By Water & Blood

Epitome of Book 8

CHAP. 1.--ON the next day after Julian's death, the soldiers proclaimed Jovian emperor. He found that there was no other means left of escape, for the whole army had been reduced to a tenth of its original numbers ; so he concluded a truce for three years with the Persians, on the condition of surrendering to them Nisibis and all the fortresses which had been erected by the Romans as means of defence against the Persians, even as far as Armenia. Moreover, Merobaudes^[133] and his fellow-comrades, as they were carrying the corpse of Julian into Cilicia, placed it by accident, and not by design, opposite to the tomb which contained the bones of Maximin, so that the coffins of both were separated from each other only by the highway.

CHAP. 2.--Euzoius and the bishops of his party compiled a book in defence of Aetius^[134] and his doctrines, but they took no pains to get the matter brought to a satisfactory termination.^[135] Accordingly Aetius and Eunomius stayed some time in Constantinople, and busied themselves with looking after their own affairs ; and having arranged other matters as seemed to them most advantageous, they ordered certain bishops, among whom were Candidus^[136] and Arrianus, who were |486 set over the churches of Lydia and Ionia, while Theodulus^[137] was promoted from the see of Chaeretapa to the bishopric of Palestine. At Constantinople too they chose Paemenius as bishop of their church, for many seceders from the party of Eudoxius and other sects in that city had swelled the adherents of Aetius and Eunomius. By this act, however, they contrived to incur the hostility of Eudoxius, who had hitherto cherished the hope of cementing a friendship with them. And when Paemenius died, soon after this, they substituted Florentius in his place, at the same time appointing Thallus bishop of Lesbos, upon the death of the existing bishop. Euphronius,^[138] too, they set over Galatia, on the shores of the Euxine, and Cappadocia, as bishop, and Julian over Cilicia. Theophilus the Indian not long afterwards betook himself to Antioch in Coele-Syria of his own accord, for the special purpose of rousing Euzoius to carry into execution the decrees which had been passed in favour of Aetius ; and, if he could not accomplish this point, at all events to preside over the people who adhered to his own views of doctrine. But the care of both parts of Libya, and all who professed their doctrines throughout Egypt, was placed in the hands of Serras and Stephen and Heliodorus. In relating all these matters, Philostorgius exceeds all bounds of moderation in praising their eloquence and their sanctity of life to the skies.

CHAP. 3.--Philostorgius makes mention of a certain bishop named Theodosius,^[139] a most zealous supporter of the Eunomian tenets, but a follower of wanton women, and one who added some other impious tenets to the ancient creed, and especially this, namely, that the nature of Christ was subject to change, but that by the most perfect practice of the Christian virtues he was raised to a state not subject to change ; and also that God neither speaks nor hears, for else he would have material hands and ears. Many other impious assertions of the same Theodosius are also related by him. |487

CHAP. 4.--Aetius, indeed, went into Lydia to set Candidas and Arrian over the districts of that province. But the aforesaid Theodosius, fearing that their life would be the condemnation of his own, took up hostilities against Aetius, although previously he had refused to put his signature to the synodical epistle^[140] against him ;^[141] and having communicated his design to Phoebus,^[142] who was himself of the number of those who had declined to condemn Aetius, and who was inclined to regard Theodosius in the more friendly manner from early remembrance of him, and from being like to him in the immorality of his life,--the two joined forces with Auxidianus, who, like themselves, had been a bishop, and laid their plans against Aetius and Candidas, collected together six other bishops, and having formed themselves into a synod, sent letters by common consent to Eudoxius and Maris. In these letters they condemned the ordination of Aetius as illegal, especially on the ground that after his being deposed from the diaconate, and while as yet he was still under the censure of those who had deposed him, still, though degraded from the lower office, he had been promoted to the higher rank. They also assailed the ordination of Candidus and Arrianus, on the ground that they had been hastily performed without the common consent, and likewise other ordinations which had been held by Aetius. Eudoxius, however, having very readily received this letter, never took the pains to call back to mind the sacred oaths by which he had pledged himself to Eunomius, and the letters which he had written to Euzoius, and the many and various pledges by which he had ratified his promises. But he wrote back to Theodosius and his companions, urging them to carry on the matter with promptness, and exhorting them to reserve their punishments for those who had held ordinations, rather than visit those who had been ordained with penalties.

CHAP. 5.--The emperor Jovian restored the churches to their original uses,^[143] and set them free from all the vexatious |488 persecutions inflicted on them by the apostate Julian. He also called back from exile all whom he had banished because they refused to abandon their faith : among their number was Valentinian,^[144] who at that time returned from Thebes in Egypt.

CHAP. 6.--Philostorgius says, that Candidus and Arrianus, relatives of Jovian, came to him while he was staying at Edessa, and resisted him in his efforts to conciliate the goodwill of the emperor towards Athanasius. But the emperor referred what was said on either side to be decided by the common voice, and meantime showed no sign as to which of the two sides he regarded with favour.

CHAP. 7.--Eudoxius addressed to Euzoius certain letters against Candidus and Arrianus. Euzoius felt indignant at this step, so he joined forces with Elpidius, and wrote back to Eudoxius, partly in censure of his opinion, and partly, on the other hand, exhorting him the rather to give up opinions of such a nature. At the same time he visited him with a gentle censure for the long delay which he had made in performing the promises which he had made Eunomius in favour of Aetius.

CHAP. 8.--The emperor Jovian, having arrived at Ancyra, on his way to Constantinople, gave the title of "most noble" to one of his two sons, named Varronianus, who was then quite a child. Thence he set out with his army on a further expedition, though it was the very depth of winter, and lost many of his men upon the road ; reaching Dadastana itself together with a few survivors.^[145] Having put up at a certain station on the way, he laid down to take his rest in a bedchamber, the walls of which had been recently white-washed ; and when a fire was lit, and the heat diffused itself through the room, the moisture of the newly-stained walls began to exude, and being drawn in by the nostrils in breathing, choked up the passages of the lungs, and suffocated the emperor, after he had held the imperial throne about ten months complete. |489 His corpse was afterwards brought to Constantinople. The army on its arrival at Nicaea, after a lapse of twelve days, proclaimed Valentinian emperor, according to a suggestion of Datian the patrician, communicated in letters from Galatia, where he had been left, partly on account of his old age, and partly on account of the severity of the winter. Secundus,^[146] prefect of the Praetorium, and Arinthaeus, master of the horse, together with Dagalairus, chamberlain of the household, joined in effecting this matter. And when forthwith after his proclamation, the army, as it carried along the emperor on a shield,^[147] demanded of him that he would choose some one to share with him the imperial power,^[148] Valentinian lifted up his hand and commanded them to hold their peace; and no way alarmed, he thus addresed them with all the firmness of an emperor. "It was your own free choice and vote, my soldiers, which raised me from a private state to the dignity of emperor. Henceforth, however, to discern and to arrange what is to be done, is the place of the emperor only, and not that of his subjects." As soon, however, as he had entered Constantinople, he took his brother Valens to share his throne, and having made this appointment, went as far as Sirmium in the regions of the West; here he divided with his brother all the imperial ornaments, and the other insignia of state and court, and sent him back to Constantinople, assigning to him all those parts of the East which had been formerly subject to Constantius. The emperor himself, however, took in hand the other two portions of the empire, and so possessed himself of the entire West. And not long afterwards he began to train up, in imitation of his own character, his son Gratian, whom he advanced to the regal dignity at a very early age.

CHAP. 9.--Philostorgius says, that Hypatia,^[149] the daughter of Theon, was so well educated in mathematics by her father, that she far surpassed her teacher, and especially in astronomy, and taught many others the mathematical sciences. The impious writer asserts that, during the reign of Theodosius |490 the younger, she was torn in pieces by the Homoousian party.

CHAP. 10.--The author here relates that there was a Philostorgius living in the days of Valens and Valentinian, who was the most illustrious physician of his time. He had two sons, Philagrius and Posidonius. Of these two, he relates that he saw Posidonius, who was also eminent as a physician. This Posidonius, however, used falsely to assert that men do not grow fanatic by the agency of evil spirits, but merely by the superfluity of certain evil humours ; and that there is no power in evil spirits to assail the human race. At the same period also flourished Magnus, who practised the same art at Alexandria.

CHAP. 11.--This impious writer, though against his will, expresses his admiration of the wisdom of Basil the Great and Gregory the theologian ; whose country Nazianzum he calls Nadiandum. But he prefers to both the one and the other Apollinaris of Laodicea, as far as regards the literature of the Scriptures, though he admits that in panegyrical discourses the latter is surpassed by Basil; while Gregory, as compared with the other two, had a much more rounded style of composition ; he was also more fluent in speech than Apollinaris, and more stately than Basil.

CHAP. 12.--He says that not only Basil the Great, but also Apollinaris, wrote against the Apology of Eunomius; but that Eunomius replied to him in five books, and that when he had read only the first of these, he was struck with such profound remorse that he died. Thus does this writer show how much more highly he values falsehood than truth,

CHAP. 13.--He openly calumniates these same most holy men, Basil and Gregory. For he makes out that they said that the Son was not made man, but dwelt in a human frame ; and on this account Apollinaris joined their party. He also not only accuses him on account of those matters for which he is deservedly censured by pious individuals, but he also relates that ho was carried away into another strange belief. For among other things, he asserts that he denied the resurrection of the body.^[150] |491

CHAP. 14.--In the books which he wrote against Porphyry, Apollinaris far surpassed all that had been written against the same Porphyry by Eusebius. He also left far behind the books of Methodius on the same subject.

CHAP. 15.--He says further, but I know not whence he derives his information, that Apollinaris was a bishop, and that Novatus was of Phrygian descent.

CHAP. 16.--He also asserts that Cibates was the birthplace of Valens and Valentinian.

CHAP. 17.--He says that among those who professed the doctrine of the likeness of the Son in substance to the Father, the most celebrated were Theodore, bishop of Heraclea in Thrace, and George, bishop of Laodicea in Syria, an Alexandrian by origin, who had previously devoted himself to the study of philosophy. Next to these in esteem and in point of time came the elder Eustathius, a man held in high veneration by the people, and most powerful in his method of persuasion. To these must be added Basil and Macedonius, bishop of Constantinople, and Eleusius, bishop of Cyzicus, as well as Marathonius and Maximin, presbyters of the church at Constantinople.

CHAP. 18.--In his comparison of Eunomius and Aetius, Philostorgius prefers the latter in respect to the force of his demonstrations, and his ready faculty of reply to objections, saying that everything seems to lie ready for use at the tip of his tongue. But as to perspicuity in teaching, and a style well suited to learners, he prefers Eunomius.