By Water & Blood

Epitome of Book 3

CHAP. l.--Philostorgius says that Constans,^[39] the eldest of the sons of Constantine, plotted against the life of his brother Constantine the younger, and that the latter, together with his generals, was defeated and put to death, and his portion of the empire added to that of Constans.

CHAP. 2.--Philostorgius is loud in his praise of Constantius, and says that he built at Constantinople the church which is deservedly called "the Great." He also writes that he translated the remains of St. Andrew the apostle from Achaia to the church which he had erected, and which was called that of "the Holy Apostles ;" ^[40] as also that he erected near it a tomb in honour of his father. And lastly, he adds, that the body of the apostle Timothy was translated from Ephesus in Ionia to the same renowned and venerable church by the command of the same Constantius.

CHAP. 3.--Philostorgius says that Constantius, having learned that Athanasius had again taken possession of the see of Alexandria, expelled him from that city, and issued a mandate ordering that George the Cappadocian should be elected in his room. Accordingly, he adds that Athanasius, in fear of the emperor's threats and the snares of his enemies, betook himself again to the emperor of the West. 

CHAP. 4.--He says that Constantius sent ambassadors^[41] to those who were formerly called Sabaeans, but are now known as Homeritae,^[42] a tribe which is descended from Abraham by Keturah. As to the territory which they inhabit, he says that it is called by the Greeks "Arabia Magna" and "Arabia Felix," and that it extends into the most distant part of the ocean. Its metropolis, lie says, is Saba, the city from which |444 the queen of Sheba went forth to see Solomon. This tribe is part of the Israelitish family, and practises circumcision on the eighth day; but they also offer sacrifices to the sun and moon, and to the native gods of the country. Constantius accordingly sent an embassage to them, in order to induce them to come over to the true religion. The king determined, in pursuance of his plan, to conciliate the king of that people by magnificent presents and words of gentle persuasion, and thence to take an opportunity forthwith of sowing the seeds of religion. He also asked for licence to build churches on behalf of the Romans who came thither by sea, and the inhabitants of the country who wished to embrace time Christian faith. At the head of this embassy was placed Theophilus the Indian, who had been sent when very young as a hostage from the Divaeans to the Romans when Constantine was at the head of the empire. The island called Divus,^[43] is a portion of their territory, and the inhabitants of it are called Indians. Further, he relates that this Theophilus, having passed a long life among the Romans, formed his character upon a pattern of the most strict amid perfect virtue, and embraced the true faith concerning God; but, he adds, that he chose the monastic life, and was promoted to the diaconate at the hands of Eusebius. Thus much as to his early life. But afterwards, having undertaken this embassy, he was invested, by the men of his own party, with the episcopal^[44] dignity. But Constantius, wishing to array the embassy with peculiar splendour, put on board of their ships two hundred well-bred horses from Cappadocia, and sent with them many other gifts, with the double view of making an imposing show and of conciliating the feelings of the people. Accordingly, Theophilus, on his arrival among the Sabaeans, endeavoured to persuade the ruler of the tribe |445 to become a Christian, and to give over the deceits of heathenism. Hereupon, the customary fraud and malice of tire Jews was compelled to shrink into deep silence, as soon as ever Theophilus had once or twice proved by his wonderful miracles the truth of the Christian faith. The embassy turned out successfully; for the prince of the nation, by sincere conviction, came over to the true religion, and built three churches in the district, not, however, with the money which the emperor's ambassadors had brought with them, but out of sums which he voluntarily supplied out of his private resources, with a laudable strife to show that his own zeal was a match for the wonders performed by Theophilus. One of these churches he erected in a place called Tapharum, the metropolis of tire nation: another in the place where the mart of Roman commerce stood, lying towards the outer sea. This place is called Adane; and it is the spot where everybody is in the habit of landing on coming out of the Roman territories.  The third church he built in another part of the district, where the mart of Persian commerce stands, hard by the mouth of the Persian Sea, which lies along those parts.

CHAP. 5.--Theophilus, having arranged everything among the Homeritae according to his ability and circumstances, and having dedicated the churches, and adorned them with such decorations as he could, crossed over to the island of Divus, which, as we above showed, was his native country.  Thence he made his way to the other districts of India, and corrected many disorders among their inhabitants. For they listened to the reading of the Gospel in a sitting posture,^[45] and used other customs repugnant to the Divine law. But Theophilus, having corrected everything among them according to a religious rule, confirmed the doctrine of the church. For, with regard to the worship of the Divine Being, as that impious writer asserts, they needed no correction, inasmuch as from the earliest antiquity they constantly professed to believe the Son to be of a different substance from the Father. |446 

CHAP. 7.--Philostorgius says, that among other large rivers, the Tigris falls into the inner part of the Persian Sea, |447 which is here connected with the ocean. The shores of this sea are surrounded by many nations ; and the river itself runs in a south-easterly direction, below the Hyrcanian Sea, and appears to take its rise among the Cordiaeans. Thence it flows along the side of Syria,^[48] and upon reaching the district of Susis, it joins the waters of the Euphrates with its own, and thence flowing on with a deep and rapid stream, it rushes on with a violent roar of its eddies, from which circumstance they say it derives its name of Tigris.^[49] Before, however, it reaches the sea, it divides its waters into two large channels ; and thence it flows into the Persian Sea, the extreme points of its mouths being so far distant from each other, that the two mouths embrace between them a large extent of country. This is an island ; it is washed both by the rivers and the sea, and it is inhabited by a tribe called Messenians.

CHAP. 8.--The Euphrates, however, to all appearance, takes its rise among the Armenians ; in this region stands the Mount of Ararat, so called even to the present day by the Armenians,--the same mount on which the Holy Scripture says that the ark rested. Many fragments of the wood and nails of which the ark was composed are said to be still preserved in those localities. This is the place where the Euphrates takes its rise. At first it is but a small stream, but gradually increases in size, and absorbing into itself many other tributary rivers which flow into it, it passes through Upper and Lower Armenia in its onward course. First of all it cuts Syria Euphratensis, so called after the river. Afterwards, however, it cuts its way through the rest of Syria, winding along with many varied folds in every region which it passes through, until it reaches Arabia, where it takes a circular course, when nearly opposite to the Red Sea; and embracing in its windings a large tract of country, finally turns its course towards the wind called Caecias, or Northeast, and falls into the Tigris. Here its waters do not entirely mingle with those of the Tigris ; but though partly absorbed in it, it flows parallel to the Tigris with the largest |448 portion of its waters, and finally mixes with the Tigris near about Susa ; and thenceforward, the Euphrates having lost its independent name, the two rivers flow, conjointly into the Persian Gulf. The district which lies between these two rivers, the Euphrates, namely, and the Tigris, is called Mesopotamia.

CHAP. 9.--The sources of the Euphrates and the Tigris, so far as we have been able to ascertain, are such as we have related. But our sacred books, when they say that these rivers flow out of Paradise, speak most truly. For it is from this place that they derive their first supplies of water ; inasmuch as after having traversed some distance in all probability above-ground, they afterwards pass into a large sandy desert, where they sink deep into the sand, and do not cease from this downward course, until they reach the firm rocky soil, of which that region consists : the base of this region affords a check on their downward course, and so they each gather their waters together and rush onwards, making their course all the more straight on account of the force and magnitude of their accumulating waters. But these rivers flowing beneath the ground, being partially absorbed by the sand of the intermediate district, burst forth again with a considerably diminished supply of water. It is not, however, after all so incredible a thing, that these rivers should flow so long a distance underground. For there are found everywhere the largest and most rapid streams and rivers whose course is under-ground, as is clear from the fact that their sound is heard as they rush on with loud murmurs and roarings. Moreover, some persons in their attempts to sink wells in the ground above these rivers, when they had gradually dug down to the rocky soil which resisted their efforts, beneath which the roaring waves endeavoured to force an egress upwards, were with difficulty rescued by those who stood above at the brink of the well, for the water burst forth in a torrent, which was intercepted by no subsequent drought, on account of the perpetual supply of water. For the secret wisdom of God has rendered the very courses of rivers, some occult and others open to the view, like veins supplying the necessary blood in the body. Whence also the prophet David sings, "He hath founded it upon the seas, and hath prepared it upon the floods,"^[50] enclosing the seas |449like treasures in the embraces of the largest tracts of land, and supplying them with a firm bottom for supporting the vast mass and multitude of waters which are collected in them. But to rivers, by a wise arrangement, he has ever given a free course : affording a passage to the onward current of their waters by the depression of certain localities, and by declivities from the higher to the lower parts.

CHAP. 10.--Philostorgius, going entirely upon conjecture, writes, that the situation of Paradise was towards the east ;^[51] and he so conjectures, firstly, because in the first place the parts to the south of it are all inhabited as far as the outer sea, which the sun scorches with his perpendicular rays ; (this is what is called the Middle, or Torrid, Zone ;) and, secondly, because the river now called the Hyphasis, and which is called Pison in the Holy Scriptures, itself taking its rise out of Paradise, seems to flow from the northern parts of the east down towards the south, and to pour its waters into the ocean there, opposite to the island of Taprobana. On the banks of this river is found the fruit, or flower, which is known under the name of Karyophyllum. The inhabitants of those parts believe that it formerly grew in Paradise ; and, moreover, all the district above them is especially desert and barren. But as the river produces that fruit, it would seem clear that the river runs entirely above-ground, and that it nowhere has a subterranean channel, for else it could not produce the plant which grows there. And further still, this river shows another sign of its connexion above-ground with Paradise ; for they say, that if a man bathe in its waters when he is suffering under the most burning fever, he immediately recovers. On the other hand, the Tigris and Euphrates, as flowing under-ground and then emerging again, can bring down their streams no production of those parts, as the Hyphasis does. No, nor even the Nile ; and yet the Nile also flows out of Paradise, according to the oracles of Moses, in which it is called Ghion, though the Greeks named it Aegyptius. This river then, if one may conjecture, takes its rise in Paradise, and before reaching any inhabited region, its waters are absorbed by the sand, whence it makes its way secretly into the Indian Sea, and there takes a sort of circular course,--for what man knows anything accurately concerning this matter, |450 --and then passing under all the intervening continent, makes its hidden passage into the Red Sea, on the other side of which it eventually appears again beneath the mountain which is called after the Moon. There it is said to form two great fountains, situated at no great distance from each other, and throwing their waters up to a great height from below. The river then falls down a steep ridge of cliffs and passes through Aethiopia into Egypt.

CHAP. 11.--He says that the whole district which lies to the east and the south, though parched up with the excessive heat, brings forth by far the finest and best productions, both by land and sea. For the sea teems with whales of incredible size, which are often seen as they rise out of the sea by those who sail around the coasts. The land also produces elephants of prodigious and gigantic size, and those which are called bull-elephants. As to this kind of beast, it is an ox of huge magnitude, and has a hide in colour and thickness closely resembling that of the elephant. This animal I saw with my own eyes, when it was brought to Rome ; and I simply describe what I beheld. There are also among them serpents whose bodies are as thick as beams, and extending in length as much as fifteen fathoms;^[52] for I have seen their skins brought to Rome. There is also an animal called a unicorn which is found in these parts. It has a head like a serpent, with the exception of a single crooked horn of no great size which grows upon it ; and its whole chin is covered with a beard. Its neck is lengthy and reaches high aloft, and especially resembles the folds of a serpent : but the rest of its body more nearly approaches that of a stag, with the exception of its feet, which are those of a lion. A picture of this animal is to be seen at Constantinople. Moreover, the cameleopard is a production of this region : this beast is in most respects like a very large stag, but in its height it approximates the form of the camel. Its neck, which it carries high aloft, is long beyond proportion to the rest of its body; and the whole of its skin from head to foot is dappled with spots like a leopard. Its fore legs are much taller than its hind ones. In these parts too there is a kind of ape, called the aesopithecus ; for the ape tribe comprises a variety of kinds. There is, for |451 instance, the arctopithecus and the leontopithecus, and the dog-headed ape ; for the ape form is found conjoined with a variety of other animals, as is evident from the various specimens of the ape tribe which are brought to us. Of this kind is the deity called Pan, who resembles a goat in his head, face, and horns, and from his middle downwards ; while in his breast, his belly, and his hands he is almost a perfect ape. One of these animals was sent by the king of the Indians as a present to the emperor Constantine ; it lived a little while and was carried about as a sight, enclosed in a cage on account of its ferocity. After its death, those who had the care of it embalmed its body in salt for the purpose of turning the strange sight to account, and they took it safe and entire to Constantinople. It seems to me that the Greeks must once upon a time have seen this monster, and, amazed at the strangeness of its appearance, adopted it as a god, in accordance with their ordinary practice of making a god out of everything strange and wonderful. This they clearly did in the case of the satyr, which is of the ape tribe, with a red face, and restless motion, and furnished with a tail. The sphinx, too, is a kind of ape, as I myself can testify from what I have seen. The rest of the body of the sphinx is covered with hair, just as all other apes, but from its head to its breast it is free from hair, and has the breasts of a woman. Where its body is bare, it has a raised portion of red, like millet, running round it, which elegantly harmonizes with the fleshy colour in the middle, and improves it. Its face is tolerably round, and inclining to the form of a woman. Its voice is very like the human voice, though not articulate; it most nearly approximates that of a woman uttering her words in a hurried and indistinct manner under the influence of anger and grief, and it is rather flat than sharp ; the beast moreover is very savage and cunning, and cannot be tamed without difficulty. This beast, I imagine, was formerly carried to Thebes in Boeotia, and having flown at several of the spectators who came together to view it, and having torn their faces, Oedipus slew the monster, because he was indignant at seeing his fellow-citizens thus mangled ; and so, as it seems to me, he gained his high renown. But in order to exaggerate the praises of Oedipus, the story makes out that the animal was winged, because it flew violently at the spectators; it adds the breast of a woman and the body |452 of a lion, because the former was bare and closely approximated to the female figure, and as to the latter, because it was fierce and generally went upon all four feet. The story also represented it as endued with reason, because its voice approached so nearly to that of man; and attributed to it enigmas, because it uttered indistinct sounds and inarticulate words. And the whole of this matter is not to be wondered at, considering that the Greeks are accustomed to distort many other stories also into a fabulous form.^[53] This region produces also wild asses of lofty stature, and with skins wonderfully variegated with a mixture of black and white. For they have certain coloured streaks running down from their backs to their sides and belly, and then separating, which mutually connecting form a strange intermixture and variety. The phoenix too, a bird so celebrated in story, is found among them. I have also seen a parrot brought from those parts; this bird is the most loquacious of all, and its voice approache? very nearly to that of man. I have seen also some painted and spotted birds which are commonly called Garamantides, (by a name borrowed from the African tribe,) very many of which are brought over to us. Many other animals besides of a remarkable character come from the same districts, but I shrink from recounting them in my present narrative. Above all, the purest gold is obtained there, with golden fibre?, as it were, springing out of the ground, layers of which are piled upon layers, and show the clearest proofs of the production of gold. Their fruits too are very large and fine ; among these the most remarkable are the nuts. And in a word, the whole region of the Homeritae, even to the Red Sea itself, brings forth its produce twice every year, from which circumstance it is called Arabia Felix. But speaking generally, nil that district which lies toward the east is far superior to the remaining regions in every respect. But Paradise, as being the most pure and excellent spot of all the East, and endued with the brightest and fairest climate, and irrigated by the most limpid of streams, is beyond a doubt incomparably superior to all other portions of the habitable globe, lying |453 as it does towards the east, and washed by the waves of the sea.

CHAP. 12.--Philostorgius says that Athanasius reached the emperor of the West, and having used presents in order to propitiate the nobles of his palace, and especially Eustathius, chamberlain of his privy purse, who had very great weight with the emperor, produced letters from Constans to Constantius^[54] to the following purport. "Athanasius comes to us and shows by manifest proofs that the bishopric of Alexandria belongs to him, wherefore allow him to obtain possession of it, or certainly he shall recover it by the assistance of my arms." He adds that, on receipt of this letter, Constantius convened the bishops in order to deliberate with them as to what should be done; and that they advised Constantius that it was better to leave Alexandria smarting under the severe yoke of Athanasius, than to undertake a war against his brother. Constantius therefore, he adds, allowed Athanasius to recover his see, and sent a letter to George, summoning him to his presence. George returned into his native country, Cappadocia, and there busied himself with the administration of his own private affairs. But Athanasius henceforth passed through the cities with greater confidence, and by his discourse brought over all the separate bishops with whom he had any intercourse to the Homoousian faith. He writes, however, that certain other bishops did not pay deference to the words of Athanasius,^[55] and that Aetius,^[56] a bishop of Palestine, who had been accused of fornication, endeavoured to avoid the charge by coming over to the communion of Athanasius, and so ranged himself upon his side ; but that he soon paid the penalty of his sin, for that a disease seized upon his genitals, and producing worms, in the end deprived him of |454 life. He writes also that Maximus,^[57] bishop of Jerusalem, inclined to the side of Athanasius, although in the persecution under Maximian he had become illustrious as a confessor, and had had one eye put out. He adds that Athanasius by degrees brought several others also over to his doctrine.

CHAP. 13.--He says that Flavian of Antioch was the first who collected together a large band of monks, and uttered aloud the doxology, "Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost."^[58] For among those who had gone before him, some had been accustomed to say, "Glory be to the Father through the Son in the Holy Ghost," and that this latter form of doxology was the one more customarily received. He says that others again used a different form, saying, "Glory be to the Father, in the Son, and in the Holy Ghost,"

CHAP. 14.--He says that the Arians, though they differed in their doctrinal statements from those who preached the Catholic faith, were nevertheless accustomed to communicate with them in prayers, hymns, and deliberations, and in everything except the mystic sacrifice. As soon, however, as Aetius came and began the contention on these points, he persuaded the multitude of his followers^[59] to break the bands of amity and friendship which had formerly bound them to the Homoousians, and to range themselves as a faction in entire opposition to them.

CHAP. 15.--He says that Aetius^[60] came from Coele-Syria. |455 His father, who had held a post in the victualling department of the army, failed in his business ; and upon his dying insolvent, the governor of the province to which he belonged paid the proceeds of his effects into the imperial treasury. Thus it happened that Aetius was left at a very early age, together with his mother, in a state of extreme destitution ; on this account he was obliged to follow the trade of gilding to provide a maintenance for his mother and himself. He had followed this art for a considerable time, when, on account of his superior intelligence, he began to turn his attention to the study of philosophy. In the first instance he became the disciple of Paulinus,^[61] who had been translated to the see of Antioch from that of Tyre. Afterwards, however, upon the death of his mother, on whose account more especially he followed his trade as a gilder, Aetius began to apply himself entirely to the study of logic ; nor was it long before he began to show himself superior to his fellows in disputation, which was the cause of more than ordinary ill-will being roused against him. As long as Paulinus lived, this envious feeling was kept in check; but upon his death, after having held the bishopric for the short space of six months, Eulalius ^[62] was appointed to the see in his room, and the old grudge against Aetius broke out afresh with such violence that Eulalius was induced to banish him from Antioch. Accordingly Aetius went to Anagarbus, a city of Cilicia, and again resorted to the practice of his craft in order to maintain himself ; at the same time, however, he did not wholly abstain from disputations with such as desired to enter upon them with him. At this conjuncture, a certain grammarian was so struck with admiration at his |456 ability that he offered to teach him the rudiments of his art, and Aetius became an inmate of his home, and performed for him the menial duties of the house. He willingly instructed Aetius in the first principles of grammar ; but when at length Aetius had publicly confuted his master, showing that he gave a wrong interpretation to the Divine oracles, and had covered him with shame on account of his want of skill in expounding, he was rewarded for his pains by being expelled from the house that owed him so much. After this expulsion, he lived for some time with Athanasius, a disciple of the martyr Lucian. who at that time was bishop of Anagarbus. Under him he read the writings of the evangelists, and made himself perfect master of their contents ; this done, he found his way to Tarsus, in order to see Anthony, who had himself been one of the disciples of Lucian. From him he learned the interpretation of St. Paul's Epistles, and lived with him for some space of time, while he as yet held the rank of a mere presbyter. But upon his elevation to the episcopate, Anthony found that he had no time to devote to the instruction of Aetius ; so the latter returned to Antioch, in order to become the disciple of Leontius, who was at that time a presbyter at Antioch, and had been one of the pupils of Lucian. He expounded to Aetius the books of "the Prophets," and especially Ezekiel. But again ill-will, as Philostorgius dreams, or rather, as one might say with greater truth, his own unbridled tongue, and the impious nature of his doctrines, drove him from the city. Thence accordingly Aetius took his departure into Cilicia, where one of the heretical sect of the Borboriani entirely overcame and confounded him in a disputation in defence of his doctrines. On this account he began to be cast down in spirit, and to feel that life was no longer worth living for, seeing that he found falsehood to be more powerful than truth. While Aetius was in this state of mind, as Philostorgius declares, a vision appeared to him, which raised him up again, and confirmed his mind; for it showed him by certain external signs the indomitable strength of the wisdom which should hereafter be imparted to him. From that time forward Aetius had a special gift from God, which saved him from defeat in his disputations. Not long afterwards a certain man named Aphthonius, a leader of the mad heresy of the Manichaeans, and who had gained great renown for his wisdom as well as |457 for his eloquence, met him in the city of Alexandria, for the curiosity of Aetius was so much excited by his fame that he had actually gone thither from Antioch to see him. But upon coming to a regular discussion, Aetius very shortly dumbfounded Aphthonius, and reduced hirn to deep shame from the pinnacle of glory. Aphthonius was so grievously afflicted by the suddenness of his defeat that he fell into a dangerous sickness, on which death shortly ensued, his bodily strength not being able to bear up against it for more than seven days. But Aetius went on everywhere overcoming his adversaries, and gaining the most illustrious victories. At the same time, he gave himself up to the study of medicine,^[63] that he might be able to cure diseases not of the soul only, but also of the body. He had also, as a master in this line, Sopolis, a man inferior to none of his day in his art. But if at any time he chanced to be in want of necessaries, he would go by night to some artisan of his former trade, that he might not be hindered from attending to more important business during the day, and quickly finished anything of gold that needed a skilful hand, and so getting his pay from the goldsmith, he supported life. But this all happened in the reign of Constantius, at the same time when Theophilus was staying at Antioch, after his return from India.

CHAP. 16.--He says that Aetius, in a discussion upon consubstantiality, which he maintained against Basil, bishop of Ancyra, and Eusthathius of Sebastia, proved them to be the most foolish of all men ; and on this account, according to his fabulous narrative, he incurred their implacable hatred.

CHAP. 17.--He says that this Leontius, of whom we have already made mention as a presbyter, and as the instructor of Aetius, upon his promotion to the bishopric of Antioch, raised his former disciple to the diaconate, and gave him permission publicly to teach in the church the ecclesiastical doctrines. Aetius ^[64] shrunk from the humble function of a deacon, but willingly embraced the office of a teacher ; and having remained as long as he judged sufficient in order to teach the sacred doctrines which were intrusted to him, he went again back to Alexandria, where Athanasius was already in high |458 repute, and was so manfully defending the doctrine of consubstantiality, that it was necessary to find some one to oppose him.

CHAP. 18.--Philostorgius says that Flavian and Paulinas, who afterwards divided between them the diocese of Antioch, were deposed by the same Leontius, as holding opinions at variance with his own. These followed Eustathius when he was driven into banishment; and Leontius permitted none of his cares ^[65] at Antioch, or rather the interests of religion in general, to suffer by the many vicissitudes of the time.

CHAP. 19.--Philostorgius says that Aetius refused his consent to Secundus and Serras,^[66] when they wished to put him forward as a candidate for the episcopal office ; for he said that they did not celebrate the Divine mysteries purely or holily, seeing they were in communion^[67] with the professors of consubstantiality.

CHAP. 20.--Upon hearing the report of Aetius's wisdom, Eunomius came from Cappadocia to Antioch, and held a conference with Secundus. He recommended Eunomius to Aetius, who at this time was living at Alexandria. Accordingly they lived together; Aetius being engaged in teaching, and Eunomius in attending upon his course of sacred instruction.^[68]

CHAP. 21.--The impious Philostorgius says that he wrote an encomium in praise of Eunomius, and he does not blush to avow the deed.

CHAP. 22.--He says that Constans was put to death by the tyrant Magnentius, on account of his zeal for Athanasius. After his death, Constantius stayed for some time at Edessa in Mesopotamia, his presence being required there on account of the Persian war. During this time their elder sister Constantia,^[69] the widow of Hanniballian, in fear lest the tyrant Magnentius should reduce the whole empire under his power, proclaimed as Caesar Veteranis, one of the masters of the |459 cavalry. She seemed to do this in her own right, because their father, while alive, had placed the imperial crown upon her head, and had named her Augusta. As soon as he received intelligence of these matters, Constantius sent the crown forthwith to Veteranis, confirming to him by this act his title of king ; afterwards, however, he set out with an army into the West against Magnentius, under the pretext of a desire to enter into a friendly conversation with Veteranis ; and because the latter had afforded him some ground for suspecting a revolt, he apprehended him, and deprived him of his imperial robe. But he punished him with no other disability, and even admitted him to his table ; and eventually he banished him to Prusa in Bithynia, and assigned him an ample and magnificent estate, thus securing him against all possibility of being in want of those comforts which constitute the happiness of private life.

CHAP. 23.--Philostorgius says that Sapor, king of Persia, waged war against the Romans, and laid siege to the city of Nisibis; but that, contrary to the general expectation, he was obliged to withdraw his forces and to return covered with shame, because James,^[70] bishop of that city, had shown the citizens what to do on their own behalf, and had fought wonderfully with a firm hope and confidence in God on behalf of the safety of the city.

CHAP. 24.--The Sucian Alps, as Philostorgius says, as well as those which are called the Julian Alps, are a succession of narrow passes, with large mountains meeting closely together, so as to afford mutual strength to the position. These passes, he observes, by the way, are somewhat like the narrow pass of Thermopylae. The Julian Alps^[71] divide Gaul from Italy, but the Sucian Alps are the frontier between Dacia and Thrace. Veteranius seized upon these narrow passes, and so afforded to Constantius grounds for suspecting him of meditating a revolt.

CHAP. 25.--While Constantius was preparing his expedition against the tyrant Magnentius, intelligence was brought to him that the Persians had already set their forces in motion against the provinces of the East. On this account he deemed it necessary to nominate Gallus as Caesar, and to send |460 him into the East against the Persians. Now Gallus was his own cousin ; for Constantius, the father of Gallus, was brother to Constantine the Great, who was the father of Constantius and his brothers.

CHAP. 26.--Constantius gained a victory over the tyrant: upon this occasion also the sign of the cross appeared to him: its appearance was of immense size, and in the brightness of its rays it wonderfully surpassed even the brightness of day. It appeared at Jerusalem^[72] about the third hour of the day which is called the day of Pentecost. This sign, which was portrayed by no human hand, was seen to stretch from the Mount of Calvary even to the Mount of Olives, and was accompanied by a large iris, like a crown, which surrounded it on all sides. The iris, indeed, signified the mercy of Jesus Christ crucified and taken up into heaven, and the crown denoted the victory of the emperor. Moreover, that splendid and venerable sign did not escape the notice even of the soldiers. But though it was clearly seen by both armies, it frightened above all measure Magnentius and his partisans, who were addicted to superstitious practices ; while, on the other hand, it inspired Constantius and his army with invincible bravery. Magnentius, however, having suffered this defeat from Constantius, afterwards recovered his strength by degrees, and, engaging with him in a second battle, was entirely defeated, and fled away to Lyons with the loss of nearly all his army. And first, indeed, under the assumed appearance of good-will he killed his brother in order to rescue him from injury at the hands of the enemy. Finally, he fell upon the sword which he had placed to his breast, and so died by his own hand, having exercised his usurped power for about four years.

CHAP. 27.--Philostorgius says, that Basil and Eustathius, having fallen into enmity with Aetius, devised some absurd calumnies, and incited Gallus against him, so that Gallus, in reliance upon his bishops and burning with rage, ordered Aetius to be sought out and to be put to death by having his legs broken. But when Leontius, bishop of Antioch, had given the Caesar information which directly contradicted what had been alleged against Aetius, the sentence of condemnation was revoked, and Aetius soon afterwards went to the court of |461 Gallus and was reckoned among his friends. He was also repeatedly sent to Julian, especially at the time when Gallus had taught his brother to lean rather to the side of heathenism. He was sent, however, with the design of recalling Julian from his impiety. Gallus, moreover, appointed Aetius his superintendent of religious instruction.

CHAP. 28.--Gallus having shown considerable valour in the war against the Persians, certain calumniators endeavoured to stir up against him the hostility of Constantius. The latter, accordingly, as soon as the war was settled by the valour and bravery of Gallus, sent Domitian the prefect of the Praetorium with secret instructions to keep Gallus from quitting the city of Antioch. For by this means he thought to diminish the glory which Gallus was reaping from his bravery and care of the state. But Domitian, who was so far from acting within the tenor of instructions, that he even exceeded them by his boldness both of thought and of deed, as soon as he reached Antioch, where Gallus was staying, would not endure even to appear in his presence. On account of this insult, and other matters besides, Gallus determined to inflict capital punishment on the prefect for his haughtiness and contumacious conduct, and took Montius^[73] as his assessor in this determination. The latter, using unbounded confidence, addressed Gallus in these terms: " You are not empowered to create even a curator^[74] of the city; how then can you venture to kill the prefect of the Praetorium?" Constantia,^[75] the wife of Gallus, was so exasperated by these words, because Gallus was both Caesar and the husband of Augusta-- (for this latter dignity she had herself received from her father)--that she dragged down Montius from the judgment-seat with her own hands, and gave him over into the hands of the attendants, who immediately seized him and carried him to Domitian; they then seized him also, dragged him. down from his throne, and tying ropes round the feet of both, |462 they put them to death with every mark of insult. This was done in great haste, and with the consent of Gallus.