Thanks for all things be given unto God the Omnipotent Ruler and King of the universe, and the greatest thanks to Jesus Christ the Saviour and Redeemer of our souls, through whom we pray that peace may be always preserved for us firm and undisturbed by external troubles and by troubles of the mind. Since in accordance with thy wishes, my most holy Paulinus, we have added the tenth book of the Church History to those which have preceded, we will inscribe it to thee, proclaiming thee as the seal of the whole work; and we will fitly add in a perfect number the perfect panegyric upon the restoration of the churches, obeying the Divine Spirit which exhorts us in the following words:
"Sing unto the Lord a new song, for he hath done marvelous things. His right hand and his holy arm hath saved him. The Lord hath made known his salvation, his righteousness hath he revealed in the presence of the nations."
And in accordance with the utterance which commands us to sing the new song, let us proceed to show that, after those terrible and gloomy spectacles which we have described, we are now permitted to see and celebrate such things as many truly righteous men and martyrs of God before us desired to see upon earth and did not see, and to hear and did not hear. But they, hastening on, obtained far better things, being carried to heaven and the paradise of divine pleasure. But, acknowledging that even these things are greater than we deserve, we have been astonished at the grace manifested by the author of the great gifts, and rightly do we admire him, worshiping him with the whole power of our souls, and testifying to the truth of those recorded utterances, in which it is said, "Come and see the works of the Lord, the wonders which he hath done upon the earth; he removeth wars to the ends of the world, he shall break the bow and snap the spear in sunder, and shall burn the shields with fire." Rejoicing in these things which have been clearly fulfilled in our day, let us proceed with our account.
The whole race of God's enemies was destroyed in the manner indicated,
and was thus suddenly swept from the sight of men. So that again a divine
utterance had its fulfillment: "I have seen the impious highly exalted and
raising himself like the cedars of Lebanon and I have passed by, and behold,
he was not and I have sought his place, and it could not be found."
And
finally a bright and splendid day, overshadowed by no cloud, illuminated with
beams of heavenly light the churches of Christ throughout the entire world.
And not even those without our communion were prevented from sharing in the
same blessings, or at least from coming under their influence and enjoying a part of the benefits bestowed upon us by God.
All men, then, were freed from the oppression of the tyrants, and being
released
from the former ills, one in one way and another in another acknowledged the
defender of the pious to be the only true God. And we especially who placed
our hopes in the Christ of God had unspeakable gladness, and a certain
inspired joy bloomed for all of us, when we saw every place which shortly
before had been desolated by the impieties of the tyrants reviving as if from
a long and death-fraught pestilence, and temples again rising from their
foundations to an immense height, and receiving a splendor far greater than
that of the old ones which had been destroyed. But the supreme rulers also
confirmed to us still more extensively the munificence of God by repeated
ordinances in behalf of the Christians; and personal letters of the emperor
were sent to the bishops, with honors and gifts of money. It may not be
unfitting to insert these documents, translated from the Roman into the Greek
tongue, at the proper place in this book,
as in a sacred tablet, that they
may remain as a memorial to all who shall come after us.
I After this was seen the sight which had
been desired and prayed for by us all;
feasts of dedication in the cities and consecrations of the newly built houses
of prayer took place, bishops assembled, foreigners came together from abroad,
mutual love was exhibited between people and people, the members of Christ's
body were united in complete harmony. Then was fulfilled the prophetic
utterance which mystically foretold what was to take place: "Bone to bone and
joint to joint,"
and whatever was truly announced in
enigmatic expressions in the inspired passage. And there was one energy
of the Divine Spirit pervading all the members, and one soul in all, and the
same eagerness of faith, and one hymn from all in praise of the Deity. Yea,
and perfect services were conducted by the prelates, the sacred rites being
solemnized, and the majestic institutions of the Church observed, here with
the singing of psalms and with the reading of the words committed to us by
God, and there with the performance of divine and mystic services; and the
mysterious symbols of the Saviour's passion were dispensed. At the same time
people of every
age, both male and female, with all the
power of the mind gave honor unto God, the author of their benefits, in
prayers and thanksgiving, with a joyful mind and soul. And every one of the
bishops present, each to the best of his ability, delivered panegyric
orations, adding luster to the assembly.
A Certain one of those of moderate talent,
who had composed a
discourse, stepped forward in the presence of many pastors who were assembled
as if for a church gathering, and while they attended quietly and decently, he
addressed himself as follows to one who was in all things a most excellent
bishop and beloved of God,
through whose zeal the temple in Tyre, which
was the most splendid in Phoenicia, had been erected.
Panegyric upon the building of the churches, addressed to
Paulinus, Bishop of Tyre.
"Friends and priests of God who are clothed in the sacred gown and adorned
with the heavenly crown of glory, the inspired unction and the sacerdotal
garment of the Holy Spirit; and thou? oh pride of God's new holy temple,
endowed by him with the wisdom of age, and yet exhibiting costly works and
deeds of youthful and flourishing virtue, to whom God himself, who embraces
the entire world, has granted the distinguished honor of building and renewing
this earthly house to Christ, his only begotten and first-born Word, and to
his holy and divine
bride;
-- one might call thee a new Beseleel,
the architect of a divine tabernacle, or Solomon, king of a new and much better Jerusalem,
or also a new Zerubabel, who added a much greater glory than the former to the
temple of God;
-- and you also, oh nurslings of the sacred flock of
Christ, habitation of good words, school of wisdom, and august
and pious auditory of religion:
It was long
ago permitted us to raise hymns and songs
to God, when we learned from hearing the Divine Scriptures read the marvelous
signs of God and the benefits conferred upon men by the Lord's wondrous deeds,
being taught to say 'Oh God! we have heard with our ears, our fathers have
told us the work which thou didst in their days, in days of old.'
s But
now as we no longer perceive the lofty arm
and the celestial right hand of
our all-gracious God and universal King by hearsay merely or report, but
observe so to speak in very deed and with our own eyes that the declarations
recorded long ago are faithful and true, it is permitted us to raise a second
hymn of triumph and to sing with loud voice, and say, 'AS we have heard, so
have we seen; in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God.'
And in what city but in this newly built and God-constructed one, which is a
'church of the living God, a pillar and foundation of the truth,'
concerning which also another divine oracle thus proclaims, 'Glorious things
have been spoken of thee, oh city of God.'
Since the all-gracious God has
brought us together to it, through the grace of his Only-Begotten, let every
one of those who have been summoned sing with loud voice and say, ' I was glad
when they said unto me, we shall go unto the house of the Lord,'
and
'Lord, I have loved the beauty of thy house and the place
where thy glory dwelleth.'
And let us
not only one by one, but all together, with
one spirit and one soul, honor him and cry aloud, saying, ' Great is the Lord
and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in his holy mountain.'
For he is truly great, and great is his house, lofty and spacious and @ comely
in beauty above the sons of men.'
'Great is the Lord who alone doeth
wonderful things';
'great is he who doeth great things and things past
finding out, glorious and marvelous things which cannot be numbered';
is
great is he 'who changeth times and seasons, who exalteth and debaseth kings
';, who raiseth up the poor from the earth and lifteth up the needy from
the dunghill.'
He hath put clown princes
from their thrones and hath exalted them of
low degree from the earth. The hungry he hath
filled with good things and the arms of
the proud he hath broken.'
Not only to
the faithful, but also to unbelievers, has he
confirmed the record of ancient events; he that worketh miracles, he that
doeth great things, the Master of all, the Creator of the whole world, the
omnipotent, the all-merciful, the one and only God. To him let us sing the new
song,
supplying in thought,
' To him who alone doeth great wonders:
for his mercy endureth forever'; 24, To him which smote great kings, and slew
famous kings: for his mercy endureth forever';
'For the Lord remembered
us in our low estate and delivered us from our
adversaries.'
And let us never cease to
cry aloud in these words to the Father of
the universe. And let us always honor him with our mouth who is the second
cause of our benefits, the instructor in divine knowledge, the teacher of the
true religion, the destroyer of the impious, the slayer of tyrants, the
reformer of life, Jesus, the Saviour of us who were
in despair. For he alone, as the only allgracious Son of an all-gracious Father, in
accordance with the purpose of his Father's benevolence, has willingly put on
the nature of us who lay prostrate in corruption, and like some excellent
physician, who for the sake of saving them that are ill, examines their
sufferings, handles their foul sores, and reaps pain for himself from the
miseries of another,
so us who were not only diseased and afflicted with
terrible ulcers and wounds already mortified, but were even lying among the
dead, he hath saved for himself from the very jaws of death. For none other of
those in heaven had such
power as without harm
to minister to the salvation of so many. But he
alone having reached our deep corruption, he alone having taken upon himself
our labors, he alone having suffered the punishments due for our impieties,
having recovered us who were not half dead merely, but were already in tombs
and sepulchers, and altogether foul and offensive, saves us, both anciently
and now, by his beneficent zeal, beyond the expectation of any one, even of
ourselves, and imparts liberally of the Father's benefits, he who is the
giver of life and light, our great Physician and King and Lord, the
Christ of God. For then when the whole
human race lay buried in gloomy night and
in depths of darkness through the deceitful arts of guilty demons and the
power of God-hating spirits, by his simple appearing he loosed once for all
the fast-bound cords of our impieties by the rays of his light, even as wax is
melted.
But when malignant envy and the evilloving demon wellnigh burst with anger at
such grace and kindness, and turned against us all his death-dealing forces,
and when, at first, like a dog gone mad which gnashes his teeth at the stones
thrown at him, and pours out his rage against his assailants upon the
inanimate missiles, he leveled his ferocious madness at the stones of the
sanctuaries and at the lifeless material of the houses, and desolated the
churches -- at least as he supposed -- and then emitted terrible hissings and
snake-like sounds, now by the threats of impious tyrants, and again by the
blasphemous edicts of profane rulers, vomiting forth death, moreover, and
infecting with his deleterious and soul-destroying poisons the souls captured
by him, and almost slaying them by his death-fraught sacrifices of dead idols,
and causing every beast in the form of man and every kind of savage to assault
us
-- then, indeed, the 'Angel of the great
Council,'
the great Captain
of God
after the mightiest soldiers of his kingdom had displayed sufficient exercise
through patience and endurance in everything, suddenly appeared anew, and
blotted out and annihilated his enemies and foes, so that they seemed never to
have had even a name. But his friends and relatives he raised to the highest
glory, in the presence not only of all men, but also of celestial powers, of
sun and moon and stars,
and of the whole heaven and earth, so that
now, as has never happened before, the supreme rulers, conscious of the
honor which they have received from him, spit upon the faces of dead idols,
trample upon the unhallowed rites of demons, make sport of the ancient
delusion handed down from their fathers, and acknowledge only one God, the
common benefactor of all, themselves included. And they confess Christ, the
Son of God, universal King of all, and proclaim him Saviour on monuments,
imperishably recording in imperial letters, in the midst of the city which
rules over the earth, his righteous deeds and his victories over the impious.
Thus Jesus Christ our Saviour is the only one from all eternity who has been
acknowledged, even by those highest in the earth, not as a common king among
men, but as a trite son of the universal God, and who has been worshiped
as very God,
and that rightly. For what
king that ever lived attained such virtue as
to fill the ears and tongues of all men upon earth with his own name? What
king, after ordaining such pious and wise laws, has extended them from one end
of the earth to the other, so that they are perpetually read in the hearing of
all men? Who has abrogated barbarous
and savage customs of uncivilized nations
by his gentle and most philanthropic laws? Who, being attacked for entire ages
by all, has shown such superhuman virtue as to flourish daily, and remain
young throughout his
life? Who has founded a nation which of old was not even heard of, but
which now is not concealed in some comer of the earth, but is spread abroad
everywhere under the sun? Who has so fortified his soldiers with the arms of
piety that their souls, being firmer than adamant, shine brilliantly in the
contests with
their opponents? What king prevails to
such an extent, and even after death leads
on his soldiers, and sets up trophies over his
enemies, and fills every place, country and city, Greek and barbarian, with
his royal dwellings, even divine temples with their consecrated oblations,
like this very temple with its superb adornments and votive offerings, which
are themselves so truly great and majestic, worthy of wonder and admiration,
and clear signs of the sovereignty of our Saviour? For now, too, 'he spake,
and they were made; he commanded, and they were created.'
For what was
there to resist the nod of the universal King and Governor and Word of God
himself?
"A special discourse would be needed accurately to survey and explain
all this; and
also to describe how great the zeal of the
laborers is regarded by him who is celebrated as divine,
who looks upon
the living temple which we all constitute, and surveys the house, composed of
living and moving stones, which is well and surely built upon the foundation
of the apostles and prophets, the chief cornerstone being Jesus Christ
himself, who has been rejected not only by the builders of that ancient
building which no longer stands, but also by the builders -- evil architects
of evil works -- of the structure, which is composed of the mass of men and
still endures
But the Father has approved him both then and now, and has
made him the head of the corner of this our common church. Who that beholds
this living temple of the living God formed of ourselves -- this greatest and
truly divine sanctuary, I say, whose inmost shrines are invisible to the
multitude and are truly holy and a holy of holies -- would venture to declare
it? Who is able even to look within the sacred enclosure, except the great
High Priest of all, to whom alone it is permitted to fathom
the mysteries of every rational soul? But
perhaps it is granted to another, to one
only, to be second after him in the same work, namely, to the commander of
this army whom the first and great High Priest himself has honored with the
second place in this sanctuary, the shepherd of your divine flock who has
obtained your people by the allotment and the judgment of the Father, as if he
had appointed him his own servant and interpreter, a new Aaron or Melchizedec,
made like the Son of God, remaining and continually preserved by him in
accordance with the united prayers
of all of you. To him therefore alone let
it be granted, if not in the first place, at
least in the second after the first and greatest High Priest, to observe and
supervise the inmost state of your souls -- to him who by experience and length
of time has accurately proved each one, and who by his zeal and care has
disposed you all in pious conduct and doctrine, and is better able than any
one else to give an account, adequate to the facts, of those things which he
himself has accomplished with the
Divine assistance. As to our first and great
High Priest, it is said,
'Whatsoever he
seeth the Father doing those things likewise the Son also doeth.'
So also
this one,
looking up to him as to the first teacher, with pure eyes of
the mind, using as archetypes whatsoever things he seeth him doing, produceth
images of them, making them so far as is possible in the same likeness, in
nothing inferior to that Beseleel, whom God himself 'filled with the spirit of
wisdom and understanding'
and with other technical and scientific
knowledge, and called to be the maker of the temple constructed after
heavenly types given in symbols. Thus this
one also bearing in his own soul the image
of the whole Christ, the Word, the Wisdom, the Light, has formed this
magnificent temple of the highest God, corresponding to the pattern of the
greater as a visible to an invisible, it is impossible to say with what
greatness of soul, with what wealth and liberality of mind, and with what
emulation on the part of all of you, shown in the magnanimity of the
contributors who have ambitiously striven in no way to be left behind by him
in the execution of the same purpose. And this place -- for this deserves to be
mentioned first of all -- which had been covered with all sorts of rubbish by
the artifices of our enemies he did not overlook, nor did he yield to the
wickedness of those who had brought about that condition of things, although
he might have chosen some other place, for many other sites were available in
the city, where he would have had less labor, and been free from
trouble. But having first aroused himself
to the work, and then strengthened the
whole people with zeal, and formed them all into one great body, he fought the
first contest. For he thought that this church, which had been
especially besieged by the enemy, which had first suffered and endured the
same persecutions with us and for us, like a mother bereft of her children,
should rejoice with us in the signal favor of the all-merciful God. For when
the Great Shepherd had driven away the wild animals and wolves and every cruel
and savage beast, and, as the divine oracles say, 'had broken the jaws of the
lions,'
, he thought good to collect again her children in the same place,
and in the most righteous manner he set up the fold of her flock, 'to put to
shame the enemy and avenger,'
and to refute the impious daring of the
enemies of God.
And now they are not -- the haters of
God -- for they never were. After they
had troubled and been troubled for a little time, they suffered the fitting
punishment, and brought themselves and their friends and their relatives to
total destruction, so that the declarations inscribed of old in sacred records
have been proved true by facts. In these declarations the divine word truly
says among other things
the following concerning them: 'The wicked
have drawn out the sword, they have bent
their bow, to slay the righteous in heart; let their sword enter into their
own heart and their bows be broken.'
And again: 'Their memorial is
perished with a sound'
and 'their name hast thou blotted out forever and
ever';
for when they also were in trouble they 'cried out and there was
none to save: unto the Lord, and he heard them not.
But 'their feet were
bound together, and they fell, but we have arisen and stand upright.'
And
that which was announced beforehand in these words, 'O Lord, in thy city thou
shalt set at naught their image,'
-- has been shown to be true
to the eyes of all. But having waged war
like the giants against God,
they died in
this way. But she that was desolate and rejected by men received the
consummation which we behold in consequence of her patience toward God, so
that the prophecy of Isaiah was spoken of her: 'Rejoice, thirsty desert, let
the desert rejoice and blossom as the lily, and the desert places shall
blossom and be glad.'
'Be strengthened, ye weak hands and feeble knees.
Be of good courage, ye feeble-hearted, in your minds; be strong, fear not.
Behold our God recompenseth judgment and will recompense, he will come and
save us.'
'For,' he says, 'in the wilderness water has broken out, and a pool in thirsty
ground, and the dry land shall be watered meadows, and in the thirsty ground
there shall be springs of water.'
These things which were prophesied
long ago have been recorded
in sacred books; but no longer are they transmitted to us by hearsay merely,
but in facts.
This desert, this dry land, this widowed and
deserted one, 'whose gates they cut down with
axes like wood in a forest, whom they broke
down with hatchet and hammer,'
whose books
also they destroyed,
'burning with fire the
sanctuary of God, and profaning unto the ground
the habitation of his name,'
'whom all that
passed by upon the way plucked, and whose
fences they broke down, whom the boar out of
the wood ravaged, and on which the savage
wild beast fed,'
now by the wonderful power
of Christ, when he wills it, has become like a
lily. For at that time also she was chastened at
his nod as by a careful father; 'for whom the
Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth
every son whom he receiveth.'
Then after
being chastened in a measure, according to
the necessities of the case, she is commanded to rejoice anew; and she
blossoms as a lily and exhales her divine odor among all men. 'For,' it is
said, 'water hath broken out in the wilderness,'
the fountain of the
saving bath of divine regeneration.
And now she, who a little before was
a desert, 'has become watered meadows. and springs of water have gushed forth
in a thirsty land.'
The hands which before were 'weak' have become 'truly
strong';
and these works are great and convincing proofs of strong hands.
The knees, also, which before were 'feeble and infirm,' recovering their
wonted strength, are moving straight forward in the path of divine knowledge,
and hastening to the kindred flock
of the all-gracious Shepherd.
And if there are any whose souls have been
stupefied by the threats of the tyrants, not
even they are passed by as incurable by the saving Word; but he heals them
also and urges them on to receive divine comfort, saying, 'Be ye comforted, ye
who are faint-hearted; be
ye strengthened, fear not.'
This our new
and excellent Zerubabel, having heard the
word which announced beforehand, that she who had been made a desert on
account of God should enjoy these things, after the bitter captivity and the abomination of desolation, did not overlook the dead body; but
first of all with prayers and supplications propitiated the Father with the
common consent of all of you, and invoking the only one that giveth life to
the dead as his ally and fellow-worker, raised her that was fallen, after
purifying and freeing her from her ills. And he clothed her not with the
ancient garment, but with such an one as he had again learned from the sacred
oracles, which say clearly, 'And the latter glory of this house shall be
greater than the former.'
Thus, enclosing a much larger space, he
fortified
the outer court with a wall surrounding the whole, which should
serve as a most secure
bulwark for the entire edifice.
And he
raised and spread out a great and lofty vestibule toward the rays of the
rising sun,
and furnished those standing far without the sacred enclosure
a full view of those within, almost turning the eyes of those who were
strangers to the faith, to the entrances, so that no one could pass by without
being impressed by the memory of the former desolation and of the present
incredible transformation. His hope was that such an one being impressed by
this might be attracted and be induced to enter by the very sight. But when
one comes within the gates he does not permit him to enter the sanctuary
immediately, with impure and unwashed feet; but leaving as large a space as
possible between the temple and the outer entrance, he has surrounded and
adorned it with four transverse cloisters, making a quadrangular space with
pillars rising on every side, which he has joined with lattice-work screens of
wood, rising to a suitable height; and he has left an open space
in the
middle, so that the sky can
be seen, and the free air bright in the rays of the sun. Here he has
placed symbols
of sacred purifications, setting up fountains opposite the temple which
furnish an abundance of water wherewith those who come within the sanctuary
may purify themselves. This is the first halting-place of those who enter; and
it furnishes at the same time a beautiful and splendid scene to every one, and
to those who still need elementary instruction a fitting station. But passing
by this spectacle, he has made open entrances to the temple with many other
vestibules within, placing three doors on one side, likewise facing the rays
of the sun. The one in the middle, adorned with plates of bronze, iron bound,
and beautifully embossed, he has made much higher and broader than the others,
as if he were making them guards for
it as for a queen. In the same way, arranging the number of vestibules for the
corridors on each side of the whole temple, he has made above them various
openings into the building, for the purpose of admitting more light, adorning
them with very fine wood-carving. But the royal house he has furnished with
more beautiful and splendid materials, using unstinted
liberality in his disbursements. It seems
to me superfluous to describe here in detail
the length and breadth of the building, its splendor and its majesty
surpassing description, and the brilliant appearance of the work, its lofty
pinnacles reaching to the heavens, and the costly cedars of Lebanon above
them, which the divine oracle has not omitted to mention, saying, 'The trees
of the Lord shall rejoice and the cedars of Lebanon which he hath
planted.'
Why need I now describe the skillful architectural
arrangement and the surpassing beauty of each part, when the testimony of the
eye renders instruction through the ear superfluous? For when he had thus
completed the temple, he provided it with lofty thrones in honor of those who
preside, and in addition with seats arranged in proper order throughout the
whole building, and finally placed in the middle
the holy of holies, the
altar, and, that it might be inaccessible to the multitude, enclosed it with
wooden lattice-work, accurately wrought with artistic carving, presenting a
wonderful sight to the beholders. And not even the pavement was neglected
by him; for this too he adorned with beautiful marble of every variety. Then
finally he passed on to the parts without the temple, providing spacious
exedrae and buildings
on each side, which were
joined to the basilica, and communicated with the entrances to the interior of
the structure. These were erected by our most peaceful
Solomon, the maker
of the temple of God, for those who still needed purification and sprinkling
by water and the Holy Spirit, so that the prophecy quoted above is no longer a
word merely, but a fact; for now it has also come
to pass that in truth 'the biter glory of
this house is greater than the former.'
For it was necessary and fitting that as her shepherd and Lord had once tasted
death for her, and after his suffering had changed that vile body which he
assumed in her behalf into a splendid and glorious body, leading the very
flesh which had been delivered
from corruption to incorruption, she too
should enjoy the dispensations of the Saviour. For having received from him
the promise of much greater things than these, she desires to share
uninterruptedly throughout eternity with the choir of the angels of light, in
the far greater glory of regeneration,
in the resurrection of an
incorruptible body, in the palace of God beyond the heavens, with Christ Jesus
himself, the universal Benefactor and Saviour. But for the
present, she that was formerly widowed and
desolate is clothed by the grace of God with these flowers, and is become
truly like a lily, as the prophecy says,
and having received the bridal
garment and the crown of beauty, she is taught by Isaiah to dance, and to
present her thank-offerings unto God the King in reverent words. Let us hear
her saying, 'My
soul shall rejoice in the Lord; for he hath
clothed me with a garment of salvation and with a robe of gladness; he hath
bedecked me like a bridegroom with a garland, and he hath adorned me like a
bride with jewels; and like the earth which bringeth forth her bud, and like a
garden which causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth, thus the
Lord God hath caused righteousness and praise to
spring forth before all the nations.'
In
these words she exults. And in similar
words the heavenly bridegroom, the Word Jesus Christ himself, answers her.
Hear the Lord saying, 'Fear not because thou hast been put to shame, neither
be thou confounded because thou hast been rebuked; for thou shalt forget the
former shame, and the reproach of thy widowhood shalt thou remember no more.'
'Not
as a woman deserted and faint-hearted
hath the Lord called thee, nor as a woman hated from her youth, saith thy
God. For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but i with great mercy will I
have mercy upon thee; in a little wrath I hid my face from thee, but with
everlasting mercy will I have mercy upon thee, saith the Lord that hath
redeemed thee.'
'Awake, awake, thou who hast drunk at the hand of the
Lord the cup of his fury; for thou hast drunk the cup of ruin, the vessel of
my wrath, and hast drained it. And there was none to console thee of all thy
sons whom thou didst bring forth, and there was none to take thee by the
hand.'
'Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of ruin, the
vessel of my fury, and thou shalt no longer drink it. And I will put it into
the hands of them that have treated thee unjustly and have humbled thee.'
'Awake, awake, put on thy strength, put on thy glory. Shake off the dust and
arise. Sit thee down, loose the bands of thy neck.' 'Lift up thine eyes
round about and behold thy children gathered together; behold they are
gathered together and are come to thee. As I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt
clothe thee with them all as with an ornament, and gird thyself with them as
with the ornaments of a bride. For thy waste and corrupted and ruined places
shall now be too narrow by reason of those that inhabit thee, and they that
swallow thee up shall be far from thee. For thy sons whom thou hast lost shall
say in thine ears, The place is too narrow for me, give place to me that I may
dwell. Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these? I am
childless and a widow, and who hath brought up these for me? I was left alone,
and these, where were they for me?'
"These are the things which Isaiah foretold; and which were anciently
recorded concerning us in sacred books S and it was necessary that we should
sometime learn their
truthfulness by their fulfillment. For when
the bridegroom, the Word, addressed such
language to his own bride, the sacred and holy Church, this bridesman --
when she was desolate and lying like a corpse, bereft of hope in the eyes of
men -- in accordance with the united prayers of all of you, as was proper,
stretched out your hands and aroused and raised her up at the command of God,
the universal King, and at the manifestation of the power of Jesus Christ; and
having raised her he established her as he had learned from the description
given in the sacred oracles. This
is indeed a very great wonder, passing all admiration, especially to those who
attend only to the outward appearance; but more wonderful than wonders are the
archetypes and their mental prototypes and divine models; I mean the
reproductions of the inspired and rational
building in our souls. This the Divine Son
himself created after his own image, imparting to it everywhere and in all
respects the likeness of God, an incorruptible nature, incorporeal, rational,
free from all earthly matter, a being endowed with its own intelligence; and
when he had once called her forth from non-existence into existence, he made
her a holy spouse, an all-sacred temple for himself and for the Father. This
also he clearly declares and confesses in the following words: 'I will dwell
in them and will walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my
people.'
Such is the perfect and purified soul, so made from the
beginning as to bear the image of the celestial Word.
But when by the envy and zeal of the malignant demon she became, of her own
voluntary choice, sensual and a lover of evil, the Deity left her; and as if
bereft of a protector, she became an easy prey and readily accessible to those
who had long envied her; and being assailed by the batteries and machines of
her invisible enemies and spiritual foes, she suffered a terrible fall, so
that not one stone of virtue remained upon another in her, but she lay
completely dead upon the ground, entirely divested of her natural ideas of
God.
"But as she, who had been made in the
image of God, thus lay prostrate, it was
not that wild boar from the forest which we see that despoiled her, but a
certain destroying demon and spiritual wild beasts who deceived her with their
passions as with the fiery darts of their own wickedness, and burned the truly
divine sanctuary of God with fire, and profaned to the ground the tabernacle
of his name. Then burying the miserable one with heaps of earth, they
destroyed every hope of deliverance.
But that divinely bright and saving Word,
her protector, after she had suffered the
merited punishment for her sins, again restored
her, securing the favor of the all-merciful
Father. Having won over first the souls of
the highest rulers, he purified, through the
agency of those most divinely favored princes, the whole earth from all the
impious destroyers, and from the terrible and God-hating tyrants themselves.
Then bringing out into the light those who were his friends, who had long
before been consecrated to him for life, but in the midst, as it were, of a
storm of evils, had been concealed under his shelter, he honored them worthily
with the great gifts of the Spirit. And again, by
means of them, he cleared out and cleaned with
spades and mattocks -- the admonitory words
of doctrine
-- the souls which a little while
before had been covered with filth and burdened
with every kind of matter and rubbish of
impious ordinances. And when he had
made the ground of all your minds clean
and clear, he finally committed it to this allwise and God-beloved Ruler, who, being endowed with judgment and prudence, as
well as
with other gifts, and being able to examine and
discriminate accurately the minds of those committed to his charge, from the
first day, so to
speak, down to the present, has not ceased to
build. Now he has supplied the brilliant gold,
again the refined and unalloyed silver, and the
precious and costly stones in all of you, so that
again is fulfilled for you in facts a sacred
and mystic prophecy, which says, 'Behold
I make thy stone a carbuncle, and thy
foundations of sapphire, and thy battlements of
jasper, and thy gates of crystals, and thy wall of
chosen stones; and all thy sons shall be taught
of God, and thy children shall enjoy complete
peace; and in righteousness shall thou be
built.' Building therefore in righteousness,
be divided the whole people according to
their strength. With some he fortified only the outer enclosure, walling it up
with unfeigned faith; such were the great mass of the people who were
incapable of bearing a greater structure. Others he permitted to enter the
building, commanding them to stand at the door and act as guides for those who
should come in; these may be not unfitly compared to the vestibules of the
temple. Others he supported by the first pillars which are placed without
about the quadrangular hall, initiating them into the first elements of the
letter of the four Gospels. Still others he joined together about the basilica
on both sides; these are the catechumens who are still advancing and
progressing, and are not far separated from the inmost view of divine
things granted to the faithful. Taking from
among these the pure souls that have been
cleansed like gold by divine washing,
he then supports them by pillars,
much better than those without, made from the inner and mystic teachings of
the Scripture, and illumines them
by windows. Adorning the whole temple
with a great vestibule of the glory of the
one universal King and only God, and placing
on either side of the authority of the Father Christ, and the Holy Spirit as
second lights, he exhibits abundantly and gloriously throughout the entire
building the clearness and splendor of the truth of the rest in all its
details. And having selected from every quarter the living and moving and
well-prepared stones of the souls, he constructs out of them all the great and
royal house, splendid and full of light both within and without; for not only
soul and understanding, but their body also is made glorious by the
blooming ornament of purity and modesty.
And in this temple there are also thrones,
and a great number of seats and benches,
in all those souls in which sit the Holy Spirit's gifts, such as were
anciently seen by the sacred apostles, and those who were with them, when
there 'appeared unto them tongues parting asunder, like as of fire, and sat
upon each one of them.'
But in the leader of all it is
reasonable to suppose
that Christ himself dwells in his fullness,
and in those that occupy the second rank after him, in proportion as each
is able to contain the power of Christ and of the Holy Spirit.
And the
souls of some m of those, namely, who are committed to each of them for
instruction and care -- may be
seats for angels. But the great and august
and unique altar, what else could this be
than the pure holy of holies of the soul of the common priest of all? Standing
at the right of it, Jesus himself, the great High Priest of the universe, the
Only Begotten of God, receives with bright eye and extended hand the sweet
incense from all, and the bloodless and immaterial sacrifices offered in their
prayers, and bears them to the heavenly Father and God of the universe. And he
himself first worships him, and alone gives to the Father the reverence which
is his due, beseeching him also to continue always kind and propitious to us
all.
"Such is the great temple which the great
Creator of the universe, the Word, has built
throughout the entire world, making it an intellectual image upon earth of
those things which lie above the vault of heaven, so that throughout the whole
creation, including rational beings on earth, his Father might be honored and
adored.
But the region above the heavens, with the
models of earthly things which are there,
and the so-called Jerusalem above,
and the heavenly Mount of Zion, and
the supramundane city of the living God, in which innumerable choirs of angels
and the Church of the first born, whose names are written in heaven,
praise their Maker and the Supreme Ruler of the universe with hymns of praise
unutterable and incomprehensible to us -- who that is mortal is able worthily
to celebrate this? ' For eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered
into the heart of men those things which God hath prepared for them that love
him.'
Since we, men, children, and women, small
and great, are already in part partakers of
these things, let us not cease all together, with one spirit and one soul, to
confess and praise the author of such great benefits to us, 'Who for-giveth
all our iniquities, who healeth all our diseases, who redeemeth our life from
destruction, who crowneth us with mercy and compassion, who satisfieth our
desires with good things.' 'For he hath not dealt with us according to our
sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities;'
'for as far as the
east is from the west, so far hath he removed our iniquities from us. Like as
a father pitieth his own children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.'
Rekindling these thoughts in our memories, both now and during all time to
come, and
contemplating in our mind night and day, in every hour and with every breath,
so to speak, the Author and Ruler of the present festival, and of this bright
and most splendid day, let us love and adore him with every power of the soul.
And now rising, let us beseech him with loud voice to shelter and preserve us
to the end in his fold, granting his unbroken and unshaken peace forever, in
Christ Jesus our Saviour; through whom be the glory unto him forever and ever.
Amen."
Let us finally subjoin the translations from the Roman tongue of the
imperial decrees of Constantine and Licinius.
2. Copy of imperial decrees translated from the Roman tongue."
"Perceiving long ago that religious liberty ought not to be denied, but
that it ought to be granted to the judgment and desire of each individual to
perform his religious duties according to his own choice, we had given orders
that every man, Christians as well as others, should
preserve the faith of his own sect and religion.
But since in that
rescript, in which
such liberty was granted them, many and various conditions
seemed clearly
added, some of them,
it may be, after a little retired from such
observance. When I, Constantine Augustus, and I, Licinius Augustus, came
under
favorable auspices to Milan and took under consideration everything which
pertained to the common weal and prosperity, we resolved among other things,
or rather first of all, to make such decrees as seemed in many respects for
the benefit of every one; namely, such as should preserve reverence and piety
toward the deity. We resolved, that is, to grant both to the Christians and to
all men freedom to follow the religion which they choose, that whatever
heavenly divinity exists
may be propitious to us and to all that live
under our government.
We have, therefore, determined, with sound
and upright purpose, that liberty is to be
denied to no one, to choose and to follow the religious observances of the
Christians, but that to each one freedom is to be given to devote his mind to
that religion which he may think adapted to himself,
in order that the
Deity may exhibit to us in all things his accustomed care and favor. It was
fitting that we should write that this is our pleasure, that those
conditions
being entirely left out which were contained in our former
letter concerning the Christians which was sent to your devotedness,
everything that seemed very severe and foreign to our mildness may be
annulled, and that now every one who has the same desire to observe the
religion of the Christians may do so without molestation.
We have resolved to communicate this
most fully to thy care, in order that thou
mayest know that we have granted to these same Christians freedom and full
liberty to observe their own religion. Since this has
been granted freely by us to them, thy devotedness perceives that liberty is
granted to others also who may wish to follow their own religious observances;
it being clearly in accordance with the tranquillity of our times, that each
one should have the liberty of choosing and worshiping whatever deity he
pleases. This has been done by us in order that we might not seem in any way
to discriminate against
any rank or religion.s And we decree still
further in regard to the Christians, that their
places, in which they were formerly accustomed to assemble, and concerning
which in the former
letter sent to thy devotedness a different command was given
if it appear
that any have bought them either from our treasury or from any other person,
shall be restored to the said Christians, without demanding money or any other
equivalent, with no delay or hesitation. If any happen to have received the
said places as a gift, they shall restore them as quickly as possible to
these same Christians: with the understanding that if those who have bought
these
places, or those who have received them as a gift, demand anything from our
bounty, they may go to the judge of the district, that provision may be made
for them by our clemency. All these things are to be granted to the society of
Christians by your care immediately and
without any delay. And since the said
Christians are known to have possessed not
only those places in which they were accustomed to assemble, but also other
places, belonging not to individuals among them, but to the society
as a
whole, that is, to the society of Christians, you will command that all these,
in virtue of the law which we have above stated, be restored, without any
hesitation, to these same Christians; that is, to their society and
congregation: the above-mentioned provision being of course observed, that
those who restore them without price, as we have before said, may
expect indemnification from our bounty. In
all these things, for the behoof of the aforesaid society of Christians,
you are to use the utmost diligence, to the end that our command may be
speedily fulfilled, and that in this also, by
our clemency, provision may be made for
the common and public tranquillity.
For
by this means,
as we have said before, the
divine favor toward us which we have already experienced in many
matters will continue
sure through all time. And that the terms
of this our gracious ordinance may be known
to all, it is expected that this which we have written will be published
everywhere by you and brought to the knowledge of all, in order that this
gracious ordinance of ours may remain unknown to no one."
Copy of another imperial decree which
they issued,
indicating that the grant
was made to the Catholic Church alone.
"Greeting to thee, our most esteemed Anulinus. It is the custom of our
benevolence, most esteemed Anulinus, to will that those things
which belong of right to another should not only be left unmolested, but
should also be
restored.
Wherefore it is our will that
when thou receivest this
letter, if any such things belonged to the Catholic Church of the-Christians,
in any city or other place, but are now held by citizens
or by any
others, thou shalt cause them to be restored immediately to the said churches.
For we have already determined that those things which these same. churches
formerly possessed shall be restored to them. Since therefore thy devotedness perceives that this command of
ours is most explicit, do thou make haste to restore to them, as quickly as
possible, everything which formerly belonged to the said churches,-whether
gardens or buildings or whatever they may be -- that we may learn that thou
hast obeyed this decree of ours most carefully. Farewell, our most esteemed
and beloved Anulinus."
Copy of an epistle in which the Emperor commands that a synod
of bishops be held at Rome in behalf of the unity and can-card of the churches
.
"Constantine Augustus to Miltiades,
bishop of Rome, and to Marcus.
Since many such communications have been sent to me by Anu-linus,
the most illustrious proconsul of Africa, in which it is said that
Caecilianus,
bishop of the city of Carthage, has been accused by some of
his colleagues in Africa, in many matters;
and since it seems to me a
very serious thing that in those provinces which Divine Providence has freely
entrusted to my devotedness, and in which there is a great population, the
multitude
are found following the baser course, and dividing, as it were,
into two parties, and the bishops are at variance -- it has seemed good to me
that Caecilianus himself, with ten of the bishops that appear to accuse him,
and with ten others whom he may consider necessary for his defense, should
sail to Rome,
that there, in the presence of yourselves and of Retecius
and Maternus
and Marinus,
your colleagues, whom I have commanded to hasten to
Rome for this purpose,
he may be heard, as you may understand to be in
accordance
with the most holy law. But in order that
you may be enabled to have most perfect
knowledge of all these things, I have subjoined to my letter copies of the
documents sent to me by Anulinus, and have sent them to your above-mentioned
colleagues. When your firmness has read these, you will consider in what way
the above-mentioned case may be most accurately investigated and justly
decided. For it does not escape your diligence that I have such reverence for
the legitimate
Catholic Church that I do not wish you to leave schism or
division in any place. May the divinity of the great God preserve you, most
honored sirs, for many years."
Copy of an epistle in which the emperor commands another synod
to be held for the purpose of removing all dissensions among the bishops.
"Constantine Augustus to Chrestus,
bishop of Syracuse. When some
began wickedly and perversely to disagree
among themselves in regard to
the holy worship and celestial power and Catholic doctrine,
wishing to
put an end to such disputes among them, I formerly gave command that certain
bishops should be sent from Gaul, and that the opposing parties
who were contending persistently and incessantly with each other, should be
summoned from Africa; that in their presence, and in the presence of the
bishop of Rome, the matter which appeared to be causing the disturbance might
be examined and decided with all care.
But since, as it happens, some,
forgetful both of their own salvation and of the reverence due to the most
holy religion, do not
even yet bring hostilities to an end, and are
unwilling to conform to the judgment already
passed, and assert that those who expressed
their opinions and decisions were few, or that
they had been too hasty and precipitate in giving judgment, before all the
things which ought
to have been accurately investigated had been
examined -- on account of all this it has happened that those very ones who
ought to hold
brotherly and harmonious relations toward each
other, are shamefully, or rather abominably,
divided among themselves, and give occasion
for ridicule to those men whose souls are aliens
to this most holy religion. Wherefore it has
seemed necessary to me to provide that this
dissension, which ought to have ceased after the
judgment had been already given by their own
voluntary agreement, should now, if possible,
be brought to an end by the presence of
many. Since, therefore, we have commanded a number of bishops from a great
many different places
to assemble in the city of Arles,
before the
kalends of August, we have thought proper to write to thee also that thou
shouldst secure from the most illustrious La-tronianus,
corrector of
Sicily,
a public vehicle, and that thou shouldst take with thee two
others of the second rank
whom thou thyself shalt choose, together with
three servants who may serve you on the way, and betake thyself to the
above-mentioned place before the
appointed day; that by thy firmness, and
by the wise unanimity and harmony of the
others present, this dispute, which has disgracefully continued until the
present time, in consequence of certain shameful strifes, after all has been
heard which those have to say who are now at variance with one another, and
whom we have likewise commanded to be present, may be settled in accordance
with the proper faith, and that brotherly harmony, though it be but gradually,
may be restored. May the Almighty God preserve thee in health for many years."
"Constantine Augustus to Caecilianus,
bishop of Carthage. Since it is our pleasure that something should be granted
in all the provinces of Africa and Numidia and Mauritania to certain ministers
of the legitimate
and most holy catholic religion, to defray their
expenses, I have written to Ursus,
the illustrious finance minister
of
Africa, and have directed him to make provision to pay to thy firmness three
thousand folles.
Do thou therefore, when thou hast received the above sum of money, command that it be
distributed
among all those mentioned above, according
to the briefs sent to thee by Hosius.
But
if thou shouldst find that anything is wanting for the fulfillment of this
purpose of mine in regard to all of them, thou shalt demand without hesitation
from Heracleides,
our treasurer,
whatever thou findest to be
necessary. For I commanded him when he was present that if thy firmness should
ask him for any money, he should see to it that it be paid without delay. And since I have learned that some
men of unsettled mind wish to turn the
people from the most holy and catholic Church by a certain method of shameful
corruption,
do thou know that I gave command to Anulinus, the proconsul,
and also to Patricius,
vicar of the prefects,
when they were
present, that they should give proper attention not only to other matters but
also above all to this, and that they should not overlook such a thing when
it happened. Wherefore if thou shouldst
see any such men continuing in this madness, do thou without delay go to
the above-mentioned judges and report the matter to them; that they may
correct them as I commanded them when they were present.
The divinity of
the great God preserve thee for many years."
Copy of an epistle in which the emperor
commands that the rulers of the churches
be exempted from all political duties.
"Greeting to thee, our most esteemed Anulinus. Since it appears from many
circumstances
that when that religion is despised, in which
is preserved the chief reverence for the most
holy celestial Power, great dangers are brought
upon public affairs; but that when legally
adopted and observed
it affords the most signal prosperity to the Roman
name and remarkable felicity to all the affairs of men, through
the divine beneficence -- it has seemed good to
me, most esteemed Anulinus, that those men
who give their services with due sanctity and
with constant observance of this law, to the worship of the divine religion,
should receive
recompense for their labors. Wherefore it
is my will that those within the province
entrusted to thee,
in the catholic Church, over
which Caecilianus presides,
who give their services to this holy religion,
and who are commonly called clergymen, be entirely exempted
from all public duties, that they may not by any
error or sacrilegious negligence be drawn away
from the service due to the Deity, but may
devote themselves without any hindrance to
their own law. For it seems that when they
show greatest reverence to the Deity, the greatest benefits accrue to the state. Farewell,
our most esteemed and beloved Anulinus."
Such blessings did divine and heavenly
grace confer upon us through the appearance of our Saviour, and such was
the abundance of benefits which prevailed among all men in consequence of the
peace which we enjoyed. And thus were our affairs crowned with rejoicings and
festivities. But malignant envy, and the demon who loves that which is evil,
were not able to bear the sight of these things; and moreover the events that
befell the tyrants whom we have already mentioned were not sufficient to bring
Licinius
to sound reason. For the latter, although
his government was prosperous and he was
honored with the second rank after the great
Emperor Constantine, and was connected with
him by the closest ties of marriage, abandoned
the imitation of good deeds, and emulated the
wickedness of the impious tyrants whose end
he had seen with his own eyes, and chose rather
to follow their principles than to continue in
friendly relations with him who was better than
they. Being envious of the common benefactor
he waged an impious and most terrible war
against him, paying regard neither to laws of
nature, nor treaties, nor blood, and giving
no thought to covenants.
For Constantine,
like an all-gracious emperor, giving him
evidences of true favor, did not refuse alliance
with him, and did not refuse him the illustrious
marriage with his sister, but honored him by
making him a partaker of the ancestral nobility
and the ancient imperial blood,
and granted
him the right of sharing in the dominion over
all as a brother-in-law and co-regent, conferring
upon him the government and administration of
no less a portion of the Roman provinces
than he himself possessed.
But Licinius,
on the contrary, pursued a course directly
opposite to this; forming daily all kinds of plots
against his superior, and devising all sorts of
mischief, that he might repay his benefactor
with evils. At first he attempted to conceal his
preparations, and pretended to be a friend, and
practiced frequently fraud and deceit, in the
hope that he might easily accomplish the
desired end.
But God was the friend, protector,
and guardian of Constantine, and
bringing the plots which had been formed in secrecy and darkness to the light,
he foiled them. So much virtue does the great armor of piety possess for the
warding off of enemies and for the preservation of our own safety. Protected
by this, our most divinely favored emperor escaped the multitudinous plots of
the abominable man. But when Licinius perceived
that his secret preparations by no means
progressed according to his mind -- for God revealed every plot and
wickedness to the God-favored emperor -- being no longer able to conceal
himself, he undertook an open war.
And at the same time that he determined to wage war with Constantine, he also
proceeded to join battle with the God of the universe, whom he knew that
Constantine worshiped, and began, gently for a time and quietly, to attack his
pious subjects, who had never done his government any harm.
This he did
under the compulsion of his innate wickedness
which drove him into terrible blindness. He
did not therefore keep before his eyes the
memory of those who had persecuted the Christians before him, nor of those
whose destroyer and executioner he had been appointed, on account of the
impieties which they had committed. But departing from sound reason, being
seized, in a word, with insanity, he determined to war against God himself as
the ally of Constantine, instead of against the one who was
assisted by him. And in the first place, he
drove from his house every Christian, thus
depriving himself, wretched man, of the prayers which they offered to God in
his behalf, which they are accustomed, according to the teaching of their
fathers, to offer for all men. Then he commanded that the soldiers in the
cities should be cashiered and stripped of their rank unless they chose to
sacrifice to the demons. And yet these were small matters when compared
with the greater things that followed. Why
is it necessary to relate minutely and in
detail all that was done by the hater of God, and to recount how this most
lawless man invented unlawful laws?
He passed an ordinance that no one
should exercise humanity toward the sufferers in prison by giving them food,
and that none should show mercy to those that were perishing of hunger in
bonds; that no one should in any way be kind, or do any good act, even though
moved by Nature herself to sympathize with one's neighbors. And this was
indeed an openly shameful and most cruel law, calculated to expel all natural
kindliness. And in addition to this it was also decreed, as a punishment, that
those who showed compassion should suffer the same things with those whom they
compassionated; and that those who kindly ministered to
the suffering should be thrown into bonds and
into prison, and should endure the same punishment with the sufferers.Such
were the decrees
of Licinius.
Why should we recount his innovations
in regard to marriage or in regard to the
dying -- innovations by which he ventured to annul the ancient laws of the
Romans which had been well and wisely formed, and to introduce certain
barbarous and cruel laws, which were truly unlawful and lawless?
He
invented, to the detriment of the provinces which were subject to him,
innumerable prosecutions,
and all sorts of methods of extorting gold and
silver. new measurements of land
and injurious exactions from men in the
country, who were no longer living, but long since dead. Why is it necessary
to speak at length of the banishments which, in addition to these things, this
enemy of mankind inflicted upon those who had done no wrong, the expatriations
of men of noble birth and high reputation whose young wives he snatched from
them and consigned to certain baser fellows of his own, to be shamefully
abused by them, and the many married women and virgins upon whom he gratified
his passions, although he was in advanced age
-- why, I say, is it necessary to speak at length of these things, when the
excessive wickedness of his last deeds makes the first appear
small and of no account? For, finally, he reached such a pitch of madness that he
attacked the bishops, supposing that they -- as servants of the God over all --
would be hostile to his measures. He did not yet proceed against them openly,
on account of his fear of his superior, but as before, secretly and craftily,
employing the treachery of the governors for the destruction of the most
distinguished of them. And the manner of their murder was strange, and such as
had never before been heard of. The deeds which he performed
at Amaseia
and in the other cities of Pontus surpassed every excess of
cruelty. Some of the churches of God were again razed to the ground, others
were closed, so that none of those accustomed to frequent them could enter
them and render the worship due to God.
For his evil conscience led him to suppose
that prayers were not offered in his behalf;
but he was persuaded that we did everything in the interest of the God-beloved
emperor, and that we supplicated God for him.
Therefore
he hastened to turn his fury against us.
And then those among the governors who wished to flatter him, perceiving that in
doing such things they pleased the impious tyrant,
made some of the
bishops suffer the penalties customarily inflicted upon criminals, and led
away and without any pretext punished like murderers those who had done no
wrong. Some now endured a new form of death: having their bodies cut into many
pieces with the sword, and after this savage and most horrible
spectacle, being thrown into the depths of
the sea as food for fishes. Thereupon the
worshipers of God again fled, and fields and
deserts, forests and mountains, again received the servants of Christ. And
when the impious
tyrant had thus met with success in these measures, he finally
planned to renew the persecution against all. And he would have
succeeded in his design, and there would
have been nothing to hinder him in the work, had not God, the defender of the
lives of his own people, most quickly anticipated that which was about to
happen, and caused a great light to shine forth as in the midst of a dark and
gloomy night, and raised up a deliverer for
leading into those regions with a lofty arm, his servant, Constantine.
To him, therefore, God granted, from
heaven above, the deserved fruit of piety,
the trophies of victory over the impious, and he cast the guilty one with all
his counselors
and friends prostrate at the feet of Constantine. For when Licinius carried
his madness to the last extreme, the emperor,
the friend of God, thinking that he ought no longer to be tolerated, acting
upon the basis of sound judgment, and mingling the firm principles of justice
with humanity, gladly determined to come to the protection of those who were
oppressed by the tyrant, and undertook, by putting a few destroyers out of the
way, to save the greater part of the human race.
For
when he had formerly exercised humanity
alone and had shown mercy to him who was not worthy of sympathy, nothing was
accomplished; for Licinius did not renounce his wickedness, but rather
increased his fury against the peoples that were subject to him, and there was
left to the afflicted no hope of salvation, oppressed
as they were by a savage beast. Wherefore,
the protector of the virtuous, mingling hatred
for evil with love for good, went forth with his son Crispus, a most
beneficent prince,
and extended a saving right hand to all that were
perishing. Both of them, father and son, under the protection, as it were, of
God, the universal King, with the Son of God, the Saviour of all, as their
leader and ally, drew up their forces on all sides against the enemies of the
Deity and won an easy victory;
God having prospered them in the battle in
all respects according to their wish. Thus, suddenly, and sooner
than can be told, those who yesterday and
the day before breathed death and threatening were no more, and not even their
names were remembered, but their inscriptions and their honors suffered the
merited disgrace. And the things which Licinius with his own eyes had seen
come upon the former impious tyrants he himself likewise suffered, because he
did not receive instruction nor learn wisdom from the chastisements of his
neighbors, but followed the same path of impiety which they had trod, and was
justly hurled over the same precipice.
Thus he lay prostrate. But Constantine,
the mightiest victor, adorned with every virtue of piety, together with his
son Crispus, a most God-beloved prince, and in all respects like his father,
recovered the East which belonged to them;
and they formed one united
Roman empire as of old, bringing under their peaceful sway the whole world
from the rising of the sun to the opposite quarter, both north and south, even
to the extremities of the declining day. All fear therefore
of those who had formerly afflicted them
was taken away from men, and they celebrated splendid and festive days.
Everything was filled with light, and those who before were downcast beheld
each other with smiling faces and beaming eyes. With dances and hymns, in city
and country, they glorified first of all God the universal King, because they
had been thus taught, and then the pious emperor
with his God-beloved children. There was
oblivion of past evils and forgetfulness of
every deed of impiety; there was enjoyment of present benefits and expectation
of those yet to come. Edicts full of clemency and laws containing tokens of
benevolence and true piety
were issued in every place by the victorious
emperor.
Thus after all tyranny had been
purged away, the empire which belonged to
them was preserved firm and without a rival for Constantine and his sons
alone.
And having obliterated the godlessness of their predecessors,
recognizing the benefits conferred upon them by God, they exhibited their love
of virtue and their love of God, and their piety and gratitude to the Deity,
by the deeds which they performed in the sight of all men.
The Restoration of the Churches
The Dedications in Every Place
Panegyric on the Splendor of Affairs
Copies of Imperial Laws
Copy of an Imperial Epistle in which Money is granted to the Churches
The Exemption of the Clergy
The Subsequent Wickedness of Licinius, and his Death
The Victory of Constantine, and the Blessings which under him accrued to the Subjects of the Roman Empire