of the Oppreffed. To accomplish their miffion, they fet flaves at liberty, and scoured the roads, forced mafters to alight from their chariots and run before their flaves, whom they obliged to mount in their place; and difcharged debtors, killing the creditors, if they refused to cancel their bonds. At first they used no fwords, because God had forbid the use of one to St. Peter; but they were armed with clubs, which they called the clubs of Ifrael, and which they handled in fuch a manner, as to break all the bones of a man without killing him on the spot; infomuch, that he languished a long time. and then died. When they took away a man's life at once, they looked upon it as a favour. They became lefs fcrupulous afterwards, and made ufe of all forts of arms. Their fhout was, Praise be to God; these words in their mouths were a fignal of flaughter more terrible than the roaring of a lion. They had invented an unheard-of punishment; which was to cover with lime, diluted with vinegar, the eyes of those unhappy wretches, whom they had crushed with blows, and leave them in that condition. These brutes, who had made a vow of chastity, gave themselves up to wine, and all forts of impurities, running about with women and young girls as drunk as themselves, whom they called facred virgins, and who often carried proofs of their incontinence. Their chiefs took the name of chiefs of the faints. After having glutted themselves with the blood of others, they turned their rage upon themfelves, and fought death with the fame fury with which they had given it. Some fcrambled up to the top of rocks and cast themselves down in multitudes; others burned themselves, or jumped into the fea. Those who proposed to acquire the title of martyrs, feafted and fattened like oxen for facrifice; after these preparations, they fet out to be deftroyed. Sometimes they gave money to thofe they met, and threatened to murder them, if they did not make them martyrs.'

We meet with no other remarkable occurrence till the year. 320, when Licinius, Conftantine's affociate in the government, began a moft virulent perfecution of the Chriftians, thinking. that they were in the intereft of his rival. This continued during the last four years of his reign, till Conftantine, who made the caufe of Chriftianity his own, destroyed his tyranny in its turn. In the year 323, Conftantine and Licinius came to an open rupture. In profecuting this war, Conftantine placed his chief confidence in the ftandard of the cross. He caufed a tent to be carried in the form of an oratory, wltere divine fervice was performed. This chapel was ferved by priefts and deacons, whom he took with him in his expeditions, and called the Guards of his Soul. Every legion had its parDdz ticular

ticular chapel, and this establishment may be confidered as the first inftance of chaplains in an army. In this Conftantine may be compared to the great duke of Marlborough, who never gave battle without first caufing divine fervice to be celebrated in his tent. The impiety of Licinius was equal to the religious zeal of Conftantine, but had in it a dash of timid fuperftition, which made him have recourse to prophets and foothfayers. The two rivals came to a battle near Adrianople, in which the army of Licinius was defeated, and he fled to Byzantium, where Conftantine came to besiege him. Licinius defpairing to be able to hold out the place, retired to Chalcedon. Soon after Conftantine defeated him at the battle of Chryfopolis; and, if we may believe the account given by fome hiftorians, caufed him to be put to death, contrary to his oath. This fact, which is of fo much importance to afcertain the character of Conftantine, was never thoroughly confirmed. We are inclined to think it most probable, that, if Licinius did not die a natural death, he had formed fome fecret intrigues to call in the Barbarians, and renew the war; for it does not appear by any means probable, that a prince of fo mild and humane a difpofition as Conftantine, who, at the battle of Adrianople, made it his chief care to prevent the effufion of blood, and who promised a sum of money to every one of his foldiers who fhould bring him a prifoner, should caufe his brother in-law to be put to death, if he had not given him caufe.

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In the year 324, Conftantine first laid the axe to the root of idolatry; and we cannot but admire his policy in taking proper measures to remove fo inveterate an evil, when we confider the great ftrength of paganifm. We fhould exceed the bounds of an article, were we to relate here the rife and fall of Arianifm, and the feveral councils which it gave occafion to. We shall content ourselves with obferving, that the beha viour of Conftantine in that affair was equivocal, and does his memory but little honour. But his caufing his fon Crispus to be put to death without a trial, is a much greater impeachment of his character, and has given occafion to the enemies of Christianity to inveigh against religion itself. Such was the practice of all the pagans, who inceffantly exclaimed: Si Chriftus fan&ta docuiffet, Chriftiani fandte vixiffent. But though Conftantine, and a few more of the Chriftian emperors are chargeable with fome actions that cannot be defended, or even palliated, which of the Christian emperors can be compared to a Nero, a Tiberius, a Domitian, and many more of the pagans, monfters who are a difgrace to humanity itself? It is evident, that even in its first establishment, Chriftianity

pro

duced a mildness of manners unknown before. In the year 330, the feat of empire was removed by Constantine from Rome to Constantinople, the dedication of which city lafted forty days. The emperor, intending to give the new city all. the luftre of Rome, granted it great privileges, among others, that which was called the Italic right. This was the right of being exempted from capitation and land tax, and of following, in deeds and contracts, the fame laws and cuftoms which were observed in Italy. The people were divided into wards and tribes, as at Rome. He inftituted the fame diftinction of orders, the fame magiftrates, vested with the fame rights and the fame honours. He eftablished a fenate; but these fenators, though they were created after the model of thofe of Rome, were never equal to them in authority. The title of Capital being given to Conftantinople, without being taken away from the city of Rome, produced the new divifion of the empires of the Eaft and Weft, which occurs in all the authors that have written fince this period. This acceffion of importance to the empire, caufed the emperor to create four prefects of the pretorium, inftead of two, who had ferved as lieutenants to the emperor, fince the power had been re-united in the hands of Conftantine and Licinius. The different districts of these four prefects were the Eaft, Illyria, Italy, and Gaul. In the year 333, tranquillity being eftablished throughout the whole Roman empire, Conftantine, for the first time, employed his brothers in the administration of public affairs. In the year 335, the fame prince who could not refolve to deprive any of his fons of the fovereignty, divided his dominions amongst them. With his fons he joined Delmatius and Hannibalian, without giving any part to his brothers or his other nephews. To Conftantine, the eldeft of his fons, he allotted what Conftantius Chlorus had poffeffed, that is to say, all that lay towards the Weft beyond the Alps, Gaul, Spain, and Great Britain. Conftantius had Afia, Syria, and Egypt; Italy, Illyria, and Africa were given to Conftans Thrace, Macedonia, and Achaia, to Delmatius. The kingdom of Hannibalian was compofed of Armenia Minor, the provinces of Pontus and Cappadocia; Cæfarea was the capital of his dominions. The year 336 was remarkable for the council of Tyre, at which Athanafius was condemned in the most iniquitous manner, though he had proved his innocence to the confufion of his adverfaries. He then thought it the only courfe left him to apply to the emperor for redrefs; fo having efcaped from Tyre, he arrived at Conftantinople, and as the emperor was pafling through the city on

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horfeback, the prelate all on a fudden, prefented himself before him. The prince, though informed by his courtiers who he was, and how unjustly he had been treated, paffed by without making him any answer, and was going to command him to be taken away by force, when the bishop raifing his voice faid, "Prince, the Lord will judge between you and me, fince you efpouse the cause of those who calumniate me: I only ask of you to cause my judges to be brought hither, that I may make my complaint in their prefence." The emperor thereupon sent to the bishops to come and give him an account of their conduct, giving them at the fame time to understand, that they were accused of much violence and paffion. This letter confounded the cabal; but fix of the most resolute of Athanafius's perfecutors framed a new accufation against him. As they knew Conftantine's prepoffeffion in favour of his new city, they charged the holy bifhop with having threatened to famish Conftantinople by stopping the corn of Alexandria. The imputation alone fo far irritated the emperor, that he immediately banished the bishop to Triers, where the young Conftantine took care to foften his exile by the most generous treatment. This behaviour of Conftantine is an inftance of great weakness and credulity, as there was not the least probability, that fuch an attempt could enter into the mind of a fingle perfon. But, though he is juftly liable to this imputation, his many wife laws and regulations fhew him to have been a prince of an excellent understanding. In the year 337, Constantine was attacked by his laft illness: he happened to be then at Nicomedia, where he paffed the night of the festival of Easter in prayer amongst the faithful. It is remarkable, that a few days before his illness he delivered in his palace a long discourse upon the immortality of the foul, and the state of the righteous and wicked in another world. Another particular, which fhews that he had a fort of impulfe, or divine foreknowledge that his hour was come, is that he gave orders for the dedication of the church of the apoftles at Conftantinople, which he intended for the place of his interment. But the moft remarkable circumftance in the death of Conftantine, is, that he was baptized just before he died; after which ceremony he felt himself, as it were, revived and illumined with a divine light. He was clothed in white garments; his bed was covered with stuffs of the fame colour; and from that inftant he would never more touch the purple. His behaviour upon his death-bed was worthy of a Chriftian hero; but we shall enumerate no more particulars relating to it, as authors differ greatly in their accounts, and it is hard to tell who to depend

upon.

upon. The authors whom M. le Beau has chofen to follow, are Eufebius, St. Ambrofe, St. Profper, Socrates, Theodoret, Sozomenes, Evagrius, Gelafius of Cyzicum, St. Ifidore, and the Chronicle of Alexandria. It muft, indeed, be acknowledged, that there are worse materials for a history of the Lower Empire, than any branch of ancient history whatever; / fo judicious a critick as lord Bolinbroke fays, they are authors. whom he would by no means advise his readers to mispend their time in perufing. Nothing can therefore more illustrate Monfieur le Beau's hiftorical abilities, than his having been able to compile fo entertaining and fatisfactory a history with the affiftance of fuch imperfect lights. The methodical arrangement of facts, and the elegant perfpicuity of the ftile, prove it to be a production worthy of a profeffor of eloquence; at the fame time that the accuracy, with which he has inveftigated the origin of laws and cuftoms, and given a circum. stantial detail of all events worthy of notice, entitles him to a rank amongst the moft judicious annalifts. In drawing characters, he is juft and impartial, neither extenuating the faults, nor fuppreffing the virtues of those whofe portraits he draws. In this manner does he sketch out the character of Conftantine with as much truth as precifion. Perhaps, fays he, fpeaking of that prince, he had sufficient caufe to put to death the two Licinii; but pofterity has a right to condemn princes who have not taken the trouble to justify themselves at its tribunal. Incapable himself of diffimulation, he too eafily became the dupe of heretics and courtiers. Imitator of Marcus Antonininus and Marcus Aurelius, he loved his people, and wished to be loved by them; but this very fund of goodness, which made him cherish them, rendered them miferable; he spared even those that pillaged them; quick and ardent in prohibiting abuses, flow and backward in punishing them; covetous of glory, and perhaps rather too much, in trifles. He is reproached with having been more addicted to raillery than became a great prince. As for the reft, he was chafte, pious, laborious, and indefatigable; a great general, fuccefful in war, and deferving his fuccefs by his fhining valour, and the brightness of his genius; a protector of arts, and an encourager of them by his beneficence. If we compare him with Augustus, we shall find that he ruined idolatry by the fame methods and the fame addrefs, which the other employed to deftroy liberty.' We have selected only the outlines of this portrait, from which the reader may form a judgment of the author's skill at drawing characters. What has been faid will be fufficient to give

M. le Beau was profeffor of eloquence at Paris.