CHAP. and a sage; the philosophers who had accompanied XIX. him in this fatal expedition compared the tent of

66

Julian with the prison of Socrates; and the spec. tators, whom duty, or friendship, or curiosity, had assembled round his couch, listened with respectful grief to the funeral oration of their dying emperor*. "Friends and fellow-soldiers, the seasonable period "of my departure is now arrived, and I discharge, "with the cheerfulness of a ready debtor, the de"mands of nature. I have learned from philoso

66

phy, 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; "and I accept, as a favour of the gods, the mortal "stroke that secures me from the danger of dis gracing a character, which has hitherto been sup ported by virtue and fortitude. I die without re“ morse, 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 imma"culate. Detesting the corrupt and destructive "maxims of despotism, I have considered the hap piness 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 con"sistent with the public welfare; but when the imperious voice of my country summoned me to

* 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 Abbé 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.

XIX.

arms, I exposed my person to the dangers of war, CHAP. "with the clear fore-knowledge (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 honourable 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.- Thus much I "have attempted to say; but my strength fails me, “and I feel the approach of death.-I shall cau

tiously refrain from any word that may tend to in"fluence 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,

མ

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, 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. 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

XIX.

CHAP. 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.

Election of

Jovian,

June 27.

The triumph of Christianity, and the calamities the emperor of the empire, may, in some measure, be ascribed A. D. 363, 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 favour. But the situation of a famished army, encompassed on all sides by a host of Barbarians, shortened the

XIX.

moments of grief and deliberation. In this scene of CHAP.
terror and distress, the body of the deceased prince,
according to his own directions, was decently em-
balmed; and, at the dawn of day, the generals con-
vened 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 Arinthæus collected the re-
mains of the court of Constantius; the friends of
Julian attached themselves to the Gallic chiefs, Da-
galaiphus and Nevitta; and the most fatal conse-
quences might be apprehended from the discord of
two factions, so opposite in their character and in-
terest, 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 præfect would
immediately have been declared the successor of
Julian, if he himself, with sincere and modest firm-
ness, had not alleged his age and infirmities, so un-
equal 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 *, 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 Mesopo-
tamia, they should proceed with united and delibe-
rate counsels in the election of a lawful sovereign.
While they debated, a few voices saluted Jovian,

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.)

Danger

and difficulty of

XIX.

CHAP. who was no more than first of the domestics, with
the names of Emperor and Augustus. The tumult
uary acclamation was instantly repeated by the guards
who surrounded the tent, and passed, in a few mi-
nutes, 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 favour and pro-
tection he so lately solicited. The strongest recom-
mendation of Jovian was the merit of his father,
Count Varronian, who enjoyed, in honourable re-
tirement, the fruit of his long services. In the ob
scure freedom of a private station, the son supported,
with credit, the character of a Christian and a sol-
dier. Without being conspicuous for any of the am-
bitious 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 mode-
rated by the just apprehension, that the same day
might terminate the life and reign of the new em-
The pressing voice of necessity was obeyed
peror.
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 *.

The esteem of an enemy is most sincerely expressed by his fears; and the degree of fear may be accuthererately measured by the joy with which he celebrates -July 1st. 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 sud

Ammianus (xxv. 10.) has drawn from the life an impartial portrait of Jovian: to which the younger Victor has added some remarkable strokes.