trophy of the cross composed of light, and encircled by the following words, "By this, go forth to victory." This sign met him by the way, when he was perplexed as to whither he should lead his army. While he was reflecting on what this could mean, night came on; and when he fell asleep, Christ appeared1 with the sign which he had seen in heaven, and commanded him to construct a representation of the symbol, and to use it as his help in hostile encounters. There was

nothing further to be elucidated, for the emperor clearly apprehended the necessity of serving God. At daybreak, he called together the priests of Christ, and questioned them concerning their doctrines. They opened the Sacred Scriptures, and expounded the truths relative to Christ, and showed him, from the prophets, how the things which had been predicted had been fulfilled. The sign which had appeared to him was the symbol, they said, of the victory over hell; for Christ came among men, was stretched upon the cross, died, and returned to life the third day. On this account, they said, there was hope that at the close of the present dispensation, there would be a general resurrection of the dead, and entrance upon immortality, when those who had led a good life would receive accordingly, and those who had done evil would be punished. Yet, continued they, the means of salvation and of purification from sin are provided; namely, for the uninitiated,2 initiation according to the canons of the church; and, for the initiated, abstinence from renewed transgression. But as few, even among holy men, are capable of complying with this latter condition, another method of purification is set forth, namely, repentance; for God, in his love towards man, bestows forgiveness on those who have fallen into sin, on their repentance, and the confirmation of their repentance by good works.

CHAP. IV.-CONSTANTINE COMMANDS THE SIGN OF THE CROSS

TO BE CARRIED BEFORE HIM IN BATTLE.

THE emperor, amazed at the prophecies concerning Christ which were expounded to him by the priests, sent for some

Compare Life of Constantine, b. i. ch. 29.

2 That is, for the unbaptized and catechumens; the baptized were called the "initiated" (oi μɛμvnμévoι) and "enlightened" (oi πepwτioμévoi).

THE TIME OF CONSTANTINE'S CONVERSION.

15

skilful artisans, and commanded them to remodel the standard called by the Romans Labarum,' to convert it into a representation of the cross, and to adorn it with gold and precious stones. This warlike trophy was valued beyond all others, for it was always carried before the emperor, and was worshipped by the soldiery. I think that Constantine changed the most honourable symbol of the Roman power into the sign of Christ, chiefly that by the habit of having it always in view, and of worshipping it, the soldiers might be induced to abandon their ancient forms of superstition, and to recognise the true God whom the emperor worshipped, as their leader, and their help in battle for this symbol was always borne in front of the household legions, and was, at the command of the emperor, carried among the phalanxes in the thickest of the fight, by an illustrious band of spearmen, of whom each one in turn took the standard upon his shoulders, and paraded it through the ranks. It is said that on one occasion, on an unexpected movement of the hostile forces, the man who held the standard placed it in the hands of another, and fled; when he got beyond the reach of the enemy's weapons, he suddenly received a wound and fell, while the man who had stood by the divine symbol remained unhurt, although many weapons were aimed at him; for the missiles of the enemy, directed by Divine agency, lighted upon the standard, and the bearer thereof was preserved in the midst of danger. It is also asserted, that no soldier who bore this standard in battle was ever killed, wounded, or taken prisoner.

CHAP. V.-REFUTATION OF THE ASSERTION THAT CONSTANTINE EMBRACED CHRISTIANITY IN CONSEQUENCE OF THE DEATH OF HIS SON CRISPUS.

I AM aware that it is reported by the Greeks that Constantine, after slaying some of his nearest relations, and particularly after assenting to the murder of his son Crispus, repented

Labarum or Laborum. This was the name by which the standard was known to the Eastern Fathers. Gregory Nazianzen and others derive the term from "Labor." Valesius assents to this derivation, and supports it from the words of Sozomen below, adding "Laborum dictum est, quod laboranti aciei præsidium sit salutare," and referring to Gretser, de Cruce, lib. ii.

1

of his evil deeds, and inquired of Sosipater, the philosopher, who was then master of the school of Plotinus, concerning the means of purification from guilt. The philosopher (so the story goes) replied that such moral defilement could admit of no purification; the emperor was grieved at this repulse, but happening to meet with some bishops who told him that he would be cleansed from sin on repentance and on submitting to baptism, he was delighted with their representations and doctrines, and became a Christian, and the leader of those who were converted to the same faith. It appears to me that this story was the invention of persons who desired to vilify the Christian religion. Crispus,2 on whose account, it is said, Constantine required purification, did not die till the twentieth year of his father's reign; he held the second place in the empire and bore the name of Cæsar, and many laws, framed with his sanction, in favour of Christianity, are still extant. That this was the case, can be proved by referring to the dates affixed to these laws, and to the lists of the legislators. It does not appear likely that Sosipater had any intercourse with Constantine, whose government was then centred in the regions near the ocean and the Rhine; for his dispute with Maxentius, the governor of Italy, had created so much dissension in the Roman dominions, that it was then no easy matter to dwell in Gaul, in Britain, or in the neighbouring countries, in which, it is universally admitted, Constantine embraced the religion of the Christians, previous to his war with Maxentius, and prior to his return to Rome and Italy: and this is evidenced by the dates of the laws which he enacted in favour of religion. But even granting that Sosipater chanced to meet the emperor, or that he had epistolary correspondence with him, it cannot be imagined the philosopher was ignorant that Hercules, the son of Alcmena, obtained purification at Athens by the celebration of the mysteries of Ceres, after the murder of his children, and of Iphitus,3 his guest and friend. That the Greeks held that purification

Or Sopater. A philosopher of Apamia in Syria, and an intimate friend of Constantine the Great, who however put him to death upon some pretext. 2 Crispus was put to death by Constantine on account of a false accusation preferred against him by his step-mother Fausta. See St. Chrysostom, Hom. xv. in Philipp. Ammian. Marcellinus, xiv. 11.

3 See Sophocles Trachiniæ.

CONSTANTIUS AND CONSTANTINE.

17

from guilt of this nature could be obtained, is obvious from the instance I have just alleged, and he is a false calumniator who represents that Sosipater taught the contrary. I cannot admit the possibility of the philosopher's having been ignorant of these facts; for he was at that period esteemed the most learned man in Greece.

CHAP. VI.-CONSTANTINE THE GREAT CAUSES CHRISTIANITY

TO BE PREACHED THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.

UNDER the government of Constantine, the churches flourished, and increased in numbers, they were enriched by the benevolence and favour of the emperor, and God preserved them from the persecutions and troubles which they had previously encountered. When the churches were suffering from persecution in other parts of the world, Constantius alone, the father of Constantine, protected the Christians. I know of an extraordinary fact relating to him, which is worthy of being recorded. He wished to test the fidelity of certain Christians, excellent and good men, who were attached to his palace. He called them all together, and told them that if they would sacrifice to idols as well as serve God, they should remain in his service and retain their appointments; but that if they refused compliance with his wishes, they should be sent from the palace, and should scarcely escape his vengeance. When difference of judgment had divided them into two parties, separating those who consented to abandon their religion from those who preferred the honour of God to their present welfare, the emperor determined upon retaining those who had adhered to their faith as his friends and counsellors; but he turned away from the others, whom he regarded as unmanly impostors, and sent them from his presence, judging that they who had so readily betrayed their God, could not be faithful to their king. Hence, as Christians were deservedly retained in the service of Constantius, he was not willing that Christianity should be accounted unlawful in the countries beyond the confines of Italy, that is to say, in Gaul, in Britain, or in the region of the Pyrenean mountains as far as the Western Ocean. When Constantine succeeded to this government, the affairs of the churches became still more prosperous.

[SOZOMEN.]

C

And

when Maxentius, the son of Herculius, was slain, the government of his provinces devolved upon Constantine; and the nations who dwelt by the river Tiber and the Eridanus, the people who were called the aborigines of Padua, those who dwelt by the Aquiline, whither, it is said, the ship of Argos was dragged, and the inhabitants of the coasts of the Tyrrhenian Sea, were permitted the exercise of their religion without molestation.

The

When the Argonauts fled from Eetes, they returned homewards by a different route, crossed the sea of Scythia, sailed up the mouth of some river, and so gained the shores of Italy, where they built a city, which they called Hemona.1 following summer, with the assistance of the people of the country, they dragged their ship, by means of machinery, the distance of four hundred stadia, and so reached the Aquiline, a river which falls into the Eridanus: the Eridanus itself falls into the Italian Sea.

After the battle of Cibalæ,2 the Greeks and the Macedonians, the inhabitants of the banks of the Danube, of Achaia, and the whole nation of Illyria, became subject to Constantine.

CHAP. VII.-CONCERNING THE DISPUTE BETWEEN CONSTANTINE AND LICINIUS, HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW, ABOUT THE CHRISTIANS.-DEFEAT AND DEATH OF LICINIUS.

AFTER this battle, Licinius, who had previously respected the Christians, withdrew his favour from them, and ill-treated many of the priests who lived under his government; he also persecuted several other persons, but especially the soldiers. He was deeply incensed against the Christians on account of his disagreement with Constantine, and thought to wound him. by their sufferings; and, besides, he suspected that they earnestly desired that Constantine alone should enjoy the sovereign rule. In addition to all this, we may mention that, when on the eve of another war with Constantine, Licinius, in order to prepare his mind for the event of the contest, had recourse to

Or Hæmus. Compare Pliny, b. iii. ch. 18. It was situated near the Julian Alps, on the confines of Italy and Noricum.

2 The battle in which Licinius was routed by Constantine, A. d. 314.