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, 125 the fear of the common enemy promoted the peace and harmony of the Christians. 12

127

The skill and diligence of the primate of Egypt had improved the season of tranquillity before it was interrupted (A.D. 362, Oct. 23) by the hostile edicts of the emperor.' 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

125 I have not leisure to follow the blind obstinacy of Lucifer of Cagliari. See his adventures in Tillemont (Mem. Eccles. vii. 900); and observe how the color of the narrative insensibly changes, as the confessor becomes a schismatic.

126 Assensus est huic sententiæ Occidens, et, per tam necessarium concilium, Satanæ faucibus mundus ereptus. The lively and artful Dialogue of Jerom against the Luciferians (ii. 135) exhibits an original picture of the ecclesiastical policy of the times.

197 Tillemont, who supposes that George was massacred in August, crowds the actions of Athanasius into a narrow space (Mem. Eccles. viii. 360). An original fragment, published by the marquis Maffei from the old Chapter-library of Verona (Osservaz. Let. iii. 60), affords many important dates, which are authenticated by the computation of Egyptian months.

Galileans, 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 judg ment 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 greater 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, prefect 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 toward 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 persečutions." 128 The death of Athanasius was not expressly commanded; but the prefect 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 Galilean school were contained in the single person of Athanasius.1

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 (Confession of Gregory, Orat. iii. 61), 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

198 Τον μιαρόν, ος ετολμησεν Ελληνίδας, επ' εμου, γυναικας των επισημων βαπτισαι διωκεσθαι. I have preserved the ambiguous sense of the last word, the ambiguity of a tyrant who wished to find or to create guilt.

129 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. Greg. Naz. xxi. 393. Soz. 1. v. c. 15. Socr. 1. iii. c. 14. Theodor. 1. iii. c. 9, and Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. viii. 361, who has used some materials prepared by the Bollandists.

120

the free toleration of idolaters and heretics was a subject of grief and scandal to the orthodox party. 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 Cæsarea 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." 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." 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

180 Hear the furious and absurd complaint of Optatus (de Schismat. Donatist. 1. ii. c. 16, 17).

131 Greg. Naz. Orat. iii. 91, iv. 133. He praises the rioters of Cæsarea, τούτων δε των μεγαλοφυών και θερμών εις Ευσέβειαν. See Sozomen, l. v. 4, 11. Tillemont (Mem. Eccles. vii. 649) 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.

132 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. Soz. 1. v. c. 3. Reland, Palestin. ii. 791.

the foreign enemies of Rome, he would lay aside the irksome mask of dissimulation; that the amphitheatres 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 benefit of nature and society.' 133 Every calumny"" 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

133 Greg. (Orat. iii. 93. Orat. iv. 114) pretends to speak from the information of Julian's confidants, whom Oros. (vi). 30) could not have seen.

134 Greg. (Orat. iii. 91) charges the Apostate with secret sacrifices of boys and girls; and positively affirms that the dead bodies were thrown into the Orontes. Theod. 1. iii. c. 26; and the equivocal candor of La Bleterie, Vie de Julien, p. 351. 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. vii. 1295).

13 The resignation of Gregory is truly edifying (Orat. iv. p. 123). 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. 308). See the reflections of Chrysostom, as they are alleged by Tillemont (Mem. Eccles. vii. 575).