This worthless and stupid prince could not read or write his own name, and hated all men of learning as much as he did the Christians. "His education, rustic, and suitable to his mean "and obscure birth, made him totally ignorant of "letters. He was a declared enemy to all learning, "and called it the pest and the poison of the state; "but he had a particular hatred for the profession of the law. He also took a delight in tormenting the "most illustrious philosophers, and in making them "suffer the punishments inflicted on the vilest slaves, "for crimes laid to their charge of which they were "innocent." Tillemont, Hist. des Emp. iv. p. 103. Thus perished this foc to religion, liberty, and literature; whose memory will not perish, but stink through all ages: Καὶ λίην καινός γε ἐοικότι κείται ὀλέθρω ་་ Ὣς ἀπόλοιπο καὶ ἄλλος, ὅτις τοιαῦτά γε ῥέζοι. The Christians had an illustrious friend and protector in Constantius, the father of Constantine, although he was a pagan. He lived highly honoured, and greatly beloved by his subjects; his reign was prosperous, he died in peace, leaving several children, of whom the eldest succeeded in his dominions, and became master of the Roman empire. After Christianity was thus established, the emperor Julian renounced the faith in which he had been educated, and oppressed the Christians, and endeavoured to restore paganism. But having reigned a short time, he was cut off in the midst of his days, and perished in his rash and unhappy expedition against the Persians. As this prince had his good as well as bad qualities, providence seems to have permitted him to fall in battle, and to die an honourable death. They They who were employed or permitted by Julian to persecute the Christians, are said to have perished miserably and remarkably. Tillemont gives us the following account of them, faithfully collected from ancient fathers and ecclesiastical historians, which probably contains many truths, mixed with some exaggeration and embellishment; for such was the genius of those times, that doubt and diffidence is unavoidable, where angels, and devils, and monks, and miracles, and visions, and divine judgments are the subject, The apparitions of armed men, and the revelations which were made to Christians of Julian's death, may justly be taken in the lump as so many pious frauds. "We have observed that Count Julian, with Felix "superintendant of the finances, and Elpidius trea"surer to the emperor, apostates all three, had re"ceived orders to go and seize the effects of the church "of Antioch, and carry them to the treasury. They "did it on the day of the martyrdom of St Theodoret, "and drew up an account of what they had seized. "But Count Julian was not content with taking away "the sacred vessels of the church and with profaning "them by his impure hands: carrying to greater "lengths the outrage he was doing to Jesus Christ, "he overturned and flung them down on the ground, "and sat upon them in a criminal manner, so as to "commit actions which one dare not name, adding to this all the banters and blasphemies that he could "devise against Christ and against the Christians, "who, he said, were abandoned of God. Euzoïus, bishop of the Arians, who were still in possession "of the great Church, opposing himself to these sa"crileges, received from him a blow on the face. "Felix, the superintendant, signalized himself also by another impiety; for as he was viewing the rich and magnificent vessels which the emperors Constantine and Constantius had given to the church; Behold, “said he, with what plate the son of Mary is served! It is said that Count Julian and he made it the sub 6.6 ject of banter, that God should let them thus profane "his temple, without interposing by visible miracles. ❝ret. "But their impieties remained not long unpunish❝ed, and Julian had no sooner profaned the sacred "utensils, than he felt the effect of divine vengeance. "He passed the following night with much disquiet, "and the next morning he presented to the emperor "an inventory of all that had been seized in the church, and then he informed him of what he had done the evening before, with relation to St TheodoHe had done it with a view to please that "Prince but the emperor told him plainly that he "approved not his putting a Christian to death for no "other cause than his religion, and in the very place "where he (the emperor) was, which would make "it believed that is was done by his secret or"ders. He complained that this would afford an occasion, to the Galilæans to write against him, as they had written against his predecessors, and to "make a saint and a martyr of Theodoret. He absolutely commanded him, not only to put no more "Christians to death, but to suffer none else to do it. "The Count, who little expected such a reception "and reply, remained greatly confounded. The 66 66 66 66 66 emperor, to comfort him, told him that he should go along with him, to sacrifice to the gods, and by "that means to obtain the remission of his fault: and "the priests of the idols having presented to the emperor some fowls and other food which had been 66 66 offered **offered to the devil, he ate of them, and gave some to his uncle. The respect and fear with which the "Count was seized, permitted him not to eat much. "He then retired to his own house, vexed that he "had done an odious action, and had also displeased the emperor, so that he would not take any nou"rishment. "Yet the little that he had eaten would not digest, "and in the evening he had a disorder in his bowels "which gave him violent pain. He fell into a grie "vous and unknown disease, and his inward parts 66 being corrupted, he cast out his liver and his excre"ments, not from the ordinary passages, but from his miserable mouth, which had uttered so many blasphemies. His secret parts, and all the flesh "round about them, corrupted also, and bred worms; and to shew that it was a divine punish"ment, all the art of the physicians could give him no relief, though, on account of his high rank, and his near relation to the emperor, they employed aH 66 kind of remedies. They killed a great number of "the choicest and fattest birds, and applied them to "the rotten places, to draw out the worms; but the "worms, instead of coming forth, entered deeper in"to his flesh, devouring all that was corrupted, and 66 66 penetrating to the quick. They got into his sto"mach, and from time to time came out of his mouth, whilst to encrease his affliction, the very pagans made a jest of it. Philostorgius says that he "remained forty days without speech or sense. He "then came to himself a little, and his wife, who, as 66 it was reported, was illustrious for her faith, and "who had warned him to spare at least the lives of "the Christians, represented to him that he ought to acknowledge 66 46 acknowledge and bless the mercy of Jesus Christ, "who in chastizing him shewed him his pow<< er; whereas if he had left him unpunished, and "used his ordinary forbearance, he would never have "known whom he had set at defiance. This miser"able man, pressed by these remonstrances of his wife, and by the sense of his pain, acknowledged, "that this was the true cause of his sufferings; he de"tested the crime which was thus severely punished, "and bare testimony of his own impiety. He called upon the God of the Christians, and intreated him "to have pity on him, or at least to take him soon "out of the world: and he pressed his wife to go and pray for him at church, and to desire the prayers "of the Christians. But for all this, he appeared to "have been no more converted than Antiochus ; "and he is said to have put to death several Christians only three days before he ended his life. His wife "also declared to him that she dared not to pray for "his his recovery, lest she should draw down divine "wrath upon herself. "Yet he intreated the emperor to restore to the "Christians the churches which he had taken from them, and to cause them to be opened: but he "could not obtain from him even that favour, and "received only this answer, It was not I who shut them 66 up, [except the principal church] but I will give no "orders to have them set open. At another time the "Count sent him word, that it was because of him, "and of having quitted Christianity for his sake, that "he suffered such grievous pain, and perished miserably; to which Julian, without fearing the hand of God, or shewing at least some compassion for a person so nearly related, sent him this reply; You 66 66 |