, of the Son of God. ^95 But the triumph of +Arianism had been preceded by the removal of the orthodox clergy, +whom it was impossible either to intimidate or to corrupt; and +the reign of Constantius was disgraced by the unjust and +ineffectual persecution of the great Athanasius. +[Footnote 91: So curious a passage well deserves to be +transcribed. Christianam religionem absolutam et simplicem, anili +superstitione confundens; in qua scrutanda perplexius, quam +componenda gravius excitaret discidia plurima; quae progressa +fusius aluit concertatione verborum, ut catervis antistium +jumentis publicis ultro citroque discarrentibus, per synodos +(quas appellant) dum ritum omnem ad suum sahere conantur +(Valesius reads conatur) rei vehiculariae concideret servos. +Ammianus, xxi. 16.] + +[Footnote 92: Athanas. tom. i. p. 870.] + +[Footnote 93: Socrates, l. ii. c. 35-47. Sozomen, l. iv. c. +12-30. Theodore li. c. 18-32. Philostorg. l. iv. c. 4 - 12, l. +v. c. 1-4, l. vi. c. 1-5] +[Footnote 94: Sozomen, l. iv. c. 23. Athanas. tom. i. p. 831. +Tillemont (Mem Eccles. tom. vii. p. 947) has collected several +instances of the haughty fanaticism of Constantius from the +detached treatises of Lucifer of Cagliari. The very titles of +these treaties inspire zeal and terror; "Moriendum pro Dei +Filio." "De Regibus Apostaticis." "De non conveniendo cum +Haeretico." "De non parcendo in Deum delinquentibus."] + +[Footnote 95: Sulp. Sever. Hist. Sacra, l. ii. p. 418-430. The +Greek historians were very ignorant of the affairs of the West.] + We have seldom an opportunity of observing, either in active +or speculative life, what effect may be produced, or what +obstacles may be surmounted, by the force of a single mind, when +it is inflexibly applied to the pursuit of a single object. The +immortal name of Athanasius ^96 will never be separated from the +Catholic doctrine of the Trinity, to whose defence he consecrated +every moment and every faculty of his being. Educated in the +family of Alexander, he had vigorously opposed the early progress +of the Arian heresy: he exercised the important functions of +secretary under the aged prelate; and the fathers of the Nicene +council beheld with surprise and respect the rising virtues of +the young deacon. In a time of public danger, the dull claims of +age and of rank are sometimes superseded; and within five months +after his return from Nice, the deacon Athanasius was seated on +the archiepiscopal throne of Egypt. He filled that eminent +station above forty-six years, and his long administration was +spent in a perpetual combat against the powers of Arianism. Five +times was Athanasius expelled from his throne; twenty years he +passed as an exile or a fugitive: and almost every province of +the Roman empire was successively witness to his merit, and his +sufferings in the cause of the Homoousion, which he considered as +the sole pleasure and business, as the duty, and as the glory of +his life. Amidst the storms of persecution, the archbishop of +Alexandria was patient of labor, jealous of fame, careless of +safety; and although his mind was tainted by the contagion of +fanaticism, Athanasius displayed a superiority of character and +abilities, which would have qualified him, far better than the +degenerate sons of Constantine, for the government of a great +monarchy. His learning was much less profound and extensive than +that of Eusebius of Caesarea, and his rude eloquence could not be +compared with the polished oratory of Gregory of Basil; but +whenever the primate of Egypt was called upon to justify his +sentiments, or his conduct, his unpremeditated style, either of +speaking or writing, was clear, forcible, and persuasive. He has +always been revered, in the orthodox school, as one of the most +accurate masters of the Christian theology; and he was supposed +to possess two profane sciences, less adapted to the episcopal +character, the knowledge of jurisprudence, ^97 and that of +divination. ^98 Some fortunate conjectures of future events, +which impartial reasoners might ascribe to the experience and +judgment of Athanasius, were attributed by his friends to +heavenly inspiration, and imputed by his enemies to infernal +magic. +[Footnote 96: We may regret that Gregory Nazianzen composed a +panegyric instead of a life of Athanasius; but we should enjoy +and improve the advantage of drawing our most authentic materials +from the rich fund of his own epistles and apologies, (tom. i. p. +670-951.) I shall not imitate the example of Socrates, (l. ii. c. +l.) who published the first edition of the history, without +giving himself the trouble to consult the writings of Athanasius. + +Yet even Socrates, the more curious Sozomen, and the learned +Theodoret, connect the life of Athanasius with the series of +ecclesiastical history. The diligence of Tillemont, (tom. viii,) +and of the Benedictine editors, has collected every fact, and +examined every difficulty] + +[Footnote 97: Sulpicius Severus (Hist. Sacra, l. ii. p. 396) +calls him a lawyer, a jurisconsult. This character cannot now be +discovered either in the life or writings of Athanasius.] + +[Footnote 98: Dicebatur enim fatidicarum sortium fidem, quaeve +augurales portenderent alites scientissime callens aliquoties +praedixisse futura. Ammianus, xv. 7. A prophecy, or rather a +joke, is related by Sozomen, (l. iv c. 10,) which evidently +proves (if the crows speak Latin) that Athanasius understood the +language of the crows.] + + But as Athanasius was continually engaged with the +prejudices and passions of every order of men, from the monk to +the emperor, the knowledge of human nature was his first and most +important science. He preserved a distinct and unbroken view of +a scene which was incessantly shifting; and never failed to +improve those decisive moments which are irrecoverably past +before they are perceived by a common eye. The archbishop of +Alexandria was capable of distinguishing how far he might boldly +command, and where he must dexterously insinuate; how long he +might contend with power, and when he must withdraw from +persecution; and while he directed the thunders of the church +against heresy and rebellion, he could assume, in the bosom of +his own party, the flexible and indulgent temper of a prudent +leader. The election of Athanasius has not escaped the reproach +of irregularity and precipitation; ^99 but the propriety of his +behavior conciliated the affections both of the clergy and of the +people. The Alexandrians were impatient to rise in arms for the +defence of an eloquent and liberal pastor. In his distress he +always derived support, or at least consolation, from the +faithful attachment of his parochial clergy; and the hundred +bishops of Egypt adhered, with unshaken zeal, to the cause of +Athanasius. In the modest equipage which pride and policy would +affect, he frequently performed the episcopal visitation of his +provinces, from the mouth of the Nile to the confines of +Aethiopia; familiarly conversing with the meanest of the +populace, and humbly saluting the saints and hermits of the +desert. ^100 Nor was it only in ecclesiastical assemblies, among +men whose education and manners were similar to his own, that +Athanasius displayed the ascendancy of his genius. He appeared +with easy and respectful firmness in the courts of princes; and +in the various turns of his prosperous and adverse fortune he +never lost the confidence of his friends, or the esteem of his +enemies. + +[Footnote 99: The irregular ordination of Athanasius was slightly +mentioned in the councils which were held against him. See +Philostorg. l. ii. c. 11, and Godefroy, p. 71; but it can +scarcely be supposed that the assembly of the bishops of Egypt +would solemnly attest a public falsehood. Athanas. tom. i. p. +726.] + +[Footnote 100: See the history of the Fathers of the Desert, +published by Rosweide; and Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. vii., in +the lives of Antony, Pachomius, &c. Athanasius himself, who did +not disdain to compose the life of his friend Antony, has +carefully observed how often the holy monk deplored and +prophesied the mischiefs of the Arian heresy Athanas. tom. ii. p. +492, 498, &c.] + + In his youth, the primate of Egypt resisted the great +Constantine, who had repeatedly signified his will, that Arius +should be restored to the Catholic communion. ^101 The emperor +respected, and might forgive, this inflexible resolution; and the +faction who considered Athanasius as their most formidable enemy, +was constrained to dissemble their hatred, and silently to +prepare an indirect and distant assault. They scattered rumors +and suspicions, represented the archbishop as a proud and +oppressive tyrant, and boldly accused him of violating the treaty +which had been ratified in the Nicene council, with the +schismatic followers of Meletius. ^102 Athanasius had openly +disapproved that ignominious peace, and the emperor was disposed +to believe that he had abused his ecclesiastical and civil power, +to prosecute those odious sectaries: that he had sacrilegiously +broken a chalice in one of their churches of Mareotis; that he +had whipped or imprisoned six of their bishops; and that +Arsenius, a seventh bishop of the same party, had been murdered, +or at least mutilated, by the cruel hand of the primate. ^103 +These charges, which affected his honor and his life, were +referred by Constantine to his brother Dalmatius the censor, who +resided at Antioch; the synods of Caesarea and Tyre were +successively convened; and the bishops of the East were +instructed to judge the cause of Athanasius, before they +proceeded to consecrate the new church of the Resurrection at +Jerusalem. The primate might be conscious of his innocence; but +he was sensible that the same implacable spirit which had +dictated the accusation, would direct the proceeding, and +pronounce the sentence. He prudently declined the tribunal of +his enemies; despised the summons of the synod of Caesarea; and, +after a long and artful delay, submitted to the peremptory +commands of the emperor, who threatened to punish his criminal +disobedience if he refused to appear in the council of Tyre. ^104 +Before Athanasius, at the head of fifty Egyptian prelates, sailed +from Alexandria, he had wisely secured the alliance of the +Meletians; and Arsenius himself, his imaginary victim, and his +secret friend, was privately concealed in his train. The synod +of Tyre was conducted by Eusebius of Caesarea, with more passion, +and with less art, than his learning and experience might +promise; his numerous faction repeated the names of homicide and +tyrant; and their clamors were encouraged by the seeming patience +of Athanasius, who expected the decisive moment to produce +Arsenius alive and unhurt in the midst of the assembly. The +nature of the other charges did not admit of such clear and +satisfactory replies; yet the archbishop was able to prove, that +in the village, where he was accused of breaking a consecrated +chalice, neither church nor altar nor chalice could really exist. + +The Arians, who had secretly determined the guilt and +condemnation of their enemy, attempted, however, to disguise +their injustice by the imitation of judicial forms: the synod +appointed an episcopal commission of six delegates to collect +evidence on the spot; and this measure which was vigorously +opposed by the Egyptian bishops, opened new scenes of violence +and perjury. ^105 After the return of the deputies from +Alexandria, the majority of the council pronounced the final +sentence of degradation and exile against the primate of Egypt. +The decree, expressed in the fiercest language of malice and +revenge, was communicated to the emperor and the Catholic church; +and the bishops immediately resumed a mild and devout aspect, +such as became their holy pilgrimage to the Sepulchre of Christ. +^106 + +[Footnote 101: At first Constantine threatened in speaking, but +requested in writing. His letters gradually assumed a menacing +tone; by while he required that the entrance of the church should +be open to all, he avoided the odious name of Arius. Athanasius, +like a skilful politician, has accurately marked these +distinctions, (tom. i. p. 788.) which allowed him some scope for +excuse and delay] + +[Footnote 102: The Meletians in Egypt, like the Donatists in +Africa, were produced by an episcopal quarrel which arose from +the persecution. I have not leisure to pursue the obscure +controversy, which seems to have been misrepresented by the +partiality of Athanasius and the ignorance of Epiphanius. See +Mosheim's General History of the Church, vol. i. p. 201.] +[Footnote 103: The treatment of the six bishops is specified by +Sozomen, (l. ii. c. 25;) but Athanasius himself, so copious on +the subject of Arsenius and the chalice, leaves this grave +accusation without a reply. + Note: This grave charge, if made, (and it rests entirely on +the authority of Soz omen,) seems to have been silently dropped +by the parties themselves: it is never alluded to in the +subsequent investigations. From Sozomen himself, who gives the +unfavorable report of the commission of inquiry sent to Egypt +concerning the cup. it does not appear that they noticed this +accusation of personal violence. - M] + +[Footnote 104: Athanas, tom. i. p. 788. Socrates, l. i.c. 28. +Sozomen, l. ii. c 25. The emperor, 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 than probable +that the synod would apply those reproaches to Athanasius.] + +[Footnote 105: See, in particular, the second Apology of +Athanasius, (tom. i. p. 763-808,) and his Epistles to the Monks, +(p. 808-866.) They are justified by original and authentic +documents; but they would inspire more confidence if he appeared +less innocent, and his enemies less absurd.] + +[Footnote 106: Eusebius in Vit. Constantin. l. iv. c. 41-47.] + +Chapter XXI: Persecution Of Heresy, State Of The Church. + +Part V. + + But the injustice of these ecclesiastical judges had not +been countenanced by the submission, or even by the presence, of +Athanasius. He resolved to make a bold and dangerous experiment, +whether the throne was inaccessible to the voice of truth; and +before the final sentence could be pronounced at Tyre, the +intrepid primate threw himself into a bark which was ready to +hoist sail for the Imperial city. The request of a formal +audience might have been opposed or eluded; but Athanasius +concealed his arrival, watched the moment of Constantine's return +from an adjacent villa, and boldly encountered his angry +sovereign as he passed on horseback through the principal street +of Constantinople. So strange an apparition excited his surprise +and indignation; and the guards were ordered to remove the +importunate suitor; but his resentment was subdued by involuntary +respect; and the haughty spirit of the emperor was awed by the +courage and eloquence of a bishop, who implored his justice and +awakened his conscience. ^107 Constantine listened to the +complaints of Athanasius with impartial and even gracious +attention; the members of the synod of Tyre were summoned to +justify their proceedings; and the arts of the Eusebian faction +would have been confounded, if they had not aggravated the guilt +of the primate, by the dexterous supposition of an unpardonable +offence; a criminal design to intercept and detain the corn-fleet +of Alexandria, which supplied the subsistence of the new capital. +^108 The emperor was satisfied that the peace of Egypt would be +secured by the absence of a popular leader; but he refused to +fill the vacancy of the archiepiscopal throne; and the sentence, +which, after long hesitation, he pronounced, was that of a +jealous ostracism, rather than of an ignominious exile. In the +remote province of Gaul, but in the hospitable court of Treves, +Athanasius passed about twenty eight months. The death of the +emperor changed the face of public affairs and, amidst the +general indulgence of a young reign, the primate was restored to +his country by an honorable edict of the younger Constantine, who +expressed a deep sense of the innocence and merit of his +venerable guest. ^109 + +[Footnote 107: Athanas. tom. i. p. 804. In a church dedicated to +St. Athanasius this situation would afford a better subject for a +picture, than most of the stories of miracles and martyrdoms.] + +[Footnote 108: Athanas. tom. i. p. 729. Eunapius has related (in +Vit. Sophist. p. 36, 37, edit. Commelin) a strange example of the +cruelty and credulity of Constantine on a similar occasion. The +eloquent Sopater, a Syrian philosopher, enjoyed his friendship, +and provoked the resentment of Ablavius, his Praetorian praefect. + +The corn-fleet was detained for want of a south wind; the people +of Constantinople were discontented; and Sopater was beheaded, on +a charge that he had bound the winds by the power of magic. +Suidas adds, that Constantine wished to prove, by this execution, +that he had absolutely renounced the superstition of the +Gentiles.] + +[Footnote 109: In his return he saw Constantius twice, at +Viminiacum, and at Caesarea in Cappadocia, (Athanas. tom. i. p. +676.) Tillemont supposes that Constantine introduced him to the +meeting of the three royal brothers in Pannonia, (Memoires +Eccles. tom. viii. p. 69.)] + + The death of that prince exposed Athanasius to a second +persecution; and the feeble Constantius, the sovereign of the +East, soon became the secret accomplice of the Eusebians. Ninety +bishops of that sect or faction assembled at Antioch, under the +specious pretence of dedicating the cathedral. They composed an +ambiguous creed, which is faintly tinged with the colors of +Semi-Arianism, and twenty-five canons, which still regulate the +discipline of the orthodox Greeks. ^110 It was decided, with some +appearance of equity, that a bishop, deprived by a synod, should +not resume his episcopal functions till he had been absolved by +the judgment of an equal synod; the law was immediately applied +to the case of Athanasius; the council of Antioch pronounced, or +rather confirmed, his degradation: a stranger, named Gregory, was +seated on his throne; and Philagrius, ^111 the praefect of Egypt, +was instructed to support the new primate with the civil and +military powers of the province. Oppressed by the conspiracy of +the Asiatic prelates, Athanasius withdrew from Alexandria, and +passed three years ^112 as an exile and a suppliant on the holy +threshold of the Vatican. ^113 By the assiduous study of the +Latin language, he soon qualified himself to negotiate with the +western clergy; his decent flattery swayed and directed the +haughty Julius; the Roman pontiff was persuaded to consider his +appeal as the peculiar interest of the Apostolic see: and his +innocence was unanimously declared in a council of fifty bishops +of Italy. At the end of three years, the primate was summoned to +the court of Milan by the emperor Constans, who, in the +indulgence of unlawful pleasures, still professed a lively regard +for the orthodox faith. The cause of truth and justice was +promoted by the influence of gold, ^114 and the ministers of +Constans advised their sovereign to require the convocation of an +ecclesiastical assembly, which might act as the representatives +of the Catholic 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 of +the protector of Athanasius. Their debates soon degenerated into +hostile altercations; the Asiatics, apprehensive for their +personal safety, retired to Philippopolis in Thrace; and the +rival synods reciprocally hurled their spiritual thunders against +their enemies, whom they piously condemned as the enemies of the +true God. Their decrees were published and ratified in their +respective provinces: and Athanasius, who in the West was revered +as a saint, was exposed as a criminal to the abhorrence of the +East. ^115 The council of Sardica reveals the first symptoms of +discord and schism between the Greek and Latin churches which +were separated by the accidental difference of faith, and the +permanent distinction of language. +[Footnote 110: See Beveridge, Pandect. tom. i. p. 429-452, and +tom. ii. Annotation. p. 182. Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. vi. p. +310-324. St. Hilary of Poitiers has mentioned this synod of +Antioch with too much favor and respect. He reckons ninety-seven +bishops.] + +[Footnote 111: This magistrate, so odious to Athanasius, is +praised by Gregory Nazianzen, tom. i. Orat. xxi. p. 390, 391. + + Saepe premente Deo fert Deus alter opem. + +For the credit of human nature, I am always pleased to discover +some good qualities in those men whom party has represented as +tyrants and monsters.] +[Footnote 112: The chronological difficulties which perplex the +residence of Athanasius at Rome, are strenuously agitated by +Valesius (Observat ad Calcem, tom. ii. Hist. Eccles. l. i. c. +1-5) and Tillemont, (Men: Eccles. tom. viii. p. 674, &c.) I have +followed the simple hypothesis of Valesius, who allows only one +journey, after the intrusion Gregory.] + +[Footnote 113: I cannot forbear transcribing a judicious +observation of Wetstein, (Prolegomen. N.S. p. 19: ) Si tamen +Historiam Ecclesiasticam velimus consulere, patebit jam inde a +seculo quarto, cum, ortis controversiis, ecclesiae Graeciae +doctores in duas partes scinderentur, ingenio, eloquentia, +numero, tantum non aequales, eam partem quae vincere cupiebat +Romam confugisse, majestatemque pontificis comiter coluisse, +eoque pacto oppressis per pontificem et episcopos Latinos +adversariis praevaluisse, atque orthodoxiam in conciliis +stabilivisse. Eam ob causam Athanasius, non sine comitatu, Roman +petiit, pluresque annos ibi haesit.] + +[Footnote 114: Philostorgius, l. iii. c. 12. If any corruption +was used to promote the interest of religion, an advocate of +Athanasius might justify or excuse this questionable conduct, by +the example of Cato and Sidney; the former of whom is said to +have given, and the latter to have received, a bribe in the cause +of liberty.] + +[Footnote 115: The canon which allows appeals to the Roman +pontiffs, has almost raised the council of Sardica to the dignity +of a general council; and its acts have been ignorantly or +artfully confounded with those of the Nicene synod. See +Tillemont, tom. vii. p. 689, and Geddos's Tracts, vol. ii. p. +419-460.] + + During his second exile in the West, Athanasius was +frequently admitted to the Imperial presence; at Capua, Lodi, +Milan, Verona, Padua, Aquileia, and Treves. The bishop of the +diocese usually assisted at these interviews; the master of the +offices stood before the veil or curtain of the sacred apartment; +and the uniform moderation of the primate might be attested by +these respectable witnesses, to whose evidence he solemnly +appeals. ^116 Prudence would undoubtedly suggest the mild and +respectful tone that became a subject and a bishop. In these +familiar conferences with the sovereign of the West, Athanasius +might lament the error of Constantius, but he boldly arraigned +the guilt of his eunuchs and his Arian prelates; deplored the +distress and danger of the Catholic church; and excited Constans +to emulate the zeal and glory of his father. The emperor +declared his resolution of employing the troops and treasures of +Europe in the orthodox cause; and signified, by a concise and +peremptory epistle to his brother Constantius, that unless he +consented to the immediate restoration of Athanasius, he himself, +with a fleet and army, would seat the archbishop on the throne of +Alexandria. ^117 But this religious war, so horrible to nature, +was prevented by the timely compliance of Constantius; and the +emperor of the East condescended to solicit a reconciliation with +a subject whom he had injured. Athanasius waited with decent +pride, till he had received three successive epistles full of the +strongest assurances of the protection, the favor, and the esteem +of his sovereign; who invited him to resume his episcopal seat, +and who added the humiliating precaution of engaging his +principal ministers to attest the sincerity of his intentions. +They were manifested in a still more public manner, by the strict +orders which were despatched into Egypt to recall the adherents +of Athanasius, to restore their privileges, to proclaim their +innocence, and to erase from the public registers the illegal +proceedings which had been obtained during the prevalence of the +Eusebian faction. After every satisfaction and security had been +given, which justice or even delicacy could require, the primate +proceeded, by slow journeys, through the provinces of Thrace, +Asia, and Syria; and his progress was marked by the abject homage +of the Oriental bishops, who excited his contempt without +deceiving his penetration. ^118 At Antioch he saw the emperor +Constantius; sustained, with modest firmness, the embraces and +protestations of his master, and eluded the proposal of allowing +the Arians a single church at Alexandria, by claiming, in the +other cities of the empire, a similar toleration for his own +party; a reply which might have appeared just and moderate in the +mouth of an independent prince. The entrance of the archbishop +into his capital was a triumphal procession; absence and +persecution had endeared him to the Alexandrians; his authority, +which he exercised with rigor, was more firmly established; and +his fame was diffused from Aethiopia to Britain, over the whole +extent of the Christian world. ^119 + +[Footnote 116: As Athanasius dispersed secret invectives against +Constantius, (see the Epistle to the Monks,) at the same time +that he assured him of his profound respect, we might distrust +the professions of the archbishop. Tom. i. p. 677.] + +[Footnote 117: Notwithstanding the discreet silence of +Athanasius, and the manifest forgery of a letter inserted by +Socrates, these menaces are proved by the unquestionable evidence +of Lucifer of Cagliari, and even of Constantius himself. See +Tillemont, tom. viii. p. 693] + +[Footnote 118: I have always entertained some doubts concerning +the retraction of Ursacius and Valens, (Athanas. tom. i. p. 776.) +Their epistles to Julius, bishop of Rome, and to Athanasius +himself, are of so different a cast from each other, that they +cannot both be genuine. The one speaks the language of criminals +who confess their guilt and infamy; the other of enemies, who +solicit on equal terms an honorable reconciliation. + + Note: I cannot quite comprehend the ground of Gibbon's +doubts. Athanasius distinctly asserts the fact of their +retractation. (Athan. Op. i. p. 124, edit. Benedict.) The +epistles are apparently translations from the Latin, if, in fact, +more than the substance of the epistles. That to Athanasius is +brief, almost abrupt. Their retractation is likewise mentioned +in the address of the orthodox bishops of Rimini to Constantius. +Athan. de Synodis, Op t. i. p 723-M.] + +[Footnote 119: The circumstances of his second return may be +collected from Athanasius himself, tom. i. p. 769, and 822, 843. +Socrates, l. ii. c. 18, Sozomen, l. iii. c. 19. Theodoret, l. ii. +c. 11, 12. Philostorgius, l. iii. c. 12.] + + But the subject who has reduced his prince to the necessity +of dissembling, can never expect a sincere and lasting +forgiveness; and the tragic fate of Constans soon deprived +Athanasius of a powerful and generous protector. The civil war +between the assassin and the only surviving brother of Constans, +which afflicted the empire above three years, secured an interval +of repose to the Catholic church; and the two contending parties +were desirous to conciliate the friendship of a bishop, who, by +the weight of his personal authority, might determine the +fluctuating resolutions of an important province. He gave +audience to the ambassadors of the tyrant, with whom he was +afterwards accused of holding a secret correspondence; ^120 and +the emperor Constantius repeatedly assured his dearest father, +the most reverend Athanasius, that, notwithstanding the malicious +rumors which were circulated by their common enemies, he had +inherited the sentiments, as well as the throne, of his deceased +brother. ^121 Gratitude and humanity would have disposed the +primate of Egypt to deplore the untimely fate of Constans, and to +abhor the guilt of Magnentius; but as he clearly understood that +the apprehensions of Constantius were his only safeguard, the +fervor of his prayers for the success of the righteous cause +might perhaps be somewhat abated. The ruin of Athanasius was no +longer contrived by the obscure malice of a few bigoted or angry +bishops, who abused the authority of a credulous monarch. The +monarch himself avowed the resolution, which he had so long +suppressed, of avenging his private injuries; ^122 and the first +winter after his victory, which he passed at Arles, was employed +against an enemy more odious to him than the vanquished tyrant of +Gaul. + +[Footnote 120: Athanasius (tom. i. p. 677, 678) defends his +innocence by pathetic complaints, solemn assertions, and specious +arguments. He admits that letters had been forged in his name, +but he requests that his own secretaries and those of the tyrant +might be examined, whether those letters had been written by the +former, or received by the latter.] +[Footnote 121: Athanas. tom. i. p. 825-844.] + +[Footnote 122: Athanas. tom. i. p. 861. Theodoret, l. ii. c. 16. + +The emperor declared that he was more desirous to subdue +Athanasius, than he had been to vanquish Magnentius or Sylvanus.] + + If the emperor had capriciously decreed the death of the +most eminent and virtuous citizen of the republic, the cruel +order would have been executed without hesitation, by the +ministers of open violence or of specious injustice. The +caution, the delay, the difficulty with which he proceeded in the +condemnation and punishment of a popular bishop, discovered to +the world that the privileges of the church had already revived a +sense of order and freedom in the Roman government. The sentence +which was pronounced in the synod of Tyre, and subscribed by a +large majority of the Eastern bishops, had never been expressly +repealed; and as Athanasius had been once degraded from his +episcopal dignity by the judgment of his brethren, every +subsequent act might be considered as irregular, and even +criminal. But the memory of the firm and effectual support which +the primate of Egypt had derived from the attachment of the +Western church, engaged Constantius to suspend the execution of +the sentence till he had obtained the concurrence of the Latin +bishops. Two years were consumed in ecclesiastical negotiations; +and the important cause between the emperor and one of his +subjects was solemnly debated, first in the synod of Arles, and +afterwards in the great council of Milan, ^123 which consisted of +above three hundred bishops. Their integrity was gradually +undermined by the arguments of the Arians, the dexterity of the +eunuchs, and the pressing solicitations of a prince who gratified +his revenge at the expense of his dignity, and exposed his own +passions, whilst he influenced those of the clergy. Corruption, +the most infallible symptom of constitutional liberty, was +successfully practised; honors, gifts, and immunities were +offered and accepted as the price of an episcopal vote; ^124 and +the condemnation of the Alexandrian primate was artfully +represented as the only measure which could restore the peace and +union of the Catholic church. The friends of Athanasius were +not, however, wanting to their leader, or to their cause. With a +manly spirit, which the sanctity of their character rendered less +dangerous, they maintained, in public debate, and in private +conference with the emperor, the eternal obligation of religion +and justice. They declared, that neither the hope of his favor, +nor the fear of his displeasure, should prevail on them to join +in the condemnation of an absent, an innocent, a respectable +brother. ^125 They affirmed, with apparent reason, that the +illegal and obsolete decrees of the council of Tyre had long +since been tacitly abolished by the Imperial edicts, the +honorable reestablishment of the archbishop of Alexandria, and +the silence or recantation of his most clamorous adversaries. +They alleged, that his innocence had been attested by the +unanimous bishops of Egypt, and had been acknowledged in the +councils of Rome and Sardica, ^126 by the impartial judgment of +the Latin church. They deplored the hard condition of +Athanasius, who, after enjoying so many years his seat, his +reputation, and the seeming confidence of his sovereign, was +again called upon to confute the most groundless and extravagant +accusations. Their language was specious; their conduct was +honorable: but in this long and obstinate contest, which fixed +the eyes of the whole empire on a single bishop, the +ecclesiastical factions were prepared to sacrifice truth and +justice to the more interesting object of defending or removing +the intrepid champion of the Nicene faith. The Arians still +thought it prudent to disguise, in ambiguous language, their real +sentiments and designs; but the orthodox bishops, armed with the +favor of the people, and the decrees of a general council, +insisted on every occasion, and particularly at Milan, that their +adversaries should purge themselves from the suspicion of heresy, +before they presumed to arraign the conduct of the great +Athanasius. ^127 +[Footnote 123: The affairs of the council of Milan are so +imperfectly and erroneously related by the Greek writers, that we +must rejoice in the supply of some letters of Eusebius, extracted +by Baronius from the archives of the church of Vercellae, and of +an old life of Dionysius of Milan, published by Bollandus. See +Baronius, A.D. 355, and Tillemont, tom. vii. p. 1415.] +[Footnote 124: The honors, presents, feasts, which seduced so +many bishops, are mentioned with indignation by those who were +too pure or too proud to accept them. "We combat (says Hilary of +Poitiers) against Constantius the Antichrist; who strokes the +belly instead of scourging the back;" qui non dorsa caedit; sed +ventrem palpat. Hilarius contra Constant c. 5, p. 1240.] +[Footnote 125: Something of this opposition is mentioned by +Ammianus (x. 7,) who had a very dark and superficial knowledge of +ecclesiastical history. Liberius . . . perseveranter renitebatur, +nec visum hominem, nec auditum damnare, nefas ultimum saepe +exclamans; aperte scilicet recalcitrans Imperatoris arbitrio. Id +enim ille Athanasio semper infestus, &c.] +[Footnote 126: More properly by the orthodox part of the council +of Sardica. If the bishops of both parties had fairly voted, the +division would have been 94 to 76. M. de Tillemont (see tom. +viii. p. 1147-1158) is justly surprised that so small a majority +should have proceeded as vigorously against their adversaries, +the principal of whom they immediately deposed.] +[Footnote 127: Sulp. Severus in Hist. Sacra, l. ii. p. 412.] + But the voice of reason (if reason was indeed on the side of +Athanasius) was silenced by the clamors of a factious or venal +majority; and the councils of Arles and Milan were not dissolved, +till the archbishop of Alexandria had been solemnly condemned and +deposed by the judgment of the Western, as well as of the +Eastern, church. The bishops who had opposed, were required to +subscribe, the sentence, and to unite in religious communion with +the suspected leaders of the adverse party. A formulary of +consent was transmitted by the messengers of state to the absent +bishops: and all those who refused to submit their private +opinion to the public and inspired wisdom of the councils of +Arles and Milan, were immediately banished by the emperor, who +affected to execute the decrees of the Catholic church. Among +those prelates who led the honorable band of confessors and +exiles, Liberius of Rome, Osius of Cordova, Paulinus of Treves, +Dionysius of Milan, Eusebius of Vercellae, Lucifer of Cagliari +and Hilary of Poitiers, may deserve to be particularly +distinguished. The eminent station of Liberius, who governed the +capital of the empire; the personal merit and long experience of +the venerable Osius, who was revered as the favorite of the great +Constantine, and the father of the Nicene faith, placed those +prelates at the head of the Latin church: and their example, +either of submission or resistance, would probable be imitated by +the episcopal crowd. But the repeated attempts of the emperor to +seduce or to intimidate the bishops of Rome and Cordova, were for +some time ineffectual. The Spaniard declared himself ready to +suffer under Constantius, as he had suffered threescore years +before under his grandfather Maximian. The Roman, in the presence +of his sovereign, asserted the innocence of Athanasius and his +own freedom. When he was banished to Beraea in Thrace, he sent +back a large sum which had been offered for the accommodation of +his journey; and insulted the court of Milan by the haughty +remark, that the emperor and his eunuchs might want that gold to +pay their soldiers and their bishops. ^128 The resolution of +Liberius and Osius was at length subdued by the hardships of +exile and confinement. The Roman pontiff purchased his return by +some criminal compliances; and afterwards expiated his guilt by a +seasonable repentance. Persuasion and violence were employed to +extort the reluctant signature of the decrepit bishop of Cordova, +whose strength was broken, and whose faculties were perhaps +impaired by the weight of a hundred years; and the insolent +triumph of the Arians provoked some of the orthodox party to +treat with inhuman severity the character, or rather the memory, +of an unfortunate old man, to whose former services Christianity +itself was so deeply indebted. ^129 + +[Footnote 128: The exile of Liberius is mentioned by Ammianus, +xv. 7. See Theodoret, l. ii. c. 16. Athanas. tom. i. p. +834-837. Hilar. Fragment l.] +[Footnote 129: The 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 and intemperate +zeal of Hilary.] + + The fall of Liberius and Osius reflected a brighter lustre +on the firmness of those bishops who still adhered, with unshaken +fidelity, to the cause of Athanasius and religious truth. The +ingenious malice of their enemies had deprived them of the +benefit of mutual comfort and advice, separated those illustrious +exiles into distant provinces, and carefully selected the most +inhospitable spots of a great empire. ^130 Yet they soon +experienced that the deserts of Libya, and the most barbarous +tracts of Cappadocia, were less inhospitable than the residence +of those cities in which an Arian bishop could satiate, without +restraint, the exquisite rancor of theological hatred. ^131 Their +consolation was derived from the consciousness of rectitude and +independence, from the applause, the visits, the letters, and the +liberal alms of their adherents, ^132 and from the satisfaction +which they soon enjoyed of observing the intestine divisions of +the adversaries of the Nicene faith. Such was the nice and +capricious taste of the emperor Constantius; and so easily was he +offended by the slightest deviation from his imaginary standard +of Christian truth, that he persecuted, with equal zeal, those +who defended the consubstantiality, those who asserted the +similar substance, and those who denied the likeness of the Son +of God. Three bishops, degraded and banished for those adverse +opinions, might possibly meet in the same place of exile; and, +according to the difference of their temper, might either pity or +insult the blind enthusiasm of their antagonists, whose present +sufferings would never be compensated by future happiness. +[Footnote 130: The confessors of the West were successively +banished to the deserts of Arabia or Thebais, the lonely places +of Mount Taurus, the wildest parts of Phrygia, which were in the +possession of the impious Montanists, &c. When the heretic Aetius +was too favorably entertained at Mopsuestia in Cilicia, the place +of his exile was changed, by the advice of Acacius, to Amblada, a +district inhabited by savages and infested by war and pestilence. +Philostorg. l. v. c. 2.] + +[Footnote 131: See the cruel treatment and strange obstinacy of +Eusebius, in his own letters, published by Baronius, A.D. 356, +No. 92-102.] +[Footnote 132: Caeterum exules satis constat, totius orbis +studiis celebratos pecuniasque eis in sumptum affatim congestas, +legationibus quoque plebis Catholicae ex omnibus fere provinciis +frequentatos. Sulp. Sever Hist. Sacra, p. 414. Athanas. tom. i. +p. 836, 840.] + + The disgrace and exile of the orthodox bishops of the West +were designed as so many preparatory steps to the ruin of +Athanasius himself. ^133 Six-and-twenty months had elapsed, +during which the Imperial court secretly labored, by the most +insidious arts, to remove him from Alexandria, and to withdraw +the allowance which supplied his popular liberality. But when +the primate of Egypt, deserted and proscribed by the Latin +church, was left destitute of any foreign support, Constantius +despatched two of his secretaries with a verbal commission to +announce and execute the order of his banishment. As the justice +of the sentence was publicly avowed by the whole party, the only +motive which could restrain Constantius from giving his +messengers the sanction of a written mandate, must be imputed to +his doubt of the event; and to a sense of the danger to which he +might expose the second city, and the most fertile province, of +the empire, if the people should persist in the resolution of +defending, by force of arms, the innocence of their spiritual +father. Such extreme caution afforded Athanasius a specious +pretence respectfully to dispute the truth of an order, which he +could not reconcile, either with the equity, or with the former +declarations, of his gracious master. The civil powers of Egypt +found themselves inadequate to the task of persuading or +compelling the primate to abdicate his episcopal throne; and they +were obliged to conclude a treaty with the popular leaders of +Alexandria, by which it was stipulated, that all proceedings and +all hostilities should be suspended till the emperor's pleasure +had been more distinctly ascertained. By this seeming +moderation, the Catholics were deceived into a false and fatal +security; while the legions of the Upper Egypt, and of Libya, +advanced, by secret orders and hasty marches, to besiege, or +rather to surprise, a capital habituated to sedition, and +inflamed by religious zeal. ^134 The position of Alexandria, +between the sea and the Lake Mareotis, facilitated the approach +and landing of the troops; who were introduced into the heart of +the city, before any effectual measures could be taken either to +shut the gates or to occupy the important posts of defence. At +the hour of midnight, twenty-three days after the signature of +the treaty, Syrianus, duke of Egypt, at the head of five thousand +soldiers, armed and prepared for an assault, unexpectedly +invested the church of St. Theonas, where the archbishop, with a +part of his clergy and people, performed their nocturnal +devotions. The doors of the sacred edifice yielded to the +impetuosity of the attack, which was accompanied with every +horrid circumstance of tumult and bloodshed; but, as the bodies +of the slain, and the fragments of military weapons, remained the +next day an unexceptionable evidence in the possession of the +Catholics, the enterprise of Syrianus may be considered as a +successful irruption rather than as an absolute conquest. The +other churches of the city were profaned by similar outrages; +and, during at least four months, Alexandria was exposed to the +insults of a licentious army, stimulated by the ecclesiastics of +a hostile faction. Many of the faithful were killed; who may +deserve the name of martyrs, if their deaths were neither +provoked nor revenged; bishops and presbyters were treated with +cruel ignominy; consecrated virgins were stripped naked, scourged +and violated; the houses of wealthy citizens were plundered; and, +under the mask of religious zeal, lust, avarice, and private +resentment were gratified with impunity, and even with applause. +The Pagans of Alexandria, who still formed a numerous and +discontented party, were easily persuaded to desert a bishop whom +they feared and esteemed. The hopes of some peculiar favors, and +the apprehension of being involved in the general penalties of +rebellion, engaged them to promise their support to the destined +successor of Athanasius, the famous George of Cappadocia. The +usurper, after receiving the consecration of an Arian synod, was +placed on the episcopal throne by the arms of Sebastian, who had +been appointed Count of Egypt for the execution of that important +design. In the use, as well as in the acquisition, of power, the +tyrant, George disregarded the laws of religion, of justice, and +of humanity; and the same scenes of violence and scandal which +had been exhibited in the capital, were repeated in more than +ninety episcopal cities of Egypt. Encouraged by success, +Constantius ventured to approve the conduct of his minister. By +a public and passionate epistle, the emperor congratulates the +deliverance of Alexandria from a popular tyrant, who deluded his +blind votaries by the magic of his eloquence; expatiates on the +virtues and piety of the most reverend George, the elected +bishop; and aspires, as the patron and benefactor of the city to +surpass the fame of Alexander himself. But he solemnly declares +his unalterable resolution to pursue with fire and sword the +seditious adherents of the wicked Athanasius, who, by flying from +justice, has confessed his guilt, and escaped the ignominious +death which he had so often deserved. ^135 +[Footnote 133: Ample materials for the history of this third +persecution of Athanasius may be found in his own works. See +particularly his very able Apology to Constantius, (tom. i. p. +673,) his first Apology for his flight (p. 701,) his prolix +Epistle to the Solitaries, (p. 808,) and the original protest of +the people of Alexandria against the violences committed by +Syrianus, (p. 866.) Sozomen (l. iv. c. 9) has thrown into the +narrative two or three luminous and important circumstances.] + +[Footnote 134: Athanasius had lately sent for Antony, and some of +his chosen monks. They descended from their mountains, announced +to the Alexandrians the sanctity of Athanasius, and were +honorably conducted by the archbishop as far as the gates of the +city. Athanas tom. ii. p. 491, 492. See likewise Rufinus, iii. +164, in Vit. Patr. p. 524.] + +[Footnote 135: Athanas. tom. i. p. 694. The emperor, or his +Arian secretaries while they express their resentment, betray +their fears and esteem of Athanasius.] + +Chapter XXI: Persecution Of Heresy, State Of The Church. + +Part VI. + + Athanasius had indeed escaped from the most imminent +dangers; and the adventures of that extraordinary man deserve and +fix our attention. On the memorable night when the church of St. +Theonas was invested by the troops of Syrianus, the archbishop, +seated on his throne, expected, with calm and intrepid dignity, +the approach of death. While the public devotion was interrupted +by shouts of rage and cries of terror, he animated his trembling +congregation to express their religious confidence, by chanting +one of the psalms of David which celebrates the triumph of the +God of Israel over the haughty and impious tyrant of Egypt. The +doors were at length burst open: a cloud of arrows was discharged +among the people; the soldiers, with drawn swords, rushed +forwards into the sanctuary; and the dreadful gleam of their arms +was reflected by the holy luminaries which burnt round the altar. +^136 Athanasius still rejected the pious importunity of the monks +and presbyters, who were attached to his person; and nobly +refused to desert his episcopal station, till he had dismissed in +safety the last of the congregation. The darkness and tumult of +the night favored the retreat of the archbishop; and though he +was oppressed by the waves of an agitated multitude, though he +was thrown to the ground, and left without sense or motion, he +still recovered his undaunted courage, and eluded the eager +search of the soldiers, who were instructed by their Arian +guides, that the head of Athanasius would be the most acceptable +present to the emperor. From that moment the primate of Egypt +disappeared from the eyes of his enemies, and remained above six +years concealed in impenetrable obscurity. ^137 + +[Footnote 136: These minute circumstances are curious, as they +are literally transcribed from the protest, which was publicly +presented three days afterwards by the Catholics of Alexandria. +See Athanas. tom. l. n. 867] +[Footnote 137: The Jansenists have often compared Athanasius and +Arnauld, and have expatiated with pleasure on the faith and zeal, +the merit and exile, of those celebrated doctors. This concealed +parallel is very dexterously managed by the Abbe de la Bleterie, +Vie de Jovien, tom. i. p. 130.] + The despotic power of his implacable enemy filled the whole +extent of the Roman world; and the exasperated monarch had +endeavored, by a very pressing epistle to the Christian princes +of Ethiopia, ^* to exclude Athanasius from the most remote and +sequestered regions of the earth. Counts, praefects, tribunes, +whole armies, were successively employed to pursue a bishop and a +fugitive; the vigilance of the civil and military powers was +excited by the Imperial edicts; liberal rewards were promised to +the man who should produce Athanasius, either alive or dead; and +the most severe penalties were denounced against those who should +dare to protect the public enemy. ^138 But the deserts of Thebais +were now peopled by a race of wild, yet submissive fanatics, who +preferred the commands of their abbot to the laws of their +sovereign. The numerous disciples of Antony and Pachonnus +received the fugitive primate as their father, admired the +patience and humility with which he conformed to their strictest +institutions, collected every word which dropped from his lips as +the genuine effusions of inspired wisdom; and persuaded +themselves that their prayers, their fasts, and their vigils, +were less meritorious than the zeal which they expressed, and the +dangers which they braved, in the defence of truth and innocence. +^139 The monasteries of Egypt were seated in lonely and desolate +places, on the summit of mountains, or in the islands of the +Nile; and the sacred horn or trumpet of Tabenne was the +well-known signal which assembled several thousand robust and +determined monks, who, for the most part, had been the peasants +of the adjacent country. When their dark retreats were invaded by +a military force, which it was impossible to resist, they +silently stretched out their necks to the executioner; and +supported their national character, that tortures could never +wrest from an Egyptian the confession of a secret which he was +resolved not to disclose. ^140 The archbishop of Alexandria, for +whose safety they eagerly devoted their lives, was lost among a +uniform and well-disciplined multitude; and on the nearer +approach of danger, he was swiftly removed, by their officious +hands, from one place of concealment to another, till he reached +the formidable deserts, which the gloomy and credulous temper of +superstition had peopled with daemons and savage monsters. The +retirement of Athanasius, which ended only with the life of +Constantius, was spent, for the most part, in the society of the +monks, who faithfully served him as guards, as secretaries, and +as messengers; but the importance of maintaining a more intimate +connection with the Catholic party tempted him, whenever the +diligence of the pursuit was abated, to emerge from the desert, +to introduce himself into Alexandria, and to trust his person to +the discretion of his friends and adherents. His various +adventures might have furnished the subject of a very +entertaining romance. He was once secreted in a dry cistern, +which he had scarcely left before he was betrayed by the +treachery of a female slave; ^141 and he was once concealed in a +still more extraordinary asylum, the house of a virgin, only +twenty years of age, and who was celebrated in the whole city for +her exquisite beauty. At the hour of midnight, as she related +the story many years afterwards, she was surprised by the +appearance of the archbishop in a loose undress, who, advancing +with hasty steps, conjured her to afford him the protection which +he had been directed by a celestial vision to seek under her +hospitable roof. The pious maid accepted and preserved the +sacred pledge which was intrusted to her prudence and courage. +Without imparting the secret to any one, she instantly conducted +Athanasius into her most secret chamber, and watched over his +safety with the tenderness of a friend and the assiduity of a +servant. As long as the danger continued, she regularly supplied +him with books and provisions, washed his feet, managed his +correspondence, and dexterously concealed from the eye of +suspicion this familiar and solitary intercourse between a saint +whose character required the most unblemished chastity, and a +female whose charms might excite the most dangerous emotions. +^142 During the six years of persecution and exile, Athanasius +repeated his visits to his fair and faithful companion; and the +formal declaration, that he saw the councils of Rimini and +Seleucia, ^143 forces us to believe that he was secretly present +at the time and place of their convocation. The advantage of +personally negotiating with his friends, and of observing and +improving the divisions of his enemies, might justify, in a +prudent statesman, so bold and dangerous an enterprise: and +Alexandria was connected by trade and navigation with every +seaport of the Mediterranean. From the depth of his inaccessible +retreat the intrepid primate waged an incessant and offensive war +against the protector of the Arians; and his seasonable writings, +which were diligently circulated and eagerly perused, contributed +to unite and animate the orthodox party. In his public +apologies, which he addressed to the emperor himself, he +sometimes affected the praise of moderation; whilst at the same +time, in secret and vehement invectives, he exposed Constantius +as a weak and wicked prince, the executioner of his family, the +tyrant of the republic, and the Antichrist of the church. In the +height of his prosperity, the victorious monarch, who had +chastised the rashness of Gallus, and suppressed the revolt of +Sylvanus, who had taken the diadem from the head of Vetranio, and +vanquished in the field the legions of Magnentius, received from +an invisible hand a wound, which he could neither heal nor +revenge; and the son of Constantine was the first of the +Christian princes who experienced the strength of those +principles, which, in the cause of religion, could resist the +most violent exertions ^144 of the civil power. + +[Footnote *: These princes were called Aeizanas and Saiazanas. +Athanasius calls them the kings of Axum. In the superscription of +his letter, Constantius gives them no title. Mr. Salt, during +his first journey in Ethiopia, (in 1806,) discovered, in the +ruins of Axum, a long and very interesting inscription relating +to these princes. It was erected to commemorate the victory of +Aeizanas over the Bougaitae, (St. Martin considers them the +Blemmyes, whose true name is Bedjah or Bodjah.) Aeizanas is +styled king of the Axumites, the Homerites, of Raeidan, of the +Ethiopians, of the Sabsuites, of Silea, of Tiamo, of the +Bougaites. and of Kaei. It appears that at this time the king +of the Ethiopians ruled over the Homerites, the inhabitants of +Yemen. He was not yet a Christian, as he calls himself son of the +invincible Mars. Another brother besides Saiazanas, named +Adephas, is mentioned, though Aeizanas seems to have been sole +king. See St. Martin, note on Le Beau, ii. 151. Salt's Travels. +De Sacy, note in Annales des Voyages, xii. p. 53. - M.] +[Footnote 138: Hinc jam toto orbe profugus Athanasius, nec ullus +ci tutus ad latendum supererat locus. Tribuni, Praefecti, +Comites, exercitus quoque ad pervestigandum cum moventur edictis +Imperialibus; praemia dela toribus proponuntur, si quis eum +vivum, si id minus, caput certe Atha casii detulisset. Rufin. l. +i. c. 16.] + +[Footnote 139: Gregor. Nazianzen. tom. i. Orat. xxi. p. 384, +385. See Tillemont Mem. Eccles. tom. vii. p. 176-410, 820-830.] + +[Footnote 140: Et nulla tormentorum vis inveneri, adhuc potuit, +quae obdurato illius tractus latroni invito elicere potuit, ut +nomen proprium dicat Ammian. xxii. 16, and Valesius ad locum.] + +[Footnote 141: Rufin. l. i. c. 18. Sozomen, l. iv. c. 10. This +and the following story will be rendered impossible, if we +suppose that Athanasius always inhabited the asylum which he +accidentally or occasionally had used.] +[Footnote 142: Paladius, (Hist. Lausiac. c. 136, in Vit. Patrum, +p. 776,) the original author of this anecdote, had conversed with +the damsel, who in her old age still remembered with pleasure so +pious and honorable a connection. I cannot indulge the delicacy +of Baronius, Valesius, Tillemont, &c., who almost reject a story +so unworthy, as they deem it, of the gravity of ecclesiastical +history.] + +[Footnote 143: Athanas. tom. i. p. 869. I agree with Tillemont, +(tom. iii. p. 1197,) that his expressions imply a personal, +though perhaps secret visit to the synods.] + +[Footnote 144: The 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 compliment to his readers, he has +introduced the comparisons of Pharaoh, Ahab, Belshazzar, &c. The +boldness of Hilary was attended with less danger, if he published +his invective in Gaul after the revolt of Julian; but Lucifer +sent his libels to Constantius, and almost challenged the reward +of martyrdom. See Tillemont, tom. vii. p. 905.] + + The persecution of Athanasius, and of so many respectable +bishops, who suffered for the truth of their opinions, or at +least for the integrity of their conscience, was a just subject +of indignation and discontent to all Christians, except those who +were blindly devoted to the Arian faction. The people regretted +the loss of their faithful pastors, whose banishment was usually +followed by the intrusion of a stranger ^145 into the episcopal +chair; and loudly complained, that the right of election was +violated, and that they were condemned to obey a mercenary +usurper, whose person was unknown, and whose principles were +suspected. The Catholics might prove to the world, that they +were not involved in the guilt and heresy of their ecclesiastical +governor, by publicly testifying their dissent, or by totally +separating themselves from his communion. The first of these +methods was invented at Antioch, and practised with such success, +that it was soon diffused over the Christian world. The doxology +or sacred hymn, which celebrates the glory of the Trinity, is +susceptible of very nice, but material, inflections; and the +substance of an orthodox, or an heretical, creed, may be +expressed by the difference of a disjunctive, or a copulative, +particle. Alternate responses, and a more regular psalmody, ^146 +were introduced into the public service by Flavianus and +Diodorus, two devout and active laymen, who were attached to the +Nicene faith. Under their conduct a swarm of monks issued from +the adjacent desert, bands of well-disciplined singers were +stationed in the cathedral of Antioch, the Glory to the Father, +And the Son, And the Holy Ghost, ^147 was triumphantly chanted by +a full chorus of voices; and the Catholics insulted, by the +purity of their doctrine, the Arian prelate, who had usurped the +throne of the venerable Eustathius. The same zeal which inspired +their songs prompted the more scrupulous members of the orthodox +party to form separate assemblies, which were governed by the +presbyters, till the death of their exiled bishop allowed the +election and consecration of a new episcopal pastor. ^148 The +revolutions of the court multiplied the number of pretenders; and +the same city was often disputed, under the reign of Constantius, +by two, or three, or even four, bishops, who exercised their +spiritual jurisdiction over their respective followers, and +alternately lost and regained the temporal possessions of the +church. The abuse of Christianity introduced into the Roman +government new causes of tyranny and sedition; the bands of civil +society were torn asunder by the fury of religious factions; and +the obscure citizen, who might calmly have surveyed the elevation +and fall of successive emperors, imagined and experienced, that +his own life and fortune were connected with the interests of a +popular ecclesiastic. The example of the two capitals, Rome and +Constantinople, may serve to represent the state of the empire, +and the temper of mankind, under the reign of the sons of +Constantine. +[Footnote 145: Athanasius (tom. i. p. 811) complains in general +of this practice, which he afterwards exemplifies (p. 861) in the +pretended election of Faelix. Three eunuchs represented the +Roman people, and three prelates, who followed the court, assumed +the functions of the bishops of the Suburbicarian provinces.] + +[Footnote 146: Thomassin (Discipline de l'Eglise, tom. i. l. ii. +c. 72, 73, p. 966-984) has collected many curious facts +concerning the origin and progress of church singing, both in the +East and West. + + Note: Arius appears to have been the first who availed +himself of this means of impressing his doctrines on the popular +ear: he composed songs for sailors, millers, and travellers, and +set them to common airs; "beguiling the ignorant, by the +sweetness of his music, into the impiety of his doctrines." +Philostorgius, ii. 2. Arian singers used to parade the streets +of Constantinople by night, till Chrysostom arrayed against them +a band of orthodox choristers. Sozomen, viii. 8. - M.] + +[Footnote 147: Philostorgius, l. iii. c. 13. Godefroy has +examined this subject with singular accuracy, (p. 147, &c.) There +were three heterodox forms: "To the Father by the Son, and in the +Holy Ghost." "To the Father, and the Son in the Holy Ghost;" and +"To the Father in the Son and the Holy Ghost."] + +[Footnote 148: After the exile of Eustathius, under the reign of +Constantine, the rigid party of the orthodox formed a separation +which afterwards degenerated into a schism, and lasted about +fourscore years. See Tillemont, 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 renounced each other's +communion, continued for some time to join in prayer. +Philostorgius, l. iii. c. 14.] + + I. The Roman pontiff, as long as he maintained his station +and his principles, was guarded by the warm attachment of a great +people; and could reject with scorn the prayers, the menaces, and +the oblations of an heretical prince. When the eunuchs had +secretly pronounced the exile of Liberius, the well-grounded +apprehension of a tumult engaged them to use the utmost +precautions in the execution of the sentence. The capital was +invested on every side, and the praefect was commanded to seize +the person of the bishop, either by stratagem or by open force. +The order was obeyed, and Liberius, with the greatest difficulty, +at the hour of midnight, was swiftly conveyed beyond the reach of +the Roman people, before their consternation was turned into +rage. As soon as they were informed of his banishment into +Thrace, a general assembly was convened, and the clergy of Rome +bound themselves, by a public and solemn oath, never to desert +their bishop, never to acknowledge the usurper Faelix; who, by +the influence of the eunuchs, had been irregularly chosen and +consecrated within the walls of a profane palace. At the end of +two years, their pious obstinacy subsisted entire and unshaken; +and when Constantius visited Rome, he was assailed by the +importunate solicitations of a people, who had preserved, as the +last remnant of their ancient freedom, the right of treating +their sovereign with familiar insolence. The wives of many of +the senators and most honorable citizens, after pressing their +husbands to intercede in favor of Liberius, were advised to +undertake a commission, which in their hands would be less +dangerous, and might prove more successful. The emperor received +with politeness these female deputies, whose wealth and dignity +were displayed in the magnificence of their dress and ornaments: +he admired their inflexible resolution of following their beloved +pastor to the most distant regions of the earth; and consented +that the two bishops, Liberius and Faelix, should govern in peace +their respective congregations. But the ideas of toleration were +so repugnant to the practice, and even to the sentiments, of +those times, that when the answer of Constantius was publicly +read in the Circus of Rome, so reasonable a project of +accommodation was rejected with contempt and ridicule. The eager +vehemence which animated the spectators in the decisive moment of +a horse-race, was now directed towards a different object; and +the Circus resounded with the shout of thousands, who repeatedly +exclaimed, "One God, One Christ, One Bishop!" The zeal of the +Roman people in the cause of Liberius was not confined to words +alone; and the dangerous and bloody sedition which they excited +soon after the departure of Constantius determined that prince to +accept the submission of the exiled prelate, and to restore him +to the undivided dominion of the capital. After some ineffectual +resistance, his rival was expelled from the city by the +permission of the emperor and the power of the opposite faction; +the adherents of Faelix were inhumanly murdered in the streets, +in the public places, in the baths, and even in the churches; and +the face of Rome, upon the return of a Christian bishop, renewed +the horrid image of the massacres of Marius, and the +proscriptions of Sylla. ^149 + +[Footnote 149: See, on this ecclesiastical revolution of Rome, +Ammianus, xv. 7 Athanas. tom. i. p. 834, 861. Sozomen, l. iv. c. +15. Theodoret, l. ii c. 17. Sulp. Sever. Hist. Sacra, l. ii. p. +413. Hieronym. Chron. Marcellin. et Faustin. Libell. p. 3, 4. +Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. vi. p.] + II. Notwithstanding the rapid increase of Christians under +the reign of the Flavian family, Rome, Alexandria, and the other +great cities of the empire, still contained a strong and powerful +faction of Infidels, who envied the prosperity, and who +ridiculed, even in their theatres, the theological disputes of +the church. Constantinople alone enjoyed the advantage of being +born and educated in the bosom of the faith. The capital of the +East had never been polluted by the worship of idols; and the +whole body of the people had deeply imbibed the opinions, the +virtues, and the passions, which distinguished the Christians of +that age from the rest of mankind. After the death of Alexander, +the episcopal throne was disputed by Paul and Macedonius. By +their zeal and abilities they both deserved the eminent station +to which they aspired; and if the moral character of Macedonius +was less exceptionable, his competitor had the advantage of a +prior election and a more orthodox doctrine. His firm attachment +to the Nicene creed, which has given Paul a place in the calendar +among saints and martyrs, exposed him to the resentment of the +Arians. In the space of fourteen years he was five times driven +from his throne; to which he was more frequently restored by the +violence of the people, than by the permission of the prince; and +the power of Macedonius could be secured only by the death of his +rival. The unfortunate Paul was dragged in chains from the sandy +deserts of Mesopotamia to the most desolate places of Mount +Taurus, ^150 confined in a dark and narrow dungeon, left six days +without food, and at length strangled, by the order of Philip, +one of the principal ministers of the emperor Constantius. ^151 +The first blood which stained the new capital was spilt in this +ecclesiastical contest; and many persons were slain on both +sides, in the furious and obstinate seditions of the people. The +commission of enforcing a sentence of banishment against Paul had +been intrusted to Hermogenes, the master-general of the cavalry; +but the execution of it was fatal to himself. The Catholics rose +in the defence of their bishop; the palace of Hermogenes was +consumed; the first military officer of the empire was dragged by +the heels through the streets of Constantinople, and, after he +expired, his lifeless corpse was exposed to their wanton insults. +^152 The fate of Hermogenes instructed Philip, the Praetorian +praefect, to act with more precaution on a similar occasion. In +the most gentle and honorable terms, he required the attendance +of Paul in the baths of Xeuxippus, which had a private +communication with the palace and the sea. A vessel, which lay +ready at the garden stairs, immediately hoisted sail; and, while +the people were still ignorant of the meditated sacrilege, their +bishop was already embarked on his voyage to Thessalonica. They +soon beheld, with surprise and indignation, the gates of the +palace thrown open, and the usurper Macedonius seated by the side +of the praefect on a lofty chariot, which was surrounded by +troops of guards with drawn swords. The military procession +advanced towards the cathedral; the Arians and the Catholics +eagerly rushed to occupy that important post; and three thousand +one hundred and fifty persons lost their lives in the confusion +of the tumult. Macedonius, who was supported by a regular force, +obtained a decisive victory; but his reign was disturbed by +clamor and sedition; and the causes which appeared the least +connected with the subject of dispute, were sufficient to nourish +and to kindle the flame of civil discord. As the chapel in which +the body of the great Constantine had been deposited was in a +ruinous condition, the bishop transported those venerable remains +into the church of St. Acacius. This prudent and even pious +measure was represented as a wicked profanation by the whole +party which adhered to the Homoousian doctrine. The factions +immediately flew to arms, the consecrated ground was used as +their field of battle; and one of the ecclesiastical historians +has observed, as a real fact, not as a figure of rhetoric, that +the well before the church overflowed with a stream of blood, +which filled the porticos and the adjacent courts. The writer +who should impute these tumults solely to a religious principle, +would betray a very imperfect knowledge of human nature; yet it +must be confessed that the motive which misled the sincerity of +zeal, and the pretence which disguised the licentiousness of +passion, suppressed the remorse which, in another cause, would +have succeeded to the rage of the Christians at Constantinople. +^153 + +[Footnote 150: Cucusus was the last stage of his life and +sufferings. The situation of that lonely town, on the confines +of Cappadocia, Cilicia, and the Lesser Armenia, has occasioned +some geographical perplexity; but we are directed to the true +spot by the course of the Roman road from Caesarea to Anazarbus. +See Cellarii Geograph. tom. ii. p. 213. Wesseling ad Itinerar. +p. 179, 703.] + +[Footnote 151: Athanasius (tom. i. p. 703, 813, 814) affirms, in +the most positive terms, that Paul was murdered; and appeals, not +only to common fame, but even to the unsuspicious testimony of +Philagrius, one of the Arian persecutors. Yet he acknowledges +that the heretics attributed to disease the death of the bishop +of Constantinople. Athanasius is servilely copied by Socrates, +(l. ii. c. 26;) but Sozomen, who discovers a more liberal temper. +presumes (l. iv. c. 2) to insinuate a prudent doubt.] + +[Footnote 152: Ammianus (xiv. 10) refers to his own account of +this tragic event. But we no longer possess that part of his +history. + Note: The murder of Hermogenes took place at the first +expulsion of Paul from the see of Constantinople. - M.] + +[Footnote 153: See Socrates, l. ii. c. 6, 7, 12, 13, 15, 16, 26, +27, 38, and Sozomen, l. iii. 3, 4, 7, 9, l. iv. c. ii. 21. The +acts of St. Paul of Constantinople, of which Photius has made an +abstract, (Phot. Bibliot. p. 1419-1430,) are an indifferent copy +of these historians; but a modern Greek, who could write the life +of a saint without adding fables and miracles, is entitled to +some commendation.] + +Chapter XXI: Persecution Of Heresy, State Of The Church. + +Part VII. + + The cruel and arbitrary disposition of Constantius, which +did not always require the provocations of guilt and resistance, +was justly exasperated by the tumults of his capital, and the +criminal behavior of a faction, which opposed the authority and +religion of their sovereign. The ordinary punishments of death, +exile, and confiscation, were inflicted with partial vigor; and +the Greeks still revere the holy memory of two clerks, a reader, +and a sub-deacon, who were accused of the murder of Hermogenes, +and beheaded at the gates of Constantinople. By an edict of +Constantius against the Catholics which has not been judged +worthy of a place in the Theodosian code, those who refused to +communicate with the Arian bishops, and particularly with +Macedonius, were deprived of the immunities of ecclesiastics, and +of the rights of Christians; they were compelled to relinquish +the possession of the churches; and were strictly prohibited from +holding their assemblies within the walls of the 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 directed to obey his commands; and the +cruelties exercised by this Semi- Arian tyrant in the support of +the Homoiousion, exceeded the commission, and disgraced the +reign, of Constantius. The sacraments of the church were +administered to the reluctant victims, who denied the vocation, +and abhorred the principles, of Macedonius. The rites of baptism +were conferred on women and children, who, for that purpose, had +been torn from the arms of their friends and parents; the mouths +of the communicants were held open by a wooden engine, while the +consecrated bread was forced down their throat; the breasts of +tender virgins were either burnt with red-hot egg-shells, or +inhumanly compressed betweens harp and heavy boards. ^154 The +Novatians of Constantinople and the adjacent country, by their +firm attachment to the Homoousian standard, deserved to be +confounded with the Catholics themselves. Macedonius was +informed, that a large district of Paphlagonia ^155 was almost +entirely inhabited by those sectaries. He resolved either to +convert or to extirpate them; and as he distrusted, on this +occasion, the efficacy of an ecclesiastical mission, he commanded +a body of four thousand legionaries to march against the rebels, +and to reduce the territory of Mantinium under his spiritual +dominion. The Novatian peasants, animated by despair and +religious fury, boldly encountered the invaders of their country; +and though many of the Paphlagonians were slain, the Roman +legions were vanquished by an irregular multitude, armed only +with scythes and axes; and, except a few who escaped by an +ignominious flight, four thousand soldiers were left dead on the +field of battle. The successor of Constantius has expressed, in +a concise but lively manner, some of the theological calamities +which afflicted the empire, and more especially the East, in the +reign of a prince who was the slave of his own passions, and of +those of his eunuchs: "Many were imprisoned, and persecuted, and +driven into exile. Whole troops of those who are styled +heretics, were massacred, particularly at Cyzicus, and at +Samosata. In Paphlagonia, Bithynia, Galatia, and in many other +provinces, towns and villages were laid waste, and utterly +destroyed. ^156 + +[Footnote 154: Socrates, l. ii. c. 27, 38. Sozomen, l. iv. c. +21. The principal assistants of Macedonius, in the work of +persecution, were the two bishops of Nicomedia and Cyzicus, who +were esteemed for their virtues, and especially for their +charity. I cannot forbear reminding the reader, that the +difference between the Homoousion and Homoiousion, is almost +invisible to the nicest theological eye.] + +[Footnote 155: We are ignorant of the precise situation of +Mantinium. In speaking of these four bands of legionaries, +Socrates, Sozomen, and the author of the acts of St. Paul, use +the indefinite terms of, which Nicephorus very properly +translates thousands. Vales. ad Socrat. l. ii. c. 38.] +[Footnote 156: Julian. Epist. lii. p. 436, edit. Spanheim.] + While the flames of the Arian controversy consumed the +vitals of the empire, the African provinces were infested by +their peculiar enemies, the savage fanatics, who, under the name +of Circumcellions, formed the strength and scandal of the +Donatist party. ^157 The severe execution of the laws of +Constantine had excited a spirit of discontent and resistance, +the strenuous efforts of his son Constans, to restore the unity +of the church, exasperated the sentiments of mutual hatred, which +had first occasioned the separation; and the methods of force and +corruption employed by the two Imperial commissioners, Paul and +Macarius, furnished the schismatics with a specious contrast +between the maxims of the apostles and the conduct of their +pretended successors. ^158 The peasants who inhabited the +villages of Numidia and Mauritania, were a ferocious race, who +had been imperfectly reduced under the authority of the Roman +laws; who were imperfectly converted to the Christian faith; but +who were actuated by a blind and furious enthusiasm in the cause +of their Donatist teachers. They indignantly supported the exile +of their bishops, the demolition of their churches, and the +interruption of their secret assemblies. The violence of the +officers of justice, who were usually sustained by a military +guard, was sometimes repelled with equal violence; and the blood +of some popular ecclesiastics, which had been shed in the +quarrel, inflamed their rude followers with an eager desire of +revenging the death of these holy martyrs. By their own cruelty +and rashness, the ministers of persecution sometimes provoked +their fate; and the guilt of an accidental tumult precipitated +the criminals into despair and rebellion. Driven from their +native villages, the Donatist peasants assembled in formidable +gangs on the edge of the Getulian desert; and readily exchanged +the habits of labor for a life of idleness and rapine, which was +consecrated by the name of religion, and faintly condemned by the +doctors of the sect. The leaders of the Circumcellions assumed +the title of captains of the saints; their principal weapon, as +they were indifferently provided with swords and spears, was a +huge and weighty club, which they termed an Israelite; and the +well-known sound of "Praise be to God," which they used as their +cry of war, diffused consternation over the unarmed provinces of +Africa. At first their depredations were colored by the plea of +necessity; but they soon exceeded the measure of subsistence, +indulged without control their intemperance and avarice, burnt +the villages which they had pillaged, and reigned the licentious +tyrants of the open country. The occupations of husbandry, and +the administration of justice, were interrupted; and as the +Circumcellions pretended to restore the primitive equality of +mankind, and to reform the abuses of civil society, they opened a +secure asylum for the slaves and debtors, who flocked in crowds +to their holy standard. When they were not resisted, they +usually contented themselves with plunder, but the slightest +opposition provoked them to acts of violence and murder; and some +Catholic priests, who had imprudently signalized their zeal, were +tortured by the fanatics with the most refined and wanton +barbarity. The spirit of the Circumcellions was not always +exerted against their defenceless enemies; they engaged, and +sometimes defeated, the troops of the province; and in the bloody +action of Bagai, they attacked in the open field, but with +unsuccessful valor, an advanced guard of the Imperial cavalry. +The Donatists who were taken in arms, received, and they soon +deserved, the same treatment which might have been shown to the +wild beasts of the desert. The captives died, without a murmur, +either by the sword, the axe, or the fire; and the measures of +retaliation were multiplied in a rapid proportion, which +aggravated the horrors of rebellion, and excluded the hope of +mutual forgiveness. In the beginning of the present century, the +example of the Circumcellions has been renewed in the +persecution, the boldness, the crimes, and the enthusiasm of the +Camisards; and if the fanatics of Languedoc surpassed those of +Numidia, by their military achievements, the Africans maintained +their fierce independence with more resolution and perseverance. +^159 + +[Footnote 157: See Optatus Milevitanus, (particularly iii. 4,) +with the Donatis history, by M. Dupin, and the original pieces at +the end of his edition. The numerous circumstances which +Augustin has mentioned, of the fury of the Circumcellions against +others, and against themselves, have been laboriously collected +by Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. vi. p. 147-165; and he has often, +though without design, exposed injuries which had provoked those +fanatics.] + +[Footnote 158: It is amusing enough to observe the language of +opposite parties, when they speak of the same men and things. +Gratus, bishop of Carthage, begins the acclamations of an +orthodox synod, "Gratias Deo omnipotenti et Christu Jesu . . . +qui imperavit religiosissimo Constanti Imperatori, ut votum +gereret unitatis, et mitteret ministros sancti operis famulos Dei +Paulum et Macarium." Monument. Vet. ad Calcem Optati, p. 313. +"Ecce subito," (says the Donatist author of the Passion of +Marculus, "de Constantis regif tyrannica domo . . pollutum +Macarianae persecutionis murmur increpuit, et duabus bestiis ad +Africam missis, eodem scilicet Macario et Paulo, execrandum +prorsus ac dirum ecclesiae certamen indictum est; ut populus +Christianus ad unionem cum traditoribus faciendam, nudatis +militum gladiis et draconum praesentibus signis, et tubarum +vocibus cogeretur. Monument. p. 304.] + +[Footnote 159: The Histoire des Camisards, in 3 vols. 12mo. +Villefranche, 1760 may be recommended as accurate and impartial. +It requires some attention to discover the religion of the +author.] + + Such disorders are the natural effects of religious tyranny, +but the rage of the Donatists was inflamed by a frenzy of a very +extraordinary kind; and which, if it really prevailed among them +in so extravagant a degree, cannot surely be paralleled in any +country or in any age. Many of these fanatics were possessed +with the horror of life, and the desire of martyrdom; and they +deemed it of little moment by what means, or by what hands, they +perished, if their conduct was sanctified by the intention of +devoting themselves to the glory of the true faith, and the hope +of eternal happiness. ^160 Sometimes they rudely disturbed the +festivals, and profaned the temples of Paganism, with the design +of exciting the most zealous of the idolaters to revenge the +insulted honor of their gods. They sometimes forced their way +into the courts of justice, and compelled the affrighted judge to +give orders for their immediate execution. They frequently +stopped travellers on the public highways, and obliged them to +inflict the stroke of martyrdom, by the promise of a reward, if +they consented, and by the threat of instant death, if they +refused to grant so very singular a favor. When they were +disappointed of every other resource, they announced the day on +which, in the presence of their friends and brethren, they should +east themselves headlong from some lofty rock; and many +precipices were shown, which had acquired fame by the number of +religious suicides. In the actions of these desperate +enthusiasts, who were admired by one party as the martyrs of God, +and abhorred by the other as the victims of Satan, an impartial +philosopher may discover the influence and the last abuse of that +inflexible spirit which was originally derived from the character +and principles of the Jewish nation. + +[Footnote 160: The Donatist suicides alleged in their +justification the example of Razias, which is related in the 14th +chapter of the second book of the Maccabees.] + + The simple narrative of the intestine divisions, which +distracted the peace, and dishonored the triumph, of the church, +will confirm the remark of a Pagan historian, and justify the +complaint of a venerable bishop. The experience of Ammianus had +convinced him, that the enmity of the Christians towards each +other, surpassed the fury of savage beasts against man; ^161 and +Gregory Nazianzen most pathetically laments, that the kingdom of +heaven was converted, by discord, into the image of chaos, of a +nocturnal tempest, and of hell itself. ^162 The fierce and +partial writers of the times, ascribing all virtue to themselves, +and imputing all guilt to their adversaries, have painted the +battle of the angels and daemons. Our calmer reason will reject +such pure and perfect monsters of vice or sanctity, and will +impute an equal, or at least an indiscriminate, measure of good +and evil to the hostile sectaries, who assumed and bestowed the +appellations of orthodox and heretics. They had been educated in +the same religion and the same civil society. Their hopes and +fears in the present, or in a future life, were balanced in the +same proportion. On either side, the error might be innocent, +the faith sincere, the practice meritorious or corrupt. Their +passions were excited by similar objects; and they might +alternately abuse the favor of the court, or of the people. The +metaphysical opinions of the Athanasians and the Arians could not +influence their moral character; and they were alike actuated by +the intolerant spirit which has been extracted from the pure and +simple maxims of the gospel. + +[Footnote 161: Nullus infestas hominibus bestias, ut sunt sibi +ferales plerique Christianorum, expertus. Ammian. xxii. 5.] + +[Footnote 162: Gregor, Nazianzen, Orav. i. p. 33. See Tillemont, +tom vi. p. 501, qua to edit.] + + A modern writer, who, with a just confidence, has prefixed +to his own history the honorable epithets of political and +philosophical, ^163 accuses the timid prudence of Montesquieu, +for neglecting to enumerate, among the causes of the decline of +the empire, a law of Constantine, by which the exercise of the +Pagan worship was absolutely suppressed, and a considerable part +of his subjects was left destitute of priests, of temples, and of +any public religion. The zeal of the philosophic historian for +the rights of mankind, has induced him to acquiesce in the +ambiguous testimony of those ecclesiastics, who have too lightly +ascribed to their favorite hero the merit of a general +persecution. ^164 Instead of alleging this imaginary law, which +would have blazed in the front of the Imperial codes, we may +safely appeal to the original epistle, which Constantine +addressed to the followers of the ancient religion; at a time +when he no longer disguised his conversion, nor dreaded the +rivals of his throne. He invites and exhorts, in the most +pressing terms, the subjects of the Roman empire to imitate the +example of their master; but he declares, that those who still +refuse to open their eyes to the celestial light, may freely +enjoy their temples and their fancied gods. A report, that the +ceremonies of paganism were suppressed, is formally contradicted +by the emperor himself, who wisely assigns, as the principle of +his moderation, the invincible force of habit, of prejudice, and +of superstition. ^165 Without violating the sanctity of his +promise, without alarming the fears of the Pagans, the artful +monarch advanced, by slow and cautious steps, to undermine the +irregular and decayed fabric of polytheism. The partial acts of +severity which he occasionally exercised, though they were +secretly promoted by a Christian zeal, were colored by the +fairest pretences of justice and the public good; and while +Constantine designed to ruin the foundations, he seemed to reform +the abuses, of the ancient religion. After the example of the +wisest of his predecessors, he condemned, under the most rigorous +penalties, the occult and impious arts of divination; which +excited the vain hopes, and sometimes the criminal attempts, of +those who were discontented with their present condition. An +ignominious silence was imposed on the oracles, which had been +publicly convicted of fraud and falsehood; the effeminate priests +of the Nile were abolished; and Constantine discharged the duties +of a Roman censor, when he gave orders for the demolition of +several temples of Phoenicia; in which every mode of prostitution +was devoutly practised in the face of day, and to the honor of +Venus. ^166 The Imperial city of Constantinople was, in some +measure, raised at the expense, and was adorned with the spoils, +of the opulent temples of Greece and Asia; the sacred property +was confiscated; the statues of gods and heroes were transported, +with rude familiarity, among a people who considered them as +objects, not of adoration, but of curiosity; the gold and silver +were restored to circulation; and the magistrates, the bishops, +and the eunuchs, improved the fortunate occasion of gratifying, +at once, their zeal, their avarice, and their resentment. But +these depredations were confined to a small part of the Roman +world; and the provinces had been long since accustomed to endure +the same sacrilegious rapine, from the tyranny of princes and +proconsuls, who could not be suspected of any design to subvert +the established religion. ^167 +[Footnote 163: Histoire Politique et Philosophique des +Etablissemens des Europeens dans les deux Indes, tom. i. p. 9.] + +[Footnote 164: According to Eusebius, (in Vit. Constantin. l. ii. +c. 45,) the emperor prohibited, both in cities and in the +country, the abominable acts or parts of idolatry. l Socrates +(l. i. c. 17) and Sozomen (l. ii. c. 4, 5) have represented the +conduct of Constantine with a just regard to truth and history; +which has been neglected by Theodoret (l. v. c. 21) and Orosius, +(vii. 28.) Tum deinde (says the latter) primus Constantinus justo +ordine et pio vicem vertit edicto; siquidem statuit citra ullam +hominum caedem, paganorum templa claudi.] + +[Footnote 165: See Eusebius in Vit. Constantin. l. ii. c. 56, 60. + +In the sermon to the assembly of saints, which the emperor +pronounced when he was mature in years and piety, he declares to +the idolaters (c. xii.) that they are permitted to offer +sacrifices, and to exercise every part of their religious +worship.] + +[Footnote 166: See Eusebius, in Vit. Constantin. l. iii. c. +54-58, and l. iv. c. 23, 25. These acts of authority may be +compared with the suppression of the Bacchanals, and the +demolition of the temple of Isis, by the magistrates of Pagan +Rome.] + +[Footnote 167: Eusebius (in Vit. Constan. l. iii. c. 54-58) and +Libanius (Orat. pro Templis, p. 9, 10, edit. Gothofred) both +mention the pious sacrilege of Constantine, which they viewed in +very different lights. The latter expressly declares, that "he +made use of the sacred money, but made no alteration in the legal +worship; the temples indeed were impoverished, but the sacred +rites were performed there." Lardner's Jewish and Heathen +Testimonies, vol. iv. p. 140.] + + The sons of Constantine trod in the footsteps of their +father, with more zeal, and with less discretion. The pretences +of rapine and oppression were insensibly multiplied; ^168 every +indulgence was shown to the illegal behavior of the Christians; +every doubt was explained to the disadvantage of Paganism; and +the demolition of the temples was celebrated as one of the +auspicious events of the reign of Constans and Constantius. ^169 +The name of Constantius is prefixed to a concise law, which might +have superseded the necessity of any future prohibitions. "It is +our pleasure, that in all places, and in all cities, the temples +be immediately shut, and carefully guarded, that none may have +the power of offending. It is likewise our pleasure, that all +our subjects should abstain from sacrifices. If any one should +be guilty of such an act, let him feel the sword of vengeance, +and after his execution, let his property be confiscated to the +public use. We denounce the same penalties against the governors +of the provinces, if they neglect to punish the criminals." ^170 +But there is the strongest reason to believe, that this +formidable edict was either composed without being published, or +was published without being executed. The evidence of facts, and +the monuments which are still extant of brass and marble, +continue to prove the public exercise of the Pagan worship during +the whole reign of the sons of Constantine. In the East, as well +as in the West, in cities, as well as in the country, a great +number of temples were respected, or at least were spared; and +the devout multitude still enjoyed the luxury of sacrifices, of +festivals, and of processions, by the permission, or by the +connivance, of the civil government. About four years after the +supposed date of this bloody edict, Constantius visited the +temples of Rome; and the decency of his behavior is recommended +by a pagan orator as an example worthy of the imitation of +succeeding princes. "That emperor," says Symmachus, "suffered +the privileges of the vestal virgins to remain inviolate; he +bestowed the sacerdotal dignities on the nobles of Rome, granted +the customary allowance to defray the expenses of the public +rites and sacrifices; and, though he had embraced a different +religion, he never attempted to deprive the empire of the sacred +worship of antiquity." ^171 The senate still presumed to +consecrate, by solemn decrees, the divine memory of their +sovereigns; and Constantine himself was associated, after his +death, to those gods whom he had renounced and insulted during +his life. The title, the ensigns, the prerogatives, of sovereign +pontiff, which had been instituted by Numa, and assumed by +Augustus, were accepted, without hesitation, by seven Christian +emperors; who were invested with a more absolute authority over +the religion which they had deserted, than over that which they +professed. ^172 +[Footnote 168: Ammianus (xxii. 4) speaks of some court eunuchs +who were spoliis templorum pasti. Libanius says (Orat. pro +Templ. p. 23) that the emperor 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 that these sacrilegious +favorites very seldom prospered.] + +[Footnote 169: See Gothofred. Cod. Theodos. tom. vi. p. 262. +Liban. Orat. Parental c. x. in Fabric. Bibl. Graec. tom. vii. p. +235.] + +[Footnote 170: Placuit omnibus locis atque urbibus universis +claudi protinus empla, et accessu vetitis omnibus licentiam +delinquendi perditis abnegari. Volumus etiam cunctos a +sacrificiis abstinere. Quod siquis aliquid forte hujusmodi +perpetraverit, gladio sternatur: facultates etiam perempti fisco +decernimus vindicari: et similiter adfligi rectores provinciarum +si facinora vindicare neglexerint. Cod. Theodos. l. xvi. tit. x. +leg. 4. Chronology has discovered some contradiction in the date +of this extravagant law; the only one, perhaps, by which the +negligence of magistrates is punished 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 more than the minutes of +a law, the heads of an intended bill, which were found in +Scriniis Memoriae among the papers of Constantius, and afterwards +inserted, as a worthy model, in the Theodosian Code.] + +[Footnote 171: Symmach. Epistol. x. 54.] + +[Footnote 172: The fourth Dissertation of M. de la Bastie, sur le +Souverain Pontificat des Empereurs Romains, (in the Mem. de +l'Acad. tom. xv. p. 75- 144,) is a very learned and judicious +performance, which explains the state, and prove the toleration, +of Paganism from Constantino to Gratian. The assertion of +Zosimus, that Gratian was the first who refused the pontifical +robe, is confirmed beyond a doubt; and the murmurs of bigotry on +that subject are almost silenced.] + + The divisions of Christianity suspended the ruin of +Paganism; ^173 and the holy war against the infidels was less +vigorously prosecuted by princes and bishops, who were more +immediately alarmed by the guilt and danger of domestic +rebellion. The extirpation of idolatry ^174 might have been +justified by the established principles of intolerance: but the +hostile sects, which alternately reigned in the Imperial court +were mutually apprehensive of alienating, and perhaps +exasperating, the minds of a powerful, though declining faction. +Every motive of authority and fashion, of interest and reason, +now militated on the side of Christianity; but two or three +generations elapsed, before their victorious influence was +universally felt. The religion which had so long and so lately +been established in the Roman empire was still revered by a +numerous people, less attached indeed to speculative opinion, +than to ancient custom. The honors of the state and army were +indifferently bestowed on all the subjects of Constantine and +Constantius; and a considerable portion of knowledge and wealth +and valor was still engaged in the service of polytheism. The +superstition of the senator and of the peasant, of the poet and +the philosopher, was derived from very different causes, but they +met with equal devotion in the temples of the gods. Their zeal +was insensibly provoked by the insulting triumph of a proscribed +sect; and their hopes were revived by the well-grounded +confidence, that the presumptive heir of the empire, a young and +valiant hero, who had delivered Gaul from the arms of the +Barbarians, had secretly embraced the religion of his ancestors. + +[Footnote 173: As I have freely anticipated the use of pagans and +paganism, I shall now trace the singular revolutions of those +celebrated words. 1. in the Doric dialect, so familiar to the +Italians, signifies a fountain; and the rural neighborhood, which +frequented the same fountain, derived the common appellation of +pagus and pagans. (Festus sub voce, and Servius ad Virgil. +Georgic. ii. 382.) 2. By an easy extension of the word, pagan and +rural became almost synonymous, (Plin. Hist. Natur. xxviii. 5;) +and the meaner rustics acquired that name, which has been +corrupted into peasants in the modern languages of Europe. 3. +The amazing increase of the military order introduced the +necessity of a correlative term, (Hume's Essays, vol. i. p. 555;) +and all the people who were not enlisted in the service of the +prince were branded with the contemptuous epithets of pagans. +(Tacit. Hist. iii. 24, 43, 77. Juvenal. Satir. 16. Tertullian de +Pallio, c. 4.) 4. The Christians were the soldiers of Christ; +their adversaries, who refused his sacrament, or military oath of +baptism might deserve the metaphorical name of pagans; and this +popular reproach was introduced as early as the reign of +Valentinian (A. D. 365) into Imperial laws (Cod. Theodos. l. xvi. +tit. ii. leg. 18) and theological writings. 5. Christianity +gradually filled the cities of the empire: the old religion, in +the time of Prudentius (advers. Symmachum, l. i. ad fin.) and +Orosius, (in Praefat. Hist.,) retired and languished in obscure +villages; and the word pagans, with its new signification, +reverted to its primitive origin. 6. Since the worship of Jupiter +and his family has expired, the vacant title of pagans has been +successively applied to all the idolaters and polytheists of the +old and new world. 7. The Latin Christians bestowed it, without +scruple, on their mortal enemies, the Mahometans; and the purest +Unitarians were branded with the unjust reproach of idolatry and +paganism. See Gerard Vossius, Etymologicon Linguae Latinae, in +his works, tom. i. p. 420; Godefroy's Commentary on the +Theodosian Code, tom. vi. p. 250; and Ducange, Mediae et Infimae +Latinitat. Glossar.] + +[Footnote 174: In the pure language of Ionia and Athens were +ancient and familiar words. The former expressed a likeness, an +apparition (Homer. Odys. xi. 601,) a representation, an image, +created either by fancy or art. The latter denoted any sort of +service or slavery. The Jews of Egypt, who translated the Hebrew +Scriptures, restrained the use of these words (Exod. xx. 4, 5) to +the religious worship of an image. The peculiar idiom of the +Hellenists, or Grecian Jews, has been adopted by the sacred and +ecclesiastical writers and the reproach of idolatry has +stigmatized that visible and abject mode of superstition, which +some sects of Christianity should not hastily impute to the +polytheists of Greece and Rome.] + +Chapter XXII: Julian Declared Emperor. + +Part I + + Julian 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 ignominious tyranny of +eunuchs and bishops, the praises of Julian were repeated with +transport in every part of the empire, except in the palace of +Constantius. The barbarians of Germany had felt, and still +dreaded, the arms of the young Caesar; 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 offended by his virtues; and they justly +considered the friend of the people as the enemy of the court. +As long as the fame of Julian was doubtful, the buffoons of the +palace, who were skilled in the language of satire, tried the +efficacy of those arts which they had so often practised with +success. They easily discovered, that his simplicity was not +exempt from affectation: the ridiculous epithets of a hairy +savage, of an ape invested with the purple, were applied to the +dress and person of the philosophic warrior; and his modest +despatches were stigmatized as the vain and elaborate fictions of +a loquacious Greek, a speculative soldier, who had studied the +art of war amidst the groves of the academy. ^1 The voice of +malicious folly was at length silenced by the shouts of victory; +the conqueror of the Franks and Alemanni could no longer be +painted as an object of contempt; and the monarch himself was +meanly ambitious of stealing from his lieutenant the honorable +reward of his labors. In the letters crowned with laurel, which, +according to ancient custom, were addressed to the provinces, the +name of Julian was omitted. "Constantius had made his +dispositions in person; he had signalized his valor in the +foremost ranks; his military conduct had secured the victory; and +the captive king of the barbarians was presented to him on the +field of battle," from which he was at that time distant about +forty days' journey. ^2 So extravagant a fable was incapable, +however, of deceiving the public credulity, or even of satisfying +the pride of the emperor himself. Secretly conscious that the +applause and favor of the Romans accompanied the rising fortunes +of Julian, his discontented mind was prepared to receive the +subtle poison of those artful sycophants, who colored their +mischievous designs with the fairest appearances of truth and +candor. ^3 Instead of depreciating the merits of Julian, they +acknowledged, and even exaggerated, his popular fame, superior +talents, and important services. But they darkly insinuated, that +the virtues of the Caesar might instantly be converted into the +most dangerous crimes, if the inconstant multitude should prefer +their inclinations to their duty; or if the general of a +victorious army should be tempted from his allegiance by the +hopes of revenge and independent greatness. The personal fears +of Constantius were interpreted by his council as a laudable +anxiety for the public safety; whilst in private, and perhaps in +his own breast, he disguised, under the less odious appellation +of fear, the sentiments of hatred and envy, which he had secretly +conceived for the inimitable virtues of Julian. + +[Footnote 1: Omnes qui plus poterant in palatio, adulandi +professores jam docti, 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, appellantesque loquacem talpam, et purpuratam +simiam, et litterionem Graecum: et his congruentia plurima atque +vernacula principi resonantes, audire haec taliaque gestienti, +virtutes ejus obruere verbis impudentibus conabantur, et segnem +incessentes et timidum et umbratilem, gestaque secus verbis +comptioribus exornantem. Ammianus, s. xvii. 11. + + Note: The philosophers retaliated on the courtiers. Marius +(says Eunapius in a newly-discovered fragment) was wont to call +his antagonist Sylla a beast half lion and half fox. Constantius +had nothing of the lion, but was surrounded by a whole litter of +foxes. Mai. Script. Byz. Nov. Col. ii. 238. Niebuhr. Byzant. +Hist. 66. - M.] + +[Footnote 2: Ammian. xvi. 12. The orator Themistius (iv. p. 56, +57) believed whatever was contained in the Imperial letters, +which were addressed to the senate of Constantinople Aurelius +Victor, who published his Abridgment in the last year of +Constantius, ascribes the German victories to the wisdom of the +emperor, and the fortune of the Caesar. Yet the historian, soon +afterwards, was indebted to the favor or esteem of Julian for the +honor of a brass statue, and the important offices of consular of +the second Pannonia, and praefect of the city, Ammian. xxi. 10.] + +[Footnote 3: Callido nocendi artificio, accusatoriam diritatem +laudum titulis peragebant. . . Hae voces fuerunt ad inflammanda +odia probria omnibus potentiores. See Mamertin, in Actione +Gratiarum in Vet Panegyr. xi. 5, 6.] + The apparent tranquillity of Gaul, and the imminent danger +of the eastern provinces, offered a specious pretence for the +design which was artfully concerted by the Imperial ministers. +They resolved to disarm the Caesar; to recall those faithful +troops who guarded his person and dignity; and to employ, in a +distant war against the Persian monarch, the hardy veterans who +had vanquished, on the banks of the Rhine, the fiercest nations +of Germany. While Julian used the laborious hours of his winter +quarters at Paris in the administration of power, which, in his +hands, was the exercise of virtue, he was surprised by the hasty +arrival of a tribune and a notary, with positive orders, from the +emperor, which they were directed to execute, and he was +commanded not to oppose. Constantius signified his pleasure, +that four entire legions, the Celtae, and Petulants, the Heruli, +and the Batavians, should be separated from the standard of +Julian, under which they had acquired their fame and discipline; +that in each of the remaining bands three hundred of the bravest +youths should be selected; and that this numerous detachment, the +strength of the Gallic army, should instantly begin their march, +and exert their utmost diligence to arrive, before the opening of +the campaign, on the frontiers of Persia. ^4 The Caesar foresaw +and lamented the consequences of this fatal mandate. Most of the +auxiliaries, who engaged their voluntary service, had stipulated, +that they should never be obliged to pass the Alps. The public +faith of Rome, and the personal honor of Julian, had been pledged +for the observance of this condition. Such an act of treachery +and oppression would destroy the confidence, and excite the +resentment, of the independent warriors of Germany, who +considered truth as the noblest of their virtues, and freedom as +the most valuable of their possessions. The legionaries, who +enjoyed the title and privileges of Romans, were enlisted for the +general defence of the republic; but those mercenary troops heard +with cold indifference the antiquated names of the republic and +of Rome. Attached, either from birth or long habit, to the +climate and manners of Gaul, they loved and admired Julian; they +despised, and perhaps hated, the emperor; they dreaded the +laborious march, the Persian arrows, and the burning deserts of +Asia. They claimed as their own the country which they had +saved; and excused their want of spirit, by pleading the sacred +and more immediate duty of protecting their families and friends. + +The apprehensions of the Gauls were derived from the knowledge of +the impending and inevitable danger. As soon as the provinces +were exhausted of their military strength, the Germans would +violate a treaty which had been imposed on their fears; and +notwithstanding the abilities and valor of Julian, the general of +a nominal army, to whom the public calamities would be imputed, +must find himself, after a vain resistance, either a prisoner in +the camp of 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 +who deserved his affection. But a positive refusal was an act of +rebellion, and a declaration of war. The inexorable jealousy of +the emperor, the peremptory, and perhaps insidious, nature of his +commands, left not any room for a fair apology, or candid +interpretation; and the dependent station of the Caesar scarcely +allowed him to pause or to deliberate. Solitude increased the +perplexity of Julian; he could no longer apply to the faithful +counsels of Sallust, who had been removed from his office by the +judicious malice of the eunuchs: he could not even enforce his +representations by the concurrence of the ministers, who would +have been afraid or ashamed to approve the ruin of Gaul. The +moment had been chosen, when Lupicinus, ^5 the general of the +cavalry, was despatched into Britain, to repulse the inroads of +the Scots and Picts; and Florentius was occupied at Vienna by the +assessment of the tribute. The latter, a crafty and corrupt +statesman, declining to assume a responsible part on this +dangerous occasion, eluded the pressing and repeated invitations +of Julian, who represented to him, that in every important +measure, the presence of the praefect was indispensable in the +council of the prince. In the mean while the Caesar was +oppressed by the rude and importunate solicitations of the +Imperial messengers, who presumed to suggest, that if he expected +the return of his ministers, he would charge himself with the +guilt of the delay, and reserve for them the merit of the +execution. Unable to resist, unwilling to comply, Julian +expressed, in the most serious terms, his wish, and even his +intention, of resigning the purple, which he could not preserve +with honor, but which he could not abdicate with safety. +[Footnote 4: The minute interval, which may be interposed, +between the hyeme adulta and the primo vere of Ammianus, (xx. l. +4,) instead of allowing a sufficient space for a march of three +thousand miles, would render the orders of Constantius as +extravagant as they were unjust. The troops of Gaul could not +have reached Syria till the end of autumn. The memory of +Ammianus must have been inaccurate, and his language incorrect. + + Note: The late editor of Ammianus attempts to vindicate his +author from the charge of inaccuracy. "It is clear, from the +whole course of the narrative, that Constantius entertained this +design of demanding his troops from Julian, immediately after the +taking of Amida, in the autumn of the preceding year, and had +transmitted his orders into Gaul, before it was known that +Lupicinus had gone into Britain with the Herulians and +Batavians." Wagner, note to Amm. xx. 4. But it seems also clear +that the troops were in winter quarters (hiemabant) when the +orders arrived. Ammianus can scarcely be acquitted of +incorrectness in his language at least. - M] + +[Footnote 5: Ammianus, xx. l. The valor of Lupicinus, and his +military skill, are acknowledged by the historian, who, in his +affected language, accuses the general of exalting the horns of +his pride, bellowing in a tragic tone, and exciting a doubt +whether he was more cruel or avaricious. The danger from the +Scots and Picts was so serious that Julian himself had some +thoughts of passing over into the island.] + + After a painful conflict, Julian was compelled to +acknowledge, that obedience was the virtue of the most eminent +subject, and that the sovereign alone was entitled to judge of +the public welfare. He issued the necessary orders for carrying +into execution the commands of Constantius; a part of the troops +began their march for the Alps; and the detachments from the +several garrisons moved towards their respective places of +assembly. They advanced with difficulty through the trembling and +affrighted crowds of provincials, who attempted to excite their +pity by silent despair, or loud lamentations, while the wives of +the soldiers, holding their infants in their arms, accused the +desertion of their husbands, in the mixed language of grief, of +tenderness, and of indignation. This scene of general distress +afflicted the humanity of the Caesar; he granted a sufficient +number of post-wagons to transport the wives and families of the +soldiers, ^6 endeavored to alleviate the hardships which he was +constrained to inflict, and increased, by the most laudable arts, +his own popularity, and the discontent of the exiled troops. The +grief of an armed multitude is soon converted into rage; their +licentious murmurs, which every hour were communicated from tent +to tent with more boldness and effect, prepared their minds for +the most daring acts of sedition; and by the connivance of their +tribunes, a seasonable libel was secretly dispersed, which +painted in lively colors the disgrace of the Caesar, the +oppression of the Gallic army, and the feeble vices of the tyrant +of Asia. The servants of Constantius were astonished and alarmed +by the progress of this dangerous spirit. They pressed the +Caesar to hasten the departure of the troops; but they +imprudently 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 interview. + +[Footnote 6: He granted them the permission of the cursus +clavularis, or clabularis. These post-wagons are often mentioned +in the Code, and were supposed to carry fifteen hundred pounds +weight. See Vales. ad Ammian. xx. 4.] + + As soon as the approach of the troops was announced, the +Caesar went out to meet them, and ascended his tribunal, which +had been erected in a plain before the gates of the city. After +distinguishing the officers and soldiers, who by their rank or +merit deserved a peculiar attention, Julian addressed himself in +a studied oration to the surrounding multitude: he celebrated +their exploits with grateful applause; encouraged them to accept, +with alacrity, the honor of serving under the eye of a powerful +and liberal monarch; and admonished them, that the commands of +Augustus required an instant and cheerful obedience. The +soldiers, who were apprehensive of offending their general by an +indecent clamor, or of belying their sentiments by false and +venal acclamations, maintained an obstinate silence; and after a +short pause, were dismissed to their quarters. The principal +officers were entertained by the Caesar, who professed, in the +warmest language of friendship, his desire and his inability to +reward, according to their deserts, the brave companions of his +victories. They retired from the feast, full of grief and +perplexity; and lamented the hardship of their fate, which tore +them from their beloved general and their native country. The +only expedient which could prevent their separation was boldly +agitated and approved the popular resentment was insensibly +moulded into a regular conspiracy; their just reasons of +complaint were heightened by passion, and their passions were +inflamed by wine; as, on the eve of their departure, the troops +were indulged in licentious festivity. At the hour of midnight, +the impetuous multitude, with swords, and bows, and torches in +their hands, rushed into the suburbs; encompassed the palace; ^7 +and, careless of future dangers, pronounced the fatal and +irrevocable words, Julian Augustus! The prince, whose anxious +suspense was interrupted by their disorderly acclamations, +secured the doors against their intrusion; and as long as it was +in his power, secluded his person and dignity from the accidents +of a nocturnal tumult. At the dawn of day, the soldiers, whose +zeal was irritated by opposition, forcibly entered the palace, +seized, with respectful violence, the object of their choice, +guarded Julian with drawn swords through the streets of Paris, +placed him on the tribunal, and with repeated shouts saluted him +as their emperor. Prudence, as well as loyalty, inculcated the +propriety of resisting their treasonable designs; and of +preparing, for his oppressed virtue, the excuse of violence. +Addressing himself by turns to the multitude and to individuals, +he sometimes implored their mercy, and sometimes expressed his +indignation; conjured them not to sully the fame of their +immortal victories; and ventured to promise, that if they would +immediately return to their allegiance, he would undertake to +obtain from the emperor not only a free and gracious pardon, but +even the revocation of the orders which had excited their +resentment. But the soldiers, who were conscious of their guilt, +chose rather to depend on the gratitude of Julian, than on the +clemency of the emperor. Their zeal was insensibly turned into +impatience, and their impatience into rage. The inflexible +Caesar sustained, till the third hour of the day, their prayers, +their reproaches, and their menaces; nor did he yield, till he +had been repeatedly assured, that if he wished to live, he must +consent to reign. He was exalted on a shield in the presence, and +amidst the unanimous acclamations, of the troops; a rich military +collar, which was offered by chance, supplied the want of a +diadem; ^8 the ceremony was concluded by the promise of a +moderate donative; and the new emperor, overwhelmed with real or +affected grief retired into the most secret recesses of his +apartment. ^10 +[Footnote 7: Most probably the palace of the baths, (Thermarum,) +of which a solid and lofty hall still subsists in the Rue de la +Harpe. The buildings covered a considerable space of the modern +quarter of the university; and the gardens, under the Merovingian +kings, communicated with the abbey of St. Germain des Prez. By +the injuries of time and the Normans, this ancient palace was +reduced, in the twelfth century, to a maze of ruins, whose dark +recesses were the scene of licentious love. + + Explicat aula sinus montemque amplectitur alis; + 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 de Hauteville, or Hanville, a monk of St. +Alban's, about the year 1190. See Warton's History of English +Poetry, vol. i. dissert. ii.) Yet such thefts might be less +pernicious to mankind than the theological disputes of the +Sorbonne, which have been since agitated on the same ground. +Bonamy, Mem. de l'Academie, tom. xv. p. 678-632] + +[Footnote 8: Even in this tumultuous moment, Julian attended to +the forms of superstitious ceremony, and obstinately refused the +inauspicious use of a female necklace, or a horse collar, which +the impatient soldiers would have employed in the room of a +diadem.] + +[Footnote 9: An equal proportion of gold and silver, five pieces +of the former one pound of the latter; the whole amounting to +about five pounds ten shillings of our money.] + +[Footnote 10: For the whole narrative of this revolt, we may +appeal to authentic and original materials; Julian himself, (ad +S. P. Q. Atheniensem, p. 282, 283, 284,) Libanius, (Orat. +Parental. c. 44-48, in Fabricius, Bibliot. Graec. 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 +respectable authority of Eunapius. With such guides we might +neglect the abbreviators and ecclesiastical historians.] + + The grief of Julian could proceed only from his innocence; +out his innocence must appear extremely doubtful ^11 in the eyes +of those who have learned to suspect the motives and the +professions of princes. His lively and active mind was +susceptible of the various impressions of hope and fear, of +gratitude and revenge, of duty and of ambition, of the love of +fame, and of the fear of reproach. But it is impossible for us +to calculate the respective weight and operation of these +sentiments; or to ascertain the principles of action which might +escape the observation, while they guided, or rather impelled, +the steps of Julian himself. The discontent of the troops was +produced by the malice of his enemies; their tumult was the +natural effect of interest and of passion; and if Julian had +tried to conceal a deep design under the appearances of chance, +he must have employed the most consummate artifice without +necessity, and probably without success. He solemnly declares, +in the presence of Jupiter, of the Sun, of Mars, of Minerva, and +of all the other deities, that till the close of the evening +which preceded his elevation, he was utterly ignorant of the +designs of the soldiers; ^12 and it may seem ungenerous to +distrust the honor of a hero and the truth of a philosopher. Yet +the superstitious confidence that Constantius was the enemy, and +that he himself was the favorite, of the gods, might prompt him +to desire, to solicit, and even to hasten the auspicious moment +of his reign, which was predestined to restore the ancient +religion of mankind. When Julian had received the intelligence +of the conspiracy, he resigned himself to a short slumber; and +afterwards related to his friends that he had seen the genius of +the empire waiting with some impatience at his door, pressing for +admittance, and reproaching his want of spirit and ambition. ^13 +Astonished and perplexed, he addressed his prayers to the great +Jupiter, who immediately signified, by a clear and manifest omen, +that he should submit to the will of heaven and of the army. The +conduct which disclaims the ordinary maxims of reason, excites +our suspicion and eludes our inquiry. Whenever the spirit of +fanaticism, at once so credulous and so crafty, has insinuated +itself into a noble mind, it insensibly corrodes the vital +principles of virtue and veracity. +[Footnote 11: Eutropius, a respectable witness, uses a doubtful +expression, "consensu militum." (x. 15.) Gregory Nazianzen, whose +ignorance night excuse his fanaticism, directly charges the +apostate with presumption, madness, and impious rebellion, Orat. +iii. p. 67.] + +[Footnote 12: Julian. ad S. P. Q. Athen. p. 284. The devout Abbe +de la Bleterie (Vie de Julien, p. 159) is almost inclined to +respect the devout protestations of a Pagan.] + +[Footnote 13: Ammian. xx. 5, with the note of Lindenbrogius on +the Genius of the empire. Julian himself, in a confidential +letter to his friend and physician, 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 fears of +his fortune. Zosimus (l. iii. p. 155) relates a subsequent +dream.] + + To moderate the zeal of his party, to protect the persons of +his enemies, ^14 to defeat and to despise the secret enterprises +which were formed against his life and dignity, were the cares +which employed the first days of the reign of the new emperor. +Although he was firmly resolved to maintain the station which he +had assumed, he was still desirous of saving his country from the +calamities of civil war, of declining a contest with the superior +forces of Constantius, and of preserving his own character from +the reproach of perfidy and ingratitude. Adorned with the ensigns +of military and imperial pomp, Julian showed himself in the field +of Mars to the soldiers, who glowed with ardent enthusiasm in the +cause of their pupil, their leader, and their friend. He +recapitulated their victories, lamented their sufferings, +applauded their resolution, animated their hopes, and checked +their impetuosity; nor did he dismiss the assembly, till he had +obtained a solemn promise from the troops, that if the emperor of +the East would subscribe an equitable treaty, they would renounce +any views of conquest, and satisfy themselves with the tranquil +possession of the Gallic provinces. On this foundation he +composed, in his own name, and in that of the army, a specious +and moderate epistle, ^15 which was delivered to Pentadius, his +master of the offices, and to his chamberlain Eutherius; two +ambassadors whom he appointed to receive the answer, and observe +the dispositions of Constantius. This epistle is inscribed with +the modest appellation of Caesar; but Julian solicits in a +peremptory, though respectful, manner, the confirmation of the +title of Augustus. He acknowledges the irregularity of his own +election, while he justifies, in some measure, the resentment and +violence of the troops which had extorted his reluctant consent. +He allows the supremacy of his brother Constantius; and engages +to send him an annual present of Spanish horses, to recruit his +army with a select number of barbarian youths, and to accept from +his choice a Praetorian praefect of approved discretion and +fidelity. But he reserves for himself the nomination of his +other civil and military officers, with the troops, the revenue, +and the sovereignty of the provinces beyond the Alps. He +admonishes the emperor to consult the dictates of justice; to +distrust the arts of those venal flatterers, who subsist only by +the discord of princes; and to embrace the offer of a fair and +honorable treaty, equally advantageous to the republic and to the +house of Constantine. In this negotiation Julian claimed no more +than he already possessed. The delegated authority which he had +long exercised over the provinces of Gaul, Spain, and Britain, +was still obeyed under a name more independent and august. The +soldiers and the people rejoiced in a revolution which was not +stained even with the blood of the guilty. Florentius was a +fugitive; Lupicinus a prisoner. The persons who were disaffected +to the new government were disarmed and secured; and the vacant +offices were distributed, according to the recommendation of +merit, by a prince who despised the intrigues of the palace, and +the clamors of the soldiers. ^16 + +[Footnote 14: The difficult situation of the prince of a +rebellious army is finely described by Tacitus, (Hist. 1, 80-85.) +But Otho had much more guilt, and much less abilities, than +Julian.] + +[Footnote 15: To this ostensible epistle he added, says Ammianus, +private letters, objurgatorias et mordaces, which the historian +had not seen, and would not have published. Perhaps they never +existed.] + +[Footnote 16: See the first transactions of his reign, in Julian. +ad S. P. Q. Athen. p. 285, 286. Ammianus, xx. 5, 8. Liban. +Orat. Parent. c. 49, 50, p. 273-275.] + + The negotiations of peace were accompanied and supported by +the most vigorous preparations for war. The army, which Julian +held in readiness for immediate action, was recruited and +augmented by the disorders of the times. The cruel persecutions +of the faction of Magnentius had filled Gaul with numerous bands +of outlaws and robbers. They cheerfully accepted the offer of a +general pardon from a prince whom they could trust, submitted to +the restraints of military discipline, and retained only their +implacable hatred to the person and government of Constantius. +^17 As soon as the season of the year permitted Julian to take +the field, he appeared at the head of his legions; threw a bridge +over the Rhine in the neighborhood of Cleves; and prepared to +chastise the perfidy of the Attuarii, a tribe of Franks, who +presumed that they might ravage, with impunity, the frontiers of +a divided empire. The difficulty, as well as glory, of this +enterprise, consisted in a laborious march; and Julian had +conquered, as soon as he could penetrate into a country, which +former princes had considered as inaccessible. After he had +given peace to the Barbarians, the emperor carefully visited the +fortifications along the Qhine from Cleves to Basil; surveyed, +with peculiar attention, the territories which he had recovered +from the hands of the Alemanni, passed through Besancon, ^18 +which had severely suffered from their fury, and fixed his +headquarters at Vienna for the ensuing winter. The barrier of +Gaul was improved and strengthened with additional +fortifications; and Julian entertained some hopes that the +Germans, whom he had so often vanquished, might, in his absence, +be restrained by the terror of his name. Vadomair ^19 was the +only prince of the Alemanni whom he esteemed or feared and while +the subtle Barbarian affected to observe the faith of treaties, +the progress of his arms threatened the state with an +unseasonable and dangerous war. The policy of Julian +condescended to surprise the prince of the Alemanni by his own +arts: and Vadomair, who, in the character of a friend, had +incautiously accepted an invitation from the Roman governors, was +seized in the midst of the entertainment, and sent away prisoner +into the heart of Spain. Before the Barbarians were recovered +from their amazement, the emperor appeared in arms on the banks +of the Rhine, and, once more crossing the river, renewed the deep +impressions of terror and respect which had been already made by +four preceding expeditions. ^20 + +[Footnote 17: Liban. Orat. Parent. c. 50, p. 275, 276. A strange +disorder, since it continued above seven years. In the factions +of the Greek republics, the exiles amounted to 20,000 persons; +and Isocrates assures Philip, that it would be easier to raise an +army from the vagabonds than from the cities. See Hume's Essays, +tom. i. p. 426, 427.] + +[Footnote 18: Julian (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 small town, emerging, however, +from its ruins.] + +[Footnote 19: Vadomair entered into the Roman service, and was +promoted from a barbarian kingdom to the military rank of duke of +Phoenicia. He still retained the same artful character, (Ammian. +xxi. 4;) but under the reign of Valens, he signalized his valor +in the Armenian war, (xxix. 1.)] +[Footnote 20: Ammian. xx. 10, xxi. 3, 4. Zosimus, l. iii. p. +155.] + +Chapter XXII: Julian Declared Emperor. + +Part II. + + The ambassadors of Julian had been instructed to execute, +with the utmost diligence, their important commission. But, in +their passage through Italy and Illyricum, they were detained by +the tedious and affected delays of the provincial governors; they +were conducted by slow journeys from Constantinople to Caesarea +in Cappadocia; and when at length they were admitted to the +presence of Constantius, they found that he had already +conceived, from the despatches of his own officers, the most +unfavorable opinion of the conduct of Julian, and of the Gallic +army. The letters were heard with impatience; the trembling +messengers were dismissed with indignation and contempt; and the +looks, gestures, the furious language of the monarch, expressed +the disorder of his soul. The domestic connection, which might +have reconciled the brother and the husband of Helena, was +recently dissolved by the death of that princess, whose pregnancy +had been several times fruitless, and was at last fatal to +herself. ^21 The empress Eusebia had preserved, to the last +moment of her life, the warm, and even jealous, affection which +she had conceived for Julian; and her mild influence might have +moderated the resentment of a prince, who, since her death, was +abandoned to his own passions, and to the arts of his eunuchs. +But the terror of a foreign invasion obliged him to suspend the +punishment of a private enemy: he continued his march towards the +confines of Persia, and thought it sufficient to signify the +conditions which might entitle Julian and his guilty followers to +the clemency of their offended sovereign. He required, that the +presumptuous Caesar should expressly renounce the appellation and +rank of Augustus, which he had accepted from the rebels; that he +should descend to his former station of a limited and dependent +minister; that he should vest the powers of the state and army in +the hands of those officers who were appointed by the Imperial +court; and that he should trust his safety to the assurances of +pardon, which were announced by Epictetus, a Gallic bishop, and +one of the Arian favorites of Constantius. Several months were +ineffectually consumed in a treaty which was negotiated at the +distance of three thousand miles between Paris and Antioch; and, +as soon as Julian perceived that his modest and respectful +behavior served only to irritate the pride of an implacable +adversary, he boldly resolved to commit his life and fortune to +the chance of a civil war. He gave a public and military +audience to the quaestor Leonas: the haughty epistle of +Constantius was read to the attentive multitude; and Julian +protested, with the most flattering deference, that he was ready +to resign the title of Augustus, if he could obtain the consent +of those whom he acknowledged as the authors of his elevation. +The faint proposal was impetuously silenced; and the acclamations +of "Julian Augustus, continue to reign, by the authority of the +army, of the people, of the republic which you have saved," +thundered at once from every part of the field, and terrified the +pale ambassador of Constantius. A part of the letter was +afterwards read, in which the emperor arraigned the ingratitude +of Julian, whom he had invested with the honors of the purple; +whom he had educated with so much care and tenderness; whom he +had preserved in his infancy, when he was left a helpless orphan. + +"An orphan!" interrupted Julian, who justified his cause by +indulging his passions: "does the assassin of my family reproach +me that I was left an orphan? He urges me to revenge those +injuries which I have long studied to forget." The assembly was +dismissed; and Leonas, who, with some difficulty, had been +protected from the popular fury, was sent back to his master with +an epistle, in which Julian expressed, in a strain of the most +vehement eloquence, the sentiments of contempt, of hatred, and of +resentment, which had been suppressed and imbittered by the +dissimulation of twenty years. After this message, which might +be considered as a signal of irreconcilable war, Julian, who, +some weeks before, had celebrated the Christian festival of the +Epiphany, ^22 made a public declaration that he committed the +care of his safety to the Immortal Gods; and thus publicly +renounced the religion as well as the friendship of Constantius. +^23 + +[Footnote 21: Her remains were sent to Rome, and interred near +those of her sister Constantina, in the suburb of the Via +Nomentana. Ammian. xxi. 1. Libanius has composed a very weak +apology, to justify his hero from a very absurd charge of +poisoning his wife, and rewarding her physician with 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 +the accuser of Julian appeals, is arraigned by Libanius, as +effeminate and ungrateful; yet the religion of Elpidius is +praised by Jerom, (tom. i. p. 243,) and his Ammianus (xxi. 6.)] + +[Footnote 22: Feriarum die quem celebrantes mense Januario, +Christiani Epiphania dictitant, progressus in eorum ecclesiam, +solemniter numine orato discessit. Ammian. xxi. 2. Zonaras +observes, that it was on Christmas day, and his assertion is not +inconsistent; since the churches of Egypt, Asia, and perhaps +Gaul, celebrated on the same day (the sixth of January) the +nativity and the baptism of their Savior. The Romans, as +ignorant as their brethren of the real date of his birth, fixed +the solemn festival to the 25th of December, the Brumalia, or +winter solstice, when the Pagans annually celebrated the birth of +the sun. See Bingham's Antiquities of the Christian Church, l. +xx. c. 4, and Beausobre, Hist. Critique du Manicheismo tom. ii. +p. 690-700.] +[Footnote 23: The public and secret negotiations between +Constantius and Julian must be extracted, with some caution, from +Julian himself. (Orat. ad 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, +22,) who, on this occasion, appears to have possessed and used +some valuable materials.] + + The situation of Julian required a vigorous and immediate +resolution. He had discovered, from intercepted letters, that his +adversary, sacrificing the interest of the state to that of the +monarch, had again excited the Barbarians to invade the provinces +of the West. The position of two magazines, one of them +collected on the banks of the Lake of Constance, the other formed +at the foot of the Cottian Alps, seemed to indicate the march of +two armies; and the size of those magazines, each of which +consisted of six hundred thousand quarters of wheat, or rather +flour, ^24 was a threatening evidence of the strength and numbers +of the enemy who prepared to surround him. But the Imperial +legions were still in their distant quarters of Asia; the Danube +was feebly guarded; and if Julian could occupy, by a sudden +incursion, the important provinces of Illyricum, he might expect +that a people of soldiers would resort to his standard, and that +the rich mines of gold and silver would contribute to the +expenses of the civil war. He proposed this bold enterprise to +the assembly of the soldiers; inspired them with a just +confidence in their general, and in themselves; and exhorted them +to maintain their reputation of being terrible to the enemy, +moderate to their fellow-citizens, and obedient to their +officers. His spirited discourse was received with the loudest +acclamations, and the same troops which had taken up arms against +Constantius, when he summoned them to leave Gaul, now declared +with alacrity, that they would follow Julian to the farthest +extremities of Europe or Asia. The oath of fidelity was +administered; and the soldiers, clashing their shields, and +pointing their drawn swords to their throats, devoted themselves, +with horrid imprecations, to the service of a leader whom they +celebrated as the deliverer of Gaul and the conqueror of the +Germans. ^25 This solemn engagement, which seemed to be dictated +by affection rather than by duty, was singly opposed by +Nebridius, who had been admitted to the office of Praetorian +praefect. That faithful minister, alone and unassisted, asserted +the rights of Constantius, in the midst of an armed and angry +multitude, to whose fury he had almost fallen an honorable, but +useless sacrifice. After losing one of his hands by the stroke +of a sword, he embraced the knees of the prince whom he had +offended. Julian covered the praefect with his Imperial mantle, +and, protecting him from the zeal of his followers, dismissed him +to his own house, with less respect than was perhaps due to the +virtue of an enemy. ^26 The high office of Nebridius was bestowed +on Sallust; and the provinces of Gaul, which were now delivered +from the intolerable oppression of taxes, enjoyed the mild and +equitable administration of the friend of Julian, who was +permitted to practise those virtues which he had instilled into +the mind of his pupil. ^27 +[Footnote 24: Three hundred myriads, or three millions of +medimni, a corn measure familiar to the Athenians, and which +contained six Roman modii. Julian explains, like a soldier and a +statesman, the danger of his situation, and the necessity and +advantages of an offensive war, (ad S. P. Q. Athen. p. 286, +287.)] + +[Footnote 25: See his oration, and the behavior of the troops, in +Ammian. xxi. 5.] + +[Footnote 26: He sternly refused his hand to the suppliant +praefect, whom he sent into Tuscany. (Ammian. xxi. 5.) Libanius, +with savage fury, insults Nebridius, applauds the soldiers, and +almost censures the humanity of Julian. (Orat. Parent. c. 53, p. +278.)] + +[Footnote 27: Ammian. xxi. 8. In this promotion, Julian obeyed +the law which he publicly imposed on himself. Neque civilis +quisquam judex nec militaris rector, alio quodam praeter merita +suffragante, ad potiorem veniat gradum. (Ammian. xx. 5.) Absence +did not weaken his regard for Sallust, with whose name (A. D. +363) he honored the consulship.] + + The hopes of Julian depended much less on the number of his +troops, than on the celerity of his motions. In the execution of +a daring enterprise, he availed himself of every precaution, as +far as prudence could suggest; and where prudence could no longer +accompany his steps, he trusted the event to valor and to +fortune. In the neighborhood of Basil he assembled and divided +his army. ^28 One body, which consisted of ten thousand men, was +directed under the command of Nevitta, general of the cavalry, to +advance through the midland parts of Rhaetia and Noricum. A +similar division of troops, under the orders of Jovius and +Jovinus, prepared to follow the oblique course of the highways, +through the Alps, and the northern confines of Italy. The +instructions to the generals were conceived with energy and +precision: to hasten their march in close and compact columns, +which, according to the disposition of the ground, might readily +be changed into any order of battle; to secure themselves against +the surprises of the night by strong posts and vigilant guards; +to prevent resistance by their unexpected arrival; to elude +examination by their sudden departure; to spread the opinion of +their strength, and the terror of his name; and to join their +sovereign under the walls of Sirmium. For himself Julian had +reserved a more difficult and extraordinary part. He selected +three thousand brave and active volunteers, resolved, like their +leader, to cast behind them every hope of a retreat; at the head +of this faithful band, he fearlessly plunged into the recesses of +the Marcian, or Black Forest, which conceals the sources of the +Danube; ^29 and, for many days, the fate of Julian was unknown to +the world. The secrecy of his march, his diligence, and vigor, +surmounted every obstacle; he forced his way over mountains and +morasses, occupied the bridges or swam the rivers, pursued his +direct course, ^30 without reflecting whether he traversed the +territory of the Romans or of the Barbarians, and at length +emerged, between Ratisbon and Vienna, at the place where he +designed to embark his troops on the Danube. By a well-concerted +stratagem, he seized a fleet of light brigantines, ^31 as it lay +at anchor; secured a apply of coarse provisions sufficient to +satisfy the indelicate, and voracious, appetite of a Gallic army; +and boldly committed himself to the stream of the Danube. The +labors of the mariners, who plied their oars with incessant +diligence, and the steady continuance of a favorable wind, +carried his fleet above seven hundred miles in eleven days; ^32 +and he had already disembarked his troops at Bononia, ^* only +nineteen miles from Sirmium, before his enemies could receive any +certain intelligence that he had left the banks of the Rhine. In +the course of this long and rapid navigation, the mind of Julian +was fixed on the object of his enterprise; and though he accepted +the deputations of some cities, which hastened to claim the merit +of an early submission, he passed before the hostile stations, +which were placed along the river, without indulging the +temptation of signalizing a useless and ill-timed valor. The +banks of the Danube were crowded on either side with spectators, +who gazed on the military pomp, anticipated the importance of the +event, and diffused through the adjacent country the fame of a +young hero, who advanced with more than mortal speed at the head +of the innumerable forces of the West. Lucilian, who, with the +rank of general of the cavalry, commanded the military powers of +Illyricum, was alarmed and perplexed by the doubtful reports, +which he could neither reject nor believe. He had taken some +slow and irresolute measures for the purpose of collecting his +troops, when he was surprised by Dagalaiphus, an active officer, +whom Julian, as soon as he landed at Bononia, had pushed forwards +with some light infantry. The captive general, uncertain of his +life or death, was hastily thrown upon a horse, and conducted to +the presence of Julian; who kindly raised him from the ground, +and dispelled the terror and amazement which seemed to stupefy +his faculties. But Lucilian had no sooner recovered his spirits, +than he betrayed his want of discretion, by presuming to admonish +his conqueror that he had rashly ventured, with a handful of men, +to expose his person in the midst of his enemies. "Reserve for +your master Constantius these timid remonstrances," replied +Julian, with a smile of contempt: "when I gave you my purple to +kiss, I received you not as a counsellor, but as a suppliant." +Conscious that success alone could justify his attempt, and that +boldness only could command success, he instantly advanced, at +the head of three thousand soldiers, to attack the strongest and +most populous city of the Illyrian provinces. As he entered the +long suburb of Sirmium, he was received by the joyful +acclamations of the army and people; who, crowned with flowers, +and holding lighted tapers in their hands, conducted their +acknowledged sovereign to his Imperial residence. Two days were +devoted to the public joy, which was celebrated by the games of +the circus; but, early on the morning of the third day, Julian +marched to occupy the narrow pass of Succi, in the defiles of +Mount Haemus; which, almost in the midway between Sirmium and +Constantinople, separates the provinces of Thrace and Dacia, by +an abrupt descent towards the former, and a gentle declivity on +the side of the latter. ^33 The defence of this important post +was intrusted to the brave Nevitta; who, as well as the generals +of the Italian division, successfully executed the plan of the +march and junction which their master had so ably conceived. ^34 + +[Footnote 28: Ammianus (xxi. 8) ascribes the same practice, and +the same motive, to Alexander the Great and other skilful +generals.] +[Footnote 29: This wood was a part of the great Hercynian forest, +which, is the time of Caesar, stretched away from the country of +the Rauraci (Basil) into the boundless regions of the north. See +Cluver, Germania Antiqua. l. iii. c. 47.] + +[Footnote 30: Compare Libanius, Orat. Parent. c. 53, p. 278, 279, +with Gregory Nazianzen, Orat. iii. p. 68. Even the saint admires +the speed and secrecy of this march. A modern divine might apply +to the progress of Julian the lines which were originally +designed for another apostate: - + + - 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.] + +[Footnote 31: In that interval the Notitia places two or three +fleets, the Lauriacensis, (at Lauriacum, or Lorch,) the +Arlapensis, the Maginensis; and mentions five legions, or +cohorts, of Libernarii, who should be a sort of marines. Sect. +lviii. edit. Labb.] + +[Footnote 32: Zosimus alone (l. iii. p. 156) has specified this +interesting circumstance. Mamertinus, (in Panegyr. Vet. xi. 6, +7, 8,) who accompanied Julian, as count of the sacred largesses, +describes this voyage in a florid and picturesque manner, +challenges Triptolemus and the Argonauts of Greece, &c.] + +[Footnote *: Banostar. Mannert. - M.] + +[Footnote 33: The description of Ammianus, which might be +supported by collateral evidence, ascertains the precise +situation of the Angustine Succorum, or passes of Succi. M. +d'Anville, from the trifling resemblance of names, has placed +them between Sardica and Naissus. For my own justification I am +obliged to mention the only error which I have discovered in the +maps or writings of that admirable geographer.] + +[Footnote 34: Whatever circumstances we may borrow elsewhere, +Ammianus (xx. 8, 9, 10) still supplies the series of the +narrative.] + + The homage which Julian obtained, from the fears or the +inclination of the people, extended far beyond the immediate +effect of his arms. ^35 The praefectures of Italy and Illyricum +were administered by Taurus and Florentius, who united that +important office with the vain honors of the consulship; and as +those magistrates had retired with precipitation to the court of +Asia, Julian, who could not always restrain the levity of his +temper, stigmatized their flight by adding, in all the Acts of +the Year, the epithet of fugitive to the names of the two +consuls. The provinces which had been deserted by their first +magistrates acknowledged the authority of an emperor, who, +conciliating the qualities of a soldier with those of a +philosopher, was equally admired in the camps of the Danube and +in the cities of Greece. From his palace, or, more properly, +from his head-quarters of Sirmium and Naissus, he distributed to +the principal cities of the empire, a labored apology for his own +conduct; published the secret despatches of Constantius; and +solicited the judgment of mankind between two competitors, the +one of whom had expelled, and the other had invited, the +Barbarians. ^36 Julian, whose mind was deeply wounded by the +reproach of ingratitude, aspired to maintain, by argument as well +as by arms, the superior merits of his cause; and to excel, not +only in the arts of war, but in those of composition. His +epistle to the senate and people of Athens ^37 seems to have been +dictated by an elegant enthusiasm; which prompted him to submit +his actions and his motives to the degenerate Athenians of his +own times, with the same humble deference as if he had been +pleading, in the days of Aristides, before the tribunal of the +Areopagus. His application to the senate of Rome, which was +still permitted to bestow the titles of Imperial power, was +agreeable to the forms of the expiring republic. An assembly was +summoned by Tertullus, praefect of the city; the epistle of +Julian was read; and, as he appeared to be master of Italy his +claims were admitted without a dissenting voice. His oblique +censure of the innovations of Constantine, and his passionate +invective against the vices of Constantius, were heard with less +satisfaction; and the senate, as if Julian had been present, +unanimously exclaimed, "Respect, we beseech you, the author of +your own fortune." ^38 An artful expression, which, according to +the chance of war, might be differently explained; as a manly +reproof of the ingratitude of the usurper, or as a flattering +confession, that a single act of such benefit to the state ought +to atone for all the failings of Constantius. +[Footnote 35: Ammian. xxi. 9, 10. Libanius, Orat. Parent. c. 54, +p. 279, 280. Zosimus, l. iii. p. 156, 157.] + +[Footnote 36: Julian (ad S. P. Q. Athen. p. 286) positively +asserts, that he intercepted the letters of Constantius to the +Barbarians; and Libanius as positively affirms, that he read them +on his march to the troops and the cities. Yet Ammianus (xxi. 4) +expresses himself with cool and candid hesitation, si famoe +solius admittenda est fides. He specifies, however, an +intercepted letter from Vadomair to Constantius, which supposes +an intimate correspondence between them. "disciplinam non +habet."] + +[Footnote 37: Zosimus mentions his epistles to the Athenians, the +Corinthians, and the Lacedaemonians. The substance was probably +the same, though the address was properly varied. The epistle to +the Athenians is still extant, (p. 268-287,) and has afforded +much valuable information. It deserves the praises of the Abbe +de la Bleterie, (Pref. a l'Histoire de Jovien, p. 24, 25,) and is +one of the best manifestoes to be found in any language.] +[Footnote 38: Auctori tuo reverentiam rogamus. Ammian. xxi. 10. +It is amusing enough to observe the secret conflicts of the +senate between flattery and fear. See Tacit. Hist. i. 85.] + + The intelligence of the march and rapid progress of Julian +was speedily transmitted to his rival, who, by the retreat of +Sapor, had obtained some respite from the Persian war. +Disguising the anguish of his soul under the semblance of +contempt, Constantius professed his intention of returning into +Europe, and of giving chase to Julian; for he never spoke of his +military expedition in any other light than that of a hunting +party. ^39 In the camp of Hierapolis, in Syria, he communicated +this design to his army; slightly mentioned the guilt and +rashness of the Caesar; and ventured to assure them, that if the +mutineers of Gaul presumed to meet them in the field, they would +be unable to sustain the fire of their eyes, and the irresistible +weight of their shout of onset. The speech 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 adorned with the head of the vanquished +rebel. ^40 A chosen detachment was despatched away in +post-wagons, to secure, if it were yet possible, the pass of +Succi; the recruits, the horses, the arms, and the magazines, +which had been prepared against Sapor, were appropriated to the +service of the civil war; and the domestic victories of +Constantius inspired his partisans with the most sanguine +assurances of success. The notary Gaudentius had occupied in his +name the provinces of Africa; the subsistence of Rome was +intercepted; and the distress of Julian was increased by an +unexpected event, which might have been productive of fatal +consequences. Julian had received the submission of two legions +and a cohort of archers, who were stationed at Sirmium; but he +suspected, with reason, the fidelity of those troops which had +been distinguished by the emperor; and it was thought expedient, +under the pretence of the exposed state of the Gallic frontier, +to dismiss them from the most important scene of action. They +advanced, with reluctance, as far as the confines of Italy; but +as they dreaded the length of the way, and the savage fierceness +of the Germans, they resolved, by the instigation of one of their +tribunes, to halt at Aquileia, and to erect the banners of +Constantius on the walls of that impregnable city. The vigilance +of Julian perceived at once the extent of the mischief, and the +necessity of applying an immediate remedy. By his order, Jovinus +led back a part of the army into Italy; and the siege of Aquileia +was formed with diligence, and prosecuted with vigor. But the +legionaries, who seemed to have rejected the yoke of discipline, +conducted the defence of the place with skill and perseverance; +vited the rest of Italy to imitate the example of their courage +and loyalty; and threatened the retreat of Julian, if he should +be forced to yield to the superior numbers of the armies of the +East. ^41 + +[Footnote 39: Tanquam venaticiam praedam caperet: hoc enim ad +Jeniendum suorum metum subinde praedicabat. Ammian. xxii. 7.] + +[Footnote 40: See the speech and preparations in Ammianus, xxi. +13. The vile Theodotus afterwards implored and obtained his +pardon from the merciful conqueror, who signified his wish of +diminishing his enemies and increasing the numbers of his +friends, (xxii. 14.)] + +[Footnote 41: Ammian. xxi. 7, 11, 12. He seems to describe, with +superfluous labor, 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 assured victory he +announces with some appearance of truth. Constantio quem +credebat procul dubio fore victorem; nemo enim omnium tunc ab hac +constanti sententia discrepebat. Ammian. xxi. 7.] + + But the humanity of Julian was preserved from the cruel +alternative which he pathetically laments, of destroying or of +being himself destroyed: and the seasonable death of Constantius +delivered the Roman empire from the calamities of civil war. The +approach of winter could not detain the monarch at Antioch; and +his favorites durst not oppose his impatient desire of revenge. +A slight fever, which was perhaps occasioned by the agitation of +his spirits, was increased by the fatigues of the journey; and +Constantius was obliged to halt at the little town of Mopsucrene, +twelve miles beyond Tarsus, where he expired, after a short +illness, in the forty- fifth year of his age, and the +twenty-fourth of his reign. ^42 His genuine character, which was +composed of pride and weakness, of superstition and cruelty, has +been fully displayed in the preceding narrative of civil and +ecclesiastical events. The long abuse of power rendered him a +considerable object in the eyes of his contemporaries; but as +personal merit can alone deserve the notice of posterity, the +last of the sons of Constantine may be dismissed from the world, +with the remark, that he inherited the defects, without the +abilities, of his father. Before Constantius expired, he is said +to have named Julian for his successor; nor does it seem +improbable, that his anxious concern for the fate of a young and +tender wife, whom he left with child, may have prevailed, in his +last moments, over the harsher passions of hatred and revenge. +Eusebius, and his guilty associates, made a faint attempt to +prolong the reign of the eunuchs, by the election of another +emperor; but their intrigues were rejected with disdain, by an +army which now abhorred the thought of civil discord; and two +officers of rank were instantly despatched, to assure Julian, +that every sword in the empire would be drawn for his service. +The military designs of that prince, who had formed three +different attacks against Thrace, were prevented by this +fortunate event. Without shedding the blood of his +fellow-citizens, he escaped the dangers of a doubtful conflict, +and acquired the advantages of a complete victory. Impatient to +visit the place of his birth, and the new capital of the empire, +he advanced from Naissus through the mountains of Haemus, and the +cities of Thrace. When he reached Heraclea, at the distance of +sixty miles, all Constantinople was poured forth to receive him; +and he made his triumphal entry amidst the dutiful acclamations +of the soldiers, the people, and the senate. At innumerable +multitude pressed around him with eager respect and were perhaps +disappointed when they beheld the small stature and simple garb +of a hero, whose unexperienced youth had vanquished the +Barbarians of Germany, and who had now traversed, in a successful +career, the whole continent of Europe, from the shores of the +Atlantic to those of the Bosphorus. ^43 A few days afterwards, +when the remains of the deceased emperor were landed in the +harbor, the subjects of Julian applauded the real or affected +humanity of their sovereign. On foot, without his diadem, and +clothed in a mourning habit, he accompanied the funeral as far as +the church of the Holy Apostles, where the body was deposited: +and if these marks of respect may be interpreted as a selfish +tribute to the birth and dignity of his Imperial kinsman, the +tears of Julian professed to the world that he had forgot the +injuries, and remembered only the obligations, which he had +received from Constantius. ^44 As soon as the legions of Aquileia +were assured of the death of the emperor, they opened the gates +of the city, and, by the sacrifice of their guilty leaders, +obtained an easy pardon from the prudence or lenity of Julian; +who, in the thirty-second year of his age, acquired the +undisputed possession of the Roman empire. ^45 + +[Footnote 42: His death and character are faithfully delineated +by Ammianus, (xxi. 14, 15, 16;) and we are authorized to despise +and detest the foolish calumny of Gregory, (Orat. iii. p. 68,) +who accuses Julian of contriving the death of his benefactor. +The private repentance of the emperor, that he had spared and +promoted Julian, (p. 69, and Orat. xxi. p. 389,) is not +improbable in itself, nor incompatible with the public verbal +testament which prudential considerations might dictate in the +last moments of his life. + Note: Wagner thinks this sudden change of sentiment +altogether a fiction of the attendant courtiers and chiefs of the +army. who up to this time had been hostile to Julian. Note in +loco Ammian. - M.] + +[Footnote 43: In describing the triumph of Julian, Ammianus +(xxii. l, 2) assumes the lofty tone of an orator or poet; while +Libanius (Orat. Parent, c. 56, p. 281) sinks to the grave +simplicity of an historian.] +[Footnote 44: The funeral of Constantius is described by +Ammianus, (xxi. 16.) Gregory Nazianzen, (Orat. iv. p. 119,) +Mamertinus, in (Panegyr. Vet. xi. 27,) Libanius, (Orat. Parent. +c. lvi. p. 283,) and Philostorgius, (l. vi. c. 6, with Godefroy's +Dissertations, p. 265.) These writers, and their followers, +Pagans, Catholics, Arians, beheld with very different eyes both +the dead and the living emperor.] + +[Footnote 45: The day and year of the birth of Julian are not +perfectly ascertained. The day is probably the sixth of +November, and the year must be either 331 or 332. Tillemont, +Hist. des Empereurs, tom. iv. p. 693. Ducange, Fam. Byzantin. p. +50. I have preferred the earlier date.] + +Chapter XXII: Julian Declared Emperor. + +Part III. + + Philosophy had instructed Julian to compare the advantages +of action and retirement; but the elevation of his birth, and the +accidents of his life, never allowed him the freedom of choice. +He might perhaps sincerely have preferred the groves of the +academy, and the society of Athens; but he was constrained, at +first by the will, and afterwards by the injustice, of +Constantius, to expose his person and fame to the dangers of +Imperial greatness; and to make himself accountable to the world, +and to posterity, for the happiness of millions. ^46 Julian +recollected with terror the observation of his master Plato, ^47 +that the government of our flocks and herds is always committed +to beings of a superior species; and that the conduct of nations +requires and deserves the celestial powers of the gods or of the +genii. From this principle he justly concluded, that the man who +presumes to reign, should aspire to the perfection of the divine +nature; that he should purify his soul from her mortal and +terrestrial part; that he should extinguish his appetites, +enlighten his understanding, regulate his passions, and subdue +the wild beast, which, according to the lively metaphor of +Aristotle, ^48 seldom fails to ascend the throne of a despot. The +throne of Julian, which the death of Constantius fixed on an +independent basis, was the seat of reason, of virtue, and perhaps +of vanity. He despised the honors, renounced the pleasures, and +discharged with incessant diligence the duties, of his exalted +station; and there were few among his subjects who would have +consented to relieve him from the weight of the diadem, had they +been obliged to submit their time and their actions to the +rigorous laws which that philosophic emperor imposed on himself. +One of his most intimate friends, ^49 who had often shared the +frugal simplicity of his table, has remarked, that his light and +sparing diet (which was usually of the vegetable kind) left his +mind and body always free and active, for the various and +important business of an author, a pontiff, a magistrate, a +general, and a prince. In one and the same day, he gave audience +to several ambassadors, and wrote, or dictated, a great number of +letters to his generals, his civil magistrates, his private +friends, and the different cities of his dominions. He listened +to the memorials which had been received, considered the subject +of the petitions, and signified his intentions more rapidly than +they could be taken in short-hand by the diligence of his +secretaries. He possessed such flexibility of thought, and such +firmness of attention, that he could employ his hand to write, +his ear to listen, and his voice to dictate; and pursue at once +three several trains of ideas without hesitation, and without +error. While his ministers reposed, the prince flew with agility +from one labor to another, and, after a hasty dinner, retired +into his library, till the public business, which he had +appointed for the evening, summoned him to interrupt the +prosecution of his studies. The supper of the emperor was still +less substantial than the former meal; his sleep was never +clouded by the fumes of indigestion; and except in the short +interval of a marriage, which was the effect of policy rather +than love, the chaste Julian never shared his bed with a female +companion. ^50 He was soon awakened by the entrance of fresh +secretaries, who had slept the preceding day; and his servants +were obliged to wait alternately while their indefatigable master +allowed himself scarcely any other refreshment than the change of +occupation. The predecessors of Julian, his uncle, his brother, +and his cousin, indulged their puerile taste for the games of the +Circus, under the specious pretence of complying with the +inclinations of the people; and they frequently remained the +greatest part of the day as idle spectators, and as a part of the +splendid spectacle, till the ordinary round of twenty-four races +^51 was completely finished. On solemn festivals, Julian, who +felt and professed an unfashionable dislike to these frivolous +amusements, condescended to appear in the Circus; and after +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 devoted to the +advantage of the public or the improvement of his own mind. ^52 +By this avarice of time, he seemed to protract the short duration +of his reign; and if the dates were less securely ascertained, we +should refuse to believe, that only sixteen months elapsed +between the death of Constantius and the departure of his +successor for the Persian war. The actions of Julian can only be +preserved by the care of the historian; but the portion of his +voluminous writings, which is 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 work against the Christian religion, were composed in +the long nights of the two winters, the former of which he passed +at Constantinople, and the latter at Antioch. + +[Footnote 46: Julian himself (p. 253-267) has expressed these +philosophical ideas with much eloquence and some affectation, in +a very elaborate epistle to Themistius. The Abbe de la Bleterie, +(tom. ii. p. 146-193,) who has given an elegant translation, is +inclined to believe that it was the celebrated Themistius, whose +orations are still extant.] + +[Footnote 47: Julian. ad Themist. p. 258. Petavius (not. p. 95) +observes that this passage is taken from the fourth book De +Legibus; but either Julian quoted from memory, or his MSS. were +different from ours Xenophon opens the Cyropaedia with a similar +reflection.] + +[Footnote 48: Aristot. ap. Julian. p. 261. The MS. of Vossius, +unsatisfied with the single beast, affords the stronger reading +of which the experience of despotism may warrant.] + +[Footnote 49: Libanius (Orat. Parentalis, c. lxxxiv. lxxxv. p. +310, 311, 312) has given this interesting detail of the private +life of Julian. He himself (in Misopogon, p. 350) mentions his +vegetable diet, and upbraids the gross and sensual appetite of +the people of Antioch.] + +[Footnote 50: Lectulus . . . Vestalium toris purior, is the +praise which Mamertinus (Panegyr. Vet. xi. 13) addresses to +Julian himself. Libanius affirms, in sober peremptory language, +that Julian never knew a woman before his marriage, or after the +death of his wife, (Orat. Parent. c. lxxxviii. p. 313.) The +chastity of Julian is confirmed by the impartial testimony of +Ammianus, (xxv. 4,) and the partial silence of the Christians. +Yet Julian ironically urges the reproach of the people of +Antioch, that he almost always in Misopogon, p. 345) lay alone. +This suspicious expression is explained by the Abbe de la +Bleterie (Hist. de Jovien, tom. ii. p. 103-109) with candor and +ingenuity.] + +[Footnote 51: See Salmasius ad Sueton in Claud. c. xxi. A +twenty-fifth race, or missus, was added, to complete the number +of one hundred chariots, four of which, the four colors, started +each heat. + + Centum quadrijugos agitabo ad flumina currus. + + It appears, that they ran five or seven times round the Mota +(Sueton in Domitian. c. 4;) and (from the measure of the Circus +Maximus at Rome, the Hippodrome at Constantinople, &c.) it might +be about a four mile course.] +[Footnote 52: Julian. in Misopogon, p. 340. Julius Caesar had +offended the Roman people by reading his despatches during the +actual race. Augustus indulged their taste, or his own, by his +constant attention to the important business of the Circus, for +which he professed the warmest inclination. Sueton. in August. c. +xlv.] + + The reformation of the Imperial court was one of the first +and most necessary acts of the government of Julian. ^53 Soon +after his entrance into the palace of Constantinople, he had +occasion for the service of a barber. An officer, magnificently +dressed, immediately presented himself. "It is a barber," +exclaimed the prince, with affected surprise, "that I want, and +not a receiver-general of the finances." ^54 He questioned the +man concerning the profits of his employment and was informed, +that besides a large salary, and some valuable perquisites, he +enjoyed a daily allowance for twenty servants, and as many +horses. A thousand barbers, a thousand cup-bearers, a thousand +cooks, were distributed in the several offices of luxury; and the +number of eunuchs could be compared only with the insects of a +summer's day. The monarch who resigned to his subjects the +superiority of merit and virtue, was distinguished by the +oppressive magnificence of his dress, his table, his buildings, +and his train. The stately palaces erected by Constantine and +his sons, were decorated with many colored marbles, and ornaments +of massy gold. The most exquisite dainties were procured, to +gratify their pride, rather than their taste; birds of the most +distant climates, fish from the most remote seas, fruits out of +their natural season, winter roses, and summer snows. ^56 The +domestic crowd of the palace surpassed the expense of the +legions; yet the smallest part of this costly multitude was +subservient to the use, or even to the splendor, of the throne. +The monarch was disgraced, and the people was injured, by the +creation and sale of an infinite number of obscure, and even +titular employments; and the most worthless of mankind might +purchase the privilege of being maintained, without the necessity +of labor, from the public revenue. The waste of an enormous +household, the increase of fees and perquisites, which were soon +claimed as a lawful debt, and the bribes which they extorted from +those who feared their enmity, or solicited their favor, suddenly +enriched these haughty menials. They abused their fortune, +without considering their past, or their future, condition; and +their rapine and venality could be equalled only by the +extravagance of their dissipations. Their silken robes were +embroidered with gold, their tables were served with delicacy and +profusion; the houses which they built for their own use, would +have covered the farm of an ancient consul; and the most +honorable citizens were obliged to dismount from their horses, +and respectfully to salute a eunuch whom they met on the public +highway. The luxury of the palace excited the contempt and +indignation of Julian, who usually slept on the ground, who +yielded with reluctance to the indispensable calls of nature; and +who placed his vanity, not in emulating, but in despising, the +pomp of royalty. +[Footnote 53: The reformation of the palace is described by +Ammianus, (xxii. 4,) Libanius, Orat. (Parent. c. lxii. p. 288, +&c.,) Mamertinus, in Panegyr. Vet. xi. 11,) Socrates, (l. iii. c. +l.,) and Zonaras, (tom. ii. l. xiii. p. 24.)] + +[Footnote 54: Ego non rationalem jussi sed tonsorem acciri. +Zonaras uses the less natural image of a senator. Yet an officer +of the finances, who was satisfied with wealth, might desire and +obtain the honors of the senate.] +[Footnote 56: The expressions of Mamertinus are lively and +forcible. Quis etiam prandiorum et caenarum laboratas +magnitudines Romanus populus sensit; cum quaesitissimae dapes non +gustu sed difficultatibus aestimarentur; miracula avium, +longinqui maris pisces, aheni temporis poma, aestivae nives, +hybernae rosae] + + By the total extirpation of a mischief which was magnified +even beyond its real extent, he was impatient to relieve the +distress, and to appease the murmurs of the people; who support +with less uneasiness the weight of taxes, if they are convinced +that the fruits of their industry are appropriated to the service +of the state. But in the execution of this salutary work, Julian +is accused of proceeding with too much haste and inconsiderate +severity. By a single edict, he reduced the palace of +Constantinople to an immense desert, and dismissed with ignominy +the whole train of slaves and dependants, ^57 without providing +any just, or at least benevolent, exceptions, for the age, the +services, or the poverty, of the faithful domestics of the +Imperial family. Such indeed was the temper of Julian, who +seldom recollected the fundamental maxim of Aristotle, that true +virtue is placed at an equal distance between the opposite vices. + +The splendid and effeminate dress of the Asiatics, the curls and +paint, the collars and bracelets, which had appeared so +ridiculous in the person of Constantine, were consistently +rejected by his philosophic successor. But with the fopperies, +Julian affected to renounce the decencies of dress; and seemed to +value himself for his neglect of the laws of cleanliness. In a +satirical performance, which was designed for the public eye, the +emperor descants with pleasure, and even with pride, on the +length of his nails, and the inky blackness of his hands; +protests, that although the greatest part of his body was covered +with hair, the use of the razor was confined to his head alone; +and celebrates, with visible complacency, the shaggy and populous +^58 beard, which he fondly cherished, after the example of the +philosophers of Greece. Had Julian consulted the simple dictates +of reason, the first magistrate of the Romans would have scorned +the affectation of Diogenes, as well as that of Darius. +[Footnote 57: Yet Julian himself was accused of bestowing whole +towns on the eunuchs, (Orat. vii. against Polyclet. p. 117-127.) +Libanius contents himself with a cold but positive denial of the +fact, which seems indeed to belong more properly to Constantius. +This charge, however, may allude to some unknown circumstance.] + +[Footnote 58: In the Misopogon (p. 338, 339) he draws a very +singular picture of himself, and the following words are +strangely characteristic. The friends of the Abbe de la Bleterie +adjured him, in the name of the French nation, not to translate +this passage, so offensive to their delicacy, (Hist. de Jovien, +tom. ii. p. 94.) Like him, I have contented myself with a +transient allusion; but the little animal which Julian names, is +a beast familiar to man, and signifies love.] + + But the work of public reformation would have remained +imperfect, if Julian had only corrected the abuses, without +punishing the crimes, of his predecessor's reign. "We are now +delivered," says he, in a familiar letter to one of his intimate +friends, "we are now surprisingly delivered from the voracious +jaws of the Hydra. ^59 I do not mean to apply the epithet to my +brother Constantius. He is no more; may the earth lie light on +his head! But his artful and cruel favorites studied to deceive +and exasperate a prince, whose natural mildness cannot be praised +without some efforts of adulation. It is not, however, my +intention, that even those men should be oppressed: they are +accused, and they shall enjoy the benefit of a fair and impartial +trial." To conduct this inquiry, Julian named six judges of the +highest rank in the state and army; and as he wished to escape +the reproach of condemning his personal enemies, he fixed this +extraordinary tribunal at Chalcedon, on the Asiatic side of the +Bosphorus; and transferred to the commissioners an absolute power +to pronounce and execute their final sentence, without delay, and +without appeal. The office of president was exercised by the +venerable praefect of the East, a second Sallust, ^60 whose +virtues conciliated the esteem of Greek sophists, and of +Christian bishops. He was assisted by the eloquent Mamertinus, +^61 one of the consuls elect, whose merit is loudly celebrated by +the doubtful evidence of his own applause. But the civil wisdom +of two magistrates was overbalanced by the ferocious violence of +four generals, Nevitta, Agilo, Jovinus, and Arbetio. Arbetio, +whom the public would have seen with less surprise at the bar +than on the bench, was supposed to possess the secret of the +commission; the armed and angry leaders of the Jovian and +Herculian bands encompassed the tribunal; and the judges were +alternately swayed by the laws of justice, and by the clamors of +faction. ^62 +[Footnote 59: Julian, epist. xxiii. p. 389. He uses the words in +writing to his friend Hermogenes, who, like himself, was +conversant with the Greek poets.] + +[Footnote 60: The two Sallusts, the praefect of Gaul, and the +praefect of the East, must be carefully distinguished, (Hist. des +Empereurs, tom. iv. p. 696.) I have used the surname of Secundus, +as a convenient epithet. The second Sallust extorted the esteem +of the Christians themselves; and Gregory Nazianzen, who +condemned his religion, has celebrated his virtues, (Orat. iii. +p. 90.) See a curious note of the Abbe de la Bleterie, Vie de +Julien, p. 363. + Note: Gibbonus secundum habet pro numero, quod tamen est +viri agnomen Wagner, nota in loc. Amm. It is not a mistake; it +is rather an error in taste. Wagner inclines to transfer the +chief guilt to Arbetio. - M.] +[Footnote 61: Mamertinus praises the emperor (xi. l.) for +bestowing the offices of Treasurer and Praefect on a man of +wisdom, firmness, integrity, &c., like himself. Yet Ammianus +ranks him (xxi. l.) among the ministers of Julian, quorum merita +norat et fidem.] + +[Footnote 62: The proceedings of this chamber of justice are +related by Ammianus, (xxii. 3,) and praised by Libanius, (Orat. +Parent. c. 74, p. 299, 300.)] + + The chamberlain Eusebius, who had so long abused the favor +of Constantius, expiated, by an ignominious death, the insolence, +the corruption, and cruelty of his servile reign. The executions +of Paul and Apodemius (the former of whom was burnt alive) were +accepted as an inadequate atonement by the widows and orphans of +so many hundred Romans, whom those legal tyrants had betrayed and +murdered. But justice herself (if we may use the pathetic +expression of Ammianus ^63) appeared to weep over the fate of +Ursulus, the treasurer of the empire; and his blood accused the +ingratitude of Julian, whose distress had been seasonably +relieved by the intrepid liberality of that honest minister. The +rage of the soldiers, whom he had provoked by his indiscretion, +was the cause and the excuse of his death; and the emperor, +deeply wounded by his own reproaches and those of the public, +offered some consolation to the family of Ursulus, by the +restitution of his confiscated fortunes. Before the end of the +year in which they had been adorned with the ensigns of the +prefecture and consulship, ^64 Taurus and Florentius were reduced +to implore the clemency of the inexorable tribunal of Chalcedon. +The former was banished to Vercellae in Italy, and a sentence of +death was pronounced against the latter. A wise prince should +have rewarded the crime of Taurus: the faithful minister, when he +was no longer able to oppose the progress of a rebel, had taken +refuge in the court of his benefactor and his lawful sovereign. +But the guilt of Florentius justified the severity of the judges; +and his escape served to display the magnanimity of Julian, who +nobly checked the interested diligence of an informer, and +refused to learn what place concealed the wretched fugitive from +his just resentment. ^65 Some months after the tribunal of +Chalcedon had been dissolved, the praetorian vicegerent of +Africa, the notary Gaudentius, and Artemius ^66 duke of Egypt, +were executed at Antioch. Artemius had reigned the cruel and +corrupt tyrant of a great province; Gaudentius had long practised +the arts of calumny against the innocent, the virtuous, and even +the person of Julian himself. Yet the circumstances of their +trial and condemnation were so unskillfully managed, that these +wicked men obtained, in the public opinion, the glory of +suffering for the obstinate loyalty with which they had supported +the cause of Constantius. The rest of his servants were +protected by a general act of oblivion; and they were left to +enjoy with impunity the bribes which they had accepted, either to +defend the oppressed, or to oppress the friendless. This +measure, which, on the soundest principles of policy, may deserve +our approbation, was executed in a manner which seemed to degrade +the majesty of the throne. Julian was tormented by the +importunities of a multitude, particularly of Egyptians, who +loudly redemanded the gifts which they had imprudently or +illegally bestowed; he foresaw the endless prosecution of +vexatious suits; and he engaged a promise, which ought always to +have been sacred, that if they would repair to Chalcedon, he +would meet them in person, to hear and determine their +complaints. But as soon as they were landed, he issued an +absolute order, which prohibited the watermen from transporting +any Egyptian to Constantinople; and thus detained his +disappointed clients on the Asiatic shore till, their patience +and money being utterly exhausted, they were obliged to return +with indignant murmurs to their native country. ^67 +[Footnote 63: Ursuli vero necem ipsa mihi videtur flesse +justitia. Libanius, who imputes his death to the soldiers, +attempts to criminate the court of the largesses.] + +[Footnote 64: Such respect was still entertained for the +venerable names of the commonwealth, that the public was +surprised and scandalized to hear Taurus summoned as a criminal +under the consulship of Taurus. The summons of his colleague +Florentius was probably delayed till the commencement of the +ensuing year.] + +[Footnote 65: Ammian. xx. 7.] + +[Footnote 66: For 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, has tempted the Greek and Latin churches +to honor him as a martyr. But as ecclesiastical 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.] + +[Footnote 67: See Ammian. xxii. 6, and Vales, ad locum; and the +Codex Theodosianus, l. ii. tit. xxxix. leg. i.; and Godefroy's +Commentary, tom. i. p. 218, ad locum.] + +Chapter XXII: Julian Declared Emperor. + +Part IV. + + The numerous army of spies, of agents, and informers +enlisted by Constantius to secure the repose of one man, and to +interrupt that of millions, was immediately disbanded by his +generous successor. Julian was slow in his suspicions, and +gentle in his punishments; and his contempt of treason was the +result of judgment, of vanity, and of courage. Conscious of +superior merit, he was persuaded that few among his subjects +would dare to meet him in the field, to attempt his life, or even +to seat themselves on his vacant throne. The philosopher could +excuse the hasty sallies of discontent; and the hero could +despise the ambitious projects which surpassed the fortune or the +abilities of the rash conspirators. A citizen of Ancyra had +prepared for his own use a purple garment; and this indiscreet +action, which, under the reign of Constantius, would have been +considered as a capital offence, ^68 was reported to Julian by +the officious importunity of a private enemy. The monarch, after +making some inquiry into the rank and character of his rival, +despatched the informer with a present of a pair of purple +slippers, to complete the magnificence of his Imperial habit. A +more dangerous conspiracy was formed by ten of the domestic +guards, who had resolved to assassinate Julian in the field of +exercise near Antioch. Their intemperance revealed their guilt; +and they were conducted in chains to the presence of their +injured sovereign, who, after a lively representation of the +wickedness and folly of their enterprise, instead of a death of +torture, which they deserved and expected, pronounced a sentence +of exile against the two principal offenders. The only instance +in which Julian seemed to depart from his accustomed clemency, +was the execution of a rash youth, who, with a feeble hand, had +aspired to seize the reins of empire. But that youth was the son +of Marcellus, the general of cavalry, who, in the first campaign +of the Gallic war, had deserted the standard of the Caesar and +the republic. Without appearing to indulge his personal +resentment, Julian might easily confound the crime of the son and +of the father; but he was reconciled by the distress of +Marcellus, and the liberality of the emperor endeavored to heal +the wound which had been inflicted by the hand of justice. ^69 + +[Footnote 68: The president Montesquieu (Considerations sur la +Grandeur, &c., des Romains, c. xiv. in his works, tom. iii. p. +448, 449,) excuses this minute and absurd tyranny, by supposing +that actions the most indifferent in our eyes might excite, in a +Roman mind, the idea of guilt and danger. This strange apology +is supported by a strange misapprehension of the English laws, +"chez une nation . . . . ou il est defendu da boire a la sante +d'une certaine personne."] + +[Footnote 69: The clemency of Julian, and the conspiracy which +was formed against his life at Antioch, are described by Ammianus +(xxii. 9, 10, and Vales, ad loc.) and Libanius, (Orat. Parent. c. +99, p. 323.)] + Julian was not insensible of the advantages of freedom. ^70 +From his studies he had imbibed the spirit of ancient sages and +heroes; his life and fortunes had depended on the caprice of a +tyrant; and when he ascended the throne, his pride was sometimes +mortified by the reflection, that the slaves who would not dare +to censure his defects were not worthy to applaud his virtues. +^71 He sincerely abhorred the system of Oriental despotism, which +Diocletian, Constantine, and the patient habits of fourscore +years, had established in the empire. A motive of superstition +prevented the execution of the design, which Julian had +frequently meditated, of relieving his head from the weight of a +costly diadem; ^72 but he absolutely refused the title of +Dominus, or Lord, ^73 a word which was grown so familiar to the +ears of the Romans, that they no longer remembered its servile +and humiliating origin. The office, or rather the name, of +consul, was cherished by a prince who contemplated with reverence +the ruins of the republic; and the same behavior which had been +assumed by the prudence of Augustus was adopted by Julian from +choice and inclination. On the calends of January, at break of +day, the new consuls, Mamertinus and Nevitta, hastened to the +palace to salute the emperor. As soon as he was informed of their +approach, he leaped from his throne, eagerly advanced to meet +them, and compelled the blushing magistrates to receive the +demonstrations of his affected humility. From the palace they +proceeded to the senate. The emperor, on foot, marched before +their litters; and the gazing multitude admired the image of +ancient times, or secretly blamed a conduct, which, in their +eyes, degraded the majesty of the purple. ^74 But the behavior of +Julian was uniformly supported. During the games of the Circus, +he had, imprudently or designedly, performed the manumission of a +slave in the presence of the consul. The moment he was reminded +that he had trespassed on the jurisdiction of another magistrate, +he condemned himself to pay a fine of ten pounds of gold; and +embraced this public occasion of declaring to the world, that he +was subject, like the rest of his fellow-citizens, to the laws, +^75 and even to the forms, of the republic. The spirit of his +administration, and his regard for the place of his nativity, +induced Julian to confer on the senate of Constantinople the same +honors, privileges, and authority, which were still enjoyed by +the senate of ancient Rome. ^76 A legal fiction was introduced, +and gradually established, that one half of the national council +had migrated into the East; and the despotic successors of +Julian, accepting the title of Senators, acknowledged themselves +the members of a respectable body, which was permitted to +represent the majesty of the Roman name. From Constantinople, +the attention of the monarch was extended to the municipal +senates of the provinces. He abolished, by repeated edicts, the +unjust and pernicious exemptions which had withdrawn so many idle +citizens from the services of their country; and by imposing an +equal distribution of public duties, he restored the strength, +the splendor, or, according to the glowing expression of +Libanius, ^77 the soul of the expiring cities of his empire. The +venerable age of Greece excited the most tender compassion in the +mind of Julian, which kindled into rapture when he recollected +the gods, the heroes, and the men superior to heroes and to gods, +who have bequeathed to the latest posterity the monuments of +their genius, or the example of their virtues. He relieved the +distress, and restored the beauty, of the cities of Epirus and +Peloponnesus. ^78 Athens acknowledged him for her benefactor; +Argos, for her deliverer. The pride of Corinth, again rising +from her ruins with the honors of a Roman colony, exacted a +tribute from the adjacent republics, for the purpose of defraying +the games of the Isthmus, which were celebrated in the +amphitheatre with the hunting of bears and panthers. From this +tribute the cities of Elis, of Delphi, and of Argos, which had +inherited from their remote ancestors the sacred office of +perpetuating the Olympic, the Pythian, and the Nemean games, +claimed a just exemption. The immunity of Elis and Delphi was +respected by the Corinthians; but the poverty of Argos tempted +the insolence of oppression; and the feeble complaints of its +deputies were silenced by the decree of a provincial magistrate, +who seems to have consulted only the interest of the capital in +which he resided. Seven years after this sentence, Julian ^79 +allowed the cause to be referred to a superior tribunal; and his +eloquence was interposed, most probably with success, in the +defence of a city, which had been the royal seat of Agamemnon, +^80 and had given to Macedonia a race of kings and conquerors. +^81 + +[Footnote 70: According to some, says Aristotle, (as he is quoted +by Julian ad Themist. p. 261,) the form of absolute government is +contrary to nature. Both the prince and the philosopher choose, +how ever to involve this eternal truth in artful and labored +obscurity.] + +[Footnote 71: That sentiment is expressed almost in the words of +Julian himself. Ammian. xxii. 10.] + +[Footnote 72: Libanius, (Orat. Parent. c. 95, p. 320,) who +mentions the wish and design of Julian, insinuates, in mysterious +language that the emperor was restrained by some particular +revelation.] + +[Footnote 73: Julian in Misopogon, p. 343. As he never +abolished, by any public law, the proud appellations of Despot, +or Dominus, they are still extant on his medals, (Ducange, Fam. +Byzantin. p. 38, 39;) and the private displeasure which he +affected to express, only gave a different tone to the servility +of the court. The Abbe de la Bleterie (Hist. de Jovien, tom. ii. +p. 99-102) has curiously traced the origin and progress of the +word Dominus under the Imperial government.] + +[Footnote 74: Ammian. xxii. 7. The consul Mamertinus (in +Panegyr. Vet. xi. 28, 29, 30) celebrates the auspicious day, like +an elegant slave, astonished and intoxicated by the condescension +of his master.] + +[Footnote 75: Personal satire was condemned by the laws of the +twelve tables: + Si male condiderit in quem quis carmina, jus est + Judiciumque - + + Horat. Sat. ii. 1. 82. + +Julian (in Misopogon, p. 337) owns himself subject to the law; +and the Abbe de la Bleterie (Hist. de Jovien, tom. ii. p. 92) has +eagerly embraced a declaration so agreeable to his own system, +and, indeed, to the true spirit of the Imperial constitution.] + +[Footnote 76: Zosimus, l. iii. p. 158.] + +[Footnote 77: See Libanius, (Orat. Parent. c. 71, p. 296,) +Ammianus, (xxii. 9,) and the Theodosian Code (l. xii. tit. i. +leg. 50-55.) with Godefroy's Commentary, (tom. iv. p. 390-402.) +Yet the whole subject of the Curia, notwithstanding very ample +materials, still remains the most obscure in the legal history of +the empire.] + +[Footnote 78: Quae paulo ante arida et siti anhelantia +visebantur, ea nunc perlui, mundari, madere; Fora, Deambulacra, +Gymnasia, laetis et gaudentibus populis frequentari; dies festos, +et celebrari veteres, et novos in honorem principis consecrari, +(Mamertin. xi. 9.) He particularly restored the city of Nicopolis +and the Actiac games, which had been instituted by Augustus.] +[Footnote 79: Julian. Epist. xxxv. p. 407-411. This epistle, +which illustrates the declining age of Greece, is omitted by the +Abbe de la Bleterie, and strangely disfigured by the Latin +translator, who, by rendering tributum, and populus, directly +contradicts the sense of the original.] +[Footnote 80: He reigned in Mycenae at the distance of fifty +stadia, or six miles from Argos: but these cities, which +alternately flourished, are confounded by the Greek poets. +Strabo, l. viii. p. 579, edit. Amstel. 1707.] +[Footnote 81: Marsham, 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 when the Macedonian kings were obscure +and unpopular in Greece. When the Achaean league declared +against Philip, it was thought decent that the deputies of Argos +should retire, (T. Liv. xxxii. 22.)] + + The laborious administration of military and civil affairs, +which were multiplied in proportion to the extent of the empire, +exercised the abilities of Julian; but he frequently assumed the +two characters of Orator ^82 and of Judge, ^83 which are almost +unknown to the modern sovereigns of Europe. The arts of +persuasion, so diligently cultivated by the first Caesars, were +neglected by the military ignorance and Asiatic pride of their +successors; and if they condescended to harangue the soldiers, +whom they feared, they treated with silent disdain the senators, +whom they despised. The assemblies of the senate, which +Constantius had avoided, were considered by Julian as the place +where he could exhibit, with the most propriety, the maxims of a +republican, and the talents of a rhetorician. He alternately +practised, as in a school of declamation, the several modes of +praise, of censure, of exhortation; and his friend Libanius has +remarked, that the study of Homer taught him to imitate the +simple, concise style of Menelaus, the copiousness of Nestor, +whose words descended like the flakes of a winter's snow, or the +pathetic and forcible eloquence of Ulysses. The functions of a +judge, which are sometimes incompatible with those of a prince, +were exercised by Julian, not only as a duty, but as an +amusement; and although he might have trusted the integrity and +discernment of his Praetorian praefects, he often placed himself +by their side on the seat of judgment. The acute penetration of +his mind was agreeably occupied in detecting and defeating the +chicanery of the advocates, who labored to disguise the truths of +facts, and to pervert the sense of the laws. He sometimes forgot +the gravity of his station, asked indiscreet or unseasonable +questions, and betrayed, by the loudness of his voice, and the +agitation of his body, the earnest vehemence with which he +maintained his opinion against the judges, the advocates, and +their clients. But his knowledge of his own temper prompted him +to encourage, and even to solicit, the reproof of his friends and +ministers; and whenever they ventured to oppose the irregular +sallies of his passions, the spectators could observe the shame, +as well as the gratitude, of their monarch. The decrees of +Julian were almost always founded on the principles of justice; +and he had the firmness to resist the two most dangerous +temptations, which assault the tribunal of a sovereign, under the +specious forms of compassion and equity. He decided the merits +of the cause without weighing the circumstances of the parties; +and the poor, whom he wished to relieve, were condemned to +satisfy the just demands of a wealthy and noble adversary. He +carefully distinguished the judge from the legislator; ^84 and +though he meditated a necessary reformation of the Roman +jurisprudence, he pronounced sentence according to the strict and +literal interpretation of those laws, which the magistrates were +bound to execute, and the subjects to obey. + +[Footnote 82: His eloquence is celebrated by Libanius, (Orat. +Parent. c. 75, 76, p. 300, 301,) who distinctly mentions the +orators of Homer. Socrates (l. iii. c. 1) has rashly asserted +that Julian was the only prince, since Julius Caesar, who +harangued the senate. All the predecessors of Nero, (Tacit. +Annal. xiii. 3,) and many of his successors, possessed the +faculty of speaking in public; and it might be proved by various +examples, that they frequently exercised it in the senate.] + +[Footnote 83: Ammianus (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, (Orat. iv. p. 120,) who +suppresses the virtues, and exaggerates even the venial faults of +the Apostate, triumphantly asks, whether such a judge was fit to +be seated between Minos and Rhadamanthus, in the Elysian Fields.] + +[Footnote 84: Of the laws which Julian enacted in a reign of +sixteen months, fifty-four have been admitted into the codes of +Theodosius and Justinian. (Gothofred. Chron. Legum, p. 64-67.) +The Abbe de la Bleterie (tom. ii. p. 329-336) has chosen one of +these laws to give an idea of Julian's Latin style, which is +forcible and elaborate, but less pure than his Greek.] + The generality of princes, if they were stripped of their +purple, and cast naked into the world, would immediately sink to +the lowest rank of society, without a hope of emerging from their +obscurity. But the personal merit of Julian was, in some +measure, independent of his fortune. Whatever had been his +choice of life, by the force of intrepid courage, lively wit, and +intense application, he would have obtained, or at least he would +have deserved, the highest honors of his profession; and Julian +might have raised himself to the rank of minister, or general, of +the state in which he was born a private citizen. If the jealous +caprice of power had disappointed his expectations, if he had +prudently declined the paths of greatness, the employment of the +same talents in studious solitude would have placed beyond the +reach of kings his present happiness and his immortal fame. When +we inspect, with minute, or perhaps malevolent attention, the +portrait of Julian, something seems wanting to the grace and +perfection of the whole figure. His genius was less powerful and +sublime than that of Caesar; nor did he possess the consummate +prudence of Augustus. The virtues of Trajan appear more steady +and natural, and the philosophy of Marcus is more simple and +consistent. Yet Julian sustained adversity with firmness, and +prosperity with moderation. After an interval of one hundred and +twenty years from the death of Alexander Severus, the Romans +beheld an emperor who made no distinction between his duties and +his pleasures; who labored to relieve the distress, and to revive +the spirit, of his subjects; and who endeavored always to connect +authority with merit, and happiness with virtue. Even faction, +and religious faction, was constrained to acknowledge the +superiority of his genius, in peace as well as in war, and to +confess, with a sigh, that the apostate Julian was a lover of his +country, and that he deserved the empire of the world. ^85 +[Footnote 85: . . . Ductor fortissimus armis; + + Conditor et legum celeberrimus; ore manuque + Consultor patriae; sed non consultor habendae + Religionis; 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 post above his usual mediocrity.] + + +Chapter XXIII: Reign Of Julian. + +Part I. + + The Religion Of Julian. - Universal Toleration. - He +Attempts To Restore And Reform The Pagan Worship - To Rebuild The +Temple Of Jerusalem - His Artful Persecution Of The Christians. - +Mutual Zeal And Injustice. + The character of Apostate has injured the reputation of +Julian; and the enthusiasm which clouded his virtues has +exaggerated the real and apparent magnitude of his faults. Our +partial ignorance may represent him as a philosophic monarch, who +studied to protect, with an equal hand, the religious factions of +the empire; and to allay the theological fever which had inflamed +the minds of the people, from the edicts of Diocletian to the +exile of Athanasius. A more accurate view of the character and +conduct of Julian will remove this favorable prepossession for a +prince who did not escape the general contagion of the times. We +enjoy the singular advantage of comparing the pictures which have +been delineated by his fondest admirers and his implacable +enemies. The actions of Julian are faithfully related by a +judicious and candid historian, the impartial spectator of his +life and death. The unanimous evidence of his contemporaries is +confirmed by the public and private declarations of the emperor +himself; and his various writings express the uniform tenor of +his religious sentiments, which policy would have prompted him to +dissemble rather than to affect. A devout and sincere attachment +for the gods of Athens and Rome constituted the ruling passion of +Julian; ^1 the powers of an enlightened understanding were +betrayed and corrupted by the influence of superstitious +prejudice; and the phantoms which existed only in the mind of the +emperor had a real and pernicious effect on the government of the +empire. The vehement zeal of the Christians, who despised the +worship, and overturned the altars of those fabulous deities, +engaged their votary in a state of irreconcilable hostility with +a very numerous party of his subjects; and he was sometimes +tempted by the desire of victory, or the shame of a repulse, to +violate the laws of prudence, and even of justice. The triumph +of the party, which he deserted and opposed, has fixed a stain of +infamy on the name of Julian; and the unsuccessful apostate has +been overwhelmed with a torrent of pious invectives, of which the +signal was given by the sonorous trumpet ^2 of Gregory Nazianzen. +^3 The interesting nature of the events which were crowded into +the short reign of this active emperor, deserve a just and +circumstantial narrative. His motives, his counsels, and his +actions, as far as they are connected with the history of +religion, will be the subject of the present chapter. + +[Footnote 1: I shall transcribe some of his own expressions from +a short religious discourse which the Imperial pontiff composed +to censure the bold impiety of a Cynic. Orat. vii. p. 212. The +variety and copiousness of the Greek tongue seem inadequate to +the fervor of his devotion.] +[Footnote 2: The orator, with some eloquence, much enthusiasm, +and more vanity, addresses his discourse to heaven and earth, to +men and angels, to the living and the dead; and above all, to the +great Constantius, an odd Pagan expression.) He concludes with a +bold assurance, that he has erected a monument not less durable, +and much more portable, than the columns of Hercules. See Greg. +Nazianzen, Orat. iii. p. 50, iv. p. 134.] +[Footnote 3: See this long invective, which has been +injudiciously divided into two orations in Gregory's works, tom. +i. p. 49-134, Paris, 1630. It was published by Gregory and his +friend Basil, (iv. p. 133,) about six months after 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, 1735.] + + The cause of his strange and fatal apostasy may be derived +from the early period of his life, when he was left an orphan in +the hands of the murderers of his family. The names of Christ +and of Constantius, the ideas of slavery and of religion, were +soon associated in a youthful imagination, which was susceptible +of the most lively impressions. The care of his infancy was +intrusted to Eusebius, bishop of Nicomedia, ^4 who was related to +him on the side of his mother; and till Julian reached the +twentieth year of his age, he received from his Christian +preceptors the education, not of a hero, but of a saint. The +emperor, less jealous of a heavenly than of an earthly crown, +contented himself with the imperfect character of a catechumen, +while he bestowed the advantages of baptism ^5 on the nephews of +Constantine. ^6 They were even admitted to the inferior offices +of the ecclesiastical order; and Julian publicly read the Holy +Scriptures in the church of Nicomedia. The study of religion, +which they assiduously cultivated, appeared to produce the +fairest fruits of faith and devotion. ^7 They prayed, they +fasted, they distributed alms to the poor, gifts to the clergy, +and oblations to the tombs of the martyrs; and the splendid +monument of St. Mamas, at Caesarea, was erected, or at least was +undertaken, by the joint labor of Gallus and Julian. ^8 They +respectfully conversed with the bishops, who were eminent for +superior sanctity, and solicited the benediction of the monks and +hermits, who had introduced into Cappadocia the voluntary +hardships of the ascetic life. ^9 As the two princes advanced +towards the years of manhood, they discovered, in their religious +sentiments, the difference of their characters. The dull and +obstinate understanding of Gallus embraced, with implicit zeal, +the doctrines of Christianity; which never influenced his +conduct, or moderated his passions. The mild disposition of the +younger brother was less repugnant to the precepts of the gospel; +and his active curiosity might have been gratified by a +theological system, which explains the mysterious essence of the +Deity, and opens the boundless prospect of invisible and future +worlds. But the independent spirit of Julian refused to yield +the passive and unresisting obedience which was required, in the +name of religion, by the haughty ministers of the church. Their +speculative opinions were imposed as positive laws, and guarded +by the terrors of eternal punishments; but while they prescribed +the rigid formulary of the thoughts, the words, and the actions +of the young prince; whilst they silenced his objections, and +severely checked the freedom of his inquiries, they secretly +provoked his impatient genius to disclaim the authority of his +ecclesiastical guides. He was educated in the Lesser Asia, +amidst the scandals of the Arian controversy. ^10 The fierce +contests of the Eastern bishops, the incessant alterations of +their creeds, and the profane motives which appeared to actuate +their conduct, insensibly strengthened the prejudice of Julian, +that they neither understood nor believed the religion for which +they so fiercely contended. Instead of listening to the proofs +of Christianity with that favorable attention which adds weight +to the most respectable evidence, he heard with suspicion, and +disputed with obstinacy and acuteness, the doctrines for which he +already entertained an invincible aversion. Whenever the young +princes were directed to compose declamations on the subject of +the prevailing controversies, Julian always declared himself the +advocate of Paganism; under the specious excuse that, in the +defence of the weaker cause, his learning and ingenuity might be +more advantageously exercised and displayed. + +[Footnote 4: Nicomediae ab Eusebio educatus Episcopo, quem genere +longius contingebat, (Ammian. xxii. 9.) Julian never expresses +any gratitude towards that Arian prelate; but he celebrates his +preceptor, the eunuch Mardonius, and describes his mode of +education, which inspired his pupil with a passionate admiration +for the genius, and perhaps the religion of Homer. Misopogon, p. +351, 352.] + +[Footnote 5: Greg. 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, 4.] + +[Footnote 6: Julian himself (Epist. li. p. 454) assures the +Alexandrians that he had been a Christian (he must mean a sincere +one) till the twentieth year of his age.] + +[Footnote 7: See his Christian, and even ecclesiastical +education, in Gregory, (iii. p. 58,) Socrates, (l. iii. c. 1,) +and Sozomen, (l. v. c. 2.) He escaped very narrowly from being a +bishop, and perhaps a saint.] + +[Footnote 8: The share of the work which had been allotted to +Gallus, was prosecuted with vigor and success; but the earth +obstinately rejected and subverted the structures which were +imposed by the sacrilegious hand of Julian. Greg. iii. p. 59, +60, 61. Such a partial earthquake, attested by many living +spectators, would form one of the clearest miracles in +ecclesiastical story.] + +[Footnote 9: The 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. The Pagan supposes, that +because they had renounced the gods, they were possessed and +tormented by evil daemons.] + +[Footnote 10: See 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 in the way which you approve." He +shows himself a tolerable theologian; but he maintains that the +Christian Trinity is not derived from the doctrine of Paul, of +Jesus, or of Moses.] + + As soon as Gallus was invested with the honors of the +purple, Julian was permitted to breathe the air of freedom, of +literature, and of Paganism. ^11 The crowd of sophists, who were +attracted by the taste and liberality of their royal pupil, had +formed a strict alliance between the learning and the religion of +Greece; and the poems of Homer, instead of being admired as the +original productions of human genius, were seriously ascribed to +the heavenly inspiration of Apollo and the muses. The deities of +Olympus, as they are painted by the immortal bard, imprint +themselves on the minds which are the least addicted to +superstitious credulity. Our familiar knowledge of their names +and characters, their forms and attributes, seems to bestow on +those airy beings a real and substantial existence; and the +pleasing enchantment produces an imperfect and momentary assent +of the imagination to those fables, which are the most repugnant +to our reason and experience. In the age of Julian, every +circumstance contributed to prolong and fortify the illusion; the +magnificent temples of Greece and Asia; the works of those +artists who had expressed, in painting or in sculpture, the +divine conceptions of the poet; the pomp of festivals and +sacrifices; the successful arts of divination; the popular +traditions of oracles and prodigies; and the ancient practice of +two thousand years. The weakness of polytheism was, in some +measure, excused by the moderation of its claims; and the +devotion of the Pagans was not incompatible with the most +licentious scepticism. ^12 Instead of an indivisible and regular +system, which occupies the whole extent of the believing mind, +the mythology of the Greeks was composed of a thousand loose and +flexible parts, and the servant of the gods was at liberty to +define the degree and measure of his religious faith. The creed +which Julian adopted for his own use was of the largest +dimensions; and, by strange contradiction, he disdained the +salutary yoke of the gospel, whilst he made a voluntary offering +of his reason on the altars of Jupiter and Apollo. One of the +orations of Julian is consecrated to the honor of Cybele, the +mother of the gods, who required from her effeminate priests the +bloody sacrifice, so rashly performed by the madness of the +Phrygian boy. The pious emperor condescends to relate, without a +blush, and without a smile, the voyage of the goddess from the +shores of Pergamus to the mouth of the Tyber, and the stupendous +miracle, which convinced the senate and people of Rome that the +lump of clay, which their ambassadors had transported over the +seas, was endowed with life, and sentiment, and divine power. ^13 +For the truth of this prodigy he appeals to the public monuments +of the city; and censures, with some acrimony, the sickly and +affected taste of those men, who impertinently derided the sacred +traditions of their ancestors. ^14 + +[Footnote 11: Libanius, 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.] + +[Footnote 12: A modern philosopher has ingeniously compared the +different operation of theism and polytheism, with regard to the +doubt or conviction which they produce in the human mind. See +Hume's Essays vol. ii. p. 444- 457, in 8vo. edit. 1777.] + +[Footnote 13: The Idaean mother landed in Italy about the end of +the second Punic war. The miracle of Claudia, either virgin or +matron, who cleared her fame by disgracing the graver modesty of +the Roman Indies, is attested by a cloud of witnesses. Their +evidence is collected by Drakenborch, (ad Silium Italicum, xvii. +33;) but we may observe that Livy (xxix. 14) slides over the +transaction with discreet ambiguity.] + +[Footnote 14: I cannot refrain from transcribing the emphatical +words of Julian: Orat. v. p. 161. Julian likewise declares his +firm belief in the ancilia, the holy shields, which dropped from +heaven on the Quirinal hill; and pities the strange blindness of +the Christians, who preferred the cross to these celestial +trophies. Apud Cyril. l. vi. p. 194.] + + But the devout philosopher, who sincerely embraced, and +warmly encouraged, the superstition of the people, reserved for +himself the privilege of a liberal interpretation; and silently +withdrew from the foot of the altars into the sanctuary of the +temple. The extravagance of the Grecian mythology proclaimed, +with a clear and audible voice, that the pious inquirer, instead +of being scandalized or satisfied with the literal sense, should +diligently explore the occult wisdom, which had been disguised, +by the prudence of antiquity, under the mask of folly and of +fable. ^15 The philosophers of the Platonic school, ^16 Plotinus, +Porphyry, and the divine Iamblichus, were admired as the most +skilful masters of this allegorical science, which labored to +soften and harmonize the deformed features of Paganism. Julian +himself, who was directed in the mysterious pursuit by Aedesius, +the venerable successor of Iamblichus, aspired to the possession +of a treasure, which he esteemed, if we may credit his solemn +asseverations, far above the empire of the world. ^17 It was +indeed a treasure, which derived its value only from opinion; and +every artist who flattered himself that he had extracted the +precious ore from the surrounding dross, claimed an equal right +of stamping the name and figure the most agreeable to his +peculiar fancy. The fable of Atys and Cybele had been already +explained by Porphyry; but his labors served only to animate the +pious industry of Julian, who invented and published his own +allegory of that ancient and mystic tale. This freedom of +interpretation, which might gratify the pride of the Platonists, +exposed the vanity of their art. Without a tedious detail, the +modern reader could not form a just idea of the strange +allusions, the forced etymologies, the solemn trifling, and the +impenetrable obscurity of these sages, who professed to reveal +the system of the universe. As the traditions of Pagan mythology +were variously related, the sacred interpreters were at liberty +to select the most convenient circumstances; and as they +translated an arbitrary cipher, they could extract from any fable +any sense which was adapted to their favorite system of religion +and philosophy. The lascivious form of a naked Venus was +tortured into the discovery of some moral precept, or some +physical truth; and the castration of Atys explained the +revolution of the sun between the tropics, or the separation of +the human soul from vice and error. ^18 + +[Footnote 15: See the principles of allegory, in Julian, (Orat. +vii. p. 216, 222.) His reasoning is less absurd than that of some +modern theologians, who assert that an extravagant or +contradictory doctrine must be divine; since no man alive could +have thought of inventing it.] + +[Footnote 16: Eunapius has made these sophists the subject of a +partial and fanatical history; and the learned Brucker (Hist. +Philosoph. tom. ii. p. 217-303) has employed much labor to +illustrate their obscure lives and incomprehensible doctrines.] + +[Footnote 17: Julian, Orat. vii p 222. He swears with the most +fervent and enthusiastic devotion; and trembles, lest he should +betray too much of these holy mysteries, which the profane might +deride with an impious Sardonic laugh.] + +[Footnote 18: See the fifth oration of Julian. But all the +allegories which ever issued from the Platonic school are not +worth the short poem of Catullus on the same extraordinary +subject. The transition of Atys, from the wildest enthusiasm to +sober, pathetic complaint, for his irretrievable loss, must +inspire a man with pity, a eunuch with despair.] + + The theological system of Julian appears to have contained +the sublime and important principles of natural religion. But as +the faith, which is not founded on revelation, must remain +destitute of any firm assurance, the disciple of Plato +imprudently relapsed into the habits of vulgar superstition; and +the popular and philosophic notion of the Deity seems to have +been confounded in the practice, the writings, and even in the +mind of Julian. ^19 The pious emperor acknowledged and adored the +Eternal Cause of the universe, to whom he ascribed all the +perfections of an infinite nature, invisible to the eyes and +inaccessible to the understanding, of feeble mortals. The +Supreme God had created, or rather, in the Platonic language, had +generated, the gradual succession of dependent spirits, of gods, +of daemons, of heroes, and of men; and every being which derived +its existence immediately from the First Cause, received the +inherent gift of immortality. That so precious an advantage +might be lavished upon unworthy objects, the Creator had +intrusted to the skill and power of the inferior gods the office +of forming the human body, and of arranging the beautiful harmony +of the animal, the vegetable, and the mineral kingdoms. To the +conduct of these divine ministers he delegated the temporal +government of this lower world; but their imperfect +administration is not exempt from discord or error. The earth +and its inhabitants are divided among them, and the characters of +Mars or Minerva, of Mercury or Venus, may be distinctly traced in +the laws and manners of their peculiar votaries. As long as our +immortal souls are confined in a mortal prison, it is our +interest, as well as our duty, to solicit the favor, and to +deprecate the wrath, of the powers of heaven; whose pride is +gratified by the devotion of mankind; and whose grosser parts may +be supposed to derive some nourishment from the fumes of +sacrifice. ^20 The inferior gods might sometimes condescend to +animate the statues, and to inhabit the temples, which were +dedicated to their honor. They might occasionally visit the +earth, but the heavens were the proper throne and symbol of their +glory. The invariable order of the sun, moon, and stars, was +hastily admitted by Julian, as a proof of their eternal duration; +and their eternity was a sufficient evidence that they were the +workmanship, not of an inferior deity, but of the Omnipotent +King. In the system of Platonists, the visible was a type of the +invisible world. The celestial bodies, as they were informed by +a divine spirit, might be considered as the objects the most +worthy of religious worship. The Sun, whose genial influence +pervades and sustains the universe, justly claimed the adoration +of mankind, as the bright representative of the Logos, the +lively, the rational, the beneficent image of the intellectual +Father. ^21 +[Footnote 19: The true religion of Julian may be deduced from the +Caesars, p. 308, with Spanheim's notes and illustrations, from +the fragments in Cyril, l. ii. p. 57, 58, and especially from the +theological oration in Solem Regem, p. 130-158, addressed in the +confidence of friendship, to the praefect Sallust.] +[Footnote 20: Julian adopts this gross conception by ascribing to +his favorite Marcus Antoninus, (Caesares, p. 333.) The Stoics and +Platonists hesitated between the analogy of bodies and the purity +of spirits; yet the gravest philosophers inclined to the +whimsical fancy of Aristophanes and Lucian, that an unbelieving +age might starve the immortal gods. See Observations de +Spanheim, p. 284, 444, &c.] + +[Footnote 21: Julian. Epist. li. In another place, (apud Cyril. +l. ii. p. 69,) he calls the Sun God, and the throne of God. +Julian believed the Platonician Trinity; and only blames the +Christians for preferring a mortal to an immortal Logos.] + + In every age, the absence of genuine inspiration is supplied +by the strong illusions of enthusiasm, and the mimic arts of +imposture. If, in the time of Julian, these arts had been +practised only by the pagan priests, for the support of an +expiring cause, some indulgence might perhaps be allowed to the +interest and habits of the sacerdotal character. But it may +appear a subject of surprise and scandal, that the philosophers +themselves should have contributed to abuse the superstitious +credulity of mankind, ^22 and that the Grecian mysteries should +have been supported by the magic or theurgy of the modern +Platonists. They arrogantly pretended to control the order of +nature, to explore the secrets of futurity, to command the +service of the inferior daemons, to enjoy the view and +conversation of the superior gods, and by disengaging the soul +from her material bands, to reunite that immortal particle with +the Infinite and Divine Spirit. + +[Footnote 22: The sophists of Eunapias perform as many miracles +as the saints of the desert; and the only circumstance in their +favor is, that they are of a less gloomy complexion. Instead of +devils with horns and tails, Iamblichus evoked the genii of love, +Eros and Anteros, from two adjacent fountains. Two beautiful +boys issued from the water, fondly embraced him as their father, +and retired at his command, p. 26, 27.] + + The devout and fearless curiosity of Julian tempted the +philosophers with the hopes of an easy conquest; which, from the +situation of their young proselyte, might be productive of the +most important consequences. ^23 Julian imbibed the first +rudiments of the Platonic doctrines from the mouth of Aedesius, +who had fixed at Pergamus his wandering and persecuted school. +But as the declining strength of that venerable sage was unequal +to the ardor, the diligence, the rapid conception of his pupil, +two of his most learned disciples, Chrysanthes and Eusebius, +supplied, at his own desire, the place of their aged master. +These philosophers seem to have prepared and distributed their +respective parts; and they artfully contrived, by dark hints and +affected disputes, to excite the impatient hopes of the aspirant, +till they delivered him into the hands of their associate, +Maximus, the boldest and most skilful master of the Theurgic +science. By his hands, Julian was secretly initiated at Ephesus, +in the twentieth year of his age. His residence at Athens +confirmed this unnatural alliance of philosophy and superstition. + +He obtained the privilege of a solemn initiation into the +mysteries of Eleusis, which, amidst the general decay of the +Grecian worship, still retained some vestiges of their primaeval +sanctity; and such was the zeal of Julian, that he afterwards +invited the Eleusinian pontiff to the court of Gaul, for the sole +purpose of consummating, by mystic rites and sacrifices, the +great work of his sanctification. As these ceremonies were +performed in the depth of caverns, and in the silence of the +night, and as the inviolable secret of the mysteries was +preserved by the discretion of the initiated, I shall not presume +to describe the horrid sounds, and fiery apparitions, which were +presented to the senses, or the imagination, of the credulous +aspirant, ^24 till the visions of comfort and knowledge broke +upon him in a blaze of celestial light. ^25 In the caverns of +Ephesus and Eleusis, the mind of Julian was penetrated with +sincere, deep, and unalterable enthusiasm; though he might +sometimes exhibit the vicissitudes of pious fraud and hypocrisy, +which may be observed, or at least suspected, in the characters +of the most conscientious fanatics. From that moment he +consecrated his life to the service of the gods; and while the +occupations of war, of government, and of study, seemed to claim +the whole measure of his time, a stated portion of the hours of +the night was invariably reserved for the exercise of private +devotion. The temperance which adorned the severe manners of the +soldier and the philosopher was connected with some strict and +frivolous rules of religious abstinence; and it was in honor of +Pan or Mercury, of Hecate or Isis, that Julian, on particular +days, denied himself the use of some particular food, which might +have been offensive to his tutelar deities. By these voluntary +fasts, he prepared his senses and his understanding for the +frequent and familiar visits with which he was honored by the +celestial powers. Notwithstanding the modest silence of Julian +himself, we may learn from his faithful friend, the orator +Libanius, that he lived in a perpetual intercourse with the gods +and goddesses; that they descended upon earth to enjoy the +conversation of their favorite hero; that they gently interrupted +his slumbers by touching his hand or his hair; that they warned +him of every impending danger, and conducted him, by their +infallible wisdom, in every action of his life; and that he had +acquired such an intimate knowledge of his heavenly guests, as +readily to distinguish the voice of Jupiter from that of Minerva, +and the form of Apollo from the figure of Hercules. ^26 These +sleeping or waking visions, the ordinary effects of abstinence +and fanaticism, would almost degrade the emperor to the level of +an Egyptian monk. But the useless lives of Antony or Pachomius +were consumed in these vain occupations. Julian could break from +the dream of superstition to arm himself for battle; and after +vanquishing in the field the enemies of Rome, he calmly retired +into his tent, to dictate the wise and salutary laws of an +empire, or to indulge his genius in the elegant pursuits of +literature and philosophy. + +[Footnote 23: The dexterous management of these sophists, who +played their credulous pupil into each other's hands, is fairly +told by Eunapius (p. 69- 79) with unsuspecting simplicity. The +Abbe de la Bleterie understands, and neatly describes, the whole +comedy, (Vie de Julian, p. 61-67.)] +[Footnote 24: When Julian, in a momentary panic, made the sign of +the cross the daemons instantly disappeared, (Greg. Naz. Orat. +iii. p. 71.) Gregory supposes that they were frightened, but the +priests declared that they were indignant. The reader, according +to the measure of his faith, will determine this profound +question.] + +[Footnote 25: A dark and distant view of the terrors and joys of +initiation is shown by Dion Chrysostom, Themistius, Proclus, and +Stobaeus. The learned author of the Divine Legation has +exhibited their words, (vol. i. p. 239, 247, 248, 280, edit. +1765,) which he dexterously or forcibly applies to his own +hypothesis.] + +[Footnote 26: Julian's modesty confined him to obscure and +occasional hints: but Libanius expiates with pleasure on the +facts and visions of the religious hero. (Legat. ad Julian. p. +157, and Orat. Parental. c. lxxxiii. p. 309, 310.)] + + The important secret of the apostasy of Julian was intrusted +to the fidelity of the initiated, with whom he was united by the +sacred ties of friendship and religion. ^27 The pleasing rumor +was cautiously circulated among the adherents of the ancient +worship; and his future greatness became the object of the hopes, +the prayers, and the predictions of the Pagans, in every province +of the empire. From the zeal and virtues of their royal +proselyte, they fondly expected the cure of every evil, and the +restoration of every blessing; and instead of disapproving of the +ardor of their pious wishes, Julian ingenuously confessed, that +he was ambitious to attain a situation in which he might be +useful to his country and to his religion. But this religion was +viewed with a hostile eye by the successor of Constantine, whose +capricious passions altercately saved and threatened the life of +Julian. The arts of magic and divination were strictly prohibited +under a despotic government, which condescended to fear them; and +if the Pagans were reluctantly indulged in the exercise of their +superstition, the rank of Julian would have excepted him from the +general toleration. The apostate soon became the presumptive +heir of the monarchy, and his death could alone have appeased the +just apprehensions of the Christians. ^28 But the young prince, +who aspired to the glory of a hero rather than of a martyr, +consulted his safety by dissembling his religion; and the easy +temper of polytheism permitted him to join in the public worship +of a sect which he inwardly despised. Libanius has considered +the hypocrisy of his friend as a subject, not of censure, but of +praise. "As the statues of the gods," says that orator, "which +have been defiled with filth, are again placed in a magnificent +temple, so the beauty of truth was seated in the mind of Julian, +after it had been purified from the errors and follies of his +education. His sentiments were changed; but as it would have +been dangerous to have avowed his sentiments, his conduct still +continued the same. Very different from the ass in Aesop, who +disguised himself with a lion's hide, our lion was obliged to +conceal himself under the skin of an ass; and, while he embraced +the dictates of reason, to obey the laws of prudence and +necessity." ^29 The dissimulation of Julian lasted about ten +years, from his secret initiation at Ephesus to the beginning of +the civil war; when he declared himself at once the implacable +enemy of Christ and of Constantius. This state of constraint +might contribute to strengthen his devotion; and as soon as he +had satisfied the obligation of assisting, on solemn festivals, +at the assemblies of the Christians, Julian returned, with the +impatience of a lover, to burn his free and voluntary incense on +the domestic chapels of Jupiter and Mercury. But as every act of +dissimulation must be painful to an ingenuous spirit, the +profession of Christianity increased the aversion of Julian for a +religion which oppressed the freedom of his mind, and compelled +him to hold a conduct repugnant to the noblest attributes of +human nature, sincerity and courage. + +[Footnote 27: Libanius, Orat. Parent. c. x. p. 233, 234. Gallus +had some reason to suspect the secret apostasy of his brother; +and in a letter, which may be received as genuine, he exhorts +Julian to adhere to the religion of their ancestors; an argument +which, as it should seem, was not yet perfectly ripe. See +Julian, Op. p. 454, and Hist. de Jovien tom ii. p. 141.] +[Footnote 28: Gregory, (iii. p. 50,) with inhuman zeal, censures +Constantius for paring the infant apostate. His French +translator (p. 265) cautiously observes, that such expressions +must not be prises a la lettre.] +[Footnote 29: Libanius, Orat. Parental. c ix. p. 233.] + +Chapter XXIII: Reign Of Julian. + +Part II. + + The inclination of Julian might prefer the gods of Homer, +and of the Scipios, to the new faith, which his uncle had +established in the Roman empire; and in which he himself had been +sanctified by the sacrament of baptism. But, as a philosopher, +it was incumbent on him to justify his dissent from Christianity, +which was supported by the number of its converts, by the chain +of prophecy, the splendor of or miracles, and the weight of +evidence. The elaborate work, ^30 which he composed amidst the +preparations of the Persian war, contained the substance of those +arguments which he had long revolved in his mind. Some fragments +have been transcribed and preserved, by his adversary, the +vehement Cyril of Alexandria; ^31 and they exhibit a very +singular mixture of wit and learning, of sophistry and +fanaticism. The elegance of the style and the rank of the +author, recommended his writings to the public attention; ^32 and +in the impious list of the enemies of Christianity, the +celebrated name of Porphyry was effaced by the superior merit or +reputation of Julian. The minds of the faithful were either +seduced, or scandalized, or alarmed; and the pagans, who +sometimes presumed to engage in the unequal dispute, derived, +from the popular work of their Imperial missionary, an +inexhaustible supply of fallacious objections. But in the +assiduous prosecution of these theological studies, the emperor +of the Romans imbibed the illiberal prejudices and passions of a +polemic divine. He contracted an irrevocable obligation to +maintain and propagate his religious opinions; and whilst he +secretly applauded the strength and dexterity with which he +wielded the weapons of controversy, he was tempted to distrust +the sincerity, or to despise the understandings, of his +antagonists, who could obstinately resist the force of reason and +eloquence. + +[Footnote 30: Fabricius (Biblioth. Graec. l. v. c. viii, p. +88-90) and Lardner (Heathen Testimonies, vol. iv. p. 44-47) have +accurately compiled all that can now be discovered of Julian's +work against the Christians.] +[Footnote 31: About seventy years after the death of Julian, he +executed a task which had been feebly attempted by Philip of +Side, a prolix and contemptible writer. Even the work of Cyril +has not entirely satisfied the most favorable judges; and the +Abbe de la Bleterie (Preface a l'Hist. de Jovien, p. 30, 32) +wishes that some theologien philosophe (a strange centaur) would +undertake the refutation of Julian.] + +[Footnote 32: Libanius, (Orat. Parental. c. lxxxvii. p. 313,) who +has been suspected of assisting his friend, prefers this divine +vindication (Orat. ix in necem Julian. p. 255, edit. Morel.) to +the writings of Porphyry. His judgment may be arraigned, +(Socrates, l. iii. c. 23,) but Libanius cannot be accused of +flattery to a dead prince.] + + The Christians, who beheld with horror and indignation the +apostasy of Julian, had much more to fear from his power than +from his arguments. The pagans, who were conscious of his +fervent zeal, expected, perhaps with impatience, that the flames +of persecution should be immediately kindled against the enemies +of the gods; and that the ingenious malice of Julian would invent +some cruel refinements of death and torture which had been +unknown to the rude and inexperienced fury of his predecessors. +But the hopes, as well as the fears, of the religious factions +were apparently disappointed, by the prudent humanity of a +prince, ^33 who was careful of his own fame, of the public peace, +and of the rights of mankind. Instructed by history and +reflection, Julian was persuaded, that if the diseases of the +body may sometimes be cured by salutary violence, neither steel +nor fire can eradicate the erroneous opinions of the mind. The +reluctant victim may be dragged to the foot of the altar; but the +heart still abhors and disclaims the sacrilegious act of the +hand. Religious obstinacy is hardened and exasperated by +oppression; and, as soon as the persecution subsides, those who +have yielded are restored as penitents, and those who have +resisted are honored as saints and martyrs. If Julian adopted +the unsuccessful cruelty of Diocletian and his colleagues, he was +sensible that he should stain his memory with the name of a +tyrant, and add new glories to the Catholic church, which had +derived strength and increase from the severity of the pagan +magistrates. Actuated by these motives, and apprehensive of +disturbing the repose of an unsettled reign, Julian surprised the +world by an edict, which was not unworthy of a statesman, or a +philosopher. He extended to all the inhabitants of the Roman +world the benefits of a free and equal toleration; and the only +hardship which he inflicted on the Christians, was to deprive +them of the power of tormenting their fellow-subjects, whom they +stigmatized with the odious titles of idolaters and heretics. +The pagans received a gracious permission, or rather an express +order, to open All their temples; ^34 and they were at once +delivered from the oppressive laws, and arbitrary vexations, +which they had sustained under the reign of Constantine, and of +his sons. At the same time the bishops and clergy, who had been +banished by the Arian monarch, were recalled from exile, and +restored to their respective churches; the Donatists, the +Novatians, the Macedonians, the Eunomians, and those who, with a +more prosperous fortune, adhered to the doctrine of the Council +of Nice. Julian, who understood and derided their theological +disputes, invited to the palace the leaders of the hostile sects, +that he might enjoy the agreeable spectacle of their furious +encounters. The clamor of controversy sometimes provoked the +emperor to exclaim, "Hear me! the Franks have heard me, and the +Alemanni;" but he soon discovered that he was now engaged with +more obstinate and implacable enemies; and though he exerted the +powers of oratory to persuade them to live in concord, or at +least in peace, he was perfectly satisfied, before he dismissed +them from his presence, that he had nothing to dread from the +union of the Christians. The impartial Ammianus has ascribed +this affected clemency to the desire of fomenting the intestine +divisions of the church, and the insidious design of undermining +the foundations of Christianity, was inseparably connected with +the zeal which Julian professed, to restore the ancient religion +of the empire. ^35 + +[Footnote 33: Libanius (Orat. Parent. c. lviii. p. 283, 284 has +eloquently explained the tolerating principles and conduct of his +Imperial friend. In a very remarkable epistle to the people of +Bostra, Julian himself (Epist. lii.) professes his moderation, +and betrays his zeal, which is acknowledged by Ammianus, and +exposed by Gregory (Orat. iii. p.72)] + +[Footnote 34: In Greece the temples of Minerva were opened by his +express command, before the death of Constantius, (Liban. Orat. +Parent. c. 55, p. 280;) and Julian declares himself a Pagan in +his public manifesto to the Athenians. This unquestionable +evidence may correct the hasty assertion of Ammianus, who seems +to suppose Constantinople to be the place where he discovered his +attachment to the gods] + +[Footnote 35: Ammianus, xxii. 5. Sozomen, l. v. c. 5. Bestia +moritur, tranquillitas redit .... omnes episcopi qui de propriis +sedibus fuerant exterminati per indulgentiam novi principis ad +acclesias redeunt. Jerom. adversus Luciferianos, tom. ii. p. +143. Optatus accuses the Donatists for owing their safety to an +apostate, (l. ii. c. 16, p. 36, 37, edit. Dupin.)] + As soon as he ascended the throne, he assumed, according to +the custom of his predecessors, the character of supreme pontiff; +not only as the most honorable title of Imperial greatness, but +as a sacred and important office; the duties of which he was +resolved to execute with pious diligence. As the business of the +state prevented the emperor from joining every day in the public +devotion of his subjects, he dedicated a domestic chapel to his +tutelar deity the Sun; his gardens were filled with statues and +altars of the gods; and each apartment of the palace displaced +the appearance of a magnificent temple. Every morning he saluted +the parent of light with a sacrifice; the blood of another victim +was shed at the moment when the Sun sunk below the horizon; and +the Moon, the Stars, and the Genii of the night received their +respective and seasonable honors from the indefatigable devotion +of Julian. On solemn festivals, he regularly visited the temple +of the god or goddess to whom the day was peculiarly consecrated, +and endeavored to excite the religion of the magistrates and +people by the example of his own zeal. Instead of maintaining +the lofty state of a monarch, distinguished by the splendor of +his purple, and encompassed by the golden shields of his guards, +Julian solicited, with respectful eagerness, the meanest offices +which contributed to the worship of the gods. Amidst the sacred +but licentious crowd of priests, of inferior ministers, and of +female dancers, who were dedicated to the service of the temple, +it was the business of the emperor to bring the wood, to blow the +fire, to handle the knife, to slaughter the victim, and, +thrusting his bloody hands into the bowels of the expiring +animal, to draw forth the heart or liver, and to read, with the +consummate skill of an haruspex, imaginary signs of future +events. The wisest of the Pagans censured this extravagant +superstition, which affected to despise the restraints of +prudence and decency. Under the reign of a prince, who practised +the rigid maxims of economy, the expense of religious worship +consumed a very large portion of the revenue a constant supply of +the scarcest and most beautiful birds was transported from +distant climates, to bleed on the altars of the gods; a hundred +oxen were frequently sacrificed by Julian on one and the same +day; and it soon became a popular jest, that if he should return +with conquest from the Persian war, the breed of horned cattle +must infallibly be extinguished. Yet this expense may appear +inconsiderable, when it is compared with the splendid presents +which were offered either by the hand, or by order, of the +emperor, to all the celebrated places of devotion in the Roman +world; and with the sums allotted to repair and decorate the +ancient temples, which had suffered the silent decay of time, or +the recent injuries of Christian rapine. Encouraged by the +example, the exhortations, the liberality, of their pious +sovereign, the cities and families resumed the practice of their +neglected ceremonies. "Every part of the world," exclaims +Libanius, with devout transport, "displayed the triumph of +religion; and the grateful prospect of flaming altars, bleeding +victims, the smoke of incense, and a solemn train of priests and +prophets, without fear and without danger. The sound of prayer +and of music was heard on the tops of the highest mountains; and +the same ox afforded a sacrifice for the gods, and a supper for +their joyous votaries." ^36 +[Footnote 36: The restoration of the Pagan worship is described +by Julian, (Misopogon, p. 346,) Libanius, (Orat. Parent. c. 60, +p. 286, 287, and Orat. Consular. ad Julian. p. 245, 246, edit. +Morel.,) Ammianus, (xxii. 12,) and Gregory Nazianzen, (Orat. iv. +p. 121.) These writers agree in the essential, and even minute, +facts; but the different lights in which they view the extreme +devotion of Julian, are expressive of the gradations of +self-applause, passionate admiration, mild reproof, and partial +invective.] + But the genius and power of Julian were unequal to the +enterprise of restoring a religion which was destitute of +theological principles, of moral precepts, and of ecclesiastical +discipline; which rapidly hastened to decay and dissolution, and +was not susceptible of any solid or consistent reformation. The +jurisdiction of the supreme pontiff, more especially after that +office had been united with the Imperial dignity, comprehended +the whole extent of the Roman empire. Julian named for his +vicars, in the several provinces, the priests and philosophers +whom he esteemed the best qualified to cooperate in the execution +of his great design; and his pastoral letters, ^37 if we may use +that name, still represent a very curious sketch of his wishes +and intentions. He directs, that in every city the sacerdotal +order should be composed, without any distinction of birth and +fortune, of those persons who were the most conspicuous for the +love of the gods, and of men. "If they are guilty," continues +he, "of any scandalous offence, they should be censured or +degraded by the superior pontiff; but as long as they retain +their rank, they are entitled to the respect of the magistrates +and people. Their humility may be shown in the plainness of +their domestic garb; their dignity, in the pomp of holy +vestments. When they are summoned in their turn to officiate +before the altar, they ought not, during the appointed number of +days, to depart from the precincts of the temple; nor should a +single day be suffered to elapse, without the prayers and the +sacrifice, which they are obliged to offer for the prosperity of +the state, and of individuals. The exercise of their sacred +functions requires an immaculate purity, both of mind and body; +and even when they are dismissed from the temple to the +occupations of common life, it is incumbent on them to excel in +decency and virtue the rest of their fellow-citizens. The priest +of the gods should never be seen in theatres or taverns. His +conversation should be chaste, his diet temperate, his friends of +honorable reputation; and if he sometimes visits the Forum or the +Palace, he should appear only as the advocate of those who have +vainly solicited either justice or mercy. His studies should be +suited to the sanctity of his profession. Licentious tales, or +comedies, or satires, must be banished from his library, which +ought solely to consist of historical or philosophical writings; +of history, which is founded in truth, and of philosophy, which +is connected with religion. The impious opinions of the +Epicureans and sceptics deserve his abhorrence and contempt; ^38 +but he should diligently study the systems of Pythagoras, of +Plato, and of the Stoics, which unanimously teach that there are +gods; that the world is governed by their providence; that their +goodness is the source of every temporal blessing; and that they +have prepared for the human soul a future state of reward or +punishment." The Imperial pontiff inculcates, in the most +persuasive language, the duties of benevolence and hospitality; +exhorts his inferior clergy to recommend the universal practice +of those virtues; promises to assist their indigence from the +public treasury; and declares his resolution of establishing +hospitals in every city, where the poor should be received +without any invidious distinction of country or of religion. +Julian beheld with envy the wise and humane regulations of the +church; and he very frankly confesses his intention to deprive +the Christians of the applause, as well as advantage, which they +had acquired by the exclusive practice of charity and +beneficence. ^39 The same spirit of imitation might dispose the +emperor to adopt several ecclesiastical institutions, the use and +importance of which were approved by the success of his enemies. +But if these imaginary plans of reformation had been realized, +the forced and imperfect copy would have been less beneficial to +Paganism, than honorable to Christianity. ^40 The Gentiles, who +peaceably followed the customs of their ancestors, were rather +surprised than pleased with the introduction of foreign manners; +and in the short period of his reign, Julian had frequent +occasions to complain of the want of fervor of his own party. ^41 + +[Footnote 37: See Julian. Epistol. xlix. lxii. lxiii., and a long +and curious fragment, without beginning or end, (p. 288-305.) The +supreme pontiff derides the Mosaic history and the Christian +discipline, prefers the Greek poets to the Hebrew prophets, and +palliates, with the skill of a Jesuit the relative worship of +images.] + +[Footnote 38: The exultation of Julian (p. 301) that these +impious sects and even their writings, are extinguished, may be +consistent enough with the sacerdotal character; but it is +unworthy of a philosopher to wish that any opinions and arguments +the most repugnant to his own should be concealed from the +knowledge of mankind.] + +[Footnote 39: Yet he insinuates, that the Christians, under the +pretence of charity, inveigled children from their religion and +parents, conveyed them on shipboard, and devoted those victims to +a life of poverty or pervitude in a remote country, (p. 305.) Had +the charge been proved it was his duty, not to complain, but to +punish.] + +[Footnote 40: Gregory 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.] + +[Footnote 41: He accuses one of his pontiffs of a secret +confederacy with the Christian bishops and presbyters, (Epist. +lxii.) &c. Epist. lxiii.] + The enthusiasm of Julian prompted him to embrace the friends +of Jupiter as his personal friends and brethren; and though he +partially overlooked the merit of Christian constancy, he admired +and rewarded the noble perseverance of those Gentiles who had +preferred the favor of the gods to that of the emperor. ^42 If +they cultivated the literature, as well as the religion, of the +Greeks, they acquired an additional claim to the friendship of +Julian, who ranked the Muses in the number of his tutelar +deities. In the religion which he had adopted, piety and +learning were almost synonymous; ^43 and a crowd of poets, of +rhetoricians, and of philosophers, hastened to the Imperial +court, to occupy the vacant places of the bishops, who had +seduced the credulity of Constantius. His successor esteemed the +ties of common initiation as far more sacred than those of +consanguinity; he chose his favorites among the sages, who were +deeply skilled in the occult sciences of magic and divination; +and every impostor, who pretended to reveal the secrets of +futurity, was assured of enjoying the present hour in honor and +affluence. ^44 Among the philosophers, Maximus obtained the most +eminent rank in the friendship of his royal disciple, who +communicated, with unreserved confidence, his actions, his +sentiments, and his religious designs, during the anxious +suspense of the civil war. ^45 As soon as Julian had taken +possession of the palace of Constantinople, he despatched an +honorable and pressing invitation to Maximus, who then resided at +Sardes in Lydia, with Chrysanthius, the associate of his art and +studies. The prudent and superstitious Chrysanthius refused to +undertake a journey which showed itself, according to the rules +of divination, with the most threatening and malignant aspect: +but his companion, whose fanaticism was of a bolder cast, +persisted in his interrogations, till he had extorted from the +gods a seeming consent to his own wishes, and those of the +emperor. The journey of Maximus through the cities of Asia +displayed the triumph of philosophic vanity; and the magistrates +vied with each other in the honorable reception which they +prepared for the friend of their sovereign. Julian was +pronouncing an oration before the senate, when he was informed of +the arrival of Maximus. The emperor immediately interrupted his +discourse, advanced to meet him, and after a tender embrace, +conducted him by the hand into the midst of the assembly; where +he publicly acknowledged the benefits which he had derived from +the instructions of the philosopher. Maximus, ^46 who soon +acquired the confidence, and influenced the councils of Julian, +was insensibly corrupted by the temptations of a court. His +dress became more splendid, his demeanor more lofty, and he was +exposed, under a succeeding reign, to a disgraceful inquiry into +the means by which the disciple of Plato had accumulated, in the +short duration of his favor, a very scandalous proportion of +wealth. Of the other philosophers and sophists, who were invited +to the Imperial residence by the choice of Julian, or by the +success of Maximus, few were able to preserve their innocence or +their reputation. The liberal gifts of money, lands, and houses, +were insufficient to satiate their rapacious avarice; and the +indignation of the people was justly excited by the remembrance +of their abject poverty and disinterested professions. The +penetration of Julian could not always be deceived: but he was +unwilling to despise the characters of those men whose talents +deserved his esteem: he desired to escape the double reproach of +imprudence and inconstancy; and he was apprehensive of degrading, +in the eyes of the profane, the honor of letters and of religion. +^48 + +[Footnote 42: He praises the fidelity of Callixene, priestess of +Ceres, who had been twice as constant as Penelope, and rewards +her with the priesthood of the Phrygian goddess at Pessinus, +(Julian. Epist. xxi.) He applauds the firmness of Sopater of +Hierapolis, who had been repeatedly pressed by Constantius and +Gallus to apostatize, (Epist. xxvii p. 401.)] +[Footnote 43: Orat. Parent. c. 77, p. 202. The same sentiment is +frequently inculcated by Julian, Libanius, and the rest of their +party.] +[Footnote 44: The curiosity and credulity of the emperor, who +tried every mode of divination, are fairly exposed by Ammianus, +xxii. 12.] + +[Footnote 45: Julian. Epist. xxxviii. Three other epistles, (xv. +xvi. xxxix.,) in the same style of friendship and confidence, are +addressed to the philosopher Maximus.] + +[Footnote 46: Eunapius (in Maximo, p. 77, 78, 79, and in +Chrysanthio, p. 147, 148) has minutely related these anecdotes, +which he conceives to be the most important events of the age. +Yet he fairly confesses the frailty of Maximus. His reception at +Constantinople is described by Libanius (Orat. Parent. c. 86, p. +301) and Ammianus, (xxii. 7.) + + Note: Eunapius wrote a continuation of the History of +Dexippus. Some valuable fragments of this work have been +recovered by M. Mai, and reprinted in Niebuhr's edition of the +Byzantine Historians. - M.] + +[Footnote 47: Chrysanthius, who had refused to quit Lydia, was +created high priest of the province. His cautious and temperate +use of power secured him after the revolution; and he lived in +peace, while Maximus, Priscus, &c., were persecuted by the +Christian ministers. See the adventures of those fanatic +sophists, collected by Brucker, tom ii. p. 281-293.] + +[Footnote 48: Sec Libanius (Orat. Parent. c. 101, 102, p. 324, +325, 326) and Eunapius, (Vit. Sophist. in Proaeresio, p. 126.) +Some students, whose expectations perhaps were groundless, or +extravagant, retired in disgust, (Greg. Naz. Orat. iv. p. 120.) +It is strange that we should not be able to contradict 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 gens +perdus."] + + The favor of Julian was almost equally divided between the +Pagans, who had firmly adhered to the worship of their ancestors, +and the Christians, who prudently embraced the religion of their +sovereign. The acquisition of new proselytes ^49 gratified the +ruling passions of his soul, superstition and vanity; and he was +heard to declare, with the enthusiasm of a missionary, that if he +could render each individual richer than Midas, and every city +greater than Babylon, he should not esteem himself the benefactor +of mankind, unless, at the same time, he could reclaim his +subjects from their impious revolt against the immortal gods. ^50 +A prince who had studied human nature, and who possessed the +treasures of the Roman empire, could adapt his arguments, his +promises, and his rewards, to every order of Christians; ^51 and +the merit of a seasonable conversion was allowed to supply the +defects of a candidate, or even to expiate the guilt of a +criminal. As the army is the most forcible engine of absolute +power, Julian applied himself, with peculiar diligence, to +corrupt the religion of his troops, without whose hearty +concurrence every measure must be dangerous and unsuccessful; and +the natural temper of soldiers made this conquest as easy as it +was important. The legions of Gaul devoted themselves to the +faith, as well as to the fortunes, of their victorious leader; +and even before the death of Constantius, he had the satisfaction +of announcing to his friends, that they assisted with fervent +devotion, and voracious appetite, at the sacrifices, which were +repeatedly offered in his camp, of whole hecatombs of fat oxen. +^52 The armies of the East, which had been trained under the +standard of the cross, and of Constantius, required a more artful +and expensive mode of persuasion. On the days of solemn and +public festivals, the emperor received the homage, and rewarded +the merit, of the troops. His throne of state was encircled with +the military ensigns of Rome and the republic; the holy name of +Christ was erased from the Labarum; and the symbols of war, of +majesty, and of pagan superstition, were so dexterously blended, +that the faithful subject incurred the guilt of idolatry, when he +respectfully saluted the person or image of his sovereign. The +soldiers passed successively in review; and each of them, before +he received from the hand of Julian a liberal donative, +proportioned to his rank and services, was required to cast a few +grains of incense into the flame which burnt upon the altar. +Some Christian confessors might resist, and others might repent; +but the far greater number, allured by the prospect of gold, and +awed by the presence of the emperor, contracted the criminal +engagement; and their future perseverance in the worship of the +gods was enforced by every consideration of duty and of interest. + +By the frequent repetition of these arts, and at the expense of +sums which would have purchased the service of half the nations +of Scythia, Julian gradually acquired for his troops the +imaginary protection of the gods, and for himself the firm and +effectual support of the Roman legions. ^53 It is indeed more +than probable, that the restoration and encouragement of Paganism +revealed a multitude of pretended Christians, who, from motives +of temporal advantage, had acquiesced in the religion of the +former reign; and who afterwards returned, with the same +flexibility of conscience, to the faith which was professed by +the successors of Julian. + +[Footnote 49: Under the reign of Lewis XIV. his subjects of every +rank aspired to the glorious title of Convertisseur, expressive +of their zea and success in making proselytes. The word and the +idea are growing obsolete in France may they never be introduced +into England.] + +[Footnote 50: See the strong expressions of Libanius, which were +probably those of Julian himself, (Orat. Parent. c. 59, p. 285.)] + +[Footnote 51: When Gregory Nazianzen (Orat. x. p. 167) is +desirous to magnify the Christian firmness of his brother +Caesarius, physician to the Imperial court, he owns that +Caesarius disputed with a formidable adversary. In his +invectives he scarcely allows any share of wit or courage to the +apostate.] +[Footnote 52: Julian, Epist. xxxviii. Ammianus, xxii. 12. Adeo +ut in dies paene singulos milites carnis distentiore sagina +victitantes incultius, potusque aviditate correpti, humeris +impositi transeuntium per plateas, ex publicis aedibus . . . . . +ad sua diversoria portarentur. The devout prince and the +indignant historian describe the same scene; and in Illyricum or +Antioch, similar causes must have produced similar effects.] +[Footnote 53: Gregory (Orat. iii. p. 74, 75, 83-86) and Libanius, +(Orat. Parent. c. lxxxi. lxxxii. p. 307, 308,). The sophist owns +and justifies the expense of these military conversions.] + + While the devout monarch incessantly labored to restore and +propagate the religion of his ancestors, he embraced the +extraordinary design of rebuilding the temple of Jerusalem. In a +public epistle ^54 to the nation or community of the Jews, +dispersed through the provinces, he pities their misfortunes, +condemns their oppressors, praises their constancy, declares +himself their gracious protector, and expresses a pious hope, +that after his return from the Persian war, he may be permitted +to pay his grateful vows to the Almighty in his holy city of +Jerusalem. The blind superstition, and abject slavery, of those +unfortunate exiles, must excite the contempt of a philosophic +emperor; but they deserved the friendship of Julian, by their +implacable hatred of the Christian name. The barren synagogue +abhorred and envied the fecundity of the rebellious church; the +power of the Jews was not equal to their malice; but their +gravest rabbis approved the private murder of an apostate; ^55 +and their seditious clamors had often awakened the indolence of +the Pagan magistrates. Under the reign of Constantine, the Jews +became the subjects of their revolted children nor was it long +before they experienced the bitterness of domestic tyranny. The +civil immunities which had been granted, or confirmed, by +Severus, were gradually repealed by the Christian princes; and a +rash tumult, excited by the Jews of Palestine, ^56 seemed to +justify the lucrative modes of oppression which were invented by +the bishops and eunuchs of the court of Constantius. The Jewish +patriarch, who was still permitted to exercise a precarious +jurisdiction, held his residence at Tiberias; ^57 and the +neighboring cities of Palestine were filled with the remains of a +people who fondly adhered to the promised land. But the edict of +Hadrian was renewed and enforced; and they viewed from afar the +walls of the holy city, which were profaned in their eyes by the +triumph of the cross and the devotion of the Christians. ^58 + +[Footnote 54: Julian's epistle (xxv.) is addressed to the +community of the Jews. Aldus (Venet. 1499) has branded it with +an; but this stigma is justly removed by the subsequent editors, +Petavius and Spanheim. This epistle is mentioned by Sozomen, (l. +v. c. 22,) and the purport of it is confirmed by Gregory, (Orat. +iv. p. 111.) and by Julian himself (Fragment. p. 295.)] +[Footnote 55: The Misnah denounced death against those who +abandoned the foundation. The judgment of zeal is explained by +Marsham (Canon. Chron. p. 161, 162, edit. fol. London, 1672) and +Basnage, (Hist. des Juifs, tom. viii. p. 120.) Constantine made a +law to protect Christian converts from Judaism. Cod. Theod. l. +xvi. tit. viii. leg. 1. Godefroy, tom. vi. p. 215.] +[Footnote 56: Et interea (during the civil war of Magnentius) +Judaeorum seditio, qui Patricium, nefarie in regni speciem +sustulerunt, oppressa. Aurelius Victor, in Constantio, c. xlii. +See Tillemont, Hist. des Empereurs, tom. iv. p. 379, in 4to.] + +[Footnote 57: The city and synagogue of Tiberias are curiously +described by Reland. Palestin. tom. ii. p. 1036-1042.] + +[Footnote 58: Basnage has fully illustrated the state of the Jews +under Constantine and his successors, (tom. viii. c. iv. p. +111-153.)] + +Chapter XXIII: Reign Of Julian. + +Part III. + + In the midst of a rocky and barren country, the walls of +Jerusalem ^59 enclosed the two mountains of Sion and Acra, within +an oval figure of about three English miles. ^60 Towards the +south, the upper town, and the fortress of David, were erected on +the lofty ascent of Mount Sion: on the north side, the buildings +of the lower town covered the spacious summit of Mount Acra; and +a part of the hill, distinguished by the name of Moriah, and +levelled by human industry, was crowned with the stately temple +of the Jewish nation. After the final destruction of the temple +by the arms of Titus and Hadrian, a ploughshare was drawn over +the consecrated ground, as a sign of perpetual interdiction. +Sion was deserted; and the vacant space of the lower city was +filled with the public and private edifices of the Aelian colony, +which spread themselves over the adjacent hill of Calvary. The +holy places were polluted with mountains of idolatry; and, either +from design or accident, a chapel was dedicated to Venus, on the +spot which had been sanctified by the death and resurrection of +Christ. ^61 ^* Almost three hundred years after those stupendous +events, the profane chapel of Venus was demolished by the order +of Constantine; and the removal of the earth and stones revealed +the holy sepulchre to the eyes of mankind. A magnificent church +was erected on that mystic ground, by the first Christian +emperor; and the effects of his pious munificence were extended +to every spot which had been consecrated by the footstep of +patriarchs, of prophets, and of the Son of God. ^62 +[Footnote 59: Reland (Palestin. l. i. p. 309, 390, l. iii. p. +838) describes, with learning and perspicuity, Jerusalem, and the +face of the adjacent country.] + +[Footnote 60: I have consulted a rare and curious treatise of M. +D'Anville, (sur l'Ancienne Jerusalem, Paris, 1747, p. 75.) The +circumference of the ancient city (Euseb. Preparat. Evangel. l. +ix. c. 36) was 27 stadia, or 2550 toises. A plan, taken on the +spot, assigns no more than 1980 for the modern town. The circuit +is defined by natural landmarks, which cannot be mistaken or +removed.] + +[Footnote 61: See 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. 569. tom. ii. p. 289, 294, 4to edition.)] + +[Footnote *: On the site of the Holy Sepulchre, compare the +chapter in Professor Robinson's Travels in Palestine, which has +renewed the old controversy with great vigor. To me, this temple +of Venus, said to have been erected by Hadrian to insult the +Christians, is not the least suspicious part of the whole legend. +- M. 1845.] + +[Footnote 62: Eusebius in Vit. Constantin. l. iii. c. 25-47, +51-53. The emperor likewise built churches at Bethlem, the Mount +of Olives, and the oa of Mambre. The holy sepulchre is described +by Sandys, (Travels, p. 125-133,) and curiously delineated by Le +Bruyn, (Voyage au Levant, p. 28-296.)] + The passionate desire of contemplating the original +monuments of their redemption attracted to Jerusalem a successive +crowd of pilgrims, from the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, and the +most distant countries of the East; ^63 and their piety was +authorized by the example of the empress Helena, who appears to +have united the credulity of age with the warm feelings of a +recent conversion. Sages and heroes, who have visited the +memorable scenes of ancient wisdom or glory, have confessed the +inspiration of the genius of the place; ^64 and the Christian who +knelt before the holy sepulchre, ascribed his lively faith, and +his fervent devotion, to the more immediate influence of the +Divine Spirit. The zeal, perhaps the avarice, of the clergy of +Jerusalem, cherished and multiplied these beneficial visits. They +fixed, by unquestionable tradition, the scene of each memorable +event. They exhibited the instruments which had been used in the +passion of Christ; the nails and the lance that had pierced his +hands, his feet, and his side; the crown of thorns that was +planted on his head; the pillar at which he was scourged; and, +above all, they showed the cross on which he suffered, and which +was dug out of the earth in the reign of those princes, who +inserted the symbol of Christianity in the banners of the Roman +legions. ^65 Such miracles as seemed necessary to account for its +extraordinary preservation, and seasonable discovery, were +gradually propagated without opposition. The custody of the true +cross, which on Easter Sunday was solemnly exposed to the people, +was intrusted to the bishop of Jerusalem; and he alone might +gratify the curious devotion of the pilgrims, by the gift of +small pieces, which they encased in gold or gems, and carried +away in triumph to their respective countries. But as this +gainful branch of commerce must soon have been annihilated, it +was found convenient to suppose, that the marvelous wood +possessed a secret power of vegetation; and that its substance, +though continually diminished, still remained entire and +unimpaired. ^66 It might perhaps have been expected, that the +influence of the place and the belief of a perpetual miracle, +should have produced some salutary effects on the morals, as well +as on the faith, of the people. Yet the most respectable of the +ecclesiastical writers have been obliged to confess, not only +that the streets of Jerusalem were filled with the incessant +tumult of business and pleasure, ^67 but that every species of +vice - adultery, theft, idolatry, poisoning, murder - was +familiar to the inhabitants of the holy city. ^68 The wealth and +preeminence of the church of Jerusalem excited the ambition of +Arian, as well as orthodox, candidates; and the virtues of Cyril, +who, since his death, has been honored with the title of Saint, +were displayed in the exercise, rather than in the acquisition, +of his episcopal dignity. ^69 + +[Footnote 63: The 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 superstitious fashion are discussed in the learned +and judicious preface of Wesseling. (Itinarar. p. 537-545.)] + +[Footnote *: Much curious information on this subject is +collected in the first chapter of Wilken, Geschichte der +Kreuzzuge. - M.] + +[Footnote 64: Cicero (de Finibus, v. 1) has beautifully expressed +the common sense of mankind.] + +[Footnote 65: Baronius (Annal. Eccles. A. D. 326, No. 42-50) and +Tillemont (Mem. Eccles. tom. xii. p. 8-16) are the historians and +champions of the miraculous invention of the cross, under the +reign of Constantine. Their oldest witnesses are Paulinus, +Sulpicius Severus, Rufinus, Ambrose, and perhaps Cyril of +Jerusalem. The silence of Eusebius, and the Bourdeaux pilgrim, +which satisfies those who think perplexes those who believe. See +Jortin's sensible remarks, vol. ii. p 238-248.] + +[Footnote 66: This multiplication is asserted by Paulinus, +(Epist. xxxvi. See Dupin. Bibliot. Eccles. tom. iii. p. 149,) who +seems to have improved a rhetorical flourish of Cyril into a real +fact. The same supernatural privilege must have been +communicated to the Virgin's milk, (Erasmi Opera, tom. i. p. 778, +Lugd. Batav. 1703, in Colloq. de Peregrinat. Religionis ergo,) +saints' heads, &c. and other relics, which are repeated in so +many different churches. + + Note: Lord Mahon, in a memoir read before the Society of +Antiquaries, (Feb. 1831,) has traced in a brief but interesting +manner, the singular adventures of the "true" cross. It is +curious to inquire, what authority we have, except of late +tradition, for the Hill of Calvary. There is none in the sacred +writings; the uniform use of the common word, instead of any word +expressing assent or acclivity, is against the notion. - M.] +[Footnote 67: Jerom, (tom. i. p. 103,) who resided in the +neighboring village of Bethlem, describes the vices of Jerusalem +from his personal experience.] + +[Footnote 68: Gregor. Nyssen, apud Wesseling, p. 539. The whole +epistle, which condemns either the use or the abuse of religious +pilgrimage, is painful to the Catholic divines, while it is dear +and familiar to our Protestant polemics.] + +[Footnote 69: He renounced his orthodox ordination, officiated as +a deacon, and was re-ordained by the hands of the Arians. But +Cyril afterwards changed with the times, and prudently conformed +to the Nicene faith. Tillemont, (Mem. Eccles. tom. viii.,) who +treats his memory with tenderness and respect, has thrown his +virtues into the text, and his faults into the notes, in decent +obscurity, at the end of the volume.] + + The vain and ambitious mind of Julian might aspire to +restore the ancient glory of the temple of Jerusalem. ^70 As the +Christians were firmly persuaded that a sentence of everlasting +destruction had been pronounced against the whole fabric of the +Mosaic law, the Imperial sophist would have converted the success +of his undertaking into a specious argument against the faith of +prophecy, and the truth of revelation. ^71 He was displeased with +the spiritual worship of the synagogue; but he approved the +institutions of Moses, who had not disdained to adopt many of the +rites and ceremonies of Egypt. ^72 The local and national deity +of the Jews was sincerely adored by a polytheist, who desired +only to multiply the number of the gods; ^73 and such was the +appetite of Julian for bloody sacrifice, that his emulation might +be excited by the piety of Solomon, who had offered, at the feast +of the dedication, twenty-two thousand oxen, and one hundred and +twenty thousand sheep. ^74 These considerations might influence +his designs; but the prospect of an immediate and important +advantage would not suffer the impatient monarch to expect the +remote and uncertain event of the Persian war. He resolved to +erect, without delay, on the commanding eminence of Moriah, a +stately temple, which might eclipse the splendor of the church of +the resurrection on the adjacent hill of Calvary; to establish an +order of priests, whose interested zeal would detect the arts, +and resist the ambition, of their Christian rivals; and to invite +a numerous colony of Jews, whose stern fanaticism would be always +prepared to second, and even to anticipate, the hostile measures +of the Pagan government. Among the friends of the emperor (if the +names of emperor, and of friend, are not incompatible) the first +place was assigned, by Julian himself, to the virtuous and +learned Alypius. ^75 The humanity of Alypius was tempered by +severe justice and manly fortitude; and while he exercised his +abilities in the civil administration of Britain, he imitated, in +his poetical compositions, the harmony and softness of the odes +of Sappho. This minister, to whom Julian communicated, without +reserve, his most careless levities, and his most serious +counsels, received an extraordinary commission to restore, in its +pristine beauty, the temple of Jerusalem; and the diligence of +Alypius required and obtained the strenuous support of the +governor of Palestine. At the call of their great deliverer, the +Jews, from all the provinces of the empire, assembled on the holy +mountain of their fathers; and their insolent triumph alarmed and +exasperated the Christian inhabitants of Jerusalem. The desire +of rebuilding the temple has in every age been the ruling passion +of the children of Israel. In this propitious moment the men +forgot their avarice, and the women their delicacy; spades and +pickaxes of silver were provided by the vanity of the rich, and +the rubbish was transported in mantles of silk and purple. Every +purse was opened in liberal contributions, every hand claimed a +share in the pious labor, and the commands of a great monarch +were executed by the enthusiasm of a whole people. ^76 + +[Footnote 70: Imperii sui memoriam magnitudine operum gestiens +propagare Ammian. xxiii. 1. The temple of Jerusalem had been +famous even among the Gentiles. They had many temples in each +city, (at Sichem five, at Gaza eight, at Rome four hundred and +twenty-four;) but the wealth and religion of the Jewish nation +was centred in one spot.] + +[Footnote 71: The secret intentions of Julian are revealed by the +late bishop of Gloucester, the learned and dogmatic Warburton; +who, with the authority of a theologian, prescribes the motives +and conduct of the Supreme Being. The discourse entitled Julian +(2d edition, London, 1751) is strongly marked with all the +peculiarities which are imputed to the Warburtonian school.] +[Footnote 72: I shelter myself behind Maimonides, Marsham, +Spencer, Le Clerc, Warburton, &c., who have fairly derided the +fears, the folly, and the falsehood of some superstitious +divines. See Divine Legation, vol. iv. p. 25, &c.] + +[Footnote 73: Julian (Fragment. p. 295) respectfully styles him, +and mentions him elsewhere (Epist. lxiii.) with still higher +reverence. He doubly condemns the Christians for believing, and +for renouncing, the religion of the Jews. Their Deity was a true, +but not the only, God Apul Cyril. l. ix. p. 305, 306.] +[Footnote 74: 1 Kings, viii. 63. 2 Chronicles, vii. 5. Joseph. +Antiquitat. Judaic. l. viii. c. 4, p. 431, edit. Havercamp. As +the blood and smoke of so many hecatombs might be inconvenient, +Lightfoot, the Christian Rabbi, removes them by a miracle. Le +Clerc (ad loca) is bold enough to suspect to fidelity of the +numbers. + + Note: According to the historian Kotobeddym, quoted by +Burckhardt, (Travels in Arabia, p. 276,) the Khalif Mokteder +sacrificed, during his pilgrimage to Mecca, in the year of the +Hejira 350, forty thousand camels and cows, and fifty thousand +sheep. Barthema describes thirty thousand oxen slain, and their +carcasses given to the poor. Quarterly Review, xiii.p.39 - M.] + +[Footnote 75: Julian, epist. xxix. xxx. La Bleterie has +neglected to translate the second of these epistles.] + +[Footnote 76: See the zeal and impatience of the Jews in Gregory +Nazianzen (Orat. iv. p. 111) and Theodoret. (l. iii. c. 20.)] + + Yet, on this occasion, the joint efforts of power and +enthusiasm were unsuccessful; and the ground of the Jewish +temple, which is now covered by a Mahometan mosque, ^77 still +continued to exhibit the same edifying spectacle of ruin and +desolation. Perhaps the absence and death of the emperor, and +the new maxims of a Christian reign, might explain the +interruption of an arduous work, which was attempted only in the +last six months of the life of Julian. ^78 But the Christians +entertained a natural and pious expectation, that, in this +memorable contest, the honor of religion would be vindicated by +some signal miracle. An earthquake, a whirlwind, and a fiery +eruption, which overturned and scattered the new foundations of +the temple, are attested, with some variations, by contemporary +and respectable evidence. ^79 This public event is described by +Ambrose, ^80 bishop of Milan, in an epistle to the emperor +Theodosius, which must provoke the severe animadversion of the +Jews; by the eloquent Chrysostom, ^81 who might appeal to the +memory of the elder part of his congregation at Antioch; and by +Gregory Nazianzen, ^82 who published his account of the miracle +before the expiration of the same year. The last of these writers +has boldly declared, that this preternatural event was not +disputed by the infidels; and his assertion, strange as it may +seem is confirmed by the unexceptionable testimony of Ammianus +Marcellinus. ^83 The philosophic soldier, who loved the virtues, +without adopting the prejudices, of his master, has recorded, in +his judicious and candid history of his own times, the +extraordinary obstacles which interrupted the restoration of the +temple of Jerusalem. "Whilst Alypius, assisted by the governor +of the province, urged, with vigor and diligence, the execution +of the work, horrible balls of fire breaking out near the +foundations, with frequent and reiterated attacks, rendered the +place, from time to time, inaccessible to the scorched and +blasted workmen; and the victorious element continuing in this +manner obstinately and resolutely bent, as it were, to drive them +to a distance, the undertaking was abandoned." ^* Such authority +should satisfy a believing, and must astonish an incredulous, +mind. Yet a philosopher may still require the original evidence +of impartial and intelligent spectators. At this important +crisis, any singular accident of nature would assume the +appearance, and produce the effects of a real prodigy. This +glorious deliverance would be speedily improved and magnified by +the pious art of the clergy of Jerusalem, and the active +credulity of the Christian world and, at the distance of twenty +years, a Roman historian, care less of theological disputes, +might adorn his work with the specious and splendid miracle. ^84 + +[Footnote 77: Built 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 in circumference. See D'Anville, Jerusalem, p. +45.] + +[Footnote 78: Ammianus records the consults of the year 363, +before he proceeds to mention the thoughts of Julian. Templum . +. . . instaurare sumptibus cogitabat immodicis. Warburton has a +secret wish to anticipate the design; but he must have +understood, from former examples, that the execution of such a +work would have demanded many years.] + +[Footnote 79: The subsequent witnesses, Socrates, Sozomen, +Theodoret, Philostorgius, &c., add contradictions rather than +authority. Compare the objections of Basnage (Hist. des Juifs, +tom. viii. p. 156-168) with Warburton's answers, (Julian, p. +174-258.) The bishop has ingeniously explained the miraculous +crosses which appeared on the garments of the spectators by a +similar instance, and the natural effects of lightning.] +[Footnote 80: Ambros. tom. ii. epist. xl. p. 946, edit. +Benedictin. He composed this fanatic epistle (A. D. 388) to +justify a bishop who had been condemned by the civil magistrate +for burning a synagogue.] +[Footnote 81: Chrysostom, tom. i. p. 580, advers. Judaeos et +Gentes, tom. ii. p. 574, de Sto Babyla, edit. Montfaucon. I have +followed the common and natural supposition; but the learned +Benedictine, who dates the composition of these sermons in the +year 383, is confident they were never pronounced from the +pulpit.] + +[Footnote 82: Greg. Nazianzen, Orat. iv. p. 110-113.] + +[Footnote 83: Ammian. xxiii. 1. Cum itaque rei fortiter instaret +Alypius, juvaretque provinciae rector, metuendi globi flammarum +prope fundamenta crebris assultibus erumpentes fecere locum +exustis aliquoties operantibus inaccessum; hocque modo elemento +destinatius repellente, cessavit inceptum. Warburton labors (p. +60-90) to extort a confession of the miracle from the mouths of +Julian and Libanius, and to employ the evidence of a rabbi who +lived in the fifteenth century. Such witnesses can only be +received by a very favorable judge.] + +[Footnote *: Michaelis has given an ingenious and sufficiently +probable explanation of this remarkable incident, which the +positive testimony of Ammianus, a contemporary and a pagan, will +not permit us to call in question. It was suggested by a passage +in Tacitus. That historian, speaking of Jerusalem, says, [I omit +the first part of the quotation adduced by M. Guizot, which only +by a most extraordinary mistranslation of muri introrsus sinuati +by "enfoncemens" could be made to bear on the question. - M.] The +Temple itself was a kind of citadel, which had its own walls, +superior in their workmanship and construction to those of the +city. The porticos themselves, which surrounded the temple, were +an excellent fortification. There was a fountain of constantly +running water; subterranean excavations under the mountain; +reservoirs and cisterns to collect the rain-water." Tac. Hist. v. +ii. 12. These excavations and reservoirs must have been very +considerable. The latter furnished water during the whole siege +of Jerusalem to 1,100,000 inhabitants, for whom the fountain of +Siloe could not have sufficed, and who had no fresh rain-water, +the siege having taken place from the month of April to the month +of August, a period of the year during which it rarely rains in +Jerusalem. As to the excavations, they served after, and even +before, the return of the Jews from Babylon, to contain not only +magazines of oil, wine, and corn, but also the treasures which +were laid up in the Temple. Josephus has related several +incidents which show their extent. When Jerusalem was on the +point of being taken by Titus, the rebel chiefs, placing their +last hopes in these vast subterranean cavities, formed a design +of concealing themselves there, and remaining during the +conflagration of the city, and until the Romans had retired to a +distance. The greater part had not time to execute their design; +but one of them, Simon, the Son of Gioras, having provided +himself with food, and tools to excavate the earth descended into +this retreat with some companions: he remained there till Titus +had set out for Rome: under the pressure of famine he issued +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 and +carried to Rome for the triumph. His appearance made it be +suspected that 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 probable that the greater part of these +excavations were the remains of the time of Solomon, when it was +the custom to work to a great extent under ground: no other date +can be assigned to them. The Jews, on their return 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 was +completed will not allow us to suppose that they belonged to that +period. Some were used for sewers and drains, others served to +conceal the immense treasures of which Crassus, a hundred and +twenty years before, plundered the Jews, and which doubtless had +been since replaced. The Temple was destroyed A. C. 70; the +attempt of Julian to rebuild it, and the fact related by +Ammianus, coincide with the year 363. There had then elapsed +between these two epochs an interval of near 300 years, during +which the excavations, choked up with ruins, must have become +full of inflammable air. The workmen employed by Julian as they +were digging, arrived at the excavations of the Temple; they +would take torches to explore them; sudden flames repelled those +who approached; explosions were heard, and these phenomena were +renewed every time that they penetrated into new subterranean +passages. ^* This explanation is confirmed by the relation of an +event nearly similar, by Josephus. King Herod having heard that +immense treasures had been concealed in the sepulchre of David, +he descended into it with a few confidential persons; he found in +the first subterranean chamber only jewels and precious stuffs: +but having wished to penetrate into a second chamber, which had +been long closed, he was repelled, when he opened it, by flames +which killed those who accompanied him. (Ant. Jud. xvi. 7, i.) +As here there is no room for miracle, this fact may be considered +as a new proof of the veracity of that related by Ammianus and +the contemporary writers. - G. + To the illustrations of the extent of the subterranean +chambers adduced by Michaelis, may be added, that when John of +Gischala, during the siege, surprised the Temple, the party of +Eleazar took refuge within them. Bell. Jud. vi. 3, i. The sudden +sinking of the hill of Sion when Jerusalem was occupied by +Barchocab, may have been connected with similar excavations. +Hist. of Jews, vol. iii. 122 and 186. - M. + +[Footnote *: It is a fact now popularly known, that when mines +which have been long closed are opened, one of two things takes +place; either the torches are extinguished and the men fall first +into a swoor and soon die; or, if the air is inflammable, a +little flame is seen to flicker round the lamp, which spreads and +multiplies till the conflagration becomes general, is followed by +an explosion, and kill all who are in the way. - G.] + +[Footnote 84: Dr. Lardner, perhaps alone of the Christian +critics, presumes to doubt the truth of this famous miracle. +(Jewish and Heathen Testimonies, vol. iv. p. 47-71.)] + + The silence of Jerom would lead to a suspicion that the same +story which was celebrated at a distance, might be despised on +the spot. + +Note: Gibbon has forgotten Basnage, to whom Warburton replied. - +M.] + +Chapter XXIII: Reign Of Julian. + +Part IV. + + The restoration of the Jewish temple was secretly connected +with the ruin of the Christian church. Julian still continued to +maintain the freedom of religious worship, without distinguishing +whether this universal toleration proceeded from his justice or +his clemency. He affected to pity the unhappy Christians, who +were mistaken in the most important object of their lives; but +his pity was degraded by contempt, his contempt was embittered by +hatred; and the sentiments of Julian were expressed in a style of +sarcastic wit, which inflicts a deep and deadly wound, whenever +it issues from the mouth of a sovereign. As he was sensible that +the Christians gloried in the name of their Redeemer, he +countenanced, and perhaps enjoined, the use of the less honorable +appellation of Galilaeans. ^85 He declared, that by the folly of +the Galilaeans, whom he describes as a sect of fanatics, +contemptible to men, and odious to the gods, the empire had been +reduced to the brink of destruction; and he insinuates in a +public edict, that a frantic patient might sometimes be cured by +salutary violence. ^86 An ungenerous distinction was admitted +into the mind and counsels of Julian, that, according to the +difference of their religious sentiments, one part of his +subjects deserved his favor and friendship, while the other was +entitled only to the common benefits that his justice could not +refuse to an obedient people. According to a principle, pregnant +with mischief and oppression, the emperor transferred to the +pontiffs of his own religion the management of the liberal +allowances for the public revenue, which had been granted to the +church by the piety of Constantine and his sons. The proud +system of clerical honors and immunities, which had been +constructed with so much art and labor, was levelled to the +ground; the hopes of testamentary donations were intercepted by +the rigor of the laws; and the priests of the Christian sect were +confounded with the last and most ignominious class of the +people. Such of these regulations as appeared necessary to check +the ambition and avarice of the ecclesiastics, were soon +afterwards imitated by the wisdom of an orthodox prince. The +peculiar distinctions which policy has bestowed, or superstition +has lavished, on the sacerdotal order, must be confined to those +priests who profess the religion of the state. But the will of +the legislator was not exempt from prejudice and passion; and it +was the object of the insidious policy of Julian, to deprive the +Christians of all the temporal honors and advantages which +rendered them respectable in the eyes of the world. ^88 + +[Footnote 85: Greg. Naz. Orat. iii. p. 81. And this law was +confirmed by the invariable practice of Julian himself. +Warburton has justly observed (p. 35,) that the Platonists +believed in the mysterious virtue of words and Julian's dislike +for the name of Christ might proceed from superstition, as well +as from contempt.] + +[Footnote 86: Fragment. Julian. p. 288. He derides the (Epist. +vii.,) and so far loses sight of the principles of toleration, as +to wish (Epist. xlii.).] +[Footnote 88: These laws, which affected the clergy, may be found +in the slight hints 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.)] + + A just and severe censure has been inflicted on the law +which prohibited the Christians from teaching the arts of grammar +and rhetoric. ^89 The motives alleged by the emperor to justify +this partial and oppressive measure, might command, during his +lifetime, the silence of slaves and the applause of Gatterers. +Julian abuses the ambiguous meaning of a word which might be +indifferently applied to the language and the religion of the +Greeks: he contemptuously observes, that the men who exalt the +merit of implicit faith are unfit to claim or to enjoy the +advantages of science; and he vainly contends, that if they +refuse to adore the gods of Homer and Demosthenes, they ought to +content themselves with expounding Luke and Matthew in the church +of the Galilaeans. ^90 In all the cities of the Roman world, the +education of the youth was intrusted to masters of grammar and +rhetoric; who were elected by the magistrates, maintained at the +public expense, and distinguished by many lucrative and honorable +privileges. The edict of Julian appears to have included the +physicians, and professors of all the liberal arts; and the +emperor, who reserved to himself the approbation of the +candidates, was authorized by the laws to corrupt, or to punish, +the religious constancy of the most learned of the Christians. +^91 As soon as the resignation of the more obstinate ^92 teachers +had established the unrivalled dominion of the Pagan sophists, +Julian invited the rising generation to resort with freedom to +the public schools, in a just confidence, that their tender minds +would receive the impressions of literature and idolatry. If the +greatest part of the Christian youth should be deterred by their +own scruples, or by those of their parents, from accepting this +dangerous mode of instruction, they must, at the same time, +relinquish the benefits of a liberal education. Julian had reason +to expect that, in the space of a few years, the church would +relapse into its primaeval simplicity, and that the theologians, +who possessed an adequate share of the learning and eloquence of +the age, would be succeeded by a generation of blind and ignorant +fanatics, incapable of defending the truth of their own +principles, or of exposing the various follies of Polytheism. ^93 + +[Footnote 89: Inclemens. . . . perenni obruendum silentio. +Ammian. xxii. 10, ixv. 5.] + +[Footnote 90: The edict itself, which is still extant among the +epistles of Julian, (xlii.,) may be compared with the loose +invectives of Gregory (Orat. iii. p. 96.) Tillemont (Mem. Eccles. +tom. vii. p. 1291-1294) has collected the seeming differences of +ancients and moderns. They may be easily reconciled. The +Christians were directly forbid to teach, they were indirectly +forbid to learn; since they would not frequent the schools of the +Pagans.] +[Footnote 91: Codex Theodos. l. xiii. tit. iii. de medicis et +professoribus, leg. 5, (published the 17th of June, received, at +Spoleto in Italy, the 29th of July, A. D. 363,) with Godefroy's +Illustrations, tom. v. p. 31.] +[Footnote 92: Orosius celebrates their disinterested resolution, +Sicut a majori bus nostris compertum habemus, omnes ubique +propemodum . . . officium quam fidem deserere maluerunt, vii. 30. + +Proaeresius, a Christian sophist, refused to accept the partial +favor of the emperor Hieronym. in Chron. p. 185, edit. Scaliger. +Eunapius in Proaeresio p. 126.] + +[Footnote 93: They had recourse to the expedient of composing +books for their own schools. Within a few months Apollinaris +produced his Christian imitations of Homer, (a sacred history in +twenty-four books,) Pindar, Euripides, and Menander; and Sozomen +is satisfied, that they equalled, or excelled, the originals. + + Note: Socrates, however, implies that, on the death of +Julian, they were contemptuously thrown aside by the Christians. +Socr. Hist. iii.16. - M.] + It was undoubtedly the wish and design of Julian to deprive +the Christians of the advantages of wealth, of knowledge, and of +power; but the injustice of excluding them from all offices of +trust and profit seems to have been the result of his general +policy, rather than the immediate consequence of any positive +law. ^94 Superior merit might deserve and obtain, some +extraordinary exceptions; but the greater part of the Christian +officers were gradually removed from their employments in the +state, the army, and the provinces. The hopes of future +candidates were extinguished by the declared partiality of a +prince, who maliciously reminded them, that it was unlawful for a +Christian to use the sword, either of justice, or of war; and who +studiously guarded the camp and the tribunals with the ensigns of +idolatry. The powers of government were intrusted to the pagans, +who professed an ardent zeal for the religion of their ancestors; +and as the choice of the emperor was often directed by the rules +of divination, the favorites whom he preferred as the most +agreeable to the gods, did not always obtain the approbation of +mankind. ^95 Under the administration of their enemies, the +Christians had much to suffer, and more to apprehend. The temper +of Julian was averse to cruelty; and the care of his reputation, +which was exposed to the eyes of the universe, restrained the +philosophic monarch from violating the laws of justice and +toleration, which he himself had so recently established. But +the provincial ministers of his authority were placed in a less +conspicuous station. In the exercise of arbitrary power, they +consulted the wishes, rather than the commands, of their +sovereign; and ventured to exercise a secret and vexatious +tyranny against the sectaries, on whom they were not permitted to +confer the honors of martyrdom. The emperor, who dissembled as +long as possible his knowledge of the injustice that was +exercised in his name, expressed his real sense of the conduct of +his officers, by gentle reproofs and substantial rewards. ^96 + +[Footnote 94: It was the instruction of Julian to his +magistrates, (Epist. vii.,). Sozomen (l. v. c. 18) and Socrates +(l. iii. c. 13) must be reduced to the standard of Gregory, +(Orat. iii. p. 95,) not less prone to exaggeration, but more +restrained by the actual knowledge of his contemporary readers.] +[Footnote 95: Libanius, Orat. Parent. 88, p. 814.] + +[Footnote 96: Greg. 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 their zeal, not less partial than +the zeal of Julian] + The most effectual instrument of oppression, with which they +were armed, was the law that obliged the Christians to make full +and ample satisfaction for the temples which they had destroyed +under the preceding reign. The zeal of the triumphant church had +not always expected the sanction of the public authority; and the +bishops, who were secure of impunity, had often marched at the +head of their congregation, to attack and demolish the fortresses +of the prince of darkness. The consecrated lands, which had +increased the patrimony of the sovereign or of the clergy, were +clearly defined, and easily restored. But on these lands, and on +the ruins of Pagan superstition, the Christians had frequently +erected their own religious edifices: and as it was necessary to +remove the church before the temple could be rebuilt, the justice +and piety of the emperor were applauded by one party, while the +other deplored and execrated his sacrilegious violence. ^97 After +the ground was cleared, the restitution of those stately +structures which had been levelled with the dust, and of the +precious ornaments which had been converted to Christian uses, +swelled into a very large account of damages and debt. The +authors of the injury had neither the ability nor the inclination +to discharge this accumulated demand: and the impartial wisdom of +a legislator would have been displayed in balancing the adverse +claims and complaints, by an equitable and temperate arbitration. + +But the whole empire, and particularly the East, was thrown into +confusion by the rash edicts of Julian; and the Pagan +magistrates, inflamed by zeal and revenge, abused the rigorous +privilege of the Roman law, which substitutes, in the place of +his inadequate property, the person of the insolvent debtor. +Under the preceding reign, Mark, bishop of Arethusa, ^98 had +labored in the conversion of his people with arms more effectual +than those of persuasion. ^99 The magistrates required the full +value of a temple which had been destroyed by his intolerant +zeal: but as they were satisfied of his poverty, they desired +only to bend his inflexible spirit to the promise of the +slightest compensation. They apprehended the aged prelate, they +inhumanly scourged him, they tore his beard; and his naked body, +annointed with honey, was suspended, in a net, between heaven and +earth, and exposed to the stings of insects and the rays of a +Syrian sun. ^100 From this lofty station, Mark still persisted to +glory in his crime, and to insult the impotent rage of his +persecutors. He was at length rescued from their hands, and +dismissed to enjoy the honor of his divine triumph. The Arians +celebrated the virtue of their pious confessor; the Catholics +ambitiously claimed his alliance; ^101 and the Pagans, who might +be susceptible of shame or remorse, were deterred from the +repetition of such unavailing cruelty. ^102 Julian spared his +life: but if the bishop of Arethusa had saved the infancy of +Julian, ^103 posterity will condemn the ingratitude, instead of +praising the clemency, of the emperor. + +[Footnote 97: If we compare the gentle language of Libanius +(Orat. Parent c. 60. p. 286) with the passionate exclamations of +Gregory, (Orat. iii. p. 86, 87,) we may find it difficult to +persuade ourselves that the two orators are really describing the +same events.] + +[Footnote 98: Restan, or Arethusa, at the equal distance of +sixteen miles between Emesa (Hems) and Epiphania, (Hamath,) was +founded, or at least named, by Seleucus Nicator. Its peculiar +aera dates from the year of Rome 685, according to the medals of +the city. In the decline of the Seleucides, Emesa and Arethusa +were usurped by the Arab Sampsiceramus, whose posterity, the +vassals of Rome, were not extinguished in the reign of Vespasian. + +See D'Anville's Maps and Geographie Ancienne, tom. ii. p. 134. +Wesseling, Itineraria, p. 188, and Noris. Epoch Syro-Macedon, p. +80, 481, 482.] +[Footnote 99: Sozomen, l. v. c. 10. It is surprising, that +Gregory and Theodoret should suppress a circumstance, which, in +their eyes, must have enhanced the religious merit of the +confessor.] + +[Footnote 100: The sufferings and constancy of Mark, which +Gregory has so tragically painted, (Orat. iii. p. 88-91,) are +confirmed by the unexceptionable and reluctant evidence of +Libanius. Epist. 730, p. 350, 351. Edit. Wolf. Amstel. 1738.] + +[Footnote 101: Certatim eum sibi (Christiani) vindicant. It is +thus that La Croze and Wolfius (ad loc.) have explained a Greek +word, whose true signification had been mistaken by former +interpreters, and even by Le Clerc, (Bibliotheque Ancienne et +Moderne, tom. iii. p. 371.) Yet Tillemont is strangely puzzled to +understand (Mem. Eccles. tom. vii. p. 1390) how Gregory and +Theodoret could mistake a Semi-Arian bishop for a saint.] +[Footnote 102: See the probable advice of Sallust, (Greg. +Nazianzen, Orat. iii. p. 90, 91.) Libanius intercedes for a +similar offender, lest they should find many Marks; yet he +allows, that if Orion had secreted the consecrated wealth, he +deserved to suffer the punishment of Marsyas; to be flayed alive, +(Epist. 730, p. 349-351.)] + +[Footnote 103: Gregory (Orat. iii. p. 90) is satisfied that, by +saving the apostate, Mark had deserved still more than he had +suffered.] + At the distance of five miles from Antioch, the Macedonian +kings of Syria had consecrated to Apollo one of the most elegant +places of devotion in the Pagan world. ^104 A magnificent temple +rose in honor of the god of light; and his colossal figure ^105 +almost filled the capacious sanctuary, which was enriched with +gold and gems, and adorned by the skill of the Grecian artists. +The deity was represented in a bending attitude, with a golden +cup in his hand, pouring out a libation on the earth; as if he +supplicated the venerable mother to give to his arms the cold and +beauteous Daphne: for the spot was ennobled by fiction; and the +fancy of the Syrian poets had transported the amorous tale from +the banks of the Peneus to those of the Orontes. The ancient +rites of Greece were imitated by the royal colony of Antioch. A +stream of prophecy, which rivalled the truth and reputation of +the Delphic oracle, flowed from the Castalian fountain of Daphne. +^106 In the adjacent fields a stadium was built by a special +privilege, ^107 which had been purchased from Elis; the Olympic +games were celebrated at the expense of the city; and a revenue +of thirty thousand pounds sterling was annually applied to the +public pleasures. ^108 The perpetual resort of pilgrims and +spectators insensibly formed, in the neighborhood of the temple, +the stately and populous village of Daphne, which emulated the +splendor, without acquiring the title, of a provincial city. The +temple and the village were deeply bosomed in a thick grove of +laurels and cypresses, which reached as far as a circumference of +ten miles, and formed in the most sultry summers a cool and +impenetrable shade. A thousand streams of the purest water, +issuing from every hill, preserved the verdure of the earth, and +the temperature of the air; the senses were gratified with +harmonious sounds and aromatic odors; and the peaceful grove was +consecrated to health and joy, to luxury and love. The vigorous +youth pursued, like Apollo, the object of his desires; and the +blushing maid was warned, by the fate of Daphne, to shun the +folly of unseasonable coyness. The soldier and the philosopher +wisely avoided the temptation of this sensual paradise: ^109 +where pleasure, assuming the character of religion, imperceptibly +dissolved the firmness of manly virtue. But the groves of Daphne +continued for many ages to enjoy the veneration of natives and +strangers; the privileges of the holy ground were enlarged by the +munificence of succeeding emperors; and every generation added +new ornaments to the splendor of the temple. ^110 + +[Footnote 104: The grove and temple of Daphne are described by +Strabo, (l. xvi. p. 1089, 1090, edit. Amstel. 1707,) Libanius, +(Naenia, p. 185-188. Antiochic. Orat. xi. p. 380, 381,) and +Sozomen, (l. v. c. 19.) Wesseling (Itinerar. p. 581) and Casaubon +(ad Hist. August. p. 64) illustrate this curious subject.] + +[Footnote 105: Simulacrum in eo Olympiaci Jovis imitamenti +aequiparans magnitudinem. Ammian. xxii. 13. The Olympic Jupiter +was sixty feet high, and his bulk was consequently equal to that +of a thousand men. See a curious Memoire of the Abbe Gedoyn, +(Academie des Inscriptions, tom. ix. p. 198.)] +[Footnote 106: Hadrian read the history of his future fortunes on +a leaf dipped in the Castalian stream; a trick which, according +to the physician Vandale, (de Oraculis, p. 281, 282,) might be +easily performed by chemical preparations. The emperor stopped +the source of such dangerous knowledge; which was again opened by +the devout curiosity of Julian.] +[Footnote 107: It 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 Olympiads. But the Olympic games of Antioch were +not regularly celebrated till the reign of Commodus. See the +curious details in the Chronicle of John Malala, tom. i. p. 290, +320, 372-381,) a writer whose merit and authority are confined +within the limits of his native city.] + +[Footnote 108: Fifteen talents of gold, bequeathed by Sosibius, +who died in the reign of Augustus. The theatrical merits of the +Syrian cities in the reign of Constantine, are computed in the +Expositio totius Murd, p. 8, (Hudson, Geograph. Minor tom. iii.)] + +[Footnote 109: Avidio Cassio Syriacas legiones dedi luxuria +diffluentes et Daphnicis moribus. These are the words of the +emperor Marcus Antoninus in an original letter preserved by his +biographer in Hist. August. p. 41. Cassius dismissed or punished +every soldier who was seen at Daphne.] +[Footnote 110: Aliquantum agrorum Daphnensibus dedit, (Pompey,) +quo lucus ibi spatiosior fieret; delectatus amoenitate loci et +aquarum abundantiz, Eutropius, vi. 14. Sextus Rufus, de +Provinciis, c. 16.] + + When Julian, on the day of the annual festival, hastened to +adore the Apollo of Daphne, his devotion was raised to the +highest pitch of eagerness and impatience. His lively +imagination anticipated the grateful pomp of victims, of +libations and of incense; a long procession of youths and +virgins, clothed in white robes, the symbol of their innocence; +and the tumultuous concourse of an innumerable people. But the +zeal of Antioch was diverted, since the reign of Christianity, +into a different channel. Instead of hecatombs of fat oxen +sacrificed by the tribes of a wealthy city to their tutelar deity +the emperor complains that he found only a single goose, provided +at the expense of a priest, the pale and solitary in habitant of +this decayed temple. ^111 The altar was deserted, the oracle had +been reduced to silence, and the holy ground was profaned by the +introduction of Christian and funereal rites. After Babylas ^112 +(a bishop of Antioch, who died in prison in the persecution of +Decius) had rested near a century in his grave, his body, by the +order of Caesar Gallus, was transported into the midst of the +grove of Daphne. A magnificent church was erected over his +remains; a portion of the sacred lands was usurped for the +maintenance of the clergy, and for the burial of the Christians +at Antioch, who were ambitious of lying at the feet of their +bishop; and the priests of Apollo retired, with their affrighted +and indignant votaries. As soon as another revolution seemed to +restore the fortune of Paganism, the church of St. Babylas was +demolished, and new buildings were added to the mouldering +edifice which had been raised by the piety of Syrian kings. But +the first and most serious care of Julian was to deliver his +oppressed deity from the odious presence of the dead and living +Christians, who had so effectually suppressed the voice of fraud +or enthusiasm. ^113 The scene of infection was purified, +according to the forms of ancient rituals; the bodies were +decently removed; and the ministers of the church were permitted +to convey the remains of St. Babylas to their former habitation +within the walls of Antioch. The modest behavior which might +have assuaged the jealousy of a hostile government was neglected, +on this occasion, by the zeal of the Christians. The lofty car, +that transported the relics of Babylas, was followed, and +accompanied, and received, by an innumerable multitude; who +chanted, with thundering acclamations, the Psalms of David the +most expressive of their contempt for idols and idolaters. The +return of the saint was a triumph; and the triumph was an insult +on the religion of the emperor, who exerted his pride to +dissemble his resentment. During the night which terminated this +indiscreet procession, the temple of Daphne was in flames; the +statue of Apollo was consumed; and the walls of the edifice were +left a naked and awful monument of ruin. The Christians of +Antioch asserted, with religious confidence, that the powerful +intercession of St. Babylas had pointed the lightnings of heaven +against the devoted roof: but as Julian was reduced to the +alternative of believing either a crime or a miracle, he chose, +without hesitation, without evidence, but with some color of +probability, to impute the fire of Daphne to the revenge of the +Galilaeans. ^114 Their offence, had it been sufficiently proved, +might have justified the retaliation, which was immediately +executed by the order of Julian, of shutting the doors, and +confiscating the wealth, of the cathedral of Antioch. To discover +the criminals who were guilty of the tumult, of the fire, or of +secreting the riches of the church, several of the ecclesiastics +were tortured; ^115 and a Presbyter, of the name of Theodoret, +was beheaded by the sentence of the Count of the East. But this +hasty act was blamed by the emperor; who lamented, with real or +affected concern, that the imprudent zeal of his ministers would +tarnish his reign with the disgrace of persecution. ^116 + +[Footnote 111: Julian (Misopogon, p. 367, 362) discovers his own +character with naivete, that unconscious simplicity which always +constitutes genuine humor.] + +[Footnote 112: Babylas is named by Eusebius in the succession of +the bishops of Antioch, (Hist. Eccles. l. vi. c. 29, 39.) His +triumph over two emperors (the first fabulous, the second +historical) is diffusely celebrated by Chrysostom, (tom. ii. p. +536-579, edit. Montfaucon.) Tillemont (Mem. Eccles. tom. iii. +part ii. p. 287-302, 459-465) becomes almost a sceptic.] +[Footnote 113: Ecclesiastical critics, particularly those who +love relics, exult in the confession of Julian (Misopogon, p. +361) and Libanius, (Laenia, p. 185,) that Apollo was disturbed by +the vicinity of one dead man. Yet Ammianus (xxii. 12) clears and +purifies the whole ground, according to the rites which the +Athenians formerly practised in the Isle of Delos.] +[Footnote 114: Julian (in Misopogon, p. 361) rather insinuates, +than affirms, their guilt. Ammianus (xxii. 13) treats the +imputation as levissimus rumor, and relates the story with +extraordinary candor.] + +[Footnote 115: Quo tam atroci casu repente consumpto, ad id usque +e imperatoris ira provexit, ut quaestiones agitare juberet solito +acriores, (yet Julian blames the lenity of the magistrates of +Antioch,) et majorem ecclesiam Antiochiae claudi. This +interdiction was performed with some circumstances of indignity +and profanation; and the seasonable death of the principal actor, +Julian's uncle, is related with much superstitious complacency by +the Abbe de la Bleterie. Vie de Julien, p. 362-369.] + +[Footnote 116: Besides the ecclesiastical historians, who are +more or less to be suspected, we may allege the passion of St. +Theodore, in the Acta Sincera of Ruinart, p. 591. The complaint +of Julian gives it an original and authentic air.] + +Chapter XXIII: Reign Of Julian. + +Part V. + + The zeal of the ministers of Julian was instantly checked by +the frown of their sovereign; but when the father of his country +declares himself the leader of a faction, the license of popular +fury cannot easily be restrained, nor consistently punished. +Julian, in a public composition, applauds the devotion and +loyalty of the holy cities of Syria, whose pious inhabitants had +destroyed, at the first signal, the sepulchres of the Galilaeans; +and faintly complains, that they had revenged the injuries of the +gods with less moderation than he should have recommended. ^117 +This imperfect and reluctant confession may appear to confirm the +ecclesiastical narratives; that in the cities of Gaza, Ascalon, +Caesarea, Heliopolis, &c., the Pagans abused, without prudence or +remorse, the moment of their prosperity. That the unhappy +objects of their cruelty were released from torture only by +death; and as their mangled bodies were dragged through the +streets, they were pierced (such was the universal rage) by the +spits of cooks, and the distaffs of enraged women; and that the +entrails of Christian priests and virgins, after they had been +tasted by those bloody fanatics, were mixed with barley, and +contemptuously thrown to the unclean animals of the city. ^118 +Such scenes of religious madness exhibit the most contemptible +and odious picture of human nature; but the massacre of +Alexandria attracts still more attention, from the certainty of +the fact, the rank of the victims, and the splendor of the +capital of Egypt. + +[Footnote 117: Julian. Misopogon, p. 361.] + +[Footnote 118: See Gregory Nazianzen, (Orat. iii. p. 87.) Sozomen +(l. v. c. 9) may be considered as an original, though not +impartial, witness. He was a native of Gaza, and had conversed +with the confessor Zeno, who, 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) adds some tragic +circumstances, of Christians who were literally sacrificed at the +altars of the gods, &c.] + George, ^119 from his parents or his education, surnamed the +Cappadocian, was born at Epiphania in Cilicia, in a fuller's +shop. From this obscure and servile origin he raised himself by +the talents of a parasite; and the patrons, whom he assiduously +flattered, procured for their worthless dependent a lucrative +commission, or contract, to supply the army with bacon. His +employment was mean; he rendered it infamous. He accumulated +wealth by the basest arts of fraud and corruption; but his +malversations were so notorious, that George was compelled to +escape from the pursuits of justice. After this disgrace, in +which he appears to have saved his fortune at the expense of his +honor, he embraced, with real or affected zeal, the profession of +Arianism. From the love, or the ostentation, of learning, he +collected a valuable library of history rhetoric, philosophy, and +theology, ^120 and the choice of the prevailing faction promoted +George of Cappadocia to the throne of Athanasius. The entrance +of the new archbishop was that of a Barbarian conqueror; and each +moment of his reign was polluted by cruelty and avarice. The +Catholics of Alexandria and Egypt were abandoned to a tyrant, +qualified, by nature and education, to exercise the office of +persecution; but he oppressed with an impartial hand the various +inhabitants of his extensive diocese. The primate of Egypt +assumed the pomp and insolence of his lofty station; but he still +betrayed the vices of his base and servile extraction. The +merchants of Alexandria were impoverished by the unjust, and +almost universal, monopoly, which he acquired, of nitre, salt, +paper, funerals, &c.: and the spiritual father of a great people +condescended to practise the vile and pernicious arts of an +informer. The Alexandrians could never forget, nor forgive, the +tax, which he suggested, on all the houses of the city; under an +obsolete claim, that the royal founder had conveyed to his +successors, the Ptolemies and the Caesars, the perpetual property +of the soil. The Pagans, who had been flattered with the hopes +of freedom and toleration, excited his devout avarice; and the +rich temples of Alexandria were either pillaged or insulted by +the haughty prince, who exclaimed, in a loud and threatening +tone, "How long will these sepulchres be permitted to stand?" +Under the reign of Constantius, he was expelled by the fury, or +rather by the justice, of the people; and it was not without a +violent struggle, that the civil and military powers of the state +could restore his authority, and gratify his revenge. The +messenger who proclaimed at Alexandria the accession of Julian, +announced the downfall of the archbishop. George, with two of +his obsequious ministers, Count Diodorus, and Dracontius, master +of the mint were ignominiously dragged in chains to the public +prison. At the end of twenty-four days, the prison was forced +open by the rage of a superstitious multitude, impatient of the +tedious forms of judicial proceedings. The enemies of gods and +men expired under their cruel insults; the lifeless bodies of the +archbishop and his associates were carried in triumph through the +streets on the back of a camel; ^* and the inactivity of the +Athanasian party ^121 was esteemed a shining example of +evangelical patience. The remains of these guilty wretches were +thrown into the sea; and the popular leaders of the tumult +declared their resolution to disappoint the devotion of the +Christians, and to intercept the future honors of these martyrs, +who had been punished, like their predecessors, by the enemies of +their religion. ^122 The fears of the Pagans were just, and their +precautions ineffectual. The meritorious death of the archbishop +obliterated the memory of his life. The rival of Athanasius was +dear and sacred to the Arians, and the seeming conversion of +those sectaries introduced his worship into the bosom of the +Catholic church. ^123 The odious stranger, disguising every +circumstance of time and place, assumed the mask of a martyr, a +saint, and a Christian hero; ^124 and the infamous George of +Cappadocia has been transformed ^125 into the renowned St. George +of England, the patron of arms, of chivalry, and of the garter. +^126 + +[Footnote 119: The life and death of George of Cappadocia are +described by Ammianus, (xxii. 11,) Gregory of Nazianzen, (Orat. +xxi. p. 382, 385, 389, 390,) and Epiphanius, (Haeres. lxxvi.) The +invectives of the two saints might not deserve much credit, +unless they were confirmed by the testimony of the cool and +impartial infidel.] + +[Footnote 120: After the massacre of George, the emperor Julian +repeatedly sent orders to preserve the library for his own use, +and to torture the slaves who might be suspected of secreting any +books. He praises the merit of the collection, from whence he +had borrowed and transcribed several manuscripts while he pursued +his studies in Cappadocia. He could wish, indeed, that the works +of the Galiaeans might perish but he requires an exact account +even of those theological volumes lest other treatises more +valuable should be confounded in their less Julian. Epist. ix. +xxxvi.] + +[Footnote *: Julian himself says, that they tore him to pieces +like dogs, Epist. x. - M.] + +[Footnote 121: Philostorgius, with cautious malice, insinuates +their guilt, l. vii. c. ii. Godefroy p. 267.] + +[Footnote 122: Cineres projecit in mare, id metuens ut clamabat, +ne, collectis supremis, aedes illis exstruerentur ut reliquis, +qui deviare a religione compulsi, pertulere, cruciabiles poenas, +adusque gloriosam mortem intemerata fide progressi, et nunc +Martyres appellantur. Ammian. xxii. 11. Epiphanius proves to the +Arians, that George was not a martyr.] + +[Footnote 123: Some Donatists (Optatus Milev. p. 60, 303, edit. +Dupin; and Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. vi. p. 713, in 4to.) and +Priscillianists (Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. viii. p. 517, in +4to.) have in like manner usurped the honors of the Catholic +saints and martyrs.] + +[Footnote 124: The saints of Cappadocia, Basil, and the +Gregories, were ignorant of their holy companion. Pope Gelasius, +(A. D. 494,) the first Catholic who acknowledges St. George, +places him among the martyrs "qui Deo magis quam hominibus noti +sunt." He rejects his Acts as the composition of heretics. Some, +perhaps, not the oldest, of the spurious Acts, are still extant; +and, through a cloud of fiction, we may yet distinguish the +combat which St. George of Cappadocia sustained, in the presence +of Queen Alexandria, against the magician Afhanasius.] + +[Footnote 125: This transformation is not given as absolutely +certain, but as extremely probable. See the Longueruana, tom. i. +p. 194. + + Note: The late Dr. Milner (the Roman Catholic bishop) wrote +a tract to vindicate the existence and the orthodoxy of the +tutelar saint of England. He succeeds, I think, in tracing the +worship of St. George up to a period which makes it improbable +that so notorious an Arian could be palmed upon the Catholic +church as a saint and a martyr. The Acts rejected by Gelasius +may have been of Arian origin, and designed to ingraft the story +of their hero on the obscure adventures of some earlier saint. +See an Historical and Critical Inquiry into the Existence and +Character of Saint George, in a letter to the Earl of Leicester, +by the Rev. J. Milner. F. S. A. London 1792. - M.] +[Footnote 126: A curious history of the worship of St. George, +from the sixth century, (when he was already revered in +Palestine, in Armenia at Rome, and at Treves in Gaul,) might be +extracted from Dr. Heylin (History of St. George, 2d edition, +London, 1633, in 4to. p. 429) and the Bollandists, (Act. Ss. +Mens. April. tom. iii. p. 100-163.) His fame and popularity in +Europe, and especially in England, proceeded from the Crusades.] + + About the same time that Julian was informed of the tumult +of Alexandria, he received intelligence from Edessa, that the +proud and wealthy faction of the Arians had insulted the weakness +of the Valentinians, and committed such disorders as ought not to +be suffered with impunity in a well-regulated state. Without +expecting the slow forms of justice, the exasperated prince +directed his mandate to the magistrates of Edessa, ^127 by which +he confiscated the whole property of the church: the money was +distributed among the soldiers; the lands were added to the +domain; and this act of oppression was aggravated by the most +ungenerous irony. "I show myself," says Julian, "the true friend +of the Galilaeans. Their admirable law has promised the kingdom +of heaven to the poor; and they will advance with more diligence +in the paths of virtue and salvation, when they are relieved by +my assistance from the load of temporal possessions. Take care," +pursued the monarch, in a more serious tone, "take care how you +provoke my patience and humanity. If these disorders continue, I +will revenge on the magistrates the crimes of the people; and you +will have reason to dread, not only confiscation and exile, but +fire and the sword." The tumults of Alexandria were doubtless of +a more bloody and dangerous nature: but a Christian bishop had +fallen by the hands of the Pagans; and the public epistle of +Julian affords a very lively proof of the partial spirit of his +administration. His reproaches to the citizens of Alexandria are +mingled with expressions of esteem and tenderness; and he +laments, that, on this occasion, they should have departed from +the gentle and generous manners which attested their Grecian +extraction. He gravely censures the offence which they had +committed against the laws of justice and humanity; but he +recapitulates, with visible complacency, the intolerable +provocations which they had so long endured from the impious +tyranny of George of Cappadocia. Julian admits the principle, +that a wise and vigorous government should chastise the insolence +of the people; yet, in consideration of their founder Alexander, +and of Serapis their tutelar deity, he grants a free and gracious +pardon to the guilty city, for which he again feels the affection +of a brother. ^128 +[Footnote 127: Julian. Epist. xliii.] + +[Footnote 128: Julian. Epist. x. He allowed his friends to +assuage his anger Ammian. xxii. 11.] + + After the tumult of Alexandria had subsided, Athanasius, +amidst the public acclamations, seated himself on the throne from +whence his unworthy competitor had been precipitated: and as the +zeal of the archbishop was tempered with discretion, the exercise +of his authority tended not to inflame, but to reconcile, the +minds of the people. His pastoral labors were not confined to +the narrow limits of Egypt. The state of the Christian world was +present to his active and capacious mind; and the age, the merit, +the reputation of Athanasius, enabled him to assume, in a moment +of danger, the office of Ecclesiastical Dictator. ^129 Three +years were not yet elapsed since the majority of the bishops of +the West had ignorantly, or reluctantly, subscribed the +Confession of Rimini. They repented, they believed, but they +dreaded the unseasonable rigor of their orthodox brethren; and if +their pride was stronger than their faith, they might throw +themselves into the arms of the Arians, to escape the indignity +of a public penance, which must degrade them to the condition of +obscure laymen. At the same time the domestic differences +concerning the union and distinction of the divine persons, were +agitated with some heat among the Catholic doctors; and the +progress of this metaphysical controversy seemed to threaten a +public and lasting division of the Greek and Latin churches. By +the wisdom of a select synod, to which the name and presence of +Athanasius gave the authority of a general council, the bishops, +who had unwarily deviated into error, were admitted to the +communion of the church, on the easy condition of subscribing the +Nicene Creed; without any formal acknowledgment of their past +fault, or any minute definition of their scholastic opinions. +The advice of the primate of Egypt had already prepared the +clergy of Gaul and Spain, of Italy and Greece, for the reception +of this salutary measure; and, notwithstanding the opposition of +some ardent spirits, ^130 the fear of the common enemy promoted +the peace and harmony of the Christians. ^131 + +[Footnote 129: See Athanas. ad Rufin. tom. ii. p. 40, 41, and +Greg. Nazianzen Orat. iii. p. 395, 396; who justly states the +temperate zeal of the primate, as much more meritorious than his +prayers, his fasts, his persecutions, &c.] +[Footnote 130: I have not leisure to follow the blind obstinacy +of Lucifer of Cagliari. See his adventures in Tillemont, (Mem. +Eccles. tom. vii. p. 900-926;) and observe how the color of the +narrative insensibly changes, as the confessor becomes a +schismatic.] + +[Footnote 131: Assensus est huic sententiae Occidens, et, per tam +necessarium conilium, Satanae faucibus mundus ereptus. The +lively and artful dialogue of Jerom against the Luciferians (tom. +ii. p. 135-155) exhibits an original picture of the +ecclesiastical policy of the times.] + + The skill and diligence of the primate of Egypt had improved +the season of tranquillity, before it was interrupted by the +hostile edicts of the emperor. ^132 Julian, who despised the +Christians, honored Athanasius with his sincere and peculiar +hatred. For his sake alone, he introduced an arbitrary +distinction, repugnant at least to the spirit of his former +declarations. He maintained, that the Galilaeans, whom he had +recalled from exile, were not restored, by that general +indulgence, to the possession of their respective churches; and +he expressed his astonishment, that a criminal, who had been +repeatedly condemned by the judgment of the emperors, should dare +to insult the majesty of the laws, and insolently usurp the +archiepiscopal throne of Alexandria, without expecting the orders +of his sovereign. As a punishment for the imaginary offence, he +again banished Athanasius from the city; and he was pleased to +suppose, that this act of justice would be highly agreeable to +his pious subjects. The pressing solicitations of the people +soon convinced him, that the majority of the Alexandrians were +Christians; and that the greatest part of the Christians were +firmly attached to the cause of their oppressed primate. But the +knowledge of their sentiments, instead of persuading him to +recall his decree, provoked him to extend to all Egypt the term +of the exile of Athanasius. The zeal of the multitude rendered +Julian still more inexorable: he was alarmed by the danger of +leaving at the head of a tumultuous city, a daring and popular +leader; and the language of his resentment discovers the opinion +which he entertained of the courage and abilities of Athanasius. +The execution of the sentence was still delayed, by the caution +or negligence of Ecdicius, praefect of Egypt, who was at length +awakened from his lethargy by a severe reprimand. "Though you +neglect," says Julian, "to write to me on any other subject, at +least it is your duty to inform me of your conduct towards +Athanasius, the enemy of the gods. My intentions have been long +since communicated to you. I swear by the great Serapis, that +unless, on the calends of December, Athanasius has departed from +Alexandria, nay, from Egypt, the officers of your government +shall pay a fine of one hundred pounds of gold. You know my +temper: I am slow to condemn, but I am still slower to forgive." +This epistle was enforced by a short postscript, written with the +emperor's own hand. "The contempt that is shown for all the gods +fills me with grief and indignation. There is nothing that I +should see, nothing that I should hear, with more pleasure, than +the expulsion of Athanasius from all Egypt. The abominable +wretch! Under my reign, the baptism of several Grecian ladies of +the highest rank has been the effect of his persecutions." ^133 +The death of Athanasius was not expressly commanded; but the +praefect of Egypt understood that it was safer for him to exceed, +than to neglect, the orders of an irritated master. The +archbishop prudently retired to the monasteries of the Desert; +eluded, with his usual dexterity, the snares of the enemy; and +lived to triumph over the ashes of a prince, who, in words of +formidable import, had declared his wish that the whole venom of +the Galilaean school were contained in the single person of +Athanasius. ^134 +[Footnote 132: Tillemont, who supposes that George was massacred +in August crowds the actions of Athanasius into a narrow space, +(Mem. Eccles. tom. viii. p. 360.) An original fragment, published +by the Marquis Maffei, from the old Chapter library of Verona, +(Osservazioni Letterarie, tom. iii. p. 60-92,) affords many +important dates, which are authenticated by the computation of +Egyptian months.] + +[Footnote 133: I have preserved the ambiguous sense of the last +word, the ambiguity of a tyrant who wished to find, or to create, +guilt.] +[Footnote 134: The three epistles of Julian, which explain his +intentions and conduct with regard to Athanasius, should be +disposed in the following chronological order, xxvi. x. vi. * See +likewise, Greg. Nazianzen xxi. p. 393. Sozomen, 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 +prepared by the Bollandists.] + +[Footnote *: The sentence in the text is from Epist. li. +addressed to the people of Alexandria. - M.] + + I have endeavored faithfully to represent the artful system +by which Julian proposed to obtain the effects, without incurring +the guilt, or reproach, of persecution. But if the deadly spirit +of fanaticism perverted the heart and understanding of a virtuous +prince, it must, at the same time, be confessed that the real +sufferings of the Christians were inflamed and magnified by human +passions and religious enthusiasm. The meekness and resignation +which had distinguished the primitive disciples of the gospel, +was the object of the applause, rather than of the imitation of +their successors. The Christians, who had now possessed above +forty years the civil and ecclesiastical government of the +empire, had contracted the insolent vices of prosperity, ^135 and +the habit of believing that the saints alone were entitled to +reign over the earth. As soon as the enmity of Julian deprived +the clergy of the privileges which had been conferred by the +favor of Constantine, they complained of the most cruel +oppression; and the free toleration of idolaters and heretics was +a subject of grief and scandal to the orthodox party. ^136 The +acts of violence, which were no longer countenanced by the +magistrates, were still committed by the zeal of the people. At +Pessinus, the altar of Cybele was overturned almost in the +presence of the emperor; and in the city of Caesarea in +Cappadocia, the temple of Fortune, the sole place of worship +which had been left to the Pagans, was destroyed by the rage of a +popular tumult. On these occasions, a prince, who felt for the +honor of the gods, was not disposed to interrupt the course of +justice; and his mind was still more deeply exasperated, when he +found that the fanatics, who had deserved and suffered the +punishment of incendiaries, were rewarded with the honors of +martyrdom. ^137 The Christian subjects of Julian were assured of +the hostile designs of their sovereign; and, to their jealous +apprehension, every circumstance of his government might afford +some grounds of discontent and suspicion. In the ordinary +administration of the laws, the Christians, who formed so large a +part of the people, must frequently be condemned: but their +indulgent brethren, without examining the merits of the cause, +presumed their innocence, allowed their claims, and imputed the +severity of their judge to the partial malice of religious +persecution. ^138 These present hardships, intolerable as they +might appear, were represented as a slight prelude of the +impending calamities. The Christians considered Julian as a +cruel and crafty tyrant; who suspended the execution of his +revenge till he should return victorious from the Persian war. +They expected, that as soon as he had triumphed over the foreign +enemies of Rome, he would lay aside the irksome mask of +dissimulation; that the amphitheatre would stream with the blood +of hermits and bishops; and that the Christians who still +persevered in the profession of the faith, would be deprived of +the common benefits of nature and society. ^139 Every calumny +^140 that could wound the reputation of the Apostate, was +credulously embraced by the fears and hatred of his adversaries; +and their indiscreet clamors provoked the temper of a sovereign, +whom it was their duty to respect, and their interest to flatter. + +They still protested, that prayers and tears were their only +weapons against the impious tyrant, whose head they devoted to +the justice of offended Heaven. But they insinuated, with sullen +resolution, that their submission was no longer the effect of +weakness; and that, in the imperfect state of human virtue, the +patience, which is founded on principle, may be exhausted by +persecution. It is impossible to determine how far the zeal of +Julian would have prevailed over his good sense and humanity; but +if we seriously reflect on the strength and spirit of the church, +we shall be convinced, that before the emperor could have +extinguished the religion of Christ, he must have involved his +country in the horrors of a civil war. ^141 +[Footnote 135: See the fair confession of Gregory, (Orat. iii. p. +61, 62.)] +[Footnote 136: Hear the furious and absurd complaint of Optatus, +(de Schismat Denatist. l. ii. c. 16, 17.)] + +[Footnote 137: Greg. Nazianzen, Orat. iii. p. 91, iv. p. 133. He +praises the rioters of Caesarea. 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 is perfectly +satisfied, as the great St. Basil always celebrated the festival +of these blessed martyrs.] + +[Footnote 138: Julian determined a lawsuit against the new +Christian city at Maiuma, the port of Gaza; and his sentence, +though it might be imputed to bigotry, was never reversed by his +successors. Sozomen, l. v. c. 3. Reland, Palestin. tom. ii. p. +791.] + +[Footnote 139: Gregory (Orat. iii. p. 93, 94, 95. Orat. iv. p. +114) pretends to speak from the information of Julian's +confidants, whom Orosius (vii. 30) could not have seen.] + +[Footnote 140: Gregory (Orat. iii. p. 91) charges the Apostate +with secret sacrifices of boys and girls; and positively affirms, +that the dead bodies were thrown into the Orontes. See +Theodoret, l. iii. c. 26, 27; and the equivocal candor of the +Abbe de la Bleterie, Vie de Julien, p. 351, 352. Yet contemporary +malice could not impute to Julian the troops of martyrs, more +especially in the West, which Baronius so greedily swallows, and +Tillemont so faintly rejects, (Mem. Eccles. tom. vii. p. +1295-1315.)] + +[Footnote 141: The resignation of Gregory is truly edifying, +(Orat. iv. p. 123, 124.) Yet, when an officer of Julian attempted +to seize the church of Nazianzus, he would have lost his life, if +he had not yielded to the zeal of the bishop and people, (Orat. +xix. p. 308.) See the reflections of Chrysostom, as they are +alleged by Tillemont, (Mem. Eccles. tom. vii. p. 575.)] + +Chapter XXIV: The Retreat And Death Of Julian. + +Part I. + + Residence 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 under the name +of the Caesars, ^1 is one of the most agreeable and instructive +productions of ancient wit. ^2 During the freedom and equality of +the days of the Saturnalia, Romulus prepared a feast for the +deities of Olympus, who had adopted him as a worthy associate, +and for the Roman princes, who had reigned over his martial +people, and the vanquished nations of the earth. The immortals +were placed in just order on their thrones of state, and the +table of the Caesars was spread below the Moon in the upper +region of the air. The tyrants, who would have disgraced the +society of gods and men, were thrown headlong, by the inexorable +Nemesis, into the Tartarean abyss. The rest of the Caesars +successively advanced to their seats; and as they passed, the +vices, the defects, the blemishes of their respective characters, +were maliciously noticed by old Silenus, a laughing moralist, who +disguised the wisdom of a philosopher under the mask of a +Bacchanal. ^3 As soon as the feast was ended, the voice of +Mercury proclaimed the will of Jupiter, that a celestial crown +should be the reward of superior merit. Julius Caesar, Augustus, +Trajan, and Marcus Antoninus, were selected as the most +illustrious candidates; the effeminate Constantine ^4 was not +excluded from this honorable competition, and the great Alexander +was invited to dispute the prize of glory with the Roman heroes. +Each of the candidates was allowed to display the merit of his +own exploits; but, in the judgment of the gods, the modest +silence of Marcus pleaded more powerfully than the elaborate +orations of his haughty rivals. When the judges of this awful +contest proceeded to examine the heart, and to scrutinize the +springs of action, the superiority of the Imperial Stoic appeared +still more decisive and conspicuous. ^5 Alexander and Caesar, +Augustus, Trajan, and Constantine, acknowledged, with a blush, +that fame, or power, or pleasure had been the important object of +their labors: but the gods themselves beheld, with reverence and +love, a virtuous mortal, who had practised on the throne the +lessons of philosophy; and who, in a state of human imperfection, +had aspired to imitate the moral attributes of the Deity. The +value of this agreeable composition (the Caesars of Julian) is +enhanced by the rank of the author. A prince, who delineates, +with freedom, the vices and virtues of his predecessors, +subscribes, in every line, the censure or approbation of his own +conduct. + +[Footnote 1: See 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, illustrations, &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. p. 241-393) has +more happily expressed the spirit, as well as the sense, of the +original, which he illustrates with some concise and curious +notes.] + +[Footnote 2: Spanheim (in his preface) has most learnedly +discussed the etymology, origin, resemblance, and disagreement of +the Greek satyrs, a dramatic piece, which was acted after the +tragedy; and the Latin satires, (from Satura,) a miscellaneous +composition, either in prose or verse. But the Caesars of Julian +are of such an original cast, that the critic is perplexed to +which class he should ascribe them. + + Note: See also Casaubon de Satira, with Rambach's +observations. - M.] +[Footnote 3: This mixed character of Silenus is finely painted in +the sixth eclogue of Virgil.] + +[Footnote 4: Every impartial reader must perceive and condemn the +partiality of Julian against his uncle Constantine, and the +Christian religion. On this occasion, the interpreters are +compelled, by a most sacred interest, to renounce their +allegiance, and to desert the cause of their author.] +[Footnote 5: Julian was secretly inclined to prefer a Greek to a +Roman. But when he seriously compared a hero with a philosopher, +he was sensible that mankind had much greater obligations to +Socrates than to Alexander, (Orat. ad Themistium, p. 264.)] + + In the cool moments of reflection, Julian preferred the +useful and benevolent virtues of Antoninus; but his ambitious +spirit was inflamed by the glory of Alexander; and he solicited, +with equal ardor, the esteem of the wise, and the applause of the +multitude. In the season of life when the powers of the mind and +body enjoy the most active vigor, the emperor who was instructed +by the experience, and animated by the success, of the German +war, resolved to signalize his reign by some more splendid and +memorable achievement. The ambassadors of the East, from the +continent of India, and the Isle of Ceylon, ^6 had respectfully +saluted the Roman purple. ^7 The nations of the West esteemed and +dreaded the personal virtues of Julian, both in peace and war. +He despised the trophies of a Gothic victory, and was satisfied +that the rapacious Barbarians of the Danube would be restrained +from any future violation of the faith of treaties by the terror +of his name, and the additional fortifications with which he +strengthened the Thracian and Illyrian frontiers. The successor +of Cyrus and Artaxerxes was the only rival whom he deemed worthy +of his arms; and he resolved, by the final conquest of Persia, to +chastise the naughty nation which had so long resisted and +insulted the majesty of Rome. ^9 As soon as the Persian monarch +was informed that the throne of Constantius was filed by a prince +of a very different character, he condescended to make some +artful, or perhaps sincere, overtures towards a negotiation of +peace. But the pride of Sapor was astonished by the firmness of +Julian; who sternly declared, that he would never consent to hold +a peaceful conference among the flames and ruins of the cities of +Mesopotamia; and who added, with a smile of contempt, that it was +needless to treat by ambassadors, as he himself had determined to +visit speedily the court of Persia. The impatience of the +emperor urged the diligence of the military preparations. The +generals were named; and Julian, marching from Constantinople +through the provinces of Asia Minor, arrived at Antioch about +eight months after the death of his predecessor. His ardent +desire to march into the heart of Persia, was checked by the +indispensable duty of regulating the state of the empire; by his +zeal to revive the worship of the gods; and by the advice of his +wisest friends; who represented the necessity of allowing the +salutary interval of winter quarters, to restore the exhausted +strength of the legions of Gaul, and the discipline and spirit of +the Eastern troops. Julian was persuaded to fix, till the ensuing +spring, his residence at Antioch, among a people maliciously +disposed to deride the haste, and to censure the delays, of their +sovereign. ^10 + +[Footnote 6: Inde nationibus Indicis certatim cum aonis optimates +mittentibus . . . . ab usque Divis et Serendivis. Ammian. xx. 7. + +This island, to which the names of Taprobana, Serendib, and +Ceylon, have been successively applied, manifests how imperfectly +the seas and lands to the east of Cape Comorin were known to the +Romans. 1. Under the reign of Claudius, a freedman, who farmed +the customs of the Red Sea, was accidentally driven by the winds +upon this strange and undiscovered coast: he conversed 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 to +send an embassy to the emperor. (Plin. Hist. Nat. vi. 24.) 2. +The geographers (and even Ptolemy) have magnified, above fifteen +times, the real size of this new world, which they extended as +far as the equator, and the neighborhood of China. + + Note: The name of Diva gens or Divorum regio, according to +the probable conjecture of M. Letronne, (Trois Mem. Acad. p. +127,) was applied by the ancients to the whole eastern coast of +the Indian Peninsula, from Ceylon to the Canges. The name may be +traced in Devipatnam, Devidan, Devicotta, Divinelly, the point of +Divy. + + M. Letronne, p.121, considers the freedman with his embassy +from Ceylon to have been an impostor. - M.] + +[Footnote 7: These embassies had been sent to Constantius. +Ammianus, who unwarily deviates into gross flattery, must have +forgotten the length of the way, and the short duration of the +reign of Julian.] + +[Footnote 8: Gothos saepe fallaces et perfidos; hostes quaerere +se meliores aiebat: illis enim sufficere mercators Galatas per +quos ubique sine conditionis discrimine venumdantur. (Ammian. +xxii. 7.) Within less than fifteen years, these Gothic slaves +threatened and subdued their masters.] +[Footnote 9: Alexander reminds his rival Caesar, who depreciated +the fame and merit of an Asiatic victory, that Crassus and Antony +had felt the Persian 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.)] +[Footnote 10: The 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.)] + + If Julian had flattered himself, that his personal +connection with the capital of the East would be productive of +mutual satisfaction to the prince and people, he made a very +false estimate of his own character, and of the manners of +Antioch. ^11 The warmth of the climate disposed the natives to +the most intemperate enjoyment of tranquillity and opulence; and +the lively licentiousness of the Greeks was blended with the +hereditary softness of the Syrians. Fashion was the only law, +pleasure the only pursuit, and the splendor of dress and +furniture was the only distinction of the 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 announced the universal corruption of the +capital of the East. The love of spectacles was the taste, or +rather passion, of the Syrians; the most skilful artists were +procured from the adjacent cities; ^12 a considerable share of +the revenue was devoted to the public amusements; and the +magnificence of the games of the theatre and circus was +considered as the happiness and as the glory of Antioch. The +rustic manners of a prince who disdained such glory, and was +insensible of such happiness, soon disgusted the delicacy of his +subjects; and the effeminate Orientals could neither imitate, nor +admire, the severe simplicity which Julian always maintained, and +sometimes affected. The days of festivity, consecrated, by +ancient custom, to the honor of the gods, were the only occasions +in which Julian relaxed his philosophic severity; and those +festivals were the only days in which the Syrians of Antioch +could reject the allurements of pleasure. The majority of the +people supported the glory of the Christian name, which had been +first invented by their ancestors: ^13 they contended themselves +with disobeying the moral precepts, but they were scrupulously +attached to the speculative doctrines of their religion. The +church of Antioch was distracted by heresy and schism; but the +Arians and the Athanasians, the followers of Meletius and those +of Paulinus, ^14 were actuated by the same pious hatred of their +common adversary. +[Footnote 11: The Satire of Julian, and the Homilies of St. +Chrysostom, exhibit the same picture of Antioch. The miniature +which the Abbe de la Bleterie has copied from thence, (Vie de +Julian, p. 332,) is elegant and correct.] + +[Footnote 12: Laodicea furnished charioteers; Tyre and Berytus, +comedians; Caesarea, pantomimes; Heliopolis, singers; Gaza, +gladiators, Ascalon, wrestlers; and Castabala, rope-dancers. See +the Expositio totius Mundi, p. 6, in the third tome of Hudson's +Minor Geographers.] + +[Footnote 13: The people of Antioch ingenuously professed their +attachment to the Chi, (Christ,) and the Kappa, (Constantius.) +Julian in Misopogon, p. 357.] +[Footnote 14: The schism of Antioch, which lasted eighty-five +years, (A. D. 330-415,) was inflamed, while Julian resided in +that city, by the indiscreet ordination of Paulinus. See +Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. iii. p. 803 of the quarto edition, +(Paris, 1701, &c,) which henceforward I shall quote.] + The strongest prejudice was entertained against the +character of an apostate, the enemy and successor of a prince who +had engaged the affections of a very numerous sect; and the +removal of St. Babylas excited an implacable opposition to the +person of Julian. His subjects complained, with superstitious +indignation, that famine had pursued the emperor's steps from +Constantinople to Antioch; and the discontent of a hungry people +was exasperated by the injudicious attempt to relieve their +distress. The inclemency of the season had affected the harvests +of Syria; and the price of bread, ^15 in the markets of Antioch, +had naturally risen in proportion to the scarcity of corn. But +the fair and reasonable proportion was soon violated by the +rapacious arts of monopoly. In this unequal contest, in which +the produce of the land is claimed by one party as his exclusive +property, is used by another as a lucrative object of trade, and +is required by a third for the daily and necessary support of +life, all the profits of the intermediate agents are accumulated +on the head of the defenceless customers. The hardships of their +situation were exaggerated and increased by their own impatience +and anxiety; and the apprehension of a scarcity gradually +produced the appearances of a famine. When the luxurious +citizens of Antioch complained of the high price of poultry and +fish, Julian publicly declared, that a frugal city ought to be +satisfied with a regular supply of wine, oil, and bread; but he +acknowledged, that it was the duty of a sovereign to provide for +the subsistence of his people. With this salutary view, the +emperor ventured on a very dangerous and doubtful step, of +fixing, by legal authority, the value of corn. He enacted, that, +in a time of scarcity, it should be sold at a price which had +seldom been known in the most plentiful years; and that his own +example might strengthen his laws, he sent into the market four +hundred and twenty- two thousand modii, or measures, which were +drawn by his order from the granaries of Hierapolis, of Chalcis, +and even of Egypt. The consequences might have been foreseen, +and were soon felt. The Imperial wheat was purchased by the rich +merchants; the proprietors of land, or of corn, withheld from the +city the accustomed supply; and the small quantities that +appeared in the market were secretly sold at an advanced and +illegal price. Julian still continued to applaud his own policy, +treated the complaints of the people as a vain and ungrateful +murmur, and convinced Antioch that he had inherited the +obstinacy, though not the cruelty, of his brother Gallus. ^16 The +remonstrances of the municipal senate served only to exasperate +his inflexible mind. He was persuaded, perhaps with truth, that +the senators of Antioch who possessed lands, or were concerned in +trade, had themselves contributed to the calamities of their +country; and he imputed the disrespectful boldness which they +assumed, to the sense, not of public duty, but of private +interest. The whole body, consisting of two hundred of the most +noble and wealthy citizens, were sent, under a guard, from the +palace to the prison; and though they were permitted, before the +close of evening, to return to their respective houses, ^17 the +emperor himself could not obtain the forgiveness which he had so +easily granted. The same grievances were still the subject of +the same complaints, which were industriously circulated by the +wit and levity of the Syrian Greeks. During the licentious days +of the Saturnalia, the streets of the city resounded with +insolent songs, which derided the laws, the religion, the +personal conduct, and even the beard, of the emperor; the spirit +of Antioch was manifested by the connivance of the magistrates, +and the applause of the multitude. ^18 The disciple of Socrates +was too deeply affected by these popular insults; but the +monarch, endowed with a quick sensibility, and possessed of +absolute power, refused his passions the gratification of +revenge. A tyrant might have proscribed, without distinction, +the lives and fortunes of the citizens of Antioch; and the +unwarlike Syrians must have patiently submitted to the lust, the +rapaciousness and the cruelty, of the faithful legions of Gaul. +A milder sentence might have deprived the capital of the East of +its honors and privileges; and the courtiers, perhaps the +subjects, of Julian, would have applauded an act of justice, +which asserted the dignity of the supreme magistrate of the +republic. ^19 But instead of abusing, or exerting, the authority +of the state, to revenge his personal injuries, Julian contented +himself with an inoffensive mode of retaliation, which it would +be in the power of few princes to employ. He had been insulted +by satires and libels; in his turn, he composed, under the title +of the Enemy of the Beard, an ironical confession of his own +faults, and a severe satire on the licentious and effeminate +manners of Antioch. This Imperial reply was publicly exposed +before the gates of the palace; and the Misopogon ^20 still +remains a singular monument of the resentment, the wit, the +humanity, and the indiscretion of Julian. Though he affected to +laugh, he could not forgive. ^21 His contempt was expressed, and +his revenge might be gratified, by the nomination of a governor +^22 worthy only of such subjects; and the emperor, forever +renouncing the ungrateful city, proclaimed his resolution to pass +the ensuing winter at Tarsus in Cilicia. ^23 + +[Footnote 15: Julian states three different proportions, of five, +ten, or fifteen medii of wheat for one piece of gold, according +to the degrees of plenty and scarcity, (in Misopogon, p. 369.) +From this fact, and from some collateral examples, I conclude, +that under the successors of Constantine, the moderate price of +wheat was about thirty-two shillings the English quarter, which +is equal to the average price of the sixty-four first years of +the present century. See Arbuthnot's Tables of Coins, Weights, +and Measures, p. 88, 89. Plin. Hist. Natur. xviii. 12. Mem. de +l'Academie des Inscriptions, tom. xxviii. p. 718-721. Smith's +Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, vol. +i. p 246. This last I am proud to quote as the work of a sage +and a friend.] + +[Footnote 16: Nunquam a proposito declinabat, Galli similis +fratris, licet incruentus. Ammian. xxii. 14. The ignorance of +the most enlightened princes may claim some excuse; but we cannot +be satisfied with Julian's own defence, (in Misopogon, p. 363, +369,) or the elaborate apology of Libanius, (Orat. Parental c. +xcvii. p. 321.)] + +[Footnote 17: Their short and easy confinement is gently touched +by Libanius, (Orat. Parental. c. xcviii. p. 322, 323.)] + +[Footnote 18: Libanius, (ad Antiochenos de Imperatoris ira, c. +17, 18, 19, in Fabricius, Bibliot. Graec. tom. vii. p. 221-223,) +like a skilful advocate, severely censures the folly of the +people, who suffered for the crime of a few obscure and drunken +wretches.] + +[Footnote 19: Libanius (ad Antiochen. c. vii. p. 213) reminds +Antioch of the recent chastisement of Caesarea; and even Julian +(in Misopogon, p. 355) insinuates how severely Tarentum had +expiated the insult to the Roman ambassadors.] + +[Footnote 20: On the subject of the Misopogon, see Ammianus, +(xxii. 14,) Libanius, (Orat. Parentalis, c. xcix. p. 323,) +Gregory Nazianzen, (Orat. iv. p. 133) and the Chronicle of +Antioch, by John Malala, (tom. ii. p. 15, 16.) I have essential +obligations to the translation and notes of the Abbe de la +Bleterie, (Vie de Jovien, tom. ii. p. 1-138.)] + +[Footnote 21: Ammianus very justly remarks, Coactus dissimulare +pro tempore ira sufflabatur interna. The elaborate irony of +Julian at length bursts forth into serious and direct invective.] + +[Footnote 22: Ipse autem Antiochiam egressurus, Heliopoliten +quendam Alexandrum Syriacae jurisdictioni praefecit, turbulentum +et saevum; dicebatque non illum meruisse, sed Antiochensibus +avaris et contumeliosis hujusmodi judicem convenire. Ammian. +xxiii. 2. Libanius, (Epist. 722, p. 346, 347,) who confesses to +Julian himself, that he had shared the general discontent, +pretends that Alexander was a useful, though harsh, reformer of +the manners and religion of Antioch.] + +[Footnote 23: Julian, in Misopogon, p. 364. Ammian. xxiii. 2, +and Valesius, ad loc. Libanius, in a professed oration, invites +him to return to his loyal and penitent city of Antioch.] + + Yet Antioch possessed one citizen, whose genius and virtues +might atone, in the opinion of Julian, for the vice and folly of +his country. The sophist Libanius was born in the capital of the +East; he publicly professed the arts of rhetoric and declamation +at Nice, Nicomedia, Constantinople, Athens, and, during the +remainder of his life, at Antioch. His school was assiduously +frequented by the Grecian youth; his disciples, who sometimes +exceeded the number of eighty, celebrated their incomparable +master; and the jealousy of his rivals, who persecuted him from +one city to another, confirmed the favorable opinion which +Libanius ostentatiously displayed of his superior merit. The +preceptors 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 his style, the +most laborious of his domestic pupils. ^24 When Julian ascended +the throne, he declared his impatience to embrace 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 increased and justified by the +discreet pride of his favorite. Instead of pressing, with the +foremost of the crowd, into the palace of Constantinople, +Libanius calmly expected his arrival at Antioch; withdrew from +court on the first symptoms of coldness and indifference; +required a formal invitation for each visit; and taught his +sovereign an important lesson, that he might command the +obedience of a subject, but that he must deserve the attachment +of a friend. The sophists of every age, despising, or affecting +to despise, the accidental distinctions of birth and fortune, ^25 +reserve their esteem for the superior qualities of the mind, with +which they themselves are so plentifully endowed. Julian might +disdain the acclamations of a venal court, who adored the +Imperial purple; but he was deeply flattered by the praise, the +admonition, the freedom, and the envy of an independent +philosopher, who refused his favors, loved his person, celebrated +his fame, and protected his memory. The voluminous writings of +Libanius still exist; for the most part, they are the vain and +idle compositions of an orator, who cultivated the science of +words; the productions of a recluse student, whose mind, +regardless of his contemporaries, was incessantly fixed on the +Trojan war and the Athenian commonwealth. Yet the sophist of +Antioch sometimes descended from this imaginary elevation; he +entertained a various and elaborate correspondence; ^26 he +praised the virtues of his own times; he boldly arraigned the +abuse of public and private life; and he eloquently pleaded the +cause of Antioch against the just resentment of Julian and +Theodosius. It is the common calamity of old age, ^27 to lose +whatever might have rendered it desirable; but Libanius +experienced the peculiar misfortune of surviving the religion and +the sciences, to which he had consecrated his genius. The friend +of Julian was an indignant spectator of the triumph of +Christianity; and his bigotry, which darkened the prospect of the +visible world, did not inspire Libanius with any lively hopes of +celestial glory and happiness. ^28 +[Footnote 24: Libanius, Orat. Parent. c. vii. p. 230, 231.] +[Footnote 25: Eunapius reports, that Libanius refused the +honorary rank of Praetorian praefect, as less illustrious than +the title of Sophist, (in Vit. Sophist. p. 135.) The critics have +observed a similar sentiment in one of the epistles (xviii. edit. +Wolf) of Libanius himself.] + +[Footnote 26: Near two thousand of his letters - a mode of +composition in which Libanius was thought to excel - are still +extant, and already published. The critics may praise their +subtle and elegant brevity; yet Dr. Bentley (Dissertation upon +Phalaris, p. 48) might justly, though quaintly observe, that "you +feel, by the emptiness and deadness of them, that you converse +with some dreaming pedant, with his elbow on his desk."] + +[Footnote 27: His 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 of a still later date.] + +[Footnote 28: Libanius 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, (Bibliot. Graec. tom. vii. p. +376-414,) and Lardner, (Heathen Testimonies, tom. iv. p. +127-163,) have illustrated the character and writings of this +famous sophist.] + +Chapter XXIV: The Retreat And Death Of Julian. + +Part II. + + The martial impatience of Julian urged him to take the field +in the beginning of the spring; and he dismissed, with contempt +and reproach, the senate of Antioch, who accompanied the emperor +beyond the limits of their own territory, to which he was +resolved never to return. After a laborious march of two days, +^29 he halted on the third at Beraea, or Aleppo, where he had the +mortification of finding a senate almost entirely Christian; who +received with cold and formal demonstrations of respect the +eloquent sermon of the apostle of paganism. The son of one of +the most illustrious citizens of Beraea, who had embraced, either +from interest or conscience, the religion of the emperor, was +disinherited by his angry parent. The father and the son were +invited to the Imperial table. Julian, placing himself between +them, attempted, without success, to inculcate the lesson and +example of toleration; supported, with affected calmness, the +indiscreet zeal of the aged Christian, who seemed to forget the +sentiments of nature, and the duty of a subject; and at length, +turning towards the afflicted youth, "Since you have lost a +father," said he, "for my sake, it is incumbent on me to supply +his place." ^30 The emperor was received in a manner much more +agreeable to his wishes at Batnae, ^* a small town pleasantly +seated in a grove of cypresses, about twenty miles from the city +of Hierapolis. The solemn rites of sacrifice were decently +prepared by the inhabitants of Batnae, who seemed attached to the +worship of their tutelar deities, Apollo and Jupiter; but the +serious piety of Julian was offended by the tumult of their +applause; and he too clearly discerned, that the smoke which +arose from their altars was the incense of flattery, rather than +of devotion. The ancient and magnificent temple which had +sanctified, for so many ages, the city of Hierapolis, ^31 no +longer subsisted; and the consecrated wealth, which afforded a +liberal maintenance to more than three hundred priests, might +hasten its downfall. Yet Julian enjoyed the satisfaction of +embracing a philosopher and a friend, whose religious firmness +had withstood the pressing and repeated solicitations of +Constantius and Gallus, as often as those princes lodged at his +house, in their passage through Hierapolis. In the hurry of +military preparation, and the careless confidence of a familiar +correspondence, the zeal of Julian appears to have been lively +and uniform. He had now undertaken an important and difficult +war; and the anxiety of the event rendered him still more +attentive to observe and register the most trifling presages, +from which, according to the rules of divination, any knowledge +of futurity could be derived. ^32 He informed Libanius of his +progress as far as Hierapolis, by an elegant epistle, ^33 which +displays the facility of his genius, and his tender friendship +for the sophist of Antioch. + +[Footnote 29: From Antioch to Litarbe, on the territory of +Chalcis, the road, over hills and through morasses, was extremely +bad; and the loose stones were cemented only with sand, (Julian. +epist. xxvii.) It is singular enough that the Romans should have +neglected the great communication between Antioch and the +Euphrates. See Wesseling Itinerar. p. 190 Bergier, Hist des +Grands Chemins, tom. ii. p. 100] + +[Footnote 30: Julian alludes to this incident, (epist. xxvii.,) +which is more distinctly related by Theodoret, (l. iii. c. 22.) +The intolerant spirit of the father is applauded by Tillemont, +(Hist. des Empereurs, tom. iv. p. 534.) and even by La Bleterie, +(Vie de Julien, p. 413.)] + +[Footnote *: This 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 is Barbaric, the situation Greek. The +geographer Abulfeda (tab. Syriac. p. 129, edit. Koehler) speaks +of it in a manner to justify the praises of Julian. - St. Martin. +Notes to Le Beau, iii. 56. - M.] + +[Footnote 31: See the curious treatise de Dea Syria, inserted +among the works of Lucian, (tom. iii. p. 451-490, edit. Reitz.) +The singular appellation of Ninus vetus (Ammian. xiv. 8) might +induce a suspicion, that Heirapolis had been the royal seat of +the Assyrians.] + +[Footnote 32: Julian (epist. xxviii.) kept a regular account of +all the fortunate omens; but he suppresses the inauspicious +signs, which Ammianus (xxiii. 2) has carefully recorded.] + +[Footnote 33: Julian. epist. xxvii. p. 399-402.] + + Hierapolis, ^* situate almost on the banks of the Euphrates, +^34 had been appointed for the general rendezvous of the Roman +troops, who immediately passed the great river on a bridge of +boats, which was previously constructed. ^35 If the inclinations +of Julian had been similar to those of his predecessor, he might +have wasted the active and important season of the year in the +circus of Samosata or in the churches of Edessa. But as the +warlike emperor, instead of Constantius, had chosen Alexander for +his model, he advanced without delay to Carrhae, ^36 a very +ancient city of Mesopotamia, at the distance of fourscore miles +from Hierapolis. The temple of the Moon attracted the devotion of +Julian; but the halt of a few days was principally employed in +completing the immense preparations of the Persian war. The +secret of the expedition had hitherto remained in his own breast; +but as Carrhae is the point of separation of the two great roads, +he could no longer conceal whether it was his design to attack +the dominions of Sapor on the side of the Tigris, or on that of +the Euphrates. The emperor detached an army of thirty thousand +men, under the command of his kinsman Procopius, and of +Sebastian, who had been duke of Egypt. They were ordered to +direct their march towards Nisibis, and to secure the frontier +from the desultory incursions of the enemy, before they attempted +the passage of the Tigris. Their subsequent operations were left +to the discretion of the generals; but Julian expected, that +after wasting with fire and sword the fertile districts of Media +and Adiabene, they might arrive under the walls of Ctesiphon at +the same time that he himself, advancing with equal steps along +the banks of the Euphrates, should besiege the capital of the +Persian monarchy. The success of this well-concerted plan +depended, in a great measure, on the 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 twenty thousand foot, to the assistance of +the Romans. ^37 But the feeble Arsaces Tiranus, ^38 king of +Armenia, had degenerated still more shamefully than his father +Chosroes, from the manly virtues of the great Tiridates; and as +the pusillanimous monarch was averse to any enterprise of danger +and glory, he could disguise his timid indolence by the more +decent excuses of religion and gratitude. He expressed a pious +attachment to the memory of Constantius, from whose hands he had +received in marriage Olympias, the daughter of the praefect +Ablavius; and the alliance of a female, who had been educated as +the destined wife of the emperor Constans, exalted the dignity of +a Barbarian king. ^39 Tiranus professed the Christian religion; +he reigned over a nation of Christians; and he was restrained, by +every principle of conscience and interest, from contributing to +the victory, which would consummate the ruin of the church. The +alienated mind of Tiranus was exasperated by the indiscretion of +Julian, who treated the king of Armenia as his slave, and as the +enemy of the gods. The haughty and threatening style of the +Imperial mandates ^40 awakened the secret indignation of 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. ^! + +[Footnote *: Or Bambyce, now Bambouch; Manbedj Arab., or Maboug, +Syr. It was twenty-four Roman miles from the Euphrates. - M.] + +[Footnote 34: I 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 of Julian.] +[Footnote 35: There are three passages within a few miles of each +other; 1. Zeugma, celebrated by the ancients; 2. Bir, frequented +by the moderns; and, 3. The bridge of Menbigz, or Hierapolis, at +the distance of four parasangs from the city.] + +[Footnote *: Djisr Manbedj is the same with the ancient Zeugma. +St. Martin, iii. 58 - M.] + +[Footnote 36: Haran, or Carrhae, was the ancient residence of the +Sabaeans, and of Abraham. See the Index Geographicus of +Schultens, (ad calcem Vit. Saladin.,) a work from which I have +obtained much Oriental knowledge concerning the ancient and +modern geography of Syria and the adjacent countries.] + +[Footnote *: On an inedited medal in the collection of the late +M. Tochon. of the Academy of Inscriptions, it is read Xappan. +St. Martin. iii 60 - M.] +[Footnote 37: See Xenophon. Cyropaed. l. iii. p. 189, edit. +Hutchinson. Artavasdes might have supplied Marc Antony with +16,000 horse, armed and disciplined after the Parthian manner, +(Plutarch, in M. Antonio. tom. v. p. 117.)] + +[Footnote 38: Moses of Chorene (Hist. Armeniac. l. iii. c. 11, p. +242) fixes his accession (A. D. 354) to the 17th year of +Constantius.] +[Footnote *: Arsaces Tiranus, or Diran, had ceased to reign +twenty- five years before, in 337. The intermediate changes in +Armenia, and the character of this Arsaces, the son of Diran, are +traced by M. St. Martin, at considerable length, in his +supplement to Le Beau, ii. 208-242. As long as his Grecian queen +Olympias maintained her influence, Arsaces was faithful to the +Roman and Christian alliance. On the accession of Julian, the +same influence made his fidelity to waver; but Olympias having +been poisoned in the sacramental bread by the agency of +Pharandcem, the former wife of Arsaces, another change took place +in Armenian politics unfavorable to the Christian interest. The +patriarch Narses retired from the impious court to a safe +seclusion. Yet Pharandsem was equally hostile to the Persian +influence, and Arsaces began to support with vigor the cause of +Julian. He made an inroad into the Persian dominions with a body +of Rans and Alans as auxiliaries; wasted Aderbidgan and Sapor, +who had been defeated near Tauriz, was engaged in making head +against his troops in Persarmenia, at the time of the death of +Julian. Such is M. St. Martin's view, (ii. 276, et sqq.,) which +rests on the Armenian historians, Faustos of Byzantium, and +Mezrob the biographer of the Partriarch Narses. In the history +of Armenia by Father Chamitch, and translated by Avdall, Tiran is +still king of Armenia, at the time of Julian's death. F. +Chamitch follows Moses of Chorene, The authority of Gibbon. - M.] + +[Footnote 39: Ammian. xx. 11. Athanasius (tom. i. p. 856) says, +in general terms, that Constantius gave to his brother's widow, +an expression more suitable to a Roman than a Christian.] + +[Footnote 40: Ammianus (xxiii. 2) uses a word much too soft for +the occasion, monuerat. Muratori (Fabricius, Bibliothec. Graec. +tom. vii. p. 86) has published an epistle from Julian to the +satrap Arsaces; fierce, vulgar, and (though it might deceive +Sozomen, l. vi. c. 5) most probably spurious. La Bleterie (Hist. +de Jovien, tom. ii. p. 339) translates and rejects it. + Note: St. Martin considers it genuine: the Armenian writers +mention such a letter, iii. 37. - M.] + +[Footnote *: Arsaces did not abandon the Roman alliance, but gave +it only feeble support. St. Martin, iii. 41 - M.] + + The military dispositions of Julian were skilfully contrived +to deceive the spies and to divert the attention of Sapor. The +legions appeared to direct their march towards Nisibis and the +Tigris. On a sudden they wheeled to the right; traversed the +level and naked plain of Carrhae; and reached, on the third day, +the banks of the Euphrates, where the strong town of Nicephorium, +or Callinicum, had been founded by the Macedonian kings. From +thence the emperor pursued his march, above ninety miles, along +the winding stream of the Euphrates, till, at length, about one +month after his departure from Antioch, he discovered the towers +of Circesium, ^* the extreme limit of the Roman dominions. The +army of Julian, the most numerous that any of the Caesars had +ever led against Persia, consisted of sixty-five thousand +effective and well-disciplined soldiers. The veteran bands of +cavalry and infantry, of Romans and Barbarians, had been selected +from the different provinces; and a just preeminence of loyalty +and valor was claimed by the hardy Gauls, who guarded the throne +and person of their beloved prince. A formidable body of +Scythian auxiliaries had been transported from another climate, +and almost from another world, to invade a distant country, of +whose name and situation they were ignorant. The love of rapine +and war allured to the Imperial standard several tribes of +Saracens, or roving Arabs, whose service Julian had commanded, +while he sternly refuse the payment of the accustomed subsidies. +The broad channel of the Euphrates ^41 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 was composed of fifty armed galleys; and these were +accompanied by an equal number of flat-bottomed boats, which +might occasionally be connected into the form of temporary +bridges. The rest of the ships, partly constructed of timber, +and partly covered with raw hides, were laden with an almost +inexhaustible supply of arms and engines, of utensils and +provisions. The vigilant humanity of Julian had embarked a very +large magazine of vinegar and biscuit for the use of the +soldiers, but he prohibited the indulgence of wine; and +rigorously stopped a long string of superfluous camels that +attempted to follow the rear of the army. The River Chaboras +falls into the Euphrates at Circesium; ^42 and as soon as the +trumpet gave the signal of march, the Romans passed the little +stream which separated two mighty and hostile empires. The +custom of ancient discipline required a military oration; and +Julian embraced every opportunity of displaying his eloquence. +He animated the impatient and attentive legions by the example of +the inflexible courage and glorious triumphs of their ancestors. +He excited their resentment by a lively picture of the insolence +of the Persians; and he exhorted them to imitate his firm +resolution, either to extirpate that perfidious nation, or to +devote his life in the cause of the republic. The eloquence of +Julian was enforced by a donative of one hundred and thirty +pieces of silver to every soldier; and the bridge of the Chaboras +was instantly cut away, to convince the troops that they must +place their hopes of safety in the success of their arms. Yet +the prudence of the emperor induced him to secure a remote +frontier, perpetually exposed to the inroads of the hostile +Arabs. A detachment of four thousand men was left at Circesium, +which completed, to the number of ten thousand, the regular +garrison of that important fortress. ^43 + +[Footnote *: Kirkesia the Carchemish of the Scriptures. - M.] +[Footnote 41: Latissimum 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, edit. Hutchinson, with Foster's +Observations, p. 29, &c., in the 2d volume of Spelman's +translation.) If the breadth of the Euphrates at Bir and Zeugma +is no more than 130 yards, (Voyages de Niebuhr, tom. ii. p. 335,) +the enormous difference must chiefly arise from the depth of the +channel.] +[Footnote 42: Munimentum tutissimum et fabre politum, Abora (the +Orientals aspirate Chaboras or Chabour) et Euphrates ambiunt +flumina, velut spatium insulare fingentes. Ammian. xxiii. 5.] + +[Footnote 43: The enterprise and armament of Julian are described +by himself, (Epist. xxvii.,) Ammianus Marcellinus, (xxiii. 3, 4, +5,) Libanius, (Orat. Parent. c. 108, 109, p. 332, 333,) Zosimus, +(l. iii. p. 160, 161, 162) Sozomen, (l. vi. c. l,) and John +Malala, (tom. ii. p. 17.)] + From the moment that the Romans entered the enemy's country, +^44 the country of an active and artful enemy, the order of march +was disposed in three columns. ^45 The strength of the infantry, +and consequently of the whole army was placed in the centre, +under the peculiar command of their master-general Victor. On +the right, the brave Nevitta led a column of several legions +along the banks of the Euphrates, and almost always in sight of +the fleet. The left flank of the army was protected by the +column of cavalry. Hormisdas and Arinthaeus were appointed +generals of the horse; and the singular adventures of Hormisdas +^46 are not undeserving of our notice. He was a Persian prince, +of the royal race of the Sassanides, who, in the troubles of the +minority of Sapor, had escaped from prison to the hospitable +court of the great Constantine. Hormisdas at first excited the +compassion, and at length acquired the esteem, of his new +masters; his valor and fidelity raised him to the military honors +of the Roman service; and though a Christian, he might indulge +the secret satisfaction of convincing his ungrateful country, +than at oppressed subject may prove the most dangerous enemy. +Such was the disposition of the three principal columns. The +front and flanks of the army were covered by Lucilianus with a +flying detachment of fifteen hundred light-armed soldiers, whose +active vigilance observed the most distant signs, and conveyed +the earliest notice, of any hostile approach. Dagalaiphus, and +Secundinus duke of Osrhoene, conducted the troops of the +rear-guard; the baggage securely proceeded in the intervals of +the columns; and the ranks, from a motive either of use or +ostentation, were formed in such open order, that the whole line +of march extended almost ten miles. The ordinary post of Julian +was at the head of the centre column; but as he preferred the +duties of a general to the state of a monarch, he rapidly moved, +with a small escort of light cavalry, to the front, the rear, the +flanks, wherever his presence could animate or protect the march +of the Roman army. The country which they traversed from the +Chaboras, to the cultivated lands of Assyria, may be considered +as a part of the desert of Arabia, a dry and barren waste, which +could never be improved by the most powerful arts of human +industry. Julian marched over the same ground which had been trod +above seven hundred years before by the footsteps of the younger +Cyrus, and which is described by one of the companions of his +expedition, the sage and heroic Xenophon. ^47 "The country was a +plain throughout, as even as the sea, and full of wormwood; and +if any other kind of shrubs or reeds grew there, they had all an +aromatic smell, but no trees could be seen. Bustards and +ostriches, antelopes and wild asses, ^48 appeared to be the only +inhabitants of the desert; and the fatigues of the march were +alleviated by the amusements of the chase." The loose sand of the +desert was frequently raised by the wind into clouds of dust; and +a great number of the soldiers of Julian, with their tents, were +suddenly thrown to the ground by the violence of an unexpected +hurricane. + +[Footnote 44: Before he enters Persia, Ammianus copiously +describes (xxiii. p. 396-419, edit. Gronov. in 4to.) the eighteen +great provinces, (as far as the Seric, or Chinese frontiers,) +which were subject to the Sassanides.] +[Footnote 45: Ammianus (xxiv. 1) and Zosimus (l. iii. p. 162, +163) rately expressed the order of march.] + +[Footnote 46: The adventures of Hormisdas are related with some +mixture of fable, (Zosimus, l. ii. p. 100-102; Tillemont, Hist. +des Empereurs tom. iv. p. 198.) It is almost impossible that he +should be the brother (frater germanus) of an eldest and +posthumous child: nor do I recollect that Ammianus ever gives him +that title. + + Note: St. Martin conceives that he was an elder brother by +another mother who had several children, ii. 24 - M.] + +[Footnote 47: See the first book of the Anabasis, p. 45, 46. +This pleasing work is original and authentic. Yet Xenophon's +memory, perhaps many years after the expedition, has sometimes +betrayed him; and the distances which he marks are often larger +than either a soldier or a geographer will allow.] +[Footnote 48: Mr. Spelman, the English translator of the +Anabasis, (vol. i. p. 51,) confounds the antelope with the +roebuck, and the wild ass with the zebra.] + + The sandy plains of Mesopotamia were abandoned to the +antelopes and wild asses of the desert; but a variety of populous +towns and villages were pleasantly situated on the banks of the +Euphrates, and in the islands which are occasionally formed by +that river. The city of Annah, or Anatho, ^49 the actual +residence of an Arabian emir, is composed of two long streets, +which enclose, within a natural fortification, a small island in +the midst, and two fruitful spots on either side, of the +Euphrates. The warlike inhabitants of Anatho showed a +disposition to stop the march of a Roman emperor; till they were +diverted from such fatal presumption by the mild exhortations of +Prince Hormisdas, and the approaching terrors of the fleet and +army. They implored, and experienced, the clemency of Julian, +who transplanted the people to an advantageous settlement, near +Chalcis in Syria, and admitted Pusaeus, the governor, to an +honorable rank in his service and friendship. But the +impregnable fortress of Thilutha could scorn the menace of a +siege; and the emperor was obliged to content himself with an +insulting promise, that, when he had subdued the interior +provinces of Persia, Thilutha would no longer refuse to grace the +triumph of the emperor. The inhabitants of the open towns, +unable to resist, and unwilling to yield, fled with +precipitation; and their houses, filled with spoil and +provisions, were occupied by the soldiers of Julian, who +massacred, without remorse and without punishment, some +defenceless women. During the march, the Surenas, ^* or Persian +general, and Malek Rodosaces, the renowned emir of the tribe of +Gassan, ^50 incessantly hovered round the army; every straggler +was intercepted; every detachment was attacked; and the valiant +Hormisdas escaped with some difficulty from their hands. But the +Barbarians were finally repulsed; the country became every day +less favorable to the operations of cavalry; and when the Romans +arrived at Macepracta, they perceived the ruins of the wall, +which had been constructed by the ancient kings of Assyria, to +secure their dominions from the incursions of the Medes. These +preliminaries of the expedition of Julian appear to have employed +about fifteen days; and we may compute near three hundred miles +from the fortress of Circesium to the wall of Macepracta. ^1 + +[Footnote 49: See Voyages de Tavernier, part i. l. iii. p. 316, +and more especially Viaggi di Pietro della Valle, tom. i. lett. +xvii. p. 671, &c. He was ignorant of the old name and condition +of Annah. Our blind travellers seldom possess any previous +knowledge of the countries which they visit. Shaw and Tournefort +deserve an honorable exception.] + +[Footnote *: This is not a title, but the name of a great Persian +family. St. Martin, iii. 79. - M.] + +[Footnote 50: Famosi nominis latro, says Ammianus; a high +encomium for an Arab. The tribe of Gassan had settled on the +edge of Syria, and reigned some 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, Bibliotheque Orientale, p. 360. +Pococke, Specimen Hist. Arabicae, p. 75-78. The name of +Rodosaces does not appear in the list. + + Note: Rodosaces-malek is king. St. Martin considers that +Gibbon has fallen into an error in bringing the tribe of Gassan +to the Euphrates. In Ammianus it is Assan. M. St. Martin would +read Massanitarum, the same with the Mauzanitae of Malala. - M.] + +[Footnote 51: See Ammianus, (xxiv. 1, 2,) Libanius, (Orat. +Parental. c. 110, 111, p. 334,) Zosimus, (l. iii. p. 164-168.) + + Note: This Syriac or Chaldaic has relation to its position; +it easily bears the signification of the division of the waters. +M. St. M. considers it the Missice of Pliny, v. 26. St. Martin, +iii. 83. - M.] + + The fertile province of Assyria, ^52 which stretched beyond +the Tigris, as far as the mountains of Media, ^53 extended about +four hundred miles from the ancient wall of Macepracta, to the +territory of Basra, where the united streams of the Euphrates and +Tigris discharge themselves into the Persian Gulf. ^54 The whole +country might have claimed the peculiar name of Mesopotamia; as +the two rivers, which are never more distant than fifty, +approach, between Bagdad and Babylon, within twenty-five miles, +of each other. A multitude of artificial canals, dug without much +labor in a soft and yielding soil connected the rivers, and +intersected the plain of Assyria. The uses of these artificial +canals were various and important. They served to discharge the +superfluous waters from one river into the other, at the season +of their respective inundations. Subdividing themselves into +smaller and smaller branches, they refreshed 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 armed the despair of the Assyrians with +the means of opposing a sudden deluge to the progress of an +invading army. To the soil and climate of Assyria, nature had +denied some of her choicest gifts, the vine, the olive, and the +fig-tree; ^* but the food which supports the life of man, and +particularly wheat and barley, were produced with inexhaustible +fertility; and the husbandman, who committed his seed to the +earth, was frequently rewarded with an increase of two, or even +of three, hundred. The face of the country was interspersed with +groves of innumerable palm-trees; ^55 and the diligent natives +celebrated, either in verse or prose, the three hundred 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 afforded valuable materials for foreign +trade; which appears, however, to have been conducted by the +hands of strangers. Babylon had been converted into a royal +park; but near the ruins of the ancient capital, new cities had +successively arisen, and the populousness of the country was +displayed in the multitude of towns and villages, which were +built of bricks dried in the sun, and strongly cemented with +bitumen; the natural and peculiar production of the Babylonian +soil. While the successors of Cyrus reigned over Asia, the +province of Syria alone maintained, during a third part of the +year, the luxurious plenty of the table and household of the +Great King. Four considerable villages were assigned for the +subsistence of his Indian dogs; eight hundred stallions, and +sixteen thousand mares, were constantly kept, at the expense of +the country, for the royal stables; and as the daily tribute, +which was paid to the satrap, amounted to one English bushe of +silver, we may compute the annual revenue of Assyria at more than +twelve hundred thousand pounds sterling. ^56 + +[Footnote 52: The description of Assyria, is furnished by +Herodotus, (l. i. c. 192, &c.,) who sometimes writes for +children, and sometimes for philosophers; by Strabo, (l. xvi. p. +1070-1082,) and by Ammianus, (l.xxiii. c. 6.) The most useful of +the modern travellers are Tavernier, (part i. l. ii. p. 226-258,) +Otter, (tom. ii. p. 35-69, and 189-224,) and Niebuhr, (tom. ii. +p. 172-288.) Yet I much regret that the Irak Arabi of Abulfeda +has not been translated.] +[Footnote 53: Ammianus remarks, that the primitive Assyria, which +comprehended Ninus, (Nineveh,) and Arbela, had assumed the more +recent and peculiar appellation of Adiabene; and he seems to fix +Teredon, Vologesia, and Apollonia, as the extreme cities of the +actual province of Assyria.] +[Footnote 54: The two rivers unite at Apamea, or Corna, (one +hundred miles from the Persian Gulf,) into the broad stream of +the Pasitigris, or Shutul- Arab. The Euphrates formerly reached +the sea by a separate channel, which was obstructed and diverted +by the citizens of Orchoe, about twenty miles to the south-east +of modern Basra. (D'Anville, in the Memoires de l'Acad. des +Inscriptions, tom.xxx. p. 171-191.)] + +[Footnote *: We 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 Ammianus Marcellinus, but it is not +so at the present day; and it is a curious fact that the grape, +the olive, and the fig, are the most common fruits in the +province, and may be seen in every garden. Macdonald Kinneir, +Geogr. Mem. on Persia 239 - M.] +[Footnote 55: The learned Kaempfer, as a botanist, an antiquary, +and a traveller, has exhausted (Amoenitat. Exoticae, Fasicul. iv. +p. 660-764) the whole subject of palm-trees.] + +[Footnote 56: Assyria yielded to the Persian satrap an Artaba of +silver each day. The well-known proportion of weights and +measures (see Bishop Hooper's elaborate Inquiry,) the specific +gravity of water and silver, and the value of that metal, will +afford, after a short process, the annual revenue which I have +stated. Yet the Great King received no more than 1000 Euboic, or +Tyrian, talents (252,000l.) from Assyria. The comparison of two +passages in Herodotus, (l. i. c. 192, l. iii. c. 89-96) reveals +an important difference between the gross, and the net, revenue +of Persia; the sums paid by the province, and the gold or silver +deposited in the royal treasure. The monarch might annually save +three millions six hundred thousand pounds, of the seventeen or +eighteen millions raised upon the people.] + +Chapter XXIV: The Retreat And Death Of Julian. + +Part III. + + The fields of Assyria were devoted by Julian to the +calamities of war; and the philosopher retaliated on a guiltless +people the acts of rapine and cruelty which had been committed by +their haughty master in the Roman provinces. The trembling +Assyrians summoned the rivers to their assistance; and completed, +with their own hands, the ruin of their country. The roads were +rendered impracticable; a flood of waters was poured into the +camp; and, during several days, the troops of Julian were obliged +to contend with the most discouraging hardships. But every +obstacle was surmounted by the perseverance of the legionaries, +who were inured to toil as well as to danger, and who felt +themselves animated by the spirit of their leader. The damage +was gradually repaired; the waters were restored to their proper +channels; whole groves of palm-trees were cut down, and placed +along the broken parts of the road; and the army passed over the +broad and deeper canals, on bridges of floating rafts, which were +supported by the help of bladders. Two cities of Assyria +presumed to resist the arms of a Roman emperor: and they both +paid the severe penalty of their rashness. At the distance of +fifty miles from the royal residence of Ctesiphon, Perisabor, ^* +or Anbar, held the second rank in the province; a city, large, +populous, and well fortified, surrounded with a double wall, +almost encompassed by a branch of the Euphrates, and defended by +the valor of a numerous garrison. The exhortations of Hormisdas +were repulsed with contempt; and the ears of the Persian prince +were wounded by a just reproach, that, unmindful of his royal +birth, he conducted an army of strangers against his king and +country. The Assyrians maintained their loyalty by a skilful, as +well as vigorous, defence; till the lucky stroke of a +battering-ram, having opened a large breach, by shattering one of +the angles of the wall, they hastily retired into the +fortifications of the interior citadel. The soldiers of Julian +rushed impetuously into the town, and after the full +gratification of every military appetite, Perisabor was reduced +to ashes; and the engines which assaulted the citadel were +planted on the ruins of the smoking houses. The contest was +continued by an incessant and mutual discharge of missile +weapons; and the superiority which the Romans might derive from +the mechanical powers of their balistae and catapultae was +counterbalanced by the advantage of the ground on the side of the +besieged. But as soon as an Helepolis had been constructed, which +could engage on equal terms with the loftiest ramparts, the +tremendous aspect of a moving turret, that would leave no hope of +resistance or mercy, terrified the defenders of the citadel into +an humble submission; and the place was surrendered only two days +after Julian first appeared under the 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 distributed among the troops, and partly reserved for the +public service; the useless stores were destroyed by fire or +thrown into the stream of the Euphrates; and the fate of Amida +was revenged by the total ruin of Perisabor. + +[Footnote *: Libanius says that it was a great city of Assyria, +called after the name of the reigning king. The orator of +Antioch is not mistaken. The Persians and Syrians called it +Fyrouz Schapour or Fyrouz Schahbour; in Persian, the victory of +Schahpour. It owed that name to Sapor the First. It was before +called Anbar St. Martin, iii. 85. - M.] + + The city or rather fortress, of Maogamalcha, which was +defended by sixteen large towers, a deep ditch, and two strong +and solid walls of brick and bitumen, appears to have been +constructed at the distance of eleven miles, as the safeguard of +the capital of Persia. The emperor, apprehensive of leaving such +an important fortress in his rear, immediately formed the siege +of Maogamalcha; and the Roman army was distributed, for that +purpose, into three divisions. Victor, at the head of the +cavalry, and of a detachment of heavy-armed foot, was ordered to +clear the country, as far as the banks of the Tigris, and the +suburbs of Ctesiphon. The conduct of the attack was assumed by +Julian himself, who seemed to place his whole dependence in the +military engines which he erected against the walls; while he +secretly contrived a more efficacious method of introducing his +troops into the heart of the city Under the direction of Nevitta +and Dagalaiphus, the trenches were opened at a considerable +distance, and gradually prolonged as far as the edge of the +ditch. The ditch was speedily filled with earth; and, by the +incessant labor of the troops, a mine was carried under the +foundations of the walls, and sustained, at sufficient intervals, +by props of timber. Three chosen cohorts, advancing in a single +file, silently explored the dark and dangerous passage; till +their intrepid leader whispered back the intelligence, that he +was ready to issue from his confinement into the streets of the +hostile city. Julian checked their ardor, that he might insure +their success; and immediately diverted the attention of the +garrison, by the tumult and clamor of a general assault. The +Persians, who, from their walls, contemptuously beheld the +progress of an impotent attack, celebrated with songs of triumph +the glory of Sapor; and ventured to assure the emperor, that he +might ascend the starry mansion of Ormusd, before he could hope +to take the impregnable city of Maogamalcha. The city was +already taken. History has recorded the name of a private +soldier the first who ascended from the mine into a deserted +tower. The passage was widened by his companions, who pressed +forwards with impatient valor. Fifteen hundred enemies were +already in the midst of the city. The astonished garrison +abandoned the walls, and their only hope of safety; the gates +were instantly burst open; and the revenge of the soldier, unless +it were suspended by lust or avarice, was satiated 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 some disrespectful words against the +honor of Prince Hormisdas. ^* The fortifications were razed to +the ground; and not a vestige was left, that the city of +Maogamalcha had ever existed. The neighborhood of the capital of +Persia was adorned with three stately palaces, laboriously +enriched with every production that could gratify the luxury and +pride of an Eastern monarch. The pleasant situation of the +gardens along the banks of the Tigris, was improved, according to +the Persian taste, by the symmetry of flowers, fountains, and +shady walks: and spacious parks were enclosed for the reception +of the bears, lions, and wild boars, which were maintained at a +considerable expense for the pleasure of the royal chase. The +park walls were broken down, the savage game was abandoned to the +darts of the soldiers, and the palaces of Sapor were reduced to +ashes, by the command of the Roman emperor. Julian, on this +occasion, showed himself ignorant, or careless, of the laws of +civility, which the prudence and refinement of polished ages have +established between hostile princes. Yet these wanton ravages +need not excite in our breasts any vehement emotions of pity or +resentment. A simple, naked statue, finished by the hand of a +Grecian artist, is of more genuine value than all these rude and +costly monuments of Barbaric labor; and, if we are more deeply +affected by the ruin of a palace than by the conflagration of a +cottage, our humanity must have formed a very erroneous estimate +of the miseries of human life. ^57 + +[Footnote *: And as guilty of a double treachery, having first +engaged to surrender the city, and afterwards valiantly defended +it. Gibbon, perhaps, should have noticed this charge, though he +may have rejected it as improbable Compare Zosimus. iii. 23. - +M.] + +[Footnote 57: The operations of the Assyrian war are +circumstantially related by Ammianus, (xxiv. 2, 3, 4, 5,) +Libanius, (Orat. Parent. c. 112- 123, p. 335-347,) Zosimus, (l. +iii. p. 168-180,) and Gregory Nazianzen, (Orat iv. p. 113, 144.) +The military criticisms of the saint are devoutly copied by +Tillemont, his faithful slave.] + + Julian was an object of hatred and terror to the Persian and +the painters of that nation represented the invader of their +country under the emblem of a furious lion, who vomited from his +mouth a consuming fire. ^58 To his friends and soldiers the +philosophic hero appeared in a more amiable light; and his +virtues were never more conspicuously displayed, than in the last +and most active period of his life. He practised, without +effort, and almost without merit, the habitual qualities of +temperance and sobriety. According to the dictates of that +artificial wisdom, which assumes an absolute dominion over the +mind and body, he sternly refused himself the indulgence of the +most natural appetites. ^59 In the warm climate of Assyria, which +solicited a luxurious people to the gratification of every +sensual desire, ^60 a youthful conqueror preserved his chastity +pure and inviolate; nor was Julian ever tempted, even by a motive +of curiosity, to visit his female captives of exquisite beauty, +^61 who, instead of resisting his power, would have disputed with +each other the honor of his embraces. With the same firmness +that he resisted the allurements of love, he sustained the +hardships of war. When the Romans marched through the flat and +flooded country, their sovereign, on foot, at the head of his +legions, shared their fatigues and animated their diligence. In +every useful labor, the hand of Julian was prompt and strenuous; +and the Imperial purple was wet and dirty as the coarse garment +of the meanest soldier. The two sieges allowed him some +remarkable opportunities of signalizing his personal valor, +which, in the improved state of the military art, can seldom be +exerted by a prudent general. The emperor stood before the +citadel before the citadel of Perisabor, insensible of his +extreme danger, and encouraged his troops to burst open the gates +of iron, till he was almost overwhelmed under a cloud of missile +weapons and huge stones, that were directed against his person. +As he examined the exterior fortifications of Maogamalcha, two +Persians, devoting themselves for their country, suddenly rushed +upon him with drawn cimeters: the emperor dexterously received +their blows on his uplifted shield; and, with a steady and +well-aimed thrust, laid one of his adversaries dead at his feet. +The esteem of a prince who possesses the virtues which he +approves, is the noblest recompense of a deserving subject; and +the authority which Julian derived from his personal merit, +enabled him to revive and enforce the rigor of ancient +discipline. He punished with death or ignominy the misbehavior +of three troops of horse, who, in a skirmish with the Surenas, +had lost their honor and one of their standards: and he +distinguished with obsidional ^62 crowns the valor of the +foremost soldiers, who had ascended into the city of Maogamalcha. + +After the siege of Perisabor, the firmness of the emperor was +exercised by the insolent avarice of the army, who loudly +complained, that their services were rewarded by a trifling +donative of one hundred pieces of silver. His just indignation +was expressed in the grave and manly language of a Roman. +"Riches are the object of your desires; those riches are in the +hands of the Persians; and the spoils of this fruitful country +are proposed as the prize of your valor and discipline. Believe +me," added Julian, "the Roman republic, which formerly possessed +such immense treasures, is now reduced to want and wretchedness +once our princes have been persuaded, by weak and interested +ministers, to purchase with gold the tranquillity of the +Barbarians. The revenue is exhausted; the cities are ruined; the +provinces are dispeopled. For myself, the only inheritance that +I have received from my royal ancestors is a soul incapable of +fear; and as long as I am convinced that every real advantage is +seated in the mind, I shall not blush to acknowledge an honorable +poverty, which, in the days of ancient virtue, was considered as +the glory of Fabricius. That glory, and that virtue, may be your +own, if you will listen to the voice of Heaven and of your +leader. But if you will rashly persist, if you are determined to +renew the shameful and mischievous examples of old seditions, +proceed. As it becomes an emperor who has filled the first rank +among men, I am prepared to die, standing; and to despise a +precarious life, which, every hour, may depend on an accidental +fever. If I have been found unworthy of the command, there are +now among you, (I speak it with pride and pleasure,) there are +many chiefs whose merit and experience are equal to the conduct +of the most important war. Such has been the temper of my reign, +that I can retire, without regret, and without apprehension, to +the obscurity of a private station" ^63 The modest resolution of +Julian was answered by the unanimous applause and cheerful +obedience of the Romans, who declared their confidence of +victory, while they fought under the banners of their heroic +prince. Their courage was kindled by his frequent and familiar +asseverations, (for such wishes were the oaths of Julian,) "So +may I reduce the Persians under the yoke!" "Thus may I restore +the strength and splendor of the republic!" The love of fame was +the ardent passion of his soul: but it was not before he trampled +on the ruins of Maogamalcha, that he allowed himself to say, "We +have now provided some materials for the sophist of Antioch." ^64 + +[Footnote 58: Libanius de ulciscenda Juliani nece, c. 13, p. +162.] +[Footnote 59: The famous examples of Cyrus, Alexander, and +Scipio, were acts of justice. Julian's chastity was voluntary, +and, in his opinion, meritorious.] + +[Footnote 60: Sallust (ap. Vet. Scholiast. Juvenal. Satir. i. +104) observes, that nihil corruptius moribus. The matrons and +virgins of Babylon freely mingled with the men in licentious +banquets; and as they felt the intoxication of wine and love, +they gradually, and almost completely, threw aside the +encumbrance of dress; ad ultimum ima corporum velamenta +projiciunt. Q. Curtius, v. 1.] + +[Footnote 61: Ex virginibus autem quae speciosae sunt captae, et +in Perside, ubi faeminarum pulchritudo excellit, nec contrectare +aliquam votuit nec videre. 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.)] +[Footnote 62: Obsidionalibus coronis donati. Ammian. xxiv. 4. +Either Julian or his historian were unskillful antiquaries. He +should have given mural crowns. The obsidional were the reward +of a general who had delivered a besieged city, (Aulus Gellius, +Noct. Attic. v. 6.)] + +[Footnote 63: I give this speech as original and genuine. +Ammianus might hear, could transcribe, and was incapable of +inventing, it. I have used some slight freedoms, and conclude +with the most forcibic sentence.] +[Footnote 64: Ammian. xxiv. 3. Libanius, Orat. Parent. c. 122, +p. 346.] + The successful valor of Julian had triumphed over all the +obstacles that opposed his march to the gates of Ctesiphon. But +the reduction, or even the siege, of the capital of Persia, was +still at a distance: nor can the military conduct of the emperor +be clearly apprehended, without a knowledge of the country which +was the theatre of his bold and skilful operations. ^65 Twenty +miles to the south of Bagdad, and on the eastern bank of the +Tigris, the curiosity of travellers 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 forever extinguished; and the only remaining +quarter of that Greek colony had resumed, with the Assyrian +language and manners, the primitive appellation of Coche. Coche +was situate on the western side of the Tigris; but it was +naturally considered as a suburb of Ctesiphon, with which we may +suppose it to have been connected by a permanent bridge of boats. + +The united parts contribute to form the common epithet of Al +Modain, the cities, which the Orientals have bestowed on the +winter residence of the Sassinadees; and the whole circumference +of the Persian capital was strongly fortified by the waters of +the river, by lofty walls, and by impracticable morasses. Near +the ruins of Seleucia, the camp of Julian was fixed, and secured, +by a ditch and rampart, against the sallies of the numerous and +enterprising garrison of Coche. In this fruitful and pleasant +country, the Romans were plentifully supplied with water and +forage: and several forts, which might have embarrassed the +motions of the army, submitted, after some resistance, to the +efforts of their valor. The fleet passed from the Euphrates into +an artificial derivation of that river, which pours a copious and +navigable stream into the Tigris, at a small distance below the +great city. If they had followed this royal canal, which bore +the name of Nahar-Malcha, ^66 the intermediate situation of Coche +would have separated the fleet and army of Julian; and the rash +attempt of steering against the current of the Tigris, and +forcing their way through the midst of a hostile capital, must +have been attended with the total destruction of the Roman navy. +The prudence of the emperor foresaw the danger, and provided the +remedy. As he had minutely studied the operations of Trajan in +the same country, he soon recollected that his warlike +predecessor had dug a new and navigable canal, which, leaving +Coche on the right hand, conveyed the waters of the Nahar- Malcha +into the river Tigris, at some distance above the cities. From +the information of the peasants, Julian ascertained the vestiges +of this ancient work, which were almost obliterated by design or +accident. By the indefatigable labor of the soldiers, a broad +and deep channel was speedily prepared for the reception of the +Euphrates. A strong dike was constructed to interrupt the +ordinary current of the Nahar-Malcha: a flood of waters rushed +impetuously into their new bed; and the Roman fleet, steering +their triumphant course into the Tigris, derided the vain and +ineffectual barriers which the Persians of Ctesiphon had erected +to oppose their passage. +[Footnote 65: M. d'Anville, (Mem. de l'Academie des Inscriptions, +tom. xxxviii p. 246-259) has ascertained the true position and +distance of Babylon, Seleucia, Ctesiphon, Bagdad, &c. The Roman +traveller, Pietro della Valle, (tom. i. lett. xvii. p. 650-780,) +seems to be the most intelligent spectator of that famous +province. He is a gentleman and a scholar, but intolerably vain +and prolix.] + +[Footnote 66: The Royal Canal (Nahar-Malcha) might be +successively restored, altered, divided, &c., (Cellarius, +Geograph. Antiq. tom. ii. p. 453;) and these changes may serve to +explain the seeming contradictions of antiquity. In the time of +Julian, it must have fallen into the Euphrates below Ctesiphon.] + + As it became necessary to transport the Roman army over the +Tigris, another labor presented itself, of less toil, but of more +danger, than the preceding expedition. The stream was broad and +rapid; the ascent steep and difficult; and the intrenchments +which had been formed on the ridge of the opposite bank, were +lined with a numerous army of heavy cuirrasiers, dexterous +archers, and huge elephants; who (according to the extravagant +hyperbole of Libanius) could trample with the same ease a field +of corn, or a legion of Romans. ^67 In the presence of such an +enemy, the construction of a bridge was impracticable; and the +intrepid prince, who instantly seized the only possible +expedient, concealed his design, till the moment of execution, +from the knowledge of the Barbarians, of his own troops, and even +of his generals themselves. Under the specious pretence of +examining the state of the magazines, fourscore vessels ^* were +gradually unladen; and a select detachment, apparently destined +for some secret expedition, was ordered to stand to their arms on +the first signal. Julian disguised the silent anxiety of his own +mind with smiles of confidence and joy; and amused the hostile +nations with the spectacle of military games, which he +insultingly celebrated under the walls of Coche. The day was +consecrated to pleasure; but, as soon as the hour of supper was +passed, the emperor summoned the generals to his tent, and +acquainted them that he had fixed that night for the passage of +the Tigris. They stood in silent and respectful astonishment; +but, when the venerable Sallust assumed the privilege of his age +and experience, the rest of the chiefs supported with freedom the +weight of his prudent remonstrances. ^68 Julian contented himself +with observing, that conquest and safety depended on the attempt; +that instead of diminishing, the number of their enemies would be +increased, by successive reenforcements; and that a longer delay +would neither contract the breadth of the stream, nor level the +height of the bank. The signal was instantly given, and obeyed; +the most impatient of the legionaries leaped into five vessels +that lay nearest to the bank; and as they plied their oars with +intrepid diligence, they were lost, after a few moments, in the +darkness of the night. A flame arose on the opposite side; and +Julian, who too clearly understood that his foremost vessels, in +attempting to land, had been fired by the enemy, dexterously +converted their extreme danger into a presage of victory. "Our +fellow-soldiers," he eagerly exclaimed, "are already masters of +the bank; see - they make the appointed signal; let us hasten to +emulate and assist their courage." The united and rapid motion of +a great fleet broke the violence of the current, and they reached +the eastern shore of the Tigris with sufficient speed to +extinguish the flames, and rescue their adventurous companions. +The difficulties of a steep and lofty ascent were increased by +the weight of armor, and the darkness 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 stood victorious upon the rampart. As soon as they +possessed a more equal field, Julian, who, with his light +infantry, had led the attack, ^69 darted through the ranks a +skilful and experienced eye: his bravest soldiers, according to +the precepts of Homer, ^70 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, advanced +in measured steps to the animating notes of martial music; +launched their formidable javelins; and rushed forwards with +drawn swords, to deprive the Barbarians, by a closer onset, of +the advantage of their missile weapons. The whole engagement +lasted above twelve hours; till the gradual retreat of the +Persians was changed into a disorderly flight, of which the +shameful example was given by the principal leader, and the +Surenas himself. They were pursued to the gates of Ctesiphon; +and the conquerors might have entered the dismayed city, ^71 if +their general, Victor, who was dangerously wounded with an arrow, +had not conjured them to desist from a rash attempt, which must +be fatal, if it were not successful. On their side, the Romans +acknowledged the loss of only seventy-five men; while they +affirmed, that the Barbarians had left on the field of battle two +thousand five hundred, or even six thousand, of their bravest +soldiers. The spoil was such as might be expected from the riches +and luxury of an Oriental camp; large quantities of silver and +gold, splendid arms and trappings, and beds and tables of massy +silver. ^* The victorious emperor distributed, as the rewards of +valor, some honorable gifts, civic, and mural, and naval crowns; +which he, and perhaps he alone, esteemed more precious than the +wealth of Asia. A solemn sacrifice was offered to the god of +war, but the appearances of the victims threatened the most +inauspicious events; and Julian soon discovered, by less +ambiguous signs, that he had now reached the term of his +prosperity. ^72 + +[Footnote 67: Rien n'est beau que le vrai; a maxim which should +be inscribed on the desk of every rhetorician.] + +[Footnote *: This is a mistake; each vessel (according to Zosimus +two, according to Ammianus five) had eighty men. Amm. xxiv. 6, +with Wagner's note. Gibbon must have read octogenas for +octogenis. The five vessels selected for this service were +remarkably large and strong provision transports. The strength +of the fleet remained with Julian to carry over the army - M.] +[Footnote 68: Libanius alludes to the most powerful of the +generals. I have ventured to name Sallust. Ammianus says, of +all the leaders, quod acri metu territ acrimetu territi duces +concordi precatu precaut fieri prohibere tentarent. + + Note: It is evident that Gibbon has mistaken the sense of +Libanius; 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, iii. 313. - M.] +[Footnote 69: Hinc Imperator . . . . (says Ammianus) ipse cum +levis armaturae auxiliis per prima postremaque discurrens, &c. +Yet Zosimus, his friend, does not allow him to pass the river +till two days after the battle.] +[Footnote 70: Secundum Homericam dispositionem. A similar +disposition is ascribed to the wise Nestor, in the fourth book of +the Iliad; and Homer was never absent from the mind of Julian.] + +[Footnote 71: Persas terrore subito miscuerunt, versisque +agminibus totius gentis, apertas Ctesiphontis portas victor miles +intrasset, ni major praedarum occasio fuisset, quam cura +victoriae, (Sextus Rufus de Provinciis c. 28.) Their avarice +might dispose them to hear the advice of Victor.] +[Footnote *: The suburbs of Ctesiphon, according to a new +fragment of Eunapius, were so full of provisions, that the +soldiers were in danger of suffering from excess. Mai, p. 260. +Eunapius in Niebuhr. Nov. Byz. Coll. 68. Julian exhibited warlike +dances and games in his camp to recreate the soldiers Ibid. - M.] + +[Footnote 72: The 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.)] + + 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, were securely wafted over the +Tigris. ^73 While the Persians beheld from the walls of Ctesiphon +the desolation of the adjacent country, Julian cast many an +anxious look towards the North, in full expectation, that as he +himself had victoriously penetrated to the capital of Sapor, the +march and junction of his lieutenants, Sebastian and Procopius, +would be executed with the same courage and diligence. His +expectations were disappointed by the treachery of the Armenian +king, who permitted, and most probably directed, the desertion of +his auxiliary troops from the camp of the Romans; ^74 and by the +dissensions of the two generals, who were incapable of forming or +executing any plan for the public service. When the emperor had +relinquished the hope of this important reenforcement, he +condescended to hold a council of war, and approved, after a full +debate, the sentiment of those generals, who dissuaded the siege +of Ctesiphon, as a fruitless and pernicious undertaking. It is +not easy for us to conceive, by what arts of fortification a city +thrice besieged and taken by the predecessors of Julian could be +rendered impregnable against an army of sixty thousand Romans, +commanded by a brave and experienced general, and abundantly +supplied with ships, provisions, battering engines, and military +stores. But we may rest assured, from the love of glory, and +contempt of danger, which formed the character of Julian, that he +was not discouraged by any trivial or imaginary obstacles. ^75 At +the very time when he declined the siege of Ctesiphon, he +rejected, with obstinacy and disdain, the most flattering offers +of a negotiation of peace. Sapor, who had been so long +accustomed to the tardy ostentation of Constantius, was surprised +by the intrepid diligence of his successor. As far as the +confines of India and Scythia, the satraps of the distant +provinces were ordered to assemble their troops, and to 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 received the melancholy +intelligence of the devastation of Assyria, the ruin of his +palaces, and the slaughter of his bravest troops, who defended +the passage of the Tigris. The pride of royalty was humbled in +the dust; he took his repasts on the ground; and the disorder of +his hair expressed the grief and anxiety of his mind. Perhaps he +would not have refused to purchase, with one half of his kingdom, +the safety of the remainder; and he would have gladly subscribed +himself, in a treaty of peace, the faithful and dependent ally of +the Roman conqueror. Under the pretence of private business, a +minister of rank and confidence was secretly despatched to +embrace the knees of Hormisdas, and to request, in the language +of a suppliant, that he might be introduced into the presence of +the emperor. The Sassanian prince, whether he listened to the +voice of pride or humanity, whether he consulted the sentiments +of his birth, or the duties of his situation, was equally +inclined to promote a salutary measure, which would terminate the +calamities of Persia, and secure the triumph of Rome. He was +astonished by the inflexible firmness of a hero, who remembered, +most unfortunately for himself and for his country, that +Alexander had uniformly rejected the propositions of Darius. But +as Julian was sensible, that the hope of a safe and honorable +peace might cool the ardor of his troops, he earnestly requested +that Hormisdas would privately dismiss the minister of Sapor, and +conceal this dangerous temptation from the knowledge of the camp. +^76 + +[Footnote 73: The fleet and army were formed in three divisions, +of which the first only had passed during the night.] + +[Footnote 74: Moses of Chorene (Hist. Armen. l. iii. c. 15, p. +246) supplies us with a national tradition, and a spurious +letter. I have borrowed only the leading circumstance, which is +consistent with truth, probability, and Libanius, (Orat. Parent. +c. 131, p. 355.)] + +[Footnote 75: Civitas inexpugnabilis, facinus audax et +importunum. Ammianus, xxiv. 7. His fellow-soldier, Eutropius, +turns aside from the difficulty, Assyriamque populatus, castra +apud Ctesiphontem stativa aliquandiu habuit: remeansbue victor, +&c. x. 16. Zosimus is artful or ignorant, and Socrates +inaccurate.] + +[Footnote 76: Libanius, Orat. Parent. c. 130, p. 354, c. 139, p. +361. Socrates, l. iii. c. 21. The ecclesiastical historian +imputes the refusal of peace to the advice of Maximus. Such +advice was unworthy of a philosopher; but the philosopher was +likewise a magician, who flattered the hopes and passions of his +master.] + +Chapter XXIV: The Retreat And Death Of Julian. + +Part IV. + + The honor, as well as interest, of Julian, forbade him to +consume his time under the impregnable walls of Ctesiphon and as +often as he defied the Barbarians, who defended the city, to meet +him on the open plain, they prudently replied, that if he desired +to exercise his valor, he might seek the army of the Great King. +He felt the insult, and he accepted the advice. Instead of +confining his servile march to the banks of the Euphrates and +Tigris, he resolved to imitate the adventurous spirit of +Alexander, and boldly to advance into the inland provinces, till +he forced his rival to contend with him, perhaps in the plains of +Arbela, for the empire of Asia. The magnanimity of Julian was +applauded and betrayed, by the arts of a noble Persian, who, in +the cause of his country, had generously submitted to act a part +full of danger, of falsehood, and of shame. ^77 With a train of +faithful followers, he deserted to the Imperial camp; exposed, in +a specious tale, the injuries which he had sustained; exaggerated +the cruelty of Sapor, the discontent of the people, and the +weakness of the monarchy; and confidently offered himself as the +hostage and guide of the Roman march. The most rational grounds +of suspicion were urged, without effect, by the wisdom and +experience of Hormisdas; and the credulous Julian, receiving the +traitor into his bosom, was persuaded to issue a hasty order, +which, in the opinion of mankind, appeared to arraign his +prudence, and to endanger his safety. He destroyed, in a single +hour, the whole navy, which had been transported above five +hundred miles, at so great an expense of toil, of treasure, and +of blood. Twelve, or, at the most, twenty-two small vessels were +saved, to accompany, on carriages, the march of the army, and to +form occasional bridges for the passage of the rivers. A supply +of twenty days' provisions was reserved for the use of the +soldiers; and the rest of the magazines, with a fleet of eleven +hundred vessels, which rode at anchor in the Tigris, were +abandoned to the flames, by the absolute command of the emperor. +The Christian bishops, Gregory and Augustin, insult the madness +of the Apostate, who executed, with his own hands, the sentence +of divine justice. Their authority, of less weight, perhaps, in +a military question, is confirmed by the cool judgment of an +experienced soldier, who was himself spectator of the +conflagration, and who could not disapprove the reluctant murmurs +of the troops. ^78 Yet there are not wanting some specious, and +perhaps solid, reasons, which might justify the resolution of +Julian. The navigation of the Euphrates never ascended above +Babylon, nor that of the Tigris above Opis. ^79 The distance of +the last-mentioned city from the Roman camp was not very +considerable: and Julian must soon have renounced the vain and +impracticable attempt of forcing upwards a great fleet against +the stream of a rapid river, ^80 which in several places was +embarrassed by natural or artificial cataracts. ^81 The power of +sails and oars was insufficient; it became necessary to tow the +ships against the current of the river; the strength of twenty +thousand soldiers was exhausted in this tedious and servile +labor, and if the Romans continued to march along the banks of +the Tigris, they could only expect to return home without +achieving any enterprise worthy of the genius or fortune of their +leader. If, on the contrary, it was advisable to advance into +the inland country, the destruction of the fleet and magazines +was the only measure which could save that valuable prize from +the hands of the numerous and active troops which might suddenly +be poured from the gates of Ctesiphon. Had the arms of Julian +been victorious, we should now admire the conduct, as well as the +courage, of a hero, who, by depriving his soldiers of the hopes +of a retreat, left them only the alternative of death or +conquest. ^82 + +[Footnote 77: The arts of this new Zopyrus (Greg. Nazianzen, +Orat. iv. p. 115, 116) may derive some credit from the testimony +of two abbreviators, (Sextus Rufus and Victor,) and the casual +hints of Libanius (Orat. Parent. c. 134, p. 357) and Ammianus, +(xxiv. 7.) The course of genuine history is interrupted by a most +unseasonable chasm in the text of Ammianus.] + +[Footnote 78: See Ammianus, (xxiv. 7,) Libanius, (Orat. +Parentalis, c. 132, 133, p. 356, 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.) Of +these Libanius alone attempts a faint apology for his hero; who, +according to Ammianus, pronounced his own condemnation by a tardy +and ineffectual attempt to extinguish the flames.] + +[Footnote 79: Consult Herodotus, (l. i. c. 194,) Strabo, (l. xvi. +p. 1074,) and Tavernier, (part i. l. ii. p. 152.)] + +[Footnote 80: A celeritate Tigris incipit vocari, ita appellant +Medi sagittam. Plin. Hist. Natur. vi. 31.] + +[Footnote 81: One of these dikes, which produces an artificial +cascade or cataract, is described by Tavernier (part i. l. ii. p. +226) and Thevenot, (part ii. l. i. p. 193.) The Persians, or +Assyrians, labored to interrupt the navigation of the river, +(Strabo, l. xv. p. 1075. D'Anville, l'Euphrate et le Tigre, p. +98, 99.)] + +[Footnote 82: Recollect the successful and applauded rashness of +Agathocles and Cortez, who burnt their ships on the coast of +Africa and Mexico.] + The cumbersome train of artillery and wagons, which retards +the operations of a modern army, were in a great measure unknown +in the camps of the Romans. ^83 Yet, in every age, the +subsistence of sixty thousand men must have been one of the most +important cares of a prudent general; and that subsistence could +only be drawn from his own or from the enemy's country. Had it +been possible for Julian to maintain a bridge of communication on +the Tigris, and to preserve the conquered places of Assyria, a +desolated province could not afford any large or regular +supplies, in a season of the year when the lands were covered by +the inundation of the Euphrates, ^84 and the unwholesome air was +darkened with swarms of innumerable insects. ^85 The appearance +of the hostile country was far more inviting. The extensive +region that lies between the River Tigris and the mountains of +Media, was filled with villages and towns; and the fertile soil, +for the most part, was in a very improved state of cultivation. +Julian might expect, that a conqueror, who possessed the two +forcible instruments of persuasion, steel and gold, would easily +procure a plentiful subsistence from the fears or avarice of the +natives. But, on the approach of the Romans, the rich and +smiling prospect was instantly blasted. Wherever they moved, the +inhabitants deserted the open villages, and took shelter in the +fortified towns; the cattle was driven away; the grass and ripe +corn were consumed with fire; and, as soon as the flames had +subsided which interrupted the march of Julian, he beheld the +melancholy face of a smoking and naked desert. This desperate +but effectual method of defence can only be executed by the +enthusiasm of a people who prefer their independence to their +property; or by the rigor of an arbitrary government, which +consults the public safety without submitting to their +inclinations the liberty of choice. On the present occasion the +zeal and obedience of the Persians seconded the commands of +Sapor; and the emperor was soon reduced to the scanty stock of +provisions, which continually wasted in his hands. Before they +were entirely consumed, he might still have reached the wealthy +and unwarlike cities of Ecbatana or Susa, by the effort of a +rapid and well-directed march; ^86 but he was deprived of this +last resource by his ignorance of the roads, and by the perfidy +of his guides. The Romans wandered several days in the country +to the eastward of Bagdad; the Persian deserter, who had artfully +led them into the spare, escaped from their resentment; and his +followers, as soon as they were put to the torture, confessed the +secret of the conspiracy. The visionary conquests of Hyrcania +and India, which had so long amused, now tormented, the mind of +Julian. Conscious that his own imprudence was the cause of the +public distress, he anxiously balanced the hopes of safety or +success, without obtaining a satisfactory answer, either from +gods or men. At length, as the only practicable measure, he +embraced the resolution of directing his steps towards the banks +of the Tigris, with the design of saving the army by a hasty +march to the confines of Corduene; a fertile and friendly +province, which acknowledged the sovereignty of Rome. The +desponding troops obeyed the signal of the retreat, only seventy +days after they had passed the Chaboras, with the sanguine +expectation of subverting the throne of Persia. ^87 + +[Footnote 83: See the judicious reflections of the author of the +Essai sur la Tactique, tom. ii. p. 287-353, and the learned +remarks of M. Guichardt Nouveaux Memoires Militaires, tom. i. p. +351-382, on the baggage and subsistence of the Roman armies.] + +[Footnote 84: The Tigris rises to the south, the Euphrates to the +north, of the Armenian mountains. The former overflows in March, +the latter in July. These circumstances are well explained in the +Geographical Dissertation of Foster, inserted in Spelman's +Expedition of Cyras, vol. ii. p. 26.] +[Footnote 85: Ammianus (xxiv. 8) describes, as he had felt, the +inconveniency of the flood, the heat, and the insects. The lands +of Assyria, oppressed by the 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 by the wretched and +unskillful husbandmen. Voyage de Niebuhr, tom. ii. p. 279, 285.] + +[Footnote 86: Isidore of Charax (Mansion. Parthic. p. 5, 6, in +Hudson, Geograph. Minor. tom. ii.) reckons 129 schaeni from +Seleucia, and Thevenot, (part i. l. i. ii. p. 209-245,) 128 hours +of march from Bagdad to Ecbatana, or Hamadan. These measures +cannot exceed an ordinary parasang, or three Roman miles.] + +[Footnote 87: The march of Julian from Ctesiphon is +circumstantially, but not clearly, described by Ammianus, (xxiv. +7, 8,) Libanius, (Orat. Parent. c. 134, p. 357,) and Zosimus, (l. +iii. p. 183.) The two last seem ignorant that their conqueror was +retreating; and Libanius absurdly confines him to the banks of +the Tigris.] + + As long as the Romans seemed to advance into the country, +their march was observed and insulted from a distance, by several +bodies of Persian cavalry; who, showing themselves sometimes in +loose, and sometimes in close order, faintly skirmished with the +advanced guards. These detachments were, however, supported by a +much greater force; and the heads of the columns were no sooner +pointed towards the Tigris than a cloud of dust arose on the +plain. The Romans, who now aspired only to the permission of a +safe and speedy retreat, endeavored to persuade themselves, that +this formidable appearance was occasioned by a troop of wild +asses, or perhaps by the approach of some friendly Arabs. They +halted, pitched their tents, fortified their camp, passed the +whole night in continual alarms; and discovered at the dawn of +day, that they were surrounded by an army of Persians. This +army, which might be considered only as the van of the +Barbarians, was soon followed by the main body of cuirassiers, +archers, and elephants, commanded by Meranes, a general of rank +and reputation. He was accompanied by two of the king's sons, +and many of the principal satraps; and fame and expectation +exaggerated the strength of the remaining powers, which slowly +advanced under the conduct of Sapor himself. As the Romans +continued their march, their long array, which was forced to bend +or divide, according to the varieties of the ground, afforded +frequent and favorable opportunities to their vigilant enemies. +The Persians repeatedly charged with fury; they were repeatedly +repulsed with firmness; and the action at Maronga, which almost +deserved the name of a battle, was marked by a considerable loss +of satraps and elephants, perhaps of equal value in the eyes of +their monarch. These splendid advantages were not obtained +without an adequate slaughter on the side of the Romans: several +officers of distinction were either killed or wounded; and the +emperor himself, who, on all occasions of danger, inspired and +guided the valor of his troops, was obliged to expose his person, +and exert his abilities. The weight of offensive and defensive +arms, which still constituted the strength and safety of the +Romans, disabled them from making any long or effectual pursuit; +and as the horsemen of the East were trained to dart their +javelins, and shoot their arrows, at full speed, and in every +possible direction, ^88 the cavalry of Persia was never more +formidable than in the moment of a rapid and disorderly flight. +But the most certain and irreparable loss of the Romans was that +of time. The hardy veterans, accustomed to the cold climate of +Gaul and Germany, fainted under the sultry heat of an Assyrian +summer; their vigor was exhausted by the incessant repetition of +march and combat; and the progress of the army was suspended 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 subsistence increased in the +Roman camp. ^89 Julian, who always contented himself with such +food as a hungry soldier would have disdained, distributed, for +the use of the troops, the provisions of the Imperial household, +and whatever could be spared, from the sumpter-horses, of the +tribunes and generals. But this feeble relief served only to +aggravate the sense of the public distress; and the Romans began +to entertain the most gloomy apprehensions that, before they +could reach the frontiers of the empire, they should all perish, +either by famine, or by the sword of the Barbarians. ^90 + +[Footnote 88: Chardin, the most judicious of modern travellers, +describes (tom. ii. p. 57, 58, &c., edit. in 4to.) the education +and dexterity of the Persian horsemen. Brissonius (de Regno +Persico, p. 650 651, &c.,) has collected the testimonies of +antiquity.] + +[Footnote 89: In Mark Antony's retreat, an attic choenix sold for +fifty drachmae, or, in other words, a pound of flour for twelve +or fourteen shillings barley bread was sold for its weight in +silver. It is impossible to peruse the interesting narrative of +Plutarch, (tom. v. p. 102-116,) without perceiving that Mark +Antony and Julian were pursued by the same enemies, and involved +in the same distress.] + +[Footnote 90: Ammian. 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 ignorant that the troops were +hungry.] + + While Julian struggled with the almost insuperable +difficulties of his situation, the silent hours of the night were +still devoted to study and contemplation. Whenever he closed his +eyes in short and interrupted slumbers, his mind was agitated +with painful anxiety; nor can it be thought surprising, that the +Genius of the empire should once more appear before him, covering +with a funeral veil his head, and his horn of abundance, and +slowly retiring from the Imperial tent. The monarch started from +his couch, and stepping forth to refresh his wearied spirits with +the coolness of the midnight air, he beheld a fiery meteor, which +shot athwart the sky, and suddenly vanished. Julian was convinced +that he had seen the menacing countenance of the god of war; ^91 +the council which he summoned, of Tuscan Haruspices, ^92 +unanimously pronounced that he should abstain from action; but on +this occasion, necessity and reason were more prevalent than +superstition; and the trumpets sounded at the break of day. The +army marched through a hilly country; and the hills had been +secretly occupied by the Persians. Julian led the van with the +skill and attention of a consummate general; he was alarmed by +the intelligence that his rear was suddenly attacked. The heat +of the weather had tempted him to lay aside his cuirass; but he +snatched a shield from one of his attendants, and hastened, with +a sufficient reenforcement, to the relief of the rear-guard. A +similar danger recalled the intrepid prince to the defence of the +front; and, as he galloped through the columns, the centre of the +left was attacked, and almost overpowered by the furious charge +of the Persian cavalry and elephants. This huge body was soon +defeated, by the well-timed evolution of the light infantry, who +aimed their weapons, with dexterity and effect, against the backs +of the horsemen, and the legs of the elephants. The Barbarians +fled; and Julian, who was foremost in every danger, animated the +pursuit with his voice and gestures. His trembling guards, +scattered and oppressed by the disorderly throng of friends and +enemies, reminded their fearless sovereign that he was without +armor; and conjured him to decline the fall of the impending +ruin. As they exclaimed, ^93 a cloud of darts and arrows was +discharged from the flying squadrons; and a javelin, after razing +the skin of his arm, transpierced the ribs, and fixed in the +inferior part of the liver. Julian attempted to draw the deadly +weapon from his side; but his fingers were cut by the sharpness +of the steel, and he fell senseless from his horse. His guards +flew to his relief; and the wounded emperor was gently raised +from the ground, and conveyed out of the tumult of the battle +into an adjacent tent. The report of the melancholy event passed +from rank to rank; but the grief of the Romans inspired them with +invincible valor, and the desire of revenge. The bloody and +obstinate conflict was maintained by the two armies, till they +were separated by the total darkness of the night. The Persians +derived some honor from the advantage which they obtained against +the left wing, where Anatolius, master of the offices, was slain, +and the praefect Sallust very narrowly escaped. But the event of +the day was adverse to the Barbarians. They abandoned the field; +their two generals, Meranes and Nohordates, ^94 fifty nobles or +satraps, and a multitude of their bravest soldiers; and the +success of the Romans, if Julian had survived, might have been +improved into a decisive and useful victory. + +[Footnote 91: Ammian. xxv. 2. Julian had sworn in a passion, +nunquam se Marti sacra facturum, (xxiv. 6.) Such whimsical +quarrels were not uncommon between the gods and their insolent +votaries; and even the prudent Augustus, after his fleet had been +twice shipwrecked, excluded Neptune from the honors of public +processions. See Hume's Philosophical Reflections. Essays, vol. +ii. p. 418.] +[Footnote 92: They still retained the monopoly of the vain but +lucrative science, which had been invented in Hetruria; and +professed to derive their knowledge of signs and omens from the +ancient books of Tarquitius, a Tuscan sage.] + +[Footnote 93: Clambant hinc inde candidati (see the note of +Valesius) quos terror, ut fugientium molem tanquam ruinam male +compositi culminis declinaret. Ammian. xxv 3.] + +[Footnote 94: Sapor himself declared to the Romans, that it was +his practice to comfort the families of his deceased satraps, by +sending them, as a present, the heads of the guards and officers +who had not fallen by their master's side. Libanius, de nece +Julian. ulcis. c. xiii. p. 163.] + The first words that Julian uttered, after his recovery from +the fainting fit into which he had been thrown by loss of blood, +were expressive of his martial spirit. He called for his horse +and arms, and was impatient to rush into the battle. His +remaining strength was exhausted by the painful effort; and the +surgeons, who examined his wound, discovered the symptoms of +approaching death. He employed the awful moments with the firm +temper of a hero and a sage; the philosophers who had accompanied +him in this fatal expedition, compared the tent of Julian with +the prison of Socrates; and the spectators, whom duty, or +friendship, or curiosity, had assembled round his couch, listened +with respectful grief to the funeral oration of their dying +emperor. ^95 "Friends and fellow- soldiers, the seasonable period +of my departure is now arrived, and I discharge, with the +cheerfulness of a ready debtor, the demands of nature. I have +learned from philosophy, how much the soul is more excellent than +the body; and that the separation of the nobler substance should +be the subject of joy, rather than of affliction. I have learned +from religion, that an early death has often been the reward of +piety; ^96 and I accept, as a favor of the gods, the mortal +stroke that secures me from the danger of disgracing a character, +which has hitherto been supported by virtue and fortitude. I die +without remorse, as I have lived without guilt. I am pleased to +reflect on the innocence of my private life; and I can affirm +with confidence, that the supreme authority, that emanation of +the Divine Power, has been preserved in my hands pure and +immaculate. Detesting the corrupt and destructive maxims of +despotism, I have considered the happiness of the people as the +end of government. Submitting my actions to the laws of +prudence, of justice, and of moderation, I have trusted the event +to the care of Providence. Peace was the object of my counsels, +as long as peace was consistent with the public welfare; but when +the imperious voice of my country summoned me to arms, I exposed +my person to the dangers of war, with the clear foreknowledge +(which I had acquired from the art of divination) that I was +destined to fall by the sword. I now offer my tribute of +gratitude to the Eternal Being, who has not suffered me to perish +by the cruelty of a tyrant, by the secret dagger of conspiracy, +or by the slow tortures of lingering disease. He has given me, +in the midst of an honorable career, a splendid and glorious +departure from this world; and I hold it equally absurd, equally +base, to solicit, or to decline, the stroke of fate. This much I +have attempted to say; but my strength fails me, and I feel the +approach of death. I shall cautiously refrain from any word that +may tend to influence your suffrages in the election of an +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 the Romans may be blessed +with the government of a virtuous sovereign." After this +discourse, which Julian pronounced in a firm and gentle tone of +voice, he distributed, by a military testament, ^97 the remains +of his private fortune; and making some inquiry why Anatolius was +not present, he understood, from the answer of Sallust, that +Anatolius was killed; and bewailed, with amiable inconsistency, +the loss of his friend. At the same time he reproved the +immoderate grief of the spectators; and conjured them not to +disgrace, by unmanly tears, the fate of a prince, who in a few +moments would be united with heaven, and with the stars. ^98 The +spectators were silent; and Julian entered into a metaphysical +argument with the philosophers Priscus and Maximus, 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 respiration was embarrassed by the swelling +of the veins; he called for a draught of cold water, and, as soon +as he had drank it, expired without pain, about the hour of +midnight. Such was the end of that extraordinary man, in the +thirty-second year of his age, after a reign of one year and +about eight months, from the death of Constantius. In his last +moments he displayed, perhaps with some ostentation, the love of +virtue and of fame, which had been the ruling passions of his +life. ^99 + +[Footnote 95: The character and situation of Julian might +countenance the suspicion that he had previously composed the +elaborate oration, which Ammianus heard, and has transcribed. +The version of the Abbe de la Bleterie is faithful and elegant. +I have followed him in expressing the Platonic idea of +emanations, which is darkly insinuated in the original.] +[Footnote 96: Herodotus (l. i. c. 31,) has displayed that +doctrine in an agreeable tale. Yet the Jupiter, (in the 16th +book of the Iliad,) who laments with tears of blood the death of +Sarpedon his son, had a very imperfect notion of happiness or +glory beyond the grave.] + +[Footnote 97: The soldiers who made their verbal or nuncupatory +testaments, upon actual service, (in procinctu,) were exempted +from the formalities of the Roman law. See Heineccius, +(Antiquit. Jur. Roman. tom. i. p. 504,) and Montesquieu, (Esprit +des Loix, l. xxvii.)] + +[Footnote 98: This union of the human soul with the divine +aethereal substance of the universe, is the ancient doctrine of +Pythagoras and Plato: but it seems to exclude any personal or +conscious immortality. See Warburton's learned and rational +observations. Divine Legation, vol ii. p. 199-216.] +[Footnote 99: The whole relation of the death of Julian is given +by Ammianus, (xxv. 3,) an intelligent spectator. Libanius, who +turns with horror from the scene, has supplied some +circumstances, (Orat. Parental. c 136-140, p. 359-362.) The +calumnies of Gregory, and the legends of more recent saints, may +now be silently despised. + + Note: A very remarkable fragment of Eunapius describes, not +without spirit, the struggle between the terror of the army on +account of their perilous situation, and their grief for the +death of Julian. "Even the vulgar felt that they would soon +provide a general, but such a general as Julian they would never +find, even though a god in the form of man - Julian, who, with a +mind equal to the divinity, triumphed over the evil propensities +of human nature, - * * who held commerce with immaterial beings +while yet in the material body - who condescended to rule because +a ruler was necessary to the welfare of mankind." Mai, Nov. Coll. +ii. 261. Eunapius in Niebuhr, 69.] + The triumph of Christianity, and the calamities of the +empire, may, in some measure, be ascribed to Julian himself, who +had neglected to secure the future execution of his designs, by +the timely and judicious nomination of an associate and +successor. But the royal race of Constantius Chlorus was reduced +to his own person; and if he entertained any serious thoughts of +investing with the purple the most worthy among the Romans, he +was diverted from his resolution by the difficulty of the choice, +the jealousy of power, the fear of ingratitude, and the natural +presumption of health, of youth, and of prosperity. His +unexpected death left the empire without a master, and without an +heir, in a state of perplexity and danger, which, in the space of +fourscore years, had never been experienced, since the election +of Diocletian. In a government which had almost forgotten the +distinction of pure and noble blood, the superiority of birth was +of little moment; the claims of official rank were accidental and +precarious; and the candidates, who might aspire to ascend the +vacant throne could be supported only by the consciousness of +personal merit, or by the hopes of popular favor. But the +situation of a famished army, encompassed on all sides by a host +of Barbarians, shortened the moments of grief and deliberation. +In this scene of terror and distress, the body of the deceased +prince, according to his own directions, was decently embalmed; +and, at the dawn of day, the generals convened a military senate, +at which the commanders of the legions, and the officers both of +cavalry and infantry, were invited to assist. Three or four +hours of the night had not passed away without some secret +cabals; and when the election of an emperor was proposed, the +spirit of faction began to agitate the assembly. Victor and +Arinthaeus collected the remains of the court of Constantius; the +friends of Julian attached themselves to the Gallic chiefs, +Dagalaiphus and Nevitta; and the most fatal consequences might be +apprehended from the discord of two factions, so opposite in +their character and interest, in their maxims of government, and +perhaps in their religious principles. The superior virtues of +Sallust could alone reconcile their divisions, and unite their +suffrages; and the venerable praefect would immediately have been +declared the successor of Julian, if he himself, with sincere and +modest firmness, had not alleged his age and infirmities, so +unequal to the weight of the diadem. The generals, who were +surprised and perplexed by his refusal, showed some disposition +to adopt the salutary advice of an inferior officer, ^100 that +they should act as they would have acted in the absence of the +emperor; that they should exert their abilities to extricate the +army from the present distress; and, if they were fortunate +enough to reach the confines of Mesopotamia, they should proceed +with united and deliberate counsels in the election of a lawful +sovereign. While they debated, a few voices saluted Jovian, who +was no more than first ^101 of the domestics, with the names of +Emperor and Augustus. The tumultuary acclamation ^* was +instantly repeated by the guards who surrounded the tent, and +passed, in a few minutes, to the extremities of the line. The +new prince, astonished with his own fortune was hastily invested +with the Imperial ornaments, and received an oath of fidelity +from the generals, whose favor and protection he so lately +solicited. The strongest recommendation of Jovian was the merit +of his father, Count Varronian, who enjoyed, in honorable +retirement, the fruit of his long services. In the obscure +freedom of a private station, the son indulged his taste for wine +and women; yet he supported, with credit, the character of a +Christian ^102 and a soldier. Without being conspicuous for any +of the ambitious qualifications which excite the admiration and +envy of mankind, the comely person of Jovian, his cheerful +temper, and familiar wit, had gained the affection of his +fellow-soldiers; and the 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 by the just apprehension, that the same day might +terminate the life and reign of the new emperor. The pressing +voice of necessity was obeyed without delay; and the first orders +issued by Jovian, a few hours after his predecessor had expired, +were to prosecute a march, which could alone extricate the Romans +from their actual distress. ^103 + +[Footnote 100: Honoratior aliquis miles; perhaps Ammianus +himself. The modest and judicious historian describes the scene +of the election, at which he was undoubtedly present, (xxv. 5.)] + +[Footnote 101: The primus or primicerius enjoyed the dignity of a +senator, and though only a tribune, he ranked with the military +dukes. Cod. Theodosian. l. vi. tit. xxiv. These privileges are +perhaps more recent than the time of Jovian.] + +[Footnote *: The soldiers supposed that the acclamations +proclaimed the name of Julian, restored, as they fondly thought, +to health, not that of Jovian. loc. - M.] + +[Footnote 102: The 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 confessor under the preceding +reign; and piously suppose that he refused the purple, till the +whole army unanimously exclaimed that they were Christians. +Ammianus, calmly pursuing his narrative, overthrows the legend by +a single sentence. Hostiis pro Joviano extisque inspectis, +pronuntiatum est, &c., xxv. 6.] + +[Footnote 103: Ammianus (xxv. 10) has drawn from the life an +impartial portrait of Jovian; to which the younger Victor has +added some remarkable strokes. The Abbe de la Bleterie (Histoire +de Jovien, tom. i. p. 1-238) has composed an elaborate history of +his short reign; a work remarkably distinguished by elegance of +style, critical disquisition, and religious prejudice.] + +Chapter XXIV: The Retreat And Death Of Julian. + +Part V. + + The esteem of an enemy is most sincerely expressed by his +fears; and the degree of fear may be accurately measured by the +joy with which he celebrates his deliverance. The welcome news +of the death of Julian, which a deserter revealed to the camp of +Sapor, inspired the desponding monarch with a sudden confidence +of victory. He immediately detached the royal cavalry, perhaps +the ten thousand Immortals, ^104 to second and support the +pursuit; and discharged the whole weight of his united forces on +the rear- guard of the Romans. The rear-guard was thrown into +disorder; the renowned legions, which derived their titles from +Diocletian, and his warlike colleague, were broke and trampled +down by the elephants; and three tribunes lost their lives in +attempting to stop the flight of their soldiers. The battle was +at length restored by the persevering valor of the Romans; the +Persians were repulsed with a great slaughter of men and +elephants; and the army, after marching and fighting a long +summer's day, arrived, in the evening, at Samara, on the banks of +the Tigris, about one hundred miles above Ctesiphon. ^105 On the +ensuing day, the Barbarians, instead of harassing the march, +attacked the camp, of Jovian; which had been seated in a deep and +sequestered valley. From the hills, the archers of Persia +insulted and annoyed the wearied legionaries; and a body of +cavalry, which had penetrated with desperate courage through the +Praetorian gate, was cut in pieces, after a doubtful conflict, +near the Imperial tent. In the succeeding night, the camp of +Carche was protected by the lofty dikes of the river; and the +Roman army, though incessantly exposed to the vexatious pursuit +of the Saracens, pitched their tents near the city of Dura, ^106 +four days after the death of Julian. The Tigris was still on +their left; their hopes and provisions were almost consumed; and +the impatient soldiers, who had fondly persuaded themselves that +the frontiers of the empire were not far distant, requested their +new sovereign, that they might be permitted to hazard the passage +of the river. With the assistance of his wisest officers, Jovian +endeavored to check their rashness; by representing, that if they +possessed sufficient skill and vigor to stem the torrent of a +deep and rapid stream, they would only deliver themselves naked +and defenceless to the Barbarians, who had occupied the opposite +banks, Yielding at length to their clamorous importunities, he +consented, with reluctance, that five hundred Gauls and Germans, +accustomed from their infancy to the waters of the Rhine and +Danube, should attempt the bold adventure, which might serve +either as an encouragement, or as a warning, for the rest of the +army. In the silence of the night, they swam the Tigris, +surprised an unguarded post of the enemy, and displayed at the +dawn of day the signal of their resolution and fortune. The +success of this trial disposed the emperor to listen to the +promises of his architects, who propose to construct a floating +bridge of the inflated skins of sheep, oxen, and goats, covered +with a floor of earth and fascines. ^107 Two important days were +spent in the ineffectual labor; and the Romans, who already +endured the miseries of famine, cast a look of despair on the +Tigris, and upon the Barbarians; whose numbers and obstinacy +increased with the distress of the Imperial army. ^108 + +[Footnote 104: Regius equitatus. It appears, from Irocopius, +that the Immortals, so famous under Cyrus and his successors, +were revived, if we may use that improper word, by the +Sassanides. Brisson de Regno Persico, p. 268, &c.] + +[Footnote 105: The obscure villages of the inland country are +irrecoverably lost; nor can we name the field of battle where +Julian fell: but M. D'Anville has demonstrated the precise +situation of Sumere, Carche, and Dura, along the banks of the +Tigris, (Geographie Ancienne, tom. ii. p. 248 L'Euphrate et le +Tigre, p. 95, 97.) In the ninth century, Sumere, or Samara, +became, with a slight change of name, the royal residence of the +khalifs of the house of Abbas. + + Note: Sormanray, called by the Arabs Samira, where D'Anville +placed Samara, is too much to the south; and is a modern town +built by Caliph Morasen. Serra-man-rai means, in Arabic, it +rejoices every one who sees it. St. Martin, iii. 133. - M.] + +[Footnote 106: Dura was a fortified place in the wars of +Antiochus against the rebels of Media and Persia, (Polybius, l. +v. c. 48, 52, p. 548, 552 edit. Casaubon, in 8vo.)] + +[Footnote 107: A similar expedient was proposed to the leaders of +the ten thousand, and wisely rejected. Xenophon, Anabasis, l. +iii. p. 255, 256, 257. It appears, from our modern travellers, +that rafts floating on bladders perform the trade and navigation +of the Tigris.] + +[Footnote 108: The first military acts of the reign of Jovian are +related by Ammianus, (xxv. 6,) Libanius, (Orat. Parent. c. 146, +p. 364,) and Zosimus, (l. iii. p. 189, 190, 191.) Though we may +distrust the fairness of Libanius, the ocular testimony of +Eutropius (uno a Persis atque altero proelio victus, x. 17) must +incline us to suspect that Ammianus had been too jealous of the +honor of the Roman arms.] + + In this hopeless condition, the fainting spirits of the +Romans were revived by the sound of peace. The transient +presumption of Sapor had vanished: he observed, with serious +concern, that, in the repetition of doubtful combats, he had lost +his most faithful and intrepid nobles, his bravest troops, and +the greatest part of his train of elephants: and the experienced +monarch feared to provoke the resistance of despair, the +vicissitudes of fortune, and the unexhausted powers of the Roman +empire; which might soon advance to elieve, or to revenge, the +successor of Julian. The Surenas himself, accompanied by another +satrap, ^* appeared in the camp of Jovian; ^109 and declared, +that the clemency of his sovereign was not averse to signify the +conditions on which he would consent to spare and to dismiss the +Caesar with the relics of his captive army. ^! The hopes of +safety subdued the firmness of the Romans; the emperor was +compelled, by the advice of his council, and the cries of his +soldiers, to embrace the offer of peace; ^!! and the praefect +Sallust was immediately sent, with the general Arinthaeus, to +understand the pleasure of the Great King. The crafty Persian +delayed, under various pretenses, the conclusion of the +agreement; started difficulties, required explanations, suggested +expedients, receded from his concessions, increased his demands, +and wasted four days in the arts of negotiation, till he had +consumed the stock of provisions which yet remained in the camp +of the Romans. Had Jovian been capable of executing a bold and +prudent measure, he would have continued his march, with +unremitting diligence; the progress of the treaty would have +suspended the attacks of the Barbarians; and, before the +expiration of the fourth day, he might have safely reached the +fruitful province of Corduene, at the distance only of one +hundred miles. ^110 The irresolute emperor, instead of breaking +through the toils of the enemy, expected his fate with patient +resignation; and accepted the humiliating conditions of peace, +which it was no longer in his power to refuse. The five +provinces beyond the Tigris, which had been ceded by the +grandfather of Sapor, were restored to the Persian monarchy. He +acquired, by a single article, the impregnable city of Nisibis; +which had sustained, in three successive sieges, the effort of +his arms. Singara, and the castle of the Moors, one of the +strongest places of Mesopotamia, were likewise dismembered from +the empire. It was considered as an indulgence, that the +inhabitants of those fortresses were permitted to retire with +their effects; but the conqueror rigorously insisted, that the +Romans should forever abandon the king and kingdom of Armenia. +^!!! A peace, or rather a long truce, of thirty years, was +stipulated between the hostile nations; the faith of the treaty +was ratified by solemn oaths and religious ceremonies; and +hostages of distinguished rank were reciprocally delivered to +secure the performance of the conditions. ^111 +[Footnote 109: Sextus Rufus (de Provinciis, c. 29) embraces a +poor subterfuge of national vanity. Tanta reverentia nominis +Romani fuit, ut a Persis primus de pace sermo haberetur.] + +[Footnote *: He is called Junius by John Malala; the same, M. St. +Martin conjectures, with a satrap of Gordyene named Jovianus, or +Jovinianus; mentioned in Ammianus Marcellinus, xviii. 6. - M.] + +[Footnote !: The Persian historians couch the message of +Shah-pour in these Oriental terms: "I have reassembled my +numerous army. I am resolved to revenge my subjects, who have +been plundered, made captives, and slain. It is for this that I +have bared my arm, and girded my loins. If you consent to pay +the price of the blood which has been shed, to deliver up the +booty which has been plundered, and to restore the city of +Nisibis, which is in Irak, and belongs to our empire, though now +in your possession, I will sheathe the sword of war; but should +you refuse these terms, the hoofs of my horse, which are hard as +steel, shall efface the name of the Romans from the earth; and my +glorious cimeter, that destroys like fire, shall exterminate the +people of your empire." These authorities do not mention the +death of Julian. Malcolm's Persia, i. 87. - M.] + +[Footnote !!: The Paschal chronicle, not, as M. St. Martin says, +supported by John Malala, places the mission of this ambassador +before the death of Julian. The king of Persia was then in +Persarmenia, ignorant of the death of Julian; he only arrived at +the army subsequent to that event. St. Martin adopts this view, +and finds or extorts support for it, from Libanius and Ammianus, +iii. 158. - M.] + +[Footnote 110: It is presumptuous to controvert the opinion of +Ammianus, a soldier and a spectator. Yet it is difficult to +understand how the mountains of Corduene could extend over the +plains of Assyria, as low as the conflux of the Tigris and the +great Zab; or how an army of sixty thousand men could march one +hundred miles in four days. + + Note: Yet this appears to be the case (in modern maps: ) the +march is the difficulty. - M.] + +[Footnote !!!: Sapor availed himself, a few years after, of the +dissolution of the alliance between the Romans and the Armenians. + +See St. M. iii. 163. - M.] +[Footnote 111: The treaty of Dura is recorded with grief or +indignation by Ammianus, (xxv. 7,) Libanius, (Orat. Parent. c. +142, p. 364,) Zosimus, (l. iii. p. 190, 191,) Gregory Nazianzen, +(Orat. iv. p. 117, 118, who imputes the distress to Julian, the +deliverance to Jovian,) and Eutropius, (x. 17.) The +last-mentioned writer, who was present in military station, +styles this peace necessarium quidem sed ignoblem.] + + The sophist of Antioch, who saw with indignation the sceptre +of his hero in the feeble hand of a Christian successor, +professes to admire the moderation of Sapor, in contenting +himself with so small a portion of the Roman empire. If he had +stretched as far as the Euphrates the claims of his ambition, he +might have been secure, says Libanius, of not meeting with a +refusal. If he had fixed, as the boundary of Persia, the +Orontes, the Cydnus, the Sangarius, or even the Thracian +Bosphorus, flatterers would not have been wanting in the court of +Jovian to convince the timid monarch, that his remaining +provinces would still afford the most ample gratifications of +power and luxury. ^112 Without adopting in its full force this +malicious insinuation, we must acknowledge, that the conclusion +of so ignominious a treaty was facilitated by the private +ambition of Jovian. The obscure domestic, exalted to the throne +by fortune, rather than by merit, was impatient to escape from +the hands of the Persians, that he might prevent the designs of +Procopius, who commanded the army of Mesopotamia, and establish +his doubtful reign over the legions and provinces which were +still ignorant of the hasty and tumultuous choice of the camp +beyond the Tigris. ^113 In the neighborhood of the same river, at +no very considerable distance from the fatal station of Dura, +^114 the ten thousand Greeks, without generals, or guides, or +provisions, were abandoned, above twelve hundred miles from their +native country, to the resentment of a victorious monarch. The +difference of their conduct and success depended much more on +their character than on their situation. Instead of tamely +resigning themselves to the secret deliberations and private +views of a single person, the united councils of the Greeks were +inspired by the generous enthusiasm of a popular assembly; where +the mind of each citizen is filled with the love of glory, the +pride of freedom, and the contempt of death. Conscious of their +superiority over the Barbarians in arms and discipline, they +disdained to yield, they refused to capitulate: every obstacle +was surmounted by their patience, courage, and military skill; +and the memorable retreat of the ten thousand exposed and +insulted the weakness of the Persian monarchy. ^115 + +[Footnote 112: Libanius, Orat. Parent. c. 143, p. 364, 365.] +[Footnote 113: Conditionibus . . . . . dispendiosis Romanae +reipublicae impositis . . . . quibus cupidior regni quam gloriae +Jovianus, imperio rudis, adquievit. Sextus Rufus de Provinciis, +c. 29. La Bleterie has expressed, in a long, direct oration, +these specious considerations of public and private interest, +(Hist. de Jovien, tom. i. p. 39, &c.)] +[Footnote 114: The 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 feet broad, which falls into the +Tigris fourteen hours below Mosul. The error of the Greeks +bestowed on the greater and lesser Zab the names of the Walf, +(Lycus,) and the Goat, (Capros.) They created these animals to +attend the Tiger of the East.] + +[Footnote 115: The Cyropoedia is vague and languid; the Anabasis +circumstance and animated. Such is the eternal difference +between fiction and truth.] + As the price of his disgraceful concessions, the emperor +might perhaps have stipulated, that the camp of the hungry Romans +should be plentifully supplied; ^116 and that they should be +permitted to pass the Tigris on the bridge which was constructed +by the hands of the Persians. But, if Jovian presumed to solicit +those equitable terms, they were sternly refused by the haughty +tyrant of the East, whose clemency had pardoned the invaders of +his country. The Saracens sometimes intercepted the stragglers +of the march; but the generals and troops of Sapor respected the +cessation of arms; and Jovian was suffered to explore the most +convenient 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 conveyed +the emperor and his favorites; and afterwards transported, in +many successive voyages, a great part of the army. But, as every +man was anxious for his personal safety, and apprehensive of +being left on the hostile shore, the soldiers, who were too +impatient to wait the slow returns of the boats, boldly ventured +themselves on light hurdles, or inflated skins; and, drawing +after them their horses, attempted, with various success, to swim +across the river. Many of these daring adventurers were +swallowed by the waves; many others, 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 the Tigris, was not inferior to the carnage of +a day of battle. As soon as the Romans were landed on the western +bank, they were delivered from the hostile pursuit of the +Barbarians; but, in a laborious march of two hundred miles over +the plains of Mesopotamia, they endured the last extremities of +thirst and hunger. They were obliged to traverse the sandy +desert, which, in the extent of seventy miles, did not afford a +single blade of sweet grass, nor a single spring of fresh water; +and the rest of the inhospitable waste was untrod by the +footsteps either of friends or enemies. Whenever a small measure +of flour could be discovered in the camp, twenty pounds weight +were greedily purchased with ten pieces of gold: ^117 the beasts +of burden were slaughtered and devoured; and the desert was +strewed with the arms and baggage of the Roman soldiers, whose +tattered garments and meagre countenances displayed their past +sufferings and actual misery. A small convoy of provisions +advanced to meet the army as far as the castle of Ur; and the +supply was the more grateful, since it declared the fidelity of +Sebastian and Procopius. At Thilsaphata, ^118 the emperor most +graciously received the generals of Mesopotamia; and the remains +of a once flourishing army at length reposed themselves under the +walls of Nisibis. The messengers of Jovian had already +proclaimed, in the language of flattery, his election, his +treaty, and his return; and the new prince had taken the most +effectual measures to secure the allegiance of the armies and +provinces of Europe, by placing the military command in the hands +of those officers, who, from motives of interest, or inclination, +would firmly support the cause of their benefactor. ^119 +[Footnote 116: According to Rufinus, an immediate supply of +provisions was stipulated by the treaty, and Theodoret affirms, +that the obligation was faithfully discharged by the Persians. +Such a fact is probable but undoubtedly false. See Tillemont, +Hist. des Empereurs, tom. iv. p. 702.] +[Footnote 117: We may recollect some lines of Lucan, (Pharsal. +iv. 95,) who describes a similar distress of Caesar's army in +Spain: - + + Saeva fames aderat - + Miles eget: toto censu non prodigus emit + Exiguam Cererem. Proh lucri pallida tabes! + Non deest prolato jejunus venditor auro. + +See Guichardt (Nouveaux Memoires Militaires, tom. i. p. 370-382.) +His analysis of the two campaigns in Spain and Africa is the +noblest monument that has ever been raised to the fame of +Caesar.] + +[Footnote 118: M. 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, and Thilsaphata, which Ammianus has +mentioned. ^* He does not complain of the Samiel, the deadly hot +wind, which Thevenot (Voyages, part ii. l. i. p. 192) so much +dreaded.] + +[Footnote *: Hatra, now Kadhr. Ur, Kasr or Skervidgi. +Thilsaphata is unknown - M.] + +[Footnote 119: The retreat of Jovian is described by Ammianus, +(xxv. 9,) Libanius, (Orat. Parent. c. 143, p. 365,) and Zosimus, +(l. iii. p. 194.)] + The friends of Julian had confidently announced the success +of his expedition. They entertained a fond persuasion that the +temples of the gods would be enriched with the spoils of the +East; that Persia would be reduced to the humble state of a +tributary province, governed by the laws and magistrates of Rome; +that the Barbarians would adopt the dress, and manners, and +language of their conquerors; and that the youth of Ecbatana and +Susa would study the art of rhetoric under Grecian masters. ^120 +The progress of the arms of Julian interrupted his communication +with the empire; and, from the moment that he passed the Tigris, +his affectionate subjects were ignorant of the fate and fortunes +of their prince. Their contemplation of fancied triumphs was +disturbed by the melancholy rumor of his death; and they +persisted to doubt, after they could no longer deny, the truth of +that fatal event. ^121 The messengers of Jovian promulgated the +specious tale of a prudent and necessary peace; the voice of +fame, louder and more sincere, revealed the disgrace of the +emperor, and the conditions of the ignominious treaty. The minds +of the people were filled with astonishment and grief, with +indignation and terror, when they were informed, that the +unworthy successor of Julian relinquished the five provinces +which had been acquired by the victory of Galerius; and that he +shamefully surrendered to the Barbarians the important city of +Nisibis, the firmest bulwark of the provinces of the East. ^122 +The deep and dangerous question, how far the public faith should +be observed, when it becomes incompatible with the public safety, +was freely agitated in popular conversation; and some hopes were +entertained that the emperor would redeem his pusillanimous +behavior by a splendid act of patriotic perfidy. The inflexible +spirit of the Roman senate had always disclaimed the unequal +conditions which were extorted from the distress of their captive +armies; and, if it were necessary to satisfy the national honor, +by delivering the guilty general into the hands of the +Barbarians, the greatest part of the subjects of Jovian would +have cheerfully acquiesced in the precedent of ancient times. +^123 + +[Footnote 120: Libanius, (Orat. Parent. c. 145, p. 366.) Such +were the natural hopes and wishes of a rhetorician.] + +[Footnote 121: The 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 his sword; but he recollected that +Plato had condemned suicide, and that he must live to compose the +Panegyric of Julian, (Libanius de Vita sua, tom. ii. p. 45, 46.)] + +[Footnote 122: Ammianus and Eutropius may be admitted as fair and +credible witnesses of the public language and opinions. The +people of Antioch reviled an ignominious peace, which exposed +them to the Persians, on a naked and defenceless frontier, +(Excerpt. Valesiana, p. 845, ex Johanne Antiocheno.)] +[Footnote 123: The Abbe de la Bleterie, (Hist. de Jovien, tom. i. +p. 212- 227.) though a severe casuist, has pronounced that Jovian +was not bound to execute his promise; since he could not +dismember the empire, nor alienate, without their consent, the +allegiance of his people. I have never found much delight or +instruction in such political metaphysics.] + + But the emperor, whatever might be the limits of his +constitutional authority, was the absolute master of the laws and +arms of the state; and the same motives which had forced him to +subscribe, now pressed him to execute, the treaty of peace. He +was impatient to secure an empire at the expense of a few +provinces; and the respectable names of religion and honor +concealed the personal fears and ambition of Jovian. +Notwithstanding the dutiful solicitations of the inhabitants, +decency, as well as prudence, forbade the emperor to lodge in the +palace of Nisibis; but the next morning after his arrival. +Bineses, the ambassador of Persia, entered the place, displayed +from the citadel the standard of the Great King, and proclaimed, +in his name, the cruel alternative of exile or servitude. The +principal citizens of Nisibis, who, till that fatal moment, had +confided in the protection of their sovereign, threw themselves +at his feet. They conjured him not to abandon, or, at least, not +to deliver, a faithful colony to the rage of a Barbarian tyrant, +exasperated by the three successive defeats which he had +experienced under the walls of Nisibis. They still possessed +arms and courage to repel the invaders of their country: they +requested only the permission of using them in their own defence; +and, as soon as they had asserted their independence, they should +implore the favor of being again admitted into the ranks of his +subjects. Their arguments, their eloquence, their tears, were +ineffectual. Jovian alleged, with some confusion, the sanctity +of oaths; and, as the reluctance with which he accepted the +present of a crown of gold, convinced the citizens of their +hopeless condition, the advocate Sylvanus was provoked to +exclaim, "O emperor! may you thus be crowned by all the cities +of your dominions!" Jovian, who in a few weeks had assumed the +habits of a prince, ^124 was displeased with freedom, and +offended with truth: and as he reasonably supposed, that the +discontent of the people might incline them to submit to the +Persian government, he published an edict, under pain of death, +that they should leave the city within the term of three days. +Ammianus has delineated in lively colors the scene of universal +despair, which he seems to have viewed with an eye of compassion. +^125 The martial youth deserted, with indignant grief, the walls +which they had so gloriously defended: the disconsolate mourner +dropped a last tear over the tomb of a son or husband, which must +soon be profaned by the rude hand of a Barbarian master; and the +aged citizen kissed the threshold, and clung to the doors, of the +house where he had passed the cheerful and careless hours of +infancy. The highways were crowded with a trembling multitude: +the distinctions of rank, and sex, and age, were lost in the +general calamity. Every one strove to bear away some fragment +from the wreck of his fortunes; and as they could not command the +immediate service of an adequate number of horses or wagons, they +were obliged to leave behind them the greatest part of their +valuable effects. The savage insensibility of Jovian appears to +have aggravated the hardships of these unhappy fugitives. They +were seated, however, in a new-built quarter of Amida; and that +rising city, with the reenforcement of a very considerable +colony, soon recovered its former splendor, and became the +capital of Mesopotamia. ^126 Similar orders were despatched by +the emperor for the evacuation of Singara and the castle of the +Moors; and for the restitution of the five provinces beyond the +Tigris. Sapor enjoyed the glory and the fruits of his victory; +and this ignominious peace has justly been considered as a +memorable aera in the decline and fall of the Roman empire. The +predecessors of Jovian had sometimes relinquished the dominion of +distant and unprofitable provinces; but, since the foundation of +the city, the genius of Rome, the god Terminus, who guarded the +boundaries of the republic, had never retired before the sword of +a victorious enemy. ^127 + +[Footnote 124: At Nisibis he performed a royal act. A brave +officer, his namesake, who had been thought worthy of the purple, +was dragged from supper, thrown into a well, and stoned to death +without any form of trial or evidence of guilt. Anomian. xxv. +8.] + +[Footnote 125: See xxv. 9, and Zosimus, l. iii. p. 194, 195.] +[Footnote 126: Chron. Paschal. p. 300. The ecclesiastical +Notitie may be consulted.] + +[Footnote 127: Zosimus, 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 and interpreted with some +caution.] + + After Jovian had performed those engagements which the voice +of his people might have tempted him to violate, he hastened away +from the scene of his disgrace, and proceeded with his whole +court to enjoy the luxury of Antioch. ^128 Without consulting the +dictates of religious zeal, he was prompted, by humanity and +gratitude, to bestow the last honors on the remains of his +deceased sovereign: ^129 and Procopius, who sincerely bewailed +the loss of his kinsman, was removed from the command of the +army, under the decent pretence of conducting the funeral. The +corpse of Julian was transported from Nisibis to Tarsus, in a +slow march of fifteen days; and, as it passed through the cities +of the East, was saluted by the hostile factions, with mournful +lamentations and clamorous insults. The Pagans already placed +their beloved hero in the rank of those gods whose worship he had +restored; while the invectives of the Christians pursued the soul +of the Apostate to hell, and his body to the grave. ^130 One +party lamented the approaching ruin of their altars; the other +celebrated the marvellous deliverance of their church. The +Christians applauded, in lofty and ambiguous strains, the stroke +of divine vengeance, which had been so long suspended over the +guilty head of Julian. They acknowledge, that the death of the +tyrant, at the instant he expired beyond the Tigris, was revealed +to the saints of Egypt, Syria, and Cappadocia; ^131 and instead +of suffering him to fall by the Persian darts, their indiscretion +ascribed the heroic deed to the obscure hand of some mortal or +immortal champion of the faith. ^132 Such imprudent declarations +were eagerly adopted by the malice, or credulity, of their +adversaries; ^133 who darkly insinuated, or confidently asserted, +that the governors of the church had instigated and directed the +fanaticism of a domestic assassin. ^134 Above sixteen years after +the death of Julian, the charge was solemnly and vehemently +urged, in a public oration, addressed by Libanius to the emperor +Theodosius. His suspicions are unsupported by fact or argument; +and we can only esteem the generous zeal of the sophist of +Antioch for the cold and neglected ashes of his friend. ^135 + +[Footnote 128: Ammianus, 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) in rejecting the foolish report of +a Bacchanalian riot (ap. Suidam) celebrated at Antioch, by the +emperor, his wife, and a troop of concubines.] +[Footnote 129: The Abbe de la Bleterie (tom. i. p. 156-209) +handsomely exposes the brutal bigotry of Baronius, who would have +thrown Julian to the dogs, ne cespititia quidem sepultura +dignus.] + +[Footnote 130: Compare 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 exhortations to modesty and +forgiveness; but he is well satisfied, that the real sufferings +of Julian will far exceed the fabulous torments of Ixion or +Tantalus.] + +[Footnote 131: Tillemont (Hist. des Empereurs, tom. iv. p. 549) +has collected these visions. Some saint or angel was observed to +be absent in the night, on a secret expedition, &c.] + +[Footnote 132: Sozomen (l. vi. 2) applauds the Greek doctrine of +tyrannicide; but the whole passage, which a Jesuit might have +translated, is prudently suppressed by the president Cousin.] + +[Footnote 133: Immediately after the death of Julian, an +uncertain rumor was scattered, telo cecidisse Romano. It was +carried, by some deserters to the Persian camp; and the Romans +were reproached as the assassins of the emperor by Sapor and his +subjects, (Ammian. xxv. 6. Libanius de ulciscenda Juliani nece, +c. xiii. p. 162, 163.) It was urged, as a decisive proof, that no +Persian had appeared to claim the promised reward, (Liban. Orat. +Parent. c. 141, p. 363.) But the flying horseman, who darted the +fatal javelin, might be ignorant of its effect; or he might be +slain in the same action. Ammianus neither feels nor inspires a +suspicion.] + +[Footnote 134: This dark and ambiguous expression may point to +Athanasius, the first, without a rival, of the Christian clergy, +(Libanius de ulcis. Jul. nece, c. 5, p. 149. La Bleterie, Hist. +de Jovien, tom. i. p. 179.)] +[Footnote 135: The orator (Fabricius, Bibliot. Graec. tom. vii. +p. 145-179) scatters suspicions, demands an inquiry, and +insinuates, that proofs might still be obtained. He ascribes the +success of the Huns to the criminal neglect of revenging Julian's +death.] + + It was an ancient custom in the funerals, as well as in the +triumphs, of the Romans, that the voice of praise should be +corrected by that of satire and ridicule; and that, in the midst +of the splendid pageants, which displayed the glory of the living +or of the dead, their imperfections should not be concealed from +the eyes of the world. ^136 This custom was practised in the +funeral of Julian. The comedians, who resented his contempt and +aversion for the theatre, exhibited, with the applause of a +Christian audience, the lively and exaggerated representation of +the faults and follies of the deceased emperor. His various +character and singular manners afforded an ample scope for +pleasantry and ridicule. ^137 In the exercise of his uncommon +talents, he often descended below the majesty of his rank. +Alexander was transformed into Diogenes; the philosopher was +degraded into a priest. The purity of his virtue was sullied by +excessive vanity; his superstition disturbed the peace, and +endangered the safety, of a mighty empire; and his irregular +sallies were the less entitled to indulgence, as they appeared to +be the laborious efforts of art, or even of affectation. The +remains of Julian were interred at Tarsus in Cilicia; but his +stately tomb, which arose in that city, on the banks of the cold +and limpid Cydnus, ^138 was displeasing to the faithful friends, +who loved and revered the memory of that extraordinary man. The +philosopher expressed a very reasonable wish, that the disciple +of Plato might have reposed amidst the groves of the academy; +^139 while the soldier exclaimed, in bolder accents, that the +ashes of Julian should have been mingled with those of Caesar, in +the field of Mars, and among the ancient monuments of Roman +virtue. ^140 The history of princes does not very frequently +renew the examples of a similar competition. + +[Footnote 136: At the funeral of Vespasian, the comedian who +personated that frugal emperor, anxiously inquired how much it +cost. Fourscore thousand pounds, (centies.) Give me the tenth +part of the sum, and throw my body into the Tiber. Sueton, in +Vespasian, c. 19, with the notes of Casaubon and Gronovius.] + +[Footnote 137: Gregory (Orat. iv. p. 119, 120) compares this +supposed ignominy and ridicule to the funeral honors of +Constantius, whose body was chanted over Mount Taurus by a choir +of angels.] + +[Footnote 138: Quintus Curtius, l. iii. c. 4. The luxuriancy of +his descriptions has been often censured. Yet it was almost the +duty of the historian to describe a river, whose waters had +nearly proved fatal to Alexander.] + +[Footnote 139: Libanius, Orat. Parent. c. 156, p. 377. Yet he +acknowledges with gratitude the liberality of the two royal +brothers in decorating the tomb of Julian, (de ulcis. Jul. nece, +c. 7, p. 152.)] + +[Footnote 140: Cujus suprema et cineres, si qui tunc juste +consuleret, non Cydnus videre deberet, quamvis gratissimus amnis +et liquidus: sed ad perpetuandam gloriam recte factorum +praeterlambere Tiberis, intersecans urbem aeternam, divorumque +veterum monumenta praestringens Ammian. xxv. 10.] + +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., Succeed +To The Western Empire. + + The death of Julian had left the public affairs of the +empire in a very doubtful and dangerous situation. The Roman +army was saved by an inglorious, perhaps a necessary treaty; ^1 +and the first moments of peace were consecrated by the pious +Jovian to restore the domestic tranquility of the church and +state. The indiscretion of his predecessor, instead of +reconciling, had artfully fomented the religious war: and the +balance which he affected to preserve between the hostile +factions, served only to perpetuate the contest, by the +vicissitudes of hope and fear, by the rival claims of ancient +possession and actual favor. The Christians had forgotten the +spirit of the gospel; and the Pagans had imbibed the spirit of +the church. In private families, the sentiments of nature were +extinguished by the blind fury of zeal and revenge: the majesty +of the laws was violated or abused; the cities of the East were +stained with blood; and the most implacable enemies of the Romans +were in the bosom of their country. Jovian was educated in the +profession of Christianity; and as he marched from Nisibis to +Antioch, the banner of the Cross, the Labarum of Constantine, +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 circular epistle to all the +governors of provinces; in which he confessed the divine truth, +and secured the legal establishment, of the Christian religion. +The insidious edicts of Julian were abolished; the ecclesiastical +immunities were restored and enlarged; and Jovian condescended to +lament, that the distress of the times obliged him to diminish +the measure of charitable distributions. ^2 The Christians were +unanimous in the loud and sincere applause which they bestowed on +the pious successor of Julian. But they were still ignorant what +creed, or what synod, he would choose for the standard of +orthodoxy; and the peace of the church immediately revived those +eager disputes which had been suspended during the season of +persecution. The episcopal leaders of the contending sects, +convinced, from experience, how much their fate would depend on +the earliest impressions that were made on the mind of an +untutored soldier, hastened to the court of Edessa, or Antioch. +The highways of the East were crowded with Homoousian, and Arian, +and Semi- Arian, and Eunomian bishops, who struggled to outstrip +each other in the holy race: the apartments of the palace +resounded with their clamors; and the ears of the prince were +assaulted, and perhaps astonished, by the singular mixture of +metaphysical argument and passionate invective. ^3 The moderation +of Jovian, who recommended concord and charity, and referred the +disputants to the sentence of a future council, was interpreted +as a symptom of indifference: but his attachment to the Nicene +creed was at length discovered and declared, by the reverence +which he expressed for the celestial ^4 virtues of the great +Athanasius. The intrepid veteran of the faith, at the age of +seventy, had issued from his retreat on the first intelligence of +the tyrant's death. The acclamations of the people seated him +once more on the archiepiscopal throne; and he wisely accepted, +or anticipated, the invitation of Jovian. The venerable figure +of Athanasius, his calm courage, and insinuating eloquence, +sustained the reputation which he had already acquired in the +courts of four successive princes. ^5 As soon as he had gained +the confidence, and secured the faith, of the Christian emperor, +he returned in triumph to his diocese, and continued, with mature +counsels and undiminished vigor, to direct, ten years longer, ^6 +the ecclesiastical government of Alexandria, Egypt, and the +Catholic church. Before his departure from Antioch, he assured +Jovian that his orthodox devotion would be rewarded with a long +and peaceful reign. Athanasius, had reason to hope, that he +should be allowed either the merit of a successful prediction, or +the excuse of a grateful though ineffectual prayer. ^7 + +[Footnote 1: The medals of Jovian adorn him with victories, +laurel crowns, and prostrate captives. Ducange, Famil. Byzantin. +p. 52. Flattery is a foolish suicide; she destroys herself with +her own hands.] + +[Footnote 2: Jovian restored to the church a forcible and +comprehensive expression, (Philostorgius, l. viii. c. 5, with +Godefroy's Dissertations, p. 329. Sozomen, l. vi. c. 3.) The new +law which condemned the rape or marriage 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, was punished +with death by the evangelic legislator.] + +[Footnote 3: Compare Socrates, l. iii. c. 25, and Philostorgius, +l. viii. c. 6, with Godefroy's Dissertations, p. 330.] + +[Footnote 4: The word celestial faintly expresses the impious and +extravagant flattery of the emperor to the archbishop. (See the +original epistle in Athanasius, tom. ii. p. 33.) Gregory +Nazianzen (Orat. xxi. p. 392) celebrates the friendship of Jovian +and Athanasius. The primate's journey was advised by the +Egyptian monks, (Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. viii. p. 221.)] +[Footnote 5: Athanasius, at the court of Antioch, is agreeably +represented by La Bleterie, (Hist. de Jovien, tom. i. p. +121-148;) he translates the singular and original conferences of +the emperor, the primate of Egypt, and the Arian deputies. The +Abbe is not satisfied with the coarse pleasantry of Jovian; but +his partiality for Athanasius assumes, in his eyes, the character +of justice.] +[Footnote 6: The true area of his death is perplexed with some +difficulties, (Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. viii. p. 719-723.) +But the date (A. D. 373, May 2) which seems the most consistent +with history and reason, is ratified by his authentic life, +(Maffei Osservazioni Letterarie, tom. iii. p. 81.)] +[Footnote 7: See the observations of Valesius and Jortin (Remarks +on Ecclesiastical History, vol. iv. p. 38) on the original letter +of Athanasius; which is preserved by Theodoret, (l. iv. c. 3.) In +some Mss. this indiscreet promise is omitted; perhaps by the +Catholics, jealous of the prophetic fame of their leader.] + + The slightest force, when it is applied to assist and guide +the natural descent of its object, operates with irresistible +weight; and Jovian had the good fortune to embrace the religious +opinions which were supported by the spirit of the times, and the +zeal and numbers of the most powerful sect. ^8 Under his reign, +Christianity obtained an easy and lasting victory; and as soon as +the smile of royal patronage was withdrawn, the genius of +Paganism, which had been fondly raised and cherished by the arts +of Julian, sunk irrecoverably in the. In many cities, the +temples were shut or deserted: the philosophers who had abused +their transient favor, thought it prudent to shave their beards, +and disguise their profession; and the Christians rejoiced, that +they were now in a condition to forgive, or to revenge, the +injuries which they had suffered under the preceding reign. ^9 +The consternation of the Pagan world was dispelled by a wise and +gracious edict of toleration; in which Jovian explicitly +declared, that although he should severely punish the +sacrilegious rites of magic, his subjects might exercise, with +freedom and safety, the ceremonies of the ancient worship. The +memory of this law has been preserved by the orator Themistius, +who was deputed by the senate of Constantinople to express their +royal devotion for the new emperor. Themistius expatiates on the +clemency of the Divine Nature, the facility of human error, the +rights of conscience, and the independence of the mind; and, with +some eloquence, inculcates the principles of philosophical +toleration; whose aid Superstition herself, in the hour of her +distress, is not ashamed to implore. He justly observes, that in +the recent changes, both religions had been alternately disgraced +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 to the temple, and +from the altars of Jupiter to the sacred table of the Christians. +^10 + +[Footnote 8: Athanasius (apud Theodoret, l. iv. c. 3) magnifies +the number of the orthodox, who composed the whole world. This +assertion was verified in the space of thirty and forty years.] + +[Footnote 9: Socrates, l. iii. c. 24. Gregory Nazianzen (Orat. +iv. p. 131) and Libanius (Orat. Parentalis, c. 148, p. 369) +expresses the living sentiments of their respective factions.] + +[Footnote 10: Themistius, Orat. v. p. 63-71, edit. Harduin, +Paris, 1684. The Abbe de la Bleterie judiciously remarks, (Hist. +de Jovien, tom. i. p. 199,) that Sozomen has forgot the general +toleration; and Themistius the establishment of the Catholic +religion. Each of them turned away from the object which he +disliked, and wished to suppress the part of the edict the least +honorable, in his opinion, to the emperor.] + + In the space of seven months, the Roman troops, who were now +returned to Antioch, had performed a march of fifteen hundred +miles; in which they had endured all the hardships of war, of +famine, and of climate. Notwithstanding their services, their +fatigues, and the approach of winter, the timid and impatient +Jovian allowed only, to the men and horses, a respite of six +weeks. The emperor could not sustain the indiscreet and malicious +raillery of the people of Antioch. ^11 He was impatient to +possess the palace of Constantinople; and to prevent the ambition +of some competitor, who might occupy the vacant allegiance of +Europe. But he soon received the grateful intelligence, that his +authority was acknowledged from the Thracian Bosphorus to the +Atlantic Ocean. By the first letters which he despatched from +the camp of Mesopotamia, he had delegated the military command of +Gaul and Illyricum to Malarich, a brave and faithful officer of +the nation of the Franks; and to his father-in-law, Count +Lucillian, who had formerly distinguished his courage and conduct +in the defence of Nisibis. Malarich had declined an office to +which he thought himself unequal; and Lucillian was massacred at +Rheims, in an accidental mutiny of the Batavian cohorts. ^12 But +the moderation of Jovinus, master- general of the cavalry, who +forgave the intention of his disgrace, soon appeased the tumult, +and confirmed the uncertain minds of the soldiers. The oath of +fidelity was administered and taken, with loyal acclamations; and +the deputies of the Western armies ^13 saluted their new +sovereign as he descended from Mount Taurus to the city of Tyana +in Cappadocia. From Tyana he continued his hasty march to +Ancyra, capital of the province of Galatia; where Jovian assumed, +with his infant son, the name and ensigns of the consulship. ^14 +Dadastana, ^15 an obscure town, almost at an equal distance +between Ancyra and Nice, was marked for the fatal term of his +journey and life. After indulging himself with a plentiful, +perhaps an intemperate, supper, he retired to rest; and the next +morning the emperor Jovian was found dead in his bed. The cause +of this sudden death was variously understood. By some it was +ascribed to the consequences of an indigestion, occasioned either +by the quantity of the wine, or the quality of the mushrooms, +which he had swallowed in the evening. According to others, he +was suffocated in his sleep by the vapor of charcoal, which +extracted from the walls of the apartment the unwholesome +moisture of the fresh plaster. ^16 But the want of a regular +inquiry into the death of a prince, whose reign and person were +soon forgotten, appears to have been the only circumstance which +countenanced the malicious whispers of poison and domestic guilt. +^17 The body of Jovian was sent to Constantinople, to be interred +with his predecessors, and the sad procession was met on the road +by his wife Charito, the daughter of Count Lucillian; who still +wept the recent death of her father, and was hastening to dry her +tears in the embraces of an Imperial husband. Her disappointment +and grief were imbittered by the anxiety of maternal tenderness. +Six weeks before the death of Jovian, his infant son had been +placed in the curule chair, adorned with the title of +Nobilissimus, and the vain ensigns of the consulship. +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, that he was the son of an +emperor. Sixteen years afterwards he was still alive, but he had +already been deprived of an eye; and his afflicted mother +expected every hour, that the innocent victim would be torn from +her arms, to appease, with his blood, the suspicions of the +reigning prince. ^18 + +[Footnote 11: Johan. Antiochen. in Excerpt. Valesian. p. 845. +The libels of Antioch may be admitted on very slight evidence.] + +[Footnote 12: Compare Ammianus, (xxv. 10,) who omits the name of +the Batarians, with Zosimus, (l. iii. p. 197,) who removes the +scene of action from Rheims to Sirmium.] + +[Footnote 13: Quos capita scholarum ordo castrensis appellat. +Ammian. xxv. 10, and Vales. ad locum.] + +[Footnote 14: Cugus vagitus, pertinaciter reluctantis, ne in +curuli sella veheretur ex more, id quod mox accidit protendebat. +Augustus and his successors respectfully solicited a dispensation +of age for the sons or nephews whom they raised to the +consulship. But the curule chair of the first Brutus had never +been dishonored by an infant.] + +[Footnote 15: The Itinerary of Antoninus fixes Dadastana 125 +Roman miles from Nice; 117 from Ancyra, (Wesseling, Itinerar. p. +142.) The pilgrim of Bourdeaux, by omitting some stages, reduces +the whole space from 242 to 181 miles. Wesseling, p. 574. + + Note: Dadastana is supposed to be Castabat. - M.] + +[Footnote 16: See Ammianus, (xxv. 10,) Eutropius, (x. 18.) who +might likewise be present, 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 minute +differences.] + +[Footnote 17: Ammianus, unmindful of his usual candor and good +sense, compares the death of the harmless Jovian to that of the +second Africanus, who had excited the fears and resentment of the +popular faction.] + +[Footnote 18: Chrysostom, tom. i. p. 336, 344, edit. Montfaucon. +The Christian orator attempts to comfort a widow by the examples +of illustrious misfortunes; and observes, that of nine emperors +(including the Caesar Gallus) who had reigned in his time, only +two (Constantine and Constantius) died a natural death. Such +vague consolations have never wiped away a single tear.] + After the death of Jovian, the throne of the Roman world +remained ten days, ^19 without a master. The ministers and +generals still continued to meet in council; to exercise their +respective functions; to maintain the public order; and peaceably +to conduct the army to the city of Nice in Bithynia, which was +chosen for the place of the election. ^20 In a solemn assembly of +the civil and military powers of the empire, the diadem was again +unanimously offered to the praefect Sallust. He enjoyed the +glory of a second refusal: and when the virtues of the father +were alleged in favor of his son, the praefect, with the firmness +of a disinterested patriot, declared to the electors, that the +feeble age of the one, and the unexperienced youth of the other, +were equally incapable of the laborious duties of government. +Several candidates were proposed; and, after weighing the +objections of 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 whole +assembly, and obtained the sincere approbation of Sallust +himself. Valentinian ^21 was the son of Count Gratian, a native +of Cibalis, in Pannonia, who from an obscure condition had raised +himself, by matchless strength and dexterity, to the military +commands of Africa and Britain; from which he retired with an +ample fortune and suspicious integrity. The rank and services of +Gratian contributed, however, to smooth the first steps of the +promotion of his son; and afforded him an early opportunity of +displaying those solid and useful qualifications, which raised +his character above the ordinary level of his fellow-soldiers. +The person of Valentinian was tall, graceful, and majestic. His +manly countenance, deeply marked with the impression of sense and +spirit, inspired his friends with awe, and his enemies with fear; +and to second the efforts of his undaunted courage, the son of +Gratian had inherited the advantages of a strong and healthy +constitution. By the habits of chastity and temperance, which +restrain the appetites and invigorate the faculties, Valentinian +preserved his own and the public esteem. The avocations of a +military life had diverted his youth from the elegant pursuits of +literature; ^* he was ignorant of the Greek language, and the +arts of rhetoric; but as the mind of the orator was never +disconcerted by timid perplexity, he was able, as often as the +occasion prompted him, to deliver his decided sentiments with +bold and ready elocution. The laws of martial discipline were +the only laws that he had studied; and he was soon distinguished +by the laborious diligence, and inflexible severity, with which +he discharged and enforced the duties of the camp. In the time +of Julian he provoked the danger of disgrace, by the contempt +which he publicly expressed for the reigning religion; ^22 and it +should seem, from his subsequent conduct, that the indiscreet and +unseasonable freedom of Valentinian was the effect of military +spirit, rather than of Christian zeal. He was pardoned, however, +and still employed by a prince who esteemed his merit; ^23 and in +the various events of the Persian war, he improved the reputation +which he had already acquired on the banks of the Rhine. The +celerity and success with which he executed an important +commission, recommended him to the favor of Jovian; and to the +honorable command of the second school, or company, of +Targetiers, of the domestic guards. In the march from Antioch, +he had reached his quarters at Ancyra, when he was unexpectedly +summoned, without guilt and without intrigue, to assume, in the +forty-third year of his age, the absolute government of the Roman +empire. + +[Footnote 19: Ten days appear scarcely sufficient for the march +and election. But it may be observed, 1. That the generals might +command the expeditious use of the public posts for themselves, +their attendants, and messengers. 2. That the troops, for the +ease of the cities, marched in many divisions; and that the head +of the column might arrive at Nice, when the rear halted at +Ancyra.] +[Footnote 20: Ammianus, xxvi. 1. Zosimus, l. iii. p. 198. +Philostorgius, l. viii. c. 8, and Godefroy, Dissertat. p. 334. +Philostorgius, who appears to have obtained some curious and +authentic intelligence, ascribes the choice of Valentinian to the +praefect Sallust, the master-general Arintheus, Dagalaiphus count +of the domestics, and the patrician Datianus, whose pressing +recommendations from Ancyra had a weighty influence in the +election.] +[Footnote 21: Ammianus (xxx. 7, 9) and the younger Victor have +furnished the portrait of Valentinian, which naturally precedes +and illustrates the history of his reign. + + Note: Symmachus, in a fragment of an oration published by M. +Mai, describes Valentinian as born among the snows of Illyria, +and habituated to military labor amid the heat and dust of Libya: +genitus in frigoribus, educatus is solibus Sym. Orat. Frag. edit. +Niebuhr, p. 5. - M.] +[Footnote *: According to Ammianus, he wrote elegantly, and was +skilled in painting and modelling. Scribens decore, venusteque +pingens et fingens. xxx. 7. - M.] + +[Footnote 22: At Antioch, where he was obliged to attend the +emperor to the table, he struck a priest, who had presumed to +purify him with lustral water, (Sozomen, l. vi. c. 6. Theodoret, +l. iii. c. 15.) Such public defiance might become Valentinian; +but it could leave no room for the unworthy delation of the +philosopher Maximus, which supposes some more private offence, +(Zosimus, l. iv. p. 200, 201.)] + +[Footnote 23: Socrates, l. iv. A previous exile to Melitene, or +Thebais (the first might be possible,) is interposed by Sozomen +(l. vi. c. 6) and Philostorgius, (l. vii. c. 7, with Godefroy's +Dissertations, p. 293.)] + The invitation of the ministers and generals at Nice was of +little moment, unless it were confirmed by the voice of the army. + +The aged Sallust, who had long observed the irregular +fluctuations of popular assemblies, proposed, under pain of +death, that none of those persons, whose rank in the service +might excite a party in their favor, should appear in public on +the day of the inauguration. Yet such was the prevalence of +ancient superstition, that a whole day was voluntarily added to +this dangerous interval, because it happened to be the +intercalation of the Bissextile. ^24 At length, when the hour was +supposed to be propitious, Valentinian showed himself from a +lofty tribunal; the judicious choice was applauded; and the new +prince was solemnly invested with the diadem and the purple, +amidst the acclamation of the troops, who were disposed in +martial order round the tribunal. But when he stretched forth +his hand to address the armed multitude, a busy whisper was +accidentally started in the ranks, and insensibly swelled into a +loud and imperious clamor, that he should name, without delay, a +colleague in the empire. The intrepid calmness of Valentinian +obtained silence, and commanded respect; and he thus addressed +the assembly: "A few minutes since it was in your power, +fellow-soldiers, to have left me in the obscurity of a private +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 republic. The +weight of the universe is undoubtedly too great for the hands of +a feeble mortal. I am conscious of the limits of my abilities, +and the uncertainty of my life; and far from declining, I am +anxious to solicit, the assistance of a worthy colleague. But, +where discord may be fatal, the choice of a faithful friend +requires mature and serious deliberation. That deliberation +shall be my care. Let your conduct be dutiful and consistent. +Retire to your quarters; refresh your minds and bodies; and +expect the accustomed donative on the accession of a new +emperor." ^25 The astonished troops, with a mixture of pride, of +satisfaction, and of terror, confessed the voice of their master. + +Their angry clamors subsided into silent reverence; and +Valentinian, encompassed with the eagles of the legions, and the +various banners of the cavalry and infantry, was conducted, in +warlike pomp, to the palace of Nice. As he was sensible, +however, of the importance of preventing some rash declaration of +the soldiers, he consulted the assembly of the chiefs; and their +real sentiments were concisely expressed by the generous freedom +of Dagalaiphus. "Most excellent prince," said that officer, "if +you consider only your family, you have a brother; if you love +the republic, look round for the most deserving of the Romans." +^26 The emperor, who suppressed his displeasure, without altering +his intention, slowly proceeded from Nice to Nicomedia and +Constantinople. In one of the suburbs of that capital, ^27 +thirty days after his own elevation, he bestowed the title of +Augustus on his brother Valens; ^* and as the boldest patriots +were convinced, that their opposition, without being serviceable +to their country, would be fatal to themselves, the declaration +of his absolute will was received with silent submission. Valens +was now in the thirty-sixth year of his age; but his abilities +had never been exercised in any employment, military or civil; +and his character had not inspired the world with any sanguine +expectations. He possessed, however, one quality, which +recommended him to Valentinian, and preserved the domestic peace +of the empire; devout and grateful attachment to his benefactor, +whose superiority of genius, as well as of authority, Valens +humbly and cheerfully acknowledged in every action of his life. +^28 + +[Footnote 24: Ammianus, in a long, because unseasonable, +digression, (xxvi. l, and Valesius, ad locum,) rashly supposes +that he understands an astronomical question, of which his +readers are ignorant. It is treated with more judgment and +propriety by Censorinus (de Die Natali, c. 20) and Macrobius, +(Saturnal. i. c. 12-16.) The appellation of Bissextile, which +marks the inauspicious year, (Augustin. ad Januarium, Epist. +119,) is derived from the repetition of the sixth day of the +calends of March.] + +[Footnote 25: Valentinian's first speech is in Ammianus, (xxvi. +2;) concise and sententious in Philostorgius, (l. viii. c. 8.)] + +[Footnote 26: Si tuos amas, Imperator optime, habes fratrem; si +Rempublicam quaere quem vestias. Ammian. xxvi. 4. In the +division of the empire, Valentinian retained that sincere +counsellor for himself, (c.6.)] +[Footnote 27: In suburbano, Ammian. xxvi. 4. The famous +Hebdomon, or field of Mars, was distant from Constantinople +either seven stadia, or seven miles. See Valesius, and his +brother, ad loc., and Ducange, Const. l. ii. p. 140, 141, 172, +173.] + +[Footnote *: Symmachus praises the liberality of Valentinian in +raising his brother at once to the rank of Augustus, not training +him through the slow and probationary degree of Caesar. Exigui +animi vices munerum partiuntur, liberalitas desideriis nihil +reliquit. Symm. Orat. p. 7. edit. Niebuhr, 1816, reprinted from +Mai. - M.] + +[Footnote 28: Participem quidem legitimum potestatis; sed in +modum apparitoris morigerum, ut progrediens aperiet textus. +Ammian. xxvi. 4.] + +Chapter XXV: Reigns Of Jovian And Valentinian, Division Of The +Empire. + +Part II. + + Before Valentinian divided the provinces, he reformed the +administration of the empire. All ranks of subjects, who had +been injured or oppressed under the reign of Julian, were invited +to support their public accusations. The silence of mankind +attested the spotless integrity of the praefect Sallust; ^29 and +his own pressing solicitations, that he might be permitted to +retire from the business of the state, were rejected by +Valentinian with the most honorable expressions of friendship and +esteem. But among the favorites of the late emperor, there were +many who had abused his credulity or superstition; and who could +no longer hope to be protected either by favor or justice. ^30 +The greater part of the ministers of the palace, and the +governors of the provinces, were removed from their respective +stations; yet the eminent merit of some officers was +distinguished from the obnoxious crowd; and, notwithstanding the +opposite clamors of zeal and resentment, the whole proceedings of +this delicate inquiry appear to have been conducted with a +reasonable share of wisdom and moderation. ^31 The festivity of a +new reign received a short and suspicious interruption from the +sudden illness of the two princes; but as soon as their health +was restored, they left Constantinople in the beginning of the +spring. In the castle, or palace, of Mediana, only three miles +from Naissus, they executed the solemn and final division of the +Roman empire. ^32 Valentinian bestowed on his brother the rich +praefecture of the East, from the Lower Danube to the confines of +Persia; whilst he reserved for his immediate government the +warlike ^* praefectures of Illyricum, Italy, and Gaul, from the +extremity of Greece to the Caledonian rampart, and from the +rampart of Caledonia to the foot of Mount Atlas. The provincial +administration remained on its former basis; but a double supply +of generals and magistrates was required for two councils, and +two courts: the division was made with a just regard to their +peculiar merit and situation, and seven master-generals were soon +created, either of the cavalry or infantry. When this important +business had been amicably transacted, Valentinian and Valens +embraced for the last time. The emperor of the West established +his temporary residence at Milan; and the emperor of the East +returned to Constantinople, to assume the dominion of fifty +provinces, of whose language he was totally ignorant. ^33 + +[Footnote 29: Notwithstanding the evidence of Zonaras, Suidas, +and the Paschal Chronicle, M. de Tillemont (Hist. des Empereurs, +tom. v. p. 671) wishes to disbelieve those stories, si +avantageuses a un payen.] + +[Footnote 30: Eunapius celebrates and exaggerates the sufferings +of Maximus. (p. 82, 83;) yet he allows that the sophist or +magician, the guilty favorite of Julian, and the personal enemy +of Valentinian, was dismissed on the payment of a small fine.] + +[Footnote 31: The loose assertions of a general disgrace +(Zosimus, l. iv. p. 201, are detected and refuted by Tillemont, +(tom. v. p. 21.)] +[Footnote 32: Ammianus, xxvi. 5.] + +[Footnote *: Ipae supra impacati Rhen semibarbaras ripas raptim +vexilla constituens * * Princeps creatus ad difficilem militiam +revertisti. Symm. Orat. 81. - M.] + +[Footnote 33: Ammianus says, in general terms, subagrestis +ingenii, nec bellicis nec liberalibus studiis eruditus. Ammian. +xxxi. 14. The orator Themistius, with the genuine impertinence +of a Greek, wishes for the first time to speak the Latin +language, the dialect of his sovereign. Orat. vi. p. 71.] + + The tranquility of the East was soon disturbed by rebellion; +and the throne of Valens was threatened by the daring attempts of +a rival whose affinity to the emperor Julian ^34 was his sole +merit, and had been his only crime. Procopius had been hastily +promoted from the obscure station of a tribune, and a notary, to +the joint command of the army of Mesopotamia; the public opinion +already named him as the successor of a prince who was destitute +of natural heirs; and a vain rumor was propagated by his friends, +or his enemies, that Julian, before the altar of the Moon at +Carrhae, had privately invested Procopius with the Imperial +purple. ^35 He endeavored, by his dutiful and submissive +behavior, to disarm the jealousy of Jovian; resigned, without a +contest, his military command; and retired, with his wife and +family, to cultivate the ample patrimony which he possessed in +the province of Cappadocia. These useful and innocent +occupations were interrupted by the appearance of an officer with +a band of soldiers, who, in the name of his new sovereigns, +Valentinian and Valens, was despatched to conduct the unfortunate +Procopius either to a perpetual prison or an ignominious death. +His presence of mind procured him a longer respite, and a more +splendid fate. Without presuming to dispute the royal mandate, +he requested the indulgence of a few moments to embrace his +weeping family; and while the vigilance of his guards was relaxed +by a plentiful entertainment, 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, exposed to the hardships of exile, of solitude, and +of want; his melancholy temper brooding over his misfortunes, and +his mind agitated by the just apprehension, that, if any accident +should discover his name, the faithless Barbarians would violate, +without much scruple, the laws of hospitality. In a moment of +impatience and despair, Procopius embarked in a merchant vessel, +which made sail for Constantinople; and boldly aspired to the +rank of a sovereign, because he was not allowed to enjoy the +security of a subject. At first he lurked in the villages of +Bithynia, continually changing his habitation and his disguise. +^36 By degrees he ventured into the capital, trusted his life and +fortune to the fidelity of two friends, a senator and a eunuch, +and conceived some hopes of success, from the intelligence which +he obtained of the actual state of public affairs. The body of +the people was infected with a spirit of discontent: they +regretted the justice and the abilities of Sallust, who had been +imprudently dismissed from the praefecture of the East. They +despised the character of Valens, which was rude without vigor, +and feeble without mildness. They dreaded the influence of his +father-in- law, the patrician Petronius, a cruel and rapacious +minister, who rigorously exacted all the arrears of tribute that +might remain unpaid since the reign of the emperor Aurelian. The +circumstances were propitious to the designs of a usurper. The +hostile measures of the Persians required the presence of Valens +in Syria: from the Danube to the Euphrates the troops were in +motion; and the capital was occasionally filled with the soldiers +who passed or repassed the Thracian Bosphorus. Two cohorts of +Gaul were persuaded to listen to the secret proposals of the +conspirators; which were recommended by the promise of a liberal +donative; and, as they still revered the memory of Julian, they +easily consented to support the hereditary claim of his +proscribed kinsman. At the dawn of day they were drawn up near +the baths of Anastasia; and Procopius, clothed in a purple +garment, more suitable to a player than to a monarch, appeared, +as if he rose from the dead, in the midst of Constantinople. The +soldiers, who were prepared for his reception, saluted their +trembling prince with shouts of joy and vows of fidelity. Their +numbers were soon increased by a band of sturdy peasants, +collected from the adjacent country; and Procopius, shielded by +the arms of his adherents, was successively conducted to the +tribunal, the senate, and the palace. During the first moments +of his tumultuous reign, he was astonished and terrified by the +gloomy silence of the people; who were either ignorant of the +cause, or apprehensive of the event. But his military strength +was superior to any actual resistance: the malecontents flocked +to the standard of rebellion; the poor were excited by the hopes, +and the rich were intimidated by the fear, of a general pillage; +and the obstinate credulity of the multitude was once more +deceived by the promised advantages of a revolution. The +magistrates were seized; the prisons and arsenals broke open; the +gates, and the entrance of the harbor, were diligently occupied; +and, in a few hours, Procopius became the absolute, though +precarious, master of the Imperial city. ^* The usurper improved +this unexpected success with some degree of courage and +dexterity. He artfully propagated the rumors and opinions the +most favorable to his interest; while he deluded the populace by +giving audience to the frequent, but imaginary, ambassadors of +distant nations. The large bodies of troops stationed in the +cities of Thrace and the fortresses of the Lower Danube, were +gradually involved in the guilt of rebellion: and the Gothic +princes consented to supply the sovereign of Constantinople with +the formidable strength of several thousand auxiliaries. His +generals passed the Bosphorus, and subdued, without an effort, +the unarmed, but wealthy provinces of Bithynia and Asia. After an +honorable defence, the city and island of Cyzicus yielded to his +power; the renowned legions of the Jovians and Herculeans +embraced the cause of the usurper, whom they were ordered to +crush; and, as the veterans were continually augmented with new +levies, he soon appeared at the head of an army, whose valor, as +well as numbers, were not unequal to the greatness of the +contest. The son of Hormisdas, ^37 a youth of spirit and +ability, condescended to draw his sword against the lawful +emperor of the East; and the Persian prince was immediately +invested with the ancient and extraordinary powers of a Roman +Proconsul. The alliance of Faustina, the widow of the emperor +Constantius, who intrusted herself and her daughter to the hands +of the usurper, added dignity and reputation to his cause. The +princess Constantia, who was then about five years of age, +accompanied, in a litter, the march of the army. She was shown to +the multitude in the arms of her adopted father; and, as often as +she passed through the ranks, the tenderness of the soldiers was +inflamed into martial fury: ^38 they recollected the glories of +the house of Constantine, and they declared, with loyal +acclamation, that they would shed the last drop of their blood in +the defence of the royal infant. ^39 + +[Footnote 34: The 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.] +[Footnote 35: Ammian. xxiii. 3, xxvi. 6. He mentions the report +with much hesitation: susurravit obscurior fama; nemo enim dicti +auctor exstitit verus. It serves, however, to remark, that +Procopius was a Pagan. Yet his religion does not appear to have +promoted, or obstructed, his pretensions.] +[Footnote 36: One of his retreats was a country-house of +Eunomius, the heretic. The master was absent, innocent, +ignorant; yet he narrowly escaped a sentence of death, and was +banished into the remote parts of Mauritania, (Philostorg. l. ix. +c. 5, 8, and Godefroy's Dissert. p. 369- 378.)] +[Footnote *: It may be suspected, from a fragment of Eunapius, +that the heathen and philosophic party espoused the cause of +Procopius. Heraclius, the Cynic, a man who had been honored by a +philosophic controversy with Julian, striking the ground with his +staff, incited him to courage with the line of Homer Eunapius. +Mai, p. 207 or in Niebuhr's edition, p. 73. - M.] +[Footnote 37: Hormisdae maturo juveni Hormisdae regalis illius +filio, potestatem Proconsulis detulit; et civilia, more veterum, +et bella, recturo. Ammian. xxvi. 8. The Persian prince escaped +with honor and safety, and was afterwards (A. D. 380) restored to +the same extraordinary office of proconsul of Bithynia, +(Tillemont, Hist. des Empereurs, tom. v. p. 204) I am ignorant +whether the race of Sassan was propagated. I find (A. D. 514) a +pope Hormisdas; but he was a native of Frusino, in Italy, (Pagi +Brev. Pontific. tom. i. p. 247)] + +[Footnote 38: The infant rebel was afterwards the wife of the +emperor Gratian but she died young, and childless. See Ducange, +Fam. Byzantin. p. 48, 59.] +[Footnote 39: Sequimini culminis summi prosapiam, was the +language of Procopius, who affected to despise the obscure birth, +and fortuitous election of the upstart Pannonian. Ammian. xxvi. +7.] + + In the mean while Valentinian was alarmed and perplexed by +the doubtful intelligence of the revolt of the East. ^* The +difficulties of a German was forced him to confine his immediate +care to the safety of his own dominions; and, as every channel of +communication was stopped or corrupted, he listened, with +doubtful anxiety, to the rumors which were industriously spread, +that the defeat and death of Valens had left Procopius sole +master of the Eastern provinces. Valens was not dead: but on the +news of the rebellion, which he received at Caesarea, he basely +despaired of his life and fortune; proposed to negotiate with the +usurper, and discovered his secret inclination to abdicate the +Imperial purple. The timid monarch was saved from disgrace and +ruin by the firmness of his ministers, and their abilities soon +decided in his favor the event of the civil war. In a season of +tranquillity, Sallust had resigned without 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 praefecture of the East, was the first +step which indicated the repentance of Valens, and satisfied the +minds of the people. The reign of Procopius was apparently +supported by powerful armies and obedient provinces. But many of +the principal officers, military as well as civil, had been +urged, either by motives of duty or interest, to withdraw +themselves from the guilty scene; or to watch the moment of +betraying, and deserting, the cause of the usurper. Lupicinus +advanced by hasty marches, to bring the legions of Syria to the +aid of Valens. Arintheus, who, in strength, beauty, and valor, +excelled all the heroes of the age, attacked with a small troop a +superior body of the rebels. When he beheld the faces of the +soldiers who had served under his banner, he commanded them, with +a loud voice, to seize and deliver up their pretended leader; and +such was the ascendant of his genius, that this extraordinary +order was instantly obeyed. ^40 Arbetio, a respectable veteran of +the great Constantine, who had been distinguished by the honors +of the consulship, was persuaded to leave his retirement, and +once more to conduct an army into the field. In the heat of +action, calmly taking off his helmet, he showed his gray hairs +and venerable countenance: saluted the soldiers of Procopius by +the endearing names of children and companions, and exhorted them +no longer to support the desperate cause of a contemptible +tyrant; but to follow their old commander, who had so often led +them to honor and victory. In the two engagements of Thyatira +^41 and Nacolia, the unfortunate Procopius was deserted by his +troops, who were seduced by the instructions and example of their +perfidious officers. After wandering some time among the woods +and mountains of Phyrgia, he was betrayed by his desponding +followers, conducted to the Imperial camp, and immediately +beheaded. He suffered the ordinary fate of an unsuccessful +usurper; but the acts of cruelty which were exercised by the +conqueror, under the forms of legal justice, excited the pity and +indignation of mankind. ^42 +[Footnote *: Symmachus describes his embarrassment. "The Germans +are the common enemies of the state, Procopius the private foe of +the Emperor; his first care must be victory, his second revenge." +Symm. Orat. p. 11. - M.] +[Footnote 40: Et dedignatus hominem superare certamine +despicabilem, auctoritatis et celsi fiducia corporis ipsis +hostibus jussit, suum vincire rectorem: atque ita turmarum, +antesignanus umbratilis comprensus suorum manibus. The strength +and beauty of Arintheus, the new Hercules, are celebrated by St. +Basil, who supposed that God had created him as an inimitable +model of the human species. The painters and sculptors could not +express his figure: the historians appeared fabulous when they +related his exploits, (Ammian. xxvi. and Vales. ad loc.)] + +[Footnote 41: The same field of battle is placed by Ammianus in +Lycia, and by Zosimus at Thyatira, which are at the distance of +150 miles from each other. But Thyatira alluitur Lyco, (Plin. +Hist. Natur. v. 31, Cellarius, Geograph. Antiq. tom. ii. p. 79;) +and the transcribers might easily convert an obscure river into a +well-known province. + + Note: Ammianus and Zosimus place the last battle at Nacolia +in Phrygia; Ammianus altogether omits the former battle near +Thyatira. Procopius was on his march (iter tendebat) towards +Lycia. See Wagner's note, in c. - M.] +[Footnote 42: The 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, each other. Themistius (Orat. vii. p. 91, 92) +adds some base panegyric; and Euna pius (p. 83, 84) some +malicious satire.] + +[Footnote !: Symmachus joins with Themistius in praising the +clemency of Valens dic victoriae moderatus est, quasi contra se +nemo pugnavit. Symm. Orat. p. 12. - M.] + + Such indeed are the common and natural fruits of despotism +and rebellion. But the inquisition into the crime of magic, ^!! +which, under the reign of the two brothers, was so rigorously +prosecuted both at Rome and Antioch, was interpreted as the fatal +symptom, either of the displeasure of Heaven, or of the depravity +of mankind. ^43 Let us not hesitate to indulge a liberal pride, +that, in the present age, the enlightened part of Europe has +abolished ^44 a cruel and odious prejudice, which reigned in +every climate of the globe, and adhered to every system of +religious opinions. ^45 The nations, and the sects, of the Roman +world, admitted with equal credulity, and similar abhorrence, the +reality of that infernal art, ^46 which was able to control the +eternal order of the planets, and the voluntary operations of the +human mind. They dreaded the mysterious power of spells and +incantations, of potent herbs, and execrable rites; which could +extinguish or recall life, inflame the passions of the soul, +blast the works of creation, and extort from the reluctant +daemons the secrets of futurity. They believed, with the wildest +inconsistency, that this preternatural dominion of the air, of +earth, and of hell, was exercised, from the vilest motives of +malice or gain, by some wrinkled hags and itinerant sorcerers, +who passed their obscure lives in penury and contempt. ^47 The +arts of magic were equally condemned by the public opinion, and +by the laws of Rome; but as they tended to gratify the most +imperious passions of the heart of man, they were continually +proscribed, and continually practised. ^48 An imaginary cause as +capable of producing the most serious and mischievous effects. +The dark predictions of the death of an emperor, or the success +of a conspiracy, were calculated only to stimulate the hopes of +ambition, and to dissolve the ties of fidelity; and the +intentional guilt of magic was aggravated by the actual crimes of +treason and sacrilege. ^49 Such vain terrors disturbed the peace +of society, and the happiness of individuals; and the harmless +flame which insensibly melted a waxen image, might derive a +powerful and pernicious energy from the affrighted fancy of the +person whom it was maliciously designed to represent. ^50 From +the infusion of those herbs, which were supposed to possess a +supernatural influence, it was an easy step to the use of more +substantial poison; and the folly of mankind sometimes became the +instrument, and the mask, of the most atrocious crimes. As soon +as the zeal of informers was encouraged by the ministers of +Valens and Valentinian, they could not refuse to listen to +another charge, too frequently mingled in the scenes of domestic +guilt; a charge of a softer and less malignant nature, for which +the pious, though excessive, rigor of Constantine had recently +decreed the punishment of death. ^51 This deadly and incoherent +mixture of treason and magic, of poison and adultery, afforded +infinite gradations of guilt and innocence, of excuse and +aggravation, which in these proceedings appear to have been +confounded by the angry or corrupt passions of the judges. They +easily discovered that the degree of their industry and +discernment was estimated, by the Imperial court, according to +the number of executions that were furnished from the respective +tribunals. It was not without extreme reluctance that they +pronounced a sentence of acquittal; but they eagerly admitted +such evidence as was stained with perjury, or procured by +torture, to prove the most improbable charges against the most +respectable characters. The progress of the inquiry continually +opened new subjects of criminal prosecution; the audacious +informer, whose falsehood was detected, retired with impunity; +but the wretched victim, 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 the +aged, were dragged in chains to the tribunals of Rome and +Antioch. Senators, matrons, and philosophers, expired in +ignominious and cruel tortures. The soldiers, who were appointed +to guard the prisons, declared, with a murmur of pity and +indignation, that their numbers were insufficient to oppose the +flight, or resistance, of the multitude of captives. The +wealthiest families were ruined by fines and confiscations; 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, in the obnoxious provinces, +the prisoners, the exiles, and the fugitives, formed the greatest +part of the inhabitants. ^52 + +[Footnote !!: This infamous inquisition into sorcery and +witchcraft has been of greater influence on human affairs than is +commonly supposed. The persecutions against philosophers and +their libraries was carried on with so much fury, that from this +time (A. D. 374) the names of the Gentile philosophers became +almost extinct; and the Christian philosophy and religion, +particularly in the East, established their ascendency. I am +surprised that Gibbon has not made this observation. Heyne, Note +on Zosimus, l. iv. 14, p. 637. Besides vast heaps of manuscripts +publicly destroyed throughout the East, men of letters burned +their whole libraries, lest some fatal volume should expose them +to the malice of the informers and the extreme penalty of the +law. Amm. Marc. xxix. 11. - M.] + +[Footnote 43: Libanius de ulciscend. Julian. nece, c. ix. p. 158, +159. The sophist deplores the public frenzy, but he does not +(after their deaths) impeach the justice of the emperors.] + +[Footnote 44: The French and English lawyers, of the present age, +allow the theory, and deny the practice, of witchcraft, +(Denisart, Recueil de Decisions de Jurisprudence, au mot +Sorciers, tom. iv. p. 553. Blackstone's Commentaries, vol. iv. +p. 60.) As private reason always prevents, or outstrips, public +wisdom, the president Montesquieu (Esprit des Loix, l. xii. c. 5, +6) rejects the existence of magic.] + +[Footnote 45: See Oeuvres de Bayle, tom. iii. p. 567-589. The +sceptic of Rotterdam exhibits, according to his custom, a strange +medley of loose knowledge and lively wit.] + +[Footnote 46: The Pagans distinguished between good and bad +magic, the Theurgic and the Goetic, (Hist. de l'Academie, &c., +tom. vii. p. 25.) But they could not have defended this obscure +distinction against the acute logic of Bayle. In the Jewish and +Christian system, all daemons are infernal spirits; and all +commerce with them is idolatry, apostasy &c., which deserves +death and damnation.] + +[Footnote 47: The Canidia of Horace (Carm. l. v. Od. 5, with +Dacier's and Sanadon's illustrations) is a vulgar witch. The +Erictho of Lucan (Pharsal. vi. 430-830) is tedious, disgusting, +but sometimes sublime. She chides the delay of the Furies, and +threatens, with tremendous obscurity, to pronounce their real +names; to reveal the true infernal countenance of Hecate; to +invoke the secret powers that lie below hell, &c.] + +[Footnote 48: Genus hominum potentibus infidum, sperantibus +fallax, quod in civitate nostra et vetabitur semper et +retinebitur. Tacit. Hist. i. 22. See Augustin. de Civitate Dei, +l. viii. c. 19, and the Theodosian Code l. ix. tit. xvi., with +Godefroy's Commentary.] + +[Footnote 49: The persecution of Antioch was occasioned by a +criminal consultation. The twenty-four letters of the alphabet +were arranged round a magic tripod: and a dancing ring, which had +been placed in the centre, pointed to the four first letters in +the name of the future emperor, O. E. O Triangle. Theodorus +(perhaps with many others, who owned the fatal syllables) was +executed. Theodosius succeeded. Lardner (Heathen Testimonies, +vol. iv. p. 353-372) has copiously and fairly examined this dark +transaction of the reign of Valens.] + +[Footnote 50: Limus ut hic durescit, et haec ut cera liquescit + + 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 increase the +disease of Germanicus. Tacit. Annal. ii. 69.] + +[Footnote 51: See Heineccius, Antiquitat. Juris Roman. tom. ii. +p. 353, &c. Cod. Theodosian. l. ix. tit. 7, with Godefroy's +Commentary.] +[Footnote 52: The cruel persecution of Rome and Antioch is +described, and most probably exaggerated, by Ammianus (xxvii. 1. +xxix. 1, 2) and Zosimus, (l. iv. p. 216-218.) The philosopher +Maximus, with some justice, was involved in the charge of magic, +(Eunapius in Vit. Sophist. p. 88, 89;) and young Chrysostom, who +had accidentally found one of the proscribed books, gave himself +up for lost, (Tillemont, Hist. des Empereurs, tom. v. p. 340.)] + + When Tacitus describes the deaths of the innocent and +illustrious Romans, who were sacrificed to the cruelty of the +first Caesars, the art of the historian, or the merit of the +sufferers, excites in our breast the most lively sensations of +terror, of admiration, and of pity. The coarse and +undistinguishing pencil of Ammianus has delineated his bloody +figures with tedious and disgusting accuracy. But as our +attention is no longer engaged by the contrast of freedom 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 the two brothers. ^53 +Valens was of a timid, ^54 and Valentinian of a choleric, +disposition. ^55 An anxious regard to his personal safety was the +ruling principle of the administration of Valens. In the +condition of a subject, he had kissed, with trembling awe, the +hand of the oppressor; and when he ascended the throne, he +reasonably expected, that the same fears, which had subdued his +own mind, would secure the patient submission of his people. The +favorites of Valens obtained, by the privilege of rapine and +confiscation, the wealth which his economy would have refused. +^56 They urged, with persuasive eloquence, that, in all cases of +treason, suspicion is equivalent to proof; that the power +supposes the intention, of mischief; that the intention is not +less criminal than the act; and that a subject no longer deserves +to live, if his life may threaten the safety, or disturb the +repose, of his sovereign. The judgment of Valentinian was +sometimes deceived, and his confidence abused; but he would have +silenced the informers with a contemptuous smile, had they +presumed to alarm his fortitude by the sound of danger. They +praised his inflexible love of justice; and, in the pursuit of +justice, the emperor was easily tempted to consider clemency as a +weakness, and passion as a virtue. As long as he wrestled with +his equals, in the bold competition of an active and ambitious +life, Valentinian was seldom injured, and never insulted, with +impunity: if his prudence was arraigned, his spirit was +applauded; and the proudest and most powerful generals were +apprehensive of provoking the resentment of a fearless soldier. +After he became master of the world, he unfortunately forgot, +that where no resistance can be made, no courage can be exerted; +and instead of consulting the dictates of reason and magnanimity, +he indulged the furious emotions of his temper, at a time when +they were disgraceful to himself, and fatal to the defenceless +objects of his displeasure. In the government of his household, +or of his empire, slight, or even imaginary, offences - a hasty +word, a casual omission, an involuntary delay - were chastised by +a sentence of immediate death. The expressions which issued the +most readily from the mouth of the emperor of the West were, +"Strike off his head;" "Burn him alive;" "Let him be beaten with +clubs till he expires;" ^57 and his most favored ministers soon +understood, that, by a rash attempt to dispute, or suspend, the +execution of his sanguinary commands, they might involve +themselves in the guilt and punishment of disobedience. The +repeated gratification of this savage justice hardened the mind +of Valentinian against pity and remorse; and the sallies of +passion were confirmed by the habits of cruelty. ^58 He could +behold with calm satisfaction the convulsive agonies of torture +and death; he reserved his friendship for those faithful servants +whose temper was the most congenial to his own. The merit of +Maximin, who had slaughtered the noblest families of Rome, was +rewarded with the royal approbation, and the praefecture of Gaul. + +Two fierce and enormous bears, distinguished by the appellations +of Innocence, and Mica Aurea, could alone deserve to share the +favor of Maximin. The cages of those trusty guards were always +placed near the bed-chamber of Valentinian, who frequently amused +his eyes with the grateful spectacle of seeing them tear and +devour the bleeding limbs of the malefactors who were abandoned +to their rage. Their diet and exercises were carefully inspected +by the Roman emperor; and when Innocence had earned her +discharge, by a long course of meritorious service, the faithful +animal was again restored to the freedom of her native woods. ^59 + +[Footnote 53: Consult the six last books of Ammianus, and more +particularly the portraits of the two royal brothers, (xxx. 8, 9, +xxxi. 14.) Tillemont has collected (tom. v. p. 12-18, p. 127-133) +from all antiquity their virtues and vices.] + +[Footnote 54: The younger Victor asserts, that he was valde +timidus: yet he behaved, as almost every man would do, with +decent resolution at the head of an army. The same historian +attempts to prove that his anger was harmless. Ammianus observes, +with more candor and judgment, incidentia crimina ad contemptam +vel laesam principis amplitudinem trahens, in sanguinem +saeviebat.] +[Footnote 55: Cum esset ad acerbitatem naturae calore propensior. +. . poenas perignes augebat et gladios. Ammian. xxx. 8. See +xxvii. 7] +[Footnote 56: I have transferred the reproach of avarice from +Valens to his servant. Avarice more properly belongs to +ministers than to kings; in whom that passion is commonly +extinguished by absolute possession.] +[Footnote 57: He sometimes expressed a sentence of death with a +tone of pleasantry: "Abi, Comes, et muta ei caput, qui sibi +mutari provinciam cupit." A boy, who had slipped too hastily a +Spartan bound; an armorer, who had made a polished cuirass that +wanted some grains of the legitimate weight, &c., were the +victims of his fury.] + +[Footnote 58: The 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 executed were worshipped as martyrs by the +Christians. His impartial silence does not allow us to believe, +that the great chamberlain Rhodanus was burnt alive for an act of +oppression, (Chron. Paschal. p. 392.) + + Note: Ammianus does not say that they were worshipped as +martyrs. Onorum memoriam apud Mediolanum colentes nunc usque +Christiani loculos ubi sepulti sunt, ad innocentes appellant. +Wagner's note in loco. Yet if the next paragraph refers to that +transaction, which is not quite clear. Gibbon is right. - M.] + +[Footnote 59: Ut bene meritam in sylvas jussit abire Innoxiam. +Ammian. xxix. and Valesius ad locum.] + +Chapter XXV: Reigns Of Jovian And Valentinian, Division Of The +Empire. + +Part III. + + But in the calmer moments of reflection, when the mind of +Valens was not agitated by fear, or that of Valentinian by rage, +the tyrant resumed the sentiments, or at least the conduct, of +the father of his country. The dispassionate judgment of the +Western emperor could clearly perceive, and accurately pursue, +his own and the public interest; and the sovereign of the East, +who imitated with equal docility the various examples which he +received from his elder brother, was sometimes guided by the +wisdom and virtue of the praefect Sallust. Both princes +invariably retained, in the purple, the chaste and temperate +simplicity which had adorned their private life; and, under their +reign, the pleasures of the court never cost the people a blush +or a sigh. They gradually reformed many of the abuses of the +times of Constantius; judiciously adopted and improved the +designs of Julian and his successor; and displayed a style and +spirit of legislation which might inspire posterity with the most +favorable opinion of their character and government. It is not +from the master of Innocence, that we should expect the tender +regard for the welfare of his subjects, which prompted +Valentinian to condemn the exposition of new-born infants; ^60 +and to establish fourteen skilful physicians, with stipends and +privileges, in the fourteen quarters of Rome. The good sense of +an illiterate soldier founded a useful and liberal institution +for the education of youth, and the support of declining science. +^61 It was his intention, that the arts of rhetoric and grammar +should be taught in the Greek and Latin languages, in the +metropolis of every province; and as the size and dignity of the +school was usually proportioned to the importance of the city, +the academies of Rome and Constantinople claimed a just and +singular preeminence. The fragments of the literary edicts of +Valentinian imperfectly represent the school of Constantinople, +which was gradually improved by subsequent regulations. That +school consisted of thirty-one professors in different branches +of learning. One philosopher, and two lawyers; five sophists, +and ten grammarians for the Greek, and three orators, and ten +grammarians for the Latin tongue; besides seven scribes, or, as +they were then styled, antiquarians, whose laborious pens +supplied the public library with fair and correct copies of the +classic writers. The rule of conduct, which was prescribed to the +students, is the more curious, as it affords the first outlines +of the form and discipline of a modern university. It was +required, that they should bring proper certificates from the +magistrates of their native province. Their names, professions, +and places of abode, were regularly entered in a public register. + +The studious youth were severely prohibited from wasting their +time in feasts, or in the theatre; and the term of their +education was limited to the age of twenty. The praefect of the +city was empowered to chastise the idle and refractory by stripes +or expulsion; and he was directed to make an annual report to the +master of the offices, that the knowledge and abilities of the +scholars might be usefully applied to the public service. The +institutions of Valentinian contributed to secure the benefits of +peace and plenty; and the cities were guarded by the +establishment of the Defensors; ^62 freely elected as the +tribunes and advocates of the people, to support their rights, +and to expose their grievances, before the tribunals of the civil +magistrates, or even at the foot of the Imperial throne. The +finances were diligently administered by two princes, who had +been so long accustomed to the rigid economy of a private +fortune; but in the receipt and application of the revenue, a +discerning eye might observe some difference between the +government of the East and of the West. Valens was persuaded, +that royal liberality can be supplied only by public oppression, +and his ambition never aspired to secure, by their actual +distress, the future strength and prosperity of his people. +Instead of increasing the weight of taxes, which, in the space of +forty years, had been gradually doubled, he reduced, in the first +years of his reign, one fourth of the tribute of the East. ^63 +Valentinian appears to have been less attentive and less anxious +to relieve the burdens of his people. He might reform the abuses +of the fiscal administration; but he exacted, without scruple, a +very large share of the private property; as he was convinced, +that the revenues, which supported the luxury of individuals, +would be much more advantageously employed for the defence and +improvement of the state. The subjects of the East, who enjoyed +the present benefit, applauded the indulgence of their prince. +The solid but less splendid, merit of Valentinian was felt and +acknowledged by the subsequent generation. ^64 + +[Footnote 60: See the Code of Justinian, l. viii. tit. lii. leg. +2. Unusquisque sabolem suam nutriat. Quod si exponendam +putaverit animadversioni quae constituta est subjacebit. For the +present I shall not interfere in the dispute between Noodt and +Binkershoek; how far, or how long this unnatural practice had +been condemned or abolished by law philosophy, and the more +civilized state of society.] + +[Footnote 61: These salutary institutions are explained in the +Theodosian Code, l. xiii. tit. iii. De Professoribus et Medicis, +and l. xiv. tit. ix. De Studiis liberalibus Urbis Romoe. Besides +our usual guide, (Godefroy,) we may consult Giannone, (Istoria di +Napoli, tom. i. p. 105-111,) who has treated the interesting +subject with the zeal and curiosity of a man of latters who +studies his domestic history.] + +[Footnote 62: Cod. Theodos. l. i. tit. xi. with Godefroy's +Paratitlon, which diligently gleans from the rest of the code.] + +[Footnote 63: Three lines of Ammianus (xxxi. 14) countenance a +whole oration of Themistius, (viii. p. 101-120,) full of +adulation, pedantry, and common-place morality. The eloquent M. +Thomas (tom. i. p. 366-396) has amused himself with celebrating +the virtues and genius of Themistius, who was not unworthy of the +age in which he lived.] + +[Footnote 64: Zosimus, l. iv. p. 202. Ammian. xxx. 9. His +reformation of costly abuses might entitle him to the praise of, +in provinciales admodum parcus, tributorum ubique molliens +sarcinas. By some his frugality was styled avarice, (Jerom. +Chron. p. 186)] + + But the most honorable circumstance of the character of +Valentinian, is the firm and temperate impartiality which he +uniformly preserved in an age of religious contention. His +strong sense, unenlightened, but uncorrupted, by study, declined, +with respectful indifference, the subtle questions of theological +debate. The government of the Earth claimed his vigilance, and +satisfied his ambition; and while he remembered that he was the +disciple of the church, he never forgot that he was the sovereign +of the clergy. Under the reign of an apostate, he had signalized +his zeal for the honor of Christianity: he allowed to his +subjects the privilege which he had assumed for himself; and they +might accept, with gratitude and confidence, the general +toleration which was granted by a prince addicted to passion, but +incapable of fear or of disguise. ^65 The Pagans, the Jews, and +all the various sects which acknowledged the divine authority of +Christ, were protected by the laws from arbitrary power or +popular insult; nor was any mode of worship prohibited by +Valentinian, except those secret and criminal practices, which +abused the name of religion for the dark purposes of vice and +disorder. The art of magic, as it was more cruelly punished, was +more strictly proscribed: but the emperor admitted a formal +distinction to protect the ancient methods of divination, which +were approved by the senate, and exercised by the Tuscan +haruspices. He had condemned, with the consent of the most +rational Pagans, the license of nocturnal sacrifices; but he +immediately admitted the petition of Praetextatus, proconsul of +Achaia, who represented, that the life of the Greeks would become +dreary and comfortless, if they were deprived of the invaluable +blessing of the Eleusinian mysteries. Philosophy alone can +boast, (and perhaps it is no more than the boast of philosophy,) +that her gentle hand is able to eradicate from the human mind the +latent and deadly principle of fanaticism. But this truce of +twelve years, which was enforced by the wise and vigorous +government of Valentinian, by suspending the repetition of mutual +injuries, contributed to soften the manners, and abate the +prejudices, of the religious factions. + +[Footnote 65: Testes sunt leges a me in exordio Imperii mei +datae; quibus unicuique quod animo imbibisset colendi libera +facultas tributa est. Cod. Theodos. l. ix. tit. xvi. leg. 9. To +this declaration of Valentinian, we may add the various +testimonies of Ammianus, (xxx. 9,) Zosimus, (l. iv. p. 204,) and +Sozomen, (l. vi. c. 7, 21.) Baronius would naturally blame such +rational toleration, (Annal. Eccles A. D. 370, No. 129-132, A. D. +376, No. 3, 4.)] +[Footnote *: Comme il s'etait prescrit pour regle de ne point se +meler de disputes de religion, son histoire est presque +entierement degagee des affaires ecclesiastiques. Le Beau. iii. +214. - M.] + + The friend of toleration was unfortunately placed at a +distance from the scene of the fiercest controversies. As soon +as the Christians of the West had extricated themselves from the +snares of the creed of Rimini, they happily relapsed into the +slumber of orthodoxy; and the small remains of the Arian party, +that still subsisted at Sirmium or Milan, might be considered +rather as objects of contempt than of resentment. But in the +provinces of the East, from the Euxine to the extremity of +Thebais, the strength and numbers of the hostile factions were +more equally balanced; and this equality, instead of recommending +the counsels of peace, served only to perpetuate the horrors of +religious war. The monks and bishops supported their arguments +by invectives; and their invectives were sometimes followed by +blows. Athanasius still reigned at Alexandria; the thrones of +Constantinople and Antioch were occupied by Arian prelates, and +every episcopal vacancy was the occasion of a popular tumult. +The Homoousians were fortified by the reconciliation of +fifty-nine Macelonian, or Semi-Arian, bishops; but their secret +reluctance to embrace the divinity of the Holy Ghost, clouded the +splendor of the triumph; and the declaration of Valens, who, in +the first years of his reign, had imitated the impartial conduct +of his brother, was an important victory on the side of Arianism. +The two brothers had passed their private life in the condition +of catechumens; but the piety of Valens prompted him to solicit +the sacrament of baptism, before he exposed his person to the +dangers of a Gothic war. He naturally addressed himself to +Eudoxus, ^66 ^* bishop of the Imperial city; and if the ignorant +monarch was instructed by that Arian pastor in the principles of +heterodox theology, his misfortune, rather than his guilt, was +the inevitable consequence of his erroneous choice. Whatever had +been the determination of the emperor, he must have offended a +numerous party of his Christian subjects; as the leaders both of +the Homoousians and of the Arians believed, that, if they were +not suffered to reign, they were most cruelly injured and +oppressed. After he had taken this decisive step, it was +extremely difficult for him to preserve either the virtue, or the +reputation of impartiality. He never aspired, like Constantius, +to the fame of a profound theologian; but as he had received with +simplicity and respect the tenets of Euxodus, Valens resigned his +conscience to the direction of his ecclesiastical guides, and +promoted, by the influence of his authority, the reunion of the +Athanasian heretics to the body of the Catholic church. At +first, he pitied their blindness; by degrees he was provoked at +their obstinacy; and he insensibly hated those sectaries to whom +he was an object of hatred. ^67 The feeble mind of Valens was +always swayed by the persons with whom he familiarly conversed; +and the exile or imprisonment of a private citizen are the favors +the most readily granted in a despotic court. Such punishments +were frequently inflicted on the leaders of the Homoousian party; +and the misfortune of fourscore ecclesiastics of Constantinople, +who, perhaps accidentally, were burned on shipboard, was imputed +to the cruel and premeditated malice of the emperor, and his +Arian ministers. In every contest, the Catholics (if we may +anticipate that name) were obliged to pay the penalty of their +own faults, and of those of their adversaries. In every +election, the claims of the Arian candidate obtained the +preference; and if they were opposed by the majority of the +people, he was usually supported by the authority of the civil +magistrate, or even by the terrors of a military force. The +enemies of Athanasius attempted to disturb the last years of his +venerable age; and his temporary retreat to his father's +sepulchre has been celebrated as a fifth exile. But the zeal of +a great people, who instantly flew to arms, intimidated the +praefect: and the archbishop was permitted to end his life in +peace and in glory, after a reign of forty-seven years. The +death of Athanasius was the signal of the persecution of Egypt; +and the Pagan minister of Valens, who forcibly seated the +worthless Lucius on the archiepiscopal throne, purchased the +favor of the reigning party, by the blood and sufferings of their +Christian brethren. The free toleration of the heathen and +Jewish worship was bitterly lamented, as a circumstance which +aggravated the misery of the Catholics, and the guilt of the +impious tyrant of the East. ^68 + +[Footnote 66: Eudoxus was of a mild and timid disposition. When +he baptized Valens, (A. D. 367,) he must have been extremely old; +since he had studied theology fifty-five years before, under +Lucian, a learned and pious martyr. Philostorg. l. ii. c. 14-16, +l. iv. c. 4, with Godefroy, p 82, 206, and Tillemont, Mem. +Eccles. tom. v. p. 471-480, &c.] + +[Footnote *: Through the influence of his wife say the +ecclesiastical writers. - M.] + +[Footnote 67: Gregory Nazianzen (Orat. xxv. p. 432) insults the +persecuting spirit of the Arians, as an infallible symptom of +error and heresy.] +[Footnote 68: This sketch of the ecclesiastical government of +Valens is drawn from Socrates, (l. iv.,) Sozomen, (l. vi.,) +Theodoret, (l. iv.,) and the immense compilations of Tillemont, +(particularly tom. vi. viii. and ix.)] + The triumph of the orthodox party has left a deep stain of +persecution on the memory of Valens; and the character of a +prince who derived his virtues, as well as his vices, from a +feeble understanding and a pusillanimous temper, scarcely +deserves the labor of an apology. Yet candor may discover some +reasons to suspect that the ecclesiastical ministers of Valens +often exceeded the orders, or even the intentions, of their +master; and that the real measure of facts has been very +liberally magnified by the vehement declamation and easy +credulity of his antagonists. ^69 1. The silence of Valentinian +may suggest a probable argument that the partial severities, +which were exercised in the name and provinces of his colleague, +amounted only to some obscure and inconsiderable deviations from +the established system of religious toleration: and the judicious +historian, who has praised the equal temper of the elder brother, +has not thought himself obliged to contrast the tranquillity of +the West with the cruel persecution of the East. ^70 2. Whatever +credit may be allowed to vague and distant reports, the +character, or at least the behavior, of Valens, may be most +distinctly seen in his personal transactions with the eloquent +Basil, archbishop of Caesarea, who had succeeded Athanasius in +the management of the Trinitarian cause. ^71 The circumstantial +narrative has been composed by the friends and admirers of Basil; +and as soon as we have stripped away a thick coat of rhetoric and +miracle, we shall be astonished by the unexpected mildness of the +Arian tyrant, who admired the firmness of his character, or was +apprehensive, if he employed violence, of a general revolt in the +province of Cappadocia. The archbishop, who asserted, with +inflexible pride, ^72 the truth of his opinions, and the dignity +of his rank, was left in the free possession of his conscience +and his throne. The emperor devoutly assisted at the solemn +service of the cathedral; and, instead of a sentence of +banishment, subscribed the donation of a valuable estate for the +use of a hospital, which Basil had lately founded in the +neighborhood of Caesarea. ^73 3. I am not able to discover, that +any law (such as Theodosius afterwards enacted against the +Arians) was published by Valens against the Athanasian sectaries; +and the edict which excited the most violent clamors, may not +appear so extremely reprehensible. The emperor had observed, +that several of his subjects, gratifying their lazy disposition +under the pretence of religion, had associated themselves with +the monks of Egypt; and he directed the count of the East to drag +them from their solitude; and to compel these deserters of +society to accept the fair alternative of renouncing their +temporal possessions, or of discharging the public duties of men +and citizens. ^74 The ministers of Valens seem to have extended +the sense of this penal statute, since they claimed a right of +enlisting the young and ablebodied monks in the Imperial armies. +A detachment of cavalry and infantry, consisting of three +thousand men, marched from Alexandria into the adjacent desert of +Nitria, ^75 which was peopled by five thousand monks. The +soldiers were conducted by Arian priests; and it is reported, +that a considerable slaughter was made in the monasteries which +disobeyed the commands of their sovereign. ^76 + +[Footnote 69: Dr. Jortin (Remarks on Ecclesiastical History, vol. +iv. p. 78) has already conceived and intimated the same +suspicion.] + +[Footnote 70: This 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 philosophical oration, +which Themistius pronounced in the year 374, (Orat. xii. p. 154, +in Latin only.) Such contradictions diminish the evidence, and +reduce the term, of the persecution of Valens.] + +[Footnote 71: Tillemont, whom I follow and abridge, has extracted +(Mem. Eccles. tom. viii. p. 153-167) the most authentic +circumstances from the Panegyrics of the two Gregories; the +brother, and the friend, of Basil. The letters of Basil himself +(Dupin, Bibliotheque, Ecclesiastique, tom. ii. p. 155-180) do not +present the image of a very lively persecution.] +[Footnote 72: Basilius Caesariensis episcopus Cappadociae clarus +habetur ... qui multa continentiae et ingenii bona uno superbiae +malo perdidit. This irreverent passage is perfectly in the style +and character of St. Jerom. It does not appear in Scaliger's +edition of his Chronicle; but Isaac Vossius found it in some old +Mss. which had not been reformed by the monks.] +[Footnote 73: This noble and charitable foundation (almost a new +city) surpassed in merit, if not in greatness, the pyramids, or +the walls of Babylon. It was principally intended for the +reception of lepers, (Greg. Nazianzen, Orat. xx. p. 439.)] + +[Footnote 74: Cod. Theodos. l. xii. tit. i. leg. 63. Godefroy +(tom. iv. p. 409-413) performs the duty of a commentator and +advocate. Tillemont (Mem. Eccles. tom. viii. p. 808) supposes a +second law to excuse his orthodox friends, who had misrepresented +the edict of Valens, and suppressed the liberty of choice.] + +[Footnote 75: See D'Anville, Description de l'Egypte, p. 74. +Hereafter I shall consider the monastic institutions.] + +[Footnote 76: Socrates, 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, which prove the truth of their +faith. Right, says Jortin, (Remarks, vol iv. p. 79,) but what +proves the truth of those miracles.] + The strict regulations which have been framed by the wisdom +of modern legislators to restrain the wealth and avarice of the +clergy, may be originally deduced from the example of the emperor +Valentinian. His edict, ^77 addressed to Damasus, bishop of +Rome, was publicly read in the churches of the city. He +admonished the ecclesiastics and monks not to frequent the houses +of widows and virgins; and menaced their disobedience with the +animadversion of the civil judge. The director was no longer +permitted to receive any gift, or legacy, or inheritance, from +the liberality of his spiritual-daughter: every testament +contrary to this edict was declared null and void; and the +illegal donation was confiscated for the use of the treasury. By +a subsequent regulation, it should seem, that the same provisions +were extended to nuns and bishops; and that all persons of the +ecclesiastical order were rendered incapable of receiving any +testamentary gifts, and strictly confined to the natural and +legal rights of inheritance. As the guardian of domestic +happiness and virtue, Valentinian applied this severe remedy to +the growing evil. In the capital of the empire, the females of +noble and opulent houses possessed a very ample share of +independent property: and many of those devout females had +embraced the doctrines of Christianity, not only with the cold +assent of the understanding, but with the warmth of affection, +and perhaps with the eagerness of fashion. They sacrificed the +pleasures of dress and luxury; and renounced, for the praise of +chastity, the soft endearments of conjugal society. Some +ecclesiastic, of real or apparent sanctity, was chosen to direct +their timorous conscience, and to amuse the vacant tenderness of +their heart: and the unbounded confidence, which they hastily +bestowed, was often abused by knaves and enthusiasts; who +hastened from the extremities of the East, to enjoy, on a +splendid theatre, the privileges of the monastic profession. By +their contempt of the world, they insensibly acquired its most +desirable advantages; the lively attachment, perhaps of a young +and beautiful woman, the delicate plenty of an opulent household, +and the respectful homage of the slaves, the freedmen, and the +clients of a senatorial family. The immense fortunes of the +Roman ladies were gradually consumed in lavish alms and expensive +pilgrimages; and the artful monk, who had assigned himself the +first, or possibly 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 steward of the poor. The lucrative, but disgraceful, +trade, ^78 which was exercised by the clergy to defraud the +expectations of the natural heirs, had provoked the indignation +of a superstitious age: and two of the most respectable of the +Latin fathers very honestly confess, that the ignominious edict +of Valentinian was just and necessary; and that the Christian +priests had deserved to lose a privilege, which was still enjoyed +by comedians, charioteers, and the ministers of idols. But the +wisdom and authority of the legislator are seldom victorious in a +contest with the vigilant dexterity of private interest; and +Jerom, or Ambrose, might patiently acquiesce in the justice of an +ineffectual or salutary law. If the ecclesiastics were checked +in the pursuit of personal emolument, they would exert a more +laudable industry to increase the wealth of the church; and +dignify their covetousness with the specious names of piety and +patriotism. ^79 + +[Footnote 77: Cod. Theodos. l. xvi. tit. ii. leg. 20. Godefroy, +(tom. vi. p. 49,) after the example of Baronius, impartially +collects all that the fathers have said on the subject of this +important law; whose spirit was long afterwards revived by the +emperor Frederic II., Edward I. of England, and other Christian +princes who reigned after the twelfth century.] +[Footnote 78: The expressions which I have used are temperate and +feeble, if compared 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 to his brother monks; and the Sceleratus, +the Versipellis, was publicly accused as the lover of the widow +Paula, (tom. ii. p. 363.) He undoubtedly possessed the affection, +both of the mother and the daughter; but he declares that he +never abused his influence to any selfish or sensual purpose.] + +[Footnote 79: Pudet dicere, sacerdotes idolorum, mimi et aurigae, +et scorta, haereditates capiunt: solis clericis ac monachis hac +lege prohibetur. Et non prohibetur a persecutoribus, sed a +principibus Christianis. Nec de lege queror; sed doleo cur +meruerimus hanc legem. Jerom (tom. i. p. 13) discreetly +insinuates the secret policy of his patron Damasus.] + + Damasus, bishop of Rome, who was constrained to stigmatize +the avarice of his clergy by the publication of the law of +Valentinian, had the good sense, or the good fortune, to engage +in his service the zeal and abilities of the learned Jerom; and +the grateful saint has celebrated the merit and purity of a very +ambiguous character. ^80 But the splendid vices of the church of +Rome, under the reign of Valentinian and Damasus, have been +curiously observed by the historian Ammianus, who delivers his +impartial sense in these expressive words: "The praefecture of +Juventius was accompanied with peace and plenty, but the +tranquillity of his government was soon disturbed by a bloody +sedition of the distracted people. The ardor of Damasus and +Ursinus, to seize the episcopal seat, surpassed the ordinary +measure of human ambition. They contended with the rage of +party; the quarrel was maintained by the wounds and death of +their followers; and the praefect, unable to resist or appease +the tumult, was constrained, by superior violence, to retire into +the suburbs. Damasus prevailed: the well-disputed victory +remained on the side of his faction; one hundred and thirty-seven +dead bodies ^81 were found in the Basilica of Sicininus, ^82 +where the Christians hold their religious assemblies; and it was +long before the angry minds of the people resumed their +accustomed tranquillity. When I consider the splendor of the +capital, I am not astonished that so valuable a prize should +inflame the desires of ambitious men, and produce the fiercest +and most obstinate contests. The successful candidate is secure, +that he will be enriched by the offerings of matrons; ^83 that, +as soon as his dress is composed with becoming care and elegance, +he may proceed, in his chariot, through the streets of Rome; ^84 +and that the sumptuousness of the Imperial table will not equal +the profuse and delicate entertainments provided by the taste, +and at the expense, of the Roman pontiffs. How much more +rationally (continues the honest Pagan) would those pontiffs +consult their true happiness, if, instead of alleging the +greatness of the city as an excuse for their manners, they would +imitate the exemplary life of some provincial bishops, whose +temperance and sobriety, whose mean apparel and downcast looks, +recommend their pure and modest virtue to the Deity and his true +worshippers!" ^85 The schism of Damasus and Ursinus was +extinguished by the exile of the latter; and the wisdom of the +praefect Praetextatus ^86 restored the tranquillity of the city. +Praetextatus was a philosophic Pagan, a man of learning, of +taste, and politeness; who disguised a reproach in the form of a +jest, when he assured Damasus, that if he could obtain the +bishopric of Rome, he himself would immediately embrace the +Christian religion. ^87 This lively picture of the wealth and +luxury of the popes in the fourth century becomes the more +curious, as it represents the intermediate degree between the +humble poverty of the apostolic fishermen, and the royal state of +a temporal prince, whose dominions extend from the confines of +Naples to the banks of the Po. + +[Footnote 80: Three words of Jerom, sanctoe memorioe Damasus +(tom. ii. p. 109,) wash away all his stains, and blind the devout +eyes of Tillemont. (Mem Eccles. tom. viii. p. 386-424.)] + +[Footnote 81: Jerom himself is forced to allow, crudelissimae +interfectiones diversi sexus perpetratae, (in Chron. p. 186.) But +an original libel, or petition of two presbyters of the adverse +party, has unaccountably escaped. They affirm that the doors of +the Basilica were burnt, and that the roof was untiled; that +Damasus marched at the head of his own clergy, grave-diggers, +charioteers, and hired gladiators; that none of his party were +killed, but that one hundred and sixty dead bodies were found. +This petition is published by the P. Sirmond, in the first volume +of his work.] + +[Footnote 82: The 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.] + +[Footnote 83: The enemies of Damasus styled him Auriscalpius +Matronarum the ladies' ear-scratcher.] + +[Footnote 84: Gregory Nazianzen (Orat. xxxii. p. 526) describes +the pride and luxury of the prelates who reigned in the Imperial +cities; their gilt car, fiery steeds, numerous train, &c. The +crowd gave way as to a wild beast.] +[Footnote 85: Ammian. xxvii. 3. Perpetuo Numini, verisque ejus +cultoribus. The incomparable pliancy of a polytheist!] + +[Footnote 86: Ammianus, who makes a fair report of his +praefecture (xxvii. 9) styles him praeclarae indolis, +gravitatisque senator, (xxii. 7, and Vales. ad loc.) A curious +inscription (Grutor MCII. No. 2) records, in two columns, his +religious and civil honors. In one line he was Pontiff of the +Sun, and of Vesta, Augur, Quindecemvir, Hierophant, &c., &c. In +the other, 1. Quaestor candidatus, more probably titular. 2. +Praetor. 3. Corrector of Tuscany and Umbria. 4. Consular of +Lusitania. 5. Proconsul of Achaia. 6. Praefect of Rome. 7. +Praetorian praefect of Italy. 8. Of Illyricum. 9. Consul elect; +but he died before the beginning of the year 385. See Tillemont, +Hist. des Empereurs, tom v. p. 241, 736.] + +[Footnote 87: Facite me Romanae urbis episcopum; et ero protinus +Christianus (Jerom, tom. ii. p. 165.) It is more than probable +that Damasus would not have purchased his conversion at such a +price.] + +Chapter XXV: Reigns Of Jovian And Valentinian, Division Of The +Empire. + +Part IV. + + When the suffrage of the generals and of the army committed +the sceptre of the Roman empire to the hands of Valentinian, his +reputation in arms, his military skill and experience, and his +rigid attachment to the forms, as well as spirit, of ancient +discipline, were the principal motives of their judicious choice. + +The eagerness of the troops, who pressed him to nominate his +colleague, was justified by the dangerous situation of public +affairs; and Valentinian himself was conscious, that the +abilities of the most active mind were unequal to the defence of +the distant frontiers of an invaded monarchy. As soon as the +death of Julian had relieved the Barbarians from the terror of +his name, the most sanguine hopes of rapine and conquest excited +the nations of the East, of the North, and of the South. Their +inroads were often vexatious, and sometimes formidable; but, +during the twelve years of the reign of Valentinian, his firmness +and vigilance protected his own dominions; and his powerful +genius seemed to inspire and direct the feeble counsels of his +brother. Perhaps the method of annals would more forcibly +express the urgent and divided cares of the two emperors; but the +attention of the reader, likewise, would be distracted by a +tedious and desultory narrative. A separate view of the five +great theatres of war; I. Germany; II. Britain; III. Africa; +IV. The East; and, V. The Danube; will impress a more distinct +image of the military state of the empire under the reigns of +Valentinian and Valens. + + I. The ambassadors of the Alemanni had been offended by the +harsh and haughty behavior of Ursacius, master of the offices; +^88 who by an act of unseasonable parsimony, had diminished the +value, as well as the quantity, of the presents to which they +were entitled, either from custom or treaty, on the accession of +a new emperor. They expressed, and they communicated to their +countrymen, their strong sense of the national affront. The +irascible minds of the chiefs were exasperated by the suspicion +of contempt; and the martial youth crowded to their standard. +Before Valentinian could pass the Alps, the villages of Gaul were +in flames; before his general Degalaiphus could encounter the +Alemanni, they had secured the captives and the spoil in the +forests of Germany. In the beginning of the ensuing year, the +military force of the whole nation, in deep and solid columns, +broke through the barrier of the Rhine, during the severity of a +northern winter. Two Roman counts were defeated and mortally +wounded; and the standard of the Heruli and Batavians fell into +the hands of the Heruli and Batavians fell into the hands of the +conquerors, who displayed, with insulting shouts and menaces, the +trophy of their victory. The standard was recovered; but the +Batavians had not redeemed the shame of their disgrace and flight +in the eyes of their severe judge. It was the opinion of +Valentinian, that his soldiers must learn to fear their +commander, before they could cease to fear the enemy. The troops +were solemnly assembled; and the trembling Batavians were +enclosed within the circle of the Imperial army. Valentinian +then ascended his tribunal; and, as if he disdained to punish +cowardice with death, he inflicted a stain of indelible ignominy +on the officers, whose misconduct and pusillanimity were found to +be the first occasion of the defeat. The Batavians were degraded +from their rank, stripped of their arms, and condemned to be sold +for slaves to the highest bidder. At this tremendous sentence, +the troops fell prostrate on the ground, deprecated the +indignation of their sovereign, and protested, that, if he would +indulge them in another trial, they would approve themselves not +unworthy of the name of Romans, and of his soldiers. Valentinian, +with affected reluctance, yielded to their entreaties; the +Batavians resumed their arms, and with their arms, the invincible +resolution of wiping away their disgrace in the blood of the +Alemanni. ^89 The principal command was declined by Dagalaiphus; +and that experienced general, who had represented, perhaps with +too much prudence, the extreme difficulties of the undertaking, +had the mortification, before the end of the campaign, of seeing +his rival Jovinus convert those difficulties into a decisive +advantage over the scattered forces of the Barbarians. At the +head of a well-disciplined army of cavalry, infantry, and light +troops, Jovinus advanced, with cautious and rapid steps, to +Scarponna, ^90 ^* in the territory of Metz, where he surprised a +large division of the Alemanni, before they had time to run to +their arms; and flushed his soldiers with the confidence of an +easy and bloodless victory. Another division, or rather army, of +the enemy, after the cruel and wanton devastation of the adjacent +country, reposed themselves on the shady banks of the Moselle. +Jovinus, who had viewed the ground with the eye of a general, +made a silent approach through a deep and woody vale, till he +could distinctly perceive the indolent security of the Germans. +Some were bathing their huge limbs in the river; others were +combing their long and flaxen hair; others again were swallowing +large draughts of rich and delicious wine. On a sudden they +heard the sound of the Roman trumpet; they saw the enemy in their +camp. Astonishment produced disorder; disorder was followed by +flight and dismay; and the confused multitude of the bravest +warriors was pierced by the swords and javelins of the +legionaries and auxiliaries. The fugitives escaped to the third, +and most considerable, camp, in the Catalonian plains, near +Chalons in Champagne: the straggling detachments were hastily +recalled to their standard; and the Barbarian chiefs, alarmed and +admonished by the fate of their companions, prepared to +encounter, in a decisive battle, the victorious forces of the +lieutenant of Valentinian. The bloody and obstinate conflict +lasted a whole summer's day, with equal valor, and with alternate +success. The Romans at length prevailed, with the loss of about +twelve hundred men. Six thousand of the Alemanni were slain, +four thousand were wounded; and the brave Jovinus, after chasing +the flying remnant of their host as far as the banks of the +Rhine, returned to Paris, to receive the applause of his +sovereign, and the ensigns of the consulship for the ensuing +year. ^91 The triumph of the Romans was indeed sullied by their +treatment of the captive king, whom they hung on a gibbet, +without the knowledge of their indignant general. This +disgraceful act of cruelty, which might be imputed to the fury of +the troops, was followed by the deliberate murder of Withicab, +the son of Vadomair; a German prince, of a weak and sickly +constitution, but of a daring and formidable spirit. The +domestic assassin was instigated and protected by the Romans; ^92 +and the violation of the laws of humanity and justice betrayed +their secret apprehension of the weakness of the declining +empire. The use of the dagger is seldom adopted in public +councils, as long as they retain any confidence in the power of +the sword. + +[Footnote 88: Ammian, xxvi. 5. Valesius adds a long and good +note on the master of the offices.] + +[Footnote 89: Ammian. xxvii. 1. Zosimus, l. iv. p. 208. The +disgrace of the Batavians is suppressed by the contemporary +soldier, from a regard for military honor, which could not affect +a Greek rhetorician of the succeeding age.] + +[Footnote 90: See D'Anville, Notice de l'Ancienne Gaule, p. 587. +The name of the Moselle, which is not specified by Ammianus, is +clearly understood by Mascou, (Hist. of the Ancient Germans, vii. +2)] + +[Footnote *: Charpeigne on the Moselle. Mannert - M.] + +[Footnote 91: The battles are described by Ammianus, (xxvii. 2,) +and by Zosimus, (l. iv. p. 209,) who supposes Valentinian to have +been present.] +[Footnote 92: Studio solicitante nostrorum, occubuit. Ammian +xxvii. 10.] + While the Alemanni appeared to be humbled by their recent +calamities, the pride of Valentinian was mortified by the +unexpected surprisal of Moguntiacum, or Mentz, the principal city +of the Upper Germany. In the unsuspicious moment of a Christian +festival, ^* Rando, a bold and artful chieftain, who had long +meditated his attempt, suddenly passed the Rhine; entered the +defenceless town, and retired with a multitude of captives of +either sex. Valentinian resolved to execute severe vengeance on +the whole body of the nation. Count Sebastian, with the bands of +Italy and Illyricum, was ordered to invade their country, most +probably on the side of Rhaetia. The emperor in person, +accompanied by his son Gratian, passed the Rhine at the head of a +formidable army, which was supported on both flanks by Jovinus +and Severus, the two masters-general of the cavalry and infantry +of the West. The Alemanni, unable to prevent the devastation of +their villages, fixed their camp on a lofty, and almost +inaccessible, mountain, in the modern duchy of Wirtemberg, and +resolutely expected the approach of the Romans. The life of +Valentinian was exposed to imminent danger by the intrepid +curiosity with which he persisted to explore some secret and +unguarded path. A troop of Barbarians suddenly rose from their +ambuscade: and the emperor, who vigorously spurred his horse down +a steep and slippery descent, was obliged to leave behind him his +armor-bearer, and his helmet, magnificently enriched with gold +and precious stones. At the signal of the general assault, the +Roman troops encompassed and ascended the mountain of Solicinium +on three different sides. ^! Every step which they gained, +increased their ardor, and abated the resistance of the enemy: +and after their united forces had occupied the summit of the +hill, they impetuously urged the Barbarians down the northern +descent, where Count Sebastian was posted to intercept their +retreat. After this signal victory, Valentinian returned to his +winter quarters at Treves; where he indulged the public joy by +the exhibition of splendid and triumphal games. ^93 But the wise +monarch, instead of aspiring to the conquest of Germany, confined +his attention to the important and laborious defence of the +Gallic frontier, against an enemy whose strength was renewed by a +stream of daring volunteers, which incessantly flowed from the +most distant tribes of the North. ^94 The banks of the Rhine ^!! +from its source to the straits of the ocean, were closely planted +with strong castles and convenient towers; new works, and new +arms, were invented by the ingenuity of a prince who was skilled +in the mechanical arts; and his numerous levies of Roman and +Barbarian youth were severely trained in all the exercises of +war. The progress of the work, which was sometimes opposed by +modest representations, and sometimes by hostile attempts, +secured the tranquillity of Gaul during the nine subsequent years +of the administration of Valentinian. ^95 + +[Footnote *: Probably Easter. Wagner. - M.] + +[Footnote !: Mannert is unable to fix the position of Solicinium. +Haefelin (in Comm Acad Elect. Palat. v. 14) conjectures +Schwetzingen, near Heidelberg. See Wagner's note. St. Martin, +Sultz in Wirtemberg, near the sources of the Neckar St. Martin, +iii. 339. - M.] + +[Footnote 93: The 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.] +[Footnote 94: Immanis enim natio, jam inde ab incunabulis primis +varietate casuum imminuta; ita saepius adolescit, ut fuisse +longis saeculis aestimetur intacta. Ammianus, xxviii. 5. The +Count de Buat (Hist. des Peuples de l'Europe, tom. vi. p. 370) +ascribes the fecundity of the Alemanni to their easy adoption of +strangers. + + Note: "This explanation," says Mr. Malthus, "only removes +the difficulty a little farther off. It makes the earth rest +upon the tortoise, but does not tell us on what the tortoise +rests. We may still ask what northern reservoir supplied this +incessant stream of daring adventurers. Montesquieu's solution of +the problem will, I think, hardly be admitted, (Grandeur et +Decadence des Romains, c. 16, p. 187.) * * * The whole +difficulty, however, is at once removed, if we apply to the +German nations, at that time, a fact which is so generally known +to have occurred in America, and suppose that, when not checked +by wars and famine, they increased at a rate that would double +their numbers in twenty-five or thirty years. The propriety, and +even the necessity, of applying this rate of increase to the +inhabitants of ancient Germany, will strikingly appear from that +most valuable picture of their manners which has been left us by +Tacitus, (Tac. de Mor. Germ. 16 to 20.) * * * With these manners, +and a habit of enterprise and emigration, which would naturally +remove all fears about providing for a family, it is difficult to +conceive a society with a stronger principle of increase in it, +and we see at once that prolific source of armies and colonies +against which the force of the Roman empire so long struggled +with difficulty, and under which it ultimately sunk. It is not +probable that, for two periods together, or even for one, the +population within the confines of Germany ever doubled itself in +twenty- five years. Their perpetual wars, the rude state of +agriculture, and particularly the very strange custom adopted by +most of the tribes of marking their barriers by extensive +deserts, would prevent any very great actual increase of numbers. + +At no one period could the country be called well peopled, though +it was often redundant in population. * * * Instead of clearing +their forests, draining their swamps, and rendering their soil +fit to support an extended population, they found it more +congenial to their martial habits and impatient dispositions to +go in quest of food, of plunder, or of glory, into other +countries." Malthus on Population, i. p. 128. - G.] +[Footnote !!!: The course of the Neckar was likewise strongly +guarded. The hyperbolical eulogy of Symmachus asserts that the +Neckar first became known to the Romans by the conquests and +fortifications of Valentinian. Nunc primum victoriis tuis +externus fluvius publicatur. Gaudeat servitute, captivus +innotuit. Symm. Orat. p. 22. - M.] + +[Footnote 95: Ammian. xxviii. 2. Zosimus, l. iv. p. 214. The +younger Victor mentions the mechanical genius of Valentinian, +nova arma meditari fingere terra seu limo simulacra.] + + That prudent emperor, who diligently practised the wise +maxims of Diocletian, was studious to foment and excite the +intestine divisions of the tribes of Germany. About the middle +of the fourth century, the countries, perhaps of Lusace and +Thuringia, on either side of the Elbe, were occupied by the vague +dominion of the Burgundians; a warlike and numerous people, ^* of +the Vandal race, ^96 whose obscure name insensibly swelled into a +powerful kingdom, and has finally settled on a flourishing +province. The most remarkable circumstance in the ancient +manners of the Burgundians appears to have been the difference of +their civil and ecclesiastical constitution. The appellation of +Hendinos was given to the king or general, and the title of +Sinistus to the high priest, of the nation. The person of the +priest was sacred, and his dignity perpetual; but the temporal +government was held by a very precarious tenure. If the events +of war accuses the courage or conduct of the king, he was +immediately deposed; and the injustice of his subjects made him +responsible for the fertility of the earth, and the regularity of +the seasons, which seemed to fall more properly within the +sacerdotal department. ^97 The disputed possession of some +salt-pits ^98 engaged the Alemanni and the Burgundians in +frequent contests: the latter were easily tempted, by the secret +solicitations and liberal offers of the emperor; and their +fabulous descent from the Roman soldiers, who had formerly been +left to garrison the fortresses of Drusus, was admitted with +mutual credulity, as it was conducive to mutual interest. ^99 An +army of fourscore thousand Burgundians soon appeared on the banks +of the Rhine; and impatiently required the support and subsidies +which Valentinian had promised: but they were amused with excuses +and delays, till at length, after a fruitless expectation, they +were compelled to retire. The arms and fortifications of the +Gallic frontier checked the fury of their just resentment; and +their massacre of the captives served to imbitter the hereditary +feud of the Burgundians and the Alemanni. The inconstancy of a +wise prince may, perhaps, be explained by some alteration of +circumstances; and perhaps it was the original design of +Valentinian to intimidate, rather than to destroy; as the balance +of power would have been equally overturned by the extirpation of +either of the German nations. Among the princes of the Alemanni, +Macrianus, who, with a Roman name, had assumed the arts of a +soldier and a statesman, deserved his hatred and esteem. The +emperor himself, with a light and unencumbered band, condescended +to pass the Rhine, marched fifty miles into the country, and +would infallibly have seized the object of his pursuit, if his +judicious measures had not been defeated by the impatience of the +troops. Macrianus was afterwards admitted to the honor of a +personal conference with the emperor; and the favors which he +received, fixed him, till the hour of his death, a steady and +sincere friend of the republic. ^100 + +[Footnote *: According 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 towards the centre of Germany. All that remains of +the Burgundian language is Gothic. * * * Nothing in their customs +indicates a different origin. Malte Brun, Geog. tom. i. p. 396. +(edit. 1831.) - M.] + +[Footnote 96: Bellicosos et pubis immensae viribus affluentes; et +ideo metuendos finitimis universis. Ammian. xxviii. 5.] + +[Footnote 97: I am always apt to suspect historians and +travellers of improving extraordinary facts into general laws. +Ammianus ascribes a similar custom to Egypt; and the Chinese have +imputed it to the Ta-tsin, or Roman empire, (De Guignes, Hist. +des Huns, tom. ii. part. 79.)] + +[Footnote 98: Salinarum finiumque causa Alemannis saepe +jurgabant. Ammian xxviii. 5. Possibly they disputed the +possession of the Sala, a river which produced salt, and which +had been the object of ancient contention. Tacit. Annal. xiii. +57, and Lipsius ad loc.] + +[Footnote 99: Jam inde temporibus priscis sobolem se esse Romanam +Burgundii sciunt: and the vague tradition gradually assumed a +more regular form, (Oros. l. vii. c. 32.) It is annihilated by +the decisive authority of Pliny, who composed the History of +Drusus, and served in Germany, (Plin. Secund. Epist. iii. 5,) +within sixty years after the death of that hero. Germanorum +genera quinque; Vindili, quorum pars Burgundiones, &c., (Hist. +Natur. iv. 28.)] +[Footnote 100: The wars and negotiations relative to the +Burgundians and Alemanni, are distinctly related by Ammianus +Marcellinus, (xxviii. 5, xxix 4, xxx. 3.) Orosius, (l. vii. c. +32,) and the Chronicles of Jerom and Cassiodorus, fix some dates, +and add some circumstances.] + + The land was covered by the fortifications of Valentinian; +but the sea-coast of Gaul and Britain was exposed to the +depredations of the Saxons. That celebrated name, in which we +have a dear and domestic interest, escaped the notice of Tacitus; +and in the maps of Ptolemy, it faintly marks the narrow neck of +the Cimbric peninsula, and three small islands towards the mouth +of the Elbe. ^101 This contracted territory, the present duchy of +Sleswig, or perhaps of Holstein, was incapable of pouring forth +the inexhaustible swarms of Saxons who reigned over the ocean, +who filled the British island with their language, their laws, +and their colonies; and who so long defended the liberty of the +North against the arms of Charlemagne. ^102 The solution of this +difficulty is easily derived from the similar manners, and loose +constitution, of the tribes of Germany; which were blended with +each other by the slightest accidents of war or friendship. The +situation of the native Saxons disposed them to embrace the +hazardous professions of fishermen and pirates; and the success +of their first adventures would naturally excite the emulation of +their bravest countrymen, who were impatient of the gloomy +solitude of their woods and mountains. Every tide might float +down the Elbe whole fleets of canoes, filled with hardy and +intrepid associates, who aspired to behold the unbounded prospect +of the ocean, and to taste the wealth and luxury of unknown +worlds. It should seem probable, however, that the most numerous +auxiliaries of the Saxons were furnished by the nations who dwelt +along the shores of the Baltic. They possessed arms and ships, +the art of navigation, and the habits of naval war; but the +difficulty of issuing through the northern columns of Hercules +^103 (which, during several months of the year, are obstructed +with ice) confined their skill and courage within the limits of a +spacious lake. The rumor of the successful armaments which sailed +from the mouth of the Elbe, would soon provoke them to cross the +narrow isthmus of Sleswig, and to launch their vessels on the +great sea. The various troops of pirates and adventurers, who +fought under the same standard, were insensibly united in a +permanent society, at first of rapine, and afterwards of +government. A military confederation was gradually moulded into +a national body, by the gentle operation of marriage and +consanguinity; and the adjacent tribes, who solicited the +alliance, accepted the name and laws, of the Saxons. If the fact +were not established by the most unquestionable evidence, we +should appear to abuse the credulity of our readers, by the +description of the vessels in which the Saxon pirates ventured to +sport in the waves of the German Ocean, the British Channel, and +the Bay of Biscay. The keel of their large flat- bottomed boats +were framed of light timber, but the sides and upper works +consisted only of wicker, with a covering of strong hides. ^104 +In the course of their slow and distant navigations, they must +always have been exposed to the danger, and very frequently to +the misfortune, of shipwreck; and the naval annals of the Saxons +were undoubtedly filled with the accounts of the losses which +they sustained on the coasts of Britain and Gaul. But the daring +spirit of the pirates braved the perils both of the sea and of +the shore: their skill was confirmed by the habits of enterprise; +the meanest of their mariners was alike capable of handling an +oar, of rearing a sail, or of conducting a vessel, and the Saxons +rejoiced in the appearance of a tempest, which concealed their +design, and dispersed the fleets of the enemy. ^105 After they +had acquired an accurate knowledge of the maritime provinces of +the West, they extended the scene of their depredations, and the +most sequestered places had no reason to presume on their +security. The Saxon boats drew so little water that they could +easily proceed fourscore or a hundred miles up the great rivers; +their weight was so inconsiderable, that they were transported on +wagons from one river to another; and the pirates who had entered +the mouth of the Seine, or of the Rhine, might descend, with the +rapid stream of the Rhone, into the Mediterranean. Under the +reign of Valentinian, the maritime 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 his strength, or his abilities, unequal to the task, +implored the assistance of Severus, master-general of the +infantry. The Saxons, surrounded and outnumbered, were forced to +relinquish their spoil, and to yield a select band of their tall +and robust youth to serve in the Imperial armies. They +stipulated only a safe and honorable retreat; and the condition +was readily granted by the Roman general, who meditated an act of +perfidy, ^106 imprudent as it was inhuman, while a Saxon remained +alive, and in arms, to revenge the fate of their countrymen. The +premature eagerness of the infantry, who were secretly posted in +a deep valley, betrayed the ambuscade; and they would perhaps +have fallen the victims of their own treachery, if a large body +of cuirassiers, alarmed by the noise of the combat, had not +hastily advanced to extricate their companions, and to overwhelm +the undaunted valor of the Saxons. Some of the prisoners were +saved from the edge of the sword, to shed their blood in the +amphitheatre; and the orator Symmachus complains, that +twenty-nine of those desperate savages, by strangling themselves +with their own hands, had disappointed the amusement of the +public. Yet the polite and philosophic citizens of Rome were +impressed with the deepest horror, when they were informed, that +the Saxons consecrated to the gods the tithe of their human +spoil; and that they ascertained by lot the objects of the +barbarous sacrifice. ^107 + +[Footnote 101: At the northern extremity of the peninsula, (the +Cimbric promontory of Pliny, iv. 27,) Ptolemy fixes the remnant +of the Cimbri. He fills the interval between the Saxons and the +Cimbri with six obscure tribes, who were united, as early as the +sixth century, under the national appellation of Danes. See +Cluver. German. Antiq. l. iii. c. 21, 22, 23.] +[Footnote 102: M. D'Anville (Establissement des Etats de +l'Europe, &c., p. 19-26) has marked the extensive limits of the +Saxony of Charlemagne.] +[Footnote 103: The fleet of Drusus had failed in their attempt to +pass, or even to approach, the Sound, (styled, from an obvious +resemblance, the columns of Hercules,) and the naval enterprise +was never resumed, (Tacit. de Moribus German. c. 34.) The +knowledge which the Romans acquired of the naval powers of the +Baltic, (c. 44, 45) was obtained by their land journeys in search +of amber.] + +[Footnote 104: Quin et Aremoricus piratam Saxona tractus + + Sperabat; cui pelle salum sulcare Britannum + + Ludus; et assuto glaucum mare findere lembo + Sidon. in Panegyr. Avit. 369. + +The genius of Caesar imitated, for a particular service, these +rude, but light vessels, which were likewise used by the natives +of Britain. (Comment. de Bell. Civil. i. 51, and Guichardt, +Nouveaux Memoires Militaires, tom. ii. p. 41, 42.) The British +vessels would now astonish the genius of Caesar.] +[Footnote 105: The best original account of the Saxon pirates may +be found in Sidonius Apollinaris, (l. viii. epist. 6, p. 223, +edit. Sirmond,) and the best commentary in the Abbe du Bos, +(Hist. Critique de la Monarchie Francoise, &c. tom. i. l. i. c. +16, p. 148-155. See likewise p. 77, 78.)] +[Footnote 106: Ammian. (xxviii. 5) justifies this breach of faith +to pirates and robbers; and Orosius (l. vii. c. 32) more clearly +expresses their real guilt; virtute atque agilitate terribeles.] + +[Footnote 107: Symmachus (l. ii. epist. 46) still presumes to +mention the sacred name of Socrates and philosophy. Sidonius, +bishop of Clermont, might condemn, (l. viii. epist. 6,) with less +inconsistency, the human sacrifices of the Saxons.] + + II. The fabulous colonies of Egyptians and Trojans, of +Scandinavians and Spaniards, which flattered the pride, and +amused the credulity, of our rude ancestors, have insensibly +vanished in the light of science and philosophy. ^108 The present +age is satisfied with the simple and rational opinion, that the +islands of Great Britain and Ireland were gradually peopled from +the adjacent continent of Gaul. From the coast of Kent, to the +extremity of Caithness and Ulster, the memory of a Celtic origin +was distinctly preserved, in the perpetual resemblance of +language, of religion, and of manners; and the peculiar +characters of the British tribes might be naturally ascribed to +the influence of accidental and local circumstances. ^109 The +Roman Province was reduced to the state of civilized and peaceful +servitude; the rights of savage freedom were contracted to the +narrow limits of Caledonia. The inhabitants of that northern +region were divided, as early as the reign of Constantine, +between the two great tribes of the Scots and of the Picts, ^110 +who have since experienced a very different fortune. The power, +and almost the memory, of the Picts have been extinguished by +their successful rivals; and the Scots, after maintaining for +ages the dignity of an independent kingdom, have multiplied, by +an equal and voluntary union, the honors of the English name. The +hand of nature had contributed to mark the ancient distinctions +of the Scots and Picts. The former were the men of the hills, +and the latter those of the plain. The eastern coast of +Caledonia may be considered as a level and fertile country, +which, even in a rude state of tillage, was capable of producing +a considerable quantity of corn; and the epithet of cruitnich, or +wheat-eaters, expressed the contempt or envy of the carnivorous +highlander. The cultivation of the earth might introduce a more +accurate separation of property, and the habits of a sedentary +life; but the love of arms and rapine was still the ruling +passion of the Picts; and their warriors, who stripped themselves +for a day of battle, were distinguished, in the eyes of the +Romans, by the strange fashion of painting their naked bodies +with gaudy colors and fantastic figures. The western part of +Caledonia irregularly rises into wild and barren hills, which +scarcely repay the toil of the husbandman, and are most +profitably used for the pasture of cattle. The highlanders were +condemned to the occupations of shepherds and hunters; and, as +they seldom were fixed to any permanent habitation, they acquired +the expressive name of Scots, which, in the Celtic tongue, is +said to be equivalent to that of wanderers, or vagrants. The +inhabitants of a barren land were urged to seek a fresh supply of +food in the waters. The deep lakes and bays which intersect +their country, are plentifully supplied with fish; and they +gradually ventured to cast their nets in the waves of the ocean. +The vicinity of the Hebrides, so profusely scattered along the +western coast of Scotland, tempted their curiosity, and improved +their skill; and they acquired, by slow degrees, the art, or +rather the habit, of managing their boats in a tempestuous sea, +and of steering their nocturnal course by the light of the +well-known stars. The two bold headlands of Caledonia almost +touch the shores of a spacious island, which obtained, from its +luxuriant vegetation, the epithet of Green; and has preserved, +with a slight alteration, the name of Erin, or Ierne, or Ireland. +It is probable, that in some remote period of antiquity, the +fertile plains of Ulster received a colony of hungry Scots; and +that the strangers of the North, who had dared to encounter the +arms of the legions, spread their conquests over the savage and +unwarlike natives of a solitary island. It is certain, that, in +the declining age of the Roman empire, Caledonia, Ireland, and +the Isle of Man, were inhabited by the Scots, and that the +kindred tribes, who were often associated in military enterprise, +were deeply affected by the various accidents of their mutual +fortunes. They long cherished the lively tradition of their +common name and origin; and the missionaries of the Isle of +Saints, who diffused the light of Christianity over North +Britain, established the vain opinion, that their Irish +countrymen were the natural, as well as spiritual, fathers of the +Scottish race. The loose and obscure tradition has been +preserved by the venerable Bede, who scattered some rays of light +over the darkness of the eighth century. On this slight +foundation, a huge superstructure of fable was gradually reared, +by the bards and the monks; two orders of men, who equally abused +the privilege of fiction. The Scottish nation, with mistaken +pride, adopted their Irish genealogy; and the annals of a long +line of imaginary kings have been adorned by the fancy of +Boethius, and the classic elegance of Buchanan. ^111 + +[Footnote 108: In the beginning of the last century, the learned +Camden was obliged to undermine, with respectful scepticism, the +romance of Brutus, the Trojan; who is now buried in silent +oblivion with Scota the daughter of Pharaoh, and her numerous +progeny. Yet I am informed, that some champions of the Milesian +colony may still be found among the original natives of Ireland. +A people dissatisfied with their present condition, grasp at any +visions of their past or future glory.] + +[Footnote 109: Tacitus, or rather his father-in-law, Agricola, +might remark the German or Spanish complexion of some British +tribes. But it was their sober, deliberate opinion: "In +universum tamen aestimanti Gallos cicinum solum occupasse +credibile est. Eorum sacra deprehendas. . . . ermo haud multum +diversus," (in Vit. Agricol. c. xi.) Caesar had observed their +common religion, (Comment. de Bello Gallico, vi. 13;) and in his +time the emigration from the Belgic Gaul was a recent, or at +least an historical event, (v. 10.) Camden, the British Strabo, +has modestly ascertained our genuine antiquities, (Britannia, +vol. i. Introduction, p. ii. - xxxi.)] + +[Footnote 110: In the dark and doubtful paths of Caledonian +antiquity, I have chosen for my guides two learned and ingenious +Highlanders, whom their birth and education had peculiarly +qualified for that office. See Critical Dissertations on the +Origin and Antiquities, &c., of the Caledonians, by Dr. John +Macpherson, London 1768, in 4to.; and Introduction to the History +of Great Britain and Ireland, by James Macpherson, Esq., London +1773, in 4to., third edit. Dr. Macpherson was a minister in the +Isle of Sky: and it is a circumstance honorable for the present +age, that a work, replete with erudition and criticism, should +have been composed in the most remote of the Hebrides.] + +[Footnote 111: The Irish descent of the Scots has been revived in +the last moments of its decay, and strenuously supported, by the +Rev. Mr. Whitaker, (Hist. of Manchester, vol. i. p. 430, 431; and +Genuine History of the Britons asserted, &c., p. 154-293) Yet he +acknowledges, 1. That the Scots of Ammianus Marcellinus (A.D. +340) were already settled in Caledonia; and that the Roman +authors do not afford any hints of their emigration from another +country. 2. That all the accounts of such emigrations, which +have been asserted or received, by Irish bards, Scotch +historians, or English antiquaries, (Buchanan, Camden, Usher, +Stillingfleet, &c.,) are totally fabulous. 3. That three of the +Irish tribes, which are mentioned by Ptolemy, (A.D. 150,) were of +Caledonian extraction. 4. That a younger branch of Caledonian +princes, of the house of Fingal, acquired and possessed the +monarchy of Ireland. After these concessions, the remaining +difference between Mr. Whitaker and his adversaries is minute and +obscure. The genuine history, which he produces, of a Fergus, the +cousin of Ossian, who was transplanted (A.D. 320) from Ireland to +Caledonia, is built on a conjectural supplement to the Erse +poetry, and the feeble evidence of Richard of Cirencester, a monk +of the fourteenth century. The lively spirit of the learned and +ingenious antiquarian has tempted him to forget the nature of a +question, which he so vehemently debates, and so absolutely +decides. + + Note: This controversy has not slumbered since the days of +Gibbon. We have strenuous advocates of the Phoenician origin of +the Irish, and each of the old theories, with several new ones, +maintains its partisans. It would require several pages fairly +to bring down the dispute to our own days, and perhaps we should +be no nearer to any satisfactory theory than Gibbon was.] + +Chapter XXV: Reigns Of Jovian And Valentinian, Division Of The +Empire. + +Part V. + + Six years after the death of Constantine, the destructive +inroads 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 form some estimate of +the importance of his achievements, by the language of panegyric, +which celebrates only his triumph over the elements or, in other +words, the good fortune of a safe and easy passage from the port +of Boulogne to the harbor of Sandwich. ^112 The calamities which +the afflicted provincials continued to experience, from foreign +war and domestic tyranny, were aggravated by the feeble and +corrupt administration of the eunuchs of Constantius; and the +transient relief which they might obtain from the virtues of +Julian, was soon lost by the absence and death of their +benefactor. The sums of gold and silver, which had been +painfully collected, or liberally transmitted, for the payment of +the troops, were intercepted by the avarice of the commanders; +discharges, or, at least, exemptions, from the military service, +were publicly sold; the distress of the soldiers, who were +injuriously deprived of their legal and scanty subsistence, +provoked them to frequent desertion; the nerves of discipline +were relaxed, and the highways were infested with robbers. ^113 +The oppression of the good, and the impunity of the wicked, +equally contributed to diffuse through the island a spirit of +discontent and revolt; and every ambitious subject, every +desperate exile, might entertain a reasonable hope of subverting +the weak and distracted government of Britain. The hostile +tribes of the North, who detested the pride and power of the King +of the World, suspended their domestic feuds; and the Barbarians +of the land and sea, the Scots, the Picts, and the Saxons, spread +themselves with rapid and irresistible fury, from the wall of +Antoninus to the shores of Kent. Every production of art and +nature, every object of convenience and luxury, which they were +incapable of creating by labor or procuring by trade, was +accumulated in the rich and fruitful province of Britain. ^114 A +philosopher may deplore the eternal discords of the human race, +but he will confess, that the desire of spoil is a more rational +provocation than the vanity of conquest. From the age of +Constantine to the Plantagenets, this rapacious spirit continued +to instigate the poor and hardy Caledonians; but the same people, +whose generous humanity seems to inspire the songs of Ossian, was +disgraced by a savage ignorance of the virtues of peace, and of +the laws of war. Their southern neighbors have felt, and perhaps +exaggerated, the cruel depredations of the Scots and Picts; ^115 +and a valiant tribe of Caledonia, the Attacotti, ^116 the +enemies, and afterwards the soldiers, of Valentinian, are +accused, by an eye-witness, of delighting in the taste of human +flesh. When they hunted the woods for prey, it is said, that +they attacked the shepherd rather than his flock; and that they +curiously selected the most delicate and brawny parts, both of +males and females, which they prepared for their horrid repasts. +^117 If, in the neighborhood of the commercial and literary town +of Glasgow, a race of cannibals has really existed, we may +contemplate, in the period of the Scottish history, the opposite +extremes of savage and civilized life. Such reflections tend to +enlarge the circle of our ideas; and to encourage the pleasing +hope, that New Zealand may produce, in some future age, the Hume +of the Southern Hemisphere. +[Footnote 112: Hyeme tumentes ac saevientes undas calcastis +Oceani sub remis vestris; . . . insperatam imperatoris faciem +Britannus expavit. Julius Fermicus Maternus de Errore Profan. +Relig. p. 464. edit. Gronov. ad calcem Minuc. Fael. See +Tillemont, (Hist. des Empereurs, tom. iv. p. 336.)] +[Footnote 113: Libanius, Orat. Parent. c. xxxix. p. 264. This +curious passage has escaped the diligence of our British +antiquaries.] + +[Footnote 114: The Caledonians praised and coveted the gold, the +steeds, the lights, &c., of the stranger. See Dr. Blair's +Dissertation on Ossian, vol ii. p. 343; and Mr. Macpherson's +Introduction, p. 242-286.] + +[Footnote 115: Lord Lyttelton has circumstantially related, +(History of Henry II. vol. i. p. 182,) and Sir David Dalrymple +has slightly mentioned, (Annals of Scotland, vol. i. p. 69,) a +barbarous inroad of the Scots, at a time (A.D. 1137) when law, +religion, and society must have softened their primitive +manners.] + +[Footnote 116: Attacotti bellicosa hominum natio. Ammian. xxvii. +8. Camden (Introduct. p. clii.) has restored their true name in +the text of Jerom. The bands of Attacotti, which Jerom had seen +in Gaul, were afterwards stationed in Italy and Illyricum, +(Notitia, S. viii. xxxix. xl.)] + +[Footnote 117: Cum ipse adolescentulus in Gallia viderim +Attacottos (or Scotos) gentem Britannicam humanis vesci carnibus; +et cum per silvas porcorum greges, et armentorum percudumque +reperiant, pastorum nates et feminarum papillas solere +abscindere; et has solas ciborum delicias arbitrari. Such is the +evidence of Jerom, (tom. ii. p. 75,) whose veracity I find no +reason to question. + + Note: See Dr. Parr's works, iii. 93, where he questions the +propriety of Gibbon's translation of this passage. The learned +doctor approves of the version proposed by a Mr. Gaches, who +would make 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 that even 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 the words, and the +general sense of the passage. But I would suggest, did Jerom, as +a boy, accompany these savages in any of their hunting +expeditions? 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 they permitted to indulge these cannibal +propensities at the expense, not of the flocks, but of the +shepherds of the provinces? These sanguinary trophies of plunder +would scarce'y have been publicly exhibited in a Roman city or a +Roman camp. I must leave the hereditary pride of our northern +neighbors at issue with the veracity of St. Jerom.] + + Every messenger who escaped across the British Channel, +conveyed the most melancholy and alarming tidings to the ears of +Valentinian; and the emperor was soon informed that the two +military commanders of the province had been surprised and cut +off by the Barbarians. Severus, count of the domestics, was +hastily despatched, and as suddenly recalled, by the court of +Treves. The representations of Jovinus served only to indicate +the greatness of the evil; and, after a long and serious +consultation, the defence, or rather the recovery, of Britain was +intrusted to the abilities of the brave Theodosius. The exploits +of that general, the father of a line of emperors, have been +celebrated, with peculiar complacency, by the writers of the age: +but his real merit deserved their applause; and his nomination +was received, by the army and province, as a sure presage of +approaching victory. He seized the favorable moment of +navigation, and securely landed the numerous and veteran bands of +the Heruli and Batavians, the Jovians and the Victors. In his +march from Sandwich to London, Theodosius defeated several +parties of the Barbarians, released a multitude of captives, and, +after distributing to his soldiers a small portion of the spoil, +established the fame of disinterested justice, by the restitution +of the remainder to the rightful proprietors. The citizens of +London, who had almost despaired of their safety, threw open +their gates; and as soon as Theodosius had obtained from the +court of Treves the important aid of a military lieutenant, and a +civil governor, he executed, with wisdom and vigor, the laborious +task of the deliverance of Britain. The vagrant soldiers were +recalled to their standard; an edict of amnesty dispelled the +public apprehensions; and his cheerful example alleviated the +rigor of martial discipline. The scattered and desultory warfare +of the Barbarians, who infested the land and sea, deprived him of +the glory of a signal victory; but the prudent spirit, and +consummate art, of the Roman general, were displayed in the +operations of two campaigns, which successively rescued every +part of the province from the hands of a cruel and rapacious +enemy. The splendor of the cities, and the security of the +fortifications, were diligently restored, by the paternal care of +Theodosius; who with a strong hand confined the trembling +Caledonians to the northern angle of the island; and perpetuated, +by the name and settlement of the new province of Valentia, the +glories of the reign of Valentinian. ^118 The voice of poetry and +panegyric may add, perhaps with some degree of truth, that the +unknown regions of Thule were stained with the blood of the +Picts; that the oars of Theodosius dashed the waves of the +Hyperborean ocean; and that the distant Orkneys were the scene of +his naval victory over the Saxon pirates. ^119 He left the +province with a fair, as well as splendid, reputation; and was +immediately promoted to the rank of master-general of the +cavalry, by a prince who could applaud, without envy, the merit +of his servants. In the important station of the Upper Danube, +the conqueror of Britain checked and defeated the armies of the +Alemanni, before he was chosen to suppress the revolt of Africa. +[Footnote 118: Ammianus has concisely represented (xx. l. xxvi. +4, xxvii. 8 xxviii. 3) the whole series of the British war.] + +[Footnote 119: Horrescit . . . . ratibus . . . . impervia +Thule. Ille . . . . nec falso nomine Pictos + Edomuit. Scotumque vago mucrone secutus, + + Fregit Hyperboreas remis audacibus undas. + Claudian, in iii. Cons. Honorii, ver. 53, &c + - Madurunt Saxone fuso + Orcades: incaluit Pictorum sanguine Thule, + + Scotorum cumulos flevit glacialis Ierne. + In iv. Cons. Hon. ver. 31, &c. + +See likewise Pacatus, (in Panegyr. Vet. xii. 5.) But it is not +easy to appreciate the intrinsic value of flattery and metaphor. +Compare the British victories of Bolanus (Statius, Silv. v. 2) +with his real character, (Tacit. in Vit. Agricol. c. 16.)] + + III. The prince who refuses to be the judge, instructs the +people to consider him as the accomplice, of his ministers. The +military command of Africa had been long exercised by Count +Romanus, and his abilities were not inadequate to his station; +but, as sordid interest was the sole motive of his conduct, he +acted, on most occasions, as if he had been the enemy of the +province, and the friend of the Barbarians of the desert. The +three flourishing cities of Oea, Leptis, and Sobrata, which, +under the name of Tripoli, had long constituted a federal union, +^120 were obliged, for the first time, to shut their gates +against a hostile invasion; several of their most honorable +citizens were surprised and massacred; the villages, and even the +suburbs, were pillaged; and the vines and fruit trees of that +rich territory were extirpated by the malicious savages of +Getulia. The unhappy provincials implored the protection of +Romanus; but they soon found that their military governor was not +less cruel and rapacious than the Barbarians. As they were +incapable of furnishing the four thousand camels, and the +exorbitant present, which he required, before he would march to +the assistance of Tripoli; his demand was equivalent to a +refusal, and he might justly be accused as the author of the +public calamity. In the annual assembly of the three cities, +they nominated two deputies, to lay at the feet of Valentinian +the customary offering of a gold victory; and to accompany this +tribute of duty, rather than of gratitude, with their humble +complaint, that they were ruined by the enemy, and betrayed by +their governor. If the severity of Valentinian had been rightly +directed, it would have fallen on the guilty head of Romanus. +But the count, long exercised in the arts of corruption, had +despatched a swift and trusty messenger to secure the venal +friendship of Remigius, master of the offices. The wisdom of the +Imperial council was deceived by artifice; and their honest +indignation was cooled by delay. At length, when the repetition +of complaint had been justified by the repetition of public +misfortunes, the notary Palladius was sent from the court of +Treves, to examine the state of Africa, and the conduct of +Romanus. The rigid impartiality of Palladius was easily +disarmed: he was tempted to reserve for himself a part of the +public treasure, which he brought with him for the payment of the +troops; and from the moment that he was conscious of his own +guilt, he could no longer refuse to attest the innocence and +merit of the count. The charge of the Tripolitans was declared +to be false and frivolous; and Palladius himself was sent back +from Treves to Africa, with a special commission to discover and +prosecute the authors of this impious conspiracy against the +representatives of the sovereign. His inquiries were managed +with so much dexterity and success, that he compelled the +citizens of Leptis, who had sustained a recent siege of eight +days, to contradict the truth of their own decrees, and to +censure the behavior of their own deputies. A bloody sentence +was pronounced, without hesitation, by the rash and headstrong +cruelty of Valentinian. The president of Tripoli, who had +presumed to pity the distress of the province, was publicly +executed at Utica; four distinguished citizens were put to death, +as the accomplices of the imaginary fraud; and the tongues of two +others were cut out, by the express order of the emperor. +Romanus, elated by impunity, and irritated by resistance, was +still continued in the military command; till the Africans were +provoked, by his avarice, to join the rebellious standard of +Firmus, the Moor. ^121. +[Footnote 120: Ammianus frequently mentions their concilium +annuum, legitimum, &c. Leptis and Sabrata are long since ruined; +but the city of Oea, the native country of Apuleius, still +flourishes under the provincial denomination of Tripoli. See +Cellarius (Geograph. Antiqua, tom. ii. part ii. p. 81,) +D'Anville, (Geographie Ancienne, tom. iii. p. 71, 72,) and +Marmol, (Arrique, tom. ii. p. 562.)] + +[Footnote 121: Ammian. xviii. 6. Tillemont (Hist. des Empereurs, +tom. v. p 25, 676) has discussed the chronological difficulties +of the history of Count Romanus.] + + His father Nabal was one of the richest and most powerful of +the Moorish princes, who acknowledged the supremacy of Rome. But +as he left, either by his wives or concubines, a very numerous +posterity, the wealthy inheritance was eagerly disputed; and +Zamma, one of his sons, was slain in a domestic quarrel by his +brother Firmus. The implacable zeal, with which Romanus +prosecuted the legal revenge of this murder, could be ascribed +only to a motive of avarice, or personal hatred; but, on this +occasion, his claims were just; his influence was weighty; and +Firmus clearly understood, that he must either present his neck +to the executioner, or appeal from the sentence of the Imperial +consistory, to his sword, and to the people. ^122 He was received +as the deliverer of his country; and, as soon as it appeared that +Romanus was formidable only to a submissive province, the tyrant +of Africa became the object of universal contempt. The ruin of +Caesarea, which was plundered and burnt by the licentious +Barbarians, convinced the refractory cities of the danger of +resistance; the power of Firmus was established, at least in the +provinces of Mauritania and Numidia; and it seemed to be his only +doubt whether he should assume the diadem of a Moorish king, or +the purple of a Roman emperor. But the imprudent and unhappy +Africans soon discovered, that, in this rash insurrection, they +had not sufficiently consulted their own strength, or the +abilities of their leader. Before he could procure any certain +intelligence, that the emperor of the West had fixed the choice +of a general, or that a fleet of transports was collected at the +mouth of the Rhone, he was suddenly informed that the great +Theodosius, with a small band of veterans, had landed near +Igilgilis, or Gigeri, on the African coast; and the timid usurper +sunk under the ascendant of virtue and military genius. Though +Firmus possessed arms and treasures, his despair of victory +immediately reduced him to the use of those arts, which, in the +same country, and in a similar situation, had formerly been +practised by the crafty Jugurtha. He attempted to deceive, by an +apparent submission, the vigilance of the Roman general; to +seduce the fidelity of his troops; and to protract the duration +of the war, by successively engaging the independent tribes of +Africa to espouse his quarrel, or to protect his flight. +Theodosius imitated the example, and obtained the success, of his +predecessor Metellus. When Firmus, in the character of a +suppliant, accused his own rashness, and humbly solicited the +clemency of the emperor, the lieutenant of Valentinian received +and dismissed him with a friendly embrace: but he diligently +required the useful and substantial pledges of a sincere +repentance; nor could he be persuaded, by the assurances of +peace, to suspend, for an instant, the operations of an active +war. A dark conspiracy was detected by the penetration of +Theodosius; and he satisfied, without much reluctance, the public +indignation, which he had secretly excited. Several of the +guilty accomplices of Firmus were abandoned, according to ancient +custom, to the tumult of a military execution; many more, by the +amputation of both their hands, continued to exhibit an +instructive spectacle of horror; the hatred of the rebels was +accompanied with fear; and the fear of the Roman soldiers was +mingled with respectful admiration. Amidst the boundless plains +of Getulia, and the innumerable valleys of Mount Atlas, it was +impossible to prevent the escape of Firmus; and if the usurper +could have tired the patience of his antagonist, he would have +secured his person in the depth of some remote solitude, and +expected the hopes of a future revolution. He was subdued by the +perseverance of Theodosius; who had formed an inflexible +determination, that the war should end only by the death of the +tyrant; and that every nation of Africa, which presumed to +support his cause, should be involved in his ruin. At the head +of a small body of troops, which seldom exceeded three thousand +five hundred men, the Roman general advanced, with a steady +prudence, devoid of rashness or of fear, into the heart of a +country, where he was sometimes attacked by armies of twenty +thousand Moors. The boldness of his charge dismayed the irregular +Barbarians; they were disconcerted by his seasonable and orderly +retreats; they were continually baffled by the unknown resources +of the military art; and they felt and confessed the just +superiority which was assumed by the leader of a civilized +nation. When Theodosius entered the extensive dominions of +Igmazen, king of the Isaflenses, the haughty savage required, in +words of defiance, his name, and the object of his expedition. +"I am," replied the stern and disdainful count, "I am the general +of Valentinian, the lord of the world; who has sent me hither to +pursue and punish a desperate robber. Deliver him instantly into +my hands; and be assured, that if thou dost not obey the commands +of my invincible sovereign, thou, and the people over whom thou +reignest, shall be utterly extirpated." ^* As soon as Igmazen was +satisfied, that his enemy had strength and resolution to execute +the fatal menace, he consented to purchase a necessary peace by +the sacrifice of a guilty fugitive. The guards that were placed +to secure the person of Firmus deprived him of the hopes of +escape; and the Moorish tyrant, after wine had extinguished the +sense of danger, disappointed the insulting triumph of the +Romans, by strangling himself in the night. His dead body, the +only present which Igmazen could offer to the conqueror, was +carelessly thrown upon a camel; and Theodosius, leading back his +victorious troops to Sitifi, was saluted by the warmest +acclamations of joy and loyalty. ^123 + +[Footnote 122: The Chronology of Ammianus is loose and obscure; +and Orosius (i. vii. c. 33, p. 551, edit. Havercamp) seems to +place the revolt of Firmus after the deaths of Valentinian and +Valens. Tillemont (Hist. des. Emp. tom. v. p. 691) endeavors to +pick his way. The patient and sure-foot mule of the Alps may be +trusted in the most slippery paths.] + +[Footnote *: The war was longer protracted than this sentence +would lead us to suppose: it was not till defeated more than once +that Igmazen yielded Amm. xxix. 5. - M] + +[Footnote 123: Ammian xxix. 5. The text of this long chapter +(fifteen quarto pages) is broken and corrupted; and the narrative +is perplexed by the want of chronological and geographical +landmarks.] + + Africa had been lost by the vices of Romanus; it was +restored by the virtues of Theodosius; and our curiosity may be +usefully directed to the inquiry of the respective treatment +which the two generals received from the Imperial court. The +authority of Count Romanus had been suspended by the +master-general of the cavalry; and he was committed to safe and +honorable custody till the end of the war. His crimes were +proved by the most authentic evidence; and the public expected, +with some impatience, the decree of severe justice. But the +partial and powerful favor of Mellobaudes encouraged him to +challenge his legal judges, to obtain repeated delays for the +purpose of procuring a crowd of friendly witnesses, and, finally, +to cover his guilty conduct, by the additional guilt of fraud and +forgery. About the same time, the restorer of Britain and +Africa, on a vague suspicion that his name and services were +superior to the rank of a subject, was ignominiously beheaded at +Carthage. Valentinian no longer reigned; and the death of +Theodosius, as well as the impunity of Romanus, may justly be +imputed to the arts of the ministers, who abused the confidence, +and deceived the inexperienced youth, of his sons. ^124 + +[Footnote 124: Ammian xxviii. 4. Orosius, l. vii. c. 33, p. 551, +552. Jerom. in Chron. p. 187.] + + If the geographical accuracy of Ammianus had been +fortunately bestowed on the British exploits of Theodosius, we +should have traced, with eager curiosity, the distinct and +domestic footsteps of his march. But the tedious enumeration of +the unknown and uninteresting tribes of Africa may be reduced to +the general remark, that they were all of the swarthy race of the +Moors; that they inhabited the back settlements of the +Mauritanian and Numidian province, the country, as they have +since been termed by the Arabs, of dates and of locusts; ^125 and +that, as the Roman power declined in Africa, the boundary of +civilized manners and cultivated land was insensibly contracted. +Beyond the utmost limits of the Moors, the vast and inhospitable +desert of the South extends above a thousand miles to the banks +of the Niger. The ancients, who had a very faint and imperfect +knowledge of the great peninsula of Africa, were sometimes +tempted to believe, that the torrid zone must ever remain +destitute of inhabitants; ^126 and they sometimes amused their +fancy by filling the vacant space with headless men, or rather +monsters; ^127 with horned and cloven-footed satyrs; ^128 with +fabulous centaurs; ^129 and with human pygmies, who waged a bold +and doubtful warfare against the cranes. ^130 Carthage would have +trembled at the strange intelligence that the countries on either +side of the equator were filled with innumerable nations, who +differed only in their color from the ordinary appearance of the +human species: and the subjects of the Roman empire might have +anxiously expected, that the swarms of Barbarians, which issued +from the North, would soon be encountered from the South by new +swarms of Barbarians, equally fierce and equally formidable. +These gloomy terrors would indeed have been dispelled by a more +intimate acquaintance with the character of their African +enemies. The inaction of the negroes does not seem to be the +effect either of their virtue or of their pusillanimity. They +indulge, like the rest of mankind, their passions and appetites; +and the adjacent tribes are engaged in frequent acts of +hostility. ^131 But their rude ignorance has never invented any +effectual weapons of defence, or of destruction; they appear +incapable of forming any extensive plans of government, or +conquest; and the obvious inferiority of their mental faculties +has been discovered and abused by the nations of the temperate +zone. Sixty thousand blacks are annually embarked from the coast +of Guinea, never to return to their native country; but they are +embarked in chains; ^132 and this constant emigration, which, in +the space of two centuries, might have furnished armies to +overrun the globe, accuses the guilt of Europe, and the weakness +of Africa. + +[Footnote 125: Leo Africanus (in the Viaggi di Ramusio, tom. i. +fol. 78-83) has traced a curious picture of the people and the +country; which are more minutely described in the Afrique de +Marmol, tom. iii. p. 1-54.] +[Footnote 126: This uninhabitable zone was gradually reduced by +the improvements of ancient geography, from forty-five to +twenty-four, or even sixteen degrees of latitude. See a learned +and judicious note of Dr. Robertson, Hist. of America, vol. i. p. +426.] + +[Footnote 127: Intra, si credere libet, vix jam homines et magis +semiferi ... Blemmyes, Satyri, &c. Pomponius Mela, i. 4, p. 26, +edit. Voss. in 8vo. Pliny philosophically explains (vi. 35) the +irregularities of nature, which he had credulously admitted, (v. +8.)] + +[Footnote 128: If 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 shown alive at Alexandria, in the reign +of Constantine. Yet some difficulty will still remain about the +conversation which St. Anthony held with one of these pious +savages, in the desert of Thebais. (Jerom. in Vit. Paul. Eremit. +tom. i. p. 238.)] + +[Footnote 129: St. 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 almost a century afterwards in +the Imperial palace. See Pliny, (Hist. Natur. vii. 3,) and the +judicious observations of Freret. (Memoires de l'Acad. tom. vii. +p. 321, &c.)] +[Footnote 130: The fable of the pygmies is as old as Homer, +(Iliad. iii. 6) The pygmies of India and Aethiopia were +(trispithami) twenty-seven inches 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.)] +[Footnote 131: The third and fourth volumes of the valuable +Histoire des Voyages describe the present state of the Negroes. +The nations of the sea- coast have been polished by European +commerce; and those of the inland country have been improved by +Moorish colonies. + + Note: The martial tribes in chain armor, discovered by +Denham, are Mahometan; the great question of the inferiority of +the African tribes in their mental faculties will probably be +experimentally resolved before the close of the century; 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. - M.] + +[Footnote 132: Histoire Philosophique et Politique, &c., tom. iv. +p. 192.] + +Chapter XXV: Reigns Of Jovian And Valentinian, Division Of The +Empire. + +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 and alliance of +Armenia and Iberia, those tributary kingdoms were exposed, +without protection, to the arms of the Persian monarch. ^133 +Sapor entered the Armenian territories at the head of a +formidable host of cuirassiers, of archers, and of mercenary +foot; but it was the invariable practice of Sapor to mix war and +negotiation, and to consider falsehood and perjury as the most +powerful instruments of regal policy. He affected to praise the +prudent and moderate conduct of the king of Armenia; and the +unsuspicious Tiranus was persuaded, by the repeated assurances of +insidious friendship, to deliver his person into the hands of a +faithless and cruel enemy. In the midst of a splendid +entertainment, he was bound in chains of silver, as an honor due +to the blood of the Arsacides; and, after a short confinement in +the Tower of Oblivion at Ecbatana, he was released from the +miseries of life, either by his own dagger, or by that of an +assassin. ^* The kingdom of Armenia was reduced to the state of a +Persian province; the administration was shared between a +distinguished satrap and a favorite eunuch; and Sapor marched, +without delay, to subdue the martial spirit of the Iberians. +Sauromaces, who reigned in that country by the permission of the +emperors, was expelled by a superior force; and, as an insult on +the majesty of Rome, the king of kings placed a diadem on the +head of his abject vassal Aspacuras. The city of Artogerassa +^134 was the only place of Armenia ^!! which presumed to resist +the efforts of his arms. The treasure deposited in that strong +fortress tempted the avarice of Sapor; but the danger of +Olympias, the wife or widow of the Armenian king, excited the +public compassion, and animated the desperate valor of her +subjects and soldiers. ^!!! The Persians were surprised and +repulsed under the walls of Artogerassa, by a bold and +well-concerted sally of the besieged. But the forces of Sapor +were continually renewed and increased; the hopeless courage of +the garrison was exhausted; the strength of the walls yielded to +the assault; and the proud conqueror, after wasting the +rebellious city with fire and sword, led away captive an +unfortunate queen; who, in a more auspicious hour, had been the +destined bride of the son of Constantine. ^135 Yet if Sapor +already triumphed in the easy conquest of two dependent kingdoms, +he soon felt, that a country is unsubdued as long as the minds of +the people are actuated by a hostile and contumacious spirit. +The satraps, whom he was obliged to trust, embraced the first +opportunity of regaining the affection of their countrymen, and +of signalizing their immortal hatred to the Persian name. Since +the conversion of the Armenians and Iberians, these nations +considered the Christians as the favorites, and the Magians as +the adversaries, of the Supreme Being: the influence of the +clergy, over a superstitious people was uniformly exerted in the +cause of Rome; and as long as the successors of Constantine +disputed with those of Artaxerxes the sovereignty of the +intermediate provinces, the religious connection always threw a +decisive advantage into the scale of the empire. A numerous and +active party acknowledged Para, the son of Tiranus, as the lawful +sovereign of Armenia, and his title to the throne was deeply +rooted in the hereditary succession of five hundred years. By +the unanimous consent of the Iberians, the country was equally +divided between the rival princes; and Aspacuras, who owed his +diadem to the choice of Sapor, was obliged to declare, that his +regard for his children, who were detained as hostages by the +tyrant, was the only consideration which prevented him from +openly renouncing the alliance of Persia. The emperor Valens, +who respected the obligations of the treaty, and who was +apprehensive of involving the East in a dangerous war, ventured, +with slow and cautious measures, to support the Roman party in +the kingdoms of Iberia and Armenia. ^!!!! Twelve legions +established the authority of Sauromaces on the banks of the +Cyrus. The Euphrates was protected by the valor of Arintheus. A +powerful army, under the command of Count Trajan, and of +Vadomair, king of the Alemanni, fixed their camp on the confines +of Armenia. But they were strictly enjoined not to commit the +first hostilities, which might be understood as a breach of the +treaty: and such was the implicit obedience of the Roman general, +that they retreated, with exemplary patience, under a shower of +Persian arrows till they had clearly acquired a just title to an +honorable and legitimate victory. Yet these appearances of war +insensibly subsided in a vain and tedious negotiation. The +contending parties supported their claims by mutual reproaches of +perfidy and ambition; and it should seem, that the original +treaty was expressed in very obscure terms, since they were +reduced to the necessity of making their inconclusive appeal to +the partial testimony of the generals of the two nations, who had +assisted at the negotiations. ^136 The invasion of the Goths and +Huns which soon afterwards shook the foundations of the Roman +empire, exposed the provinces of Asia to the arms of Sapor. But +the declining age, and perhaps the infirmities, of the monarch +suggested new maxims of tranquillity and moderation. His death, +which happened in the full maturity of a reign of seventy years, +changed in a moment the court and councils of Persia; and their +attention was most probably engaged by domestic troubles, and the +distant efforts of a Carmanian war. ^137 The remembrance of +ancient injuries was lost in the enjoyment of peace. The +kingdoms of Armenia and Iberia were permitted, by the +mutual,though tacit consent of both empires, to resume their +doubtful neutrality. In the first years of the reign of +Theodosius, a Persian embassy arrived at Constantinople, to +excuse the unjustifiable measures of the former reign; and to +offer, as the tribute of friendship, or even of respect, a +splendid present of gems, of silk, and of Indian elephants. ^138 + +[Footnote 133: The 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, (de Bell. Persico, l. i. c. 5, p. 17, +edit. Louvre,) have been consulted: but those historians who +confound distinct facts, repeat the same events, and introduce +strange stories, must be used with diffidence and caution. + Note: The statement of Ammianus is more brief and succinct, +but harmonizes with the more complicated history developed by M. +St. Martin from the Armenian writers, and from Procopius, who +wrote, as he states from Armenian authorities. - M.] + +[Footnote *: According to M. St. Martin, Sapor, though supported +by the two apostate Armenian princes, Meroujan the Ardzronnian +and Vahan the Mamigonian, was gallantly resisted by Arsaces, and +his brave though impious wife Pharandsem. His troops were +defeated by Vasag, the high constable of the kingdom. (See M. +St. Martin.) But after four years' courageous defence of his +kingdom, Arsaces was abandoned by his nobles, and obliged to +accept the perfidious hospitality of Sapor. He was blinded and +imprisoned in the "Castle of Oblivion;" his brave general Vasag +was flayed alive; his skin stuffed and placed near the king in +his lonely prison. It was not till many years after (A.D. 371) +that he stabbed himself, according to the romantic story, (St. M. +iii. 387, 389,) in a paroxysm of excitement at his restoration to +royal honors. St. Martin, Additions to Le Beau, iii. 283, 296. - +M.] +[Footnote 134: Perhaps Artagera, or Ardis; under whose walls +Caius, the grandson of Augustus, was wounded. This fortress was +situate above Amida, near one of the sources of the Tigris. See +D'Anville, Geographie Ancienue, tom. ii. p. 106. + + Note: St. Martin agrees with Gibbon, that it was the same +fortress with Ardis Note, p. 373. - M.] + +[Footnote !!: Artaxata, Vagharschabad, or Edchmiadzin, +Erovantaschad, and many other cities, in all of which there was a +considerable Jewish population were taken and destroyed. - M.] + +[Footnote !!!: Pharandsem, not Olympias, refusing the orders of +her captive husband to surrender herself to Sapor, threw herself +into Artogerassa St. Martin, iii. 293, 302. She defended herself +for fourteen months, till famine and disease had left few +survivors out of 11,000 soldiers and 6000 women who had taken +refuge in the fortress. She then threw open the gates with her +own hand. M. St. Martin adds, what even the horrors of Oriental +warfare will scarcely permit us to credit, that she was exposed +by Sapor on a public scaffold to the brutal lusts of his +soldiery, and afterwards empaled, iii. 373, &c. - M.] + +[Footnote 135: Tillemont (Hist. des Empereurs, tom. v. p. 701) +proves, from chronology, that Olympias must have been the mother +of Para. +Note *: An error according to St. M. 273. - M.] + +[Footnote !!!!: According to Themistius, quoted by St. Martin, he +once advanced to the Tigris, iii. 436. - M.] + +[Footnote 136: Ammianus (xxvii. 12, xix. 1. xxx. 1, 2) has +described the events, without the dates, of the Persian war. +Moses of Chorene (Hist. Armen. l. iii. c. 28, p. 261, c. 31, p. +266, c. 35, p. 271) affords some additional facts; but it is +extremely difficult to separate truth from fable.] +[Footnote 137: Artaxerxes was the successor and brother (the +cousin-german) of the great Sapor; and the guardian of his son, +Sapor III. (Agathias, l. iv. p. 136, edit. Louvre.) See the +Universal History, vol. xi. p. 86, 161. The authors of that +unequal work have compiled the Sassanian dynasty with erudition +and diligence; but it is a preposterous arrangement to divide the +Roman and Oriental accounts into two distinct histories. + + Note: On the war of Sapor with the Bactrians, which diverted +from Armenia, see St. M. iii. 387. - M.] + +[Footnote 138: Pacatus in Panegyr. Vet. xii. 22, and Orosius, l. +vii. c. 34. Ictumque tum foedus est, quo universus Oriens usque +ad num (A. D. 416) tranquillissime fruitur.] + + In the general picture of the affairs of the East under the +reign of Valens, the adventures of Para form one of the most +striking and singular objects. The noble youth, by the +persuasion of his mother Olympias, had escaped through the +Persian host that besieged Artogerassa, and implored the +protection 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 sometimes raised by +the presence of their natural sovereign, ^* and the ministers of +Valens were satisfied, that they preserved the integrity of the +public faith, if their vassal was not suffered to assume the +diadem and title of King. But they soon repented of their own +rashness. They were confounded by the reproaches and threats of +the Persian monarch. They found reason to distrust the cruel and +inconstant temper of Para himself; who sacrificed, to the +slightest suspicions, the lives of his most faithful servants, +and held a secret and disgraceful correspondence with the +assassin of his father and the enemy of his country. Under the +specious pretence of consulting with the emperor on the subject +of their common interest, Para was persuaded to descend from the +mountains of Armenia, where his party was in arms, and to trust +his independence and safety to the discretion of a perfidious +court. The king of Armenia, for such he appeared in his own eyes +and in those of his nation, was received with due honors by the +governors of the provinces through which he passed; but when he +arrived at Tarsus in Cilicia, his progress was stopped under +various pretences; his motions were watched with respectful +vigilance, and he gradually discovered, that he was a prisoner in +the hands of the Romans. Para suppressed his indignation, +dissembled his fears, and after secretly preparing his escape, +mounted on horseback with three hundred of his faithful +followers. The officer stationed at the door of his apartment +immediately communicated his flight to the consular of Cilicia, +who overtook him in the suburbs, and endeavored without success, +to dissuade him from prosecuting his rash and dangerous design. +A legion was ordered to pursue the royal fugitive; but the +pursuit of infantry could not be very alarming to a body of light +cavalry; and upon the first cloud of arrows that was discharged +into the air, they retreated with precipitation to the gates of +Tarsus. After an incessant march of two days and two nights, +Para and his Armenians reached the banks of the Euphrates; but +the passage of the river which they were obliged to swim, ^** was +attended with some delay and some loss. The country was alarmed; +and the two roads, which were only separated by an interval of +three miles had been occupied by a thousand archers on horseback, +under the command of a count and a tribune. Para must have +yielded to superior force, if the accidental arrival of a +friendly traveller had not revealed the danger and the means of +escape. A dark and almost impervious path securely conveyed the +Armenian troop through the thicket; and Para had left behind him +the count and the tribune, while they patiently expected his +approach along the public highways. They returned to the +Imperial court to excuse their want of diligence or success; and +seriously alleged, that the king of Armenia, who was a skilful +magician, had transformed himself and his followers, and passed +before their eyes under a borrowed shape. ^! After his return to +his native kingdom, Para still continued to profess himself the +friend and ally of the Romans: but the Romans had injured him too +deeply ever to forgive, and the secret sentence of his death was +signed in the council of Valens. The execution of the bloody +deed was committed to the subtle prudence of Count Trajan; and he +had the merit of insinuating himself into the confidence of the +credulous prince, that he might find an opportunity of stabbing +him to the heart Para was invited to a Roman banquet, which had +been prepared with all the pomp and sensuality of the East; the +hall resounded with cheerful music, and the company was already +heated with wine; when the count retired for an instant, drew his +sword, and gave the signal of the murder. A robust and desperate +Barbarian instantly rushed on the king of Armenia; and though he +bravely defended his life with the first weapon that chance +offered to his hand, the table of the Imperial general was +stained with the royal blood of a guest, and an ally. Such were +the weak and wicked maxims of the Roman administration, that, to +attain a doubtful object of political interest the laws of +nations, and the sacred rights of hospitality were inhumanly +violated in the face of the world. ^139 +[Footnote *: On the reconquest of Armenia by Para, or rather by +Mouschegh, the Mamigonian see St. M. iii. 375, 383. - M.] + +[Footnote **: On planks floated by bladders. - M.] + +[Footnote !: It is curious enough that the Armenian historian, +Faustus of Byzandum, represents Para as a magician. His impious +mother Pharandac had devoted him to the demons on his birth. St. +M. iv. 23. - M.] +[Footnote 139: See in Ammianus (xxx. 1) the adventures of Para. +Moses of Chorene calls him Tiridates; and tells a long, and not +improbable story of 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.) + Note: This note is a tissue of mistakes. Tiridates and Para +are two totally different persons. Tiridates was the father of +Gnel first husband of Pharandsem, the mother of Para. St. +Martin, iv. 27 - M.] + + V. During a peaceful interval of thirty years, the Romans +secured their frontiers, and the Goths extended their dominions. +The victories of the great Hermanric, ^140 king of the +Ostrogoths, 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 almost incredible, +difference, that the martial spirit of the Gothic hero, instead +of being supported by the vigor of youth, was displayed with +glory and success in the extreme period of human life, between +the age of fourscore and one hundred and ten years. The +independent tribes were persuaded, or compelled, to acknowledge +the king of the Ostrogoths as the sovereign of the Gothic nation: +the chiefs of the Visigoths, or Thervingi, renounced the royal +title, and assumed the more humble appellation of Judges; and, +among those judges, Athanaric, Fritigern, and Alavivus, were the +most illustrious, by their personal merit, as well as by their +vicinity to the Roman provinces. These domestic conquests, which +increased the military power of Hermanric, enlarged his ambitious +designs. He invaded the adjacent countries of the North; and +twelve considerable nations, whose names and limits cannot be +accurately defined, successively yielded to the superiority of +the Gothic arms ^141 The Heruli, who inhabited the marshy lands +near the lake Maeotis, were renowned for their strength and +agility; and the assistance of their light infantry was eagerly +solicited, and highly esteemed, in all the wars of the +Barbarians. But the active spirit of the Heruli was subdued by +the slow and steady perseverance of the Goths; and, after a +bloody action, in which the king was slain, the remains of that +warlike tribe became a useful accession to the camp of Hermanric. + +He then marched against the Venedi; unskilled in the use of arms, +and formidable only by their numbers, which filled the wide +extent of the plains of modern Poland. The victorious Goths, who +were not inferior in numbers, prevailed in the contest, by the +decisive advantages of exercise and discipline. After the +submission of the Venedi, the conqueror advanced, without +resistance, as far as the confines of the Aestii; ^142 an ancient +people, whose name is still preserved in the province of +Esthonia. Those distant inhabitants of the Baltic coast were +supported by the labors of agriculture, enriched by the trade of +amber, and consecrated by the peculiar worship of the Mother of +the Gods. But the scarcity of iron obliged the Aestian warriors +to content themselves with wooden clubs; and the reduction of +that wealthy country is ascribed to the prudence, rather than to +the arms, of Hermanric. His dominions, which extended from the +Danube to the Baltic, included the native seats, and the recent +acquisitions, of the Goths; and he reigned over the greatest part +of Germany and Scythia with the authority of a conqueror, and +sometimes with the cruelty of a tyrant. But he reigned over a +part of the globe incapable of perpetuating and adorning the +glory of its heroes. The name of Hermanric is almost buried in +oblivion; his exploits are imperfectly known; and the Romans +themselves appeared unconscious of the progress of an aspiring +power which threatened the liberty of the North, and the peace of +the empire. ^143 +[Footnote 140: The concise account of the reign and conquests of +Hermanric seems to be one of the valuable fragments which +Jornandes (c 28) borrowed from the Gothic histories of Ablavius, +or Cassiodorus.] + +[Footnote 141: M. d. Buat. (Hist. des Peuples de l'Europe, tom. +vi. p. 311- 329) investigates, with more industry than success, +the nations subdued by the arms of Hermanric. He denies the +existence of the Vasinobroncoe, on account of the immoderate +length of their name. Yet the French envoy to Ratisbon, or +Dresden, must have traversed the country of the Mediomatrici.] +[Footnote 142: The edition of Grotius (Jornandes, p. 642) +exhibits the name of Aestri. But reason and the Ambrosian MS. +have restored the Aestii, whose manners and situation are +expressed by the pencil of Tacitus, (Germania, c. 45.)] + +[Footnote 143: Ammianus (xxxi. 3) observes, in general terms, +Ermenrichi .... nobilissimi Regis, et per multa variaque fortiter +facta, vicinigentibus formidati, &c.] + + The Goths had contracted an hereditary attachment for the +Imperial house of Constantine, of whose power and liberality they +had received so many signal proofs. They respected the public +peace; and if a hostile band sometimes presumed to pass the Roman +limit, their irregular conduct was candidly ascribed to the +ungovernable spirit of the Barbarian youth. Their contempt for +two new and obscure princes, who had been raised to the throne by +a popular election, inspired the Goths with bolder hopes; and, +while they agitated some design of marching their confederate +force under the national standard, ^144 they were easily tempted +to embrace the party of Procopius; and to foment, by their +dangerous aid, the civil discord of the Romans. The public +treaty might stipulate no more than ten thousand auxiliaries; but +the design was so zealously adopted by the chiefs of the +Visigoths, that the army which passed the Danube amounted to the +number of thirty thousand men. ^145 They marched with the proud +confidence, that their invincible valor would decide the fate of +the Roman empire; and the provinces of Thrace groaned under the +weight of the Barbarians, who displayed the insolence of masters +and the licentiousness of enemies. But the intemperance which +gratified their appetites, retarded their progress; and before +the Goths could receive any certain intelligence of the defeat +and death of Procopius, they perceived, by the hostile state of +the country, that the civil and military powers were resumed by +his successful rival. A chain of posts and fortifications, +skilfully disposed by Valens, or the generals of Valens, resisted +their march, prevented their retreat, and intercepted their +subsistence. The fierceness of the Barbarians was tamed and +suspended by hunger; they indignantly threw down their arms at +the feet of the conqueror, who offered them food and chains: the +numerous captives were distributed in all the cities of the East; +and the provincials, who were soon familiarized with their savage +appearance, ventured, by degrees, to measure 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 so lofty a title) was grieved and exasperated +by this national calamity. His ambassadors loudly complained, at +the court of Valens, of the infraction of the ancient and solemn +alliance, which had so long subsisted between the Romans and the +Goths. They alleged, that they had fulfilled the duty of allies, +by assisting the kinsman and successor of the emperor Julian; +they required the immediate restitution of the noble captives; +and they urged a very singular claim, that the Gothic generals +marching in arms, and in hostile array, were entitled to the +sacred character and privileges of ambassadors. The decent, but +peremptory, refusal of these extravagant demands, was signified +to the Barbarians by Victor, master-general of the cavalry; who +expressed, with force and dignity, the just complaints of the +emperor of the East. ^146 The negotiation was interrupted; and +the manly exhortations of Valentinian encouraged his timid +brother to vindicate the insulted majesty of the empire. ^147 + +[Footnote 144: Valens . . . . docetur relationibus Ducum, gentem +Gothorum, ea tempestate intactam ideoque saevissimam, +conspirantem in unum, ad pervadenda parari collimitia Thraciarum. + +Ammian. xxi. 6.] + +[Footnote 145: M. de Buat (Hist. des Peuples de l'Europe, tom. +vi. p. 332) has curiously ascertained the real number of these +auxiliaries. The 3000 of Ammianus, and the 10,000 of Zosimus, +were only the first divisions of the Gothic army. + + Note: M. St. Martin (iii. 246) denies that there is any +authority for these numbers. - M.] + +[Footnote 146: The march, and subsequent negotiation, are +described in the Fragments of Eunapius, (Excerpt. Legat. p. 18, +edit. Louvre.) The provincials who afterwards became familiar +with the Barbarians, found that their strength was more apparent +than real. They were tall of stature; but their legs were +clumsy, and their shoulders were narrow.] + +[Footnote 147: Valens 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 peaceful and obedient province of +Thrace, which was not affected by the war.] + The splendor and magnitude of this Gothic war are celebrated +by a contemporary historian: ^148 but the events scarcely deserve +the attention of posterity, except as the preliminary steps of +the approaching decline and fall of the empire. Instead of +leading the nations of Germany and Scythia to the banks of the +Danube, or even to the gates of Constantinople, the aged monarch +of the Goths resigned to the brave Athanaric the danger and glory +of a defensive war, against an enemy, who wielded with a feeble +hand the powers of a mighty state. A bridge of boats was +established upon the Danube; the presence of Valens animated his +troops; and his ignorance of the art of war was compensated by +personal bravery, and a wise deference to the advice of Victor +and Arintheus, his masters-general of the cavalry and infantry. +The operations of the campaign were conducted by their skill and +experience; but they found it impossible to drive the Visigoths +from their strong posts in the mountains; and the devastation of +the plains obliged the Romans themselves to repass the Danube on +the approach of winter. The incessant rains, which swelled the +waters of the river, produced a tacit suspension of arms, and +confined the emperor Valens, during the whole course of the +ensuing summer, to his camp of Marcianopolis. The third year of +the war was more favorable to the Romans, and more pernicious to +the Goths. The interruption of trade deprived the Barbarians of +the objects of luxury, which they already confounded with the +necessaries of life; and the desolation of a very extensive tract +of country threatened them with the horrors of famine. Athanaric +was provoked, or compelled, to risk a battle, which he lost, in +the plains; and the pursuit was rendered more bloody by the cruel +precaution of the victorious generals, who had promised a large +reward for the head of every Goth that was brought into the +Imperial camp. The submission of the Barbarians appeased the +resentment of Valens and his council: the emperor listened with +satisfaction to the flattering and eloquent remonstrance of the +senate of Constantinople, which assumed, for the first time, a +share in the public deliberations; and the same generals, Victor +and Arintheus, who had successfully directed the conduct of the +war, were empowered to regulate the conditions of peace. The +freedom of trade, which the Goths had hitherto enjoyed, was +restricted to two cities on the Danube; the rashness of their +leaders was severely punished by the suppression of their +pensions and subsidies; and the exception, which was stipulated +in favor of Athanaric alone, was more advantageous than honorable +to the Judge of the Visigoths. Athanaric, who, on this occasion, +appears to have consulted his private interest, without expecting +the orders of his sovereign, supported his own dignity, and that +of his tribe, in the personal interview which was proposed by the +ministers of Valens. He persisted in his declaration, that it +was impossible for him, without incurring the guilt of perjury, +ever to set his foot on the territory of the empire; and it is +more than probable, that his regard for the sanctity of an oath +was confirmed by the recent and fatal examples of Roman +treachery. The Danube, which separated the dominions of the two +independent nations, was chosen for the scene of the conference. +The emperor of the East, and the Judge of the Visigoths, +accompanied by an equal number of armed followers, advanced in +their respective barges to the middle of the stream. After the +ratification of the treaty, and the delivery of hostages, Valens +returned in triumph to Constantinople; and the Goths remained in +a state of tranquillity about six years; till they were violently +impelled against the Roman empire by an innumerable host of +Scythians, who appeared to issue from the frozen regions of the +North. ^149 + +[Footnote 148: Eunapius, in Excerpt. Legat. p. 18, 19. The Greek +sophist must have considered as one and the same war, the whole +series of Gothic history till the victories and peace of +Theodosius.] + +[Footnote 149: The Gothic war is described by Ammianus, (xxvii. +6,) Zosimus, (l. iv. p. 211-214,) and Themistius, (Orat. x. p. +129-141.) The orator Themistius was sent from the senate of +Constantinople to congratulate the victorious emperor; and his +servile eloquence compares Valens on the Danube to Achilles in +the Scamander. Jornandes forgets a war peculiar to the +Visi-Goths, and inglorious to the Gothic name, (Mascon's Hist. of +the Germans, vii. 3.)] + + The emperor of the West, who had resigned to his brother the +command of the Lower Danube, reserved for his immediate care the +defence of the Rhaetian and Illyrian provinces, which spread so +many hundred miles along the greatest of the European rivers. +The active policy of Valentinian was continually employed in +adding new fortifications to the security of the frontier: but +the abuse of this policy provoked the just resentment of the +Barbarians. The Quadi complained, that the ground for an +intended fortress had been marked out on their territories; and +their complaints were urged with so much reason and moderation, +that Equitius, master-general of Illyricum, consented to suspend +the prosecution of the work, till he should be more clearly +informed of the will of his sovereign. This fair occasion of +injuring a rival, and of advancing the fortune of his son, was +eagerly embraced by the inhuman Maximin, the praefect, or rather +tyrant, of Gaul. The passions of Valentinian were impatient of +control; and he credulously listened to the assurances of his +favorite, that if the government of Valeria, and the direction of +the work, were intrusted to the zeal of his son Marcellinus, the +emperor should no longer be importuned with the audacious +remonstrances of the Barbarians. The subjects of Rome, and the +natives of Germany, were insulted by the arrogance of a young and +worthless minister, who considered his rapid elevation as the +proof and reward of his superior merit. He affected, however, to +receive the modest application of Gabinius, king of the Quadi, +with some attention and regard: but this artful civility +concealed a dark and bloody design, and the credulous prince was +persuaded to accept the pressing invitation of Marcellinus. I am +at a loss how to vary the narrative of similar crimes; or how to +relate, that, in the course of the same year, but in remote parts +of the empire, the inhospitable table of two Imperial generals +was stained with the royal blood of two guests and allies, +inhumanly murdered by their order, and in their presence. The +fate of Gabinius, and of Para, was the same: but the cruel death +of their sovereign was resented in a very different manner by the +servile temper of the Armenians, and the free and daring spirit +of the Germans. The Quadi were much declined from that +formidable power, which, in the time of Marcus Antoninus, had +spread terror to the gates of Rome. But they still possessed arms +and courage; their courage was animated by despair, and they +obtained the usual reenforcement of the cavalry of their +Sarmatian allies. So improvident was the assassin Marcellinus, +that he chose the moment when the bravest veterans had been drawn +away, to suppress the revolt of Firmus; and the whole province +was exposed, with a very feeble defence, to the rage of the +exasperated Barbarians. They invaded Pannonia in the season of +harvest; unmercifully destroyed every object of plunder which +they could not easily transport; and either disregarded, or +demolished, the empty fortifications. The princess Constantia, +the daughter of the emperor Constantius, and the granddaughter of +the great Constantine, very narrowly escaped. That royal maid, +who had innocently supported the revolt of Procopius, was now the +destined wife of the heir of the Western empire. She traversed +the peaceful province with a splendid and unarmed train. Her +person was saved from danger, and the republic from disgrace, by +the active zeal of Messala, governor of the provinces. As soon +as he was informed that the village, where she stopped only to +dine, was almost encompassed by 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. Even Sirmium might not have been secure, if the Quadi and +Sarmatians had diligently advanced during the general +consternation of the magistrates and people. Their delay allowed +Probus, the Praetorian praefect, sufficient time to recover his +own spirits, and to revive the courage of the citizens. He +skilfully directed their strenuous efforts to repair and +strengthen the decayed fortifications; and procured the +seasonable and effectual assistance of a company of archers, to +protect the capital of the Illyrian provinces. Disappointed in +their attempts against the walls of Sirmium, the indignant +Barbarians turned their arms against the master general of the +frontier, to whom they unjustly attributed the murder of their +king. Equitius could bring into the field no more than two +legions; but they contained the veteran strength of the Maesian +and Pannonian bands. The obstinacy with which they disputed the +vain honors of rank and precedency, was the cause of their +destruction; and while they acted with separate forces and +divided councils, they were surprised and slaughtered by the +active vigor of the Sarmatian horse. The success of this +invasion provoked the emulation of the bordering tribes; and the +province of Maesia would infallibly have been lost, if young +Theodosius, the duke, or military commander, of the frontier, had +not signalized, in the defeat of the public enemy, an intrepid +genius, worthy of his illustrious father, and of his future +greatness. ^150 +[Footnote 150: Ammianus (xxix. 6) and Zosimus (I. iv. p. 219, +220) carefully mark the origin and progress of the Quadic and +Sarmatian war.] + +Chapter XXV: Reigns Of Jovian And Valentinian, Division Of The +Empire. + +Part VII. + + The mind of Valentinian, who then resided at Treves, was +deeply affected by the calamities of Illyricum; but the lateness +of the season suspended the execution of his designs till the +ensuing spring. He marched in person, with a considerable part +of the forces of Gaul, from the banks of the Moselle: and to the +suppliant ambassadors of the Sarmatians, who met him on the way, +he returned a doubtful answer, that, as soon as he reached the +scene of action, he should examine, and pronounce. When he +arrived at Sirmium, he gave audience to the deputies of the +Illyrian provinces; who loudly congratulated their own felicity +under the auspicious government of Probus, his Praetorian +praefect. ^151 Valentinian, who was flattered by these +demonstrations of their loyalty and gratitude, imprudently asked +the deputy of Epirus, a Cynic philosopher of intrepid sincerity, +^152 whether he was freely sent by the wishes of the province. +"With tears and groans am I sent," replied Iphicles, "by a +reluctant people." The emperor paused: but the impunity of his +ministers established the pernicious maxim, that they might +oppress his subjects, without injuring his service. A strict +inquiry into their conduct would have relieved the public +discontent. The severe condemnation of the murder of Gabinius, +was the only measure which could restore the confidence of the +Germans, and vindicate the honor of the Roman name. But the +haughty monarch was incapable of the magnanimity which dares to +acknowledge a fault. He forgot the provocation, remembered only +the injury, and advanced into the country of the Quadi with an +insatiate thirst of blood and revenge. The extreme devastation, +and promiscuous massacre, of a savage war, were justified, in the +eyes of the emperor, and perhaps in those of the world, by the +cruel equity of retaliation: ^153 and such was the discipline of +the Romans, and the consternation of the enemy, that Valentinian +repassed the Danube without the loss of a single man. As he had +resolved to complete 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 +operations of war were suspended by the severity of the weather, +the Quadi made an humble attempt to deprecate the wrath of their +conqueror; and, at the earnest persuasion of Equitius, their +ambassadors were introduced into the Imperial council. They +approached the throne with bended bodies and dejected +countenances; and without daring to complain of the murder of +their king, they affirmed, with solemn oaths, that the late +invasion was the crime of some irregular robbers, which the +public council of the nation condemned and abhorred. The answer +of the emperor left them but little to hope from his clemency or +compassion. He reviled, in the most intemperate language, their +baseness, their ingratitude, their insolence. His eyes, his +voice, his color, his gestures, expressed the violence of his +ungoverned fury; and while his whole frame was agitated with +convulsive passion, a large blood vessel suddenly burst in his +body; and Valentinian fell speechless into the arms of his +attendants. Their pious care immediately concealed his situation +from the crowd; but, in a few minutes, the emperor of the West +expired in an agony of pain, retaining his senses till the last; +and struggling, without success, to declare his intentions to the +generals and ministers, who surrounded the royal couch. +Valentinian was about fifty-four years of age; and he wanted only +one hundred days to accomplish the twelve years of his reign. +^154 +[Footnote 151: Ammianus, (xxx. 5,) who acknowledges the merit, +has censured, with becoming asperity, the oppressive +administration of Petronius Probus. When Jerom translated and +continued the Chronicle of Eusebius, (A. D. 380; see Tillemont, +Mem. Eccles. tom. xii. p. 53, 626,) he expressed the truth, or at +least the public opinion of his country, in the following words: +"Probus P. P. Illyrici inquissimus tributorum exactionibus, ante +provincias quas regebat, quam a Barbaris vastarentur, erasit." +(Chron. edit. Scaliger, p. 187. Animadvers p. 259.) The Saint +afterwards formed an intimate and tender friendship with the +widow of Probus; and the name of Count Equitius with less +propriety, but without much injustice, has been substituted in +the text.] +[Footnote 152: Julian (Orat. vi. p. 198) represents his friend +Iphicles, as a man of virtue and merit, who had made himself +ridiculous and unhappy by adopting the extravagant dress and +manners of the Cynics.] +[Footnote 153: Ammian. xxx. v. Jerom, who exaggerates the +misfortune of Valentinian, refuses him even this last consolation +of revenge. Genitali vastato solo et inultam patriam +derelinquens, (tom. i. p. 26.)] +[Footnote 154: See, on the death of Valentinian, Ammianus, (xxx. +6,) Zosimus, (l. iv. p. 221,) Victor, (in Epitom.,) Socrates, (l. +iv. c. 31,) and Jerom, (in Chron. p. 187, and tom. i. p. 26, ad +Heliodor.) There is much variety of circumstances among them; and +Ammianus is so eloquent, that he writes nonsense.] + + The polygamy of Valentinian is seriously attested by an +ecclesiastical historian. ^155 "The empress Severa (I relate the +fable) admitted into her familiar society the lovely Justina, the +daughter of an Italian governor: her admiration of those naked +charms, which she had often seen in the bath, was expressed with +such lavish and imprudent praise, that the emperor was tempted to +introduce a second wife into his bed; and his public edict +extended to all the subjects of the empire the same domestic +privilege which he had assumed for himself." But we may be +assured, from the evidence of reason as well as history, that the +two marriages of Valentinian, with Severa, and with Justina, were +successively contracted; and that he used the ancient permission +of divorce, which was still allowed by the laws, though it was +condemned by the church Severa was the mother of Gratian, who +seemed to unite every claim which could entitle him to the +undoubted succession of the Western empire. He was the eldest +son of a monarch whose glorious reign had confirmed the free and +honorable choice of his fellow- soldiers. Before he had attained +the ninth year of his age, the royal youth received from the +hands of his indulgent father the purple robe and diadem, with +the title of Augustus; the election was solemnly ratified by the +consent and applause of the armies of Gaul; ^156 and the name of +Gratian was added to the names of Valentinian and Valens, in all +the legal transactions of the Roman government. By his marriage +with the granddaughter of Constantine, the son of Valentinian +acquired all the hereditary rights of the Flavian family; which, +in a series of three Imperial generations, were sanctified by +time, religion, and the reverence of the people. At the death of +his father, the royal youth was in the seventeenth year of his +age; and his virtues already justified the favorable opinion of +the army and the people. But Gratian resided, without +apprehension, in the palace of Treves; whilst, at the distance of +many hundred miles, Valentinian suddenly expired in the camp of +Bregetio. The passions, which had been so long suppressed by the +presence of a master, immediately revived in the Imperial +council; and the ambitious design of reigning in the name of an +infant, was artfully executed by Mellobaudes and Equitius, who +commanded the attachment of the Illyrian and Italian bands. They +contrived the most honorable pretences to remove the popular +leaders, and the troops of Gaul, who might have asserted the +claims of the lawful successor; they suggested the necessity of +extinguishing the hopes of foreign and domestic enemies, by a +bold and decisive measure. The empress Justina, who had been +left in a palace about one hundred miles from Bregetio, was +respectively invited to appear in the camp, with the son of the +deceased emperor. On the sixth day after the death of +Valentinian, the infant prince of the same name, who was only +four years old, was shown, in the arms of his mother, to the +legions; and solemnly invested, by military acclamation, with the +titles and ensigns of supreme power. The impending dangers of a +civil war were seasonably prevented by the wise and moderate +conduct of the emperor Gratian. He cheerfully accepted the +choice of the army; declared that he should always consider the +son of Justina as a brother, not as a rival; and advised the +empress, with her son Valentinian to fix their residence at +Milan, in the fair and peaceful province of Italy; while he +assumed the more arduous command of the countries beyond the +Alps. Gratian dissembled his resentment till he could safely +punish, or disgrace, the authors of the conspiracy; and though he +uniformly behaved with tenderness and regard to his infant +colleague, he gradually confounded, 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 +the united names of Valens and his two nephews; but the feeble +emperor of the East, who succeeded to the rank of his elder +brother, never obtained any weight or influence in the councils +of the West. ^157 + +[Footnote 155: Socrates (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 scarcely deserved the formal and +elaborate dissertation of M. Bonamy, (Mem. de l'Academie, tom. +xxx. p. 394-405.) Yet I would preserve the natural circumstance +of the bath; instead of following Zosimus who represents Justina +as an old woman, the widow of Magnentius.] + +[Footnote 156: Ammianus (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.] + +[Footnote 157: Ammianus, 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 over his brother's dominions, +as he used it, in an ambiguous style.] + +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 greatest part +of the Roman world was shaken by a violent and destructive +earthquake. The impression was communicated to the waters; the +shores of the Mediterranean were left dry, by the sudden retreat +of the sea; great quantities of fish were caught with the hand; +large vessels were stranded on the mud; and a curious spectator +^1 amused his eye, or rather his fancy, by contemplating the +various appearance of valleys and mountains, which had never, +since the formation of the globe, been exposed to the sun. But +the tide soon returned, with the weight of an immense and +irresistible deluge, which was severely felt on the coasts of +Sicily, of Dalmatia, of Greece, and of Egypt: large boats were +transported, and lodged on the roofs of houses, or at the +distance of two miles from the shore; the people, with their +habitations, were swept away by the waters; and the city of +Alexandria annually commemorated the fatal day, on which fifty +thousand persons had lost their lives in the inundation. This +calamity, the report of which was magnified from one province to +another, astonished and terrified the subjects of Rome; and their +affrighted imagination enlarged the real extent of a momentary +evil. They recollected the preceding earthquakes, which had +subverted the cities of Palestine and Bithynia: they considered +these alarming strokes as the prelude only of still more dreadful +calamities, and their fearful vanity was disposed to confound the +symptoms of a declining empire and a sinking world. ^2 It was the +fashion of the times to attribute every remarkable event to the +particular will of the Deity; the alterations of nature were +connected, by an invisible chain, with the moral and metaphysical +opinions of the human mind; and the most sagacious divines could +distinguish, according to the color of their respective +prejudices, that the establishment of heresy tended to produce an +earthquake; or that a deluge was the inevitable consequence of +the progress of sin and error. Without presuming to discuss the +truth or propriety of these lofty speculations, the historian may +content himself with an observation, which seems to be justified +by experience, that man has much more to fear from the passions +of his fellow-creatures, than from the convulsions of the +elements. ^3 The mischievous effects of an earthquake, or deluge, +a hurricane, or the eruption of a volcano, bear a very +inconsiderable portion to the ordinary calamities of war, as they +are now moderated by the prudence or humanity of the princes of +Europe, who amuse their own leisure, and exercise the courage of +their subjects, in the practice of the military art. But the +laws and manners of modern nations protect the safety and freedom +of the vanquished soldier; and the peaceful citizen has seldom +reason to complain, that his life, or even his fortune, is +exposed to the rage of war. In the disastrous period of the fall +of the Roman empire, which may justly be dated from the reign of +Valens, the happiness and security of each individual were +personally attacked; and the arts and labors of ages were rudely +defaced by the Barbarians of Scythia and Germany. The invasion +of the Huns precipitated on the provinces of the West the Gothic +nation, which advanced, in less than forty years, from the Danube +to the Atlantic, and opened a way, by the success of their arms, +to the inroads of so many hostile tribes, more savage than +themselves. The original principle of motion was concealed in +the remote countries of the North; and the curious observation of +the pastoral life of the Scythians, ^4 or Tartars, ^5 will +illustrate the latent cause of these destructive emigrations. + +[Footnote 1: Such is the bad taste of Ammianus, (xxvi. 10,) that +it is not easy to distinguish his facts from his metaphors. Yet +he positively affirms, that he saw the rotten carcass of a ship, +ad Modon, in Peloponnesus.] +[Footnote 2: The earthquakes and inundations are variously +described by Libanius, (Orat. de ulciscenda Juliani nece, c. x., +in Fabricius, Bibl. Graec. tom. 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. p. 186, and tom. +i. p. 250, in Vit. Hilarion.) Epidaurus must have been +overwhelmed, had not the prudent citizens placed St. Hilarion, an +Egyptian monk, on the beach. He made the sign of the Cross; the +mountain- wave stopped, bowed, and returned.] + +[Footnote 3: Dicaearchus, the Peripatetic, composed a formal +treatise, to prove this obvious truth; which is not the most +honorable to the human species. (Cicero, de Officiis, ii. 5.)] + +[Footnote 4: The original Scythians of Herodotus (l. iv. c. 47 - +57, 99 - 101) were confined, by the Danube and the Palus Maeotis, +within a square of 4000 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 nation.] + +[Footnote 5: The Tatars, or Tartars, were a primitive tribe, the +rivals, and at length the subjects, of the Moguls. In the +victorious armies of Zingis Khan, and his successors, the Tartars +formed the vanguard; and the name, which first reached the ears +of foreigners, was applied to the whole nation, (Freret, in the +Hist. de l'Academie, tom. xviii. p. 60.) In speaking of all, or +any of the northern shepherds of Europe, or Asia, I indifferently +use the appellations of Scythians or Tartars. + + Note: The Moguls, (Mongols,) according to M. Klaproth, are a +tribe of the Tartar nation. Tableaux Hist. de l'Asie, p. 154. - +M.] + + The different characters that mark the civilized nations of +the globe, may be ascribed to the use, and the abuse, of reason; +which so variously shapes, and so artificially composes, the +manners and opinions of a European, or a Chinese. But the +operation of instinct is more sure and simple than that of +reason: it is much easier to ascertain the appetites of a +quadruped than the speculations of a philosopher; and the savage +tribes of mankind, as they approach nearer to the condition of +animals, preserve a stronger resemblance to themselves and to +each other. The uniform stability of their manners is the +natural consequence of the imperfection of their faculties. +Reduced to a similar situation, their wants, their desires, their +enjoyments, still continue the same: and the influence of food or +climate, which, in a more improved state of society, is +suspended, or subdued, by so many moral causes, most powerfully +contributes to form, and to maintain, the national character of +Barbarians. In every age, the immense plains of Scythia, or +Tartary, have been inhabited by vagrant tribes of hunters and +shepherds, whose indolence refuses to cultivate the earth, and +whose restless spirit disdains the confinement of a sedentary +life. In every age, the Scythians, and Tartars, have been +renowned for their invincible courage and rapid conquests. The +thrones of Asia have been repeatedly overturned by the shepherds +of the North; and their arms have spread terror and devastation +over the most fertile and warlike countries of Europe. ^6 On this +occasion, as well as on many others, the sober historian is +forcibly awakened from a pleasing vision; and is compelled, with +some reluctance, to confess, that the pastoral manners, which +have been adorned with the fairest attributes of peace and +innocence, are much better adapted to the fierce and cruel habits +of a military life. To illustrate this observation, I shall now +proceed to consider a nation of shepherds and of warriors, in the +three important articles of, I. Their diet; II. Their +habitations; and, III. Their exercises. The narratives of +antiquity are justified by the experience of modern times; ^7 and +the banks of the Borysthenes, of the Volga, or of the Selinga, +will indifferently present the same uniform spectacle of similar +and native manners. ^8 +[Footnote 6: Imperium Asiae ter quaesivere: ipsi perpetuo ab +alieno imperio, aut intacti aut invicti, mansere. Since the time +of Justin, (ii. 2,) they have multiplied this account. Voltaire, +in a few words, (tom. x. p. 64, Hist. Generale, c. 156,) has +abridged the Tartar conquests. + + Oft o'er the trembling nations from afar, + Has Scythia breathed the living cloud of war. ^* + + Note *: Gray. - M.] + +[Footnote 7: The fourth book of Herodotus affords a curious +though imperfect, portrait of the Scythians. Among the moderns, +who describe the uniform scene, the Khan of Khowaresm, Abulghazi +Bahadur, expresses his native feelings; and his genealogical +history of the Tartars has been copiously illustrated by the +French and English editors. Carpin, Ascelin, and Rubruquis (in +the Hist. des Voyages, tom. vii.) represent the Moguls of the +fourteenth century. To these guides I have added Gerbillon, and +the other Jesuits, (Description de la China par du Halde, tom. +iv.,) who accurately surveyed the Chinese Tartary; and that +honest and intelligent traveller, Bell, of Antermony, (two +volumes in 4to. Glasgow, 1763.) + + Note: Of the various works published since the time of +Gibbon, which throw fight on the nomadic population of Central +Asia, may be particularly remarked the Travels and Dissertations +of Pallas; and above all, the very curious work of Bergman, +Nomadische Streifereyen. Riga, 1805. - M.] +[Footnote 8: The Uzbecks are the most altered from their +primitive manners; 1. By the profession of the Mahometan +religion; and 2. By the possession of the cities and harvests of +the great Bucharia.] + + I. The corn, or even the rice, which constitutes the +ordinary and wholesome food of a civilized people, can be +obtained only by the patient toil of the husbandman. Some of the +happy savages, who dwell between the tropics, are plentifully +nourished by the liberality of nature; but in the climates of the +North, a nation of shepherds is reduced to their flocks and +herds. The skilful practitioners of the medical art will +determine (if they are able to determine) how far the temper of +the human mind may be affected by the use of animal, or of +vegetable, food; and whether the common association of +carniverous and cruel deserves to be considered in any other +light than that of an innocent, perhaps a salutary, prejudice of +humanity. ^9 Yet, if it be true, that the sentiment of compassion +is imperceptibly weakened by the sight and practice of domestic +cruelty, we may observe, that the horrid objects which are +disguised by the arts of European refinement, are exhibited in +their naked and most disgusting simplicity in the tent of a +Tartarian shepherd. The ox, or the sheep, are slaughtered by the +same hand from which they were accustomed to receive their daily +food; and the bleeding limbs are served, with very little +preparation, on the table of their unfeeling murderer. In the +military profession, and especially in the conduct of a numerous +army, the exclusive use of animal food appears to be productive +of the most solid advantages. Corn is a bulky and perishable +commodity; and the large magazines, which are indispensably +necessary for the subsistence of our troops, must be slowly +transported by the labor of men or horses. But the flocks and +herds, which accompany the march of the Tartars, afford a sure +and increasing supply of flesh and milk: in the far greater part +of the uncultivated waste, the vegetation of the grass is quick +and luxuriant; and there are few places so extremely barren, that +the hardy cattle of the North cannot find some tolerable pasture. + +The supply is multiplied and prolonged by the undistinguishing +appetite, and patient abstinence, of the Tartars. They +indifferently feed on the flesh of those animals that have been +killed for the table, or have died of disease. Horseflesh, which +in every age and country has been proscribed by the civilized +nations of Europe and Asia, they devour with peculiar greediness; +and this singular taste facilitates the success of their military +operations. The active cavalry of Scythia is always followed, in +their most distant and rapid incursions, by an adequate number of +spare horses, who may be occasionally used, either to redouble +the speed, or to satisfy the hunger, of the Barbarians. Many are +the resources of courage and poverty. When the forage round a +camp of Tartars is almost consumed, they slaughter the greatest +part of their cattle, and preserve the flesh, either smoked, or +dried in the sun. On the sudden emergency of a hasty march, they +provide themselves with a sufficient quantity of little balls of +cheese, or rather of hard curd, which they occasionally dissolve +in water; and this unsubstantial diet will support, for many +days, the life, and even the spirits, of the patient warrior. +But this extraordinary abstinence, which the Stoic would approve, +and the hermit might envy, is commonly succeeded by the most +voracious indulgence of appetite. The wines of a happier climate +are the most grateful present, or the most valuable commodity, +that can be offered to the Tartars; and the only example of their +industry seems to consist in the art of extracting from mare's +milk a fermented liquor, which possesses a very strong power of +intoxication. Like the animals of prey, the savages, both of the +old and new world, experience the alternate vicissitudes of +famine and plenty; and their stomach is inured to sustain, +without much inconvenience, the opposite extremes of hunger and +of intemperance. + +[Footnote 9: Il est certain que les grands mangeurs de viande +sont en general cruels et feroces plus que les autres hommes. +Cette observation est de tous les lieux, et de tous les temps: la +barbarie Angloise est connue, &c. Emile de Rousseau, tom. i. p. +274. Whatever we may think of the general observation, we shall +not easily allow the truth of his example. The good-natured +complaints of Plutarch, and the pathetic lamentations of Ovid, +seduce our reason, by exciting our sensibility.] + + II. In the ages of rustic and martial simplicity, a people +of soldiers and husbandmen are dispersed over the face of an +extensive and cultivated country; and some time must elapse +before the warlike youth of Greece or Italy could be assembled +under the same standard, either to defend their own confines, or +to invade the territories of the adjacent tribes. The progress +of manufactures and commerce insensibly collects a large +multitude within the walls of a city: but these citizens are no +longer soldiers; and the arts which adorn and improve the state +of civil society, corrupt the habits of the military life. The +pastoral manners of the Scythians seem to unite the different +advantages of simplicity and refinement. The individuals of the +same tribe are constantly assembled, but they are assembled in a +camp; and the native spirit of these dauntless shepherds is +animated by mutual support and emulation. The houses of the +Tartars are no more than small tents, of an oval form, which +afford a cold and dirty habitation, for the promiscuous youth of +both sexes. The palaces of the rich consist of wooden huts, of +such a size that they may be conveniently fixed on large wagons, +and drawn by a team perhaps of twenty or thirty oxen. The flocks +and herds, after grazing all day in the adjacent pastures, +retire, on the approach of night, within the protection of the +camp. The necessity of preventing the most mischievous +confusion, in such a perpetual concourse of men and animals, must +gradually introduce, in the distribution, the order, and the +guard, of the encampment, the rudiments of the military art. As +soon as the forage of a certain district is consumed, the tribe, +or rather army, of shepherds, makes a regular march to some fresh +pastures; and thus acquires, in the ordinary occupations of the +pastoral life, the practical knowledge of one of the most +important and difficult operations of war. The choice of +stations is regulated by the difference of the seasons: in the +summer, the Tartars advance towards the North, and pitch their +tents on the banks of a river, or, at least, in the neighborhood +of a running stream. But in the winter, they return to the +South, and shelter their camp, behind some convenient eminence, +against the winds, which are chilled in their passage over the +bleak and icy regions of Siberia. These manners are admirably +adapted to diffuse, among the wandering tribes, the spirit of +emigration and conquest. The connection between the people and +their territory is of so frail a texture, that it may be broken +by the slightest accident. The camp, and not the soil, is the +native country of the genuine Tartar. Within the precincts of +that camp, his family, his companions, his property, are always +included; and, in the most distant marches, he is still +surrounded by the objects 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 sufficient causes to urge the tribes of Scythia boldly +to advance into some unknown countries, where they might hope to +find a more plentiful subsistence or a less formidable enemy. +The revolutions of the North have frequently determined the fate +of the South; and in the conflict of hostile nations, the victor +and the vanquished have alternately drove, and been driven, from +the confines of China to those of Germany. ^10 These great +emigrations, which have been sometimes executed with almost +incredible diligence, were rendered more easy by the peculiar +nature of the climate. It is well known that the cold of Tartary +is much more severe than in the midst of the temperate zone might +reasonably be expected; this uncommon rigor is attributed to the +height of the plains, which rise, especially towards the East, +more than half a mile above the level of the sea; and to the +quantity of saltpetre with which the soil is deeply impregnated. +^11 In the winter season, the broad and rapid rivers, that +discharge their waters into the Euxine, the Caspian, or the Icy +Sea, are strongly frozen; the fields are covered with a bed of +snow; and the fugitive, or victorious, tribes may securely +traverse, with their families, their wagons, and their cattle, +the smooth and hard surface of an immense plain. +[Footnote 10: These Tartar emigrations have been discovered by M. +de Guignes (Histoire des Huns, tom. i. ii.) a skilful and +laborious interpreter of the Chinese language; who has thus laid +open new and important scenes in the history of mankind.] + +[Footnote 11: A plain in the Chinese Tartary, only eighty leagues +from the great wall, was found by the missionaries to be three +thousand geometrical paces above the level of the sea. +Montesquieu, who has used, and abused, the relations of +travellers, deduces the revolutions of Asia from this important +circumstance, that heat and cold, weakness and strength, touch +each other without any temperate zone, (Esprit des Loix, l. xvii. +c. 3.)] + III. The pastoral life, compared with the labors of +agriculture and manufactures, is undoubtedly a life of idleness; +and as the most honorable shepherds of the Tartar race devolve on +their captives the domestic management of the cattle, their own +leisure is seldom disturbed by any servile and assiduous cares. +But this leisure, instead of being devoted to the soft enjoyments +of love and harmony, is use fully spent in the violent and +sanguinary exercise of the chase. The plains of Tartary are +filled with a strong and serviceable breed of horses, which are +easily trained for the purposes of war and hunting. The +Scythians of every age have been celebrated as bold and skilful +riders; and constant practice had seated them so firmly on +horseback, that they were supposed by strangers to perform the +ordinary duties of civil life, to eat, to drink, and even to +sleep, without dismounting from their steeds. They excel in the +dexterous management of the lance; the long Tartar bow is drawn +with a nervous arm; and the weighty arrow is directed to its +object with unerring aim and irresistible force. These arrows +are often pointed against the harmless animals of the desert, +which increase and multiply in the absence of their most +formidable enemy; the hare, the goat, the roebuck, the +fallow-deer, the stag, the elk, and the antelope. The vigor and +patience, both of the men and horses, are continually exercised +by the fatigues of the chase; and the plentiful supply of game +contributes to the subsistence, and even luxury, of a Tartar +camp. But the exploits of the hunters of Scythia are not +confined to the destruction of timid or innoxious beasts; they +boldly encounter the angry wild boar, when he turns against his +pursuers, excite the sluggish courage of the bear, and provoke +the fury of the tiger, as he slumbers in the thicket. Where +there is danger, there may be glory; and the mode of hunting, +which opens the fairest field to the exertions of valor, may +justly be considered as the image, and as the school, of war. The +general hunting matches, the pride and delight of the Tartar +princes, compose an instructive exercise for their numerous +cavalry. A circle is drawn, of many miles in circumference, to +encompass the game of an extensive district; and the troops that +form the circle regularly advance towards a common centre; where +the captive animals, surrounded on every side, are abandoned to +the darts of the hunters. In this march, which frequently +continues many days, the cavalry are obliged to climb the hills, +to swim the rivers, and to wind through the valleys, without +interrupting 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 suspending +or accelerating their pace, according to the motions of the +troops on their right and left; and of watching and repeating the +signals of their leaders. Their leaders study, in this practical +school, the most important lesson of the military art; the prompt +and accurate judgment of ground, of distance, and of time. To +employ against a human enemy the same patience and valor, the +same skill and discipline, is the only alteration which is +required in real war; and the amusements of the chase serve as a +prelude to the conquest of an empire. ^12 + +[Footnote 12: Petit de la Croix (Vie de Gengiscan, l. iii. c. 6) +represents the full glory and extent of the Mogul chase. The +Jesuits Gerbillon and Verbiest followed 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 learning of China, +describes (Eloge de Moukden, p. 273 - 285) as a poet the +pleasures which he had often enjoyed as a sportsman.] + + The political society of the ancient Germans has the +appearance of a voluntary alliance of independent warriors. The +tribes of Scythia, distinguished by the modern appellation of +Hords, assume the form of a numerous and increasing family; +which, in the course of successive generations, 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 genealogy; and whatever +distinctions of rank may have been introduced, by the unequal +distribution of pastoral wealth, they mutually respect +themselves, and each other, as the descendants of the first +founder of the tribe. The custom, which still prevails, of +adopting the bravest and most faithful of the captives, may +countenance the very probable suspicion, that this extensive +consanguinity is, in a great measure, legal and fictitious. But +the useful prejudice, which has obtained the sanction of time and +opinion, produces the effects of truth; the haughty Barbarians +yield a cheerful and voluntary obedience to the head of their +blood; and their chief, or mursa, as the representative of their +great father, exercises the authority of a judge in peace, and of +a leader in war. In the original state of the pastoral world, +each of the mursas (if we may continue to use a modern +appellation) acted as the independent chief of a large and +separate family; and the limits of their peculiar territories +were gradually fixed by superior force, or mutual consent. But +the constant operation of various and permanent causes +contributed to unite the vagrant Hords into national communities, +under the command of a supreme head. The weak were desirous of +support, and the strong were ambitious of dominion; the power, +which is the result of union, oppressed and collected the divided +force of the adjacent tribes; and, as the vanquished were freely +admitted to share the advantages of victory, the most valiant +chiefs hastened to range themselves and their followers under the +formidable standard of a confederate nation. The most successful +of the Tartar princes assumed the military command, to which he +was entitled by the superiority, either of merit or of power. He +was raised to the throne by the acclamations of his equals; and +the title of Khan expresses, in the language of the North of +Asia, the full extent of the regal dignity. The right of +hereditary succession was long confined to the blood of the +founder of the monarchy; and at this moment all the Khans, who +reign from Crimea to the wall of China, are the lineal +descendants of the renowned Zingis. ^13 But, as it is the +indispensable duty of a Tartar sovereign to lead his warlike +subjects into the field, the claims of an infant are often +disregarded; and some royal kinsman, distinguished by his age and +valor, is intrusted with the sword and sceptre of his +predecessor. Two distinct and regular taxes are levied on the +tribes, to support the dignity of the national monarch, and of +their peculiar chief; and each of those contributions amounts to +the tithe, both of their property, and of their spoil. A Tartar +sovereign enjoys the tenth part of the wealth of his people; and +as his own domestic riches of flocks and herds increase in a much +larger proportion, he is able plentifully to maintain the rustic +splendor of his court, to reward the most deserving, or the most +favored of his followers, and to obtain, from the gentle +influence of corruption, the obedience which might be sometimes +refused to the stern mandates of authority. The manners of his +subjects, accustomed, like himself, to blood and rapine, might +excuse, in their eyes, such partial acts of tyranny, as would +excite the horror of a civilized people; but the power of a +despot has never been acknowledged in the deserts of Scythia. +The immediate jurisdiction of the khan is confined within the +limits of his own tribe; and the exercise of his royal +prerogative has been moderated by the ancient institution of a +national council. The Coroulai, ^14 or Diet, of the Tartars, was +regularly held in the spring and autumn, in the midst of a plain; +where the princes of the reigning family, and the mursas of the +respective tribes, may conveniently assemble on horseback, with +their martial and numerous trains; and the ambitious monarch, who +reviewed the strength, must consult the inclination of an armed +people. The rudiments of a feudal government may be discovered +in the constitution of the Scythian or Tartar nations; but the +perpetual conflict of those hostile nations has sometimes +terminated in the establishment of a powerful and despotic +empire. The victor, enriched by the tribute, and fortified by +the arms of dependent kings, has spread his conquests over Europe +or Asia: the successful shepherds of the North have submitted to +the confinement of arts, of laws, and of cities; and the +introduction of luxury, after destroying the freedom of the +people, has undermined the foundations of the throne. ^15 + +[Footnote 13: See 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. Under the reign of Timur, or Tamerlane, +one of his subjects, a descendant of Zingis, still bore the regal +appellation of Khan and the conqueror of Asia contented himself +with the title of Emir or Sultan. Abulghazi, part v. c. 4. +D'Herbelot, Bibliotheque Orien tale, p. 878.] +[Footnote 14: See the Diets of the ancient Huns, (De Guignes, +tom. ii. p. 26,) and a curious description of those of Zingis, +(Vie de Gengiscan, l. i. c. 6, l. iv. c. 11.) Such assemblies are +frequently mentioned in the Persian history of Timur; though they +served only to countenance the resolutions of their master.] + +[Footnote 15: Montesquieu labors to explain a difference, which +has not existed, between the liberty of the Arabs, and the +perpetual slavery of the Tartars. (Esprit des Loix, l. xvii. c. +5, l. xviii. c. 19, &c.)] + The memory of past events cannot long be preserved in the +frequent and remote emigrations of illiterate Barbarians. The +modern Tartars are ignorant of the conquests of their ancestors; +^16 and our knowledge of the history of the Scythians is derived +from their intercourse with the learned and civilized nations of +the South, the Greeks, the Persians, and the Chinese. The +Greeks, who navigated the Euxine, and planted their colonies +along the sea-coast, made the gradual and imperfect discovery of +Scythia; from the Danube, and the confines of Thrace, as far as +the frozen Maeotis, the seat of eternal winter, and Mount +Caucasus, which, in the language of poetry, was described as the +utmost boundary of the earth. They celebrated, with simple +credulity, the virtues of the pastoral life: ^17 they entertained +a more rational apprehension of the strength and numbers of the +warlike Barbarians, ^18 who contemptuously baffled the immense +armament of Darius, the son of Hystaspes. ^19 The Persian +monarchs had extended their western conquests to the banks of the +Danube, and the limits of European Scythia. The eastern +provinces of their empire were exposed to the Scythians of Asia; +the wild inhabitants of the plains beyond the Oxus and the +Jaxartes, two mighty rivers, which direct their course towards +the Caspian Sea. The long and memorable quarrel of Iran and +Touran is still the theme of history or romance: the famous, +perhaps the fabulous, valor of the Persian heroes, Rustan and +Asfendiar, was signalized, in the defence of their country, +against the Afrasiabs of the North; ^20 and the invincible spirit +of the same Barbarians resisted, on the same ground, the +victorious arms of Cyrus and Alexander. ^21 In the eyes of the +Greeks and Persians, the real geography of Scythia was bounded, +on the East, by the mountains of Imaus, or Caf; and their distant +prospect of the extreme and inaccessible parts of Asia was +clouded by ignorance, or perplexed by fiction. But those +inaccessible regions are the ancient residence of a powerful and +civilized nation, ^22 which ascends, by a probable tradition, +above forty centuries; ^23 and which is able to verify a series +of near two thousand years, by the perpetual testimony of +accurate and contemporary historians. ^24 The annals of China ^25 +illustrate the state and revolutions of the pastoral tribes, +which may still be distinguished by the vague appellation of +Scythians, or Tartars; the vassals, the enemies, and sometimes +the conquerors, of a great empire; whose policy has uniformly +opposed the blind and impetuous valor of the Barbarians of the +North. From the mouth of the Danube to the Sea of Japan, the +whole longitude of Scythia is about one hundred and ten degrees, +which, in that parallel, are equal to more than five thousand +miles. The latitude of these extensive deserts cannot be so +easily, or so accurately, measured; but, from the fortieth +degree, which touches the wall of China, we may securely advance +above a thousand miles to the northward, till our progress is +stopped by the excessive cold of Siberia. In that dreary +climate, instead of the animated picture of a Tartar camp, the +smoke that issues from the earth, or rather from the snow, +betrays the subterraneous dwellings of the Tongouses, and the +Samoides: the want of horses and oxen is imperfectly supplied by +the use of reindeer, and of large dogs; and the conquerors of the +earth insensibly degenerate into a race of deformed and +diminutive savages, who tremble at the sound of arms. ^26 + +[Footnote 16: Abulghasi Khan, in the two first parts of his +Genealogical History, relates the miserable tales and traditions +of the Uzbek Tartars concerning the times which preceded the +reign of Zingis. + + Note: The differences between the various pastoral tribes +and nations comprehended by the ancients under the vague name of +Scythians, and by Gibbon under inst of Tartars, have received +some, and still, perhaps, may receive more, light from the +comparisons of their dialects and languages by modern scholars. - +M] + +[Footnote 17: In the thirteenth book of the Iliad, Jupiter turns +away his eyes from the bloody fields of Troy, to the plains of +Thrace and Scythia. He would not, by changing the prospect, +behold a more peaceful or innocent scene.] +[Footnote 18: Thucydides, l. ii. c. 97.] + +[Footnote 19: See the fourth book of Herodotus. When Darius +advanced into the Moldavian desert, between the Danube and the +Niester, the king of the Scythians sent him a mouse, a frog, a +bird, and five arrows; a tremendous allegory!] + +[Footnote 20: These wars and heroes may be found under their +respective titles, in the Bibliotheque Orientale of D'Herbelot. +They have been celebrated in an epic poem of sixty thousand +rhymed couplets, by Ferdusi, the Homer of Persia. See the +history of Nadir Shah, p. 145, 165. The public must lament that +Mr. Jones has suspended the pursuit of Oriental learning. + Note: Ferdusi is yet imperfectly known to European readers. +An abstract of the whole poem has been published by Goerres in +German, under the title "das Heldenbuch des Iran." In English, an +abstract with poetical translations, by Mr. Atkinson, has +appeared, under the auspices of the Oriental Fund. But to +translate a poet a man must be a poet. The best account of the +poem is in an article by Von Hammer in the Vienna Jahrbucher, +1820: or perhaps in a masterly article in Cochrane's Foreign +Quarterly Review, No. 1, 1835. A splendid and critical edition +of the whole work has been published by a very learned English +Orientalist, Captain Macan, at the expense of the king of Oude. +As to the number of 60,000 couplets, Captain Macan (Preface, p. +39) states that he never saw a MS. containing more than 56,685, +including doubtful and spurious passages and episodes. - M. + + Note: The later studies of Sir W. Jones were more in unison +with the wishes of the public, thus expressed by Gibbon. - M.] + +[Footnote 21: The Caspian Sea, with its rivers and adjacent +tribes, are laboriously illustrated in the Examen Critique des +Historiens d'Alexandre, which compares the true geography, and +the errors produced by the vanity or ignorance of the Greeks.] + +[Footnote 22: The original seat of the nation appears to have +been in the Northwest of China, in the provinces of Chensi and +Chansi. Under the two first dynasties, the principal town was +still a movable camp; the villages were thinly scattered; more +land was employed in pasture than in tillage; the exercise of +hunting was ordained to clear the country from wild beasts; +Petcheli (where Pekin stands) was a desert, and the Southern +provinces were peopled with Indian savages. The dynasty of the +Han (before Christ 206) gave the empire its actual form and +extent.] + +[Footnote 23: The aera of the Chinese monarchy has been variously +fixed from 2952 to 2132 years before Christ; and the year 2637 +has been chosen for the lawful epoch, by the authority of the +present emperor. The difference arises from the uncertain +duration of the two first dynasties; and the vacant space that +lies beyond them, as far as the real, or fabulous, times of Fohi, +or Hoangti. Sematsien dates his authentic chronology from the +year 841; the thirty-six eclipses of Confucius (thirty- one of +which have been verified) were observed between the years 722 and +480 before Christ. The historical period of China does not +ascend above the Greek Olympiads.] + +[Footnote 24: After several ages of anarchy and despotism, the +dynasty of the Han (before Christ 206) was the aera of the +revival of learning. The fragments of ancient literature were +restored; the characters were improved and fixed; and the future +preservation of books was secured by the useful inventions of +ink, paper, and the art of printing. Ninety-seven years before +Christ, Sematsien published the first history of China. His +labors were illustrated, and continued, by a series of one +hundred and eighty historians. The substance of their works is +still extant; and the most considerable of them are now deposited +in the king of France's library.] +[Footnote 25: China has been illustrated by the labors of the +French; of the missionaries at Pekin, and Messrs. Freret and De +Guignes at Paris. The substance 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 Hist. Generale 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. p. 4 - 131, tom. v. p. 345 - 362; and the Memoires de +l'Academie des Inscriptions, tom. x. p. 377 - 402; tom. xv. p. +495 - 564; tom. xviii. p. 178 - 295; xxxvi. p. 164 - 238.] + +[Footnote 26: See the Histoire Generale des Voyages, tom. xviii., +and the Genealogical History, vol. ii. p. 620 - 664.] + +Chapter XXVI: Progress of The Huns. + +Part II. + + The Huns, who under the reign of Valens threatened the +empire of Rome, had been formidable, in a much earlier period, to +the empire of China. ^27 Their ancient, perhaps their original, +seat was an extensive, though dry and barren, tract of country, +immediately on the north side of the great wall. Their place is +at present occupied by the forty-nine Hords or Banners of the +Mongous, a pastoral nation, which consists of about two hundred +thousand families. ^28 But the valor of the Huns had extended the +narrow limits of their dominions; and their rustic chiefs, who +assumed the appellation of Tanjou, gradually became the +conquerors, and the sovereigns of a formidable empire. Towards +the East, their victorious arms were stopped only by the ocean; +and the tribes, which are thinly scattered between the 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, they found a more ample space, and more +numerous enemies. One of the lieutenants of the Tanjou subdued, +in a single expedition, twenty-six nations; the Igours, ^29 +distinguished above the Tartar race by the use of letters, were +in the number of his vassals; and, by the strange connection of +human events, the flight of one of those vagrant tribes recalled +the victorious Parthians from the invasion of Syria. ^30 On the +side of the North, the ocean was assigned as the limit of the +power of the Huns. Without enemies to resist their progress, or +witnesses to contradict their vanity, they might securely achieve +a real, or imaginary, conquest of the frozen regions of Siberia. +The Northren Sea was fixed as the remote boundary of their +empire. But the name of that sea, on whose shores the patriot +Sovou embraced the life of a shepherd and an exile, ^31 may be +transferred, with much more probability, to the Baikal, a +capacious basin, above three hundred miles in length, which +disdains the modest appellation of a lake ^32 and which actually +communicates with the seas of the North, by the long course of +the Angara, the Tongusha, and the Jenissea. The submission of so +many distant nations might flatter the pride of the Tanjou; but +the valor of the Huns could be rewarded only by the enjoyment of +the wealth and luxury of the empire of the South. In the third +century ^! before the Christian aera, a wall of fifteen hundred +miles in length was constructed, to defend the frontiers of China +against the inroads of the Huns; ^33 but this stupendous work, +which holds a conspicuous place in the map of the world, has +never contributed to the safety of an unwarlike people. The +cavalry of the Tanjou frequently consisted of two or three +hundred thousand men, formidable by the matchless dexterity with +which they managed their bows and their horses: by their hardy +patience in supporting the inclemency of the weather; and by the +incredible speed of their march, which was seldom checked by +torrents, or precipices, by the deepest rivers, or by the most +lofty mountains. They spread themselves at once over the face of +the country; and their rapid impetuosity surprised, astonished, +and disconcerted the grave and elaborate tactics of a Chinese +army. The emperor Kaoti, ^34 a soldier of fortune, whose +personal merit had raised him to the throne, marched against the +Huns with those veteran troops which had been trained in the +civil wars of China. But he was soon surrounded by the +Barbarians; and, after a siege of seven days, the monarch, +hopeless of relief, was reduced to purchase his deliverance by an +ignominious capitulation. The successors of Kaoti, whose lives +were dedicated to the arts of peace, or the luxury of the palace, +submitted to a more permanent disgrace. They too hastily +confessed the insufficiency of arms and fortifications. They +were too easily convinced, that while the blazing signals +announced on every side the approach of the Huns, the Chinese +troops, who slept with the helmet on their head, and the cuirass +on their back, were destroyed by the incessant labor of +ineffectual marches. ^35 A regular payment of money, and silk, +was stipulated as the condition of a temporary and precarious +peace; and the wretched expedient of disguising a real tribute, +under the names of a gift or subsidy, was practised by the +emperors of China as well as by those of Rome. But there still +remained a more disgraceful article of tribute, which violated +the sacred feelings of humanity and nature. The hardships of the +savage life, which destroy in their infancy the children who are +born with a less healthy and robust constitution, introduced a +remarkable disproportion between the numbers of the two sexes. +The Tartars are an ugly and even deformed race; and while they +consider their own women as the instruments of domestic labor, +their desires, or rather their appetites, are directed to the +enjoyment of more elegant beauty. A select band of the fairest +maidens of China was annually devoted to the rude embraces of the +Huns; ^36 and the alliance of the haughty Tanjous was secured by +their marriage with the genuine, or adopted, daughters of the +Imperial family, which vainly attempted to escape the +sacrilegious pollution. The situation of these unhappy victims +is described in the verses of a Chinese princess, who laments +that she had been condemned by her parents to a distant exile, +under a Barbarian husband; who complains that sour milk was her +only drink, raw flesh her only food, a tent her only palace; and +who expresses, in a strain of pathetic simplicity, the natural +wish, that she were transformed into a bird, to fly back to her +dear country; the object of her tender and perpetual regret. ^37 + +[Footnote 27: M. de Guignes (tom. ii. p. 1 - 124) has given the +original history of the ancient Hiong-nou, or Huns. The Chinese +geography of their country (tom. i. part. p. lv. - lxiii.) seems +to comprise a part of their conquests. + + Note: The theory of De Guignes on the early history of the +Huns is, in general, rejected by modern writers. De Guignes +advanced no valid proof of the identity of the Hioung-nou of the +Chinese writers with the Huns, except the similarity of name. + + Schlozer, (Allgemeine Nordische Geschichte, 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 theory of De Guignes not absolutely disproved,) concur in +considering the Huns as belonging to the Finnish stock, distinct +from the Moguls the Mandscheus, and the Turks. The Hiong-nou, +according to Klaproth, were Turks. The names of the Hunnish +chiefs could not be pronounced by a Turk; and, according to the +same author, the Hioung-nou, which is explained in Chinese as +detestable slaves, as early as the year 91 J. C., were dispersed +by the Chinese, and assumed the name of Yue-po or Yue-pan. M. St. +Martin does not consider it impossible that the appellation of +Hioung-nou may have belonged to the Huns. But all agree in +considering the Madjar or Magyar of modern Hungary the +descendants of the Huns. Their language (compare Gibbon, c. lv. +n. 22) is nearly related to the Lapponian and Vogoul. The noble +forms of the modern Hungarians, so strongly contrasted with the +hideous pictures which the fears and the hatred of the Romans +give of the Huns, M. Klaproth accounts for by the intermingling +with other races, Turkish and Slavonian. The present state of the +question is thus stated in the last edition of Malte Brun, and a +new and ingenious hypothesis suggested to resolve all the +difficulties of the question. + + Were the Huns Finns? This obscure question has not been +debated till very recently, and is yet very far from being +decided. We are of opinion that it will be so hereafter in the +same manner as that with regard to the Scythians. We shall trace +in the portrait of Attila a dominant tribe or Mongols, or +Kalmucks, with all the hereditary ugliness of that race; but in +the mass of the Hunnish army and nation will be recognized the +Chuni and the Ounni of the Greek Geography. the Kuns of the +Hungarians, the European Huns, and a race in close relationship +with the Flemish stock. Malte Brun, vi. p. 94. This theory is +more fully and ably developed, p. 743. Whoever has seen the +emperor of Austria's Hungarian guard, will not readily admit +their descent from the Huns described by Sidonius Appolinaris. - +M] + +[Footnote 28: See in Duhalde (tom. iv. p. 18 - 65) a +circumstantial description, with a correct map, of the country of +the Mongous.] +[Footnote 29: The Igours, or Vigours, were divided into three +branches; hunters, shepherds, and husbandmen; and the last class +was despised by the two former. See Abulghazi, part ii. c. 7. + + Note: On the Ouigour or Igour characters, see the work of M. +A. Remusat, Sur les Langues Tartares. He conceives the Ouigour +alphabet of sixteen letters to have been formed from the Syriac, +and introduced by the Nestorian Christians. - Ch. ii. M.] + +[Footnote 30: Memoires de l'Academie des Inscriptions, tom. xxv. +p. 17 - 33. The comprehensive view of M. de Guignes has compared +these distant events.] +[Footnote 31: The fame of Sovou, or So-ou, his merit, and his +singular adventurers, 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 - 360.] +[Footnote 32: See Isbrand Ives in Harris's Collection, vol. ii. +p. 931; Bell's Travels, 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 sea grows angry and +tempestuous if any one presumes to call it a lake. This +grammatical nicety often excites a dispute between the absurd +superstition of the mariners and the absurd obstinacy of +travellers.] + +[Footnote !: 224 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, aussi gigantesque +qu'impuissant, arreterait bien les incursions de quelques +Nomades; mais il n'a jamais empeche les invasions des Turcs, des +Mongols, et des Mandchous. Abe Remusat Rech. Asiat. 2d ser. vol. +i. p. 58 - M.] +[Footnote 33: The construction of the wall of China is mentioned +by Duhalde (tom. ii. p. 45) and De Guignes, (tom. ii. p. 59.)] + +[Footnote 34: See the life of Lieoupang, or Kaoti, in the Hist, +de la Chine, published at Paris, 1777, &c., tom. i. p. 442 - 522. + +This voluminous work is the translation (by the P. de Mailla) of +the Tong-Kien- Kang-Mou, the celebrated abridgment of the great +History of Semakouang (A.D. 1084) and his continuators.] + +[Footnote 35: See 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 by Kamhi himself, (p. 354 - +612.) Another memorial from the minister of war (Kang- Mou, tom. +ii. p 555) supplies some curious circumstances of the manners of +the Huns.] +[Footnote 36: A supply of women is mentioned as a customary +article of treaty and tribute, (Hist. de la Conquete de la Chine, +par les Tartares Mantcheoux, tom. i. p. 186, 187, with the note +of the editor.)] + +[Footnote 37: De Guignes, Hist. des Huns, tom. ii. p. 62.] + The conquest of China has been twice achieved by the +pastoral tribes of the North: the forces of the Huns were not +inferior to those of the Moguls, or of the Mantcheoux; and their +ambition might entertain the most sanguine hopes of success. But +their pride was humbled, and their progress was checked, by the +arms and policy of Vouti, ^38 the fifth emperor of the powerful +dynasty of the Han. In his long reign of fifty-four years, the +Barbarians of the southern provinces submitted to the laws and +manners of China; and the ancient limits of the monarchy were +enlarged, from the great river of Kiang, to the port of Canton. +Instead of confining himself to the timid operations of a +defensive war, his lieutenants penetrated many hundred miles into +the country of the Huns. In those boundless deserts, where it is +impossible to form magazines, and difficult to transport a +sufficient supply of provisions, the armies of Vouti were +repeatedly exposed to intolerable hardships: and, of one hundred +and forty thousand soldiers, who marched against the Barbarians, +thirty thousand only returned in safety to the feet of their +master. These losses, however, were compensated by splendid and +decisive success. The Chinese generals improved the superiority +which they derived from the temper of their arms, their chariots +of war, and the service of their Tartar auxiliaries. The camp of +the Tanjou was surprised in the midst of sleep and intemperance; +and, though the monarch of the Huns bravely cut his way through +the ranks of the enemy, he left above fifteen thousand of his +subjects on the field of battle. Yet this signal victory, which +was preceded and followed by many bloody engagements, contributed +much less to the destruction of the power of the Huns than the +effectual policy which was employed to detach the tributary +nations from their obedience. Intimidated by the arms, or +allured by the promises, of Vouti and his successors, the most +considerable tribes, both of the East and of the West, disclaimed +the authority of the Tanjou. While some acknowledged themselves +the allies or vassals of the empire, they all became the +implacable enemies of the Huns; and the numbers of that haughty +people, as soon as they were reduced to their native strength, +might, perhaps, have been contained within the walls of one of +the great and populous cities of China. ^39 The desertion of his +subjects, and the perplexity of a civil war, at length compelled +the Tanjou himself to renounce the dignity of an independent +sovereign, and the freedom of a warlike and high-spirited nation. + +He was received at Sigan, the capital of the monarchy, by the +troops, the mandarins, and the emperor himself, with all the +honors that could adorn and disguise the triumph of Chinese +vanity. ^40 A magnificent palace was prepared for his reception; +his place was assigned above all the princes of the royal family; +and the patience of the Barbarian king was exhausted by the +ceremonies of a banquet, which consisted of eight courses of +meat, and of nine solemn 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 +successors, a perpetual oath of fidelity; and gratefully accepted +a seal, which was bestowed as the emblem of his regal dependence. + +After this humiliating submission, the Tanjous sometimes departed +from their allegiance and seized the favorable moments of war and +rapine; but the monarchy of the Huns gradually declined, till it +was broken, by civil dissension, into two hostile and separate +kingdoms. One of the princes of the nation was urged, by fear +and ambition, to retire towards the South with eight hords, which +composed between forty and fifty thousand families. He obtained, +with the title of Tanjou, a convenient territory on the verge of +the Chinese provinces; and his constant attachment to the service +of the empire was secured by weakness, and the desire of revenge. + +From the time of this fatal schism, the Huns of the North +continued to languish about fifty years; till they were oppressed +on every side by their foreign and domestic enemies. The proud +inscription ^41 of a column, erected on a lofty mountain, +announced to posterity, that a Chinese army had marched seven +hundred miles into the heart of their country. The Sienpi, ^42 a +tribe of Oriental Tartars, retaliated the injuries which they had +formerly sustained; and the power of the Tanjous, after a reign +of thirteen hundred years, was utterly destroyed before the end +of the first century of the Christian aera. ^43 + +[Footnote 38: See the reign of the emperor Vouti, in the +Kang-Mou, tom. iii. p. 1 - 98. His various and inconsistent +character seems to be impartially drawn.] + +[Footnote 39: This expression is used in the memorial to the +emperor Venti, (Duhalde, tom. ii. p. 411.) Without adopting the +exaggerations of Marco Polo and Isaac Vossius, we may rationally +allow for Pekin two millions of inhabitants. The cities of the +South, which contain the manufactures of China, are still more +populous.] + +[Footnote 40: See the Kang-Mou, tom. iii. p. 150, and the +subsequent events under the proper years. This memorable +festival is celebrated in the Eloge de Moukden, and explained in +a note by the P. Gaubil, p. 89, 90.] +[Footnote 41: This inscription was composed on the spot by +Parkou, President of the Tribunal of History (Kang-Mou, tom. iii. +p. 392.) Similar monuments have been discovered in many parts of +Tartary, (Histoire des Huns, tom. ii. p. 122.)] + +[Footnote 42: M. de Guignes (tom. i. p. 189) has inserted a short +account of the Sienpi.] + +[Footnote 43: The 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.)] + + The fate of the vanquished Huns was diversified by the +various influence of character and situation. ^44 Above one +hundred thousand persons, the poorest, indeed, and the most +pusillanimous of the people, were contented to remain in their +native country, to renounce their peculiar name and origin, and +to mingle with the victorious nation of the Sienpi. Fifty-eight +hords, about two hundred thousand men, ambitious of a more +honorable servitude, retired towards the South; implored the +protection of the emperors of China; and were permitted to +inhabit, and to guard, the extreme frontiers of the province of +Chansi and the territory of Ortous. But the most warlike and +powerful tribes of the Huns maintained, in their adverse fortune, +the undaunted spirit of their ancestors. The Western world was +open to their valor; and they resolved, under the conduct of +their hereditary chieftains, to conquer and subdue some remote +country, which was still inaccessible to the arms of the Sienpi, +and to the laws of China. ^45 The course of their emigration soon +carried them beyond the mountains of Imaus, and the limits of the +Chinese geography; but we are able to distinguish the two great +divisions of these formidable exiles, which directed their march +towards the Oxus, and towards the Volga. The first of these +colonies established their dominion in the fruitful and extensive +plains of Sogdiana, on the eastern side of the Caspian; where +they preserved the name of Huns, with the epithet of Euthalites, +or Nepthalites. ^* Their manners were softened, and even their +features were insensibly improved, by the mildness of the +climate, and their long residence in a flourishing province, ^46 +which might still retain a faint impression of the arts of +Greece. ^47 The white Huns, a name which they derived from the +change of their complexions, soon abandoned the pastoral life of +Scythia. Gorgo, which, under the appellation of Carizme, has +since enjoyed a temporary splendor, was the residence of the +king, who exercised a legal authority over an obedient people. +Their luxury was maintained by the labor of the Sogdians; and the +only vestige of their ancient barbarism, was the custom which +obliged all the companions, perhaps to the number of twenty, who +had shared the liberality of a wealthy lord, to be buried alive +in the same grave. ^48 The vicinity of the Huns to the provinces +of Persia, involved them in frequent and bloody contests with the +power of that monarchy. But they respected, in peace, the faith +of treaties; in war, she dictates of humanity; and their +memorable victory over Peroses, or Firuz, displayed the +moderation, as well as the valor, of the Barbarians. The second +division of their countrymen, the Huns, who gradually advanced +towards the North-west, were exercised by the hardships of a +colder climate, and a more laborious march. Necessity compelled +them to exchange the silks of China for the furs of Siberia; the +imperfect rudiments of civilized life were obliterated; and the +native fierceness of the Huns was exasperated by their +intercourse with the savage tribes, who were compared, with some +propriety, to the wild beasts of the desert. Their independent +spirit soon rejected the hereditary succession of the Tanjous; +and while each horde was governed by its peculiar mursa, their +tumultuary council directed the public measures of the whole +nation. As late as the thirteenth century, their transient +residence on the eastern banks of the Volga was attested by the +name of Great Hungary. ^49 In the winter, they descended with +their flocks and herds towards the mouth of that mighty river; +and their summer excursions reached as high as the latitude of +Saratoff, or perhaps the conflux of the Kama. Such at least were +the recent limits of the black Calmucks, ^50 who remained about a +century under the protection of Russia; and who have since +returned to their native seats on the frontiers of the Chinese +empire. The march, and the return, of those wandering Tartars, +whose united camp consists of fifty thousand tents or families, +illustrate the distant emigrations of the ancient Huns. ^51 +[Footnote 44: The 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 small numbers of each horde may be due to their +losses and divisions.] +[Footnote 45: M. de Guignes has skilfully traced the footsteps of +the Huns through the vast deserts of Tartary, (tom. ii. p. 123, +277, &c., 325, &c.)] +[Footnote *: The Armenian authors often mention this people under +the name of Hepthal. St. Martin considers that the name of +Nepthalites is an error of a copyist. St. Martin, iv. 254. - M.] + +[Footnote 46: Mohammed, sultan of Carizme, reigned in Sogdiana +when it was invaded (A.D. 1218) by Zingis and his moguls. The +Oriental historians (see D'Herbelot, Petit de la Croix, &c.,) +celebrate the populous cities which he ruined, and the fruitful +country which he desolated. In the next century, the same +provinces of Chorasmia and Nawaralnahr were described by +Abulfeda, (Hudson, Geograph. Minor. tom. iii.) Their actual +misery may be seen in the Genealogical History of the Tartars, p. +423 - 469.] + +[Footnote 47: Justin (xli. 6) has left a short abridgment of the +Greek kings of Bactriana. To their industry I should ascribe the +new and extraordinary trade, which transported the merchandises +of India into Europe, by the Oxus, the Caspian, the Cyrus, the +Phasis, and the Euxine. The other ways, both of the land and sea, +were possessed by the Seleucides and the Ptolemies. (See +l'Esprit des Loix, l. xxi.)] + +[Footnote 48: Procopius de Bell. Persico, l. i. c. 3, p. 9.] +[Footnote 49: In 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 common language and origin, Hist. des +Voyages, tom. vii. p. 269.)] +[Footnote 50: Bell, (vol. i. p. 29 - 34,) and the editors of the +Genealogical History, (p. 539,) have described the Calmucks of +the Volga in the beginning of the present century.] + +[Footnote 51: This great transmigration of 300,000 Calmucks, or +Torgouts, happened in the year 1771. The original narrative of +Kien-long, the reigning emperor of China, which was intended for +the inscription of a column, has been translated by the +missionaries of Pekin, (Memoires sur la Chine, tom. i. p. 401 - +418.) The emperor affects the smooth and specious language of the +Son of Heaven, and the Father of his People.] + It is impossible to fill the dark interval of time, which +elapsed, after the Huns of the Volga were lost in the eyes of the +Chinese, and before they showed themselves to those of the +Romans. There is some reason, however, to apprehend, that the +same force which had driven them from their native seats, still +continued to impel their march towards the frontiers of Europe. +The power of the Sienpi, their implacable enemies, which extended +above three thousand miles from East to West, ^52 must have +gradually oppressed them by the weight and terror of a formidable +neighborhood; and the flight of the tribes of Scythia would +inevitably tend to increase the strength or to contract the +territories, of the Huns. The harsh and obscure appellations of +those tribes would offend the ear, without informing the +understanding, of the reader; but I cannot suppress the very +natural suspicion, that the Huns of the North derived a +considerable reenforcement from the ruin of the dynasty of the +South, which, in the course of the third century, submitted to +the dominion of China; that the bravest warriors marched away in +search of their free and adventurous countrymen; and that, as +they had been divided by prosperity, they were easily reunited by +the common hardships of their adverse fortune. ^53 The Huns, with +their flocks and herds, their wives and children, their +dependents and allies, were transported to the west of the Volga, +and they boldly advanced to invade the country of the Alani, a +pastoral people, who occupied, or wasted, an extensive tract of +the deserts of Scythia. The plains between the Volga and the +Tanais were covered with the tents of the Alani, but their name +and manners were diffused over the wide extent of their +conquests; and the painted tribes of the Agathyrsi and Geloni +were confounded among their vassals. Towards the North, they +penetrated into the frozen regions of Siberia, among the savages +who were accustomed, in their rage or hunger, to the taste of +human flesh; and their Southern inroads were pushed as far as the +confines of Persia and India. The mixture of Samartic and German +blood had contributed to improve the features of the Alani, ^* to +whiten their swarthy complexions, and to tinge their hair with a +yellowish cast, which is seldom found in the Tartar race. They +were less deformed in their persons, less brutish in their +manners, than the Huns; but they did not yield to those +formidable Barbarians in their martial and independent spirit; in +the love of freedom, which rejected even the use of domestic +slaves; and in the love of arms, which considered war and rapine +as the pleasure and the glory of mankind. A naked cimeter, fixed +in the ground, was the only object of their religious worship; +the scalps of their enemies formed the costly trappings of their +horses; and they viewed, with pity and contempt, the +pusillanimous warriors, who patiently expected the infirmities of +age, and the tortures of lingering disease. ^54 On the banks of +the Tanais, the military power of the Huns and the Alani +encountered each other with equal valor, but with unequal +success. The Huns prevailed in the bloody contest; the king of +the Alani was slain; and the remains of the vanquished nation +were dispersed by the ordinary alternative of flight or +submission. ^55 A colony of exiles found a secure refuge in the +mountains of Caucasus, between the Euxine and the Caspian, where +they still preserve their name and their independence. Another +colony advanced, with more intrepid courage, towards the shores +of the Baltic; associated themselves with the Northern tribes of +Germany; and shared the spoil of the Roman provinces of Gaul and +Spain. But the greatest part of the nation of the Alani embraced +the offers of an honorable and advantageous union; and the Huns, +who esteemed the valor of their less fortunate enemies, +proceeded, with an increase of numbers and confidence, to invade +the limits of the Gothic empire. + +[Footnote 52: The 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 accurately 193) are equal to one +degree of latitude; and one English mile consequently exceeds +three miles of China. But there are strong reasons to believe +that the ancient li scarcely equalled one half of the modern. +See the elaborate researches of M. D'Anville, a geographer who is +not a stranger in any age or climate of the globe. (Memoires de +l'Acad. tom. ii. p. 125-502. Itineraires, p. 154-167.] + +[Footnote 53: See Histoire des Huns, tom. ii. p. 125 - 144. The +subsequent history (p. 145 - 277) of three or four Hunnic +dynasties evidently proves that their martial spirit was not +impaired by a long residence in China.] +[Footnote *: Compare M. Klaproth's curious speculations on the +Alani. He supposes them to have been the people, known by the +Chinese, at the time of their first expeditions to the West, +under the name of Yath-sai or A-lanna, the Alanan of Persian +tradition, as preserved in Ferdusi; the same, according to +Ammianus, with the Massagetae, and with the Albani. The remains +of the nation still exist in the Ossetae of Mount Caucasus. +Klaproth, Tableaux Historiques de l'Asie, p. 174. - M. Compare +Shafarik Slawische alterthumer, i. p. 350. - M. 1845.] + +[Footnote 54: Utque hominibus quietis et placidis otium est +voluptabile, ita illos pericula juvent et bella. Judicatur ibi +beatus qui in proelio profuderit animam: senescentes etiam et +fortuitis mortibus mundo digressos, ut degeneres et ignavos, +conviciis atrocibus insectantur. [Ammian. xxxi. 11.] We must +think highly of the conquerors of such men.] + +[Footnote 55: On 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.)] + + The great Hermanric, whose dominions extended from the +Baltic to the Euxine, enjoyed, in the full maturity of age and +reputation, the fruit of his victories, when he was alarmed by +the formidable approach of a host of unknown enemies, ^56 on whom +his barbarous subjects might, without injustice, bestow the +epithet of Barbarians. The numbers, the strength, the rapid +motions, and the implacable cruelty of the Huns, were felt, and +dreaded, and magnified, by the astonished Goths; who beheld their +fields and villages consumed with flames, and deluged with +indiscriminate slaughter. To these real terrors they added the +surprise and abhorrence which were excited by the shrill voice, +the uncouth gestures, and the strange deformity of the Huns. ^* +These savages of Scythia were compared (and the picture had some +resemblance) to the animals who walk very awkwardly on two legs +and to the misshapen figures, the Termini, which were often +placed on the bridges of antiquity. They were distinguished from +the rest of the human species by their broad shoulders, flat +noses, and small black eyes, deeply buried in the head; and as +they were almost destitute of beards, they never enjoyed either +the manly grace of youth, or the venerable aspect of age. ^57 A +fabulous origin was assigned, worthy of their form and manners; +that the witches of Scythia, who, for their foul and deadly +practices, had been driven from society, had copulated in the +desert with infernal spirits; and that the Huns were the +offspring of this execrable conjunction. ^58 The tale, so full of +horror and absurdity, was greedily embraced by the credulous +hatred of the Goths; but, while it gratified their hatred, it +increased their fear, since the posterity of daemons and witches +might be supposed to inherit some share of the praeternatural +powers, as well as of the malignant temper, of their parents. +Against these enemies, Hermanric prepared to exert the united +forces of the Gothic state; but he soon discovered that his +vassal tribes, provoked by oppression, were much more inclined to +second, than to repel, the invasion of the Huns. One of the +chiefs of the Roxolani ^59 had formerly deserted the standard of +Hermanric, and the cruel tyrant had condemned the innocent wife +of the traitor to be torn asunder by wild horses. The brothers +of that unfortunate woman seized the favorable moment of revenge. + +The aged king of the Goths languished some time after the +dangerous wound which he received from their daggers; but the +conduct of the war was retarded by his infirmities; and the +public councils of the nation were distracted by a spirit of +jealousy and discord. His death, which has been imputed to his +own despair, left the reins of government in the hands of +Withimer, who, with the doubtful aid of some Scythian +mercenaries, maintained the unequal contest against the arms of +the Huns and the Alani, till he was defeated and slain in a +decisive battle. The Ostrogoths submitted to their fate; and the +royal race of the Amali will hereafter be found among the +subjects of the haughty Attila. But the person of Witheric, the +infant king, was saved by the diligence of Alatheus and Saphrax; +two warriors of approved valor and fiedlity, who, by cautious +marches, conducted the independent remains of the nation of the +Ostrogoths towards the Danastus, or Niester; a considerable +river, which now separates the Turkish dominions from the empire +of Russia. On the banks of the Niester, the prudent Athanaric, +more attentive to his own than to the general safety, had fixed +the camp of the Visigoths; with the firm resolution of opposing +the victorious Barbarians, whom he thought it less advisable to +provoke. The ordinary speed of the Huns was checked by the +weight of baggage, and the encumbrance of captives; but their +military skill deceived, and almost destroyed, the army of +Athanaric. While the Judge of the Visigoths defended the banks +of the Niester, he was encompassed and attacked by a numerous +detachment of cavalry, who, by the light of the moon, had passed +the river in a fordable place; and it was not without the utmost +efforts of courage and conduct, that he was able to effect his +retreat towards the hilly country. The undaunted general had +already formed a new and judicious plan of defensive war; and the +strong lines, which he was preparing to construct between the +mountains, the Pruth, and the Danube, would have secured the +extensive and fertile territory that bears the modern name of +Walachia, from the destructive inroads of the Huns. ^60 But the +hopes and measures of the Judge of the Visigoths was soon +disappointed, by the trembling impatience of his dismayed +countrymen; who were persuaded by their fears, that the +interposition of the Danube was the only barrier that could save +them from the rapid pursuit, and invincible valor, of the +Barbarians of Scythia. Under the command of Fritigern and +Alavivus, ^61 the body of the nation hastily advanced to the +banks of the great river, and implored the protection of the +Roman emperor of the East. Athanaric himself, still anxious to +avoid the guilt of perjury, retired, with a band of faithful +followers, into the mountainous country of Caucaland; which +appears to have been guarded, and almost concealed, by the +impenetrable forests of Transylvania. ^62 ^* + +[Footnote 56: As we are possessed of the authentic history of the +Huns, it would be impertinent to repeat, or to refute, the fables +which misrepresent their origin and progress, their passage of +the mud or water of the Maeotis, in pursuit of an ox or stag, les +Indes qu'ils avoient decouvertes, &c., (Zosimus, l. iv. p. 224. +Sozomen, l. vi. c. 37. Procopius, Hist. Miscell. c. 5. +Jornandes, c. 24. Grandeur et Decadence, &c., des Romains, c. +17.)] + +[Footnote *: Art 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 the barbarous skill with which they +were self-disfigured, or to the terror and hatred of the Romans. +Their noses were flattened by their nurses, their cheeks were +gashed by an iron instrument, that the scars might look more +fearful, and prevent the growth of the beard. Jornandes and +Sidonius Apollinaris: - + + 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. + + Stant pectora vasta, + Insignes humer, succincta sub ilibus alvus. + Forma quidem pediti media est, procera sed extat + Si cernas equites, sic longi saepe putantur + Si sedeant.] + +[Footnote 57: Prodigiosae formae, et pandi; ut bipedes existimes +bestias; vel quales in commarginandis pontibus, effigiati +stipites dolantur incompte. Ammian. xxxi. i. Jornandes (c. 24) +draws a strong caricature of a Calmuck face. Species pavenda +nigredine ... quaedam deformis offa, non fecies; habensque magis +puncta quam lumina. See Buffon. Hist. Naturelle, tom. iii. 380.] + +[Footnote 58: This execrable origin, which Jornandes (c. 24) +describes with the rancor of a Goth, might be originally derived +from a more pleasing fable of the Greeks. (Herodot. l. iv. c. 9, +&c.)] + +[Footnote 59: The Roxolani may be the fathers of the the +Russians, (D'Anville, Empire de Russie, p. 1 - 10,) whose +residence (A.D. 862) about Novogrod Veliki cannot be very remote +from that which the Geographer of Ravenna (i. 12, iv. 4, 46, v. +28, 30) assigns to the Roxolani, (A.D. 886.) + + Note: See, on the origin of the Russ, Schlozer, Nordische +Geschichte, p. 78 - M.] + +[Footnote 60: The text of Ammianus seems to be imperfect or +corrupt; but the nature of the ground explains, and almost +defines, the Gothic rampart. Memoires de l'Academie, &c., tom. +xxviii. p. 444 - 462.] + +[Footnote 61: M. de Buat (Hist. des Peuples de l'Europe, tom. vi. +p. 407) has conceived a strange idea, that Alavivus was the same +person as Ulphilas, the Gothic bishop; and that Ulphilas, the +grandson of a Cappadocian captive, became a temporal prince of +the Goths.] +[Footnote 62: Ammianus (xxxi. 3) and Jornandes (de Rebus Geticis, +c. 24) describe the subversion of the Gothic empire by the Huns.] + +[Footnote *: The 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 Cacoenses, placed by Ptolemy (l. iii. c. 8) +towards the Carpathian Mountains, on the side of the present +Transylvania, and therefore the canton of Cacava, to the south of +Hermanstadt, the capital of the principality. Caucaland it is +evident, is the Gothic form of these different names. St. +Martin, iv 103. - M.] + +Chapter XXVI: Progress of The Huns. + +Part III. + + After Valens had terminated the Gothic war with some +appearance of glory and success, he made a progress through his +dominions of Asia, and at length fixed his residence in the +capital of Syria. The five years ^63 which he spent at Antioch +was employed to watch, from a secure distance, the hostile +designs of the Persian monarch; to check the depredations of the +Saracens and Isaurians; ^64 to enforce, by arguments more +prevalent than those of reason and eloquence, the belief of the +Arian theology; and to satisfy his anxious suspicions by the +promiscuous execution of the innocent and the guilty. But the +attention of the emperor was most seriously engaged, by the +important intelligence which he received from the civil and +military officers who were intrusted with the defence of the +Danube. He was informed, that the North was agitated by a +furious tempest; that the irruption of the Huns, an unknown and +monstrous race of savages, had subverted the power of the Goths; +and that the suppliant multitudes of that warlike nation, whose +pride was now humbled in the dust, covered a space of many miles +along the banks of the river. With outstretched arms, and +pathetic lamentations, they loudly deplored their past +misfortunes and their present danger; acknowledged that their +only hope of safety was in the clemency of the Roman government; +and most solemnly protested, that if the gracious liberality of +the emperor would permit them to cultivate the waste lands of +Thrace, they should ever hold themselves bound, by the strongest +obligations of duty and gratitude, to obey the laws, and to guard +the limits, of the republic. These assurances were confirmed by +the ambassadors of the Goths, ^* who impatiently expected from +the mouth of Valens an answer that must finally determine the +fate of their unhappy countrymen. The emperor of the East was no +longer guided by the wisdom and authority of his elder brother, +whose death happened towards the end of the preceding year; and +as the distressful situation of the Goths required an instant and +peremptory decision, he was deprived of the favorite resources of +feeble and timid minds, who consider the use of dilatory and +ambiguous measures as the most admirable efforts of consummate +prudence. As long as the same passions and interests subsist +among mankind, the questions of war and peace, of justice and +policy, which were debated in the councils of antiquity, will +frequently present themselves as the subject of modern +deliberation. But the most experienced statesman of Europe has +never been summoned to consider the propriety, or the danger, of +admitting, or rejecting, an innumerable multitude of Barbarians, +who are driven by despair and hunger to solicit a settlement on +the territories of a civilized nation. When that important +proposition, so essentially connected with the public safety, was +referred to the ministers of Valens, they were perplexed and +divided; but they soon acquiesced in the flattering sentiment +which seemed the most favorable to the pride, the indolence, and +the avarice of their sovereign. The slaves, who were decorated +with the titles of praefects and generals, dissembled or +disregarded the terrors of this national emigration; so extremely +different from the partial and accidental colonies, which had +been received on the extreme limits of the empire. But they +applauded the liberality of fortune, which had conducted, from +the most distant countries of the globe, a numerous and +invincible army of strangers, to defend the throne of Valens; who +might now add to the royal treasures the immense sums of gold +supplied by the provincials to compensate their annual proportion +of recruits. The prayers of the Goths were granted, and their +service was accepted by the Imperial court: and orders were +immediately despatched to the civil and military governors of the +Thracian diocese, to make the necessary preparations for the +passage and subsistence of a great people, till a proper and +sufficient territory could be allotted for their future +residence. The liberality of the emperor was accompanied, +however, with two harsh and rigorous conditions, which prudence +might justify on the side of the Romans; but which distress alone +could extort from the indignant Goths. Before they passed the +Danube, they were required to deliver their arms: and it was +insisted, that their children should be taken from them, and +dispersed through the provinces of Asia; where they might be +civilized by the arts of education, and serve as hostages to +secure the fidelity of their parents. +[Footnote 63: The Chronology of Ammianus is obscure and +imperfect. Tillemont has labored to clear and settle the annals +of Valens.] +[Footnote 64: Zosimus, 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 Constantinople. Basil, Epist. cel. +apud Tillemont, Hist. des Empereurs, tom. v. p. 106.] + +[Footnote *: Sozomen and Philostorgius say that the bishop +Ulphilas was one of these ambassadors. - M.] + + During the suspense of a doubtful and distant negotiation, +the impatient Goths made some rash attempts to pass the Danube, +without the permission of the government, whose protection they +had implored. Their motions were strictly observed by the +vigilance of the troops which were stationed along the river and +their foremost detachments were defeated with considerable +slaughter; yet such were the timid councils of the reign of +Valens, that the brave officers who had served their country in +the execution of their duty, were punished by the loss of their +employments, and narrowly escaped the loss of their heads. The +Imperial mandate was at length received for transporting over the +Danube the whole body of the Gothic nation; ^65 but the execution +of this order was a task of labor and difficulty. The stream of +the Danube, which in those parts is above a mile broad, ^66 had +been swelled by incessant rains; and in this tumultuous passage, +many were swept away, and drowned, by the rapid violence of the +current. A large fleet of vessels, of boats, and of canoes, was +provided; many days and nights they passed and repassed with +indefatigable toil; and the most strenuous diligence was exerted +by the officers of Valens, that not a single Barbarian, of those +who were reserved to subvert the foundations of Rome, should be +left on the opposite shore. It was thought expedient that an +accurate account should be taken of their numbers; but the +persons who were employed soon desisted, with amazement and +dismay, from the prosecution of the endless and impracticable +task: ^67 and the principal historian of the age most seriously +affirms, that the prodigious armies of Darius and Xerxes, which +had so long been considered as the fables of vain and credulous +antiquity, were now justified, in the eyes of mankind, by the +evidence of fact and experience. A probable testimony has fixed +the number of the Gothic warriors at two hundred thousand men: +and if we can venture to add the just proportion of women, of +children, and of slaves, the whole mass of people which composed +this formidable emigration, must have amounted to near a million +of persons, of both sexes, and of all ages. The children of the +Goths, those at least of a distinguished rank, were separated +from the multitude. They were conducted, without delay, to the +distant seats assigned for their residence and education; and as +the numerous train of hostages or captives passed through the +cities, their gay and splendid apparel, their robust and martial +figure, excited the surprise and envy of the Provincials. ^* But +the stipulation, the most offensive to the Goths, and the most +important to the Romans, was shamefully eluded. The Barbarians, +who considered their arms as the ensigns of honor and the pledges +of safety, were disposed to offer a price, which the lust or +avarice of the Imperial officers was easily tempted to accept. +To preserve their arms, the haughty warriors consented, with some +reluctance, to prostitute their wives or their daughters; the +charms of a beauteous maid, or a comely boy, secured the +connivance of the inspectors; who sometimes cast an eye of +covetousness on the fringed carpets and linen garments of their +new allies, ^68 or who sacrificed their duty to the mean +consideration of filling their farms with cattle, and their +houses with slaves. The Goths, with arms in their hands, were +permitted to enter the boats; and when their strength was +collected on the other side of the river, the immense camp which +was spread over the plains and the hills of the Lower Maesia, +assumed a threatening and even hostile aspect. The leaders of +the Ostrogoths, Alatheus and Saphrax, the guardians of their +infant king, appeared soon afterwards on the Northern banks of +the Danube; and immediately despatched their ambassadors to the +court of Antioch, to solicit, with the same professions of +allegiance and gratitude, the same favor which had been granted +to the suppliant Visigoths. The absolute refusal of Valens +suspended their progress, and discovered the repentance, the +suspicions, and the fears, of the Imperial council. + +[Footnote 65: The passage of the Danube is exposed by Ammianus, +(xxxi. 3, 4,) Zosimus, (l. iv. p. 223, 224,) Eunapius in Excerpt. + +Legat. (p. 19, 20,) and Jornandes, (c. 25, 26.) Ammianus declares +(c. 5) that he means only, ispas rerum digerere summitates. But +he often takes a false measure of their importance; and his +superfluous prolixity is disagreeably balanced by his +unseasonable brevity.] + +[Footnote 66: Chishull, a curious traveller, has remarked the +breadth of the Danube, which he passed to the south of Bucharest +near the conflux of the Argish, (p. 77.) He admires the beauty +and spontaneous plenty of Maesia, or Bulgaria.] + +[Footnote 67: Quem sci scire velit, Libyci velit aequoris idem + + Discere quam multae Zephyro turbentur harenae. + + Ammianus has inserted, in his prose, these lines of Virgil, +(Georgia l. ii. 105,) originally designed by the poet to express +the impossibility of numbering the different sorts of vines. See +Plin. Hist. Natur l. xiv.] +[Footnote *: A very curious, but obscure, passage of Eunapius, +appears to me to have been misunderstood by M. Mai, to whom we +owe its discovery. The substance is as follows: "The Goths +transported over the river their native deities, with their +priests of both sexes; but concerning their rites they maintained +a deep and 'adamantine silence.' To the Romans they pretended to +be generally Christians, and placed certain persons to represent +bishops in a conspicuous manner on their wagons. 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 black raiment, to +be wicked, and held in respect." (Eunapius hated the "black-robed +monks," as appears in another passage, with the cordial +detestation of a heathen philosopher.) "Thus, while they +faithfully but secretly adhered to their own religion, the Romans +were weak enough to suppose them perfect Christians." Mai, 277. +Eunapius in Niebuhr, 82. - M] +[Footnote 68: Eunapius and Zosimus curiously specify these +articles of Gothic wealth and luxury. Yet it must be presumed, +that they were the manufactures of the provinces; which the +Barbarians had acquired as the spoils of war; or as the gifts, or +merchandise, of peace.] + + An undisciplined and unsettled nation of Barbarians required +the firmest temper, and the most dexterous management. The daily +subsistence of near a million of extraordinary subjects could be +supplied only by constant and skilful diligence, and might +continually be interrupted by mistake or accident. The +insolence, or the indignation, of the Goths, if they conceived +themselves to be the objects either of fear or of contempt, might +urge them to the most desperate extremities; and the fortune of +the state seemed to depend on the prudence, as well as the +integrity, of the generals of Valens. At this important crisis, +the military government of Thrace was exercised by Lupicinus and +Maximus, in whose venal minds the slightest hope of private +emolument outweighed every consideration of public advantage; and +whose guilt was only alleviated by their incapacity of discerning +the pernicious effects of their rash and criminal administration. + +Instead of obeying the orders of their sovereign, and satisfying, +with decent liberality, the demands of the Goths, they levied an +ungenerous and oppressive tax on the wants of the hungry +Barbarians. The vilest food was sold at an extravagant price; +and, in the room of wholesome and substantial provisions, the +markets were filled with the flesh of dogs, and of unclean +animals, who had died of disease. To obtain the valuable +acquisition of a pound of bread, the Goths resigned the +possession of an expensive, though serviceable, slave; and a +small quantity of meat was greedily purchased with ten pounds of +a precious, but useless metal, ^69 when their property was +exhausted, they continued this necessary traffic by the sale of +their sons and daughters; and notwithstanding the love of +freedom, which animated every Gothic breast, they submitted to +the humiliating maxim, that it was better for their children to +be maintained in a servile condition, than to perish in a state +of wretched and helpless independence. The most lively +resentment is excited by the tyranny of pretended benefactors, +who sternly exact the debt of gratitude which they have cancelled +by subsequent injuries: a spirit of discontent insensibly arose +in the camp of the Barbarians, who pleaded, without success, the +merit of their patient and dutiful behavior; and loudly +complained of the inhospitable treatment which they had received +from their new allies. They beheld around them the wealth and +plenty of a fertile province, in the midst of which they suffered +the intolerable hardships of artificial famine. But the means of +relief, and even of revenge, were in their hands; since the +rapaciousness of their tyrants had left to an injured people the +possession and the use of arms. The clamors of a multitude, +untaught to disguise their sentiments, announced the first +symptoms of resistance, and alarmed the timid and guilty minds of +Lupicinus and Maximus. Those crafty ministers, who substituted +the cunning of temporary expedients to the wise and salutary +counsels of general policy, attempted to remove the Goths from +their dangerous station on the frontiers of the empire; and to +disperse them, in separate quarters of cantonment, through the +interior provinces. As they were conscious how ill they had +deserved the respect, or confidence, of the Barbarians, they +diligently collected, from every side, a military force, that +might urge the tardy and reluctant march of a people, who had not +yet renounced the title, or the duties, of Roman subjects. But +the generals of Valens, while their attention was solely directed +to the discontented Visigoths, imprudently disarmed the ships and +the fortifications which constituted the defence of the Danube. +The fatal oversight was observed, and improved, by Alatheus and +Saphrax, who anxiously watched the favorable moment of escaping +from the pursuit of the Huns. By the help of such rafts and +vessels as could be hastily procured, the leaders of the +Ostrogoths transported, without opposition, their king and their +army; and boldly fixed a hostile and independent camp on the +territories of the empire. ^70 + +[Footnote 69: Decem libras; the word silver must be understood. +Jornandes betrays the passions and prejudices of a Goth. The +servile Geeks, Eunapius and Zosimus, disguise the Roman +oppression, and execrate the perfidy of the Barbarians. +Ammianus, a patriot historian, slightly, and reluctantly, touches +on the odious subject. Jerom, who wrote almost on the spot, is +fair, though concise. Per avaritaim aximi ducis, ad rebellionem +fame coacti sunt, (in Chron.) + + Note: A new passage from the history of Eunapius is nearer +to the truth. 'It appeared to our commanders a legitimate source +of gain to be bribed by the Barbarians: Edit. Niebuhr, p. 82. - +M.] + +[Footnote 70: Ammianus, xxxi. 4, 5.] + + Under the name of Judges, Alavivus and Fritigern were the +leaders of the Visigoths in peace and war; and the authority +which they derived from their birth was ratified by the free +consent of the nation. In a season of tranquility, their power +might have been equal, as well as their rank; but, as soon as +their countrymen were exasperated by hunger and oppression, the +superior abilities of Fritigern assumed the military command, +which he was qualified to exercise for the public welfare. He +restrained the impatient spirit of the Visigoths till the +injuries and the insults of their tyrants should justify their +resistance in the opinion of mankind: but he was not disposed to +sacrifice any solid advantages for the empty praise of justice +and moderation. Sensible of the benefits which would result from +the union of the Gothic powers under the same standard, he +secretly cultivated the friendship of the Ostrogoths; and while +he professed an implicit obedience to the orders of the Roman +generals, he proceeded by slow marches towards Marcianopolis, the +capital of the Lower Maesia, about seventy miles from the banks +of the Danube. On that fatal spot, the flames of discord and +mutual hatred burst forth into a dreadful conflagration. +Lupicinus had invited the Gothic chiefs to a splendid +entertainment; and their martial train remained under arms at the +entrance of the palace. But the gates of the city were strictly +guarded, and the Barbarians were sternly excluded from the use of +a plentiful market, to which they asserted their equal claim of +subjects and allies. Their humble prayers were 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 passionate altercation and angry reproaches. A +blow was imprudently given; a sword was hastily drawn; and the +first blood that was spilt in this accidental quarrel, became the +signal of a long and destructive war. In the midst of noise and +brutal intemperance, Lupicinus was informed, by a secret +messenger, that many of his soldiers were slain, and despoiled of +their arms; and as he was already inflamed by wine, and oppressed +by sleep he issued a rash command, that their death should be +revenged by the massacre of the guards of Fritigern and Alavivus. + +The clamorous shouts and dying groans apprised Fritigern of his +extreme danger; and, as he possessed the calm and intrepid spirit +of a hero, he saw that he was lost if he allowed a moment of +deliberation to the man who had so deeply injured him. "A +trifling dispute," said the Gothic leader, with a firm but gentle +tone of voice, "appears to have arisen between the two nations; +but it may be productive of the most dangerous consequences, +unless the tumult is immediately pacified by the assurance of our +safety, and the authority of our presence." At these words, +Fritigern and his companions drew their swords, opened their +passage through the unresisting crowd, which filled the palace, +the streets, and the gates, of Marcianopolis, and, mounting their +horses, hastily vanished from the eyes of the astonished Romans. +The generals of the Goths were saluted by the fierce and joyful +acclamations of the camp; war was instantly resolved, and the +resolution was executed without delay: the banners of the nation +were displayed according to the custom of their ancestors; and +the air resounded with the harsh and mournful music of the +Barbarian trumpet. ^71 The weak and guilty Lupicinus, who had +dared to provoke, who had neglected to destroy, and who still +presumed to despise, his formidable enemy, marched against the +Goths, at the head of such a military force as could be collected +on this sudden emergency. The Barbarians expected his approach +about nine miles from Marcianopolis; and on this occasion the +talents of the general were found to be of more prevailing +efficacy than the weapons and discipline of the troops. The +valor of the Goths was so ably directed by the genius of +Fritigern, that they broke, by a close and vigorous attack, the +ranks of the Roman legions. Lupicinus left his arms and +standards, his tribunes and his bravest soldiers, on the field of +battle; and their useless courage served only to protect the +ignominious flight of their leader. "That successful day put an +end to the distress of the Barbarians, and the security of the +Romans: from that day, the Goths, renouncing the precarious +condition of strangers and exiles, assumed the character of +citizens and masters, claimed an absolute dominion over the +possessors of land, and held, in their own right, the northern +provinces of the empire, which are bounded by the Danube." Such +are the words of the Gothic historian, ^72 who celebrates, with +rude eloquence, the glory of his countrymen. But the dominion of +the Barbarians was exercised only for the purposes of rapine and +destruction. As they had been deprived, by the ministers of the +emperor, of the common benefits of nature, and the fair +intercourse of social life, they retaliated the injustice on the +subjects of the empire; and the crimes of Lupicinus were expiated +by the ruin of the peaceful husbandmen of Thrace, the +conflagration of their villages, and the massacre, or captivity, +of their innocent families. The report of the Gothic victory was +soon diffused over the adjacent country; and while it filled the +minds of the Romans with terror and dismay, their own hasty +imprudence contributed to increase the forces of Fritigern, and +the calamities of the province. Some time before the great +emigration, a numerous body of Goths, under the command of Suerid +and Colias, had been received into the protection and service of +the empire. ^73 They were encamped under the walls of +Hadrianople; but the ministers of Valens were anxious to remove +them beyond the Hellespont, at a distance from the dangerous +temptation which might so easily be communicated by the +neighborhood, and the success, of their countrymen. The +respectful submission with which they yielded to the order of +their march, might be considered as a proof of their fidelity; +and their moderate request of a sufficient allowance of +provisions, and of a delay of only two days was expressed in the +most dutiful terms. But the first magistrate of Hadrianople, +incensed by some disorders which had been committed at his +country-house, refused this indulgence; and arming against them +the inhabitants and manufacturers of a populous city, he urged, +with hostile threats, their instant departure. The Barbarians +stood silent and amazed, till they were exasperated by the +insulting clamors, and missile weapons, of the populace: but when +patience or contempt was fatigued, they crushed the undisciplined +multitude, inflicted many a shameful wound on the backs of their +flying enemies, and despoiled them of the splendid armor, ^74 +which they were unworthy to bear. The resemblance of their +sufferings and their actions soon united this victorious +detachment to the nation of the Visigoths; the troops of Colias +and Suerid expected the approach of the great Fritigern, ranged +themselves under his standard, and signalized their ardor in the +siege of Hadrianople. But the resistance of the garrison +informed the Barbarians, that in the attack of regular +fortifications, the efforts of unskillful courage are seldom +effectual. Their general acknowledged his error, raised the +siege, declared that "he was at peace with stone walls," ^75 and +revenged his disappointment on the adjacent country. He +accepted, with pleasure, the useful reenforcement of hardy +workmen, who labored in the gold mines of Thrace, ^76 for the +emolument, and under the lash, of an unfeeling master: ^77 and +these new associates conducted the Barbarians, through the secret +paths, to the most sequestered places, which had been chosen to +secure the inhabitants, the cattle, and the magazines of corn. +With the assistance of such guides, nothing could remain +impervious or inaccessible; resistance was fatal; flight was +impracticable; and the patient submission of helpless innocence +seldom found mercy from the Barbarian conqueror. In the course +of these depredations, a great number of the children of the +Goths, who had been sold into captivity, were restored to the +embraces of their afflicted parents; but these tender interviews, +which might have revived and cherished in their minds some +sentiments of humanity, tended only to stimulate their native +fierceness by the desire of revenge. They listened, with eager +attention, to the complaints of their captive children, who had +suffered the most cruel indignities from the lustful or angry +passions of their masters, and the same cruelties, the same +indignities, were severely retaliated on the sons and daughters +of the Romans. ^78 + +[Footnote 71: Vexillis de more sublatis, auditisque trisie +sonantibus classicis. Ammian. xxxi. 5. These are the rauca +cornua of Claudian, (in Rufin. ii. 57,) the large horns of the +Uri, or wild bull; such as have been more recently used by the +Swiss Cantons of Uri and Underwald. (Simler de Republica Helvet, +l. ii. p. 201, edit. Fuselin. Tigur 1734.) Their military horn +is finely, though perhaps casually, introduced in an original +narrative of the battle of Nancy, (A.D. 1477.) "Attendant le +combat le dit cor fut corne par trois fois, tant que le vent du +souffler pouvoit durer: ce qui 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.)] + +[Footnote 72: Jornandes de Rebus Geticis, c. 26, p. 648, edit. +Grot. These splendidi panm (they are comparatively such) are +undoubtedly transcribed from the larger histories of Priscus, +Ablavius, or Cassiodorus.] +[Footnote 73: Cum populis suis longe ante suscepti. We are +ignorant of the precise date and circumstances of their +transmigration.] + +[Footnote 74: An Imperial manufacture of shields, &c., was +established at Hadrianople; and the populace were headed by the +Fabricenses, or workmen. (Vales. ad Ammian. xxxi. 6.)] + +[Footnote 75: Pacem sibi esse cum parietibus memorans. Ammian. +xxxi. 7.] +[Footnote 76: These mines were in the country of the Bessi, in +the ridge of mountains, the Rhodope, that runs between Philippi +and Philippopolis; two Macedonian cities, which derived their +name and origin from the father of Alexander. From the mines of +Thrace he annually received the value, not the weight, of a +thousand talents, (200,000l.,) a revenue which paid the phalanx, +and corrupted the orators of Greece. See Diodor. Siculus, tom. +ii. l. xvi. p. 88, edit. Wesseling. Godefroy's Commentary on the +Theodosian Code, tom. iii. p. 496. Cellarius, Geograph. Antiq. +tom. i. p. 676, 857. D Anville, Geographie Ancienne, tom. i. p. +336.] +[Footnote 77: As those unhappy workmen often ran away, Valens had +enacted severe laws to drag them from their hiding-places. Cod. +Theodosian, l. x. tit xix leg. 5, 7.] + +[Footnote 78: See Ammianus, xxxi. 5, 6. The historian of the +Gothic war loses time and space, by an unseasonable +recapitulation of the ancient inroads of the Barbarians.] + + The imprudence of Valens and his ministers had introduced +into the heart of the empire a nation of enemies; but the +Visigoths might even yet have been reconciled, by the manly +confession of past errors, and the sincere performance of former +engagements. These healing and temperate measures seemed to +concur with the timorous disposition of the sovereign of the +East: but, on this occasion alone, Valens was brave; and his +unseasonable bravery was fatal to himself and to his subjects. +He declared his intention of marching from Antioch to +Constantinople, to subdue this dangerous rebellion; and, as he +was not ignorant of the difficulties of the enterprise, he +solicited the assistance of his nephew, the emperor Gratian, who +commanded all the forces of the West. The veteran troops were +hastily recalled from the defence of Armenia; that important +frontier was abandoned to the discretion of Sapor; and the +immediate conduct of the Gothic war was intrusted, during the +absence of Valens, to his lieutenants Trajan and Profuturus, two +generals who indulged themselves in a very false and favorable +opinion of their own abilities. On their arrival in Thrace, they +were joined by Richomer, count of the domestics; and the +auxiliaries of the West, that marched under his banner, were +composed of the Gallic legions, reduced indeed, by a spirit of +desertion, to the vain appearances of strength and numbers. In a +council of war, which was influenced by pride, rather than by +reason, it was resolved to seek, and to encounter, the +Barbarians, who lay encamped in the spacious and fertile meadows, +near the most southern of the six mouths of the Danube. ^79 Their +camp was surrounded by the usual fortification of wagons; ^80 and +the Barbarians, secure within the vast circle of the enclosure, +enjoyed the fruits of their valor, and the spoils of the +province. In the midst of riotous intemperance, the watchful +Fritigern observed the motions, and penetrated the designs, of +the Romans. He perceived, that the numbers of the enemy were +continually increasing: and, as he understood their intention of +attacking his rear, as soon as the scarcity of forage should +oblige him to remove his camp, he recalled to their standard his +predatory detachments, which covered the adjacent country. As +soon as they descried the flaming beacons, ^81 they obeyed, with +incredible speed, the signal of their leader: the camp was filled +with the martial crowd of Barbarians; their impatient clamors +demanded the battle, and their tumultuous zeal was approved and +animated by the spirit of their chiefs. The evening was already +far advanced; and the two armies prepared themselves for the +approaching combat, which was deferred only till the dawn of day. + +While the trumpets sounded to arms, the undaunted courage of the +Goths was confirmed by the mutual obligation of a solemn oath; +and as they advanced to meet the enemy, the rude songs, which +celebrated the glory of their forefathers, were mingled with +their fierce and dissonant outcries, and opposed to the +artificial harmony of the Roman shout. Some military skill was +displayed by Fritigern to gain the advantage of a commanding +eminence; but the bloody conflict, which began and ended with the +light, was maintained on either side, by the personal and +obstinate efforts of strength, valor, and agility. The legions +of Armenia supported their fame in arms; but they were oppressed +by the irresistible weight of the hostile multitude the left wing +of the Romans was thrown into disorder and the field was strewed +with their mangled carcasses. This partial defeat was balanced, +however, by partial success; and when the two armies, at a late +hour of the evening, retreated to their respective camps, neither +of them could claim the honors, or the effects, of a decisive +victory. The real loss was more severely felt by the Romans, in +proportion to the smallness of their numbers; but the Goths were +so deeply confounded and dismayed by this vigorous, and perhaps +unexpected, resistance, that they remained seven days within the +circle of their fortifications. Such funeral rites, as the +circumstances of time and place would admit, were piously +discharged to some officers of distinguished rank; but the +indiscriminate vulgar was left unburied on the plain. Their +flesh was greedily devoured by the birds of prey, who in that age +enjoyed very frequent and delicious feasts; and several years +afterwards the white and naked bones, which covered the wide +extent of the fields, presented to the eyes of Ammianus a +dreadful monument of the battle of Salices. ^82 + +[Footnote 79: The Itinerary of Antoninus (p. 226, 227, edit. +Wesseling) marks the situation of this place about sixty miles +north of Tomi, Ovid's exile; and the name of Salices (the +willows) expresses the nature of the soil.] + +[Footnote 80: This circle of wagons, the Carrago, was the usual +fortification of the Barbarians. (Vegetius de Re Militari, l. +iii. c. 10. Valesius ad Ammian. xxxi. 7.) The practice and the +name were preserved by their descendants as late as the fifteenth +century. The Charroy, which surrounded the Ost, is a word +familiar to the readers of Froissard, or Comines.] + +[Footnote 81: Statim ut accensi malleoli. I have used the +literal sense of real torches or beacons; but I almost suspect, +that it is only one of those turgid metaphors, those false +ornaments, that perpetually disfigure to style of Ammianus.] + +[Footnote 82: Indicant nunc usque albentes ossibus campi. +Ammian. xxxi. 7. The historian might have viewed these plains, +either as a soldier, or as a traveller. But his modesty has +suppressed the adventures of his own life subsequent to the +Persian wars of Constantius and Julian. We are ignorant of the +time when he quitted the service, and retired to Rome, where he +appears to have composed his History of his Own Times.] + + The progress of the Goths had been checked by the doubtful +event of that bloody day; and the Imperial generals, whose army +would have been consumed by the repetition of such a contest, +embraced the more rational plan of destroying the Barbarians by +the wants and pressure of their own multitudes. They prepared to +confine the Visigoths in the narrow angle of land between the +Danube, the desert of Scythia, and the mountains of Haemus, till +their strength and spirit should be insensibly wasted by the +inevitable operation of famine. The design was prosecuted with +some conduct and success: the Barbarians had almost exhausted +their own magazines, and the harvests of the country; and the +diligence of Saturninus, the master-general of the cavalry, was +employed to improve the strength, and to contract the extent, of +the Roman fortifications. His labors were interrupted by the +alarming intelligence, that new swarms of Barbarians had passed +the unguarded Danube, either to support the cause, or to imitate +the example, of Fritigern. The just apprehension, that he +himself might be surrounded, and overwhelmed, by the arms of +hostile and unknown nations, compelled Saturninus to relinquish +the siege of the Gothic camp; and the indignant Visigoths, +breaking from their confinement, satiated their hunger and +revenge by the repeated devastation of the fruitful country, +which extends above three hundred miles from the banks of the +Danube to the straits of the Hellespont. ^83 The sagacious +Fritigern had successfully appealed to the passions, as well as +to the interest, of his Barbarian allies; and the love of rapine, +and the hatred of Rome, seconded, or even prevented, the +eloquence of his ambassadors. He cemented a strict and useful +alliance with the great body of his countrymen, who obeyed +Alatheus and Saphrax as the guardians of their infant king: the +long animosity of rival tribes was suspended by the sense of +their common interest; the independent part of the nation was +associated under one standard; and the chiefs of the Ostrogoths +appear to have yielded to the superior genius of the general of +the Visigoths. He obtained the formidable aid of the Taifalae, +^* whose military renown was disgraced and polluted by the public +infamy of their domestic manners. Every youth, on his entrance +into the world, was united by the ties of honorable friendship, +and brutal love, to some warrior of the tribe; nor could he hope +to be released from this unnatural connection, till he had +approved his manhood by slaying, in single combat, a huge bear, +or a wild boar of the forest. ^84 But the most powerful +auxiliaries of the Goths were drawn from the camp of those +enemies who had expelled them from their native seats. The loose +subordination, and extensive possessions, of the Huns and the +Alani, delayed the conquests, and distracted the councils, of +that victorious people. Several of the hords were allured by the +liberal promises of Fritigern; and the rapid cavalry of Scythia +added weight and energy to the steady and strenuous efforts of +the Gothic infantry. The Sarmatians, who could never 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 attention, and diverted the +forces, of the emperor of the West. ^85 + +[Footnote 83: Ammian. xxxi. 8.] + +[Footnote *: The Taifalae, who at this period inhabited the +country which now forms the principality of Wallachia, were, in +my opinion, the last remains of the great and powerful nation of +the Dacians, (Daci or Dahae.) which has given its name to these +regions, over which they had ruled so long. The Taifalae passed +with the Goths into the territory of the empire. A great number +of them entered the Roman service, and were quartered in +different provinces. They are mentioned in the Notitia Imperii. +There was a considerable body in the country of the Pictavi, now +Poithou. They long retained their manners and language, and +caused the name of the Theofalgicus pagus to be given to the +district they inhabited. Two places in the department of La +Vendee, Tiffanges and La Tiffardiere, still preserve evident +traces of this denomination. St. Martin, iv. 118. - M.] +[Footnote 84: Hanc Taifalorum gentem turpem, et obscenae vitae +flagitiis ita accipimus mersam; ut apud eos nefandi concubitus +foedere copulentur mares puberes, aetatis viriditatem in eorum +pollutis usibus consumpturi. Porro, siqui jam adultus aprum +exceperit solus, vel interemit ursum immanem, colluvione +liberatur incesti. Ammian. xxxi. 9. + + Among the Greeks, likewise, more especially among the +Cretans, the holy bands of friendship were confirmed, and +sullied, by unnatural love.] +[Footnote 85: Ammian. xxxi. 8, 9. Jerom (tom. i. p. 26) +enumerates the nations and marks a calamitous period of twenty +years. This epistle to Heliodorus was composed in the year 397, +(Tillemont, Mem. Eccles tom xii. p. 645.)] + +Chapter XXVI: Progress of The Huns. + +Part IV. + + One of the most dangerous inconveniences of the introduction +of the Barbarians into the army and the palace, was sensibly felt +in their correspondence with their hostile countrymen; to whom +they imprudently, or maliciously, revealed the weakness of the +Roman empire. A soldier, of the lifeguards of Gratian, was of +the nation of the Alemanni, and of the tribe of the Lentienses, +who dwelt beyond the Lake of Constance. Some domestic business +obliged him to request a leave of absence. In a short visit to +his family and friends, he was exposed to their curious +inquiries: and the vanity of the loquacious soldier tempted him +to display his intimate acquaintance with the secrets of the +state, and the designs of his master. The intelligence, that +Gratian was preparing to lead the military force of Gaul, and of +the West, to the assistance of his uncle Valens, pointed out to +the restless spirit of the Alemanni the moment, and the mode, of +a successful invasion. The enterprise of some light detachments, +who, in the month of February, passed the Rhine upon the ice, was +the prelude of a more important war. The boldest hopes of +rapine, perhaps of conquest, outweighed the considerations of +timid prudence, or national faith. Every forest, and every +village, poured forth a band of hardy adventurers; and the great +army of the Alemanni, which, on their approach, was estimated at +forty thousand men by the fears of the people, was afterwards +magnified to the number of seventy thousand by the vain and +credulous flattery of the Imperial court. The legions, which had +been ordered to march into Pannonia, were immediately recalled, +or detained, for the defence of Gaul; the military command was +divided between Nanienus and Mellobaudes; and the youthful +emperor, though he respected the long experience and sober wisdom +of the former, was much more inclined to admire, and to follow, +the martial ardor of his colleague; who was allowed to unite the +incompatible characters of count of the domestics, and of king of +the Franks. His rival Priarius, king of the Alemanni, was +guided, or rather impelled, by the same headstrong valor; and as +their troops were animated by the spirit of their leaders, they +met, they saw, they encountered each other, near the town of +Argentaria, or Colmar, ^86 in the plains of Alsace. The glory of +the day was justly ascribed to the missile weapons, and +well-practised evolutions, of the Roman soldiers; the Alemanni, +who long maintained their ground, were slaughtered with +unrelenting fury; five thousand only of the Barbarians escaped to +the woods and mountains; and the glorious death of their king on +the field of battle saved him from the reproaches of the people, +who are always disposed to accuse the justice, or policy, of an +unsuccessful war. After this signal victory, which secured the +peace of Gaul, and asserted the honor of the Roman arms, the +emperor Gratian appeared to proceed without delay on his Eastern +expedition; but as he approached the confines of the Alemanni, he +suddenly inclined to the left, surprised them by his unexpected +passage of the Rhine, and boldly advanced into the heart of their +country. The Barbarians opposed to his progress the obstacles of +nature and of courage; and still continued to retreat, from one +hill to another, till they were satisfied, by repeated trials, of +the power and perseverance of their enemies. Their submission +was accepted as a proof, not indeed of their sincere repentance, +but of their actual distress; and a select number of their brave +and robust youth was exacted from the faithless nation, as the +most substantial pledge of their future moderation. The subjects +of the empire, who had so often experienced that the Alemanni +could neither be subdued by arms, nor restrained by treaties, +might not promise themselves any solid or lasting tranquillity: +but they discovered, in the virtues of their young sovereign, the +prospect of a long and auspicious reign. When the legions +climbed the mountains, and scaled the fortifications of the +Barbarians, the valor of Gratian was distinguished in the +foremost ranks; and the gilt and variegated armor of his guards +was pierced and shattered by the blows which they had received in +their constant attachment to the person of their sovereign. At +the age of nineteen, the son of Valentinian seemed to possess the +talents of peace and war; and his personal success against the +Alemanni was interpreted as a sure presage of his Gothic +triumphs. ^87 +[Footnote 86: The field of battle, Argentaria or Argentovaria, is +accurately fixed by M. D'Anville (Notice de l'Ancienne Gaule, p. +96 - 99) at twenty-three Gallic leagues, or thirty-four and a +half Roman miles to the south of Strasburg. From its ruins the +adjacent town of Colmar has arisen. + Note: It is rather Horburg, on the right bank of the River +Ill, opposite to Colmar. From Schoepflin, Alsatia Illustrata. +St. Martin, iv. 121. - M.] +[Footnote 87: The full and impartial narrative of Ammianus (xxxi. +10) may derive some additional light from the Epitome of Victor, +the Chronicle of Jerom, and the History of Orosius, (l. vii. c. +33, p. 552, edit. Havercamp.)] + + While Gratian deserved and enjoyed the applause of his +subjects, the emperor Valens, who, at length, had removed his +court and army from Antioch, was received by the people of +Constantinople as the author of the public calamity. Before he +had reposed himself ten days in the capital, he was urged by the +licentious clamors of the Hippodrome to march against the +Barbarians, whom he had invited into his dominions; and the +citizens, who are always brave at a distance from any real +danger, declared, with confidence, that, if they were supplied +with arms, they alone would undertake to deliver the province +from the ravages of an insulting foe. ^88 The vain reproaches of +an ignorant multitude hastened the downfall of the Roman empire; +they provoked the desperate rashness of Valens; who did not find, +either in his reputation or in his mind, any motives to support +with firmness the public contempt. He was soon persuaded, by the +successful achievements of his lieutenants, to despise the power +of the Goths, who, by the diligence of Fritigern, were now +collected in the neighborhood of Hadrianople. The march of the +Taifalae had been intercepted by the valiant Frigeric: the king +of those licentious Barbarians was slain in battle; and the +suppliant captives were sent into distant exile to cultivate the +lands of Italy, which were assigned for their settlement in the +vacant territories of Modena and Parma. ^89 The exploits of +Sebastian, ^90 who was recently engaged in the service of Valens, +and promoted to the rank of master-general of the infantry, were +still more honorable to himself, and useful to the republic. He +obtained the permission of selecting three hundred soldiers from +each of the legions; and this separate detachment soon acquired +the spirit of discipline, and the exercise of arms, which were +almost forgotten under the reign of Valens. By the vigor and +conduct of Sebastian, a large body of the Goths were surprised in +their camp; and the immense spoil, which was recovered from their +hands, filled the city of Hadrianople, and the adjacent plain. +The splendid narratives, which the general transmitted of his own +exploits, alarmed the Imperial court by the appearance of +superior merit; and though he cautiously insisted on the +difficulties of the Gothic war, his valor was praised, his advice +was rejected; and Valens, who listened with pride and pleasure to +the flattering suggestions of the eunuchs of the palace, was +impatient to seize the glory of an easy and assured conquest. +His army was strengthened by a numerous reenforcement of +veterans; and his march from Constantinople to Hadrianople was +conducted with so much military skill, that he prevented the +activity of the Barbarians, who designed to occupy the +intermediate defiles, and to intercept either the troops +themselves, or their convoys of provisions. The camp of Valens, +which he pitched under the walls of Hadrianople, was fortified, +according to the practice of the Romans, with a ditch and +rampart; and a most important council was summoned, to decide the +fate of the emperor and of the empire. The party of reason and +of delay was strenuously maintained by Victor, who had corrected, +by the lessons of experience, the native fierceness of the +Sarmatian character; while Sebastian, with the flexible and +obsequious eloquence of a courtier, represented every precaution, +and every measure, that implied a doubt of immediate victory, as +unworthy of the courage and majesty of their invincible monarch. +The ruin of Valens was precipitated by the deceitful arts of +Fritigern, and the prudent admonitions of the emperor of the +West. The advantages of negotiating in the midst of war were +perfectly understood by the general of the Barbarians; and a +Christian ecclesiastic was despatched, as the holy minister of +peace, to penetrate, and to perplex, the councils of the enemy. +The misfortunes, as well as the provocations, of the Gothic +nation, were forcibly and truly described by their ambassador; +who protested, in the name of Fritigern, that he was still +disposed to lay down his arms, or to employ them only in the +defence of the empire; if he could secure for his wandering +countrymen a tranquil settlement on the waste lands of Thrace, +and a sufficient allowance of corn and cattle. But he added, in +a whisper of confidential friendship, that the exasperated +Barbarians were averse to these reasonable conditions; and that +Fritigern was doubtful whether he could accomplish the conclusion +of the treaty, unless he found himself supported by the presence +and terrors of an Imperial army. About the same time, Count +Richomer returned from the West to announce the defeat and +submission of the Alemanni, to inform Valens that his nephew +advanced by rapid marches at the head of the veteran and +victorious legions of Gaul, and to request, in the name of +Gratian and of the republic, that every dangerous and decisive +measure might be suspended, till the junction of the two emperors +should insure the success of the Gothic war. But the feeble +sovereign of the East was actuated only by the fatal illusions of +pride and jealousy. He disdained the importunate advice; he +rejected the humiliating aid; he secretly compared the +ignominious, at least the inglorious, period of his own reign, +with the fame of a beardless youth; and Valens rushed into the +field, to erect his imaginary trophy, before the diligence of his +colleague could usurp any share of the triumphs of the day. +[Footnote 88: Moratus paucissimos dies, seditione popularium +levium pulsus Ammian. xxxi. 11. Socrates (l. iv. c. 38) supplies +the dates and some circumstances. + + Note: Compare fragment of Eunapius. Mai, 272, in Niebuhr, +p. 77. - M] +[Footnote 89: Vivosque omnes circa Mutinam, Regiumque, et Parmam, +Italica oppida, rura culturos exterminavit. Ammianus, xxxi. 9. +Those cities and districts, about ten years after the colony of +the Taifalae, appear in a very desolate state. See Muratori, +Dissertazioni sopra le Antichita Italiane, tom. i. Dissertat. +xxi. p. 354.] + +[Footnote 90: Ammian. xxxi. 11. Zosimus, l. iv. p. 228 - 230. +The latter expatiates on the desultory exploits of Sebastian, and +despatches, in a few lines, the important battle of Hadrianople. +According to the ecclesiastical critics, who hate Sebastian, the +praise of Zosimus is disgrace, (Tillemont, Hist. des Empereurs, +tom. v. p. 121.) His prejudice and ignorance undoubtedly render +him a very questionable judge of merit.] + On the ninth of August, a day which has deserved to be +marked among the most inauspicious of the Roman Calendar, ^91 the +emperor Valens, leaving, under a strong guard, his baggage and +military treasure, marched from Hadrianople to attack the Goths, +who were encamped about twelve miles from the city. ^92 By some +mistake of the orders, or some ignorance of the ground, the right +wing, or column of cavalry arrived in sight of the enemy, whilst +the left was still at a considerable distance; the soldiers were +compelled, in the sultry heat of summer, to precipitate their +pace; and the line of battle was formed with tedious confusion +and irregular delay. The Gothic cavalry had been detached to +forage in the adjacent country; and Fritigern still continued to +practise his customary arts. He despatched messengers of peace, +made proposals, required hostages, and wasted the hours, till the +Romans, exposed without shelter to the burning rays of the sun, +were exhausted by thirst, hunger, and intolerable fatigue. The +emperor was persuaded to send an ambassador to the Gothic camp; +the zeal of Richomer, who alone had courage to accept the +dangerous commission, was applauded; and the count of the +domestics, adorned with the splendid ensigns of his dignity, had +proceeded some way in the space between the two armies, when he +was suddenly recalled by the alarm of battle. The hasty and +imprudent attack was made by Bacurius the Iberian, who commanded +a body of archers and targeteers; and as they advanced with +rashness, they retreated with loss and disgrace. In the same +moment, the flying squadrons of Alatheus and Saphrax, whose +return was anxiously expected by the general of the Goths, +descended like a whirlwind 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, so fatal to Valens and to the empire, may be +described in a few words: the Roman cavalry fled; the infantry +was abandoned, surrounded, and cut in pieces. The most skilful +evolutions, the firmest courage, are scarcely sufficient to +extricate a body of foot, encompassed, on an open plain, by +superior numbers of horse; but the troops of Valens, oppressed by +the weight of the enemy and their own fears, were crowded into a +narrow space, where it was impossible for them to extend their +ranks, or even to use, with effect, their swords and javelins. +In the midst of tumult, of slaughter, and of dismay, the emperor, +deserted by his guards and wounded, as it was supposed, with an +arrow, sought protection among the Lancearii and the Mattiarii, +who still maintained their ground with some appearance of order +and firmness. His faithful generals, Trajan and Victor, who +perceived his danger, loudly exclaimed that all was lost, unless +the person of the emperor could be saved. Some troops, animated +by their exhortation, advanced to his relief: they found only a +bloody spot, covered with a heap of broken arms and mangled +bodies, without being able to discover their unfortunate prince, +either among the living or the dead. Their search could not +indeed be successful, if there is any truth in the circumstances +with which some historians have related the death of the emperor. + +By the care of his attendants, Valens was removed from the field +of battle to a neighboring cottage, where they attempted to dress +his wound, and to provide for his future safety. But this humble +retreat was instantly surrounded by the enemy: they tried to +force the door, they were provoked by a discharge of arrows from +the roof, till at length, impatient of delay, they set fire to a +pile of dry magots, and consumed the cottage with the Roman +emperor and his train. Valens perished in the flames; and a +youth, who dropped from the window, alone escaped, to attest the +melancholy tale, and to inform the Goths of the inestimable prize +which they had lost by their own rashness. A great number of +brave and distinguished officers perished in the battle of +Hadrianople, which equalled in the actual loss, and far surpassed +in the fatal consequences, the misfortune which Rome had formerly +sustained in the fields of Cannae. ^93 Two master-generals of the +cavalry and infantry, two great officers of the palace, and +thirty-five tribunes, were found among the slain; and the death +of Sebastian might satisfy the world, that he was the victim, as +well as the author, of the public calamity. Above two thirds of +the Roman army were destroyed: and the darkness of the night was +esteemed a very favorable circumstance, as it served to conceal +the flight of the multitude, and to protect the more orderly +retreat of Victor and Richomer, who alone, amidst the general +consternation, maintained the advantage of calm courage and +regular discipline. ^94 + +[Footnote 91: Ammianus (xxxi. 12, 13) almost alone describes the +councils and actions which were terminated by the fatal battle of +Hadrianople. We might censure the vices of his style, the +disorder and perplexity of his narrative: but we must now take +leave of this impartial historian; and reproach is silenced by +our regret for such an irreparable loss.] +[Footnote 92: The difference of the eight miles of Ammianus, and +the twelve of Idatius, can only embarrass those critics (Valesius +ad loc.,) who suppose a great army to be a mathematical point, +without space or dimensions.] + +[Footnote 93: Nec ulla annalibus, praeter Cannensem pugnam, ita +ad internecionem res legitur gesta. Ammian. xxxi. 13. According +to the grave Polybius, no more than 370 horse, and 3,000 foot, +escaped from the field of Cannae: 10,000 were made prisoners; and +the number of the slain amounted to 5,630 horse, and 70,000 foot, +(Polyb. l. iii. p 371, edit. Casaubon, 8vo.) Livy (xxii. 49) is +somewhat less bloody: he slaughters only 2,700 horse, and 40,000 +foot. The Roman army was supposed to consist of 87,200 effective +men, (xxii. 36.)] + +[Footnote 94: We have gained some faint light from Jerom, (tom. +i. p. 26 and in Chron. p. 188,) Victor, (in Epitome,) Orosius, +(l. vii. c. 33, p. 554,) Jornandes, (c. 27,) Zosimus, (l. iv. p. +230,) Socrates, (l. iv. c. 38,) Sozomen, (l. vi. c. 40,) Idatius, +(in Chron.) But their united evidence, if weighed against +Ammianus alone, is light and unsubstantial.] + While the impressions of grief and terror were still recent +in the minds of men, the most celebrated rhetorician of the age +composed the funeral oration of a vanquished army, and of an +unpopular prince, whose throne was already occupied by a +stranger. "There are not wanting," says the candid Libanius, +"those who arraign the prudence of the emperor, or who impute the +public misfortune to the want of courage and discipline in the +troops. For my own part, I reverence the memory of their former +exploits: I reverence the glorious death, which they bravely +received, standing, and fighting in their ranks: I reverence the +field of battle, stained with their blood, and the blood of the +Barbarians. Those honorable marks have been already washed away +by the rains; but the lofty monuments of their bones, the bones +of generals, of centurions, and of valiant warriors, claim a +longer period of duration. The king himself fought and fell in +the foremost ranks of the battle. His attendants presented him +with the fleetest horses of the Imperial stable, that would soon +have carried him beyond the pursuit of the enemy. They vainly +pressed him to reserve his important life for the future service +of the republic. He still declared that he was unworthy to +survive so many of the bravest and most faithful of his subjects; +and the monarch was nobly buried under a mountain of the slain. +Let none, therefore, presume to ascribe the victory of the +Barbarians to the fear, the weakness, or the imprudence, of the +Roman troops. The chiefs and the soldiers were animated by the +virtue of their ancestors, whom they equalled in discipline and +the arts of war. Their generous emulation was supported by the +love of glory, which prompted them to contend at the same time +with heat and thirst, with fire and the sword; and cheerfully to +embrace an honorable death, as their refuge against flight and +infamy. The indignation of the gods has been the only cause of +the success of our enemies." The truth of history may disclaim +some parts of this panegyric, which cannot strictly be reconciled +with the character of Valens, or the circumstances of the battle: +but the fairest commendation is due to the eloquence, and still +more to the generosity, of the sophist of Antioch. ^95 + +[Footnote 95: Libanius de ulciscend. Julian. nece, c. 3, in +Fabricius, Bibliot Graec. tom. vii. p. 146 - 148.] + + The pride of the Goths was elated by this memorable victory; +but their avarice was disappointed by the mortifying discovery, +that the richest part of the Imperial spoil had been within the +walls of Hadrianople. They hastened to possess the reward of +their valor; but they were encountered by the remains of a +vanquished army, with an intrepid resolution, which was the +effect of their despair, and the only hope of their safety. The +walls of the city, and the ramparts of the adjacent camp, were +lined with military engines, that threw stones of an enormous +weight; and astonished the ignorant Barbarians by the noise, and +velocity, still more than by the real effects, of the discharge. +The soldiers, the citizens, the provincials, the domestics of the +palace, were united in the danger, and in the defence: the +furious assault of the Goths was repulsed; their secret arts of +treachery and treason were discovered; and, after an obstinate +conflict of many hours, they retired to their tents; convinced, +by experience, that it would be far more advisable to observe the +treaty, which their sagacious leader had tacitly stipulated with +the fortifications of great and populous cities. After the hasty +and impolitic massacre of three hundred deserters, an act of +justice extremely useful to the discipline of the Roman armies, +the Goths indignantly raised the siege of Hadrianople. The scene +of war and tumult was instantly converted into a silent solitude: +the multitude suddenly disappeared; the secret paths of the woods +and mountains were marked with the footsteps of the trembling +fugitives, who sought a refuge in the distant cities of Illyricum +and Macedonia; and the faithful officers of the household, and +the treasury, cautiously proceeded in search of the emperor, of +whose death they were still ignorant. The tide of the Gothic +inundation rolled from the walls of Hadrianople to the suburbs of +Constantinople. The Barbarians were surprised with the splendid +appearance of the capital of the East, the height and extent of +the walls, the myriads of wealthy and affrighted citizens who +crowded the ramparts, and the various prospect of the sea and +land. While they gazed with hopeless desire on the inaccessible +beauties of Constantinople, a sally was made from one of the +gates by a party of Saracens, ^96 who had been fortunately +engaged in the service of Valens. The cavalry of Scythia was +forced to yield to the admirable swiftness and spirit of the +Arabian horses: their riders were skilled in the evolutions of +irregular war; and the Northern Barbarians were astonished and +dismayed, by the inhuman 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 a +horrid delight, while he sucked the blood of his vanquished +enemy. ^97 The army of the Goths, laden with the spoils of the +wealthy suburbs and the adjacent territory, slowly moved, from +the Bosphorus, to the mountains which form the western boundary +of Thrace. The important pass of Succi was betrayed by the fear, +or the misconduct, of Maurus; and the Barbarians, who no longer +had any resistance to apprehend from the scattered and vanquished +troops of the East, spread themselves over the face of a fertile +and cultivated country, as far as the confines of Italy and the +Hadriatic Sea. ^98 + +[Footnote 96: Valens had gained, or rather purchased, the +friendship of the Saracens, whose vexatious inroads were felt on +the borders of Phoenicia, Palestine, and Egypt. The Christian +faith had been lately introduced among a people, reserved, in a +future age, to propagate another religion, (Tillemont, Hist. des +Empereurs, tom. v. p. 104, 106, 141. Mem. Eccles. tom. vii. p. +593.)] + +[Footnote 97: Crinitus quidam, nudus omnia praeter pubem, +subraunum et ugubre strepens. Ammian. xxxi. 16, and Vales. ad +loc. The Arabs often fought naked; a custom which may be +ascribed to their sultry climate, and ostentatious bravery. The +description of this unknown savage is the lively portrait of +Derar, a name so dreadful to the Christians of Syria. See +Ockley's Hist. of the Saracens, vol. i. p. 72, 84, 87.] + +[Footnote 98: The series of events may still be traced in the +last pages of Ammianus, (xxxi. 15, 16.) Zosimus, (l. iv. p. 227, +231,) whom we are now reduced to cherish, misplaces the sally of +the Arabs before the death of Valens. Eunapius (in Excerpt. +Legat. p. 20) praises the fertility of Thrace, Macedonia, &c.] + + The Romans, who so coolly, and so concisely, mention the +acts of justice which were exercised by the legions, ^99 reserve +their compassion, and their eloquence, for their own sufferings, +when the provinces were invaded, and desolated, by the arms of +the successful Barbarians. The simple circumstantial narrative +(did such a narrative exist) of the ruin of a single town, of the +misfortunes of a single family, ^100 might exhibit an interesting +and instructive picture of human manners: but the tedious +repetition of vague and declamatory complaints would fatigue the +attention of the most patient reader. The same censure may be +applied, though not perhaps in an equal degree, to the profane, +and the ecclesiastical, writers of this unhappy period; that +their minds were inflamed by popular and religious animosity; and +that the true size and color of every object is falsified by the +exaggerations of their corrupt eloquence. The vehement Jerom +^101 might justly deplore the calamities inflicted by the Goths, +and their barbarous allies, on his native country of Pannonia, +and the wide extent of the provinces, from the walls of +Constantinople to the foot of the Julian Alps; the rapes, the +massacres, the conflagrations; and, above all, the profanation of +the churches, that were turned into stables, and the contemptuous +treatment of the relics of holy martyrs. But the Saint is surely +transported beyond the limits of nature and history, when he +affirms, "that, in those desert countries, nothing was left +except the sky and the earth; that, after the destruction of the +cities, and the extirpation of the human race, the land was +overgrown with thick forests and inextricable brambles; and that +the universal desolation, announced by the prophet Zephaniah, was +accomplished, in the scarcity of the beasts, the birds, and even +of the fish." These complaints were pronounced about twenty years +after the death of Valens; and the Illyrian provinces, which were +constantly exposed to the invasion and passage of the Barbarians, +still continued, after a calamitous period of ten centuries, to +supply new materials for rapine and destruction. Could it even +be supposed, that a large tract of country had been left without +cultivation and without inhabitants, the consequences might not +have been so fatal to the inferior productions of animated +nature. The useful and feeble animals, which are nourished by +the hand of man, might suffer and perish, if they were deprived +of his protection; but the beasts of the forest, his enemies or +his victims, would multiply in the free and undisturbed +possession of their solitary domain. The various tribes that +people the air, or the waters, are still less connected with the +fate of the human species; and it is highly probable that the +fish of the Danube would have felt more terror and distress, from +the approach of a voracious pike, than from the hostile inroad of +a Gothic army. + +[Footnote 99: Observe with how much indifference Caesar relates, +in the Commentaries of the Gallic war, that he put to death the +whole senate of the Veneti, who had yielded to his mercy, (iii. +16;) that he labored to extirpate the whole nation of the +Eburones, (vi. 31;) that forty thousand persons were massacred at +Bourges by the just revenge of his soldiers, who spared neither +age nor sex, (vii. 27,) &c.] + +[Footnote 100: Such are the accounts of the sack of Magdeburgh, +by the ecclesiastic and the fisherman, which Mr. Harte has +transcribed, (Hist. of Gustavus Adolphus, vol. i. p. 313 - 320,) +with some apprehension of violating the dignity of history.] + +[Footnote 101: Et vastatis urbibus, hominibusque interfectis, +solitudinem et raritatem bestiarum quoque fieri, et volatilium, +pisciumque: testis Illyricum est, testis Thracia, testis in quo +ortus sum solum, (Pannonia;) ubi praeter coelum et terram, et +crescentes vepres, et condensa sylvarum cuncta perierunt. Tom. +vii. p. 250, l, Cap. Sophonias and tom. i. p. 26.] + +Chapter XXVI: Progress of The Huns. + +Part V. + + Whatever may have been the just measure of the calamities of +Europe, there was reason to fear that the same calamities would +soon extend to the peaceful countries of Asia. The sons of the +Goths had been judiciously distributed through the cities of the +East; and the arts of education were employed to polish, and +subdue, the native fierceness of their temper. In the space of +about twelve years, their numbers had continually increased; and +the children, who, in the first emigration, were sent over the +Hellespont, had attained, with rapid growth, the strength and +spirit of perfect manhood. ^102 It was impossible to conceal from +their knowledge the events of the Gothic war; and, as those +daring youths had not studied the language of dissimulation, they +betrayed their wish, their desire, perhaps their intention, to +emulate the glorious example of their fathers The danger of the +times seemed to justify the jealous suspicions of the +provincials; and these suspicions were admitted as unquestionable +evidence, that the Goths of Asia had formed a secret and +dangerous conspiracy against the public safety. The death of +Valens had left the East without a sovereign; and Julius, who +filled the important station of master-general of the troops, +with a high reputation of diligence and ability, thought it his +duty to consult the senate of Constantinople; which he +considered, during the vacancy of the throne, as the +representative council of the nation. As soon as he had obtained +the discretionary power of acting as he should judge most +expedient for the good of the republic, he assembled the +principal officers, and privately concerted effectual measures +for the execution of his bloody design. An order was immediately +promulgated, that, on a stated day, the Gothic youth should +assemble in the capital cities of their respective provinces; +and, as a report was industriously circulated, that they were +summoned to receive a liberal gift of lands and money, the +pleasing hope allayed the fury of their resentment, and, perhaps, +suspended the motions of the conspiracy. On the appointed day, +the unarmed crowd of the Gothic youth was carefully collected in +the square or Forum; the streets and avenues were occupied by the +Roman troops, and the roofs of the houses were covered with +archers and slingers. At the same hour, in all the cities of the +East, the signal was given of indiscriminate slaughter; and the +provinces of Asia were delivered by the cruel prudence of Julius, +from a domestic enemy, who, in a few months, might have carried +fire and sword from the Hellespont to the Euphrates. ^103 The +urgent consideration of the public safety may undoubtedly +authorize the violation of every positive law. How far that, or +any other, consideration may operate to dissolve the natural +obligations of humanity and justice, is a doctrine of which I +still desire to remain ignorant. +[Footnote 102: Eunapius (in Excerpt. Legat. p. 20) foolishly +supposes a praeternatural growth of the young Goths, that he may +introduce Cadmus's armed men, who sprang from the dragon's teeth, +&c. Such was the Greek eloquence of the times.] + +[Footnote 103: Ammianus evidently approves this execution, +efficacia velox et salutaris, which concludes his work, (xxxi. +16.) Zosimus, who is curious and copious, (l. iv. p. 233 - 236,) +mistakes the date, and labors to find the reason, why Julius did +not consult the emperor Theodosius who had not yet ascended the +throne of the East.] + + The emperor Gratian was far advanced on his march towards +the plains of Hadrianople, when he was informed, at first by the +confused voice of fame, and afterwards by the more accurate +reports of Victor and Richomer, that his impatient colleague had +been slain in battle, and that two thirds of the Roman army were +exterminated by the sword of the victorious Goths. Whatever +resentment the rash and jealous vanity of his uncle might +deserve, the resentment of a generous mind is easily subdued by +the softer emotions of grief and compassion; and even the sense +of pity was soon lost in the serious and alarming consideration +of the state of the republic. Gratian was too late to assist, he +was too weak to revenge, his unfortunate colleague; and the +valiant and modest youth felt himself unequal to the support of a +sinking world. A formidable tempest of the Barbarians of Germany +seemed ready to burst over the provinces of Gaul; and the mind of +Gratian was oppressed and distracted by the administration of the +Western empire. In this important crisis, the government of the +East, and the conduct of the Gothic war, required the undivided +attention of a hero and a statesman. A subject invested with +such ample command would not long have preserved his fidelity to +a distant benefactor; and the Imperial council embraced the wise +and manly resolution of conferring an obligation, rather than of +yielding to an insult. It was the wish of Gratian to bestow the +purple as the reward of virtue; but, at the age of nineteen, it +is not easy for a prince, educated in the supreme rank, to +understand the true characters of his ministers and generals. He +attempted to weigh, with an impartial hand, their various merits +and defects; and, whilst he checked the rash confidence of +ambition, he distrusted the cautious wisdom which despaired of +the republic. As each moment of delay diminished something of +the power and resources of the future sovereign of the East, the +situation of the times would not allow a tedious debate. The +choice of Gratian was soon declared in favor of an exile, whose +father, only three years before, had suffered, under the sanction +of his authority, an unjust and ignominious death. The great +Theodosius, a name celebrated in history, and dear to the +Catholic church, ^104 was summoned to the Imperial court, which +had gradually retreated from the confines of Thrace to the more +secure station of Sirmium. Five months after the death of +Valens, the emperor Gratian produced before the assembled troops +his colleague and their master; who, after a modest, perhaps a +sincere, resistance, was compelled to accept, amidst the general +acclamations, the diadem, the purple, and the equal title of +Augustus. ^105 The provinces of Thrace, Asia, and Egypt, over +which Valens had reigned, were resigned to the administration of +the new emperor; but, as he was specially intrusted with the +conduct of the Gothic war, the Illyrian praefecture was +dismembered; and the two great dioceses of Dacia and Macedonia +were added to the dominions of the Eastern empire. ^106 + +[Footnote 104: A life of Theodosius the Great was composed in the +last century, (Paris, 1679, in 4to-1680, 12mo.,) to inflame the +mind of the young Dauphin with Catholic zeal. The author, +Flechier, afterwards bishop of Nismes, was a celebrated preacher; +and his history is adorned, or tainted, with pulpit eloquence; +but he takes his learning from Baronius, and his principles from +St. Ambrose and St Augustin.] + +[Footnote 105: The 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. vii. c. 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 Victor, and the Chronicles of Prosper, Idatius, +and Marcellinus, in the Thesaurus Temporum of Scaliger. + + Note: Add a hostile fragment of Eunapius. Mai, p. 273, in +Niebuhr, p 178 - M.] + +[Footnote 106: Tillemont, Hist. des Empereurs, tom. v. p. 716, +&c.] + The same province, and perhaps the same city, ^107 which had +given to the throne the virtues of Trajan, and the talents of +Hadrian, was the orignal seat of another family of Spaniards, +who, in a less fortunate age, possessed, near fourscore years, +the declining empire of Rome. ^108 They emerged from the +obscurity of municipal honors by the active spirit of the elder +Theodosius, a general whose exploits in Britain and Africa have +formed one of the most splendid parts of the annals of +Valentinian. The son of that general, who likewise bore the name +of Theodosius, was educated, by skilful preceptors, in the +liberal studies of youth; but he was instructed in the art of war +by the tender care and severe discipline of his father. ^109 +Under the standard of such a leader, young Theodosius sought +glory and knowledge, in the most distant scenes of military +action; inured his constitution to the difference of seasons and +climates; distinguished his valor by sea and land; and observed +the various warfare of the Scots, the Saxons, and the Moors. His +own merit, and the recommendation of the conqueror of Africa, +soon raised him to a separate command; and, in the station of +Duke of Misaea, he vanquished an army of Sarmatians; saved the +province; deserved the love of the soldiers; and provoked the +envy of the court. ^110 His rising fortunes were soon blasted by +the disgrace and execution of his illustrious father; and +Theodosius obtained, as a favor, the permission of retiring to a +private life in his native province of Spain. He displayed a +firm and temperate character in the ease with which he adapted +himself to this new situation. His time was almost equally +divided between the town and country; the spirit, which had +animated his public conduct, was shown in the active and +affectionate performance of every social duty; and the diligence +of the soldier was profitably converted to the improvement of his +ample patrimony, ^111 which lay between Valladolid and Segovia, +in the midst of a fruitful district, still famous for a most +exquisite breed of sheep. ^112 From the innocent, but humble +labors of his farm, Theodosius was transported, in less than four +months, to the throne of the Eastern empire; and the whole period +of the history of the world will not perhaps afford a similar +example, of an elevation at the same time so pure and so +honorable. The princes who peaceably inherit the sceptre of +their fathers, claim and enjoy a legal right, the more secure as +it is absolutely distinct from the merits of their personal +characters. The subjects, who, in a monarchy, or a popular +state, acquire the possession of supreme power, may have raised +themselves, by the superiority either of genius or virtue, above +the heads of their equals; but their virtue is seldom exempt from +ambition; and the cause of the successful candidate is frequently +stained by the guilt of conspiracy, or civil war. Even in those +governments which allow the reigning monarch to declare a +colleague or a successor, his partial choice, which may be +influenced by the blindest passions, is often directed to an +unworthy object But the most suspicious malignity cannot ascribe +to Theodosius, in his obscure solitude of Caucha, the arts, the +desires, or even the hopes, of an ambitious statesman; and the +name of the Exile would long since have been forgotten, if his +genuine and distinguished virtues had not left a deep impression +in the Imperial court. During the season of prosperity, he had +been neglected; but, in the public distress, his superior merit +was universally felt and acknowledged. What confidence must have +been reposed in his integrity, since Gratian could trust, that a +pious son would forgive, for the sake of the republic, the murder +of his father! What expectations must have been formed of his +abilities to encourage the hope, that a single man could save, +and restore, the empire of the East! Theodosius was invested with +the purple in the thirty-third year of his age. The vulgar gazed +with admiration on the manly beauty of his face, and the graceful +majesty of his person, which they were pleased to compare with +the pictures and medals of the emperor Trajan; whilst intelligent +observers discovered, in the qualities of his heart and +understanding, a more important resemblance to the best and +greatest of the Roman princes. + +[Footnote 107: Italica, founded by Scipio Africanus for his +wounded veterans of Italy. The ruins still appear, about a +league above Seville, but on the opposite bank of the river. See +the Hispania Illustrata of Nonius, a short though valuable +treatise, c. xvii. p. 64 - 67.] +[Footnote 108: I agree with Tillemont (Hist. des Empereurs, tom. +v. p. 726) in suspecting the royal pedigree, which remained a +secret till the promotion of Theodosius. Even after that event, +the silence of Pacatus outweighs the venal evidence of +Themistius, Victor, and Claudian, who connect the family of +Theodosius with the blood of Trajan and Hadrian.] +[Footnote 109: Pacatas compares, and consequently prefers, the +youth of Theodosius to the military education of Alexander, +Hannibal, and the second Africanus; who, like him, had served +under their fathers, (xii. 8.)] +[Footnote 110: Ammianus (xxix. 6) mentions this victory of +Theodosius Junior Dux Maesiae, prima etiam tum lanugine juvenis, +princeps postea perspectissimus. The same fact is attested by +Themistius and Zosimus but Theodoret, (l. v. c. 5,) who adds some +curious circumstances, strangely applies it to the time of the +interregnum.] + +[Footnote 111: Pacatus (in Panegyr. Vet. xii. 9) prefers the +rustic life of Theodosius to that of Cincinnatus; the one was the +effect of choice, the other of poverty.] + +[Footnote 112: M. D'Anville (Geographie Ancienne, tom. i. p. 25) +has fixed the situation of Caucha, or Coca, in the old province +of Gallicia, where Zosimus and Idatius have placed the birth, or +patrimony, of Theodosius.] + It is not without the most sincere regret, that I must now +take leave of an accurate and faithful guide, who has composed +the history of his own times, without indulging the prejudices +and passions, which usually affect the mind of a contemporary. +Ammianus Marcellinus, who terminates his useful work with the +defeat and death of Valens, recommends the more glorious subject +of the ensuing reign to the youthful vigor and eloquence of the +rising generation. ^113 The rising generation was not disposed to +accept his advice or to imitate his example; ^114 and, in the +study of the reign of Theodosius, we are reduced to illustrate +the partial narrative of Zosimus, by the obscure hints of +fragments and chronicles, by the figurative style of poetry or +panegyric, and by the precarious assistance of the ecclesiastical +writers, who, in the heat of religious faction, are apt to +despise the profane virtues of sincerity and moderation. +Conscious of these disadvantages, which will continue to involve +a considerable portion of the decline and fall of the Roman +empire, I shall proceed with doubtful and timorous steps. Yet I +may boldly pronounce, that the battle of Hadrianople was never +revenged by any signal or decisive victory of Theodosius over the +Barbarians: and the expressive silence of his venal orators may +be confirmed by the observation of the condition and +circumstances of the times. The fabric of a mighty state, which +has been reared by the labors of successive ages, could not be +overturned by the misfortune of a single day, if the fatal power +of the imagination did not exaggerate the real measure of the +calamity. The loss of forty thousand Romans, who fell in the +plains of Hadrianople, might have been soon recruited in the +populous provinces of the East, which contained so many millions +of inhabitants. The courage of a soldier is found to be the +cheapest, and most common, quality of human nature; and +sufficient skill to encounter an undisciplined foe might have +been speedily taught by the care of the surviving centurions. If +the Barbarians were mounted on the horses, and equipped with the +armor, of their vanquished enemies, the numerous studs of +Cappadocia and Spain would have supplied new squadrons of +cavalry; the thirty-four arsenals of the empire were plentifully +stored with magazines of offensive and defensive arms: and the +wealth of Asia might still have yielded an ample fund for the +expenses of the war. But the effects which were produced by the +battle of Hadrianople on the minds of the Barbarians and of the +Romans, extended the victory of the former, and the defeat of the +latter, far beyond the limits of a single day. A Gothic chief +was heard to declare, with insolent moderation, that, for his own +part, he was fatigued with slaughter: but that he was astonished +how a people, who fled before him like a flock of sheep, could +still presume to dispute the possession of their treasures and +provinces. ^115 The same terrors which the name of the Huns had +spread among the Gothic tribes, were inspired, by the formidable +name of the Goths, among the subjects and soldiers of the Roman +empire. ^116 If Theodosius, hastily collecting his scattered +forces, had led them into the field to encounter a victorious +enemy, his army would have been vanquished by their own fears; +and his rashness could not have been excused by the chance of +success. But the great Theodosius, an epithet which he honorably +deserved on this momentous occasion, conducted himself as the +firm and faithful guardian of the republic. He fixed his +head-quarters at Thessalonica, the capital of the Macedonian +diocese; ^117 from whence he could watch the irregular motions of +the Barbarians, and direct the operations of his lieutenants, +from the gates of Constantinople to the shores of the Hadriatic. +The fortifications and garrisons of the cities were strengthened; +and the troops, among whom a sense of order and discipline was +revived, were insensibly emboldened by the confidence of their +own safety. From these secure stations, they were encouraged to +make frequent sallies on the Barbarians, who infested the +adjacent country; and, as they were seldom allowed to engage, +without some decisive superiority, either of ground or of +numbers, their enterprises were, for the most part, successful; +and they were soon convinced, by their own experience, of the +possibility of vanquishing their invincible enemies. The +detachments of these separate garrisons were generally united +into small armies; the same cautious measures were pursued, +according to an extensive and well-concerted plan of operations; +the events of each day added strength and spirit to the Roman +arms; and the artful diligence of the emperor, who circulated the +most favorable reports of the success of the war, contributed to +subdue the pride of the Barbarians, and to animate the hopes and +courage of his subjects. If, instead of this faint and imperfect +outline, we could accurately represent the counsels and actions +of Theodosius, in four successive campaigns, there is reason to +believe, that his consummate skill would deserve the applause of +every military reader. The republic had formerly been saved by +the delays of Fabius; and, while the splendid trophies of Scipio, +in the field of Zama, attract the eyes of posterity, the camps +and marches of the dictator among the hills of the Campania, may +claim a juster proportion of the solid and independent fame, +which the general is not compelled to share, either with fortune +or with his troops. Such was likewise the merit of Theodosius; +and the infirmities of his body, which most unseasonably +languished under a long and dangerous disease, could not oppress +the vigor of his mind, or divert his attention from the public +service. ^118 + +[Footnote 113: Let us hear Ammianus himself. Haec, ut miles +quondam et Graecus, a principatu Cassaris Nervae exorsus, adusque +Valentis inter, pro virium explicavi mensura: opus veritatem +professum nun quam, ut arbitror, sciens, silentio ausus +corrumpere vel mendacio. Scribant reliqua potiores aetate, +doctrinisque florentes. Quos id, si libuerit, aggressuros, +procudere linguas ad majores moneo stilos. Ammian. xxxi. 16. The +first thirteen books, a superficial epitome of two hundred and +fifty- seven years, are now lost: the last eighteen, which +contain no more than twenty-five years, still preserve the +copious and authentic history of his own times.] + +[Footnote 114: Ammianus was the last subject of Rome who composed +a profane history in the Latin language. The East, in the next +century, produced some rhetorical historians, Zosimus, +Olympiedorus, Malchus, Candidus &c. See Vossius de Historicis +Graecis, l. ii. c. 18, de Historicis Latinis l. ii. c. 10, &c.] + +[Footnote 115: Chrysostom, tom. i. p. 344, edit. Montfaucon. I +have verified and examined this passage: but I should never, +without the aid of Tillemont, (Hist. des Emp. tom. v. p. 152,) +have detected an historical anecdote, in a strange medley of +moral and mystic exhortations, addressed, by the preacher of +Antioch, to a young widow.] + +[Footnote 116: Eunapius, in Excerpt. Legation. p. 21.] + +[Footnote 117: See Godefroy's Chronology of the Laws. Codex +Theodos tom. l. Prolegomen. p. xcix. - civ.] + +[Footnote 118: Most writers insist on the illness, and long +repose, of Theodosius, at Thessalonica: Zosimus, to diminish his +glory; Jornandes, to favor the Goths; and the ecclesiastical +writers, to introduce his baptism.] + The deliverance and peace of the Roman provinces ^119 was +the work of prudence, rather than of valor: the prudence of +Theodosius was seconded by fortune: and the emperor never failed +to seize, and to improve, every favorable circumstance. As long +as the superior genius of Fritigern preserved the union, and +directed the motions of the Barbarians, their power was not +inadequate to the conquest of a great empire. The death of that +hero, the predecessor and master of the renowned Alaric, relieved +an impatient multitude from the intolerable yoke of discipline +and discretion. The Barbarians, who had been restrained by his +authority, abandoned themselves to the dictates of their +passions; and their passions were seldom uniform or consistent. +An army of conquerors was broken into many disorderly bands of +savage robbers; and their blind and irregular fury was not less +pernicious to themselves, than to their enemies. Their +mischievous disposition was shown in the destruction of every +object which they wanted strength to remove, or taste to enjoy; +and they often consumed, with improvident rage, the harvests, or +the granaries, which soon afterwards became necessary for their +own subsistence. A spirit of discord arose among the independent +tribes and nations, which had been united only by the bands of a +loose and voluntary alliance. The troops of the Huns and the +Alani would naturally upbraid the flight of the Goths; who were +not disposed to use with moderation the advantages of their +fortune; the ancient jealousy of the Ostrogoths and the Visigoths +could not long be suspended; and the haughty chiefs still +remembered the insults and injuries, which they had reciprocally +offered, or sustained, while the nation was seated in the +countries beyond the Danube. The progress of domestic faction +abated the more diffusive sentiment of national animosity; and +the officers of Theodosius were instructed to purchase, with +liberal gifts and promises, the retreat or service of the +discontented party. The acquisition of Modar, a prince of the +royal blood of the Amali, gave a bold and faithful champion to +the cause of Rome. The illustrious deserter soon obtained the +rank of master-general, with an important command; surprised an +army of his countrymen, who were immersed in wine and sleep; and, +after a cruel slaughter of the astonished Goths, returned with an +immense spoil, and four thousand wagons, to the Imperial camp. +^120 In the hands of a skilful politician, the most different +means may be successfully applied to the same ends; and the peace +of the empire, which had been forwarded by the divisions, was +accomplished by the reunion, of the Gothic nation. Athanaric, who +had been a patient spectator of these extraordinary events, was +at length driven, by the chance of arms, from the dark recesses +of the woods of Caucaland. He no longer hesitated to pass the +Danube; and a very considerable part of the subjects of +Fritigern, who already felt the inconveniences of anarchy, were +easily persuaded to acknowledge for their king a Gothic Judge, +whose birth they respected, and whose abilities they had +frequently experienced. But age had chilled the daring spirit of +Athanaric; and, instead of leading his people to the field of +battle and victory, he wisely listened to the fair proposal of an +honorable and advantageous treaty. Theodosius, who was +acquainted with the merit and power of his new ally, condescended +to meet him at the distance of several miles from Constantinople; +and entertained him in the Imperial city, with the confidence of +a friend, and the magnificence of a monarch. "The Barbarian +prince observed, with curious attention, the variety of objects +which attracted his notice, and at last broke out into a sincere +and passionate exclamation of wonder. I now behold (said he) +what I never could believe, the glories of this stupendous +capital! And as he cast his eyes around, he viewed, and he +admired, the commanding situation of the city, the strength and +beauty of the walls and public edifices, the capacious harbor, +crowded with innumerable vessels, the perpetual concourse of +distant nations, and the arms and discipline of the troops. +Indeed, (continued Athanaric,) the emperor of the Romans is a god +upon earth; and the presumptuous man, who dares to lift his hand +against him, is guilty of his own blood." ^121 The Gothic king +did not long enjoy this splendid and honorable reception; and, as +temperance was not the virtue of his nation, it may justly be +suspected, that his mortal disease was contracted amidst the +pleasures of the Imperial banquets. But the policy of Theodosius +derived more solid benefit from the death, than he could have +expected from the most faithful services, of his ally. The +funeral of Athanaric was performed with solemn rites in the +capital of the East; a stately monument was erected to his +memory; and his whole army, won by the liberal courtesy, and +decent grief, of Theodosius, enlisted under the standard of the +Roman empire. ^122 The submission of so great a body of the +Visigoths was productive of the most salutary consequences; and +the mixed influence of force, of reason, and of corruption, +became every day more powerful, and more extensive. Each +independent chieftain hastened to obtain a separate treaty, from +the apprehension that an obstinate delay might expose him, alone +and unprotected, to the revenge, or justice, of the conqueror. +The general, or rather the final, capitulation of the Goths, may +be dated four years, one month, and twenty-five days, after the +defeat and death of the emperor Valens. ^123 + +[Footnote 119: Compare 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 and Marcellinus allude, +in general terms, to magna certamina, magna multaque praelia. +The two epithets are not easily reconciled.] +[Footnote 120: Zosimus (l. iv. p. 232) styles him a Scythian, a +name which the more recent Greeks seem to have appropriated to +the Goths.] +[Footnote 121: The reader will not be displeased to see the +original words of Jornandes, or the author whom he transcribed. +Regiam urbem ingressus est, miransque, En, inquit, cerno quod +saepe incredulus audiebam, famam videlicet tantae urbis. Et huc +illuc oculos volvens, nunc situm urbis, commeatumque navium, nunc +moenia clara pro spectans, miratur; populosque diversarum +gentium, quasi fonte in uno e diversis partibus scaturiente unda, +sic quoque militem ordinatum aspiciens; Deus, inquit, sine dubio +est terrenus Imperator, et quisquis adversus eum manum moverit, +ipse sui sanguinis reus existit Jornandes (c. xxviii. p. 650) +proceeds to mention his death and funeral.] + +[Footnote 122: Jornandes, c. xxviii. p. 650. Even Zosimus (l. v. +p. 246) is compelled to approve the generosity of Theodosius, so +honorable to himself, and so beneficial to the public.] + +[Footnote 123: The short, but authentic, hints in the Fasti of +Idatius (Chron. Scaliger. p. 52) are stained with contemporary +passion. The fourteenth oration of Themistius is a compliment to +Peace, and the consul Saturninus, (A.D. 383.)] + + The provinces of the Danube had been already relieved from +the oppressive weight of the Gruthungi, or Ostrogoths, by the +voluntary retreat of Alatheus and Saphrax, whose restless spirit +had prompted them to seek new scenes of rapine and glory. Their +destructive course was pointed towards the West; but we must be +satisfied with a very obscure and imperfect knowledge of their +various adventures. The Ostrogoths impelled several of the +German tribes on the provinces of Gaul; concluded, and soon +violated, a treaty with the emperor Gratian; advanced into the +unknown countries of the North; and, after an interval of more +than four years, returned, with accumulated force, to the banks +of the Lower Danube. Their troops were recruited with the +fiercest warriors of Germany and Scythia; and the soldiers, or at +least the historians, of the empire, no longer recognized the +name and countenances of their former enemies. ^124 The general +who commanded the military and naval powers of the Thracian +frontier, soon perceived that his superiority would be +disadvantageous to the public service; and that the Barbarians, +awed by the presence of his fleet and legions, would probably +defer the passage of the river till the approaching winter. The +dexterity of the spies, whom he sent into the Gothic camp, +allured the Barbarians into a fatal snare. They were persuaded +that, by a bold attempt, they might surprise, in the silence and +darkness of the night, the sleeping army of the Romans; and the +whole multitude was hastily embarked in a fleet of three thousand +canoes. ^125 The bravest of the Ostrogoths led the van; the main +body consisted of the remainder of their subjects and soldiers; +and the women and children securely followed in the rear. One of +the nights without a moon had been selected for the execution of +their design; and they had almost reached the southern bank of +the Danube, in the firm confidence that they should find an easy +landing and an unguarded camp. But the progress of the +Barbarians was suddenly stopped by an unexpected obstacle a +triple line of vessels, strongly connected with each other, and +which formed an impenetrable chain of two miles and a half along +the river. While they struggled to force their way in the +unequal conflict, their right flank was overwhelmed by the +irresistible attack of a fleet of galleys, which were urged down +the stream by the united impulse of oars and of the tide. The +weight and velocity of those ships of war broke, and sunk, and +dispersed, the rude and feeble canoes of the Barbarians; their +valor was ineffectual; and Alatheus, the king, or general, of the +Ostrogoths, perished with his bravest troops, either by the sword +of the Romans, or in the waves of the Danube. The last division +of this unfortunate fleet might regain the opposite shore; but +the distress and disorder of the multitude rendered them alike +incapable, either of action or counsel; and they soon implored +the clemency of the victorious enemy. On this occasion, as well +as on many others, it is a difficult task to reconcile the +passions and prejudices of the writers of the age of Theodosius. +The partial and malignant historian, who misrepresents every +action of his reign, affirms, that the emperor did not appear in +the field of battle till the Barbarians had been vanquished by +the valor and conduct of his lieutenant Promotus. ^126 The +flattering poet, who celebrated, in the court of Honorius, the +glory of the father and of the son, ascribes the victory to the +personal prowess of Theodosius; and almost insinuates, that the +king of the Ostrogoths was slain by the hand of the emperor. ^127 +The truth of history might perhaps be found in a just medium +between these extreme and contradictory assertions. +[Footnote 124: Zosimus, l. iv. p. 252.] + +[Footnote 125: I am justified, by reason and example, in applying +this Indian name to the the Barbarians, the single trees hollowed +into the shape of a boat. Zosimus, l. iv. p. 253.] + + Ausi Danubium quondam tranare Gruthungi + In lintres fregere nemus: ter mille ruebant + Per fluvium plenae cuneis immanibus alni. + Claudian, in iv. Cols. Hon. 623.] + +[Footnote 126: Zosimus, l. iv. p. 252 - 255. He too frequently +betrays his poverty of judgment by disgracing the most serious +narratives with trifling and incredible circumstances.] + +[Footnote 127: - Odothaei Regis opima + Retulit - Ver. 632. + +The opima were the spoils which a Roman general could only win +from the king, or general, of the enemy, whom he had slain with +his own hands: and no more than three such examples are +celebrated in the victorious ages of Rome.] + + The original treaty which fixed the settlement of the Goths, +ascertained their privileges, and stipulated their obligations, +would illustrate the history of Theodosius and his successors. +The series of their history has imperfectly preserved the spirit +and substance of this single agreement. ^128 The ravages of war +and tyranny had provided many large tracts of fertile but +uncultivated land for the use of those Barbarians who might not +disdain the practice of agriculture. A numerous colony of the +Visigoths was seated in Thrace; the remains of the Ostrogoths +were planted in Phrygia and Lydia; their immediate wants were +supplied by a distribution of corn and cattle; and their future +industry was encouraged by an exemption from tribute, during a +certain term of years. The Barbarians would have deserved to +feel the cruel and perfidious policy of the Imperial court, if +they had suffered themselves to be dispersed through the +provinces. They required, and they obtained, the sole possession +of the villages and districts assigned for their residence; they +still cherished and propagated their native manners and language; +asserted, in the bosom of despotism, the freedom of their +domestic government; and acknowledged the sovereignty of the +emperor, without submitting to the inferior jurisdiction of the +laws and magistrates of Rome. The hereditary chiefs of the +tribes and families were still permitted to command their +followers in peace and war; but the royal dignity was abolished; +and the generals of the Goths were appointed and removed at the +pleasure of the emperor. An army of forty thousand Goths was +maintained for the perpetual service of the empire of the East; +and those haughty troops, who assumed the title of Foederati, or +allies, were distinguished by their gold collars, liberal pay, +and licentious privileges. Their native courage was improved by +the use of arms and the knowledge of discipline; and, while the +republic was guarded, or threatened, by the doubtful sword of the +Barbarians, the last sparks of the military flame were finally +extinguished in the minds of the Romans. ^129 Theodosius had the +address to persuade his allies, that the conditions of peace, +which had been extorted from him by prudence and necessity, were +the voluntary expressions of his sincere friendship for the +Gothic nation. ^130 A different mode of vindication or apology +was opposed to the complaints of the people; who loudly censured +these shameful and dangerous concessions. ^131 The calamities of +the war were painted in the most lively colors; and the first +symptoms of the return of order, of plenty, and security, were +diligently exaggerated. The advocates of Theodosius could +affirm, with some appearance of truth and reason, that it was +impossible to extirpate so many warlike tribes, who were rendered +desperate by the loss of their native country; and that the +exhausted provinces would be revived by a fresh supply of +soldiers and husbandmen. The Barbarians still wore an angry and +hostile aspect; but the experience of past times might encourage +the hope, that they would acquire the habits of industry and +obedience; that their manners would be polished by time, +education, and the influence of Christianity; and that their +posterity would insensibly blend with the great body of the Roman +people. ^132 + +[Footnote 128: See Themistius, Orat. xvi. p. 211. Claudian (in +Eutrop. l. ii. 112) mentions the Phrygian colony: - + + - Ostrogothis colitur mistisque Gruthungis + Phyrx ager - + + and then proceeds to name the rivers of Lydia, the Pactolus, +and Herreus.] + +[Footnote 129: Compare Jornandes, (c. xx. 27,) who marks the +condition and number of the Gothic Foederati, with Zosimus, (l. +iv. p. 258,) who mentions their golden collars; and Pacatus, (in +Panegyr. Vet. xii. 37,) who applauds, with false or foolish joy, +their bravery and discipline.] +[Footnote 130: Amator pacis generisque Gothorum, is the praise +bestowed by the Gothic historian, (c. xxix.,) who represents his +nation as innocent, peaceable men, slow to anger, and patient of +injuries. According to Livy, the Romans conquered the world in +their own defence.] + +[Footnote 131: Besides the partial invectives of Zosimus, (always +discontented with the Christian reigns,) see the grave +representations which Synesius addresses to the emperor Arcadius, +(de Regno, p. 25, 26, edit. Petav.) The philosophic bishop of +Cyrene was near enough to judge; and he was sufficiently removed +from the temptation of fear or flattery.] + +[Footnote 132: Themistius (Orat. xvi. p. 211, 212) composes an +elaborate and rational apology, which is not, however, exempt +from the puerilities of Greek rhetoric. Orpheus could only charm +the wild beasts of Thrace; but Theodosius enchanted the men and +women, whose predecessors in the same country had torn Orpheus in +pieces, &c.] + + Notwithstanding these specious arguments, and these sanguine +expectations, it was apparent to every discerning eye, that the +Goths would long remain the enemies, and might soon become the +conquerors of the Roman empire. Their rude and insolent behavior +expressed their contempt of the citizens and provincials, whom +they insulted with impunity. ^133 To the zeal and valor of the +Barbarians Theodosius was indebted for the success of his arms: +but their assistance was precarious; and they were sometimes +seduced, by a treacherous and inconstant disposition, to abandon +his standard, at the moment when their service was the most +essential. During the civil war against Maximus, a great number +of Gothic deserters retired into the morasses of Macedonia, +wasted the adjacent provinces, and obliged the intrepid monarch +to expose his person, and exert his power, to suppress the rising +flame of rebellion. ^134 The public apprehensions were fortified +by the strong suspicion, that these tumults were not the effect +of accidental passion, but the result of deep and premeditated +design. It was generally believed, that the Goths had signed the +treaty of peace with a hostile and insidious spirit; and that +their chiefs had previously bound themselves, by a solemn and +secret oath, never to keep faith with the Romans; to maintain the +fairest show of loyalty and friendship, and to watch the +favorable moment of rapine, of conquest, and of revenge. But as +the minds of the Barbarians were not insensible to the power of +gratitude, several of the Gothic leaders sincerely devoted +themselves to the service of the empire, or, at least, of the +emperor; the whole nation was insensibly divided into two +opposite factions, and much sophistry was employed in +conversation and dispute, to compare the obligations of their +first, and second, engagements. The Goths, who considered +themselves as the friends of peace, of justice, and of Rome, were +directed by the authority of Fravitta, a valiant and honorable +youth, distinguished above the rest of his countrymen by the +politeness of his manners, the liberality of his sentiments, and +the mild virtues of social life. But the more numerous faction +adhered to the fierce and faithless Priulf, ^* who inflamed the +passions, and asserted the independence, of his warlike +followers. On one of the solemn festivals, when the chiefs of +both parties were invited to the Imperial table, they were +insensibly heated by wine, till they forgot the usual restraints +of discretion and respect, and betrayed, in the presence of +Theodosius, the fatal secret of their domestic disputes. The +emperor, who had been the reluctant witness of this extraordinary +controversy, dissembled his fears and resentment, and soon +dismissed the tumultuous assembly. Fravitta, alarmed and +exasperated by the insolence of his rival, whose departure from +the palace might have been the signal of a civil war, boldly +followed him; and, drawing his sword, laid Priulf dead at his +feet. Their companions flew to arms; and the faithful champion +of Rome would have been oppressed by superior numbers, if he had +not been protected by the seasonable interposition of the +Imperial guards. ^135 Such were the scenes of Barbaric rage, +which disgraced the palace and table of the Roman emperor; and, +as the impatient Goths could only be restrained by the firm and +temperate character of Theodosius, the public safety seemed to +depend on the life and abilities of a single man. ^136 + +[Footnote 133: Constantinople was deprived half a day of the +public allowance of bread, to expiate the murder of a Gothic +soldier: was the guilt of the people. Libanius, Orat. xii. p. +394, edit. Morel.] + +[Footnote 134: Zosimus, 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's cottage, &c.] + +[Footnote *: Eunapius. - M.] + +[Footnote 135: Compare Eunapius (in Excerpt. Legat. p. 21, 22) +with Zosimus, (l. iv. p. 279.) The difference of circumstances +and names must undoubtedly be applied to the same story. +Fravitta, or Travitta, was afterwards consul, (A.D. 401.) and +still continued his faithful services to the eldest son of +Theodosius. (Tillemont, Hist. des Empereurs, tom. v. p. 467.)] +[Footnote 136: Les Goths ravagerent tout depuis le Danube +jusqu'au Bosphore; exterminerent Valens et son armee; et ne +repasserent le Danube, que pour abandonner l'affreuse solitude +qu'ils avoient faite, (Oeuvres de Montesquieu, tom. iii. p. 479. +Considerations sur les Causes de la Grandeur et de la Decadence +des Romains, c. xvii.) The president Montesquieu seems ignorant +that the Goths, after the defeat of Valens, never abandoned the +Roman territory. It is now thirty years, says Claudian, (de Bello +Getico, 166, &c., A.D. 404,) + Ex quo jam patrios gens haec oblita Triones, + Atque Istrum transvecta semel, vestigia fixit + Threicio funesta solo - + +the error is inexcusable; since it disguises the principal and +immediate cause of the fall of the Western empire of Rome.] + + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The History of The Decline and Fall of +the Roman Empire, Volume II, by Edward Gibbon + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HISTORY OF THE DECLINE *** + +This file should be named 2dfre11.txt or 2dfre11.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, 2dfre11.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, 2dfre10a.txt + +Etext by David Reed: Haradda@aol.com and davidr@inconnect.com. + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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