XIV. lent or less industrious part of mankind, instead of re- CHAP. joicing in an increase of family, deemed it an act of paternal tenderness to elease their children from the impending miseries of a life which they themselves were unable to support. The humanity of Constantine, moved, perhaps, by some recent and extraordinary instances of despair, engaged him to address an edict to all the cities of Italy, and afterwards of Africa, directing immediate and sufficient relief to be given to those parents who should produce, before the magistrates, the children whom their own poverty would not allow them to educate. But the promise was too liberal, and the provision too vague, to effect any general or permanent benefit. The law, though it may merit some praise, served rather to display than to alleviate the public distress. It still remains an authentic monument to contradict and confound those venal orators, who were too well satisfied with their own situation to discover either vice or misery under the government of a generous sovereign'. 2. The laws of Constantine against rapes were dictated with very little indulgence for the most amiable weaknesses of human nature; since the description of that crime was applied not only to the brutal violence which compelled, but even to the gentle seduction which might persuade, an unmarried woman, under the age of twenty-five, to leave the house of her parents. The successful ra"visher was punished with death; and as if simple "death was inadequate to the enormity of his guilt, "he was either burnt alive, or torn in pieces by wild "beasts in the amphitheatre. The virgin's declaration "that she had been carried away with her own consent, "instead of saving her lover, exposed her to share his "fate. The duty of a public prosecution was intrust"ed to the parents of the guilty or unfortunate maid; "and if the sentiments of Nature prevailed on them "to dissemble the injury, and to repair by a subse 93 Codex Theodosian, 1. xi. tit. 27. tom. iv. p. 188. with Godefroy's o servations. See likewise, 1. v. tit. 7—8. 94 Omnia foris placita, domi prospera, annonæ ubertate, fructuum copiâ, &c. Panegyr. Vet. x. 38. This oration of Nazarius was pronounced on the day of the Quinquennalia of the Cæsars, the 1st of March, A. D. 321. XIV. CHAP.quent marriage the honour of their family, they were "themselves punished by exile and confiscation. The "slaves, whether male or female, who were convicted "of having been accessary to the rape or seduction, "were burnt alive, or put to death by the ingenious ❝torture of pouring down their throats a quantity of "melted lead. As the crime was of a public kind, "the accusation was permitted even to strangers. The "commencement of the action was not limited to any "term of years, and the consequences of the sentence "were extended to the innocent offspring of such an "irregular union"." But whenever the offence inspires less horror than the punishment, the rigour of penal law is obliged to give way to the common feelings of mankind. The most odious parts of this edict were softened or repealed in the subsequent reigns; and even Constantine himself very frequently alleviated, by partial acts of mercy, the stern temper of his general institutions. Such, indeed, was the singular humour of that emperor, who shewed himself as indulgent, and even remiss, in the execution of his laws, as he was severe, and even cruel, in the enacting of them. It is scarcely possible to observe a more decisive symptom of weakness, either in the character of the prince, or in the constitution of the government97. The Gothic war. A. D. 322. The civil administration was sometimes interrupted by the military defence of the empire. Crispus, a youth of the most amiable character, who had received with the title of Cæsar the command of the Rhine, distinguished his conduct, as well as valour, in several victories over the Franks and Alemanni; and taught the barbarians of that frontier to dread the eldest son of Con 95 See the edict of Constantine, addressed to the Roman people, in the Theodosian Code, 1. ix. tit. 24. tom. iii. p. 189. 96 His son very fairly assigns the true reason of the repeal, "Ne sub "specie atrocioris judicii aliqua in ulciscendo, crimine dilatio nasceretur.” Cod. Theod. tom. iii. p. 193. 97 Eusebius (in Vitâ Constant. 1. iii. c. 1.) chooses to affirm, that in the reign of this hero, the sword of justice bung idle in the hands of the magi. strates. Eusebius himself (1. iv. c. 29. 54.) and the Theodosian Code will inform us, that this excessive lenity was not owing to the want either of atrocious criminals or of penal laws. XIV. stantine and the grandson of Constantius. The em- CHAP. peror himself had assumed the more difficult and important province of the Danube. The Goths, who in the time of Claudius and Aurelian had felt the weight of the Roman arms, respected the power of the empire, even in the midst its intestine divisions. But the strength of that warlike nation was now restored by a peace of near fifty years; a new generation had arisen, who no longer remembered the misfortunes of ancient days: the Sarmatians of the lake Mootis followed the Gothic standard either a subjects or as allies, and their united force was poured upon the countries of Illyricum. Campona, Margus, and Bononia, appear to have been the scenes of several memorable sieges and battles"; and though Constantine encountered a very obstinate resistance, he prevailed at length in the contest, and the Goths were compelled to purchase an ignominious retreat, by restoring the booty and prisoners which they had taken. Nor was this advantage sufficient to satisfy the indignation of the emperor. He resolved to chastise as well as to repulse the insolent barbarians who had dared to invade the territories of Rome. At the head of his legions he passed the Danube, after repairing the bridge which had been constructed by Trajan, penetrated into the strongest recesses of Dacia100, and when he had inflicted a severe revenge, condescended to give peace to the suppliant Goths, on condition that, as often as they were required, they should supply his armies with a body of forty thousand soldiers. Exploits like these were 98 Nazarius in Panegyr. Vet. x. The victory of Crispus over the Alemanni, is expressed on some medals. 99 See Zosimus, 1. ii. p. 93, 94; though the narrative of that historian is neither clear nor consistent. The Panegyric of Optatianus (c. 23.) mentions the alliance of the Sarmatians with the Carpi and Gete, and points out the several fields of battle. It is supposed, that the Sarmatian games celebrated in the month of November, derived their origin from the success of this war. 100 In the Cæsars of Julian (p. 329. Commentaire de Spanheim, p. 252.) Constantine boasts, that he had recovered the province (Dacia) which Trajan had subdued. But it is insinuated by Silenus, that the conquests of Constantine were like the gardens of Adonis, which fade and wither almost the moment they appear. 101 Jornandes de Rebus Geticis, c. 21. I know not whether we may entirely depend on his authority. Such an alliance has a very recent air, and scarcely is suited to the maxims of the beginning of the fourth century. VOL. II. H XIV. CHAP. no doubt honourable to Constantine, and beneficial to the state; but it may surely be questioned, whether they can justify the exaggerated assertion of Eusebius, that ALL SCYTHIA, as far as the extremity of the North, divided as it was into so many names and nations of the most various and savage manners had been added by his victorious arms to the Roman empire102 Second civil war between Licinius. In this exalted state of glory it was impossible that Constantine should any longer endure a partner in the Constan empire. Confiding in the superiority of his genius and military power, he determined, without any previous A.D. 323. injury, to exert them for the destruction of Licinius, whose advanced age and unpopular vices seemed to offer a very easy conquest103. But the old emperor, awakened by the approaching danger, deceived the expectations of his friends as well as of his enemies. Calling forth that spirit and those abilities by which he had deserved the friendship of Galerius and the Imperial purple, he prepared himself for the contest, collected the forces of the East, and soon filled the plains of Hadrianople with his troops, and the Straits of the Hellespont with his fleet. The army consisted of one hundred and fifty thousand foot, and fifteen thousand horse; and as the cavalry was drawn, for the most part, from Phrygia and Cappadocia, we may conceive a more favourable opinion of the beauty of the horses, than of the courage and dexterity of their riders. The fleet was composed of three hundred and fifty gallies of three ranks of oars. An hundred and thirty of these were furnished by Egypt, and the adjacent coast of Africa. An hundred and ten sailed from the ports of Phoenicia and the isle of Cyprus; and the maritime countries of Bithynia, Ionia, and Caria, were likewise obliged to provide an hundred and ten gallies. The troops of Constantine were ordered to rendezvous at 102 Eusebius in Vit. Constantin. 1. i. c. 8. This passage, however, is taken from a general declamation on the greatness of Constantine, and not from any particular account of the Gothic war. 103 Constantinus tamen, vir ingens, et omnia efficere nitens quæ animo præparasset, simul principatum totius orbis affectans, Licinio bellum intulit. Eutropius, x. 5. Zosimus, l. ii. p. 89. The reasons which they have assigned for the first civil war may, with more propriety, be applied to the second. Thessalonica; they amounted to above an hundred CHAP. and twenty thousand horse and foot. Their empe- XIV. For was satisfied with their martial appearance, and his army contained more soldiers, though fewer men. than that of his castern competitor. The legions of Constantine were levied in the warlike provinces of Europe; action had confirmed their discipline, victory had elevated their hopes, and there were among them a great number of veterans, who, after seventeen glorious campaigns under the same leader, prepared themselves to deserve an honourable dismission by a last effort of their valouros. But the naval preparations of Constantine were in every respect much inferior to those of Licinius. The maritime cities of Greece sent their respective quotas of men and ships to the celebrated harbour of Piræus and their united forces consisted of no more than two hundred small vessels : a very feeble armament, if it is compared with those formidable fleets which were equipped and maintained by the republic of Athens during the Peloponnesian war106. Since Italy was no longer the seat of government, the naval establishments of Misenum and Ravenna had been gradually neglected; and as the shipping and mariners of the empire were supported by commerce rather than by war, it was natural that they should the most abound in the industrious provinces of Egypt and Asia. It is only surprising that the eastern emperor, who possessed so great a superiority at sea, should have neglected the opportunity of carrying an offensive war into the centre of his rival's dominions. Hadriano Instead of embracing such an active resolution, Battle of which might have changed the whole face of the war, ple. the prudent Licinius expected the approach of his ri-A. D. 323. 104 Zosimus, 1. ii. p. 94, 95. 105 Constantine was very attentive to the privileges and comforts of his fellow veterans (Conveterani,) as he now began to style them. See the Theodosian Code, 1. vii. tit. 20. tom. ii. p. 419. 429. 106 Whilst the Athenians maintained the empire of the sea, their fleet consisted of three, and afterwards of four, hundred gallies of three ranks of oars, all completely equipped and ready for immediate service. The arsenal in the port of Piræus had cost the republic a thousand talents, about two hundred and sixteen thousand pounds. See Thusidides de Bel. Peloponn. 1. ii. c. 13. and Meursius de Fortuna Attica, c. 19. July 3. |