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not secede from communion with the others, kept the festival more according to the manner of the Jews,' and thus detracted from its glory. The emperor zealously endeavoured to remove both these causes of dissension from the church; and, with this view, deputed one who was honoured for his faith, his virtuous life, and his steadfast confession of truth, to put an end to the strife2 which existed in Egypt on account of doctrine, and in the East on account of the Passover. was Hosius, bishop of Cordova.

This man

CHAP. XVII.-OF THE COUNCIL CONVENED AT NICEA ON

ACCOUNT OF ARIUS.

WHEN it was found that the event did not answer the expectations of the emperor, but that, on the contrary, the breach was widened, so that he who had been sent to make peace, returned without having accomplished his mission, Constantine convened a synod at Nicæa, in Bithynia, and wrote to the most eminent men of the churches in every country, directing them to be there on an appointed day. Of those who occupied the apostolic thrones, the following were assembled at this council:-Macarius, of Jerusalem; Eustathius, who presided over the church of Antioch on the Orontes; and Alexander, of Alexandria on Lake Mareotis. Julius,3 bishop of Rome, was unable to attend on account of extreme old age; but his place was supplied by Vito and Vicentius, presbyters of his church. Many other pious and excellent men of the neighbouring provinces were congregated together, of whom some were celebrated for their learning, their eloquence, and their knowledge of literature, sacred and profane; some for

They were called Quartodecimans, because they observed Easter on the 14th day after the new moon. See Socrat. Eccl. Hist. b. v. ch. 22, and Euseb. Eccl. Hist. v. 24.

2 See the whole question fully discussed by Bingham, Christ. Antiq. xx. ch. 5.

3 Valesius remarks that this is an error of Sozomen, and that for Julius we must read Sylvester, who was at that time bishop of Rome. Julius did not become a bishop until eleven years later. Cardinal Perronius proposed to read róλios (aged) instead of 'Iovλios. But the word is not found in prose authors.

the virtuous tenor of their life,1 and others for the combination of all these qualifications. About three hundred and twenty bishops were present, accompanied by a multitude of presbyters and deacons. There were, likewise, men present who were skilled in the art of disputation, and ready to assist in the discussions.2 And, as was usually the case on such occasions, many priests resorted to the council for the purpose of transacting their own private affairs; for they considered this a favourable opportunity of effecting such alterations as they deemed desirable, and of presenting petitions to the emperor containing complaints against those by whom they considered themselves aggrieved. As this course was pursued day after day, the emperor set apart one certain day on which all complaints were to be brought before him. When the appointed day arrived, he took the memorials which had been presented to him, and said, "All these accusations will be brought forward at the great day of judgment, and will be judged by the Great Judge of all men; as to me, I am but a man, and it would be evil in me to take cognizance of such matters, seeing that the accuser and the accused are priests; and priests ought so to act as never to become amenable to the judgment of others. Imitate, therefore, the divine love and mercy of God, and be ye reconciled to one another; withdraw your accusations against each other, be ye of one mind, and devote your attention to those subjects connected with the faith on account of which we are assembled." After having thus urged them to cease from criminating each other, the emperor commanded the memorials to be burnt; and then appointed a day on which to commence the discussion of the questions which had brought them together. But before the appointed day arrived, the bishops assembled together, and having summoned Arius to attend, began to examine the disputed topics, each one amongst them advancing his own opinion. As might have been expected, however, many different questions started

1 Sozomen here follows Eusebius. See his Life of Constantine, b. iii. ch. 9, and compare Socrates, b. i. ch. 8.

2 Valesius thinks it more probable that they were drawn together for the sake of gratifying their curiosity, and quotes, in support of his view, Ruffinus, b. x. ch. 3. At the same time he admits that the opinion of Sozomen may be right, and quotes on his side the testimony of Ñicephorus.

CONVERSION OF TWO PHILOSOPHERS.

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out of the investigation; some of the bishops spoke against the introduction of novelties contrary to the faith which had been delivered to them from the beginning; and those, especially, who had adhered to simplicity of doctrine, argued that the faith of God ought to be received without curious enquiries; others, however, contended that former opinions ought not to be retained without examination. Many of the bishops and of the inferior clergy attracted the notice of the emperor and the court by these disputations. Athanasius, who was then a deacon of Alexandria, and had accompanied the bishop Alexander, greatly distinguished himself at this juncture.1

CHAP. XVIII.-TWO PHILOSOPHERS ARE CONVERTED TO THE FAITH BY THE SIMPLICITY OF TWO OLD MEN WITH WHOM THEY HELD A DISPUTATION.

WHILE these disputations were being carried on, certain of the Pagan philosophers became desirous of taking part in them ; some, because they wished for information as to the doctrine that was inculcated, and others, because, feeling incensed against the Christians on account of the recent suppression of the Pagan religion, they wished to stigmatize them with engaging in strife about words, and to introduce dissensions among them. It is related that one of these philosophers, priding himself on his acknowlegded superiority of eloquence, began to ridicule the priests, and thereby roused the indignation of a simple old man, highly esteemed as a confessor, who, although unskilled in the arts of reasoning and debating, undertook to oppose him. The less serious of those who knew the confessor, raised a laugh2 at his expense for engaging in such an undertaking, but the more thoughtful felt anxious lest, in opposing so eloquent a man, he should only render himself ridiculous; yet his influence was so great, and his reputation so high among them, that they could not forbid his engaging in the debate; and he accordingly delivered himself in the following terms. "In the

The same testimony to the merit of Athanasius is borne also by Gregory Nazianzen.

2 Valesius remarks that some of the details here are added by Sozomen to the plain story as it is to be found in Ruffinus.

name of Jesus Christ, O philosopher, hearken to me. There is one God, the Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. He made all things by the power of the Word, and established them by the holiness of His Spirit. The Word, whom we call the Son of God, seeing that man was sunk in error and living like unto the beasts, pitied him, and vouchsafed to be born of a woman, to hold intercourse with men, and to die for them. And He will come again to judge each of us as to the deeds of this present life. We believe these things to be true with all simplicity. Do not, therefore, expend your labour in vain by striving to disprove facts which can only be understood by faith, or by scrutinizing the manner in which these things did or did not come to pass. Answer me, dost thou believe?" The philosopher, astonished at what had transpired, replied, "I believe ;" and having thanked the old man for having overcome him in argument, he began to teach the same doctrines to others. He exhorted those who still held his former sentiments, to adopt the views he had embraced, assuring them on oath that he had been impelled to embrace Christianity by a certain inexplicable impulse.

It is said that a similar miracle was performed by Alexander, bishop of Constantinople. When Constantine returned to Byzantium, certain philosophers came to him to complain of the innovations in religion, and particularly of his having introduced a new form of worship into the empire, contrary to that followed by his forefathers, and by all who were formerly in power, whether among the Greeks or the Romans. They likewise desired to hold a disputation on the doctrine with Alexander the bishop; and he, although unaccustomed 1 to the art of debating, accepted the challenge at the command of the emperor; for he was a good and virtuous man, and was supported by the consciousness of his integrity. When the philosophers were assembled, and prepared to engage in the discussion, he requested that one might be chosen as spokesman, while the others were to remain silent. When one of the philosophers began to open the debate, Alexander said to him, "I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ not to speak."

1 Valesius reads here ȧrpißns (rudis) in place of the old reading árpiẞns (accuratus); before which, if that reading is to be maintained, the sense requires that we should insert the word uŋ.

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The man was instantaneously silenced. Surely it is a greater miracle that a man, and that man a philosopher, should be struck dumb thus easily, than that a stone wall should be cleft by the power of a word, which miracle I have heard some attribute with pride to Julian, surnamed the Chaldean.!

CHAP. XIX.-THE EMPEROR HARANGUES THE ASSEMBLED SYNOD.

THE bishops held long consultations; and after summoning Arius before them, inquired diligently into his doctrines, yet at the same time withholding their final decision. When at length the appointed day arrived on which the controversy was to be terminated, they assembled together2 in the palace, because the emperor had signified his intention of taking part in the deliberations. On his entrance, the emperor passed through to the head of the council, and seated himself on the throne which had been prepared for him, and then motioned to the members of the synod to be seated: for seats had been arranged on either side along the walls of the palace, which was a very large and beautiful edifice.

After they were seated, Eusebius Pamphilus arose and delivered an oration3 in honour of the emperor, returning thanks to God on his account. When he had ceased speaking, and silence was restored, the emperor delivered himself in the following words:-"I give thanks to God for all things, but particularly, O friends, for being permitted to see you assembled here, for I desired most ardently to gather the priests of Christ into one place: now, it is my desire that you should be of one mind and hold the same opinions in fellowship of spirit, for dissension in the Church of God is the greatest of evils. I never experienced more poignant sorrow than when I heard that dissension had crept in among

1 He flourished during the age of the Antonines. Suidas attests that his son Julian was so skilled in the magic art, that he called down rain from heaven, when the Roman soldiers were perishing from thirst. It should be observed that a miracle similar to the above is recorded of Attus Nævius by Livy, b. i. ch. 36.

2 See Eusebius, Life of Constant. iii. 10.

3 Theodoret (Eccles. Hist. i. 8) places this oration in the mouth of Eustathius, bishop of Antioch.