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19. Con'stantine having thus attached his soldiers to his interest,
who were mostly of the Christian persuasion, lost no time in entering
Italy, with ninety thousand foot and eight thousand horse, and soon
advanced almost to the very gates of Rome. Maxen'tius advanced from
the city with an army of a hundred and seventy thousand foot, and
eighteen thousand horse. 20. The engagement was fierce and bloody,
till the cavalry of the latter being routed, victory declared upon the
side of his opponent, and he himself was drowned in his flight by the
breaking down of a bridge, as he attempted to cross the Tiber.

21. In consequence of this victory, Con'stantine entered the city, but
disclaimed all the praises which the senate and people were ready to
offer; and ascribed his successes to a superior power. He even caused
the cross, which he was said to have seen in the heavens, to be placed
at the right hand of all his statues, with this inscription: "That
under the influence of that Victorious Cross, Con'stantine had
delivered the city from the yoke of tyrannical power, and had restored
the senate, and people of Rome to their ancient authority." He
afterwards ordained that no criminal should, for the future, suffer
death upon the cross, which had formerly been the most usual way of
punishing slaves convicted of capital offences. 22. Edicts were soon
after issued, declaring that the Christians should be eased of
all their grievances, and received into places of trust and authority.

23. Things continued in this state for some time. Con'tantine
contributing every thing in his power to the interest of religion, and
the revival of learning, which had long been upon the decline, and was
almost wholly extinct in his dominions. 24. But, in the midst of these
assiduities, the peace of the empire was again disturbed by the
preparations of Maxim'ian, who governed in the east; and who, desirous
of a full participation of power, marched against Licin'ius with a
very numerous army. 25. In consequence of this step, after many
conflicts, a general engagement ensued, in which Maxim'ian suffered a
total defeat; many of his troops were cut to pieces, and those that
survived submitted to the conqueror. Having, however, escaped the
general carnage, he put himself at the head of another army, resolving
to try the fortune of the field; but his death prevented the design.
26. As he died by a very extraordinary kind of madness, the
Christians, of whom he was the declared enemy, did not fail to ascribe
his end to a judgment from heaven. But this was the age in which false
opinions and false miracles made up the bulk of every history.

_Questions for Examination_.

1. Who succeeded Probus?

2. Mention the actions of Carus, and the manner of his death.

3. How were his sons affected by this catastrophe?

4. What was the consequence?

5. How was this atrocious act discovered?

6. Did Aper reap the reward of his treachery?

7. Who was Dioclesian?

8. By whom was the empire now invaded?

9. Were they effectually repelled?

10. What remarkable event now occurred?

11. What was the end of Dioclesian?

12. Who succeeded Dioclesian and Maximian?

13. How did they conduct the administration?

14. Did Constantine succeed without any opposition?

15. Did not a remarkable occurrence happen about this time?

16. Repeat the particulars.

17. What effect had this appearance on the emperor and his men?

18. What orders did he issue in consequence?

19. What was the respective strength of the hostile armies?

20. What was the result of the engagement?

21. What use did Constantine make of his victory?

22. What edicts did he publish on the occasion?

23. How was Constantine employed after this?

24. Did the peace long continue?

25. What was the consequence?

26. To what was his death ascribed?


SECTION VI.

A crown? what is it?
It is to bear the miseries of a people!
To hear their murmurs, feel their discontents,
And sink beneath a load of splendid care!
To have your best success ascribed to Fortune.
And Fortune's failures all ascribed to you!
It is to sit upon a joyless height,
To every blast of changing fate exposed!
Too high for hope! too great for happiness!--_H. More_.

1. Con'stantine and Licin'ius thus remaining undisputed possessors of,
and partners in the empire, all things promised a peaceable
continuance of friendship and power. 2. However, it was soon found
that the same ambition that aimed after a part, would be content with
nothing less than the whole. Pagan writers ascribe the rupture between
these two potentates to Con'stantine; while the Christians, on the
other hand, impute it wholly to Licin'ius. 3. Both sides exerted all
their power to gain the ascendancy; and at the head of very formidable
armies came to an engagement near Cy'balis, in Panno'nia. 4.
Con'stantine, previous to the battle, in the midst of his Christian
bishops, begged the assistance of heaven; while Licin'ius, with equal
zeal, called upon the Pagan priests to intercede with the gods in
their favour. 5. The success was on the side of truth. Con'stantine,
after experiencing an obstinate resistance, became victorious, took
the enemy's camp, and after some time compelled Licin'ius to sue for a
truce, which was agreed upon. 6. But this was of no long continuance;
for, soon after, the war breaking out afresh, the rivals came once
more to a general engagement, and it proved decisive. Licin'ius was
entirely defeated, and pursued by Con'stantine into Nicome'dia, where
he surrendered himself up to the victor; having first obtained an oath
that his life should be spared, and that he should be permitted to
pass the remainder of his days in retirement. 7. This, however,
Con'stantine shortly after broke; for either fearing his designs, or
finding him actually engaged in fresh conspiracies, he commanded him
to be put to death, together with Mar'tian, his general, who some time
before had been created Caesar.

8. Con'stantine being thus become sole monarch, resolved to establish
Christianity on so sure a basis that no new revolution should shake
it. He commanded that, in all the provinces of the empire, the orders
of the bishops should he implicitly obeyed. He called also a general
council, in order to repress the heresies that had already crept
into the church, particularly that of A'rius. 9. To this council, at
which he presided in person, repaired about three hundred and eighteen
bishops, besides a multitude of presbyters and deacons; who all,
except about seventeen, concurred in condemning the tenets of A'rius,
who, with his associates, was banished into a remote part of the
empire.

10. Thus he restored universal tranquillity to his dominions, but was
not able to ward off calamities of a more domestic nature. As the
wretched historians of this period are entirely at variance with each
other, it is not easy to explain the motives which induced him to put
his wife Faus'ta, and his son Cris'pus, to death.

11. But it is supposed, that all the good he did was not equal to the
evil the empire sustained by his transferring the imperial seat from
Rome to Byzan'tium, or Constantino'ple, as it was afterwards called.
12. Whatever might have been the reasons which induced him to this
undertaking; whether it was because he was offended at some affronts
he had received at Rome, or that he supposed Constantino'ple more in
the centre of the empire, or that he thought the eastern parts more
required his presence, experience has shown that they were all weak
and groundless. 13. The empire had long before been in a most
declining state: but this, in a great measure, gave precipitation to
its downfall. After this, it never resumed its former splendour, but,
like a flower transplanted into a foreign clime, languished by
degrees, and at length sunk into nothing.

14. At first, his design was to build a city, which he might make the
capital of the world: and for this purpose he made choice of a
situation at Chal'cedon, in Asia Minor; but we are told that, in
laying out the ground plan, an eagle caught up the line, and flew with
it over to Byzan'tium, a city which lay on the opposite side of the
Bosphorus. 15. Here, therefore, it was thought expedient to fix the
seat of empire; and, indeed, nature seemed to have formed it with all
the conveniences, and all the beauties which might induce power to
make it the seat of residence.

16. It was situated on a plain, that rose gently from the water: it
commanded that strait which unites the Mediterranean with the Euxine
sea, and was furnished with all the advantages which the most
indulgent climate could bestow.

[Sidenote: U.C. 1084. A.D. 330.]

17. The city, therefore, he beautified with the most magnificent
edifices; he divided it into fourteen regions; built a capitol,
an amphitheatre, many churches, and other public works; and having
thus rendered it equal to the magnificence of his first idea, he
dedicated it in a very solemn manner to the God of martyrs; and in
about two years after repaired thither with his whole court.

18. This removal produced no immediate alteration in the government of
the empire. The inhabitants of Rome, though with reluctance, submitted
to the change; nor was there, for two or three years, any disturbance
in the state, until at length the Goths, finding that the Romans had
withdrawn all their garrisons along the Danube, renewed their inroads,
and ravaged the country with unheard-of cruelty. 19. Con'stantine,
however, soon repressed their incursions, and so straitened them, that
nearly a hundred thousand of their number perished by cold and hunger.

20. Another great error ascribed to him is, the dividing the empire
among his sons. Con'stantine, the emperor's eldest son, commanded in
Gaul and the western provinces; Constan'tius, the second, governed
Africa and Illyr'icum; and Con'stans, the youngest, ruled in Italy.
21. This division of the empire still further contributed to its
downfall; for the united strength of the state being no longer brought
to repress invasion, the barbarians fought with superior numbers, and
conquered at last, though often defeated. When Con'stantine was above
sixty years old, and had reigned about thirty, he found his health
decline.

22. His disorder, which was an ague, increasing, he went to
Nicome'dia, where, finding himself without hopes of a recovery, he
caused himself to be baptised. He soon after received the sacrament,
and expired.

_Questions for Examination_.

1. What was the state of the empire at this period?

2. Was this peace lasting, and by whom was it broken?

3. Was the contest likely to be vigorous?

4. In what way did the two emperors prepare for the conflict?

5. What was the result?

6. Was this truce religiously observed?

7. Did Constantine fulfil his engagement?

8. What was Constantine's resolution on becoming sole monarch, and
what steps did he take?

9. By whom was it attended, and what was the result?

10. Was he happy in his domestic relations? 11. Was the removal
of the seat of the empire beneficial to the state?

12. Were his reasons for doing so well grounded?

13. What was the consequence?

14. What was his original intention, and what induced him to alter it?

15. Was it a Convenient spot?

16. Describe its situation.

17. What alteration did he make, and to whom was it dedicated?

18. What was the immediate effect of this transfer?

19. Were they vigorously opposed?

20. Of what error is Constantine accused besides?

21. What was the consequence of this division?

22. Relate the particulars of his death.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Com'modus was the first emperor that was born in his father's
reign, and the second that succeeded his father in the empire.

[2] Being offended by the Alexan'drians, he commanded them to be put
to the sword without distinction of sex, age, or condition; every
house was filled with carcases, and the streets were obstructed with
dead bodies; this was merely in revenge for some lampoons they had
published against him.

[3] A city of Bithyn'ia, in Asia Minor, opposite to Constantinople.

[4] A Term generally applied to the children of brothers or sisters.

[5] Now called Venice.

[6] A'per signifies a boar.

* * * * *

_Dr. Goldsmith having concluded his History too abruptly, it has been
thought advisable to cancel his last Chapter, and substitute the
following brief notice of the events which occurred from the death of
Constantine to the final extinction of the Empire of the West._

* * * * *




CHAPTER XXV.


SECTION I.

FROM THE DEATH OF CONSTANTINE TO THE RE-UNION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
UNDER THEODOSIUS THE GREAT.

Talents, angel bright.
If wanting worth, are shining instruments
In false ambition's hands, to finish faults
Illustrious, and give infamy renown.--_Young_.

1. The character of the prince who removed the seat of empire and made
a complete revolution in the civil and religious institutions of his
country, is naturally one on which the opinions of historians are
divided, according to their sentiments respecting the great changes
that he effected. The heathen writers describe him as a monster of
tyranny; the Christian fathers are anxious to conceal his faults and
exaggerate his virtues, as if the nature of Christianity was in some
degree affected by the character of its first and greatest patron. The
truth is, that the character of Constantine, like that of other great
conquerors, varied with the circumstances of his life. While engaged
in the contest for empire, while employed in making unparalleled
political changes, he displayed the fortitude of a hero, and wisdom of
a legislator; but when complete success reduced him to inactivity,
when his vigorous mind was no longer stimulated by fear or hope,
prosperity roused all his bad passions by affording an opportunity for
their indulgence; and the virtues which had insured victory
disappeared when there was no longer any stimulus to rouse them into
action. The fourteen years of profound peace that preceded the
emperor's death, form a period of great external splendour, but of
real and rapid decay; the court was distinguished at once by avarice
and prodigality; the money raised by heavy taxes, unknown in former
ages, was lavished on unworthy favourites or wasted in idle
exhibitions of magnificence. 2. A mind relaxed by prosperity is
peculiarly open to suspicion; the ears of the monarch were greedily
lent to every tale brought to him by malignant spies and informers;
such encouragement increased the number of those wretches; every
street and almost every house in the capital, contained some one ever
on the watch to pick up any unguarded expression which might be
distorted into treason or sedition. It was not likely that a monarch
who had consented to the murder of his own son, on the most groundless
charges, would be more merciful to those who had no natural claims
upon his forbearance; execution followed execution with fearful
rapidity, until the bonds of society were broken, and every man
dreaded his neighbour, lest by misinterpreting a word or look, he
should expose him to the indiscriminate cruelty of the sovereign.

3. The example of their father's tyranny produced an effect on the
minds of his sons, which no education, however excellent or judicious,
could remove. Pious Christian pastors, learned philosophers, and
venerable sages of the law, were employed to instruct the three
princes, Constanti'ne, Constan'tius, and Con'stans; but the effects of
their labours never appeared in the lives of their pupils.

4. For some reasons which it is now impossible to discover, the great
Constantine had raised two of his nephews to the rank of princes, and
placed them on an equality with his own children. Before the emperor's
body was consigned to the tomb, this impolitic arrangement brought
destruction on the entire Flavian family. A forged scroll was produced
by the bishop of Nicome'dia, purporting to be Constantine's last will,
in which he accused his brothers of having given him poison, and
besought his sons to avenge his death. 5. Constan'tius eagerly
embraced such an opportunity of destroying the objects of his
jealousy; his two uncles, seven of his cousins, the patrician
Opta'lus, who married the late emperor's sister, and the prefect
Abla'vius, whose chief crime was enormous wealth, were subjected to a
mock trial, and delivered to the executioner. Of so numerous a
family Gal'lus and Julian alone were spared; they owed their
safety to their concealment, until the rage of the assassins had
abated. 6. After this massacre, the three brothers, similar in name,
and more alike in crime, proceeded to divide their father's dominions:
Constantine took for his share the new capital and the central
provinces; Thrace and the East were assigned to Constan'tius;
Con'stans received Italy, Africa, and the western Illy'ricum.

7. The weakness produced by this division encouraged the enemies of
the Romans, whom the dread of Constantine's power had hitherto kept
quiet, to take up arms. Of these the most formidable was Sa'por king
of Persia. 8. The abilities of Sapor showed that he merited a throne;
he had scarcely arrived at maturity when he led an army against Tha'ir
king of Arabia, who had harassed Persia during his minority; the
expedition was completely successful. Tha'ir was slain, and the
kingdom subdued. The young conqueror did not abuse his victory; he
treated the vanquished with such clemency, that the Arabs gave him the
title of _Doulacnaf_ or protector of the nation.

[Sidenote: A.D. 338.]

9. On the death of Constantine, Sa'por invaded the eastern provinces
of the Roman empire; he was vigorously opposed by Constan'tius, and
the war was protracted during several years with varying fortune. At
the battle of Sin'gara, the Romans surprised the Persian camp, but
were in their turn driven from it with great slaughter by the troops
which Sapor had rallied. The eldest son of the Persian king was,
however, brought off as a prisoner by the Romans, and the barbarous
Constan'tius ordered him to be scourged, tortured, and publicly
executed. 10. Though Sa'por had been victorious in the field, he
failed in his chief design of seizing the Roman fortresses in
Mesopota'mia; during twelve years he repeatedly besieged Ni'sibis,
which had been long the great eastern bulwark of the empire, but was
invariably baffled by the strength of the place, and the valour of the
garrison. At length both parties became wearied of a struggle which
exhausted their resources, and new enemies appearing, they resolved to
conclude a peace. Sa'por returned home to repel an invasion of the
Scythians; Constan'tius, by the death of his two brothers, found
himself involved in a civil war which required his undivided
attention.

11. Constan'tine had scarcely been seated on his throne, when he
attempted to wrest from Con'stans some of the provinces which had
been assigned as his portion. He rashly led his army over the Julian
Alps, and devastated the country round Aquile'ia where, falling into
an ambuscade, he perished ingloriously. Con'stans seized on the
inheritance of the deceased prince, and retained it during ten years,
obstinately refusing to give any share to his brother Constan'tius.
12. But the tyranny of Con'stans at last became insupportable.
Magnen'tius, an enterprising general, proclaimed himself emperor, and
his cause was zealously embraced by the army. Con'stans was totally
unprepared for this insurrection; deserted by all except a few
favourites, whom dread of the popular hatred they had justly incurred
prevented from desertion, he attempted to escape into Spain, but was
overtaken at the foot of the Pyrenees, and murdered. 13. The
prefectures of Gaul and Italy cheerfully submitted to the usurpation
of Magnen'tius; but the legions of Illyr'icum elected their general,
Vetra'nio, emperor, and his usurpation was sanctioned by the princess
Constanti'na, who, regardless of her brother's rights, placed the
diadem upon his head with her own hands. 14. The news of these events
hastened the return of Constan'tius to Europe; on his arrival at the
capital, he received embassies from the two usurpers, offering terms
of accommodation; he rejected the terms of Magnen'tius with disdain,
but entered into a negociation with Vetra'nio. The Illyrian leader,
though a good general, was a bad politician; he allowed himself to be
duped by long discussions, until the greater part of his army had been
gained over by Constan'tius; he then consented to a personal
interview, and had the mortification to see his soldiers, with one
accord, range themselves under the banners of their lawful sovereign.
Vetra'nio immediately fell at the feet of Constan'tius, and tendered
his homage, which was cheerfully accepted; he was not only pardoned,
but rewarded; the city of Pru'sa, in Bythnia, was allotted to him as a
residence, and a pension assigned for his support. 15. The war against
Magnen'tius was maintained with great obstinacy, but at first with
little success; the emperor was confined in his fortified camp, while
the troops of the usurper swept the surrounding country, and captured
several important posts. Constan'tius was so humbled, that he even
proposed a treaty, but the terms on which Magnen'tius insisted were so
insulting, that the emperor determined to encounter the hazard of a
battle. Scarcely had he formed this resolution, when his army was
strengthened by the accession of Sylva'nus, a general of some
reputation, who, with a large body of cavalry, deserted from the
enemy.

16. The decisive battle between the competitors for the empire, was
fought under the walls of Mur'sa, a city on the river Drave.
Magnen'tius attempted to take the place by storm, but was repulsed;
and almost at the same moment, the imperial legions were seen
advancing to raise the siege. The army of Magnen'tius consisted of the
western legions that had already acquired fame in the wars of Gaul;
with battalions of Germans and other barbarous tribes, that had of
late years been incorporated with the regular forces. In addition to
the imperial guards, Constan'tius had several troops of those oriental
archers, whose skill with the bow was so justly celebrated; but far
the most formidable part of his army were his mail-clad cuirassiers,
whose scaly armour, and ponderous lances, made their charge almost
irresistible. The cavalry on the emperor's left wing commenced the
engagement, and broke through the Gallic legions in the first charge;
the hardy veterans again rallied, were again charged, and again
broken; at length, before they could form their lines, the light
cavalry of the second rank rode, sword in hand, through the gaps made
by the cuirassiers, and completed their destruction. Meantime, the
Germans and barbarians stood exposed, with almost naked bodies, to the
destructive shafts of the oriental archers; whole troops, stung with
anguish and despair, threw themselves into the rapid stream of the
Drave, and perished. Ere the sun had set, the army of Magnen'tius was
irretrievably ruined; fifty-four thousand of the vanquished were
slain, and the loss of the conquerors is said to have been even
greater.

17. From this battle the ruin of the Roman empire may be dated; the
loss of one hundred thousand of its best and bravest soldiers could
not be repaired, and never again did any emperor possess a veteran
army equal to that which fell on the fatal plains of Mur'sa. The
defeat of Magnen'tius induced the Italian and African provinces to
return to their allegiance; the Gauls, wearied out by the exactions
which distress forced the usurper to levy, refused to acknowledge his
authority, and at length his own soldiers raised the cry of "God save
Constan'tius." To avoid the disgrace of a public execution,
Magnen'tius committed suicide, and several members of his family
imitated his example. The victor punished with relentless severity all
who had shared in the guilt of this rebellion; and several who had
been compelled to join in it by force shared the fate of those by
whom it had been planned.

18. The Roman, empire was now once more united under a single monarch;
but as that prince was wholly destitute of merit, his victory served
only to establish the reign of worthless favourites. Of these the most
distinguished was the chamberlain, Euse'bius, whose influence was so
great that he was considered the master of the emperor; and to whose
instigation many of the crimes committed by Constan'tius must be
attributed.

19 Gal'lus and Ju'lian, who had escaped in the general massacre of the
Flavian family, were detained as prisoners of state in a strong
castle, which had once been the residence of the kings of Cappado'cia.
Their education had not been neglected, and they had been assigned a
household proportionate to the dignity of their birth. At length the
emergencies of the state compelled Constan'tius to nominate an
associate in the government of the empire; and Gal'lus now in the
twenty-fifth year of his age, was summoned from his retirement,
invested with the title of Caesar, and married to the princess
Constan'tina. 20. The latter circumstance proved his ruin; stimulated
by the cruel ambition of his wife, he committed deeds of tyranny,
which alienated the affections of his subjects, and acts bordering on
treason, that roused the jealousy of Constan'tius. He was summoned to
appear at the imperial court to explain his conduct, but was seized on
his journey, made a close prisoner, and transmitted to Po'la a town in
Ist'ria, where he was put to death.

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