XIII. condemned as the effect of jealous tyranny, de- CHAP. serves to be applauded as an act of prudence and humanity. He caused a diligent enquiry to be He supmade "for all the ancient books which treated books of presses "of the admirable art of making gold and silver, alchymy. "and without pity committed them to the flames; apprehensive, as we are assured, lest the opu"lence of the Egyptians should inspire them with "confidence to rebel against the empire." But if Diocletian had been convinced of the reality of that valuable art, far from extinguishing the memory, he would have converted the operation of it to the benefit of the public revenue. It is much more likely, that his good sense discovered to him the folly of such magnificent pretensions, and that he was desirous of preserving the reason and fortunes of his subjects from the mischievous pursuit. It may be remarked, that these Novelty ancient books, so liberally ascribed to Pytha-gress of goras, to Solomon, or to Hermes, were the pious frauds of more recent adepts. The Greeks were inattentive either to the use or to the abuse of chemistry. In that immense register, where Pliny has deposited the discoveries, the arts, and the errors of mankind, there is not the least mention of the transmutation of metals; and the persecution of Diocletian is the first authentic event in the history of alchymy. The conquest of Egypt by the Arabs diffused that vain science over the globe. Congenial to the avarice of the human heart, it was studied in China as in Europe, with d and pro that art. XII. CHAP. equal eagerness, and with equal success. The darkness of the middle ages ensured a favourable reception to every tale of wonder, and the rival of learning gave new vigour to hope, and suggested more specious arts of deception. Philosophy, with the aid of experience, has at length banished the study of alchymy; and the present age, however desirous of riches, is content to seek them by the humbler means of commerce and industry. The Per sian war. Tiridates the Arme nian. The reduction of Egypt was immediately followed by the Persian war. It was reserved for the reign of Diocletian to vanquish that powerful nation, and to extort a confession from the successors of Artaxerxes, of the superior majesty of the Roman empire. We have observed under the reign of Valerian, that Armenia was subdued by the perfidy and the arms of the Persians, and that, after the assassination of Chosroes, his son Tiridates, the infant heir of the monarchy, was saved by the fidelity of his friends, and educated under the protection of the emperors. Tiridates derived from his exile such advantages as he could never have obtained on the throne of Armenia; the early knowledge of adversity, of mankind, and of the Roman discipline. He signalized his youth by deeds of valour, and displayed a matchless dexterity, as well as strength, in every martial exercise, and even in the less honourable contests See a short history and confutation of Alchymy, in the works of that philosophical compiler, La Mothe le Vayer. tom. i, p. 327-353 XIII. of the Olympian games. Those qualities were CHAP. more nobly exerted in the defence of his benefactor Licinius. That officer, in the sedition which occasioned the death of Probus, was exposed to the most imminent danger, and the enraged soldiers were forcing their way into his tent, when they were checked by the single arm of the Armenian prince. The gratitude of Tiridates contributed soon afterwards to his restoration. Licinius was in every station the friend and companion of Galerius, and the merit of Galerius, long before he was raised to the dignity of Cæsar, had been known and esteemed by Diocletian. In the third year of that emperor's reign, Tiridates was invested with the kingdom of Armenia. The justice of the measure was not less evident than its expediency. It was time to rescue from the usurpation of the Persian monarch, an important territory, which, since the reign of Nero, had been always granted under the protection of the empire to a younger branch of the house of Arsaces.h ! See the education and strength of Tiridates in the Armenian history of Moses of Chorene, 1. ii, 79. He could seize two wild bulls by the horns, and break them off with his hands. If we give credit to the younger Victor, who supposes that in the year 323, Licinius was only sixty years of age, he could scarcely be the same person as the patron of Tiridates; but we know from much better authority (Euseb. Hist. Ecclesiast. 1. x, c. 8), that Licinius was at that time in the last period of old age: sixteen years before, he is represented with grey hairs, and as the contemporary of Galerius. See Lactant. c. 32. Licinius was probably born about the year 250. See the sixty-second and sixty-third books of Dion Cassius. CHAP. His resto the throne of Arme nia. the coun try. When Tiridates appeared on the frontiers of Armenia, he was received with an unfeigned A. D. 286, transport of joy and loyalty. During twenty-six ration to years, the country had experienced the real and imaginary hardships of a foreign yoke. The Persian monarchs adorned their new conquest with magnificent buildings; but those monuments had been erected at the expence of the people, and were abhorred as badges of slavery. State of. The apprehension of a revolt had inspired the most rigorous precautions: oppression had been aggravated by insult, and the consciousness of the public hatred had been productive of every measure that could render it still more implacable. We have already remarked the intolerant spirit of the Magian religion. The statues of the deified kings of Armenia, and the sacred images of the sun and moon, were broke in pieces by the zeal of the conqueror; and the perpetual fire of Ormuzd was kindled and preserved upon an altar erected on the summit of mount Bagavan,' Revolt of It was natural, that a people exasperated by so the people many injuries, should arm with zeal in the cause of their independence, their religion, and their hereditary sovereign. The torrent bore down every obstacle, and the Persian garrisons retreated before its fury. The nobles of Armenia flew to and no bles. Moses of Chorene, Hist. Armen. l. ii, c. 74. The statues had been erected by Valarsaces, who reigned in Armenia about 130 years before Christ, and was the first king of the family of Arsaces (see Moses Hist. Armen. l. ii, c. 3). The deification of the Arsacides is mentioned by Justin (xii, 5), and by Ammianus Marcellinus (xxiii, 6). XIII. the standardof Tiridates, all alledging their past CHAP. merit, offering their future service, and soliciting from the new king those honours and rewards from which they had been excluded with disdain under the foreign government. The command of the army was bestowed on Artavasdes, whose father had saved the infancy of Tiridates, and whose family had been massacred for that generous action. The brother of Artavasdes obtained the government of a province. One of the first military dignities was conferred on the satrap Otas, a man of singular temperance and fortitude, who presented to the king, his sister' and a considerable treasure, both of which, in a sequestered fortress, Otas had preserved from violation. Among the Armenian nobles appeared Story of an ally, whose fortunes are too remarkable to pass unnoticed. His name was Mamgo, his origin was Scythian, and the horde which acknowledged his authority, had encamped a very few years before on the skirts of the Chinese empire," which at that time extended as far as the neigh *The Armenian nobility was numerous and powerful. Moses mentions many families which were distinguished under the reign of VaJarsaces (1. ii. 7), and which still subsisted in his own time, about the middle of the fifth century. See the preface of his editors. 'She was named Chosroiduchta, and had not the ospatulum like other women. (Hist. Armen. 1. ii, c. 97). I do not understand the expression. In the Armenian History (1. ii. 78), as well as in the Geography (p. 367), China is called Zenia, or Zenastan. It is characterised by the production of silk, by the opulence of the natives, and by their love of peace, above all the other nations of the earth. Mamgo. |