the sophist of Antioch, for the cold and ne- CHAP. glected ashes of his friend." XXIV. ral of It was an ancient custom in the funerals, as and fune well as in the triumphs, of the Romans, that Julian 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. 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. 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 the Christian clergy, (Libanius de ulcis. Jul. nece, c. 5, p. 149; Le Bleterie, Hist. de Jovien, tom. i, p. 179). The Orator (Fabricius, Bibliot. Græc. 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. * At the funeral of Vespasian, the comedian who personated that frugal emperor, anxiously inquired, how much it cost? "Fourscore thousand pounds,” (centies.) “Give the tenth part of the sum, and throw my body into the Tyber." Sueton. in Vespasian. c. 19, with the notes of Casaubon and Gronovius. y Gregory (Orat. iv, p. 119, 120) compares this supposed ignominy and ridicule to the funeral honours of Constantius, whose body was chaunted over mount Taurus by a choir of angels. XXIV. CHAP. 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," 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: while the soldier exclaimed in bolder accents, that the ashes of Julian should have been mingled with those of Cæsar, in the field of Mars, and among the ancient monuments of Roman virtue. The history of princes does not very frequently renew the example of a similar competition. z Quintus Curtius, 1. 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. a 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. b Cujus suprema et cineres, si qui tunc justè consuleret, non Cydnus videre deberet, quamvis gratissimus amnis et liquidus: sed ad perpetandam gloriam recte factorum præterlambere Tiberis, intersecans urbem æternam, divorumque veterum monumenta præstringens. AmDian. xxv, 10. CHAP. XXV.. The government and death of Jovian-Election of Valentinian, who associates his brother Valens, and makes the final division of the Eas tern and Western empires-Revolt of Procopius-Civil and ecclesiastical administrationGermany-Britain-Africa--The East-The Danube-Death of Valentinian-His two sons, Gratian and Valentinian II. succeed to the Western empire. 2 CHAP. A D 363 THE death of Julian had left the public affairs of the empire in a very doubtful and dangerous XXV. situation. The Roman army was saved by an state of inglorious, perhaps a necessary treaty; and the church the first moments of peace were consecrated by the pious Jovian to restore the domestic tranquillity 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 favour. The Christians had forgotten the spirit of the gospel; and the. pagans had imbibed the spirit of the church. In • 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. VOL. IV. XXV. CHAP 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 inmunities were restored and enlarged; and Jovian condescended to lament, that the distress of the times obliged him to diminish the measure of charitable distributions." 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 even: what synod, he would choose for the standard of orthodoxy; and the peace of the church immediately revived those eager disputes which! • Jovian restored to the church τον αρχαιον κοσμον ; a forcible and comprehensive expression, (Philostorgins, l. viii, c. 5, with Godefroy's Dissertations, p. 329; Sozomen, 1. 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 evangelie legislator. XXV. had been suspended during the season of perse- CHAP. cution. 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 clamours; and the ears of their prince were assaulted, and perhaps astonished, by the singular mixture of metaphysical argument, and passionate invective. 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 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 archi-episcopal throne; and he wisely ac Compare Socrates, I. iii, c. 25, and Philostorgius, I. viii, c. 6, with Godefroy's Dissertations, p. 330. The word celestial faintly expresses the impious and extravagant fattery of the emperor to the archbishop, της προς τον Θεον νωτ όλων Oposes. (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 Egyp. tian monks, (Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. viii, p. 221). |