A. D. 393.] EMBASSY HEADED BY FLAVIAN. 349 be slain; but that, after the victory, Theodosius himself would die in Italy. The truth of both these predictions was confirmed by events. CHAP. XXIII.-EXACTION OF TRIBUTE IN ANTIOCH. DEMO LITION OF THE STATUES OF THE EMPEROR. EMBASSY HEADED THE continuance of the war having compelled the rulers to impose fresh taxes on the people, a sedition was excited at Antioch in Syria; the statues of the emperor and of the empress were thrown down and dragged through the city, and, as is usual on such occasions, the enraged multitude uttered every insulting epithet that passion could suggest. The emperor, determining to avenge this insult by the death of the principal conspirators, the whole city was filled with terror at the announcement of his intended vengeance. The rage of the citizens had subsided, and had given place to repentance; and, as if already subjected to the threatened punishment, they abandoned themselves to grief and lamentation, and sang psalms of supplication to God to turn away the anger of the emperor. They deputed Flavian their bishop on an embassy to Theodosius, but on his arrival, finding that the resentment of the emperor at what had occurred was unabated, he had recourse to the following artifice. He caused some young men to sing the psalms of supplication and contrition at the table of the emperor, which the inhabitants of Antioch had composed in reference to their condition. It is said that the compassion of the emperor was excited; his wrath was subdued, and as his heart yearned over the city, he shed tears on the cup which he held in his hand. It is reported, that on the night before the sedition occurred, a spectre was seen in the form of a woman of prodigious height and terrible aspect, pacing through the city with a whip in her hand, similar to that which is used in goading on the beasts brought forward at the public theatres. It might have been inferred that the sedition was excited by the agency of some evil and malicious demon. There is no doubt but that much bloodshed would have ensued, had not 1 Sozomen, as Valesius observes, is wrong in the date which he assigns to this sedition. Theodoret, however, (Eccl. Hist. v. 20,) agrees with him. Baronius shows that it occurred A. D. 388. the wrath of the emperor been stayed by his respect for the entreaties of a bishop. CHAP. XXIV.-VICTORY OF THEODOSIUS OVER EUGENIUS. WHEN he had completed his preparations for war, Theodosius declared his younger son Honorius emperor, and leaving him to reign at Constantinople conjointly with Arcadius, who had previously been appointed emperor, he departed from the West at the head of his troops. His army consisted not only of Roman soldiers, but of bands of barbarians from the banks of the Danube. It is said that on his arrival at Constantinople, he went to the church which he had erected at Hebdoma in honour of John the Baptist, and in his name prayed that success might attend the Roman arms, and besought the Baptist himself to aid him. After offering up these prayers he proceeded towards Italy, and crossed the Alps. On descending from the heights of these mountains, he perceived a plain before him, covered with infantry and cavalry, and became at the same time aware that some of the enemy's troops were lying in ambush behind him, among the recesses of the mountains. The advance guard of his army attacked the infantry stationed in the plain, and a desperate and very doubtful conflict ensued. At this juncture, the troops in ambuscade appeared on the point of attacking the army behind, and seeing that all chances of escape would thus be cut off, and that his position was one of imminent peril, and beyond the intervention of human aid, the emperor prostrated himself on the ground, and besought with tears the assistance of God. His request was instantly granted, for the officers of the troops stationed in ambush sent to offer him their services as his allies, provided that he would assign them honourable posts in his army. As he had neither paper nor ink within reach, he took up some tablets, and wrote on them the high appointments he would confer upon them, provided that they would fulfil their promise to him. Under these conditions, they ranged themselves under the imperial standard. Even after this reinforcement, the issue of the combat still remained uncertain, when a wind of unheard-of violence suddenly arose, and blew right in the face of the enemy. Their darts were A. D. 394.] INTREPIDITY OF AMBROSE. 351 blown back upon themselves, and their bucklers were wrenched from them and rolled in the dust. Standing thus exposed in a defenceless condition to the weapons of the Romans, many of them perished, while the few who attempted to effect an escape were soon captured. Eugenius threw himself at the feet of the emperor, and implored him to spare his life; but, while in the act of offering up these entreaties, a soldier struck off his head. Arbogastes fled after the battle, and fell by his own hands. It is said that while the battle was being fought, a demoniac presented himself in the temple of Hebdoma where the emperor had engaged in prayer, and insulted John the Baptist, taunting him with having had his head cut off, and shouted the following words: "You conquer me, and lay snares for my army." The persons who happened to be on the spot, and who were waiting impatiently to learn the issue of the war, wrote an account of this extraordinary circumstance on the day that it occurred, and afterwards ascertained that it was the same day as that on which the battle had been fought. Such is the history of these transactions. CHAP. XXV.-INTREPID BEARING OF ST. AMBROSE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE EMPEROR. MASSACRE AT THESSALONICA. AFTER the death of Eugenius, the emperor went to Milan, and repaired towards the church to pray within its walls. When he drew near the gates of the edifice, he was met by Ambrose, the bishop of the city, who took hold of him by his purple robe, and said to him, in the presence of the multitude, "Stand back! a man defiled by sin, and with hands imbrued in blood unjustly shed, is not worthy, without repentance, to enter within these sacred precincts, or partake of the holy mysteries." The emperor, struck with admiration at the boldness of the bishop, began to reflect on his own conduct, and, with much contrition, retraced his steps. The crime alluded to had been committed under the following circumstances. A charioteer had made a declaration of obscene passion to Buthericus,' a military chief of Illyria, and had in consequence been committed to prison. Some time after, some magnificent races were to be held at the hippodrome, and 1 Sozomen is mistaken here. See Baronius, Annal. A. D. 390. the populace of Thessalonica demanded the release of the prisoner, considering him necessary to the celebration of the games. As their request was not attended to, they rose up in sedition and slew Buthericus. On hearing of this deed, the wrath of the emperor was excited to a fearful height, and he commanded that a certain number of the citizens should be put to death. The whole city was deluged with blood unjustly shed, for strangers, who had but just arrived there on their journey to other lands, were sacrificed with the others. There were many cases of suffering well worthy of commiseration, of which the following is an instance. A merchant offered himself to be slain as a substitute for his two sons who had both been selected as victims, and promised the soldiers to give them all the gold he possessed, on condition of their effecting the exchange. They could not but compassionate his misfortune, and consented to take him as a substitute for one of his sons, but declared that they did not dare to let off both the young men, as that would render the appointed number of the slain incomplete. The father gazed on his sons and wept bitterly, and loving them both equally, he could not make choice between them; he was still standing irresolute, and utterly unable to decide, when they were both slain before his eyes. I have also been informed, that a faithful slave voluntarily offered to die instead of his master, who was being led to the place of execution. It appears that it was for these and other acts of cruelty that Ambrose rebuked the emperor, forbad him to enter the church, and excommunicated him. Theodosius publicly confessed his sin in the church, and during the time set apart for penance, refrained from wearing his imperial ornaments, as being inconsistent with a season of mourning. He also enacted a law1 prohibiting the officers intrusted with the execution of the imperial mandates, from inflicting the punishment of death till thirty days after the mandate had been issued, in order that the wrath of the emperor might have time to be appeased, and that room might be made for the exercise of mercy and repentance. Ambrose, no doubt, performed many other actions worthy of his priestly office, which are known only to the inhabitants of the country. Among the illustrious deeds that are attributed to him, I have been made acquainted with the following. 1 See Baronius, Annal. A. D. 390. BOLD ACTIONS OF AMBROSE. 353 It was the custom for the emperor to take a seat in assemblies of the church within the palisades of the altar, so that he sat apart from the rest of the people. Ambrose, considering that this custom had originated either from subserviency or from want of discipline, caused the emperor to be seated without the trellis work of the altar, so that he sat in front of the people, and behind the priests. The emperor Theodosius approved of this wise alteration, as did likewise his successors; and we are told that it has been ever since scrupulously observed. I think it necessary to mention another magnanimous action performed by this bishop. A Pagan of distinction insulted Gratian, affirming that he was unworthy of his father; and he was in consequence condemned to death. As he was being led out to execution, Ambrose went to the palace to implore a pardon. Gratian was then engaged in witnessing a private exhibition of horse-racing, for it was frequently the practice of the emperors to engage in these diversions at times that the public were excluded: the officers at the gates of the palace would not therefore interrupt him by informing him that Ambrose solicited an interview. On finding this to be the case, the bishop went to the circus, and entering with the persons who took charge of the animals, he made his way up to the emperor, and would not leave him till he had obtained a pardon for the man who had been condemned to death. Ambrose was very diligent in the observance of the canons of the church, and in maintaining discipline among his clergy. I have selected the above two incidents from among the records of his numerous magnanimous deeds, in order to show with what intrepidity he addressed those in power when the service of God was in question. CHAP. XXVI.-ST. DONATUS, BISHOP OF EUROA, AND THEOTIMUS, ARCHBISHOP OF SCYTHIA. THERE were at this period many other bishops in various parts of the empire highly celebrated for their sanctity and high qualifications, of whom Donatus, bishop of Euroa 2 in Epirus, 1 Compare Theodoret, Eccl. Hist. v. 18. 2 We have emended the proper name according to the suggestion of Valesius. [SOZOMEN.] 2 A |