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| A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
Constantius, as has been narrated, departed this life groaning and grieving that he had been turned away from thefaith of his father. Julian heard the news of his end as he was crossing fromEurope into Asia and assumed the sovereignty with delight at having now no rival.
In his earlier days, while yet a lad, Julian had, as well as Gallus his brother, imbibed pure andpious teaching.
In his youth and earlier manhood he continued to take in the same doctrine. Constantius, dreading lest his kinsfolk should aspire to imperial power, slew them; and Julian, throughfear of his cousin, was enrolled in the order of Readers, and used to read aloud the sacred books to the people in the assemblies of the church.
He also built amartyr's shrine; but themartyrs, when they beheld hisapostasy, refused to accept the offering; for in consequence of the foundations being, like their founder'smind, unstable, the edifice fell down before it wasconsecrated. Such were the boyhood and youth of Julian. At the period, however, when Constantius was setting out for the West, drawn there by thewar against Magnentius, he made Gallus, who was gifted withpiety which he retained to the end, Cæsar of the East. Now Julian flung away the apprehensions which had previously stood him in good stead, and, moved by unrighteous confidence, set his heart on seizing the sceptre of empire. Accordingly, on his way through Greece, he sought out seers and soothsayers, with a desire of learning if he should get what hissoul longed for. He met with a man who promised to predict these things, conducted him into one of the idol temples, introduced him within the shrine, and called upon thedemons of deceit. On their appearing in their wonted aspect terror compelled Julian to make thesign of the cross upon his brow. They no sooner saw the sign of the Lord's victory than they were reminded of their own rout, and immediately fled away. On the magician becoming acquainted with thecause of their flight he blamed him; but Julian confessed his terror, and said that he wondered at the power of thecross, for that thedemons could not endure to see its sign and ran away.Think not anything of the sort, good sir;
said the magician,they were not afraid as you make out, but they went away because they abominated what you did.
So he tricked the wretched man, initiated him in themysteries, and filled him with their abominations.
Solust of empire stripped the wretch of alltrue religion. Nevertheless after attaining the supreme power he concealed his impiety for a considerable time; for he was specially apprehensive about the troops who had been instructed in the principles oftrue religion, first by the illustrious Constantine who freed them from their formererror and trained them in the ways oftruth, and afterwards by his sons, who confirmed the instruction given by their father. For if Constantius, led astray by those under whose influence he lived, did not admit the termὁ μοούσιον, at all events he sincerely accepted the meaning underlying it, forGod the Word he styledtrue Son, begotten of his Father before the ages, and those who dared to call Him a creature he openly renounced, absolutely prohibiting the worship ofidols.
I will relate also another of his nobledeeds, as satisfactoryproof of hiszeal for divine things. In his campaign against Magnentius he once mustered the whole of his army, and counselled them to take part all together in the divinemysteries,for,
said he,the end of life is always uncertain, and that not least inwar, when innumerable missiles are hurled from either side, and swords and battle axes and other weapons are assailing men, whereby a violent death is brought about. Wherefore it behooves each man to wear that precious robe which most of all we need in yonder life hereafter: if there be one here who would not now put on this garb let him depart hence and go home. I shall not brook to fight with men in my army who have no part nor lot in ourholyrites.
Julian had clear information on these points, and did not makeknown the impiety of hissoul. With the object of attracting all thebishops to acquiescence in his rule he ordered even those who had been expelled from their churches by Constantius, and who were sojourning on the furthest confines of the empire, to return to their own churches. Accordingly, on the promulgation of this edict, back toAntioch came the divine Meletius, and toAlexandria the far famed Athanasius.
But Eusebius, and Hilarius ofItaly and Lucifer who presided over the flock in the island of Sardinia, were living in the Thebaid on the frontier ofEgypt, whither they had been relegated by Constantius. They now met with the rest whose views were the same and affirmed that the churches ought to be brought into harmony. For they not only suffered from the assaults of their opponents, but were at variance with one another. InAntioch the sound body of the church had been split in two; at one and the same time they who from the beginning, for the sake of the right worthy Eustathius, had separated from the rest, were assembling by themselves; and they who with the admirable Meletius had held aloof from theArian faction were performing divine service in what is called the Palæa. Both parties used one confession offaith, for both parties were champions of the doctrine laid down at Nicæa. All that separated them was their mutual quarrel, and their regard for their respective leaders; and even the death of one of these did not put a stop to the strife. Eustathius died before the election of Meletius, and theorthodox party, after the exile of Meletius and the election of Euzoius, separated from the communion of the impious, and assembled by themselves; with these, the party called Eustathians could not be induced to unite. To effect an union between them the Eusebians and Luciferians sought to discover a means. Accordingly Eusebius besought Lucifer to repair toAlexandria and take counsel on the matter with the great Athanasius, intending himself to undertake the labour of bringing about a reconciliation.
Lucifer however did not go toAlexandria but repaired toAntioch. There he urged many arguments in behalf of concord on both parties. The Eustathians, led by Paulinus, apresbyter, persisted in opposition. On seeing this Lucifer took the improper course of consecrating Paulinus as theirbishop.
This action on the part of Lucifer prolonged the feud, which lasted for eighty-five years, until theepiscopate of the most praise-worthy Alexander.
No sooner was the helm of the church atAntioch put into his hands than he tried every expedient, and brought to bear greatzeal and energy for the promotion of concord, and thus joined the severed limb to the rest of the body of the church. At the time in question however Lucifer made the quarrel worse and spent a considerable time inAntioch, and Eusebius when he arrived on the spot and learned that bad doctoring had made the malady very hard to heal, sailed away to the West.
When Lucifer returned to Sardinia he made certain additions to thedogmas of the church and those who accepted them were named after him, and for a considerable time were called Luciferians. But in time the flame of thisdogma too went out and it was consigned to oblivion. Such were the events that followed on the return of thebishops.
When Julian had made his impiety openlyknown the cities were filled with dissensions. Men enthralled by the deceits ofidolatry took heart, opened theidols' shrines, and began to perform those foulrites which ought to have died out from the memory of man. Once more they kindled the fire on the altars, befouled the ground with victims' gore, and defiled the air with the smoke of their burntsacrifices. Maddened by thedemons they served they ran in corybantic frenzy round about the streets, attacked thesaints with low stage jests, and with all the outrage and ribaldry of their impure processions.
On the other hand the partizans ofpiety could not brook theirblasphemies, returned insult for insult, and tried to confute theerror which their opponents honoured. In their turn the workers of iniquity took it ill; the liberty allowed them by the sovereign was an encouragement to audacity and they dealt deadly blows among theChristians.
It was indeed the duty of the emperor to consult for the peace of his subjects, but he in the depth of his iniquity himself maddened his peoples with mutual rage. Thedeeds dared by the brutal against the peaceable he overlooked and entrusted civil and military offices of importance to savage and impious men, who though they hesitated publicly to force the lovers oftruepiety to offersacrifice treated them nevertheless with all kinds of indignity. All the honours moreover conferred on the sacred ministry by the great Constantine Julian took away.
To tell all thedeeds dared by the slaves ofidolatrous deceit at that time would require a history of these crimes alone, but out of the vast number of them I shall select a few instances. At Askalon and at Gaza, cities of Palestine, men ofpriestly rank andwomen who had lived all their lives invirginity were disembowelled, filled with barley, and given for food to swine. At Sebaste, which belongs to the same people, the coffin of John the Baptist was opened, his bones burnt, and the ashes scattered abroad.
Who too could tell without a tear the vile deed done inPhœnicia? At Heliopolis by Lebanon there lived a certaindeacon of the name of Cyrillus. In the reign of Constantine, fired by divinezeal, he had broken in pieces many of theidols there worshipped. Now men ofinfamous name, bearing this deed inmind, not only slew him, but cut open his belly and devoured his liver. Their crime was not, however, hidden from the all-seeing eye, and they suffered the just reward of theirdeeds; for all who had taken part in this abominablewickedness lost their teeth, which all fell out at once, and lost, too, their tongues, which rotted away and dropped from them: they were moreover deprived of sight, and by their sufferings proclaimed the power ofholiness.
At the neighbouring city of Emesa they dedicated to Dionysus, the woman-formed, the newly erected church, and set up in it his ridiculous androgynous image. At Dorystolum, a famous city of Thrace, the victorious athlete Æmilianus was thrown upon a flaming pyre, by Capitolinus, governor of all Thrace. To relate the tragicfate of Marcus, however,bishop ofArethusa, withtrue dramatic dignity, would require the eloquence of an Æschylus or a Sophocles. In the days of Constantius he had destroyed a certain idol-shrine and built a church in its place; and no sooner did theArethusians learn the mind of Julian than they made an open display of their hostility. At first, according to the precept of theGospel, Marcus endeavoured to make his escape; but when he became aware that some of his own people were apprehended in his stead, he returned and gave himself up to the men of blood. After they had seized him they neither pitied his old age nor reverenced his deep regard forvirtue; but, conspicuous as he was for the beauty alike of his teaching and of his life, first of all they stripped and smote him, laying strokes on every limb, then they flung him into filthy sewers, and, when they had dragged him out again, delivered him to a crowd of lads whom they charged to prick him without mercy with their pens. After this they put him into a basket, smeared him with pickle and honey, and hung him up in the open air in the height of summer, inviting wasps and bees to a feast. Their object in doing this was to compel him either to restore the shrine which he had destroyed, or to defray the expense of its erection. Marcus, however, endured all these grievous sufferings and affirmed that he would consent to none of their demands. His enemies, with the idea that he could not afford the money from poverty, remitted half their demand, and bade him pay the rest; but Marcus hung on high, pricked with pens, and devoured by wasps and bees, yet not only showed no signs of pain, but derided his impious tormentors with the repeated taunt,You are groundlings and of the earth; I, sublime and exalted.
At last they begged for only a small portion of the money; but, said he,it is as impious to give an obole as to give all.
So discomfited they let him go, and could not refrain from admiring his constancy, for his words had taught them a new lesson ofholiness.
Countless otherdeeds were dared at that time by land and by sea, all over the world, by thewicked against the just, for now without disguise the enemy of God began to lay downlaws againsttrue religion. First of all he prohibited the sons of theGalileans, for so he tried to name the worshippers of theSaviour, from taking part in the study of poetry, rhetoric, andphilosophy, for said he, in the words of the proverbwe are shot with shafts feathered from our own wing,
for from our own books they take arms and wagewar against us.
After this he made another edict ordering theGalileans to be expelled from the army.
At this time Athanasius, that victorious athlete of thetruth, underwent another peril, for the devils could not brook the power of his tongue andprayers, and so armed their ministers to revile him. Many voices did they utter beseeching the champion ofwickedness to exile Athanasius, and adding yet this further, that if Athanasius remained, not aheathen would remain, for that he would get them all over to his side. Moved by these supplications Julian condemned Athanasius not merely to exile, but to death. His people shuddered, but it is related that he foretold the rapid dispersal of the storm, for said heIt is a cloud which soon vanishes away.
He however withdrew as soon as he learned the arrival of the bearers of the imperial message, and finding a boat on the bank of the river, started for the Thebaid. The officer who had been appointed for his execution became acquainted with his flight, and strove to pursue him at hot haste; one of his friends, however, got ahead, and told him that the officer was coming on apace. Then some of his companions besought him to take refuge in thedesert, but he ordered the steersman to turn the boat's head toAlexandria. So they rowed to meet the pursuer, and on came the bearer of the sentence of execution, and, said he,How far off is Athanasius?
Not far,
said Athanasius, and so got rid of his foe, while he himself returned toAlexandria and there remained in concealment for the remainder of Julian's reign.
Julian, wishing to make a campaign against thePersians, dispatched the trustiest of his officers to all the oracles throughout the Roman Empire, while he himself went as a suppliant to implore the Pythian oracle of Daphne to makeknown to him the future. The oracle responded that the corpses lying hard by were becoming an obstacle todivination; that they must first be removed to another spot; and that then he would utter hisprophecy, for, said he,I could say nothing, if the grove be not purified.
Now at that time there were lying there the relics of the victoriousmartyr Babylas and the lads who hadgloriously suffered with him, and the lyingprophet was plainly stopped from uttering his wonted lies by theholy influence of Babylas. Julian was aware of this, for his ancientpiety had taught him the power of victoriousmartyrs, and so he removed no other body from the spot, but only ordered the worshippers of Christ to translate the relics of the victoriousmartyrs. They marched withjoy to the grove, put the coffin on a car and went before it leading a vast concourse of people, singing the psalms of David, while at every pause they shoutedShame be to all them that worship molten images.
For they understood the translation of themartyr to mean defeat for thedemon.
Julian could not endure the shame brought upon him by these doings, and on the following day ordered the leaders of the choral procession to be arrested. Sallustius was prefect at this time and a servant of iniquity, but he nevertheless was anxious to persuade the sovereign not to allow theChristians who were eager forglory to attain the object of their desires. When however he saw that the emperor was impotent to master his rage, he arrested a young man adorned with the graces of aholy enthusiasm while walking in the Forum, hung him up before the world on the stocks, lacerated his back with scourges, and scored his sides with claw-like instruments of torture. And this he did all day from dawn till the day was done; and then put chains of iron on him and ordered him to be kept in ward. Next morning he informed Julian of what had been done, and reported the young man's constancy and added that the event was for themselves a defeat and for theChristians a triumph. Persuaded of thetruth of this, God's enemy suffered no more to be so treated and ordered Theodorus to be let out ofprison, for so was named this young andglorious combatant intruth's battle. On being asked if he had had any sense of pain on undergoing those most bitter and most savage tortures he replied that at the first indeed he had felt some little pain, but that then had appeared to him one who continually wiped the sweat from his face with a cool and soft kerchief and bade him be of goodcourage.Wherefore,
said he,when the executioners gave over I was not pleased but vexed, for now there went away with them he who brought me refreshment ofsoul.
But thedemon of lyingdivination at once increased themartyr'sglory and exposed his ownfalsehood; for a thunderbolt sent down from heaven burnt the whole shrine and turned the verystatue of the Pythian into fine dust, for it was made of wood and gilded on the surface. Julianus the uncle of Julian, prefect of the East, learned this by night, and riding at full speed came to Daphne, eager to bring succour to the deity whom he worshipped; but when he saw the so-called god turned into powder he scourged the officers in charge of the temple, for he conjectured that the conflagration was due to someChristian. But they, maltreated as they were, could not endure to utter alie, and persisted in saying that the fire had started not from below but from above. Moreover some of the neighbouring rustics came forward and asserted that they had seen the thunderbolt come rushing down from heaven.
Even when thewicked had become acquainted with these events they set themselves in array against theGod of all; and the prince ordered theholy vessels to be handed over to the imperial treasury. Of the great church which Constantine had built he nailed up the doors and declared it closed to the worshippers wont to assemble there. At this time it was in possession of theArians. In company with Julianus the prefect of the East, Felix the imperial treasurer, and Elpidius, who had charge of the emperor's private purse and property, an officer whom it is the Roman custom to callComes privatarum,
made their way into the sacred edifice. Both Felix and Elpidius, it is said, wereChristians, but to please the impious emperor apostatised from thetrue religion. Julianus committed an act of gross indecency on the Holy Table and, when Euzoius endeavoured to prevent him, gave him a blow on the face, and told him, so the story goes, that it is thefate of the fortunes ofChristians to have no protection from the gods. But Felix, as he gazed upon the magnificence of the sacred vessels, furnished with splendour by the munificence of Constantine and Constantius,Behold,
said he,with what vessels Mary's son is served.
But it was not long before they paid the penalty of thesedeeds of mad and impious daring.
Julianus immediately fell sick of a painful disease; his entrails rotted away, and he was no longer able to discharge his excrements through the normal organs of excretion, but his polluted mouth, at the instant of hisblasphemy, became the organ for their emission.
His wife, it is said, was awoman of conspicuousfaith, and thus addressed her spouse:Husband, you ought to bless our Saviour Christ for showing you through your castigation his peculiar power. For you would never haveknown who it is who is being attacked by you if with his wonted long suffering he had refrained from visiting you with these heaven-sent plagues.
Then by these words and the heavy weight of his woes the wretched man perceived thecause of his disease, and besought the emperor to restore the church to those who had been deprived of it. He could not however gain his petition, and so ended his days.
Felix too was himself suddenly struck down by a heaven-sent scourge, and kept vomiting blood from his mouth, all day and all night, for all the vessels of his body poured their convergent streams to this one organ: so when all his blood was shed he died, and was delivered toeternal death.
Such were the penalties inflicted on these men for theirwickedness.
A young man who was apriest's son, and brought up in impiety, about this time went over to thetrue religion. For a lady remarkable for her devotion and admitted to the order ofdeaconesses was an intimate friend of his mother. When he came to visit her with his mother, while yet a tiny lad, she used to welcome him with affection and urge him to thetrue religion. On the death of his mother the young man used to visit her and enjoyed the advantage of her wonted teaching. Deeply impressed by her counsels, he enquired of his teacher by what means he might both escape thesuperstition of his father and have part and lot in thetruth which she preached. She replied that he must flee from his father, andhonour rather the Creator both of his father and himself; that he must seek some other city wherein he might lie hidden and escape theviolence of the impious emperor; and she promised to manage this for him. Then, said the young man,henceforward I shall come and commit mysoul to you.
Not many days afterwards Julian came to Daphne, to celebrate a public feast. With him came the young man's father, both as apriest, and as accustomed to attend the emperor; and with their father came the young man and his brother, being appointed to the service of the temple and charged with the duty of ceremonially sprinkling the imperial viands. It is the custom for the festival of Daphne to last for seven days. On the first day the young man stood by the emperor's couch, and according to the prescribed usage aspersed the meats, and thoroughly polluted them. Then at full speed he ran toAntioch, and making his way to that admirable lady,I have come,
said he,to you; and I have kept my promise. Do you look to thesalvation of each and fulfil your pledge.
At once she arose and conducted the young man to Meletius the man ofGod, who ordered him to remain for awhile upstairs in the inn. His father after wandering about all over Daphne in search of the boy, then returned to the city and explored the streets and lanes, turning his eyes in all directions and longing to light upon his lad. At length he arrived at the place where the divine Meletius had his hostelry; and looking up he saw his son peeping through the lattice. He ran up, drew him along, got him down, and carried him off home. Then he first laid on him many stripes, then applied hot spits to his feet and hands and back, then shut him up in his bedroom, bolted the door on the outside, and returned to Daphne. So I myself have heard the man himself narrate in his old age, and he added further that he was inspired and filled with Divine Grace, and broke in pieces all his father'sidols, and made mockery of their helplessness. Afterwards when he bethought him of what he had done he feared his father's return and besought his Master Christ to nod approval of hisdeeds, break the bolts, and open the doors.For it is for your sake,
said he,that I have thus suffered and thus acted.
Even as I thus spoke,
he told me,out fell the bolts and open flew the doors, and back I ran to my instructress. She dressed me up inwomen's garments and took me with her in her covered carriage back to the divine Meletius. He handed me over to thebishop of Jerusalem, at that time Cyril, and we started by night for Palestine.
After the death of Julian this young man led his father also into the way oftruth. This act he told me with the rest. So in this fashion these men were guided to theknowledge ofGod and were made partakers of Salvation.
Now Julian, with less restraint, or shall I say, less shame, began to arm himself againsttrue religion, wearing indeed a mask of moderation, but all the while preparing gins and traps which caught all who were deceived by them in the destruction of iniquity. He began by polluting with foulsacrifices the wells in the city and in Daphne, that every man who used the fountain might be partaker of abomination. Then he thoroughly polluted the things exposed in the Forum, for bread and meat and fruit and vegetables and every kind of food were aspersed. When those who were called by the Saviour's name saw what was done, they groaned and bewailed and expressed their abomination; nevertheless they partook, for they remembered the apostolic law,Everything that is sold in the shambles eat, asking no question forconscience sake.
Two officers in the army, who were shield bearers in the imperial suite, at a certain banquet lamented in somewhat warm language the abomination of what was being done, and employed the admirable language of theglorious youths atBabylon,You have given us over to an impious Prince, anapostate beyond all the nations on the earth.
One of the guests gave information of this, and the emperor arrested these right worthy men and endeavoured to ascertain by questioning them what was the language they had used. They accepted the imperial enquiry as an opportunity for open speech, and with noble enthusiasm repliedSir we were brought up intrue religion; we wereobedient to most excellentlaws, thelaws of Constantine and of his sons; now we see the world full of pollution, meats and drinks alike defiled with abominablesacrifices, and we lament. We bewail these things at home, and now before your face we express our grief, for this is the one thing in your reign which we take ill.
No sooner did he whom sympathetic courtiers called most mild and mostphilosophic hear these words than he took off his mask of moderation, and exposed the countenance of impiety. He ordered cruel and painful scourgings to be inflicted on them and deprived them of their lives; or shall we not rather say freed them from that sorrowful time and gave them crowns of victory? He pretended indeed that punishment was inflicted upon them not for thetrue religion for sake of which they were really slain, but because of their insolence, for he gave out that he had punished them for insulting the emperor, and ordered this report to be published abroad, thus grudging to these champions of thetruth the name andhonour ofmartyrs. The name of one was Juventinus; of the other Maximinus. The city ofAntioch honoured them as defenders oftrue religion, and deposited them in a magnificent tomb, and up to this day they are honoured by a yearly festival.
Other men in public office and of distinction used similar boldness of speech, and won like crowns ofmartyrdom.
Valentinianus, who shortly afterwards became emperor, was at that time a Tribune and commanded the Hastati quartered in the palace. He made no secret of hiszeal for thetrue religion. On one occasion when the infatuated emperor was going in solemn procession into the sacred enclosure of the Temple of Fortune, on either side of the gates stood the temple servants purifying, as they supposed, all who were coming in, with their sprinkling whisks. As Valentinianus walked before the emperor, he noticed that a drop had fallen on his own cloak and gave the attendant a blow with his fist,for,
said he,I am not purified but defiled.
For this deed he won two empires. On seeing what had happened Julian the accursed sent him to a fortress in thedesert, and ordered him there to remain, but after the lapse of a year and a few months he received the empire as a reward of his confession of thefaith, for not only in the life that is to come does the just Judgehonour them that care forholy things, but sometimes even here below He bestows recompense for gooddeeds, confirming the hope of guerdons yet to be received by what he gives in abundance now.
But the tyrant devised another contrivance against thetruth, for when according to ancient custom he had taken his seat upon the imperial throne to distribute gold among the ranks of his soldiery, contrary to custom he had an altar full of hot coals introduced, andincense put upon a table, and ordered each man who was to receive the gold first to throwincense on the altar, and then to take the gold from his own right hand. The majority were wholly unaware of the trap thus laid; but those who were forewarned feigned illness and so escaped this cruel snare. Others in their eagerness for the money made light of theirsalvation while another group abandoned theirfaith through cowardice.
After this fatal distribution of money some of the recipients were feasting together at an entertainment. One of them who had taken the cup in his hand did not drink before making on it the sign ofsalvation.
One of the guests found fault with him for this, and said that it was quite inconsistent with what had just taken place.What,
said he,have I done that is inconsistent?
Whereupon he was reminded of the altar and theincense, and of his denial of thefaith; for these things are all contrary to theChristian profession. When they heard this the greater number of the feasters moaned and bewailed themselves, and tore out handfuls of hair from their heads. They rose from the banquet, and ran through the Forum exclaiming that they wereChristians, that they had been tricked by the emperor's contrivances, that they retracted theirapostasy, and were ready to try to undo the defeat which had befallen them unwittingly. With these exclamations they ran to the palace loudly inveighing against the wiles of the tyrant, and imploring that they might be committed to the flames in order that, as they had been befouled by fire, by fire they might be made clean. All these utterances drove the villain out of his senses, and on the impulse of the moment he ordered them to be beheaded; but as they were being conducted without the city the mass of the people started to follow them, wondering at theirfortitude and glorying in their boldness for thetruth. When they had reached the spot where it was usual to execute criminals, the eldest of them besought the executioner that he would first cut off the head of the youngest, that he might not be unmanned by beholding the slaughter of the rest. No sooner had he knelt down upon the ground and the headsman bared his sword, than up ran a man announcing a reprieve, and while yet afar off shouting out to stop the execution. Then the youngest soldier was distressed at his release from death.Ah,
said he,Romanus
(his name was Romanus)was not worthy of being called Christ'smartyr.
What influenced the vile trickster in stopping the execution was hisenvy: he grudged the champions of thefaith theirglory. Their sentence was commuted to relegation beyond the city walls and to the remotest regions of the empire.
Artemius commanded the troops inEgypt. He had obtained this command in the time of Constantine, and had destroyed most of theidols. For this reason Julian not only confiscated his property but ordered his decapitation.
These and like these were thedeeds of the man whom the impious describe as the mildest and least passionate of men.
I will now include in my history the noble story of a right excellentwoman, for evenwomen, armed with divinezeal, despised the mad fury of Julian.
In those days there was awoman named Publia, of highreputation, and illustrious fordeeds ofvirtue. For a short time she wore the yoke of marriage, and had offered its most goodly fruit toGod, for from this fair soil sprang John, who for a long time was chiefpresbyter atAntioch, and was often elected to the apostolic see, but from time to time declined the dignity. She maintained a company ofvirgins vowed tovirginity for life, and spent her time in praising God who had made and saved her. One day the emperor was passing by, and as they esteemed the Destroyer an object of contempt and derision, they struck up all the louder music, chiefly chanting those psalms which mock the helplessness ofidols, and saying in the words of DavidTheidols of the nations are of silver and gold, the work of men's hands,
and after describing their insensibility, they addedlike them be they that make them and all those that trust in them.
Julian heard them, and was veryangry, and told them to hold their peace while he was passing by. She did not however pay the least attention to his orders, but put still greater energy into their chaunt, and when the emperor passed by again told them to strike upLet God arise and let his enemies be scattered.
On this Julian inwrath ordered thechoir mistress to be brought before him; and, though he saw that respect was due to her old age, he neither compassionated her gray hairs, nor respected her high character, but told some of his escort to box both her ears, and by theirviolence to make her cheeks red. She however took the outrage forhonour, and returned home, where, as was her wont, she kept up her attack upon him with her spiritual songs, just as the composer and teacher of the song laid thewicked spirit that vexed Saul.
Julian, who had made hissoul a home of destroyingdemons, went his corybantic way, ever raging againsttrue religion. He accordingly now armed theJews too against thebelievers inChrist. He began by enquiring of some whom he got together why, though their law imposed on them the duty ofsacrifices, they offered none. On their reply that their worship was limited to one particular spot, this enemy of God immediately gave directions for the re-erection of the destroyed temple, supposing in his vanity that he could falsify the prediction of the Lord, of which, in reality, he exhibited thetruth. TheJews heard his words with delight and madeknown his orders to their countrymen throughout the world. They came with haste from all directions, contributing alike money and enthusiasm for the work; and the emperor made all the provisions he could, less from thepride of munificence than from hostility to thetruth. He dispatched also as governor a fit man to carry out his impious orders. It is said that they made mattocks, shovels, and baskets of silver. When they had begun to dig and to carry out the earth a vast multitude of them went on with the work all day, but by night the earth which had been carried away shifted back from the ravine of its own accord. They destroyed moreover the remains of the former construction, with the intention of building everything up afresh; but when they had got together thousands of bushels of chalk and lime, of a sudden a violent gale blew, and storms, tempests and whirlwinds scattered everything far and wide. They still went on in theirmadness, nor were they brought to their senses by the divine longsuffering. Then first came a great earthquake, fit to strike terror into the hearts of men quiteignorant of God's dealings; and, when still they were not awed, fire running from the excavated foundations burnt up most of the diggers, and put the rest to flight. Moreover when a large number of men were sleeping at night in an adjacent building it suddenly fell down, roof and all, and crushed the whole of them. On that night and also on the following night thesign of the cross ofsalvation was seen brightly shining in the sky, and the very garments of theJews were filled with crosses, not bright but black. When God's enemies saw these things, in terror at the heaven-sent plagues they fled, and made their way home, confessing the Godhead of Him who had been crucified by their fathers. Julian heard of these events, for they were repeated by every one. But likePharaoh he hardened his heart.
No sooner had the Persians heard of the death of Constantius, than they took heart, proclaimedwar, and marched over the frontier of the Roman empire. Julian therefore determined to muster his forces, though they were a host without a God to guard them. First he sent to Delphi, to Delos and to Dodona, and to the other oracles and enquired of the seers if he should march. They bade him march and promised him victory. One of these oracles I subjoin inproof of theirfalsehood. It was as follows.Now we gods all started to get trophies of victory by the river beast and of them I Ares, bold raiser of the din ofwar, will be leader.
Let them that style the Pythian a God wise in word and prince of the muses ridicule the absurdity of the utterance. I who have found out itsfalsehood will rather pity him who was cheated by it. The oracle called the Tigrisbeast
because the river and the animal bear the same name. Rising in the mountains of Armenia, and flowing through Assyria it discharges itself into the Persian gulf. Beguiled by these oracles the unhappy man indulged in dreams of victory, and after fighting with the Persians had visions of a campaign against theGalileans, for so he called theChristians, thinking thus to bring discredit on them. But, man of education as he was, he ought to have bethought him that no mischief is done toreputation by change of name, for even had Socrates been called Critias and Pythagoras Phalaris they would have incurred no disgrace from the change of name — nor yet would Nireus if he had been named Thersites have lost the comeliness with which nature had gifted him. Julian had learned about these things, but laid none of them to heart, and supposed that he could wrong us by using an inappropriate title. Hebelieved the lies of the oracles and threatened to set up in our churches thestatue of the goddess oflust.
After starting with these threats he was put down by one single Berœan. Illustrious as this man was from the fact of his holding the chief place among the magistrates, he was made yet more illustrious by hiszeal. On seeing his son falling into the prevailing paganism, he drove him from his home and publicly renounced him. The youth made his way to the emperor in the near neighbourhood of the city and informed him both of his own views and of his father's sentence. The emperor bade him make his mind easy and promised to reconcile his father to him. When he reached Berœa, he invited the men of office and of high position to a banquet. Among them was the young suppliant's father, and both father and son were ordered to take their places on the imperial couch. In the middle of the entertainment Julian said to the father,It does not seem to me to be right to force amind otherwise inclined and having no wish to shift its allegiance. Your son does not wish to follow your doctrines. Do not force him. Even I, though I am easily able to compel you, do not try to force you to follow mine.
Then the father, moved by hisfaith in divinetruth to sharpen the debate, exclaimedSir,
said heare you speaking of this wretch whom Godhates and who has preferred lies totruth?
Once more Julian put on the mask of mildness and saidCease fellow from reviling,
and then, turning his face to the youth,I,
said he,will have care for you, since I have not been able to persuade your father to do so.
I mention this circumstance with a distinct wish to point out not only this worthy man's admirable boldness, but that very manypersons despised Julian's sway.
Another instance is that of an excellent man atAntioch, entrusted with the charge of young lads, who was bettereducated than is usually the case with pedagogues, and was the intimate friend of the chief teacher of that period, Libanius the far-famed sophist.
Now Libanius was aheathen expecting victory and bearing in mind the threats of Julian, so one day, in ridicule of our belief he said to the pedagogue,What is the carpenter's son about now?
Filled withdivine grace, he foretold what was shortly to come to pass.Sophist,
said he,the Creator of all things, whom you in derision call carpenter's son, is making a coffin.
After a few days the death of the wretch was announced. He was carried out lying in his coffin. The vaunt of his threats wasproved vain, and God wasglorified.
A man who in the body imitated the lives of the bodiless, namely Julianus, surnamed in Syrian Sabbas, whose life I have written in myReligious History,
continued all the morezealously to offer hisprayers to theGod of all, when he heard of the impious tyrant's threats. On the very day on which Julian was slain, he heard of the event while at hisprayers, although the Monastery was distant more than twenty stages from the army. It is related that while he was invoking the Lord with loud cries and supplicating his merciful Master, he suddenly checked his tears, broke into anecstasy of delight, while his countenance was lighted up and thus signified thejoy that possessed hissoul. When his friends beheld this change they begged him to tell them the reason of hisgladness.The wild boar,
said he,the enemy of the vineyard of the Lord, has paid the penalty of the wrongs he has done to Him; he lies dead. His mischief is done.
The whole company no sooner heard these words than they leaped withjoy and struck up the song of thanksgiving toGod, and from those that brought tidings of the emperor's death they learned that it was the very day and hour when the accursed man was slain that the aged Saintknew it and announced it.
Julian's folly was yet more clearly manifested by his death. He crossed the river that separates the Roman Empire from the Persian, brought over his army, and then immediately burnt his boats, so making his men fight not in willing but in forcedobedience. The best generals are wont to fill their troops with enthusiasm, and, if they see them growing discouraged, to cheer them and raise their hopes; but Julian by burning the bridge of retreat cut off all good hope. A furtherproof of his incompetence was his failure to fulfil the duty of foraging in all directions and providing his troops with supplies. Julian had neither ordered supplies to be brought fromRome, nor did he make any bountiful provision by ravaging the enemy's country. He left the inhabited world behind him, and persisted in marching through the wilderness. His soldiers had not enough to eat and drink; they were without guides; they were marching astray in a desert land. Thus they saw the folly of their most wise emperor. In the midst of their murmuring and grumbling they suddenly found him who had struggled in mad rage against his Maker wounded to death. Ares who raises the war-din had never come to help him as he promised; Loxias had given lyingdivination; he who glads him in the thunderbolts had hurled no bolt on the man who dealt the fatal blow; the boasting of his threats was dashed to the ground. The name of the man who dealt that righteous stroke no oneknows to this day. Some say that he was wounded by an invisible being, others by one of the Nomads who were called Ishmaelites; others by a trooper who could not endure the pains of famine in the wilderness. But whether it were man orangel who plied the steel, withoutdoubt the doer of the deed was the minister of thewill ofGod. It is related that when Julian had received the wound, he filled his hand with blood, flung it into the air and cried,You have won, OGalilean.
Thus he gave utterance at once to a confession of the victory and to ablasphemy. So infatuated was he.
Julian had leftEdessa on his left because it was adorned with thegrace oftrue religion, and while in his vain folly he was journeying through Carræ, he came to the temple honoured by the impious and after going through certainrites with his companions in defilement, he locked and sealed the doors, and stationed sentinels with orders to see that none came in till his return. When news came of his death, and the reign of iniquity was succeeded by one ofpiety, the shrine was opened, and within was found aproof of the late emperor's manliness, wisdom, andpiety. For there was seen awoman hung up on high by the hairs of her head, and with her hands outstretched. The villain had cut open her belly, and so I suppose learned from her liver his victory over the Persians.
This was the abomination discovered at Carræ.
It is said that atAntioch a number of chests were discovered at the palace filled withhuman heads, and also many wells full of corpses. Such is the teaching of theevil deities.
WhenAntioch heard of Julian's death she gave herself up to rejoicing and festivity; and not only was exultantjoy exhibited in thechurches, and in the shrines ofmartyrs, but even in the theatres the victory of the cross was proclaimed and Julian's vaticination held up to ridicule. And here I will record the admirable utterance of the men atAntioch, that it may be preserved in the memory of generations yet to come, for with one voice the shout was raised,Maximus, thou fool, where are your oracles? For God has conquered and his Christ.
This was said because there lived at that time a man of the name of Maximus, a pretender tophilosophy, but really a worker of magic, and boasting himself to be able to foretell the future. But the Antiochenes, who had received their divine teaching from theglorious yokefellows Peter andPaul, and were full of warm affection for the Master and Saviour of all, persisted in execrating Julian to the end. Their sentiments were perfectly well known to the object of them, and so he wrote a book against them and called itMisopogon.
This rejoicing at the death of the tyrant shall conclude this book of my history, for it were to my mind indecent to connect with a righteous reign the impious sovereignty of Julian.
Source.Translated by Blomfield Jackson. FromNicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series,Vol. 3.Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co.,1892.)Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight.<http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/27023.htm>.
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