in fhort, he renders his work both useful to the learned, and improving to thofe who read only for moral inftruction. The hiftory of the Lower Empire is a performance every way worthy of defcending to pofterity, and very different from thofe futile fugitive pieces, with which the literary world is almoft overwhelmed.

We have here under our examination the first volume of this very learned and useful work, tranflated into English. It contains the reign of Conftantine the Great, with an introduction relative to the tranfactions of the empire, from the elevation of Dioclefian to the imperial dignity in the year of Chrift 284. We fhall not pretend to give an exact analyfis of this performance; many of the particulars are already fufficiently known, especially as to what concerns the life of Conftantine, and the ecclefiaftical affairs during his reign. We fhall therefore confine ourselves to what more intimately relates to laws and government, and to a few ftriking events, that, perhaps, may be worthy of a more accurate difcuffion.

Our author dates the birth of Conftantine in the year 274, the 27th of February; and fays it happened at Naiffus in Dardania, now called Nice, or Niffa, in Servia; contrary to the received opinion of English writers, followed in this point by Baronius, who infift that their island gave birth to this prince. This opinion, however, is as well fupported, as that which fuppofes him to have been born at Naiffus; the chief authority for the latter is that of Stephanus, by whom Naiffus is called the birth place and work of the emperor Conftantine, whereas the former is fupported by a paffage in a panegyric pronounced before Constantine, wherein the orator, addreffing the emperor, told him, that he had ennobled Britain, illic oriendo; which words, without the greatest violence and diftortion, can bear no other meaning than that of being born there. We should be therefore forry to give up an opinion which reflects fo much glory on our country, without fome further proofs capable of outweighing the authority of cotemporary writers.

With regard to his family, there is no doubt of his nobility by the father's fide; but there is some uncertainty with refpect to his mother: she is reprefented to have been born in Great Britain, at Triers, at Naiffa, at Drepanum in Bithynia, at Tarfus, at Edeffa: the fafeft way, our author fays, is to acknowledge that we are abfolutely ignorant of the country and the parents of this princefs. Some ancient authors leave Helena only the name of Concubine; but she must certainly have been wife to Conftantius the father of Conftantine. What may have contributed to propagate the contrary opinion, is, Y 2

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that Conftantius efpoufed Helena in a province where he had a command; and the Roman laws did not authorize a marriage contracted by an officer in the province where he commanded; but another law added, that if at the expiration of his commiflion that officer continued to treat the woman, whom he had taken in the province, as his wife, the marriage became lawful.

When Conftantius Chlorus was made Cæfar in 292, and fent into Gaul for the defence of the weft, Conftantine was entering upon his nineteenth year. Dioclefian kept him near his perfon as a hostage to affure himself of the fidelity of his father, and caufed him to be treated with great distinction. He took him with him into Egypt, in the war against Achilles, where young Conftantine gained the affection of the troops by his intrepidity and good conduct. His rifing glory drew upon him every eye. At his return from Egypt,' fays our author,

the people ran out to meet him; every thing announced a prince born for the empire. He marched at the right hand of Dioclefian. A noble haughtiness, and an air of strength and vigour, excited at the first glance a fentiment of fear. But this warlike afpect was foftened by an agreeable ferenity, spread over his features. He had a great and generous heart, full of courage, and a love of juftice, which moderated his natural ambition. His temper was quick and ardent, without being precipitate; penetrating without mistrust, and without jealousy ; prudent, and at the fame time ready in determining. In fhort, to finish here his portrait, his vifage was broad, and of a fresh colour, with but little hair and beard, his eyes large, his looks piercing but conciliating, his neck rather thick, and his nofe acquiline, his conftitution delicate, and rather unhealthy, but which he contrived to fave by moderation in his pleafures.'

He was chafte in his manners, and his youth was free from the follies incident to that age. He married young, and the birth of Minervina, his first wife, is as unknown as that of Helena his mother. The iffue of it was a prince, named Crifpus, eminent for his good qualities.'

Hiftorians are not agreed with refpect to Conftantine's knowledge and tafte for letters; fome allow him only a flight tincture, and others reprefent him as thoroughly versed in them. After the expedition into Egypt, he attended Galerius in feveral wars, who grew jealous of his fingular valour, and refolved to ruin him under the pretence of procuring him glory, he expofed him to the greatest perils. Conftantius had feveral times demanded the return of his fon, without fuccess; but at last, being upon the point of going into Britain

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to make war against the Picts, he spoke in a firmer tone; and Galerius at length confented to the departure of Conftantine. This prince flying with the utmoft expedition, took care to have all the post-horfes that he left on his route to be hamftringed, a precaution which he found neceffary, Galerius having given orders that he fhould be purfued and brought back. He arrived at the port of Boulogne, juft as his father was ready to fet fail for Britain, whither he accompanied him, faw him die, after conquering the Picts, and was declared emperor in his ftead, July 25, 306. Galerius refufing to give him any other title than that of Cæfar, he contented himself with it, but ftill exercised an unlimited authority over the provinces fubject to his command, namely, Gaul, Britain, and Spain.

Conftantine foon after married the daughter of Maximilian, Flavia Maximiana Faufta, having buried his first wife Minervina, before the death of his father Conftantius. He published an edit for reftoring tranquillity to the Chriftians in the provinces of his department; and not long after was obliged to declare war against the Franks, whom he defeated, and took two of their chiefs, or kings, prifoners: his conduct on this occafion was fuch as history muft certainly condemn ; for, inftead of treating them with humanity, he expofed them in the amphitheatre to be torn by wild beafts, in order to ftrike a greater terror into the reft of the nation. But the Romans were remarkably cruel to their conquered enemies, as we might prove by the examples of Perfeus, Hannibal, Mithridates, Antiochus, &c. &c. whom they perfecuted with the most implacable refentment.

Our author then proceeds to give a fummary account of the public tranfactions to the death of Galerius, which happened in 311. The empire was then in the hands of four chiefs, Maximin had the eaft; Licinius, Illyricum, Dalmatia, and all Greece; Maxentius, Italy and Africa; and Conftantine his former partition. Maxentius behaved lefs like an emperor than a tyrant; though a coward, he was vain and prefumptious; he was, moreover, flothful and indolent, and fo deformed of body and mind, as to be odious to his own people. Confiding in the number of his troops, he had a defign of invading the portion belonging to Conftantine, and this brought on a war, which deferves a more particular notice, on account of its connection with the establishment of the Christian religion.

Conftantine, fecretly follicited by the inhabitants of Rome, meditated the delivery of that city from the oppreffion under which it groaned. Never had the Weft fet on foot fuch numerous armies. Maxentius affembled 170,000 foot, and 18,000

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18,000 horfe. Conftantine had an army of 90,000 foot, and 8000 horfe. Finding his forces fo much inferior to thofe of Maxentius, and apprehending that he stood in need of extraordinary affiftance from heaven, he began ferioufly to confider with himself what deity he should implore as his guardian and protector. He had inherited from his father fome love and efteem for the Chriftians, but had not yet fhewn any inclination to embrace a religion, which he both honoured and efteemed. He revolved in his mind the fallacious answers given by the oracles to other princes, and the fuccefs that had attended his father Conftantius in all his wars, who acknowledged only one Supreme Being. Upon these confiderations, he refolved to have recourfe to the God of his father, and adhere to him alone: he befeeched him with ardour to enlighten his mind, and to aid him with his fuccour.

One day, as he was marching at the head of his troops, penetrated with these fentiments, a little after the hour of noon, the weather being calm and ferene, as he often lifted up his eyes towards heaven, he perceived above the fun, towards the east, a bright crofs, round which were traced in luminous characters these three Latin words, in hoc vince, by this conquer. This prodigy ftruck the eyes and the minds of the whole army. The emperor was in great pain about the meaning of this wonderful fight, till the following night, when our Saviour appearing to him with the fame fign that he had feen in the heavens, commanded him to caufe fuch another to be framed, and to make use of it as an enfign in battle, which would render him victorious. The next morning Conftantine imparted his vifion, or dream, to his confidents, and fending for the ableft artificers, ordered them to frame a crofs of gold and precious ftones, according to his directions. Eufebius, who affures us that he had feen it feveral times, defcribes it thus it was a long staff plated with gold, having a traverf in the form of a crofs; from the top of this staff rofe a crown of gold enriched with precious stones, inclofing the monogram of Chrift, which the emperor chose also from that time to bear engraved on his helmet. From the traverse hung a fquare piece of purple stuff, covered with an embroidery of gold and precious ftones. Below the crown, but over the colours, was the buft of the emperor and his children, reprefented in gold. These images were either placed upon the traverse of the cross, or embroidered upon the upper part of the colours themselves, for Eufebius does not clearly determine their pofition. The cypher, containing the two first letters of Chrift's name, X P, was probably fhewn to Constantine

ftantine with the cross; and he caufed it to be carried before him in all his wars as an enfign of victory. He likewife ordered feveral other croffes to be made in the fame manner, and to be constantly carried at the head of his armies; it was af terwards the principal ftandard of his fucceffors, and called Labarum, or Laborum. Some think this name was given it to fignify, that, by its affiftance, the toils and labours of the fol diers were to be ended; and others, that the emperor meant by the cross which he had received, he fhould put an end to the labours and perfecutions of the church.'

We have given this account of the famous Labarum at full length, as it has been an event of importance in itself, and a fubject of great debate among the learned. Our author examines the matter with great candour and impartiality, frankly owning, that the Chriftian religion does not dep nd upon the truth of this miracle. He does not charge those who difpute the reality of the fact, as fome zealots do, with temerity and infidelity, but relates, in a few words,, what has been faid to destroy or to authenticate the reality of this event.

Among the ancient authors, fome do not make mention of this apparition of the cross: the panegyrifts particularly are filent; Porphyrius Optatianus, a cotemporary poet, takes no notice of it; Eufebius himself does not mention it in his ecclefiaftical history; nor is it related by St. Gregory of Nazianzen, in his writings against Julian, where it would naturally have had a place. Eufebius, indeed, mentions it in his life of Conftantine, and affures us he received it from the emperor's own mouth, who folemnly confirmed the truth of it by his oath. But does not this very oath render the thing fufpicious? What occafion was there for an oath to prove a fact, of which there must have been fo many witneffes, fince Eufebius pretends it had been seen by his whole army? Lactantius, who lived at Conftantine's court, fpeaks of this apparition of the cross, only as of a dream; in which he is followed by Sozomenus. Another objection is started from the uncertainty of the place where it paffed; some stand up for Befançon, others for Sintzic on the Rhine; others for Numagen on the Mofeile; and others, in fine, pretend, that it happened at the gates of Rome. Hence it is, that fome modern writers reject the account as a pious ftratagem of Conftantine, contrived on purpose to animate his army. The learned Fabricius is of opinion, that Conftantine did actually fee a crofs in the heavens, but that it was a natural phænomenon, which may be feen in the circle about the fun, and fome of which kind have been frequently obferved, when there has been a feeming appearance of two funs,