YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

Purchased from the
MAUDE TROWBRIDGE REYNOLDS
and
HORATIO MCLEOD REYNOLDS FUND

THE WORKS
OF T H.E
EMPEROR JULIAN,
AND
s o m'e pieces
OF T«HE
SOPHIST LIBANIUS,
TRANSLATED FROM THE GREEK.
WITH.
Notes from PETAU, La BLETER IE, G IB BO N, &c.
TO WHICH IS ADDED,
The HISTORYof the EMPEROR JOVIAN,
From the French of the Abbe De la Bleterie.
By JOHN DUN COMBE, M. A.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
THIRD EDITION CORRECTED.
Him Poefy, Philofophy, deplore,
The fcepter'd Patriot, who diftin&ions wav'd,
Lord of himfelf, by Pagan rites enflav'd ;
Whom all, but Chriftians, held their common friend,
*lVho'fe very errors had a virtuous end. Irwin.
VOLUME THE FIRST.
LONDON,
Printed for JT. C A D E L Ly in the S T R A N D.
1798.

SELECT WORKS

OF THE

EMPEROR JULIAN.

%* The inaufpicious name of Julian is ftamped on the
memory of all ages, not more by the extent of his do
minions than by the infamy of his deferting the Chriftian
religion : that great and eternal blot, that fingle ftain,
which has totally rallied all his other graces and accom-
pliflrroents ; adorned, as be was, with every endowment of
nature, genius, learning, and eloquence, furrounded by a
noble train of attendant virtues, temperance, continence,
liberality, moderation in his mode of life, and diftinguifhed
alfo by the renown of valour and fuccefs in war. But as
it was by no means my intention, I will not fay to erafe
or remove (for what Chriftian would attempt that?), but
in the leaft'to tiifgiiife or extenuate, the blemuh that hia
name has thus contracted, by paying fome refpect to his
other virtues ; fo that elogium of uncommon erudition and
elegance which his lucubrations in various branches of li
terature have received from fo many paft ages, fhould not,
I thought, on that account be with-held from them.
Spanheim, in Dedh.

[iii 3

CONTENTS of VOL. I, Page
Preface v
Annals and Pedigree of Julian xxxv
Gallus Caefar to his Brother Julian I
Seleft Works of Julian, viz.
i. Epiftle to Themiftius 4
2. A Confolatory Oration on the Departure of
Salluft
3. Epiftle to the Emperor Conftantus 54
4.  to the Senate and People of Athens 59
5. An Allegorical Fable (from Orat. VII. ) 105
6. The Duties of a Prieft (from the Fragment) 118
7. The Csefars } thy
8. The Mifopogon, or the Antiochian 223
XVI Epiftles of Libanius to Julian. 303

& 2

i v ]

PREFACE.

THE Abbe- de la Bleterie publifhed, ni,
1735, La Vie de I'Empereur Julian,
I2m6. * To this he added, in 1740^ L" Hif-
ioire de I' Empereur Jb'vien, et Traductions de
tjicelque's Oiivrdges de F Empereur Julien, iii
two volumes, fmall 8vo. Both t,hefe works
are executed with uncommon elegance and
judgerhent, arid have been very ferviceable
to me in the following tranflations* With
great fagacity the Abbe has explained and
enlightened feveral ambiguous and obfcure
paflages ; and many others he "has happily
illuftrated, though, in general, by endea
vouring to give the! idea.' of his author a? .1)6
prefumes "• Julian himfelf would have ex-
*'Jprencd it,' if he had written in French,"
* Bleterie's Life is indeed a very elegant one, and writ
-With much. Candour and impartiality. He is no deep min
in the- learning of thoie times, but bis good fenfe-ger era'ly
enables him to feize the right. Wasiurtok.
Vol. L b hU

vi PREFACE.
his verfion is too free and paraphrafrical. If
I have fleered between the extremes of thofe
** literal vernons," thofe " homely copies,"
which he condemns, and the beautiful, but
flattering, likenefs which he has drawn, I
mall have fucceeded to my wifh, being, de-
firous of reprefenting this Imperial author
juif as he is, as far as the idiom of the two
languages will admit, in which the Englifh,
in point of analogy to the Greek, has the
advantage of the French. Moft of the an
notations of M. de la Bleterie I. have adopted,
and the rather, as few of them have before.
appeared in Englifh. A tranflation of his
" Life of Julian,1' by fome ladies *, was pub
lifhed in 1746, under the infpeclion of Mr.
Bowyer; but the " Hiftory of Jovian" has
till now been to our country " a fountain
" fealed." Were the learned Abbe flill -liv
ing, I mould, !however, defpair of fatisfying
him in this attempt, having traced him more
clofely than he has .tranflated Julian, or
wifhed to be tranflated himfelf.
The occafion, and the motives, that en
gaged rrie in this undertaking being the fame
* Mrs. Williams,- a blind lady, affifted by two lifters 0f
the name of Wilkinfon4 Anecdotes of Bowyer; p. tftr. with

PREFACE.
with thofe of this French academician, I
cannot, fo well exprefs them as in the fame
Words :
" Having lately met with the works of
' Julian, notwithfbnding the jufl: horror
' with which I was infpired by his apof-
' tacy, I found them equally eloquent and
' ingenious, and perhaps more worthy to
' be read than many of the ancient Pagan
' writers. Befides, his morality being more
' refined than tfeeirs, becaufe it has retained
' a tint of ours, I perceived in his writings
' a multitude of particulars ufeful for hiftory,
' and others, contrary to the intention of
' the author, very advantageous, and highly
* honourable, to religion. It feemed griev-
' ous to me, that ill-founded fcruples fhould.
' prevent tranflating into our language
' that which deferved it. ' The Emperor
Jovian,' faid I to myfelf, ' very ^zealous
a.s he was for the faith, did not think the
adorning the tomb of Julian, and honoui?-
ing, even in the afhes of that apoft.at,e
prince, his rank as a man and an emperor,
incompatible with the true fpirit of Chris
tianity. Would it therefore be criminal
not to neglect the productions of /his (ge
nius, and to draw them from, the obfcurity
b % * of

P R< E F A C E,
« of the learned languages V The excellent
" Latin verfion of Father Petau * has already
" placed Julian within the reach of thofe
«« who are not fufficiently acquainted with
" Greek to read the original ; and the cele-
" brated Satire of the Cjesars, publifhed
" in French by M. Spanheim t, with a long
" and

. * Petau Dionysius [or Petavius], a Jefuit, was one
of the moft learned men of his age. He was born in the
city of Orleans, and honoured it by. his merit. He was a
vaft genius, formed for literature, and rendered himfelf
a prodigy of knowledge. For, befides the learned lan
guages, which he wrote and fpoke with the greateft fluency,
there never was a divine more profound, an hiftorian better
informed, an orator more eloquent, a critic more judicious,
a poet more ingenious and more flowery. In fhort, of
nothing in literature he was ignorant. His excellent works
leave no room to doubt this truth. Father Petau entered
among the Jefuits in the year 1605, which was the a 2d of
' His age. He was profeffor there of eloquence, and after
wards of facred literature, and during the forty-eight years
> that he lived there ina moft exemplary and edifying manner,
he was the ornament of his fociety, the friend of all men
of learning, the admiration of foreigners, and, in a word,
one of the rnpft excellent geniufes in France in the xvuth
century. F. Petau died in the college of Clermont, at
Paris, on the 1 1 th of 'December, 1652, aged 69. See his
Life, written by another great man, Henry de Valois, his
intimate friend,- with the funeral elogiums of the learned.
Befides numerous other works, he printed, in 1613, xvi
orations of Themjftius, in' Greek and Latin, with notes
and conje&ures'of his own ; and in 1634 [rather 1630], he
¦publifhed the works- of the Emperor Julian, 4,tx>. &c.
, • - MORERI.
t SkANHEiM Ezektel, the eldeft fon of Frederick Spaii-
. heh'A, pi-ofelioi- of divinuy. at.Leyden, wa3 born at Geneva in

P R E F A C E.
" and learned commentary, has inftructed
11 the.moft intelligent, without offending the
" moft ignorant *."
Of all the remaining works of Julian, both
thofe which are here tranflated, and thofe
which are not, M. de la Bleterie has given
the folio wing, very accurate account :
" Independently of thofe- faults of his
" age, which Julian has not fufficiently
" avoided, I mean a tafte for declamation,
" and the malady of quoting inceffantly the
" ancients, efpecially, the divine Homer,
" whether by way of ornament, or even of
<* proof, 1 queftion whether the two Pane-
in the year 16^9, For proofs of his extenftye -/earning
fee his work de prajlantid ct ufu numifmatum, his DifTerta-
tion. on a medal of the Abderites^ his five letters to Morell,
a famous antiquary and medallift, which have been printed
with the Specimen unhierfa rei tiummaria antiqua, ' which tiie
fame Mprell publifhed at Leipfic, in 1695 ; his notes on
Callimachus, and on the CffisARs of the Emperor Julian,
and fome other treatjfes, whofe title may be feen in
Moreri,' Paris edition, 1695, You may there alfo find a
feiies of all the employments to which he was fucceffively
raifed at the courts of various princes, till he was fent for
the fourthtime to the ccurt of France f by the- Elector of
Brandenburgh], after the peace of Ryfwick. He continued
at Paris from that time to the beginning of the year 1701,
when he was fent ambaffador to England by his mafter, thq
new king of Pruffia [with the title and dignity of Baron],
He died there Oct. 28, 1710, aged 81. Baype,
* Freface a la Fie de Julien, p. 1 — 3.
b 3 " GYRICS

IX

PREFACE:
" gyrics on Constantius * would afford
" much pleafure [to a modern]. No twit h-
" ftandin" the beauties of narration, which
" Julian has the art of .diffufhig, they err
"¦¦effen chilly as' to their fubject. Equitable
" readers would blame the author for having
" been obliged to employ fo much art and
" genius to erect into a hero a, prince of
" moderate talents whcm he hrated and
" feared. But would they forgive a trail f-
" lator for fatiguing pofterity by the irkfome
" repetition of praifes which fear and M-
"¦ cefiity rendered excufable in the mouth of
" an orator who pronounced them on pain
" of death ?
" The Panegyric on the Empress
<[ Eusebia -f is a memorial of the gratitude
'¦'• of Julian. He does hot fpeak there, how-
" ever, fufficiently from the heart. It is a
" frigid, didactic, monotonous eiogium. As
*' the author quotes in it fome particulars of
" antiquity, that are lets known now than
" they were then',' the generality of readers
. * Orat. I. Orat.U. Thefe two panegyrics contain many
fafts, and excellent principles of government. Julian wrote
the fecond in Gaul. Some Pagan phraies occur in them
which would induce us to think that he retouched them
after he had declared hirnfelf a Pagan, Life of Julian
\ Ow, 111, " would

PREFACE. 3d
" Would think the piece too learned, and
** would not fail to fay, that Julian intended
" to convince his' benefadtrefs that he made
" ufe of the library which (he had given him.
" The Discourse in Honour of the
" Sun-King *, in Solem Regem,1 is an elo-
" gium on the Logos of Plato. Julian has
" fome remarkable expreflions on the fub-
" j"ect of that intelligence, the eternal pro-
*' ductioh of the Sovereign God, of whom
"'it is the living image, which, from all
" eternity, according to Julian, 'arranged the
'* univerfe, which preferves and will always
" preferve it, which, holding the fame' place
" in the intelligible world that the fun
" holds "1j among corporeal beings, is the
" fource, the centre, ' the light of the fub-
" altern Gods, and of all the fpirits to which
" virtuous fouls will be reunited after death;
" which manifefts its power, and refides, in an
** efpecial manner, in the ftar whofe rays
"enlighten the material world. This work
" is ufeful and curious to fuch as wifh to
** know fundamentally the philofophical pa-
" ganifm of the Platonifts of that time, and
" the fyftem of religion which Julian formed
* Orat. IV.
b 4 "to

P R E F A C E?
v to himfelf. , But this long difcourfe pre*
** fents. fiich a confufed mixture of me^a-r
" phyfips.and phyfics; \t has fp much ver-j.
"rbpfity, fo little juftice and precifioii, that;
" it can do no honour but to the fecundity
" of Julian,. who cpmpofed it in the fpace
*' of threp nights,
" He employed only one in making. the
" Elogiumqn the Mother °f the Gods*.
" It was compofed at Peffinuntus in Phrygia,
*' where was a temple of that Goddefs, api
*', parently to revive the £eal of the people.
"v He tortures his, genius and imagination tq,
'? ejxplain allegqrically the fable of Cybele.
" and Atys,, with the ceremonies of their
" wqrfhip. All thefe efforts terminate merely
" in publifhing, with, the tone of an enthur.
* Orat. V. One of the orations' of Julian is cbnfecrated
to the honour, of Cybele, t,he Mother, of Ithe Gods, who re
quired from her effeminate priefts the bloody facrifice fo
raflily performed by the rn'idnefs of the Phrygian boy. The '
pious Emperor condescends to, relate, without a bLufh-, and
without a lmile, the voysge of the Goddefs from the
Shores of Pergamus to the mouth of the 'Vyberj'and the
Stupendous miracle, which convinced the Senate and people
of Rome that the lump of clay,' which their ambafladors
transported over the feas, was endowed with life, and fenti- '
ment, and divine power. For the truth of this prodigy he
appeals to the public monuments 'of the city; and ceni'ures
with fome acrimony, the Sickly and affected tafte of thofe
men, who impertinently derided the facied traditions of
their anceftors. Gibbon. " fiafh

PREFACE,
'* fiaft, a romance of very obfcure phyfics,
•'* If I perfectly underftood it, I fhould not
*' have tranflated it, on account of the ob?.
** fcenity of the poetical fable, from which
*' Julian, neverthelefs, endeavours to deduce
?' even fome moralities.
" The Discourse entitled against ignot
" rant Cynics *, contra imperitos canes, is
" alfp an impromptu which he compofed in
*' two days, at his leifure hptirs, indignant
*' at the irreverence and audacipufnefs of a
" diflplute Cynic, who, not contented with,
**. leading a voluptuous life, ridiculed the
*\ Angularities of piqgenes, and treated him
** as a coxcomb. Julian undertakes the apo-s
** logy pf the mafter, and exerts himfelf
*4 againft the. difciple, with all the warmth,
" of a man, who, in order to be a new Dio-
" genes, wanted only the wallet and ftaff.
" I think that this piece, though inferior to
l* thofe which I have tranflated, would not
** difpleafe in French.
" I will not fay the fame of theDfscourse,
*' which is addreffed to another Cynic, na-
** medHERACLius f- This philofopher, ha-
" ranguing in the prefence of Julian, had de-
* Oral. VI. -}¦ Orat. VII. " livered

xiii

xiv P R E F ' A: C' E.
" livered an allegorical fable, in which J he
" modeftly took upon himfelf the part of
" Jupiter, and gave the Emperor that of the
*' God Pan. Tulian was ftill more hurt by
" the little refpect. " with which the Cynic
" mentioned the Gods. He was very' near
'* impofing filence on this profane declaimer.
45 But having then made an effort of patience,
*' as well from regard for the audience, as
" for fear of being confidered as he faid, as
** a fnfpiciou's' man, whoJis feared at every
" thing, he indemnifies himfelf by 'giving'
" fcope to his zeal in a long difco'urfe ; whofe
4t objeft'is to prove that a Cynic, "an enemy,
" by his profeffion, to all diffimulatioii and
" difguife, ought not to compofe fables ; or,
" if he will compofe them, that they fhould
" at leaft be ferious, inftructive, religious.
" This difcourfe, which would be clearer,
" if the ficlion which Ihocked Julian were
*x known to us, contains fome curious par-
" ticulars relating to the origin and, nature
*' of fable, on the ancient and modern
" Cynics, &c. But what feems there moft
" worthy of attention is a fable by Julian,
** which I fhal-1 prefently mention. " Julian

PREFACE. s
i( Julian was Only Caefar when he com-
«' pofed the piece entitled, A Consolat5RY
*-* Discourse on the Departure of Sal-
<t Lusf *. It is the fame Salluft whom
" Julian afterwards made Prefect of Gaul,
"- and who muft not be confounded with the
" Fraefect of the Eaft. Under Conftantius
" he had'a confiderable employment in Gaul.
" His talents and fidelity having rendered
" him the intimate and confidential friend
" of the Caefar, the jealoufy and intrigues of
" the court did not fail to difplace and recall
" him. Julian, who was femible of all the
" greatnefs of his lofs, endeavours, in 'this
" difcourfe, to confole hirrifelfj'and to com-
" fort his friend, for fueh a cruel feparation.
*' He regrets not only the charms and de-
" lights of an union founded on the love of
" virtue and the public good, but alfo the
" affiftance of another' felf, who partook his
" engagements-, his pairis, and his pleafures,
" of a true man, whofe like he defpairs to
" find, Who. loved him without intereft, re-
" proved him without arrogance, and told.

* Orat. viii, " him

xv

**i P R E F A C E.
" him the truth , without difguife. ' He
" makes a very rare and moft refpe&able
" confeflion, efpecially, in the mouth of a
" prince ; he fays, in exprefs terrns, that he-
" owes to Salluft all his ,reputation.. in this
*' :wprk , are fentiment ; and principles ; but
*'. they are. a little choaked . by, the quo-
" tations, and examples of antiquity* The
'.''.piece was compofed to be publifhed,: though
" the author, was apprehenfiv6(that. ijt would
'.' , not. On that account he confines himfelf to
"f generals,, It is, plain, that, full of vexationy
" and pierced with a grief which he conceals
" in tl^e bottom of his- foul, he choofes to
'_', tell ^Salluft any, thing but what he tell*
* ' . him. If he fppaks to him of Scipip,fLa?liusy
" jCato, Pythagoras, Plato, Democritus, Pe-
" rides, Anaxagoras, &c.; it is becaufe he
" .dares not fpcak of what intereft? him moft.'
" Thofe who cannot, be ignorant are reduced
" by feryitude and conftraint to pedantry :
"witnefs moft of the Greeks who wrote
" under , the Roman empire. Julian, as a
'.' private man or the Casfar, lived in a
" moft dreadful conftraint. This perhaps
" is one of the caufes of that mifphced
" erudition

(C

PREFACE. xv!i
" erudition which disfigures many of his
" works *.
** He could, however, forego erudition
when he pleafed, as we may be convinced
" by reading his Manifesto againft theEm-
" peror Conftantius -f. This work has no-
" thing pedantic, but the being addrefled to
" the Senate and People of Athens,
lt whom Julian treats as he would have
*' done the Athenians irt the time of Mil-
" tiades, Ariftides, and Themiftocles. The
" piece is written in a folid, noble, perfuafive
" manner, without declamation, without di-
4t greffioh, without a fingle quotation, even
*' from Homer, and gives occafion to prefume
" that the faults which are juftly blamed
" would not have been found in the other
" works of Julian, if he had only' exercifed
" his pen on happy fubjecls |.
" A long Fragment' § of inftruclion was-
" addrefled by him, in quality of Sovereign
" Pontiff, ! to a Pagan prieft. It feems at if
* This Oration is omitted by M. de la Bleterie, but is
tranflated in the' fo'.lowing work.
¦f Epif: ad S. P. ^4.
%• I have alSo tranflated. this Epiftle. M. d-e la. Bleterie
' has omitted it from " motives of delicacy," having inter-
.woven afmoft the whole ofit into his " Life of Julian."
§ Fragment um Osat. aut Epist. " Julian

xviii PREFACE.
Julian there pretended to reduce Paganifna
into a fyftem ; and that the inftruction was
divided into two parts, the firft of which
concerned, if I may fo exprefs myfelf, the
doctrine and the morals, and the fecond
contained the rules of difcipline. It is, in
general, a valuable and a very honourable
teftirnony to our religion, as, on one fide,
the reformer of Hellenifm thjnks nothing
more proper to render it refpectable than
to borrow, if he could, from the Chriftian
church, her difcipline and manners ; and,
on the other, he fubftitutes to revealed
facts fome extravagant fables. He rejects
what Mofes informs us of the creation of
Adam, in order gravely to utter a theurgic
tradition, according to which, Jupiter,
in arranging the univerfe, let fall fome
drops of blood, and of that facred liquor
formed mankind. In truth, religion is
well avenged of its enemies by the very
abfurdities vv hich they prefer to its tenets ;
and fending them Jlrong dclujion, they jhall
believe a lie. Such a one, who ridicules
the fable of Julian, if he does not believe
our facred fcriptures any more than Julian,
admits, as to theoriginof man, and a mul-
" titude

PREFACE, xix
" tjtude of other points, fome hypothefes,
" which, by being in veiled with a meta-
" phyfipal jargpn, are not lefs irrational than
"his pretended /tradition. In this fame
'* Fragment the author avows .that he
" would have rebuilt the temple pf Jpru--
" falerri; and we are fenft.ble pf all. the im-
" portance of thataypwal. The account of
" the rules which he prefcribes to his pontiffs
" is copied from the idea of what the church
" requires of her minifters. On the fubject
" of public entertainments, obfcene books,
*' and romances, .of that fenfelefs philofophy
" which denies or palls in qu.eftion the ex-
c< iftence of God, his providence, and the
immortality of the foul, he explains him-
" felf in fo ftrong and Chriftian a manner,
*' that nothing more would be wanting to
" ruin him in the opinion of fome perfons,
*' if the hatred which he expreffes for the
" religion itfejf, of which he has preferved
" thofe remains, dj4 not make him find fa-
" vour \xi their fight, Neverthelefs, how
ufeful fpever- this Fragment might be,
my hand could not have a (hare in copy-

x

«<

xx PREFACE.
" ing the blafphemies which Julian there
" utters agaihft our infplred writers *.
" The Books against the Christian
" Religion T which this prince cbmpofed
" during the long winter-nights, were an
" abftract of what unbelievers' oppofed to
" Chriftianity, and efpecially of the objec-
" tions of Celfus, Hietocles* and. Porphyry.
" Though the work was weak and immetho-
" dical, the delicacy and agreeable'nefs of the
" ftyle, as well as the purple of the author*
" gave it a great reputation. The Pagans pre-
" ferred it to every thing, and with their Ju-
" lian in their hands went forth to. attack the
*' Chriftians. Superficial minds took, as ufual,
" witticifms for reafons, trite fophiftries for
" incontrovertible arguments, and the fre-
" quent quotations of fcripture, with which
" the author paraded, as a proof that he wa9
" deeply verfed in facred literature, and that
" he had not ceafed to believe it without
" knowledge of the Caufe. The Chriftians,
" diftradted by domeftic controverfies, ne-
" glefted to anfwer it ; for infidelity is al-
* Omitting thoSe " blafphemies,"' I have extraaed the
ufeful and inftrucYive part of this Fragment, under the title
of The Duties of a Prieft.
•J- S, Cyrilli contra Julian, libri X.
*' ways

PREFACE.
" ways a gainer by our difputes. They had
*• a fpecious pretext. Origeli, Eufebius of
*' Caefarea, Methodius, and Apollinarius had
" anfwered it befpre. But the fimple were
*' fcandalifed ; and not being able to difcern
*' of themfelves whether the filence of one
*' of the parties concerned proceeded from
" weaknefs or contempt, were tempted to
" afcribe the victory to him who was the
" laft fpeaker. About the year 400, Philip,
" of Side in Pamphyliaj deacon of the
'* church of Conftantitiople, Under St. Chry-
" foftom, endeavoured to avenge the honour
** pf religion. The anfwer of Philip is loft ;
" and the opinion, which Socrates gives of
" another work bythe fame author, affords
*' Us no reafon to regret it. At length, fifty
*' or fixty years after the death of Julian 4 St.
*' Cyril pf Alexandria, though very inferior
" to that prince in the art of writing, at-
" tacked the expiring refuge of Piaganifm,
*' and deftroyed it. This father has preferved
" us a part of the work which he refuted.
" Thefe paffages are lefs valuable to unbe-
" lievers than they perhaps imagine. They
*« will find there fome very mortifying con-
Vol. 1. c " fefiions.

XXI

xxii PREFACE.
" feffions *. Divines obferve there fome un-
" fufpedted teftimonies of the antiquity of
" fome tenets t, of fome cuftoms and ex-
" preflions. The refutation by St. Cyril,
" which he dedicated to the Emperor Theo-
" dofius the Younger, is learned, profound,
" decifive againft Julian and Paganifm ; but
" the perufal of it would be more agreeable,
" if his pen were as elegant as that of Julian.
"Befides, St. Cyril wrote for readers who
" were perfuaded that, if Paganifm was falfe,
" Chriftianity muft neceflarily be true. For
" this reafon he applies himfelf lefs to anfwet
" directly the objections of Julian than to
" prove the weaknefs, or rather the nothing-
" nefs, of Paganifm. This method, which
" was then fufficient, would not be fo well
" adapted to the necefiities of our age, in
" which the fame objections are unhappily
" too often repeated by men equally hoftile
*' to all religion. A direct refutation of
«* thefe too famous books would be an em-
* Cyrill. contr. Jul. /. vi, 10.
f Ibid. 1. x. TheSe paflages are quoted in La Fie it
Julien, pp. 244, 245,.

ti

ployment'

PREFACE.
" ployment truly worthy of a philofophical .
**. divine.*.
" It is ufelefs here to mention fome other
works, which have not reached us. I will
now give an account of thofe which I
have tranflated.
" The Cjesars f are deemed unqueftion-
ably the mafter-piece of Julian. I exprefs
myfelf too freely, both as to his perfon
and his writings, to be charged with that
kind of idolatry which is too common in
tranflators. I venture therefore to fay, that
profane antiquity does not afford any piece
which is comparable to this for the merit
of the fubject, and very few which ought
to be preferred to it for the merit of the
execution.
" A Reman Emperor, whp has had the
advantage to be a private man, a mind
filled, and perhaps a heart penetrated, with
great maxims of government, a philofo
pher notwithftanding all impediments,
born with much tafte and genius for rail
lery, ready to feize the ridiculous, and never
letting it efcape, in others, not even in
* Mr. Gibbon is pleafed to call this " a ftrange Centaur.''
Vol. II. p. 369.
•J- Cafares, five Convivitim.
c 2, " himfelf,

xxm

xxiv PREFACE.
" himfelf, knowing how to diftinguifh thofe
" light clouds which conftitute the difference
" between the middling and the good, the
" excellent and the perfect-, between qualities
" which are eftimable and thofe which are
" only brilliant, nourifhed with the reading
** of Plato and Ariftotle, and fpeaking their
" language like themfelves, aflembles in oire
" piece all the Emperors who reigned before
, " him for the fpace of about four hundred,
" years. " It is a moving picture* in which the
" fpectator fees rapidly paffirig before his
" eyes, but without cbnfufion, thofe mailers
" of the world defpoiled of their grandeur,
" and reduced to their vices and their virtues.
" By the aid of a fimple and ingenious fiction,
*' Julian makes thofe who have difhonoured
" the purple difappear with ignominy ; and
" among thofe who deferve to be placed
" in the number of fovereigns he choofes
" the moft illuftrious to make them contend
¦-" for pre-eminence. Though he feems to
" leave the queftion undetermined, it is fuf-
" ficiently clear that Marcus Aurelius is the
" hero of the piece ; that Julian gives him
" the preference, and means to announce to
" the

PREFACE. xxv
" the univerfe that he has taken that philo-
" fophical Erriperor for hjis model.
*' Such is the general plan of the Satire,
.** or rather of the Judgment, of the Caesars.
" I do not think that in any work fo fhort
" are to be found at once fo mary characters
" and manners, fo much refinement and fo-
" lidity, fo much inftruction, without the
" author ever aflfuming a dogrratical tone,
" fo much wit and pleafantry, without his
" ever ceafing to inftruct. In a word, it
" feems to me that the Cmsars ought to
" undeceive, or at leaft to embarrafs, thofe
" who have, voted an exclulive efteem to the
" productions of ancient Greece.
" The work, however, is not exempt from
" faults. Not to mention fome railleries
" that are either frigid, or feem fo to us,
*' nor a few groundlefs and too fevere fen-
" fences which Julian pronounces on certain
** Emperors, in whofe memory no one at
" prefent is much interefted, the no lefs uu-
" juft than indecent manner in which he
" treats his uncle, Conftantine the Great, is
" inexcufable. In fpite of his inclination,
" not being able to avoid making him enter
*' into competition with the moft diftin-
c 3 ** guifhed

xxvi PREFACE.
" guifhed Emperors, he omits nothing that
" can ridicule rand degrade him.
" This vifible partiality, produced by his
« hatred of our religion, and by other caufes
" which I have taken care to develope in
" the remarks, can injure only Julian.
" Neither his envenomed ftrokes, nor thofe
" of Zofimus, will prevent Conftantine
" from being regarded as a prince of fupe-
" rior merit, and highly worthy of the title
" of Great ; any more than the extravagant
" elogiums of the Greeks, who give him the.
" title of ?' equal to the apoftles," wil|
" ever perfuade us that all his actions were
" conformable to the fandtity of the gofpel,
" of which he declared himfelf the pro-;
" tedtor. Without diflembling either his,
" faults or failings, I have detected the ca-
" lumnies by which a paffionate enemy en*
" deavours to blacken him ; and I have
" done it folely for the intereft of the truth
V of hiftory ; for I am far from thinking,
" with this unjuft cenfor, that the blows
" aimed at Conftantine can fall upon re-
«' ligiqn. If he has the glory to be the in-
" ftrument which God employed to refcue,
«-« it from oppreftion, he is not, after all,
'.* either.

PREFACE.
*l either its founder or apoftle. Without the
" Emperors, and in fpite of their efforts,
" when Conftantine embraced it, it had fo
" much, prevailed, that he has been fufpected,
" though falfely, of having embraced it from
*' policy. When we have the happinefs to
*' profefs a religion fo auguft, fo divine,
" fixed on immoveable foundations, there
** would be pufillanimity, not to fay cow-
ff ardice, in thinking it dependent on, or
" reponfible for, the reputation of its firft
# protectors. God, the fupreme difpofer of all
" events, and who calls things that are not
<« as though they were, could, and yet he did
'* not, have made Theodofius have reignecj
" before Conftantine, and haye placed St.
.*' Lewis at the head of our Chriftian kings.
*« I muft obferve, that in the C.esars
** is a fort of contradiction. The author
«* there fuppofes the Gods fuch as the poets
** reprefent them, yet he often recurs to the
fl ideas of the philofophers. This is not
" a fault peculiar to him. It cannot be in-
*' ferred from* hence that he meant to ridi-
^* cule religion, nor that he was a free-
*' thinker. He confidered the fables of the
«« poets as fictions, which being taken iite-
c 4 " rally

xxviii PREFACE.
" rally would have difhonoured the Deity ;
" but perfuaded that they muft be turned
" into allegories, being a deift in fpeculation
" to a certain point, but a zealous pagan in
" pra&ice, he conformed to the eftablifhed
" language. This mixture of poetical and
r" philofophical Paganifm was not unufual.
" No one was hurt by it. We are juftly
" fnocked at it, and fhould be much more
" io, if reading the ancients had not fa-
" miliarifed us to fuch abfurdities.
" It is more than fixty years * fince M.
' " .Spanhei.m, fo well known in the republic
'*;,of letters, undertook to tranflate THE
" C^sars into French. This learned fo-
" reigner was unacquainted with the refine-
" ments of our language; and his verfion
" no more refembles the original than a
" fkeleton does a human body ¦+• To the
" text he has added fome remarks, has fup-
" ported his remarks by proofs, and en-
" riched them both with medals ; the whole
*' with fo much profufion, that the fmall
* In 1683.
+ In like manner, Mr. Gibbon Styles this French ver
fion " coaife, languid, and correct." " The Abbe de la
" Bleterie," he adds, " has more happily expreffed the
" fpirit, as well as SenSe, of the original, whiclvhehas illuf-
•' trated with fome concil'e and curious notes."
'* work

PREFACE.
" work of Julian is in a manner Joft in a
*l quarto of above fix hundred pages. It is
" a mafter-piece of typography, a treafure
" of ancient literature ill-digefted, and of
" numifmatic erudition. This book is or-
" namental to libraries, but it alarms the
*' generality of readers, whom the fight of
" fb prolix a commentary infpires at leaft
" with indifference for a text which, they
" fuppofe, requires fo many illuftrations.
" Every one is not obliged to know that
" commentators do not labour merely to
«' give the meaning of their author ; that
" they often choofe him only for an oppor-
** tunity of emptying their common-place-
" books, and that they are generally as dif-
* : fufe on the moft eafy paflages as they are
" fuccinct, or even filent, on real difficulties.
" The Misopogon * is a fatire lefs diver-
" fified, bnt more lingular, than the Cjes a r s.
" Julian, driven to extremities by the inha-
" bkants of Antioch, inftead of avenging
" himfelf, or of pardoning them, like a
" prince, undertakes to avenge himfelf like
" an author ; and no author, I fancy, ever
" conceived fuch a project of revenge. He
* Mifopogon, five Antiocbus.
li pretends

XXIX

?xs;

PREFACE.
" pretends to turn his ill-humour againft him-?
*' felf ; he exaggerates his own imperfections,
?* and; reprefenting the good qualities that he
" may have as extravagances, he oppofes them
" to the vices of Antioch, which he ironically
** exhibits as virtues.
" Julian draws himfelf more extraordi-
" nary than he really is, but he muft have
" been very extraordinary to draw himfelf
" in fuch a manner. If the work be defj-
" cient in dignity, it abounds with ftrokes,
" fallies, principles, and manners. Genius
" fparkles throughout the whole ; but the
" pleafantry is too cauftic and bitter. It is,
" the laugh of a man in a pafiion, who acts
" the part of a philofopher, and cannot fup-r
" port it to the end. He leaves at laft the
*' ironical tone, to affume that of invective
'* and direct reproach. I think I may
" affirm that this fatire flowed from the pen
" of Julian in a fit of chagrin and anger,
" and that he employed no more time in
*' compofing it than was neceffary to write
" it. But fuch as it is, it is an unique, and
" without having read it we cannot be fuf-
" ficiently acquainted with Julian.
" A Fable5

PREFACE; xxxi
*' A Fable *, which'! have taken from
ff the difcourfe to the Cynic Heraclius, will
f* I doubt not be read with pleafure. Julian,
" in order to give him the model of an,
?' inftru&ive and religiPus, fable, defcribes,
f'in an allegorical fiction, but which it is
?' impoflible to miftake, the misfortunes pf
f his family, the dangers which he incurred
?'¦ in his childhood, his fyftem in religion
f and government. Though it is in profe,
f ' it is an excellent piece of poetry.
?' The letters of celebrated men are ge-
*' nerally the moft curious parts of their
f* writings. Many of the Epistles + of
" Julian difplay his mind, his genius, his>
" ideas on goverment and religion ; others
f throw light on hiftory, facred and profane;
f* and there are fome billets which prove
f that he was very capable of fucceeding in
f * the laconic ftyle. Among his Epiftles are
«' fome of his laws. Two or three more I
f have taken from the Theodofian Code.
«' No Emperor made fo many laws in fo
f * fhort a reign : excepting thofe which re-
* Ex Orat. vii.
f Epiftola. Of the LXXI. Epiftles, thofe to Themiftius,
ponftantius,and the Athenians, included; M.de la Bleterie
has tranflated only XLVII. "gard \

xxxu PREFACE,
*4 gard Chriftianity, his are efteemed by the
" lawyers ; but unfortunately the Codes of
" Theodofius and Juftinian fcarce ever give
44 more than the enacting part of the law,
41 and not the preamble, in which the genius
" and eloquence of the legiflator were dif*
44 played.
" 1 have inferted in its place the Epistle
" to Themistius *, which the editions
64 place at the end of the Orations. It is in
44 fact a treatife in the form of an Epiftle, in
" which the author, feeing the rocks that
44 furround the throne, expreffes his anxieties
44 and apprehenfions, lays down excellent
44 maxims concerning the duties of a fove,-
44 reign, and acknowleges his incapacity with
" a modefty highly laudable, if it be fincere.
" We perceive in this work a ftrain of de-
'* clamation, and fomewhat rather vague.
44 It were to be wifhed that the author had
*' applied a little more the principles which
44 he draws from Ariftotle and Plato. But
44 it fhould be confidered that Julian, when
" he compofed this treatife, had juft been
44 declared Casfar by Conftantius, and that
44 this new dignky had only increafed his
* Epijlola ad Tbemiftium.
" flavery.

i<

•preface:- xxxiu
44 flavery. The piece is free enough for the
*¦* time when it was written. Julian ven-
44 turesr to fpeak there as if he wereinde-
" pendent, or at leaft as if he would oiie day
44 be fO.'1
With- a well-grounded crarfidence the learn*
ed' writer adds, t4 Though' the public is
" prejudiced againft notes, and regards thedbi
" as fuperfluities which only ferve fo ea-
44 large the volumes, I venture, however," to
44 intreat them to caff, their eyes on mine.
44 They are extremely laboured, and, I pre-
44 fume, nothing will be found in them ulc-
44 lefs or trifling. I have entered into gram-.
44 matical difcuf lions only when I thought
44 them important, and to fhew that I could
44 tire the reader by that kind of erudition
44 as well as others. If fome fhould think
44 that I ftop too often to parry the weak
" thrufts that Julian makes at Chriftianity,
44 I will own, that, writing in a Chriftian
44 nation, I am afhamed to be obliged to re-
44 fute what deferves only contempt. But as
" for thofe who fhall think thefe precautions
«4 exceflive, I beg them to examine whether
44 they do not contribute to make them ne-
7 " ceflary.

xxxiv PREFACE.
" ceflary. I am become a fool in glorying", yt
44 have Compelled me *."
Thexomment indeed of. this learned fo
reigner is frequently fuperjor to the, text ;
and the whole is fuch a fund of critical^
hiftorical, and Chriftian knowledge, that it
cannot but be acceptable to an Englifhreader.
I muft add, that I am alfo much indebted
to the elegant (I am forty I cannot fay, un
exceptionable) Hi/lory, of the Decline and Fall
of the Roman empire, as will appear by the
frequent quotations from that work in the
notes. The Epiftles of Libanius to Julian,
_which are alfo inferted, and , two Monodies
on fubjecls mentioned in thefe works, will
give fome idea of the ftyle of that, fophift. .
Befides the Hijlory of Jovian, an- abftract
.of an EfTay, by the Abbe de la Bleterie, " on
44 the rank and power of the Roman Em-
44 perors in the Senate,*' which has not, to
my knowledge, appeared in Englifh, is an>*
nexed. Khrifl-Church, » p.. .
Canterbury, itfi. J* JJtJNCOMBjE,,
The following fhort Annals and Pedigree
of Julian may ferve to illuftrate the hiftorical
events occafionally mentioned in his writings,
* Preface a fHifioire de Jovfon, p. x.— LXIII.
AN-

• [ , s XXXV ^
A N N':"^'L S
•¦¦ ¦?' •- -: ¦!.; no" . »' ,¦' ¦
O p;, T HjR ,;',
P R I N C I P A L' E V E NTS
I K T H E ' , ,
LIFE of T 1/ L IAN.
;;.';ai. •/"•:.! ... :...v,. ¦:;,- ; ;,¦.
T^lavius Claudius Julian was born at A. u.
Conftantinople; His mother, Bafilina, No»/s-
died a few months after.
His father, Julius Conftantius,and moft S3>
of his relations, were maflacred':by ordei' of
the Emperor Conftantius.' His half-brother,
Gallus, is banifhed into Ionia; and he is fent
to NicOmedia, where he1 is educated a Chrif4-
tian by the bifhop Eufebius, and officiates as
a lecturer in the church. He is put under'
the tuition of Mardonius, r?n eunuch.
He is taken from fchpol, and confined fix 34?I
years with Gallus in a caftle in Cappadocia.
Gallus is created Csefar, and &oes to refide' is *¦
at Antioch. Julian

xxxvi ANNALS OF
A- D- Julian vifits Edefius at Petgamus, and is
351. «f <-> . .
perverted to Paganifm by'Maximus, who ini
tiates him at Ephefus*
He is fent to complete his education at Con-
ftaiitinople under EcebolUs and Nicocles*
354- Dec; Gallus is deprived of the purple, and put to
death in Dalmatian Julian is conveyed to the
Court of Milan*
355. May. He is fent to ftudy at Athens, where he is-
initiated into the Eleufinian myfteriea.
°a' He is recalled to Milan f_ t
Nov. 6. He is declared Caefar, and foort after mar*
ries his coufin Helena, fiftef to Conftantius*
Writes his 1 ft panegyrical oration on Conftari-
tius*
Dec 1. Sets out for Gaul with 350 foldiers. Win
ters at Vienne, and there probably compofe^
his Epiftle to Themiftius*
33$ Jan. t. Enters on his ift confulfhip with Con*
ftantius (the vmth). Writes his 1 id pane
gyric on that prince*
june 24. Arrives at Autun. Twice defeats the AleA
manni, and retakes Cologne.
Winters at Sens, where he repulfes an atJ
tack of the enemy*
3;7jan.i. Enters on his iid confulfhip, with Con*
ftantius (the ixth.) Defeats

the Life of JULIAN. xxxvii
Defeats the Alemanni at Strafburgh, takes a. d.
their king, Cnodomar, prifoner, &c.
Paffes the Rhine at Mentz.
Subdues the Franks. Winters at Paris. Dec-
Defeats the Salians andChamavians. Panes 358- Ju'y-
the Rhine again. Two kings of the Ale
manni furrender and fue for peace. Winters
at Paris.'- Writes his confolatory oration on
the departure of Salluft.
- PafTes the Rhine a third time, furprifes fix359-
kings, who difputed his pafiage, and refcues
20,000 prifonets. Reftores the ruined cities
of GauL
Winters again at Paris. Sends Lupicinus
to Britain, to repulfe the Scots and Picts.
Enters on his 11 id confulfhip with Con- 36®-
¦ Jan. 1;
ftantius (the Xth.)
The flower of the Gallic army being or- April.
dered by Conftantius to march into the Eaft,
they mutiny at Paris, and proclaim Julian
Emperor. He pafies the Rhine a fourth time (at Bonn) Jul^
and fubdues the Attuarii. Declares himfelf a
Pagan. Winters at Vienne, where he celebrates his °a-
fifth anniverfafy, Nov. 6, 36 1. Lofes his wife.
Paffes the Rhine a fifth time, and again
defeats and reduces the Alemanni.
Vol. I, d Marches

xxxviii ANNALS OF
¦^p- Marches againft Conftantius, and feizes the
pafs of Succi.
Writes from Sirmium and Naiffus to
Athens, and the other cities of Greece.
n°t- 3- 1 Conftantius died at Mopfocrene in Cilicia,
v aged 45-
Dec. n. Julian enters Conftantinpple, and reftores
the' Pagan worfhip. Winters there, and
Writes the Caefars.
.361. Leaves Conftantinople, In his way, vifits
the temple of Cybele at Pefiinus in Phrygia,
where he writes his yth oration.
June. Arrives at Antioch, where he winters.
Dec. Compofes his books againft the Chriftian
religion.
, 363- Enters on his ivth and laft confulfhip* with
Salluft, praefecl of Gaul. Attempts it* vain
to rebuild the temple of Jerufalem.
Feb. Writes the Mifopogon.
March 13. Leaves Antioch, and marches againft the
Perfians, joining his army at Hierapolis,
where he paffes the Euphrates.
4prii :. Pafles the Chaboras, and enters the Perfian,
territories. Befieges and takes by affault Perifabor and
Maogamalcha in Afiyria.
+ Ammianus fays, Oft. 3. But Idatius, Socrates, Cedrenus,
the Alex. Chronicle, and others, fay as above, Tranfpprts

the Life of JULIAN. xxxix
Tranfports his fleet from the Euphrates to a. d.
the Tigris.
Forces the paffage of the Tigris, but, unable f une-
to reduce Ctefiphon, and deceived by a Per-
fian deferter, burns his fleet and magazines,
and advances into the inland country, where
he is feverely diftreffed by famine.
Retreats towards the Tigris. l6-
Repulfes the Perfians at Maronga. 2i-
Receives a mortal wound in a fkirmifh, of l6"
which he died in the fucceeding night, aged
His remains, by his own defire, were in
terred at Tarfus in Cilicia.

PEDIGREE

PEDIGREE OF JULIAN.
1 2 5
Claudius 11, Emperor. Quint illus Emperor. Crifpus
d. 270. d. 270. Claudia=7=Eutropiui.

Helena — |—Constantius — r~ Theodora d. in law
ift wife | Chlorus | 2d wife. ofMaximus
Emp. d. 306. ^  ¦ 
1
:Constantine=P Faufla Galla "

ervmawife.

the Great, Emp.
d. 337-

id wife, k. 329. iftwife.

I . 2
Julius
Conftantius
the Patrician
k. 337.

I 3
:Bafilina | Dalmatius

2d w.
d. 332.

the Cenfor
k. 337-

Hannibaltanus3 d. before
Conft. the Gr.

-W_

Crifpus C'a;far .
k. 32&.

Constantine
the younger, Emp.
had 2 wives
k. 340.

CONSTANTIL'S Emp. hud 3
wives, d. 361.

Jl_

?.°, 7
daughters,
of whom
Eutropia
had a fori
Nepotianus.

Constans Emp.
m. Olympias k. 350.

r. Name
unknown.

21 -
Gallus Cslar .
m. Coriftantina -
d. of Conft. the Gr.
and relict of Han-
nibalianus. k. 354.

1

Julian Emp.
ra. Helena
d. of Conft.
the Great,
k. 363-

1 2 I
Dalmatius Hannibalianus -
Cadar k. of Pontus
k. 337 m. Conftaiitina __,
d. of Conftantine
the Great, -
*• 33T-

Gonftantia^^GR A TI A N
pofthumous Emperor.
by his laft wife.
©f Che fourteen -princes defeenaed from Conftantius- Chlorus, five onlydied a natural death; and with Julian the male line of the
Flavian or Conftantine family ended.

T ' J

SELECT WORKS
.... ,»- ¦*;
O F
JULIAN.

Gallus * C^sAr to his Brother Julian
Health -j- .
* | * H E neighbourhood of Ionia has afforded A. d.
-*- me great joy, having dispelled the concern
and indignation that I felt at a former report.
What that was I will inform you. I heard that you
*. gallus Was the elder brother of Julian, by a different
inother, and having with him been fecreted 'from the
murderers of their relations in 337, they were banifhed
by the Emperor Conftantius into Ionia, from whence, in i
345, they were conveyed to the caitle o'f MaceUum.iri Cap-
padocia. There they were not only educated Chriftians,
but officiated as le&urers in the church, of Nicomedia.
Six years after, vi^. on March 5, 351, Gallus was declared
C:efar by Conftantius, and married, to his lifter Con-
ftantina. He then went to Antioch, to prefide, with
a delegated authority, over the three great droCefes of the
£aftern Prsefe&ure, and from that city this Epiftle was
Vol. I. B probably

EPISTLE FROM GALLUS
you had departed from your former religion trans
mitted to you by your anceftor %, and, hurried
away by mad and wicked adv-ioe, had embraced a
vain fuperftition. How did I grieve at this infor
mation ! For as I con-fid er your good actions, when
ever they are celebrated, as advantageous to my-
felf, fo I efteem your bad deeds (which Heaven'
avert !) as much or more detrimental. But the
anxiety which, this intelligence gave me, has been
removed by the arrival of our father JEtius *, as
he
probably written, Julian being then in Ionia, whither
Gallus' had difpatched iEnus- to ftrengthen him in the
Chriftia-nFaitb. Conftantius, in the mean time, was march
ing towards the Weft. The fubfecruent impTuderice of
Gallus, and his fatal cataftrophe in 354, are related by
Julian in his Epiftle to the Athenians.
¦j- The learned F. Petau fuppofes this Epiftle to be
fpurious, without afligning a renfon. IVlefire de Tilleroont
and Span-beim think it genuine. In fatr, we find nothing
in it which does not agree, with what we know from other
hands. La Bleterie.
j Gallus had fome reafoa to fufpe& the feeret a-poftacy
, of Julian, and, in a letter to him, which may be received
as genuine, he exhorts Julian to adhere to the religion of
their anceftors ; an argument, which, as itfliould feern, was
not yet perfectly ripe. . Gibsbon-
The grandfather of Gallus and Julian, Conftantius
Chlofus, 'the father of Conftantine the Great and Julius
- Conftantius, had been very favourable to the Chrift-iaas,
and- perhaps was a Chriftian in his heart. • Nothing more
¦ is neceffary to authorile, in fome .degree, the expreffion
ufed- by Gallus, his grandfon. La Bleterie
This conftruftion, it rnuft be owned, is rather forced.
. * .Skius, aSyrbnby birth» a brafier, a goldfmitti, an
empiric, having ftudied the categories of Ariftotle, fef up
for a divine. He carried the principles of Arianifm as far as

. T O j U L I A rf. .3
fee ajfures me, on the contrary, to my great joy,
that you are zealpufly employed in houfes .of
prayer f, and can hardly be removed from the
tombs of the martyrs, but are totally bached to
our wqrihip. I muft apply to you that expreflion
pf Homer : " Be this your aim {." Continue thus
as they would go; and, reviving the blafphemies of Arius,
he plainly taught that .the Word was only a .creature.
ThU occasioned his being ftyled T^e Alheift, nof only by
the Catholics, but. even by the moderate Arians. Leontius,
fchhop of Antioch, did not fcruple to ordain him a deacon ; ,
and Gal'us ;tqok him for his oracle in divinity. iEtius was
the dupe of Julian, who carried his dhTiipulation fo far as
to embrace a monaftic life. Libanius fpeaks of this hy-
pocrify as if it were an innocent ftratagem. " Though
" Julian," fays he, " had changed his religion, he ftill
" profeffed the fame, not being" allowed tQ difcover his
" real fentiments. This was the reverfe of the fable of
" iEfop. The lion borrowed the fkin of a vile animal.
" Julian knew the better part, but he acted outwardly the
" fafell." Liban. Orat. Parent. We fee that the pane--'
gyrift was no more fcrupulous than the hero On the article
of fincerity, even in the affair 6£ religion. Ibid.
The death of Gallus. was followed bythe exile of vEtius.
But he was recalled by Juli,an. See an Epiftle from him to
that prelate (as he was afterwards) the XXXIft.
-j- Xwx$a.fyn & ;Qn si; oizb; ivyjM. In the Latin tranflation
k is, Te in dgftil^us Jludiose verfari. " That you are
" ,ftudiotifly employed in houfes ;" which, by omitting pre-
cutn {=vXa') conveys no meaning.
I Ba?a' btw;, Sic jaculare. Iliad. VIII. 282.
¦Thus, 'always thus, thy early worth be try'd. Pope, 34,0.
Thefe aqethe words of Agamemnon to Teijcer, who jyas .
fhooting his arrows with .fuccefs againlFthe Trojans. Jt
fliodld he remarked that the,Gr,eeks,., andjtbofe who.-fpoke
Greek, whether Pagans or Chriftians, quoted Homer on
every occaiion, and ma,de continual ajiufions to rfome
paffages of this poet. The Pagans, and Julian- ,in par
ticular, had the fame refpeft for Horner that we have for
the canonical books. La jBl.et.eiue. B 2 to

EPISTLE FROM GALLUS.
to delight all' who love you, remembering that no
thing is preferable to religion. For the perfe&ioti
of virtue inftru&s us to deteft the fallacy of falfe-
hood," and to adhere to truth; which is principally
apparent in piety towards God. But a plurality of
Gods is productive of endlefs difienfions and un
certainty. One only Deity by his fole power go
verns tlie univerfe *, not, like the fons of Saturn,
by lot and partition, but becaufe he is felf-created
and has almighty power, not acquired by force,
but exifting before all, things. This is the true
God, and to him all Worfhip is due. Farewell. ,

Julian Cesar to the Philosopher
Themistius'-j--

A.D.

J5sqr35fi. T Earneftly wim to realife the expectations, which,
, i you fay, you have formed of me. But in this
I fear I lhall fail, as you .prpmife much more for
median you ought to others, and efpecially to your- felf.
* We read in the text, To h ,um au, .„ , „ ^^
*• ,„««, wh.ch g,v« no meaning. I think that we mould
«adwm«-«ej». Gallus will then fpeak like ah Arian,
hke a fa.thM'd.fciple of ^Etius. The Chriftianity both of
Juhan and Gallus was in all appearance only Arianifm.
l-tu- u-i r ,- i^ .- La Bleterie.
t Thw phrlofcphical Epiftje." On the dangers of fovereien
power was ; written foon after Conftantius had raifed Julian
to the d.gnuy of Crfjr. It muft not be forgotten that
th,s was not only a designation to the empire, but alfo an
actual

EPISTLE TO THEMISTIUS.
felf. For long ago, on my fuppofing a corn-pe
tition, between hryieif with Alexander and Marcus
• [Aufelius], I. was! wonderfully fearful and appre-
hehfive of falling-far fhort of the. fortitude of the
firft, and of ndt making, the lead approach to' the
perfect virtue of the other. On thefe confide-
rations, .an; idle life feemed to me moft defirable ;
and recollecting with pleafure the Attic fables, I
wifhed to fing them to my friends, as porters in
the -ftreets thus alleviate the weight of their bur-
qdtual affociation in a confjder.able part of the, imperial
power. The" Greeks gave the 'Cajfar , the title* of gaafav;
hvri^oi, or even, as they did the Emperor, limply- that of
@ab-i\tv;. I ffrall prefently mention why I cannot adopt the
conjedhire of F. Petau, whp undines that Julian compofed
this treatife when the death of Conftantius had made him
mafter of the empire. And I fhall examine, in the fequeh,
whether the Themiftius, to whom Julian writes, be the
fame whofe works we have. La Bleterie.
Philofophy had inftruiSt-d Julian fo compare the advan
tages of action and retirement-^ but the elevation of his
birth, and the accidents of his. life, never allowed him the
freedom of choice. He might perhaps fincerely have pre
ferred the . groves of the Academy, and the fpciety of
Athens ; but he was conftrained, at firft by the will, and ¦
afterwards by the juftice, of Conftantius, to, expoi'e bis
perfon and fame to the dangers of Imperial greatuefs ; and
to make himfelf accountable to the world, and to pofterity,
for the happinefs of millions.
Julian himfelf has expreffed thefe philofophical ideas
with much eloquence, and fome affe£lation, in a very
elaborate Epiftle to Themiftius. The Abbe de la Bleterie,
"who has given an elegant, tranflation, is inclined to believe,
that it Was the celebrated Themiftius whofe Orations are
, i ftil-1 extant. Gibbon.
Petau ftyles this, " not an Oration, but an Epiftle ;" but
" became it is longer than an epjftle,", he places -it among
the Orations, ;.•:,, . ..-.-', ._. .,¦
B ? thens.

EPISTLE TO THEMIS TIU'S.
thens. But you> B>y your late epiftley have aug
mented my fears, and have prdpdifed to me a much'
more arduous cotitehtion, by faying, that G<$dl
has placed rhe in the 'fame fituatSon thaSt Hercules!
and" Bacchus were placed of old,i who alt the fatne* ,
time philofophifed and reigned, and freed alraoft
the whole earth anrd fea from the vices witftf
which they were overwhelmed. You alfo a^vife
me, banifhing the thoughts of ffoth and idl'enefsy 1
to confiddr How I fhall act with propriety in" thi's'
fuppdfed contention. You then mention all the
legislators, Solon *, Pittacus -j~, Lycargusf'; aiirf
you add, that the world may reasonably form
greater expectations of me than it did of them.
On reading this parage I was (truck, with aftor
nifhment, knowing that you think it .by no means
allowable to' flatter or falfify ; and a§ to riryfe'lf,
being confcious of no fuperior talents, either na?
tnral or Acquired, except my love'of1' philofophy;.
Of the calamities, which have hitherto rendered"
this love imperfect,. I fay nothing. I knew wot
therefore what conftrurtion to put on thefe ex-
preffions-, till this was fuggefted to me by Heavea>,
that you meant by thus praifirig to exhort me,
and to difplay the magnitude of thofe trials-, to '
which every ruler muft necefFarily be expofedf
* One of the wife men [of Greece, the lawgiver of
Athe'ris.. See Plutarch and Diogenes' Laer this.
f Another of the wife men, comempofar'y with 'Cfceftis^
a1 philofophet* Of Mirylene. ¦ "Softe of lis precept's Sfgpte.!
Jerved- ire A'ufbriius > deSapekii^,
| The lawgiver of Sparta. See Juftin and P-fettCfSh-*. '-v i :
:- * Bid

EPISTLE TO THEMISTI-US,
But this is rather a discouragement than a recom-i
hiendation of fuch a ftate.
Suppofe that, a man navigating your (trait *, and
that not whh eafe or expedition, (hould be told
by one skilled in divination, that he ihould- tra-
verfe the iEgean, and afterwards the Ionian; fea,
and at laft the main ocean. " Here," the prophet
ftiould fay, " you fee towns and harbours, but
" there you fhall difce'rn neither watch-rower, nor
" rock, happy if you difcover fome (hip at a diftance,
" and can hail the Crew. You (hall often pray to
" God for a fafe return to land, even were your
" life immediately to end ; fatisfied, if after having
" reached the haven, and reftored ypur (hip to the
" owners., and the mariners to their families, you
" might commit your body to your native earth -J-."
This might happen, but that it would muft till the
laft rrioment r'erftain uncertain. Do you think, that,
after having heard this, fuch a man would even
choofe to dwell in a fea-port town? or rather, bidding
adieu tb riches and the prefits attendant on com-
merce^fo his domeftic .connexions, to foreign friend-
(hips, and to the furvey of diftant cities and coun-
* It is difficult to conjecture what ftrait he means. I
fafpect it, however, to he the Bofphorus, and that The-
1 rniitius was then at Conftantiuople. Petau.
If I were fure that this Epiftle. was addrefled to the
celebrated Themiftius, I fhould affirm,- that this ftrait was
that of Constantinople. La Bleterie.
f The ancients thought drowning the moft diflionour-
able of deaths. Hence tjiofe pafliOnate exclamations, under
fuch an apprehenlidn of Achilles in' the Ili^d, and jEneas
. in the ALneid. B 4 tries,

E PI S' T LE TO TH E M I S TI U S.
tries, -would he hot think the advice of the fon of
Neocles *, " Live privately," the wifeft that could
begiven ? • ';-*J'-' .'
' Of this-you feem fo apprehenfive, that -you en
deavour, by reproaching Epicurus, to prejudice me
againft him, and to eradicate that opinion. Thefe
are your words'; " that he, a man of no bufinefs,
*¦ (hould praife idlehefs, and thofe .Peripatetic
«' difputations, might well be expected." But
that Epicurus was in this miftaken, I, have been
long and am firmly perfuaded. Whether' indeed it is
proper to urge any one to public adminiftr-at'ibn;
who is naturally unqualified ->afid of mean abilities?
may deferve farther enquiry.- - For even Socrates
is faid to 'have Withdrawn many- from the forum
who feemed- not calculated for it; '-and^he en
deavoured,'- in particular, " as Xenophon; relates,
to -diffuade GiaucoR, -and th,e"fon'of Clinias -|% but
Could not ifeftr'afa' the impetuofity of that ycu'th... . ,
Shall we' then compell -thofe wH6 are cbnfcious
of theifown deficiencies, and urge them to be con
fident in inch undertakings as depend not fo much
on virtue and a right difpofition, as on fortune,
who governs all things, and often forces us to
follow her direction ? Cliryiippus '+ in other things
, feemed
.* Epicurus.- ' ¦ ' '"> .
' f Alci'biadts. '/' |V--; ¦'¦ :.
t Chryfippus-is ftyhd by Cicero '« thV/rhoft fubtle jnter-
" preter of the Stoic rjreams, and the fuppoit of the Pbr-
" tico." His chief ftudy was' logic, which he carried to a trir
fjmg degree of fubtlety. Of.-Jik works, which' filled 70'$
volumes,

EPISTLE. TO THEMISTIUS.
feetned , wife, and- was juftly fo efteemed ; but
his ignorance of fortune and chance, and other
like -caufes, which happen independently of our
actions, is not eafily reconcileable with what ;time
has evidentiyHaught us by many examples. For
in what particular, fhall we* ftyle Cato *, or Dion
Siculus f j happy ? Perhaps for ¦ their difregarA of
death, but certainly not; for Their.vleaving- ;the
works in which they at firft engaged imperfecli
works to which they had diligently attended; and for
which they would -willingly have fuffered the fe-
vtereft calamities.-' When disappointed, they behaved,
it is faid, with-moderation^not repining at fortune,
and derived no fmall confolation from virtue; but they
could by no means be ft y led. happy, having failed
in their greateft undertakings, "nnlefs in the fenfe
of the Stoics. To' which it i may be anfwered,
that to' be pVaifed and to- be.'happy are' not.the
•fame thing ; and if all creatures naturally.; defire
volumes, fome titles only remain., -He died about -200 years ,
before the Chriftian sera, and was honoured by the Athe
nians- with a ftatue in, the Ceramicus. His death.; is faid
to have been occafioned by an immoderate fit of laughter
at,feeing an afs eat figs. Chryfippus defired the afs might
have a glafs of wine to wafli, them down, and was fo' di
verted with his own conceit, that if coft him his life. He
is faid to have been a very copious and learned writer, but
obfeure and immoral; though one- would be inclined to
think,, from the ,r:efpecl:, with which he is mentioned by
Epicletus, that this latter accufation is groundlefs.
¦ ¦•>$¦; ? Mrs. Carter.
* Of Utica. -,. „ „i
f A riobleman of Syracufe, attached to Plato, by whofe
counfel he freed his country from the tyranny of Dionyfius.
%}.e was afterwards affaflinated by one of his friends. happinefs,

ib EPISTLE TO THEMISTIUS.
happinefs, it is better for us to be declared/
happy than to be praifed for virtue. Sub-dan*
tial happinefs by no means depends on fortune*
Thofe who are engaged in government cannot
indeed breathe, as the faying is5 without her * * *
f as if philofophy could form a general, and plaea
him above the reach of chance, like the pure, in-*'
cdrporeal, and intelligent world of ideas,, whether
they are produced in tfeality, or formed falfly. H^
indeed who is, according to Diogenes,
Of city, country, houfe depriv'd,
lias nothing: more to lofe. Bufi Kow can one whpjji
cuftom has called forth,, and as Homer, the firft of
writers, fays,
 ? Who mighty nations guides,
Directs in council, and in war, prefides J,
confidently place ,- himfelf out of the reach- of
fortune ? And if/he be. really fu'bject to it, with
what cohfideration and prudence rhuft he aft,- fp;as
f Before this paffa'ge we have placed afteficks, as forhei
thing here is wanting. But in Our M'SS a fragment was
inferted of another epiftle, which, if I miftake not, Julian
wrote to Arfacius, a High, Prieft, in1 which he gave- fome
directions relating to religion and the worfhip of the
gods-. 'This we have ettrar/ted, and publifhed iepa rarely,
in another place ; but what follows feems addteffed to
fhcmiftius. Petau.
The above-mentioned Fragment of an oration. Or epiftle,,
(fo iiyied) is eharafterifed in- the' preface, and that un-
objectible part of it, which corftairis " The Duties- of a
" Prieft," is detached and inferted, under that title, among
thefe" Seled Works."
Jlliad, II. 25, Pope, ty. ,-' ' - to

EPISTLE .TO THEMlSf iU'S. n
to fuftain with equanimity, like a fage . pi-let, the
ftofnis that affail him on every fide?
If admiration be due' to thofe who wiihftand
her attacks With fortitude, much more- is it de-
ferved by thofe who receive her favours with
moderation. By them the greateft of kings, the
conqueror of Afia, was fubdued, as in cruelty and
kifoleriee ne far fu'rpaffed Daf his and Xerxes, after
he had cotiquered their dominicns. By thefe weapons
the Perfiarfs,- MaceddmatrS, Athenians, Syracufans,
the Lacedsemonian magiftrates-, the Roman gene
rals, and, laftly, many emperors, were attacked and"
totally deftroyed. It would be .endlefs to enume
rate all who ha9e fallen a ptey to wealth, fucee&, and
luxury. And why (hould I mention thofe, who,
overwhelmed by misfortunes, from freemen have
become (laves, from noble mean, and from fplfehdid
abject ? Would to Heaven, that human life
afforded no fuch inftances! But ftreh there have
been, and fueh there always will be, as long as
the world exifts.
But that I may" not feem fingular in thinking that
Fortune has the chief fway in human affairs, I
refer you, intelligent as you are and my inftructor,
to Plato, in his admirable book on Laws ; and to
convince you that I have not weakly imbibed this
idea, I will tranfcribe the paffage * : " God, and, with
" God,
* All this paffage is taken from the foiStth book of Plato
de Legibus, which, in fejirie places, vye have corrected from
Plato

12 E f I S T L E. ; J, 0 IT H E ML S T I U S.
'.'God, fortune, or .Opportunity, govern all things-
" human,, but'a third, muft be annexed ;.: Art- muft;
'| attend them, as, an affocjate." ,, He then pro
ceeds, to (hew, that every king, every fovereign:
artificer, of great aflions, ffipuld be- a kipdof ^ing-4-
God. " Saturn," he, fays, l\ -knowing (as we have
'/ .before obferved):,that human nature is not of itr,
'.'., felf capable of gpverning mankind with fupreme
"power and abfolute, authority,' without, givjng
" way to. infolehce ,and injuftice, then ?.,p!aced,a<t
"Jfthe head of our, dates, as -kings and magiftrates,
",,jiot men,- -hut, gemLof. a divine -and- more ex-*
"3 cellent , nature^; as jwe act with, r^ard to our
", flocks and, ¦ her,ds., -, :For . vyei never rniake ; an ox
" the fuper-intendant of oxen, .nor, a eoat -of
¦i.' '" t s ' ¦ ' - - ' - ' ----- ° --'¦
',f- g9ats_.j, but they are gpyerned,. by us, a fupe-
" 'rior riace. In like , manner -f, the^God, being
" a lover- idf -mankind, , has fet oversus a race of
'.'^fuperiar-beingSj-Avho, with (great'.eafe, both tQ
" theinfelves, and: us, undertake- t)ie.'care of us,
" and, difpenfmg peace, innocence^, -and; jufl ice,
Plato' himfelf.' Others, which Julian feems to have ex-
preffed- differently,^ we have remarked in the fnaro-irr; :
-,.;' ¦;i;"lu i ' Petau.
Petavius obferves, that "this paffage is taken from, the
"' fourth book Vi- Lcglbus ;" but either' Julian quoted from
memory,, or bis, MSS. were different from outs. Xenophon
opens the .Cyrop^dia with, a fimilar refleftion. "Gi r, eon.
' The variations, whichJafeTpecined in the notes, are few
and immaterial, being chiefly verbal.
* The word T(m (" then") is not in Plato.
, :.f Apa>„:a kind of expletive, occurs here in:P.lato.
, J Km .guvQepw. x«i «^6o». ('* and freedom and plenty") is
added in piato. " preferve

EPISTLE TO THEMISTIUS. i?
•J .>: .:¦ •-! ¦••. . -it -• ... .-¦-..
" preferve mankind in tranquillity and happinefs.
" And this is agreeable to truth and' reafon ; for
" thofe dates * which are governed,' not by a God
" but by fome mortal, have no cenation from evils
" and oppreftions. We (hould therefore exert our
" utmoft efforts to imitate' the life that was led in
" the reign of Saturn, and, with as much imrnor-
" tality as we have remaining, to govern, by his
"" directions, both in public and private, our fami-
" lies "and our dates, confidering -f the law as the
" application of the , divine mind. But. whether
" one vain, or a few, or a number of people J,
" govern any ftate, if their minds are enflaved by
" pleafure, and through a defire § of indulging it
" they trample on the laws, there is no chance
".offafety." I have tranfcribed this whole paffage of Plato
on purpofe to prevent your furmifing, that I
quote the words of the ancients fraudulently or
erroneoufly, and without regard to the connection.
But what fays this paffage really on the fubj'edt ?
You fee, that, though a prince be -by nature hu
man, he (hould, in his conduct, be a divine and
fuperior being, and entirely banifh from hjs
/
* There is 'alfo a fmail difference here ; oo-av sroWy and
¦ *W ln Jul'30, "s ovonocv itoXtut aod,a.pjc« in Plato.
¦ J- OK>pa£°>T&; in Julian, £ffo»o/*a^j»Ta5 in Plato.
. ' j In other words, and nearer to the original, " a mo-
" narchy, an oligarchy, or a democracy,"
¦ ' | There follows in Plato rEyso-av h «&»• *Xk' mvwtu x«i
«it?ijis-w k-ccxv voo-ti/xafl' $vtexpf*em apijei . h, t. r. A, which Julian
-perhaps, for the fake of brevity, omitted. Petau. '-¦ •
-m

14 EPISTLE TO THEMIS TI US
foul every thing that is mortal and brutifti, except
what muft neceffarily remain for corporeal, ufes. If
any one, reflecting on this, (hould dread being en
gaged in fuch a date of life, would you rather re
commend to him the Epicurean tranquillity, the
gardens and fuburbs pf Athens, and themyrtles and
cottage of Socrates ? But I never preferred them to
toils and dangers '*. Thefe labours 1 would wil
lingly recount to you, and the hazards to which I
was exppfed from my friends and relations, when
I was fird indructed by your precepts, were yqu.
not well acquainted with them. To my condu$
in Ionia, in oppofition to one who was my relation
by birth, but much nearer by friendfhip, aqd in
favour of a man who was a foreigner, and little
known to me, you are alfo no dranger. Did I
; hot go abroad for the fake of my friends ? In. be
half of Car.terius, I need not tell you, I,wentun-
folicited, and in treated the affidance of my friend
Araxius ¦f. On .account of the effects of the ex
cellent Areta, and the injuries which (he had dif
fered from her neighbours, did I not travel tw|ce
within two months into Phrygia, though rny body
* The facts, which Julian produces to proye that he ne
ver wanted courage fully convince me that this Epiftle»was
prior to his refidence in, the Gauls. , How many marks of
.fiFmnefs, -how many valiant deeds, might 'he not have
alleged, if it had been written after he was proclaimed
Auguftus? La Bleterie.
,He might probably compofe it at Vienne, where he paf-
fed the winter after, his being appointed Ca:far.
f Ammianus mentions Araxius towards the end of b.xxvi,
and relates, that, having efpoufed the party ;of Prueophj?,
when he was killed he was banifhed to an ifland, and
.afterwards fet at liberty. Petau.
4 was

EPISTLE TO THEM1STIUS.
was infirm in confequence of a diforder contra&ed
by former fatigues ? Laftly, before my journey
into Greece, while I continued with the army,
many would fay, with the utmoft hazard, recollect
what kind of letters I wrote to you, whether they
were in a plaintive ftrain, or exhibited any marks
of littlenefs, raeannefs, or fervility. When I
went again into Greece, did not I congratulate
my good fortune, as if it had been a feftival,
affirming, that the change was mod delightful to
me, and that, according to the faying, I had
gained ¦ ' — Gold for brafs, what coft a hundred beeves
; For the low price of nine * ?
Such was my joy on being allowed to refide,
in Greece, though I had' neither a houfe, nor
any land, not fo much as a field or a garden
there. But perhaps you will fay, that though
I may feem to bear adverfity with firmnefs, yet I
am abject and pufillanimous in profperity, as I
prefer Athens to the fplendor that now fufrounds
me -f, regret that indolence, and, on account of
my numerous avocations, deteft my prefent date
pf life. But a better opinion of us fhould be
* Iliad, vi. 236. thus paraphrafed by Pope, 293.
For Diomed's brafs arms, of mean device,
For which nine oxen paid, a vulgar price,
He gave his own, of gold divinely wrought,
A hundred beeves the fhining purchafe bought.
f The Cafars had all the marks of the Imperial power,
excepting the diadem. La Blejerie.
Vol. I. B 8 formed

i*

1$ EPISTLE TO THEMISTIUS.-
formed of us> not only with regard to idlenefs and'
employment, but according to that maxim, " KnoW-
" thyfelf," and
That trade which he has learn'd let each man
praflife.
To govern feems to me more than human ; and a
king, as Plato fays, " Ihould be of a fuperior na-'
ture" -¦'''
I will now quote a paffage from Ariftotle, to the
fame purpofe ; not " to carry owls to Athens *,,f
as the faying is, but to (hew that I have not en
tirely neglected his works. In his Political Difc
courfes -f, he thus expreffes himfelf : " If any one
44 (hould think it beft for a nation to be governed
44 by a kjng, what (ball be determined in regard
44 to his children ? Muft his defpendants alfo reign,?;
44 If they muft, however incapable, muph inconye-
44 nience may enfue. But will not the fovereign
44 in ppffeffion leave the gqyernment to his fons J?
44 That he will not can fcarce be fnppofed, as
44 being a talk toq arduous, and requiring a grea-:
* ThccvKCt A6»ivaioi{ ayw, Nefiuas Athenis ducens. To the
fame purpofe is out Englifh proverb, 4' carrying coals to
*' Newcaftle." Equally needlefs was any information from
Ariftotle to Themiftius.
f Ariflot. de Rcpublica, lib. In. cap. I£.
\ In Ariftotle it is A**' 8 Kxlxher^H tu; uiei« SiaSax»i 0
^ao-iXsi);, tw «|a<7K»5 ty/ay run wmrai; " Will not the king '¦.
" leave his fons his fucceffors, if he has it in his power ?"
The inftance of Marcus Aurelius and his degenerate foa :
Commodus (fee the Casfars, p. ,6i.) feems a cafe in
point. The " talk" of difinheriting fuch a monfter was
too arduous, " the virtue" too exalted, even for th>t phiT
lofopher, ter

EPISTLE TO THEMISTIUS. i7
44 ter degree of virtue than is the lot of human
44 nature." Afterwards, fpeaking of a king who governs
according totaw, of which he is the minifter and
guardian, and -fty ling him, " not a king," but
ranking him in another clafs, he adds *, " As to
44 abfolute monarchy -J-, or arbitrary power, fome
44 think it inconfiftent with nature for one to be lord
44 of all %. For all men, being by nature equal, have
44 the fame natural rights §." And, a little after,
he fays, 44 Whoever therefore would have reafon
44 govern, would have God and the laws govern.
44 But whoever would give the government to man,
44 would give it to a wild bead ||. For fuch is con-
44 cupifcence, and anger alfo debaffes ** the bed men.
•4 Law therefore is reafon, exempt from paffion."
The philofopher, you obferve, feems' here to
diftruft and reprobate human nature. For he fays,
in effect, that human nature is by no means
equal to the eminence of fuch an exalted ftation.
He thinks it difficult for a prince to prefer
the general good of the ftate to that of his
* Be Repull. I. ill. c. lb,
¦f i~lxpGa.BiXeicc.
J Both the prince and the philofopher choofe, however,
to involve this eternal truth in artful and laboured obfcurity.
Gibbon.
§ "There follows inAriftotle,Kai tw avlnv o%iu,v *dla Qvaiv «vat
(«' And, according to nature, the fame rank.")
|| O is a.t%%bnrami\tvti», «7fos"i!Wi xai 8ngioi>. The MS. Q-f
Voffius, unfatisfied with " a fingle beaft," affords theftroB*
ger reading of 9f,?>a (" beafts"), which the experience of
defpotifm may warrant. t Gibbon.
"* AgjeoyU* *ai (" magiftrate* and") is inferted in Ariftotle.
Vol. I. C chii-

iS EPISTLE TO THEMISTIUS.
children, He fays, that " it is unjuft for one to
44 govern many of his equals." And at laft, in
the clofe of his difcourfe, he adds, that ,44 law is
44 reafon, exempt from paffion;" and that 44 go-
44 vernment (hould be entrufted to law alone, and
44 not to any man. For the reafon that men pof-
44 fefs, even if they are virtuous, is , debafed by
44 anger and luft, mod favage beads."
This do&rine of Ariftotle feems perfectly agree
able to that of Plato. Firft, he thinks that the go
vernor ought to excel! the, governed, not only in
.virtue, but in nature ; which is not eafy to find
among men. And alfo, that he (hould, to the ut
moft of his power, obey the laws, not thofe which
were enacted on a hidden emergency, or compiled
by men who were not entirely governed by reafon;
but by fuch, as, having pure minds and fouls, had
a view not only to prefent offences and contingen
cies, but from the nature of government, and alfo
the nature of juftice and of guilt, after, obtaining
all poflible inftruftion, framed laws for all the peo
ple in general, without refpeft to friend pr foe, to
neighbour or relation. And this is much prefe
rable, as they meant to promulge- and tranfmit,
their laws, not to their contemporaries only, but
to pofterity and foreigners, with whom they ne
ver had, nor expected to have, any connection or
intercourfe. I have heard that the wife Solon,
though by his civil inftittitions he made the people ,
free, incurred much reproach by confulting with
3 hiH

EPISTLE TO THEMISTIUS. ig
his frierids as to cancelling of debts*, and thus
giving them an opportunity of improving their
fortunes. ; So difficult- it -is to avoid fuch fatalities,
even though a maii W£re tO enter into the public
fervice unimpaflioned.
As fuch are my apprehen(ions>I often regret
my former date bf life, and, in deference to you,
1 reflect that yon have faid, not only -that" -thofe
great legiflators^ Solon, : Lycurgus, and Pittacus,
were propofed for my emulation -f-, but alfo that
I mud quit the (hade of philofophy for the open
funfhine.' As if you Ihould' fay to a man, who, for the
fake of his health, had ufed moderate exercife at
home, £4 You mud riow repair to Olympia £, and
44 exchange j^our domfeftic recreation for the games
14 of Jupiter ; where your fpectators will be the
44 Greeks referring frorn' all parts ; and, in parti
cular, your fellow citizens, for whom you inn ft
44 enter the lids; and alfo fome Barbarians,' whom
44 you muft aftonifh, in order to render your country
44 asforrhidahle to them as you can," This Would
immediately alarm him, and make him enter the lifts
with .terror. Suppofe me-now affected in the fame
manned by -your epiftle. Whether myopiniorion
the fubjecl be juft or not, whether I am a little
--,',. ; ' • , ¦- ¦ ^ '¦'.. "i ..;. ., ,'1j .
* Before the refolution which Solon had taken to extin-
gutfh'deBts tfanfpireil in public, fome of his friends bor
rowed large- fums, well knowing that they ihould be.-oxcufed
from paying them. La.Bi.eteb/is.
f See p. 7.
|. A town of Peloponnefus, where was a temple of Jupi
ter, in honour of whom the Olympic games were celebrated
there every fifth year. "
?'"' C 2, Hlif-

20 epistl;e TO THEMISTIUS.
miftaken, or totally err, I expecf. to learn from
you. The matters in your epiftle as to. which I am
doubtful, and therefore wifh you to explain, my
deareft and mod refpe&able friend, (hall now be
mentioned. You " prefer," you fay, u an active
44 to a philofophical life ;" and you appeal to the
tedimony of the wife Ariftotle, who makes hap
pinefs confift in afting well ; but " whether a po-
44 litical or a contemplative life (hould be preferred,
44 he was>" you fay> " rather undetermined." Fori
in fome places, he gives the preference to contem
plation; in others, he commends the '4 arch keels,"
as he ftylesthem, " of illudrious deeds." " Among
44 thefe," ypu fay, " are kings." But Aridptk
neyer ufes the word which you have introduced*
Aqd the contrary may rather be inferred frpm the
paffage that you have quoted. For inftanee :
44 We think thofe acquit themfelves moft properly ,
44 in all external actions, who arc, as it were, men-
44 tai archkeccs," This may be fupppfed to mean
law-givers, or political, philofpphers, and all who act
merely by thought and reafon, rather than the
artificers of civil tranfaclions ; for whom, it is not
fufficient to .confider, and devife, and indraft others
in their duty ; but every thing that the laws di
rect, or circumftances may require, they muft un
dertake and execute themfelves; unlefs we call
him n architect, who is
 in mighty aftions (kill'd *,
* MeyaXav ECTfif* ep>w». Odyff. XXI. 26, as

EPISTLE TO THEMI STIUS. ii
as Homer poetically ftyles Hercules, the greateft
of fuch artificers.
But if we admit this to be true, and think thofe
only happy who have adminiftered public affairs,
fuch as have ruled or reigned over many, what then
(hall we fay of Socrates ? As to Pythagoras *, and
Democritus f, and Anaxagoras { the Ciazomenian,
they, perhaps you will fay, were in another re
flect happy, on account .of their contemplations.
But Socrates, rejecting a fpeculative, and prefer
ring an active life, could not govern his own wife,
nor his fon, nor indeed reftrain two or three dis
orderly citizens. Will you fay, that he was not
active, as he was not a ruler ? On the contrary, I
maintain, that the fon' § of SOphronifcus performed
greater actions than Alexander || ; for to him I afcribe
* A philofopher of Samos, who travelled as far as India,
through iEgypt, in fearch of knowledge ; and on return
ing opened a fchool in a remote part of Italy (Magna Grae-
cia), in the reign of Tarquin the Proud. See Cic. Tnfc.
&ua:Jl. IV. i. He held the tranfmigration of fouls, and
was thought by his fcholars infallible.
-j- Of Abdera, from his ridiculing the eager purfuit of
welath and honour, known by the name of the laughing
philofopher. Yet his own father was fo rich, that at one
time he feafted Xerxes and his army. He died at the age of
99 years. See Cic. de Fin. v. 29. and Acad. iv. 17.
% A man of high birth, and a higher mind, the pre
ceptor of Pericles. See the Confolatory oration on the de-
prture of Salluft.
§ Socrates. His father was a ftone-cutter of mean for
tune, and his mother (Phsnarete) a midwife.
I| Tulian is right in preferring Socrates to the conqueror
of Afia, the wifeft and moft enlightened of philofophers to
the fcourge of mankind. But whatever he may fay of
pretended philofophical converfions, as rare as defective,
C 3 men

.^2 EPISTLE TO TILEMIS.tfflS.
men derived very little advantage from .the inftrucrions of
Socrates : 'witnefs the deplorable'ftaie in which the nations
by whom philofophy was moft cp.ltiv.nedi watc: with regafd
both to- religion and manners before the publication of.the
gofpel. If was refervtd for twelve men, of the dregs of the
people,~and of a„nation which Attte'ns and Rorfle:cprtfidered
as barbarous, toejFe&in the world a reform a tii-m,^{ii?h phi
lofophy had "never attempted and deemed impoflible. If:men
had had for'apdfrtes only Socrates. -and the philbfo'phers of
differer^fe^'prqeeediog from Irisife.hool,- the wn rid -would.
ftill have been what h was formerly. In the midft, ofv£he,
pfofourideft darkhefsj fome men"," a little lefs blind rharr the'
vulgar, land often more viciotii;-"Kad a glimpfo'pf'a frriall ,
number of truths, which feryed as,food for their pridfe"; and
exercife' for their tongues, rather' 'than as a rule for their
conduft; S'ometonfidered every tiling as problematical, even
the exiftence of G°d, andrithia-,. principles of morality;
Others, raving at vice, difhonoiired .virtue, and affronted
public decency. ' Some' p'fer'formed' Virtuous ' actions, but
from, fan adcifm and felf-lovJsf. : Matty concealed, cahd badly
concealed,,, under-the philafophaal {cloak, fome abominsu
tions which' now we dare" not name. The, moft enlightened,
through w^rit of *7eal ,for-'ih-e: truths with which 'they -were ',
beft acquainted, and befides not being able to fnpport them
hut by fubfle aad for from' popular arguments,, held -them in
ca.pt iv •*;/., They, had not the courage merely to propofe.tb
the multitude the fundamental, tenet of the unity ot God. ;
The people, without inftructioa, without principles', without J,
manners, -without' an idea, of the '.-duties of man, rulhed
headlong into all the horfo'fs of idolatry; and the'pi'etem-Jed :
{ages, foch as Socrates, Plato, Cicero, Seneca, &c. had the
roeannefs to worfliip in the temples .the fame .Gods whom J
they ridiculed, in their fchools and in their writings : or at
the moft: like Julian, and, the Platonifts of his time,.by the, '
aid of fome arbitrary fyftem-they formed a mo nitrous mix- "
ture of the tenets of the divine unity together with the,
fpeculative and practical follies of polytheil'nu - < It is even
more ( than probable, that the general corruption- and
the various revolutions that happened in the world would
have abfolurelyextiuguifiied'the weak lights of philofophy
if.Chrifthnityhad not come to ftrengthen,, purify, and'
extend them;, and to place within theneach of the d'ulleft
minds both what the philofophers could not, and what they
dared not, teach. Probably the nations, which difoiem- bered .

EPISTLE TO THEMISTIUS. 23
the military (kill of Xenophon *, the fortitude of
Antifthenes -f, the Eretrian J and Megarean § phi
lofophy ; a Cebes ]|, a. Siminias **, a Phasdonff,
and innumerable others ; not to mention the co
lonies that we have received from Athens ; from
the Lyceum, the Porch, and the Academies |f. Who
is now preferved by the victories of Alexander ?
bered the Roman empire would again have plunged us into
barbarifm, if the Chriftian religion had not civilifed them.
Will thofe who oppofe it never have the equity to confider,
that without it they would certainly have been abandoned to
themoft foolifh fuperftitiOns, and perhaps have been in a ftate
fimilar to that of the favages of America ? La Bleterie.
, * Of the " military Ikill" of Xenophon there needs.no
other proof than the retreat of the ten thoufand Greeks,
which he conducted.
f The founder of the fe£t of the Cynics, which Diogenes,
one of his principal hearers, rendered fo confiderable.
Paticntiam, fays Cicero (de Orat. m. 17.) et duritiam
in Socratico fermone maxime adamarat. He ftyles him alfo
{ad Attic, xn. 3?0 hominis aciili magis qupm eruditi.
* From Menedemus, becaufe he was of Eretria [in
EubceaJ the Eretrians were fo called; all whofe good was
placed in the mind, and the quick nefs of its apprehen-
fion, by which truth is difcerned. Cic. Acad. iv. 42.
§ From Euclid, a difciple of Socrates, who was of Me-
gara [in Achaia],his followers were ftyled Megareans, who
maintained that only to be good Which was fingle, and
always the fame. Ibid.
|| Of Thebes. He wrote three dialogues, whofe titles
are preferved by D,iogenes: Laertius (Fit. Pbilof.) The firft
of , .them, his Table, is flill extant.
** Of Thebes alfo. Laertius enumerates twenty-three
of his dialogues.
' -ff Phsedon of Elis was firft a flave, but being emancipated
he ftudied philofophy, and became the chief of the feet
called Elean.
+ J The fchools of Ariftotle, Zeno (or the Stoics) and
thP-Academ'cs'
C 4 What,

24 EPISTLE TO THEMI'STIUS.
What nation is more wifely governed, what indi
vidual is improved, by them? Many you may find
whom they have enriched, but none whom they
have made wifer, or more temperate, either in them
felves, or towards others : on the contrary, they
have fomented ¦ pride and irifolence ; while all
who are now reformed by philofophy, are reformed
by Socrates. In this opinion I am fupported by
Ariftotle, who .feems to mean the fame, by faying,
that " the theological work *, which' he was com-
44 pofing, required as great abilities as thofe which
4C fubyerted the Perfian empire." In this I think
he reafpned right. For victories, are principally
owing to courage and fortune, and, if you pleafe,
3. kind of prudential cunning. But he who con
ceives true ideas of God is not only endued with
perfect virtue, but it may juftly be doubted whether
fuch a one (hould be ftyled a man or a God. For
if it be true, that all things are fo conftituted as
to be-beft known by thofe who are connected with
them, he who is acquainted with the divine nature
may, in like manner, be deemed a pure intelli
gence. ,But fince I am returned to the comparifon be
tween a contemplative and an active life, from
which I had digreffed, and which, at the beginning •
of your epiftle, you wifhed to decline ; I wilV
* Th StoXoytxn ffvyf^apfi' " On the nature of God." The fe-
quel fhews, that it fliould be thus tranflated. I know not
what this work of Ariftotle is ; and Julian, if I miftake not
is the only one who has mentioned it. La Bleterie. mention

EPISTLE TO THEMISTIU'S*. £5
mention the fame philofophers that you did, Areus *,
Nicolaus f, Thrafyllus £, and, Mufonkis j|. Hot
one of thefe had the government of his country ;
though Areus, it is faid, refufed the prefecture
of Mgypt, which was offered him. But Thrafyllus,
being the intimate friend of that cruel tyrant Ti-
* A philofopher and a man of learning, who, -with his
two fons, Dionyfius and Nicanor, was attached to the per-
fcn of Augustus, whofe confidence he pofleffed. Seneca
fays^ that he vas the comforter of Livia, when fhe feemed
inconfolable for the lofs ofy Drufus. Senec. Conjblat..afL
Marciam. La Bleterie,
+ A friend of Auguftus, M. Agrippa, and Herod the
Great, who (earned pf him philofophy. At the defifeof
that king of the' Jews, he wrote an univerfal hiftpry. He
did honour to philofophy by his difirifereftednefs and gene-
rofity. He anticipated in every, thing the wants of his
friends, and faid, that " money, like inftruments of mufic,
" was only ufeful to thofe who employed it." He com
pofed the Life of Auguftus, or rather .the hiftory of his
education. We have only fome fragments of his works,
Which are in the extrads of Conftantfoe Porphyrogenetus,
publifhed by M. de Valois. , Ibid.
% A Platonic philofopher and a celebrated aftrologer.
It appears in Tacitus, Annal. vi. with what addrefs' and
prefence of mind he contrived to efcape the cruelty of
Tiberius, and to gain his confidence. Ibid.
|| C. Caius Mufonius Rufus, a Roman knight. Not con
tented with profefling the Stoic philofophy, he endeavoured
to .diffufe it among the young nobility of Rome, and fpeak-
ing freely of the conduit of Nero, that tyrant committed
him to a dreadful prifon, "from whence he fent him firft
into the ifiand of Gyaros, and afterwards to the ifthmus
of Corinth, there to work in chains. A friend pommi-
fefating his fituation, " I had rather be here,'' faid
Mufonius, " than a£t on a ftage like Nero." After the
death of his perfecutor, he returned to Rome, and, was the
pnly philofopher "whom Vefpafian did not expell. As
Julian fays, that Mufonius fuftained the cruelty, "of ty-,
rants," he was again perfecuted by fome other befides
Nero; no doiib by Domitian. Ibid. berius ,

2*.

z6 EPISTLE TO THEMISTIUS.
beriu-s, unlefs he had exculpated himfelf by the
difjfourfes. that lie" has left, would have contracted ;
avperpetual and: indelible ftain. Thus civil go-
%,s^,ernment was ; of no . fervice to, him. Nicolaus
/was the artificer of no!.great deeds, and he is better
known by his writings concerning them. Mufonius
alfo, by fupporting with fortitude and fubduing
by firmnels the : cruelty of tyrants, became dif
tinguifhed, and was nblefs happy than thofe, who
governed the greateft kingdoms. A; for Areus,
wheii he refufed the prefecture of './Egypt, he
wjUirj-gly deprived himfelf pf the greateft happinefs,
if -he thought art active life ! the greateft. Yoa
yourfejf too are inactive, as, you neither command
an army *, nor harangue the people, nor govern any
nation
* Indeed the Themiftius, with whom we are acquainted,
was not a warrior. Nor did he harangue the .people ; no
one, 1 imagine, had then that privilege* except the Em
perors' and Caefars.. He was not Prsefeift of Conftantinople
till the reign of Theodofius. Neverthelefs, the manner ia
which Julian her£ mentions the Themiftiu1;, to whom he
is writing, would ¦ make one think, that he was rather a
mere philofopher, concentered in his fchool, than the cele--J
... hrated Themiftius, who had been made fenator of Coa-3
ftantinople two months before Julian was named Cafar,
and Who had always the ambition to be at once a philo-
fop'her and a ilatefman. Befides, the Themiftius to whom
'the epiftle is addrefled, appears to have been one of th.fi
moft intimate friends of Julian; and Themiftius the fenato$|
in an oration pronounced in the reign of Theodofius,
in which heboafts of the regard which the Emperors
had had for him, intimates that Julian did not love'
him, becaufe, he fays, that prince had been forced (by
truth, no doubt) to acknowledge him for the firft of phi
lofophers, In fliort, what is ftill of more consequence, Julian

EPISTLE.tTO T.HEMISTIUS. 37
nation pr city _:; but does it follow, that you are
not wife? And if you (hould form fevetal philo
fophers, or only "three or four, you would con
tribute more effentially to the happinefs of man
kind than many. kings united. A philofopher ads
no inconfiderable part ; he is not, as you have- laid;
the director only; of public; cpupfels, nor is- his
action confined to thinking. But- jf he confirm
hif; words by , his ^deeds, and appear fuch as h£
Would have others tp be, he, will urge to action
- -._!.,. , -J; , ^ lr;r)\. rft -;•¦ tA'i n,?:iv V''
Julian was not Csfar when Themiftius was made fenator; yet
Themiftius, in the difcburfo where he' thinks Conftantius for
h,is pew dignity, congratulates the Emperor on having taken
Julian- for his colleague. Thefe difficulties are. very ftrong;
but may it hot be faid in anfwer, i". That Themiftius was
perhaps one of the fenators who were "ftyled alktli or
\tnmunes^ and, who enjoyed, all the privileges of fenators,
without being" obliged to exercife the functions \. i\ The
miftius was! at leait as good ' a ' courtier as philofopher.
'Policy therefore did not allow him to boaft, in the reign of
Theodofius, of haying been the friend , of Julian. He
rather cfiofe to have it then believed, that, if that'prince
had given him' great marks of efteem, it was not fo much
from inclination and choice, as -becaufe h§ could not refufe
them. The van'fty of Themiftius, which is very apparent
in- the oration in queftion, concurred u ith policy to make
him fpeak this language. 3, It is true, thaf the letters
by which Conftantius made Themiftius fenator were read
in the'fenate of Conftantinople on the firft of September,
355, and that .Julian was not declared Ca;far till the fixth
of November following ; but the acknowledgement In which
the new fenator mentions the affociation of Julian was, as
appears by the difcourfe itfelf, pronounced fome time after
the letters of Conftantius had been read at Conftantinople,
and when it was juft known that Julian was Csefar. No
thing hinders our fuppofing that two months and a half, or
three months, intervened between the reading of thofe
letters and the difcourfe in queftion. • La Bleterie. with

zS EPISTLE TO THEMISTIU'Si
with more ' perfuafieh and effect than thofe who
excite to it by command.
But I muft now return to the fubject with- which
I began, and conclude an epiftle already perhaps
too long. This is- the fum of it ; ! that it is not for
the fake of avoiding fatigue^ nor of purfuing
pleafure, nor from a love of (loth and idlenefs, that-
I am averfe to public bufinefi; butj-asT faid at the
beginning, from a' ednfeioufnefs ot^rriy not having
fuffieiem, knowledge or genius, arid alfo' from an
apprehenfion of throwing a reproach on philofophy
(whom though I love I have npiwonj and who
by the, men of this age is already too much flighted),
having written fomething formerly, and now being
corrected by your admonitions.
May God graft t me fuccefs, and prudence to
deferve it ! I have now the utmoft occafion for the
afliftance principally of the Supreme Being, and
alfo of you philofophers, for whofe credit I have
expofed myfelf to danger. If God (hall by my
means grant to mankind a bleffing * beyond my
abilities alone to procure, you will have no reafon
to be offended at my difcourfes. For as I am con-
fcious of nothihg good, this only excepted, that
having nothing, I do not. think that I abound -f, I
cofl-

* This bleffing was particularly the re-eftablifhment of
Paganifm. La Bleterie.
•f Otj /Atwe oiopat ra (*eyira 'X£'"> %XU* 7E *(&»•• As both
Julian and his correfpondent were, no doubt, well ac
quainted with the writings of the Apoftles, I will hazard a
conjecture that this was intended as a fneer on an expreffion
4 nf

EPISTLE TO THEMISTIUS. 2$
continue to act, as you obferve, in the fame manner;
and I intreat you not to form high expectations of
me, but to fubmit every thing to God. So if any
faults (hould be committed, I (hall be blamelefs ;
but if all things ihould fucceed to my wifhes, I
(hall be grateful and moderate, not arrogating to
myfelf the deeds of others, but afcribing, as is
juft, every thing to God *, and knowing that -my
acknowledgements are due to him, let me exhort
}»u to return him yours alfo.
of St. Paul, in a Cor. vi. 10. J2s_|an$£v ejjouls;, x*t wk»t«
xanjjpvrs;, As having nothing, and, yet ppffeffing -all things.
The^expreflions at leaft are very fimilat.
* That piety of fpirit, that true magnanimity, which
Julian here profefles, has ;been nobly exemplified, while I,
am writing this, by a modern ^commander, the retriever of
the, glory of the Britifh flag,, whom we find, in the roidft of.
the moft brilliant fuccefs, •' giving God the glory," and
not fcrupling to declare, that " It has pleafed God,
44 out of his Divine Providence, to grant to his Majefty's
44 arms a moA complete victory," &e. See Sir George,
Rodney's Letter in the London Gazette of May iS, 1782.

A C05.

30 A CONSOLATORY ORATION

: i '. ;! • ¦¦¦no
A CONSOLATORY Or AT ION ON THfi
Departure of * Sal-lust +•

- u

NLESS, my dear friend, I communicate
to you what has occurred to me in private,
fince I heard of your approaching departure, I
fhall

* One MS. adds, m ayaQorara, (" the excellent.")
¦f This is a farewell encomium on Salluft, who was going
into lllyricum and Thrace, he being one of the few who
was dear to Julian, and his confidential friend. He wrote
this Oration when he governed the Gauls with the title of
Csefar, during the -Jife of Conftantius." The time when'
Julian celebrated the departure of Salluft with this Ora
tion may be afcertained from a paffage in the Epiftle to the
Athenians, where he mentions, that Conftantius removed
Salluft from the Gauls, becaufe he was' his friend. ' /
Petau.
This Oration exhibits to us a picture of an excellent
temper, on the eminence to which Julian was now exalted,
in not being able to be feparated from the deareft and moft
ufeful guide and companion of his life without the utmoft
regret. Spanheim.
Salluft was an officer of great merit, by birth a Gaul.
What employment Conftantius had given him in the Gauls
is not known, but it was certainly one that was con-
fiderable. He was a Pagan, a man of learning, of great
ability in bufinefs, and of diftinguifhed probity ; fufficient
recommendations to the fiiendftiip of Julian. Salluft had
the rare talent of giving advice without petulance, and
without that air of confidence, which too often renders
the truth, and always thofe who fpeak it, difgufting. The
freedom with which he reproved the prince was foftened
,. ~. ., by .

3*

fiiall think myfelf deprived of fome confolation »
or
by refpedt, cordiality, and tendernefs. Julian revered him
its a father, and all the good that Julian did was attributed
to Salluft, without exciting any jealoufy in Julian. The
intrigues of Florentius and fome other officers induced the
Emperor to recall Salluft, on a pretext that was honourable
to him ; but, in reality, to mortify Julian, who was left at
the difcretion of perfons unworthy of their pofts, and his
profeffed enemies. He was extremely concerned at the loft
of Salluft. To affwage his grief, he addrefled this dif
courfe to him, in which he takes leave of him in an affecting
manner, with teftimonies of the fincereft friendfhip and
efteem. Afterwards,, w,hen he was Emperor, he made him
Prxfect of the Gauls. La Bleterie.
On his entering the Perfian territories [April 13, 363],
Julian received a letter from his old friend Salluft [then in
Gaul], conjuring him not to take the field till he had ap-
peafed the Gods, who feemed, by various prodigies, to
declare againft the Perfian war. But the die was caft. Bid.
See alfo Epiftle xvn, and what M. de la Bleterie fays
farther of this difcourfe in the Preface.
The meafuies of policy, and the operations of war,
muft fubmit to the various operations of circumftance and
charafter, and the unpractifed ftudent will often be per
plexed in the application of the moft perfect theory. But
in the acquifition of this important fcience Julian was
affifted by the a£tive vigour of his own genius, as well as
by the wifdom and experience of Salluft, an officer of
rank, who foon conceived a fincere attachment for a prince
fo worthy of his friendfhip ; and whofe incorruptible in
tegrity was adorned by the talent of infinuating the
harflieft truths, without wounding the delicacy of a royal
ear. Gibbon.
This excellent minifter was fpeedily recalled by the
jealoufy of the Emperor ; and we may ftill read a fenfible
but pedantic difcourfe, in which Julian deplores^the lofs of
fo valuable a friend, to whom he acknowledges himfelf in
debted for his reputation. Ibib.
This Salluft muft be carefully diftinguifhed from the
venerable Prsefect of the Eaft, who had the fingular ho
nour of twice refufing the empire, once after the death
Vol. I. - C 8 of

A CONSOLATORY ORATION
or rather I fhall imagine that my dignity * affords
me no advantage unfhared by you. For having
participated with each other in much joy, and in
much grief, both in words and deeds, in public
and in private., at home and in the field, for the
prefent evils, be they what they may, we muft
both have recourfe to the fame remedy. But who
will fupply us with a lyre like that of Orpheus,
or with fongs like thofe of the Sirens, or with the
drug Nepenthes f ? Whether this was a fiction
derived
of Julian, and'again on the death of Jovian. Julian ho
noured the confulfhip with the name of the Prefect of GauJ
(A. D. 363.) , Ibid...
The fourth Oration of Julian, In Solem Regem, compofed
in three nights, is addrefled to the fame Salluft, and to
wards the conclufion he mentions a former work (now loft)
" on the Kfow," of Saturnalia, which was alfo infcribed to
him, and of which one paragraph (quoted in the firft; note
on the Crefars, p. 145.), is preferved by Suidas.
* Of Csftr, which Gonftantius had conferred on him
at Milan, Nov. 6, 355. See the Epiftle to the Athe
nians, p. 77.
f Odyf. IV. 221. On the arrival of Telemachjus at the
cpurt of Menelaus at Sparta,
.  With genial joy to warm the foul,
Bright Helen mix'd a mirth-infpiring bowl ;
Tensiper'd with drugs of fovereign ufe t' affvvage
The boiling bofom of tumultuous rage,
To clear the clouded front of wrinkled care,
And dry the fearful fiuices of defpair.
Thefe drugs, fo friendly to the joys of life,
Bright Helen learn'd from Thone's imperial wife,
Who fway'd the foeptre, where prolific Nile
With various fimples cloaths the fruitful foil, &c. <
Fenton. . Juljan

ov the Departure of S A L L U S T.
derived from ^Egyptian lore, or was invented by
the poet himfelf, and [interwoven in his fequel of
the Trojan calamities, as if Helen had learned \tx
in ./Egypt, it expreffes what ought to be the lan
guage of thofe who wifti to difpel, not the mi-
feries -which the Greeks and Trojans mutually in
flicted, but menial fufferings, and to reftore chear-
fulnefs and tranquillity. For pleafure and pain
fee m to flow from the fame fonrce, and in their
turns fucceed each other. And thofe events which
occalion great labour and trouble, in the Opinion
of the wife, give a mind, that is rightly dlfp'pfed,
not more pain than pleafure. Thus from the
bittereft herb that grows on Hymettus * the bee
extracts fweet juice, and works it into honey. Such
bodies, as "are healthy and robuft, are nourilhed
by any kind of food, and that which is generally
deemed unwholefome, far from impairing, increafes
their ftrength. But. on thofe, whofe con ftitutions}
by nature, education, or ftudy, are weak, and
through their whole life, valetudinary, the (lighieft--
attacks make violent impreffipns, So, in regard to
the mind, thofe who are thus [fufceptible, mud -be
Julian refers to the fame paffage in his xxxvnth Epiftle.
And Milton thus alludes to it, in h-,s Mafk of Comus :
Not that Nepenthes which the wife of Thone,
In /Egypt, gave to Jove-born Helen?,,
Is of fuch power to ftir up joy as this,,
.To lifo fo friendly, or fo cool to thirft,
* A mountain of Attica, famous for excellent honey.
Ubi non Hymetto mella d^ceJuut, Kor. /
Vol. I. D contented

34 A CONSOLATORY ORATION
contented *] with being moderately well, and; though ,
they are not endued with the ftrength of Antif-
thenes f or Spcrates, or the fortitude of 'Callif,
thenes J, or the temperance of Polemo- 1|, yet if
they can be ferene in fuch trials, perhaps in greater
difficulties they may be chearful.
As to myfelf, fenfible how much I differ and
fhall differ .from your journey, my concern was
equal to that which I felt on firft leaving my pre
ceptor §. For I immediately recollected the la
bours which we have fhared, our pure and un
feigned affection, our innocent and unrefervedl
* Imperfect. The tranflator has fupplied the chafm by |
conjecture. f A philofopher and teacher of rhetoric at Rhodes, who,
'¦ on hearing Socrates, bade his fcholars feek a new mafter,
for he had found one. He was fhe founder of the Cyninj
feet, and the mafter of Diogenes. . '1
% A philofopher anddifciple of Ariftotle, who fre
quented the court of Alexander the Great, On his op-
poiing that prince being worfhipped in the Perfian manner, '
he was accufed of a pretended confpiracy, and cruelly ex-
pofed to lions.
|| ' Polemo was a profligate young rake of Athens, and
even diftinguifhed by tbediffoluten'e'is of his manners. One
day, after a riotous entertainment, he came reeling, with '
a chaplet on his head, into the fchool of Xenocrates. The
audience were greatly offended at his fcandalous appearancefl
buj; the philofopher .went on, without any emotion, in a
difcourfe on temperance and fobriety. Polemo was b>
iiruck by his arguments, that he foon threw away his
ehajlet j and from that time became a difciple of Xeno
crates ; and profited fo well by his inftructions, that he
afterwards fucceeded him in the Socratic fchool.
Mrs. Carter.,'
§ The eunuch Mardonius. See the Mifopogon. . con-j

5n the Departure of SALLUST. 35-
converfatio'u, our concurrence in'all things laudable
the alacrity and refolution with which we uni
formly oppofed 'the wicked, and the firmnefs with -
which we cohftantly maintained our purpofe, havino-
one and the fame mind, fimiiar manners, and being
united by the drifted friendfhip. Befides, I recol--
lected that expreffioa,
— — On the field Ulyffes (lands alone *.

For I now mu?h refemble him; 'fince God has re
moved you, like Hector f , far from the darts which
have been launched at you by fycophants ; or
rather at me, endeavouring to wound, me through
you;. a& thinking no method fo certain as that of
depriving me, if ppfiible, of the fociety of a faith
ful friend, an alert defender, and a (harer, with
the utmoft alacrity, in all my dangers. You, I
think, at being denied a participation in my cares
and labours, are no lefs affected than I am ; but on"

* II. xi. 4.01. Oimflu i' ohiatvf. Pope, 509. It has be
fore been remarked, (p. 5. note,)' that it was- fafliionablc
for the Greeks in general, and Julian, ,rhcir admirer and
imitator, in particular, to quote Homer at random on every
beca'fion. The above expreffion is applied by the poet to
Ulyffes, when Diomed had been wounded by Palis, and
obliged to quit the field.
-j- II. xi. 164. This paffage is again quoted and applied,
with more propriety! by Julian to himfelf in his Allegorical
Fable. That Hector was removed from the battle was a
defirable circumftance to Ulyffes ; not fo the deiertion of
his friend Diomed. To this therefore the removal of
Salluft from Julian feems more applicable.

D

m;

36 A CONSOLATORY ORATION"
my account, and for my fafety, are rather more
anxious than myfelf. For as I never preferred ray
own intered to yours, I have always experienced
from you the fame attention. I am therefore ju ft ly
and deeply concerned, that to you, who, with re-'
fpect to others, can fay,
44 I heed them not, for my affairs are prof-
perous,"
I alone (hould occafron grief aqd anxiety. But
in this, it feems, we are equal fufferers; you, how
ever, lamenting only on my s account, but I con-
ftantly regretting the lofs of your fociety, and recol'i
lecting the friendfhip which we mutually pledged
to each other, cemented fird and principally by
virtue, and .afterwards by the obligations, not from
you to me, but thofe, which were largely conferred
on me by you. This friendfhip we bound not by
oaths, or other fuch ties, like Thefeus and Piri-
thous *, but by a perpetual concurrence in opinion,
in being fo far from uniting to injure any one, as
never to converfe on the fubject. But if any thing
happened advantageous to an individual, or the-:
common good was in view, this engaged our private
difcourfe. That I have abundant caufe to lament, on being
feparated, for ever fo fhort a time, not only from,:
a friend, but, God knows, a faithful affidanf,
0 * The fworn frienddiip of thefe two heroes was pro-
verbial. See the Life of Thefeus in Plutarch. Socrates) ";

on the departure of S A L L U S T. 37
Socrates, I doubt not, the great herald and teacher
of virtue, would allow; as far as his fentiments
may be conjectured from Plato., For thefe are his
words : 44 Rightly to govern a date, I deem a moft
" difficult tadc ; for it cannot be governed without
44 faithful friends and counfellors ; and fuch can-
" not eafily be found." And if Plato thought
this more arduous than digging through Athos,
what can we expect, who in wifdom and knowledge
are more unequal to him than he was to God ? ^
But I not only regret the mutual affiftance which
we gave to each other, in civil admiriiftration, and
which enabled' us more eafily to fupport whatever
» happened unexpectedly either by accident, or by
the machinations of our enemies ; but the ap
proaching Jofs of tiny chief fojace and delight rends
and afflicts my heart. For what friend equally
benevolent have I now remaining ? Whofe fincere
and innocent confidence fhall I be able now to en
dure ? Who will advife me prudently, reprove me '
mildly, confirm me in virtue without pride and
arrogance, and ufe freedom of fpeech without
afperity ; like thofe, who from medicines extract: the
naufeous, and leave the ufeful? Thefe advantages *
I have derived from your friendfhip. Deftitute of
* In the original, AWa. tbto fj.it ex. tjjs o-n$ $Aiaj to otetioS
wa.ewuea.jj.-nv ; literally, " But I have reaped this difgrace from
4* your friendfhip." Perhaps we fhould read to owo* {utile).
The Latin tranflator renders it by famam banc (which may
be taken either in a good or bad fenfe) ; andsMr. Gibbon
(fee his fecond note, p. 31.) by " reputation."
L> 3 that.

33 A CONSOLATORY ORATION
that, how (hall-I compofe , numerous orations?-;:
Who, when, in defpair, I am hazarding ray life;
from regret of you, of' your counfeis and bene-v
volence, 'Will.perfuade'me to be refigned, and'' to ,
fubmit with , fortitude to whatever God decrees?
For this, in concurrence with him, the .great Em
peror * feems to have determined. By what,
rn.eth.Qd, by what charms, can the mind be enabled-
to fupport- 1'uch anxiety and diftrefs with mode*,
ration? Shall we imitate the difecurfes of\Za- ,
molxir, -f., and mutter, his; incantations, which, when;;
Socraies had" introduced them, at Athens, he ob«;
liged beautitjul Gharmides J. to fing, before he would
cure him- of his head-ach'?. Or if thefe, as being,
too vaft, and intended for greater trials, like large.
machines in a fmall theatre, are unmanageable, yet, ,
from former occurrences, collecting, as it were, fro©.;
a variegated meadow, fome choice and beautiful-
flowers, fhall we folace our minds wi;h narrations,
iuterfperfing with them dune -ftrictures from phi
lofophy ? As draughts that are too luicious are ren-
* Conftantius,
-j- A Gete, and fervanr of Pythagoras, who, at his re-'
turn, civilifed his countrymen, and by them was reputed a
G)d. j. An Athenian, the fon of Glaucon, famous for Kis
beauty. See the Dialogue - of Plato -fo named, in which)
Charmitles is an interlocutor. " If," fays Socra-js, " what '
' Critics here fay be true, if you are extremely- tem-j3
" perate, you have no more occalion for Zamob.is, or, the|
" incantations of Abi'ris, the Hyperborean ; that alone will''
" be a fufficient r< midy for your bead." Chaimides is alfo:,
mentioned by Plato in his Theages., Protagoras, and
Banquet. dcred

ON THE DEPARTURE OF SALLUST.
dere,d more palatable by the infufion of certain
drugs, fo when fuch narratfons are feafoned with
fome apt maxims of philofophy, thofe parts of
ancient hidory which feem tedious are dripped of
their redundant loquacity.
¦ What- firft? What, next? What laft fhall I re
late,.*-? WasnptScipio, loving Laellus, and being equally
lpyed by him, fp clofely connected with him, that
he^ undertook nothing without having previoufly
confulted and advifed with him ? which occafioned
the envious traducers of his actions to fay, that
Laslius was the author of them, and Africanus only
the performer. The fame report prevails in re
gard to us, and I hear it, I confefs, with great
fatisf action. For to adopt the good advice of ano
ther (eemed to Zenof a proof of greater virtue than
* Odyff. IX. 14.
-j- Zeno, the founder of the Stoic feci, was born at
Citivrm, a fea-port town in the ifland of Cyprus. He
was originally a merchant, and very rich. On a voyage
from Tyre, where he had been trading in purple, he was
fhipwrecked near the Pirasum. During his ilay at Athens,
he happened to meet, in a bookfeller's fliop, with the
fecond book of Xenophon's Memorabilia ; with which he
was extremely delighted ; and alked" the bookleller where
fuch kind of perfons, as the author mentioned, were to be
found. The bookfeller anfwered, pointing to Crates, the
Cynic, who was luckily paffihg by, " Follow him;" which
Zeno did, and became his difciple. But his difpofition was
too modeft to approve of. the Cynic indecency ; and for-
faking Crates, he applied himfelf to the Academics, whom
he attended for ten years, and then formed a fchool of his
own. There was a conftnnt feverity, or perhaps aufterity,
'in his manners, his drefs, and his difcourfe ; except at an
D 4 enter-

39

40 A C 0 N S 0 L AT O R Y OR A TT 6 N
than originally to conceive what is juft and right
thus altering a line of Hefiod :
That man is beft who follows good' advice' *,
from ¦ — ¦  who counfels wifely for himfelf.
, Yet I do not approve the "alteration, as I'think'the
favinsr of Hefiod much- more true. But better'
I *J - - ¦ \ .
ihan either is that of 'Pythasbras, from whom that
proverb originated; 4C With friends all things are'
4( common." This indeed does not refer to money
only, but 'includes a communion of minds' and' un
derstandings. So that what you fugged' is 'no' lefs
the property of him who adopts it ; and in fuch
parts pf yours as I performed, you are juftly en- .
titled to a fliare. But let thofe actions be afcribed
to whom they will, they belong to another ; and
entertainment, when he ufed to appear with chearfulnefs
and cafe. His morals ,were irreproachable ; and he was '
prefented by the Athenians with a golden crown, became-
his life was a public .example of virtue,, by its conformity*
with his words and doctrines. He lived ninetyreight yearsV '
and then ftrangied himfelf, becaufe, in going out of his
fchool,, he happened to fall down, and break. his finger.
Die genes Laertius.
"* Ol;to; /aev irxvapiro:, o? euefff-ovn'wiGflTai. '
In the Works, and Days of Hefiod, ver. 291. we read,
Ovtoc uiv •Jratapiroi;, oq oLVTm netnet vwicrei.
(In Julian, Tra.e' txv?u) to which latter . hemiftich, it
feems, Zeno iubftituted part of vcr. 293, viz.
iicrtj^os i av y.ny.enc^, e.; iv, x. t, A.
He too is good,, who follows good ad-vice.
hefiod and Livy thought, that'he who counfelled wifely
for himfelf, was the. firft 'of men, and that he who followed
the good advice of others was the fecond. But Zeno pre
ferred the latter. of-

OK THE DEPARTURE OF SALLUS T. 41
of their fuggedions the invidious can make no
advantage. I now return to Africanus and Laslius. Afrer
Garthagp * was deftroyed, and all Libya was fub-
jecred to Rome, Africanus difpatched Lcelius with
the* intelligence of his fuccefs. Scipio was con
cerned at being thus feparated from his friend ;
yet he did not think his grief inconfplable. Lasl'ius
too, it is probable, was afflicted at departing alone;
yet this calamity did not feeih to him infuppprtable.
Cato alfo took a voyage, leaving his intimate friends
at home. Pythagoras 'too travelled into jEgypt,
and- fo did Plato and Democritus, without any com
panion, leaving behind them many whom they
highly efreertied; Pericles made war againft Samos f,
unaccompanied by Anaxagoras, and conquered
Euboea j ; by his counfels indeed, for he was his
* By mentionirig Libya afterwards, Julian feems to mean"
Old Carthage ;. .but C. LaeJius, as we learn from Livy
(xxvii. 7.), was difpatched to Rome by Scipio Africanus
the elder, with the account of '4 the conqueft," not de-
firuction, " of, New Carthage, the, capital of Spain, inone
" day." He vvas indeed difpatched, many years after, by
the younger Scipio, from Africa, 'with Syphax and other
prifoners; and with the intelligence of the victory of Zama :
but it does not appear that he was fent with the account
of the deftru&ion of Old Carthage. Julian trufted much
to his memory, which fometimes deceived him.
¦j- Making war with the Samians, Pericles gained a naval
victory,, and at laft took their city.
J- liubcea having rebelled againft the Athenians, he in
vaded it with a fleet and army, and reduced it to their
obedience. See his Life in Plutarch. pre-

A CONSOLATORY ORATION
preceptor * ; t but,, lil^e.oXher neceffaries, he did not c
take him perfonally with him to the field. It is
reported, that the ^Athenians feparated him un
willingly from .the , fociety of his preceptor. But,
like a wife n^an, he bore the, frenzy pf his fellow?
citizens with firmnefs. and rrtoderatipn ; thinking-
that his xountry, greatly, though not juftiy,,. of-,.., '
fended, at their connection, fnould, like a parent,
be obeyed, and, perhaps thus reafpning with him,-. ¦
felf : (yourflpuft confider, what follpws, as the w.ord£r.
of .Pericles.) 4- The world at^ large., is my city , and)
4i country,, and my.'fr^ends tfye Gods, and Genii,
44 and, all the, gopd, whoever they are, 2nd w(here-
44 ever. they refide,. But the place of our, birth
" deferves, refpcct, , as this is., the law,,o£ God, apr)(
4< what die command^ ought to ; be obeyed, and
44 not oppofed, left,, as tjhe, proverb fays, werkick
44 againft the pricks -(-. The yoke of neceffity,
44 as it is ftyled,; is implacable. Yet it 'is not to
«' be deplored and lamented, even When its weight.
/ " is., the heavieft, but- the burthen, itfelf is to be
«'" rightly -edi mated. ¦ She now commands Ahax*
«4 agoras tp leave me'; fo that I fliall fee no more
4-4 my bed friend, on whofe account I was dif-
'*- pleafed with the night for iecreting him from me,
44 and returned thanks to -the day and the Sun for
* In the Ph'stdrus of Plato, Socrates fays, that " Pe-
'-' ricjes had this advantage of all other orators, that he
"'.' had 'been/a hearer-, of the philofopher Anaxagoras,""
Cic. Orat. 4.
t n.-0?XEvTg*'XKitTt§«». The fame proverb is ufed in the
Acts of the Apoftles, ix. 5.

ON THE DEPARTURE OF SA.LLU S.T, 4,
" reftoring to my fight the chief object of my
44 love. If nature, O Pericles, had given ypu
44 no more fight than fhe has given to birds, had
44 your grief been dill more poignant, it would not
44 have been drange. But as die has not only
44 breathed into you a foul, and implanted a mind,
<c by whofe recollection you difcern, though abfenr,
44 many things that are now tranfacting at a dif-
44 tance, but has . alfo endued you with reafon,
44 which, discovering, many future events, reveals
44 them, as it were, toathe eyes, of your mind, and.
44 a fancy, whicl^idifcl.efing things prefent, fiibr.
44 mits- to her judgement and invedigation not
44 thofe only which are the' objects of fight, but
44 thofe alfo which- are many miles diftanr, more
44 plainly even than fuch as are at our feet,,-
44 as it is faid, and ; before our eyes ; what avail
44,fo much .affliction and difquiet ? To produce au-
44 thority for what I fay, 4 The mind fees, and the
44 mind hears,' fays the Sicilian *. A being fo
" acute, and endued with fuch wonderful fwiftnefs,,
44 that Homer, in order to exprefs the incredible
44 velocity of one of the Gods, fays,
*. O jZiKsKiu'lri;. What author is here meant I cannot
aTcertain. If Julian' himfelf had- been the fpeaker, we
mi»ht fuppofe him to refer either, to -Theocritus, (whom,
in Epiftle in. he ftyles 0 TtxAnolfic womTn?) or Diodorus Si- '..;
cuius. But Pericles could not, witliOi.it a great ana- 'f>
chronifm, quote a bard, who was above two hundred yearsy rffffA,:';
-or an hiftorian, who was. near five hundred years, iubie -*','*' '-
quent to himfelf. _

44 A CONSOLATORY ORATION
' 44 As fome way-faring man, who wanders o'er
44 In thought — *.
44 Adided by this, you may eafily difcern from
44 Athens one who is in Ionia ; from the Gauls
44 thofe who are in Illyricum and Thrace ; and
44 him who is in the Gauls from Thrace or
44 Illyricum. For, though plants, when removed
44 from their native foil in an improper feafon,
44 cannot be preferved, yet men, when they travel
" from place to place, do not, in like manner,
41 foon decay, or change their dlfpofition, or de-
44 wiate from the right principles which they had
44 previpufly imbibed.^ Therefore if we do not
44 lovewith more ardour, We certainly fhbuld'not
44 abate in our benevolence. Luxury is attended
" by lafcivioufnefs^ but poverty by virtuous love.
44 Thus we fliall be happier by the increafe of
44 duf mutual 'affection ; and (hall fee ourfelves
" fixed, like flatues in their riiches, in the mind
44 of each other. Now I fliall behold Ariaxap-oras,
41 and then Anaxagoras will behold me ; for no-
*4 'thing 'prohibits our feeing each other; not. the'
*' flefh and nerves, the face and form, or a bodily
". reprefentation, (though nothing perhaps will
44 prevent even thefe appearing to our minds), but
44 the virtue; -tbe^aclions, the difcourfes, the con-
44 yerlations, the meetings that frequently oc-
4-' curred between us; when we not unfkllfully
-' ¦
* II. xv. 8®. Pope, 86. Homer here compares the
flight of Juno, from Ida to Olympus, to a man travelling
in idea. 44 joined

ON THE DEPARTURE, OE S A L L U S T. *}.$
44 joined in the praife of education, and juflice,
44 and of that understanding which directs all
44 things human and divine •, and alfo on civil
44 government, and laws, on virtuous conduct, and
44 irigenuous ftudies, we made fuch obfervations
14 as our memories -fuggefted. Reflecting on thefe
44 things, and ruminating on fuch reprefentations,
44 we fhall difrega-. d the delufions ,of nightly •
44 dreams ; nor will the fenfes, affected by a bad
44 habit of body, prefent to the mind vain and
44 empty vifions. For, inftead of employing the
44 affiftance and miniftration of the fenfes, -the
44 mind will meditate on thefe fubjects, and thus
44 inure itfelf to the contemplation and compre-
44 henfion of incorporeal objects. For by the
44 mind we affociate even with the Almighty, and
44 are naturally enabled to behold and inveftigate
44 things' that efcape otir fenfes, that are in place
44 far diftant, and even things that have no place *.
44 And fuch a, vifion all vi'h'ofe lives have rendered
•• them worthy of it, conceive in their minds and
44 perfectly enjoy."
* Thus Shakefpeare :
' The poet's, eye, in a fine frenzy rolling,
Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to
heaven,
And, as imagination bodies forth
The forms of things unknown, the poet's pen
Turns them to fhape, and gives to airy nothing
A local habitation, aud a name.
Midfummer Night's Dream, 'Ait V. Sc. I.

46 A CONSOLATORY ORATION
Pericles, being endued with- true-magnanimity^
and educated free in a free city, might folace him
felf with fuch fubjime', meditations. But I, bord
44 inthefe degenerate days *," confole and beguile
my. mind, and ailwage the bitternefs of my forrpw*
by arguments more human ; thus endeavouring 'to
apply fome remedy to the many anxious and dif-
trefling lideas which on that fubject perpetually
! affail me ; like a charm againft the bite of a Wild
' bead, deeply wounding my, heart and vitals., Of
all my afflictions this is the principal ; I am. now
left?ione, deprived of a fincere, fo.cial intercpurfe,
and an unreferved communication. ' For I have'
none remaining whom I can confult - with equal
confidence. But cannot I eafily converfe with my
ftif ? Or cannot fome other engage my thoughts^
and oblige me to regard and attend to fubjects not
• of my own ch'oofing? Is not this fimilar to writing
on water, or boiling a done, or iriyefligating the
traces of the flight of birds? Our converting on
fuch fubjects none can hinder. And perhaps God
will fugged fomething better. For it is impoflible
that a man who gives himfelf up to the Almighty
fliould be entirely neglected and deferted by him.
But God with his own arm defends him, endues
him with flrength, infpires him with courage/
indills into -his mind What he fliould do, and deters
him from what he (hould forbear. A divine.voice
* o.o. «,, 0?Oto( !«•'. II. v'. 304. An expreffion often quoted
by our author. accom-

oW THE DEPARTURE' OF S-A L LU S'^T. 4lJ
accompanied Socrates *, forbidding ' him to do
i-
*'The'not-on of Socrates having a fupernatural atten
dant, either an evil fpirit, as fome of the Fathers imagined,
,ora goodone, as others have conceived, has been lately
difcuffedT in "' an Effay on the Daemon or Divination of
. 4< Socrates," by Mr. Nares, who maintains, " that the
" divinations pf Socrates were perfectly analogous to thofe
44 in common ufe at the time in which he lived ; but that
44 he, from a fcfupiilous exaitnefs in his" expfelfions,, (and
44 probably alfo. with, a/defire to inculcate, as frequently
44 as poffible, the notiqn of a conftantly active, and fuper-
44 intending providence) chofe rather to refer his divi-
44 nation always" to its primary ^nd original caufe, the
" Gods, than to their fecondary, and unconfeious inftru-
44 merits, the omens by which it was conveyed. In con-
44 feqiience of thefe ideas, he appropriated to the fubjeit
""an expreffion, which- firft the malice of his enemies, and
" fince the rniftaken zeal of his friends, have wrefted to
" his dtfadvantage, as if he had pretended to a commuai-
41 cation with fome attendant Daemon ; than which nothing
••¦*. could be more remote from his ideas. It appears, in-
44 deed, that he conceived the particular lignal, or otnenr,
44 '--by which he was directed, to be fomething in a manner
*' appropriated; or at leaft more accurately obferved and
44 attended to by him than by others. But in this there is
41 nothing -repugnant to the common notions of prophetic
41 warnings in his and every ag-, nor in the leaft fubverfivs
44 of what has been here advanced. From this reprefen-
44 tation of the matter it will appear, that there is, in
44 the hiftory of this extraordinary man, nothing which
44 can countenance the vague and romantic notion of
44 attendant tutelar darmons ; nor any thing which can
44 in the leaft invalidate our conceptions of his ftriitin-
44 tegrity and open difpofition : a conclusion, which-eyery -
44 lover of philofophy will doubslefs embrace with pleafure,
44 if the arguments and authorities' which form the foun-
44 dation of it be deemed'of fufficient flrength." The. au
thor fupporfs this ingenious-feypothefis by paflages to the
fame purpofe from Plato, Xenophon, and Plutarch.
; If Julian had not been more a Gteek than a Roman, he
would have mentioned alfo, on this occafion, Numa and
his nymph Egeria.
z what-

4S A CONSOLATORY ORATION
whatever was improper. And Homer fays of
Achilles, " His mind was infpired */' intimating,
that our thoughts are fuggeded by God, when the
mind, by reflection, converfes fird With itfelf, aftd
then privately, with God, without interruption"; for
the mind requires not ears to learn, nor God a
voice to teach, what is neceffary, but, without fen-
fation, a participation of the Almighty is given to
the mind. How, and in what manner, I have riot
lei fure now to examine ; but that this is effected
there are fure and faithful witneffes, not fuch as-
are ignoble, and to be claffed with the Megaren-
lians, but thofe who have had the fird reputation
in wifdom. Therefore, as we expect that God
will be for ever prefent with us, and that we fliall
again have a mutual intercourfe, the violence of
our affliction ought to abate. Even Ulyffes, who
fo much lamented his confinement in an ifland for '
feven whole years, though I praife him for his
bravery on other occafions, I admire not for his
grief on this. For what availed his gazing on the
fea, and fhedding tears -j~ ? Not to be dejected and
difpirited by misfortunes, but to act with intrepidity
in the niidd of danger and dedruction, "feems in
deed more than can be expected from man. But it
* By Juno. II. I. 55. Thus alfo Virgil, Hie mentem J2ne&
genitrix pulcberrima mijit. JE.n. xil. 554.
-j- Odyff. V. 82. AH on the lonely fhore he fat to weep,
And roll'd his eyes around the reftlefs deep ;
Tow'rd his lov'd coaft he roll'd his eyes in vain
Till dimm'd with riling grief, they flrcam'd again. '"¦ 'I
Pope, ioij. is

ON THE DEPARTURE OF S A L L U S T.
is unjuft to praife, and not to imitate, the ancients,
or to think that God readily aflifted them ; but
¦will overlook thofe of this age whom he fees at
tached to virtue, fince on that account he was
pleafed with them. It was not for perfonal beauty ;
or Nireus * would have been more beloved by
him. Nor was it for ftrength ; ' as the Lasftrygons f
and Cyclops % were greatly fuperior in drength to
Ulyffes. Nor was it for riches ; for then Troy
would have remained in fafety. But why fhould
we labour to invedigate the reafon of the poet's
faying that Ulyffes was beloved by God §, when
we may hear it from himfelf ?
Becaufe, in every ufeful art refin'd,
His words were eloquent, and wife his mind ||.
It is plain therefore, that, if we have thefe en
dowments, the Almighty will not deny us his
fupport, but, according to the oracle given of
* II. ii. 671. Nireus is here mentioned as the moft
beautiful of the Greeks, Achilles only excepted ; but his
name never occurs again ; for
— few his troops, and fmall his ftrength in war.
It is remarkable, that Nireus is introduced by Euripides
[Iphigenia in Aulis] as accompanying Ulyffes, though their
manners were unfuitable, and their dominions [Syma and
Ithaca] far diftant. In the vith book of Quintus Calaber,
Nireus falls by the fpear of Eurypylus. Wodhull.
f Odyff. x. 119, &c.
J Ibid. ix. 125, &c.
§ <=>eo<Jx?ii) An <pi\o; (beloved by Jupiter) in II. xi. 419, 473.
I( Odyff. xm. 332. [Minerva] by faying to Ulyffes, that
fhe would never overlook nor defert him, 44 Becaufe, &c."
Ihevvs that of all we have, virtue only is efteemed by God
and divine. Plutarch, de audiendis Peetis.
Vol. I. E old

49

j>3

A CONSOLATORY ORATION
old -to the Lacedaemonians, invoked, or not in*
voked, God will be prefenr* with us.
Having thus fought confolation, I now return
to that circumitance, which, though at firft it
feems trivial, is generally thought of no fmall
importance. Alexander is faid to have wifhed for
Flomer, not as a friend indeed, but as a herald,
as he was to Achilles, and Patroclus, and the two
Ajacfes, and Antilochus. But he, always defpifing
what he had, and coveting what he had not,
(lighted his contemporaries, and was never fatisfied
with what was granted him. If he had been in
dulged with Homer, he would probably have re-
queded the lyre of Apollo, on which he played at
the nuptials of Peleus *, thinking it not "a fiction
of the genius of Homer, but a true fact related
in verfe, iike thefe.
Aurora now, fair daughter of the dawn,
Sprinkled with rofy light the dewy lawn -ft
And, The Sun arofe \.
And, Crete, a fruitful foil §.
* 11. xxiv. 62. Juno fays to the Gods,
To grace thofe nuptials, from the bright abode,
Yourfelves were prefent ; where this minftrel-god
(Well pleas'd to fiiare the feaft) amid the choir,
Stood proud to hymn, and tune his youthful lyre. Poi>e.
This harmonious' banquet is alfo celebrated by Eu
ripides, in one of the choruffes of his Jphigenia in
Auhs. Apollo is there introduced foretelling the glory of
Achilles. & 6 '
f II. via. 1. Pope.
X Odyff. ni. 1.
§ Ibid* xix. 172. Fentorii Afid

?ON THE DEPARTURE OF S A L L U S T. 51
And other fimilar paflages. of the poets, which
are plain and obvious, as fome of the objects
dill remai^ and fome of the facts are dill tranf-
aaed. But whether the excellence of his virtue, and
a wifdom, by no means inferior to his great fuper-
fluity of worldly happinefs, inflamed his mind with
fuch ambition, that he coveted more than any one
elfe ; or whether the excefs of his valour and in
trepidity tended to arrogance, and bordered oh
oftentation ; muft be left to the difcuffion of thofe
who would compofe his panegyric or fatire ; if any
(hare of the latter can be thought his due. I^ori
the contrary, always fatisfied with what is prefent,
and not in the leaft defirous of what is abfent, con
tentedly aicquiefce in having my merits proclaimed
by a herald who has been a fpectator and a fellow-
eombatant with me in all *', but whofe judgerhent
partiality never biaffesj nor prejudice perverts.
Sufficient is it for me to profefs my friendfhip ; in
other refpedts I (hall be more filent than thofe who
are initiated by Pythagoras f<
But here I muft advert to the general report*
hamely; that you are going not only among the
Ulyrians, but alfo to the Thracians, and thofe
* Salluft himfelf, no doubt, on whofe reprefentation of
his conduct Julian might indeed fafely rely.
+ The fcholars of this philofopher in their probation
were enjoined filence, and were only to hear ; which time
Was called IxipvGta. Gell. i. 9. See the Epiftle to The
miftius, p. 21. note *. E i Greeks

52 A CONSOLATORY ORATION
Greeks who dwell near that fea *. This, being
the place of my birth and education, has infpired
me with a great regard for thofe people, and their
country, and cities ; and an equal regard perhapS
they retain for me. To them, I am confident,
your arrival will be moft acceptable, and that thejr
Will think it a happy exchange, as you have left
me here. By faying this, I mean not to infinuate '
that I wifh it •, on the contrary, if you could return
hither immediately, by the fame road, I fliould be
much more gratified. But as it muft happen, I
am confidering how to fupport it with firmnefs and
equanimity, while I congratulate them on feeing
you juft come from us. On your account, I re
concile myfelf to the Gauls ; deeming you worth]?
, of being ranked among the firft of the Greeks, in
juftice and other virtues ; as being alfo an adept
in oratory, and far from a novice in philofophy, in
which the Greeks alone are perfect; invedigating
truth, as its nature requires, by reafon, and not
differing us to be deluded by idle inventions, and
incredible fables, like many of the Barbarians.
And now (to difmifs you with aufpicious omens)
where-ever you go, may the benevolent God be
your guide, and Jupiter the friendly and hofpitable
receive you, conducting you fafely by land, and,
if you embark, fmoothing the waves ! May yoft
be loved and honoured by all men ; fo that they
may rejoice at your arrival, and lament at your
* The Propontis, which laves Conftantinople, where
Julian was born. It divides the Hellefpont and the Thra-
cian Bofphorus. 3 depart <

ON THE DEPARTURE OF S A L L U S T. £$
departure ! Still retaining your affection for us,
may you never want the fociety of a friend equally
faithful ! May God alfo conciliate to you the favour
of the Emperor ; may he regulate every other cir-
cumdance to your complete fatisfaction ; and grant
you a fafe and fpeedy return to yOur own country
and to us '. In thefe prayers for you I unite with
the good and virtuous. Let me add,
With health, with joy, to his lpv'd native fhore
> May the kind Gods my honour 'd friend redore *!
* OfXs ts, x«i f/.iy«. X"4?8" ^"' ^£ T0' o\Sua ieis>,
Noricai oixo, is ipAwii e? vaT^ia. yaiav.
The firft line is taken from ver, 401, and the fecond is
^n alteration of NortnJ-«»Ti» inver. 404, of Odyff. xxiv. with
the addition of moft part of ver. 562 of Odyff. x.
Befides the warmth of affection that breathes through
this whole competition, feveral parts of it, efpecially the
conclufion, in the original, are poetical without being
turgid.

y

E 3 Julian

54 EPISTLE TO CONSTANTIUS.

I Julian Caesar to the Emperor
constantius *.

A" D" TT^**' reta'imng one and l^e *"ame °pimonJ I
JLl/have adhered to what I faithfully purpofed,
not lefs from principle than by the covenant of
treaties, as has evidently appeared in various in-
itances. As foon as I was created C^efar, you ex-
pofed me to all the tumults and horrors of battle;
yet, contented with a delegated authority, like a
faithful apparitor, I filled your ears-with frequent
accounts of fucceffes anfwerable to your wifhes ;
never dwelling on my own dangers, though by
continual proofs it may appear, the Germans being
every where fcattered and difordered, that I was
always the fird in labours, but the laft in re*
frefhment. * The Gallic legions being ordered by Conftantius tQ
march into the Eaft, a tumult arofe (as Julian himfelf re
lates more particularly in the fucceeding epiftle to the
Athenians); and from the fubordinate dignity of Csefar he
was exalted by the army to the fupreme rank of Auguftus.
This epiftle, written foon after that event, is preferved by
Ammianus. He compofed, in his own name, and in that of the army,
a fpecious and moderate epiftle, which was delivered to
Pentadius, his mafter of the offices, and to his chamberlain
Eutherius ; two ambaffadors, whom he appointed to receive
t.ie anfwer, and obferve the difpofitions, of Conftantius. Gl?EOM. Riu t)

EPISTLE TO CONSTANTIUS. 55
But, with your leave, I will inform you whether1
any innovations have now been made, as you
imagine. The foldiers, wading their lives in many
and fevere wars, without advantage, have formerly
held confultations, raging and impatient of a ruler
' in the fecond place, being fenfible that no recom-
pence can be made them- by the Csefar for their
daily fatigues and frequent victories •, their re-
fentment has been appeafed by no increafe of ho
nours, not even by a year's pay now due, to which
this alfo has been unexpectedly added; their being
ordered to the mod didant-parts of the Eadern world,
men accuftomed to frozen climates were to be fepa-
rated from their wives a,nd children, and were dragged
forth indigent, and naked. Being therefore more bit
terly enraged than ufual, affembfing in the night,
they befieged the palace,, exclaiming Julian Au
gustus with loud and repeated; cries. I trembled,
I confefs, and withdrew; and white I could, fought
fafety by filence * and retirement. But no refpite
being allowed, guarded, as I may fay, by the free
fortrefs of my bread, I went forth and prefented
'myfelf to them, thinking that my authority or
mild words might allay the /difturbance. Their
fury was wonderful, and it went fo far, that, on
my endeavouring by intreaties to conquer their ob-
dinacy, rufhing clofe up to me, they threatened
inftant death. At length fubdued, and cpnjec-
(
* In the original, fimulatione. I prefer the correaiou of
Gelenius, mujjdtione. E 4 ¦--¦ ' turi.ng,

Si EPISTLETO CONSTANTIUS.
turing *, that, when I was killed, another peri-
haps would be declared prince, I affented, thus
hoping to appeafe the tumult.
This is the fubdance of what has happened, which,
I requed you to accept with complacence. And
think not that any thing is. mifreprefented, or credit
the evil reports of the malicious* who are accuf-
tomed to promote the revolts of princes for their
own advantage ; but banifhing flattery, the ntirfe
of vice, cultivate the mod excellent of all virtues,
judice ; and receive with good faith the equitable
terms which I offer, confidering them as beneficial
both to the Roman date and to us, who are allied
by confanguiriity, and by the eminence of fuperior-
yank. Thefe requeds, (excuft me) as. they are found
ed in reafon, I am lels anxious for your granting
than for your approving and thiriking them jvifjt and
proper. I am ready alfo with chearfulnefs to obey
your commands. What may be neceffary. I will
reduce into a fliort compafs.
I will furnifh Spanifh horfes -f for your chariots,
^nd fome Letian'J youths, fprung from Barbarians on
* In the original, Mecumque ipfe conteftans. In the margin
of the Royal MS. conjeftans is written in the- fame hand.
Valois.
The tranflator has adopted the latter. ' . '
¦j- Zonaras fays the fame thing. And he adds, that
Julian infcribed his letter with the name of Ca:far, not
Auguftus, left Conftantius, offended at it, fliould imme
diately difdain it : which Julian alfo confirms in his Epiftle '
to the Athenians. Ibid.
\ The Leti, or Laeti, were fome half-barbarians, who
dwelt in the Gauls ; or (as our Ammianus fubjoins) cis
Rbenum edita barbararmi progenies. Ibid,

EPISTLE TO CONSTANTIUS. $j
this fide the Rhine, or, at leaft, from vaffals who
have revolted to us, to be incorporated with your
provincials and targeteers, Aqd thefe, as long as
I live, I pronnfe to fupply, not only with gratitude
but delight. Pr^tprian prefects, of diftinguifhed
equity and merit, (hall be given us by your cle
mency *. As for the other ufual magiftrates, and
the directors, of the war, it is proper that they
(hould be left to my nomination, and alfo the
guards. For, when they can previoufly be
learned, it is, abfurd for the manners and tempers
of thofe who are ftationed by the Emperor's fide
to be unknown to him. The following rule, with
out the leaft hefitation, I would eftablifh : Gallic
recruits, juft enlifted, (hould. not be fent, either
voluntarily, or by force, to foreign and fardidant
countries, and oppreffed with daily fatigues or vex
atious accidents, led the youth (hould be totally
exhaufted, being afflicted with the recollection of
paft, and finking under impending, dangers. Nor
pan it be prpper to oppofe the Parthians with aux
iliaries drawn from hence, fince the barbaric fury
is not yet quelled, and (if you will permit me to
fpeak the truth) thefe provinces, harraffedby con
tinual misfortunes, require external and powerful
afliftance. In giving this advice I ftudy, I, am
convinced, the public good, requefting and intreat-
jng ; for I know, not to arrogate more than my
ftation warrants, what embarraffed and deiperate

A term of refpecl, like 4( majefty," &c,

affair4?

5g EPISTLE TO CONSTANTIUS,
affairs have been retrieved by the agreement of
princes mutually complying with each other;
and the example of our ancedors will fhew, that
rulers, thinking in this and the like manner, have,
as it were, difcovered the method of living hap-
' pily,' and of endearing their memory to the lateft
times '*.
* In this negociation Julian claimed no more than he
already poffeffed. The( delegated authority (which he had
longexercifed over the provinces of. Gaul,. Spain, and Bri
tain, was ftill obeyed under a name more independent and
auguft. The foldiers and the people rejoiced in a- revo
lution, which was not ftained with blood. Florentius was
a fugitive ; Lupicinus a prifoner. The perfons who were
difaffected to the new government were difarmed and fe-
cured ; and the vacant offices were diftributed according
to the recommendation of merit, by a prince who defpifed
the intrigues of the palace, and the clamours of the foldiers.
Gibbon.
44 To this oftenfible epiftle he added," fays Ammianus,
44 private letters, ohjurgr.torias et mordaces,'" which the hif-
torian had not feen, and would not have publifhed. Per
haps they never exifted. Ibid.
Thefe 44 flinging" letters, Zonaras fays, were hot fent
by Julian at that time, but afterwards, when Leonas, who
had been ambaffadorto Julian, returned unfuccefsful to Con
ftantius, 4l Leonas therefore, defpairing of being able to
44 execute any part of his commiflion, returned with the
44 letters of Julian, in which he impudently upbraided the
44 Emperor, as having been very criminal towards his re-
44 lations, and threatened that he would revenge their in,-.
: 44 juries." Valois.
The ambaffadors found Conftantius at Casfarea in Cappa-
docia. On reading the letters with which they were
charged, this prince flew into a dreadful paffion ; and
viewing them with a look that feemed to threaten their
lives, he commanded them to withdraw, without condc-
fcending to give them any further audience, or to aik, them
any queftions. He was very near quitting the Perfian war
to march directly againft Julian. However, he only dif
patched a Quaeftor, named Leonas, to him, with a menacing
letter, and recalled his principal officers. La Bleterie.
The.

[ S9 3

The Emperor Julian to the Senate
and People of Athens *.
THOUGH many actions have been performed
by your ancedors, for which you, as well as
they, are juftly renowned, and though many
trophies have been erected by all Greece in- general, and
* Julian wrote this epiftle foon after his being pro
claimed Emperor in the Gauls ; and while he was rharching
¦with his army againft Conftantius. For Libanius affirms,
that he then wrote letters to feveral cities Of Greece, in
order to exculpate his affuming the empire to other na
tions. 44 He was fo much more felicitous," ¦ fays tha't
orator, in his Panegyric on the confulfhip ef Julian, 44 to
44 exculpate himfelf than to gain a victory, that, while he
44 was expofed'to the greateft dangers, he apologife'd forhim-
44 felf by the Greeks, to all mankind, writing epiftles to
44 them, according to the feveral difpofitions of each city,
44- fome longer, and fome fLorter, as might fuit thofe to
44 whom they were addrefled."
This epiftle therefore explains the motives of his con
duit, and' fully defcribes the patience with which he had
hitherto borne the repeated injuries and provocations of
Conftantius, and the great reluctance with which, by the
concurrence of the army, he was exalted to the empire.
Indeed, of all the remains of that apoftate, none feems to
. me more worthy of publication and the perufal of (the
learned, efpecially of thofe who ftudy hiftory. For it ac
curately relates that whole tranfaction, throws light on
many parts of this fubject tranfmitted to us by Ammianus
and others, and alfo contains feveral hiftorical facts and
circumftances not to be found elfewhere. The great regard
Which Julian had for ' Athens and the Athenians, and the
reafons

A.D. 361.

6a EPISTLE tP the ATHENIANS.
and by your city in particular, when fhe contended
fingly either with the neighbouring dates, or with
the Barbarians, none of her deeds are fo diftin
guifhed, no acts of her heroifm fo illudrious, as
not to be rivalled by the other cities. In fome,
they have co-operated with you ; others they
have performed unaided and alone. But led, by
mentioning particulars,, I fhould fe'em to draw an
odious comparifon, or to give an invidious pre
ference, in order to ferve my caufe, as is ufual
with orators, who by faintly praifing, really de-
reafons why he reforted thither, Gregory of Nazianzus de
clares in his fecond oration mMr. Petau.
After having made himfelf mafter of the pafs of the
Succi, in his march agajnft Conftantius, while Julian re-
fided at Naiffus in Illyricum, waiting for his troops, and
ir.aking new levies, he wrote to feveral cities of Greece,
among others to Athens, Lacedasmon, and Corinth, not
only to engage them in his intereft, but alfo to juftify his
procedings. In particular, he made it a point of honour and religion
to take for judges the Athenians, fo celebrated in an
tiquity for their love of juftice, by carrying his caufe to the
tribunal of Areopagus, where the Gods had formerly ap
peared. Of all his manifeftoes we have only that which
was addrefled to them. It is an eloquent and perfectly well-
written piece. La Bleterie,
The moft authentic account of the education and adven
tures of Julian is contained in this epiftle, or manifefto.
It deferves the praifes of the Abbe de la Bleterie, and is ,
one of the belt manifeftoes to be found in any language.
Gibbon.
His epiftle to the Senate and people of Athens, feems* to
have been dictated by an elegant enthufiafm, which
prompted him to fubmit his a£tions and motives to the
degenerate Athenians of his own times, with the fame
humble deference, as if he had been pleading, in the days
pf Ariftides, before fhe tribunal of the Areopagus. Ibid,
predate

EPISTLE to the ATHENIANS. 61
preciate and decry the merit Of their opponents,
this only I will fay of you, to which of all that tra
dition has tranfmitted the other Greeks can pro j
duce nothing parallel. You obtained the do
minion Over the Lacedsemonians, not by the force
of your arms, but by the fame of your juftice.
Aridities * the Juft Was formed by your laws. And
thefe proofs of your virtue, fplendid as they are,
you have confirmed by ftill more fplendid facts.
For in mere matters of opinion we are liable to ..
miftake, nor is it unufual to find, among many
wicked men, one who is virtuous. Is not Deioces f
celebrated among the Medes, Abaris % among the
Hyperboreans, and Anacharfis § among the Scy
thians; of whom it was remarkable, that, though
they lived in nations notorioufly unjuft, they
neverthelefs cultivated juftiee ? The two laft fin-
cerely ; the firft was prompted by intereft to dif-
* See his Life in Cornelius Nepos.,
'¦¦ -f He determined with fo much prudence the differences
of the Medes, that he deferved to be chofen their king.
He built, according to Herodotus, the city of Ecbatana,
and reigned forty years, from the year of the world 3358
to 3398. Moreri.
t A Scythian, who wrote Apollo's Northern Journey iri
verfe, oracles, predictions, &c. Jamblichus fays, he was a
fcholar of Pythagoras, which does not agree with what the
ancients affirm of Abaris being prior even to Solon. Ibid.
§ Another Scythian, contemporary with Solon, of whom
he learned philofophy at Athens.
He was the only philofopher of his nation, whence the
proverb, Anacharfts inter Scythas. At length he was killed by
his brotherthekingof Scythia, for endeavouring to introduce
the Athenian laws. See Diogenes Laertius, in his life, /. 1.
femble

fc» EPISTLE to the ATHENIANS!
femble it. But it is difficult to produce a whole
city arid nation, who practife judice, both in word
and deed, except yburfelves. Of many indances
that have occurred amdng yoit it maty be fufficient
to mention one. When Themidocles *, after the
Perfian war, had formed a plan of privately fetting
fire to the naval arfenals of the Greeks, and dared
not publickly to prdpofe it, but faid, he would
communicate the fecret to any One whom the
people by their fuffrages would electa they"
named Aridides. . He, On hearing the propofal;
concealed the particulars, and only informed
the people, that " nothing cou'ld be more advari-
*4 tageou"s, but at the fame time more linjud, than'
" the advice of Themidocles." Upon which,' the
city immediately difclaimed and declined it 5 a
fignal indahce of magnanimity, and highly be
coming a people educated under the eye of the
wifeft Goddefs!
If thefe things happened among you in ancient
times, and a fmall fpark, as it were, of the virtue
of your anceftors ha"s ever fince been preferved,
you ought, when you hear of any great action, to
confider, not the furprifing Angularity of it, like
that of a man walking with as much ftrength and
agility as if he had wings, but whether its motives'
were juft and right. And if fo, both in public
and private it will receive your deferved applaufej
if not, it will with reafon be difregarded and con
demned. Nothing is fo nearly allied to wifdom as
* See his Life in Plutarch, '
7 judice.

fePlSTLE to the ATHENIANS. 63
juftice. Thofe therefore who defpife it you fliould
banifli as profaners of your Goddefs. Though you
are not ftrangers to my affairs, this is the occafion
of my prefent addrefs. If any thing fliould chance
to have efcaped your knowledge (and fome par
ticulars probably may, even of thofe in which you
all are interefted), it may thus be communicated
to you, and by you to the other Greeks. And let
me not be charged with trifling, if I endeavour to
comprife in my difcourfe thpfe fcenes which have
lately been prefented to the eyes of all men, as
well as former tranfactions, as I wifh to have every
thing that relates to me generally known. I will
begin with my anceftors.
That the family of my father, and that of Con
ftantius, had the fame origin, you need not be in
formed. Our fathers were brothers, having the
fame father. How that moft humane Emperor
acted afterwards towards me, who was fo nearly.
related to him, and how he unjuftly put to death
fix of his own and my coufins, as well as my father,
his own uncle, together with another uncle of us.
both, and alfo my elder brother * ; and after' hav ing
* He fays, that 44 fix coufins and two uncles" were flain
by Conftantius. The latter, I find in the hiftory of thofe
times, were [Julius] Conftantius, the father of Julian, and
Dalmatius, both fons of [Conftantius] Chlorus, by Theo
dora, the daughter-in-law of Maximian-Herculius, and
brothers of Conftantine. [See the 4C Pedigree of Julian.'']
But the hiftorians mention only 44 three" coufin-germans,
viz. Dalmatiahus and Hahhibalianus, the fons of Dalnia-
this, and Nepotianus, the fon of Eutropia, the filter of
iGonftantine. The others were killedj foon after the death of

<?4 EPISTLE to the ATHENIANS.
ing intended to deftroy me * and another brother f,
changed our fentetice into banifliment, from which
he afterwards releafed me, but deprived him, juft
before he was killed, of the name of Caefar ; . all
thefe dreadful tragical events why fliould I relate I
efpecially, as he is faid to have repented, and to
have been much afflicted, attributing to them his
want of children, and alfo his ill fuccefs in the
of Conftantine, by a confpiracy of the foldiers. Nepoti
anus was (lain after the death of Conftans, not, however,
by Conftantius, but by the tyrant Magnentius. So fay
Socrates, Zofimus, Eutropius, and Victor. I read there
fore of but 4t two" coufins flain by Gonftahtius. The reft
let the diligent and learned ihveftigate. Petatt.
* We learn, from this paffage, what is mentipned, as I
recollect, by no other writer, that Julian had, befides Gallus
Caefar, another, and that an elder brother, whom he here,
plainly diftinguifhes from Gallus, and mentions to have
been killed, before Gallus was Caiar, by Conftantius.
Who he was, or what was his name, I profefs myfelf to.be
ignorant. But fo was Socrates. Mid.
Julian here charges his coufin Conftantius with the whole
guilt of a maffacre, fr6iri which he himfelf fo narrowly
efcaped. His affertion is confirmed by Athanafius, who,,
for reafons Qf a very different nature, was not lefs an enemy
to Conftantius. (torn. i. p. 856.) ZofimUs joins in the
fame accufation. But the three abbreviators, Eutropiiis
and the Victors, ufe very qualifying expreffions, 4< Jinente
44 potius quam jubente j" 44 incertum quo fuafore" 4i vi militum."
Gibbon. ,
f Socrates (III. 1.) fays, that 44 Gallus was fuffered to
44 live, becaufe, on account of his weak conftihition, it was
44 thought that he, could not live long; and Julian, becaufe
44 he was only eight years old." But in this, Socrates is
not quite accurate. For Julian was not 44 eight," but only
44 five" years old : as he died in the 31ft year of his age, in
that of our Lord 363. But Conftantine died in 337. ,.,
, Petau. Perfian

EPISTLE fo- the ATHENIANS. 65
Perfian war *. Such rumours, at leaft, were circu
lated among the courtiers, in the hearing of me
and my late brother Csefar Gallus, fot fo he was
then ftyled: Having put him alfo to death, in
defiance of all laws, he- neither fuffered him to be
entombed with his anceftors, nor his memory to be
honoured. But^ as I" faid before, we were in
formed and convinced, that fome of thefe crimes
originated from mifapprehenfion and mifinfor-
matiob, and others from the overbearing infolence
and cdmpulfiori of a turbulent and mutinous army.
"Such reports often reached us in our Confinement
in a certain Cappadocian farm -f-, to which no one
Was allowed accefs : -there we were both placed ;
my brother, recalled from exile ; and«1, afinoff a
child/ removed from fchool. Why (hould I- men
tion thofe fix years *, in which we were educated
in a kind of foreign country, and as drietly guard
ed as if we had been in Perfia, no dranger, nor
* Ih the reign of Conftantius, Sapor vanquifhed the
Romans in nine battles, invaded Mefop'otamia, took Amida,
Singara, &c. i?
t Ammianus (XV. 2.) relates, that '4 Julian wis accufedof
44 going from the farm of Macellum, in Cappadocia, into
44 Afia, for the fake of liberal, ftudies, and, in_his way
44 through Conftantinople, of feeing his brother." Thisc^-p-/.;,
or farm, he'afterwards'calls x'fnpa, and^thus the Latins term.
a farm poffcjjio. Petau.
Mr. Gibbon, in different places, ftyles this farm 44 an
44 ancient palace," 4t a ftrong caftle," " tne relidencc of
44 the kings of Cappadocia :" 4< the fituation," he adds,
44 was pleafant, the buildings ilately, the inclofures fpa-
44 clogs." It was at the foot .of Mount Arga-us, not far
from Caefarea, the capital of the province.
% From 345 to 351.
Vol. I F any

66 EPISTLE to the ATHENIANS.
any of our friends, being admitted to us ; where,
fecluded from, all liberal dudies, and debarred all
intercourfe with families of rank, we were forced
to affociate only with our domeftics ? From thence,
by the affidance of the Gods, I was at length
happily releafed; but my brother was moft unfortu>
nately inveigled to court. If there was anything
rudic and uncivilifed in his deportment "^, it was
owing to that mountainous education. He there7
fore who doomed us to it is judly chargeable with
the blame. Thanks be to the Gods, philofophy
has purified me; but this- bleffing was denied to
my brother. For after he had exchanged the '
country for the court, and had been inverted with
the purple, he immediately became an object of
envy ; nor did that envy ceafe, till, not„contented
with dripping him of the purple, it had accom-
plifhed/his deftruction. Yet though he might be
* This opinion of Julian concerning his brother is ex-
preffed by Libanius, in his panegyric on the confulfhip of
Julian, p. 234, where he mentions fome letters, in which
he, a private man, admonifhed Gallus, then Cadar, .of his
duty : 4' If his brother had attended to his letters, we
44 ihould now have had two princes. For he who did
44 not reign dared fo admonifh him who did. But when
44 he, who might have alleged fomething in his own de-
44 fence, had been put to death unheard, an inclination
44 appeared of preferring fome charges againft the other.
44 as if he had killed him ; but that not being prafticable,
44 his life was fpared to be harraffed by fatiguing journeys,,
44 thus fuffenog, though innocent, the puniihment due to
44 guilt. ' The difpofition of Gallus is alfo mentioned by
Na21anzen, in his Steliteut. I. " Though of a paffionate
V temper, he was unaffectedly pious." Petau. deemed

EPISTLE to the ATHENIANS. 67
deemed unfit to govern, furely he was not un
worthy to live. And even allowing the expedience
of depriving him of life, he fhould not have been
denied the ufual privilege of criminals, that of
being heard in his own defence. The law does
not forbid him who has the right of imprifoning
robbers to put them alfo to death; deprived of
all their honours, and reduced from a princely to a
plebeian rank, it fays, that they fliall be executed
without a trial. What if he could have produced
the perfons who impeached thefe traitors * ? For
in fome of their letters that were (hewn him,
heaven knows what charges were contained ! Thus,
incenfed by an unbecoming weaknefs, he was ra!hly
betrayed into paffion. He did nothing, however,
that deferved death ; but, you may fay, that it is
a rule univerfal, both among Greeks and Bar
barians, that he who has received may revenge an
infult. True — yet Conftantius revenged it too fe-
verely. But he did nothing more than is ufual.
44 It is ufual," he once faid, " for an enemy, when
44 enraged, to go any lengths.1' But to gratify an
* See in Ammianus (xiv. 1.7.) a very ample detail of
-the cruelties of G-dlus. His brother Julian infinuai^s
that a confpiracy had been formed againft him ; and Zo-
fimus names the perfons engaged in it ; a minifter of con-
fiderable rank, and two obfeure agents, who were refolved
to make their fortunes. Gibbon.
Julian perhaps here refers to the maffacre at Antioch of
the Imperial miniflers, Domitian and Montius, by the com
mand of Gallus. F a eunuch,

68 E PI S T L E to the -AT HE N I A N S.
eunuch *, his chamberlain -j-, and alfo his mafter-
cook, Condantius facrificed to his mod inveterate
enemies J his coufin-german, the Csefar, the huf-
band of his fider §, the father of his niece, whofe fifier
* Eufebius, who ruled the monarch and the palace with
fuch abfolute fway, that Conftantius, according to the
farcafm of an impartial hiftorian, poffeffed fome credit
with his haughty favourite : Apud quern (Ji vere dici debeat)
multa Conftantius potuit. Amm. xviii. 4. Gibbon.
f A favourite eunuch, who, in the language of that age, was
ftyled the prapofaus, or prefect, of the facred bed-chamber.
His duty was to attend the Emperor in his hours of ftate,
or in thofe of amufement, and to perform about his perfon
all thofe menial fervices- which can only derive their fplen-
dor from the influence of royalty. Under a prince who
deferved to reign, the great-chamberlain (for fuch we may
call him) was an ufeful and humble domeftic; but an art
ful domeftic, who improves every occafion of unguarded
confidence, will infenfibly acquire over a feeble mind that
afcendant which harfh wifdom and uncomplying virtue can
feldom obtain. Ibid.
\ The Emperor was eafily convinced that his own fafety
was incompatible with the life of his coufin ; the fentence
of death was figned, difpatched, and executed; and the
nephew of Conftantine, with his hands tied behind his
back, was beheaded in prifon, like the vileft malefactor.
Ibid. This event happened 4l near Pola in Iftria," fays Am-
mianus, 44 where Crifpus, the fon of Conftantine, was for-
44 merly killed." Near Flanona, or Flavona, in Dalmatia,
(not far from Pola) fay Socrates and Sozomen.
§ Gallus had married Conftantia [rather Conftantina],
the daughter of Conftantine, and lifter of Conftantius.
Julian mentions his having a daughter by her ; and alfo
that Conftantius had before married the fifter of Gallu3.
Thefe two circumftances, related, as far as I know, by him
only, were before unknown. The firft of thefe is deduced
from this p; fiage a little corrected. For aisXpiSm; (4< niece"),
fliould evidently have been written, inftead of ait>.pi»(
(" nephew.")

EPISTLE to the ATHENIANS. <J9
(ifter he himfelf had married, and who was con
nected to him by fo many domeftic ties. Me, not
without difficulty, he difmiffed, after removing me
to various places, and keeping me in confinement,
feven months. And if fome God, to indue my
fafety, had not ingratiated me with his beautiful
and excellent wife, Eufebia *, I could not have
efcaped his refentment. Though the Gods will
atted that my brother, when he purfued thofe
meafures, was never feen by me, even in a dream ;
for neither was I with him, nor did I vifit him,
nor was I in his neighbourhood. And when
(44 nephew.") Gallus had the fame father as Julian ; his
mother was Galla, the lifter of Rufinus and Cerealis, whom
the Confulfhip, fays Ammianus (1. xiv.) had ennobled. Con
ftantius feems to have married the daughter of this Galla
before Eufebia,, and I know not whether it was fhe with
whom Conftantius celebrated his nuptials in the life-time,
and by the management, of his father, as related by
Eufebius, in his Life of Conftantine. That Conftantius
had more wives, is affirmed by Ammianus. And Victor
fays, in his Epitome, 44 of his wives, of whom he had
44 many, he loved Eufebia moft." Eufebia is generally men
tioned as the firft ; and Fauftina [or Faufta] as the fecond
and laft, by whom he had a pofthumous daughter, Con-
ftantia, who was married to the Emperor Gratian. Petau.
* A woman of beauty and merit, who, by the afcen-
dant flie had gained over the mind of her hufband, counter
balanced, in fome meafure, the powerful confpiracy of the
eunuchs. She was a native of Theffalonica in Macedonia,
of a noble family, and the daughter, as well as fifter, of
Confuls. Her marriage with the Emperor may be placed
in the year 352. In a divided age, the hiftorians of all
parties agree in her praifes. Gibbon.
Incul'minetam cclfo humana, is her panegyric by Ammi
anus. 44 In fuch an exalted ftation not inhuman," gives an
imperfect idea of it in Englifh. F 3 I wrote

7o

EPISTLE to -the ATHENIANS.
I wrote to him, which was feldom, my letters were
(liort. I therefore gladly took refuge in the houfe
of my mother. For as to the edate of my father,
of none of his polfeffions had I the lead diare, no
land, nor a houfe, not a flave, the worthy Con
ftantius having feized all my paternal inheritance,
without giving me the mereft trifle. Having de-
fpoiled Gallus pf the effects of his mother, he
gave him a few of his father's.
. Mod part, at lead, if not the whole, of his
behaviour to' me, before he conferred on me that
,mod refpectable name *, but in fact impofed
on me a fevere and laborious flavery, you fhall
now henr. Having thus with great difficulty, and
beyond my expectation, efcaped, and being hap
pily fheltered under the roof of my mother, a
fycophant, from the neighbourhood of Sirmiura f,
falfely reported, that new commotions might be ex
pected there. You have heard, no doubt, of
Africanus and Marinus ; nor can the name of
Felix have efcaped you, and what was their fate f.
As
* Of Ciefar.
¦j- ,The capital of Illyricum, at prefent Sirmifch or Sir-
mick, a fmall town, almoft ruined, in the Lower Hungary.
La Bleterie.
J Ammianus (xv. 3.) mentions a drunken and treafonahle
entertainment at Sirmium, given by Africanus, governor of,
the fecond Papnonia (A. D. 354.), in confequence of which,
on the information of Gaudentius, the fycophant here
meant, a[l the company were arretted. Marinus, a tribune,
and the principal delinquent, {tabbed himfelf in a taverrt,
,pn the .road, at Aquileia, And the reft were put to the tor
ture at Milan, and afterwards imprifoned. This, doubt-
lefs, is the incident to which Julian alliide.s. A perfoti named

EPISTLE to the ATHENIANS. 71
As foomas Conftantius received this intelligence,
and had alfo been affured by Dynamius, another
informer from the Gauls, that Sylvanus * would
foon revolt againft him ; alarmed and terrified
he fent for -me, and after ordering me to retire for
a fhort time into Greece, he fuddenly recalled
me. He had never feen me before, except once
in Cappadocia, and once in Italy, at the earned:
intreaty of Eufebia, that I might be affured of
fafety.' Yet I was fix months in the fame
city -j- with him, and he promifed to fee me again.
But, that heaven- detefted eunuch J, his trufty
chamberlain, wast ignorantly and undefignedly my
friend, by preventing my frequent accefs. Con-
; ftantius. himfelf perhaps might notwifh to fee me;
neverthelefs, all my misfortunes were owing to
that favourite, as he was apprehenfive, that, if we
named Felix was made mafter of the offices by Conftantius,
but' rejected by Julian. And there was another who was
' Count of the facred largeffes. But probably this Felix
was one of the riotous company abovementioned.
* For an account of this revolt fee a note in the fuc
ceeding page.
Oo-ov mtu ts NaAb, xat iv avru vo'Ks.jjjh anoKparao-Oai, This I
cannot underftand. What follows is related more at large
by Ammianus and Zofimus. See alfo Orat. III. 44 on Eu-
44 febia." Petav.
Thefe words may be thus corrected : 0<"» v^u rot ZiXsam*
auTa woAejuioj ava£a>tto-Gat. Zofimus mentions the fame Dyna
mius at the end of 1. ii. But he is miflaken in afcribing to
him the death of Gallus Caefar ; as Dynamius calumniated
Sylvanus, not Galhis. Valois.
This correction is adopted by the tranflafor.
•f Medfolanum, or Milan.
X Eufebius above-mentioned, whom Julian, when he. was
; Emperor, put to death. F 4 (hould

72 EPISTLE to the ATHENIANS.
fliould be acquainted, a friendfhip might enfue;
and if my fidelity had been approved, I might have
been invefted with fome place, of truft. ¦
As foon as I returned from Greece, the bleffed
Eufebia, by the eunuchs of her houfhold, (hewed
me many acts of kindnefs. And foon. after, on his
arrival, after terminating the war with Sylvanus *, I
* In the fumme'r which preceded, the elevation of Julian
(Sept. A. D. 35S-) tb's general had been choferi to de
liver Gaul from the tyranny of the Barbarians ; but Syl
vanus foort diicovered that he had left his moft dangerous
enemies in the Imperial court. A dexterous informer,
countenanced by feveral of the principal minifters, pro
cured from him fome recommendatory letters ; and erafing
the whole of the contents, except the fignature, filled up
the 'vacant' parchment with matters of high and trea- ¦
fonable import. By the induftry and courage of his friends,
the fraud was, however, detected, and, in a great coun
cil of the civil and military officers, held in the prefence of
the Emperor himfelf, the innocence of Sylvanus was pub-^
Jickly acknowledged. But the difcovery came too late ;
the report of the calumny, and ,the hafty feizure of his
eftate, had already provoked the indignant chief to the -re
bellion of which he wasfo unjuftly accufed. He affumed
the purple at his head-quarters of Cologne ; and his active
, powers appeared to menace Italy with an invafion, and
Milan with a fiege. In this emergency, Urficinus, a ge
neral of equal rank, regained, by an act of treachery, the
favour which he had loft by his eminent fervices in the Eaft.
Exafperated, as he might fpecioufly allege, by injuries of
a fimilar nature, he haftened, with a- few followers, to join
the ilandard, and to betray the confidence, of his too
credulous friend.. After a reign of only twenty-eight days,
Sylvanus was affaffinated. The, foldiers,, who, without any
criminal intention, bad blindly followed the example of
their leader, immediately, returned to their allegiance ; and
the flatterers, of- Conftantius celebrated the.wifdom and fe
licity of the monarch who had extingu'ifhed a civil war
without the hazard of a battle. Gibbon.
was

EPISTLE to the ATHENIANS.
was allowed to' go to court, induced by what is
called a Theffalian perfuafion upon force *. For
pn My refolutely declining all ¦. intercourfe with the
palace, -the cOurtiers convening, as if theyhad been
in a barber's- (hop; fhaved: my chin, and throw
ing over me. a military mande, transformed me,
as they thought* : into a very ridiculous foldier.
For none of the finical ornaments of thofe wretches
were fuitable to my tade. I walked about there
fore, not like them, daring on every fide, and
with a haughty gait, but poring on the ground, as
I had been taught by my preceptor -f>. This was
at fird the fubject of their laughter, but foon after
of their fufpicion, which at length gave place to
envy. But I mud not omit, that I refided among
them, and that I did not difdain even to lodge
* This proverb, ©srraTuxri rce&*iay*x, is alfo quoted by
Julian, in his firft Oration, and by Eunapius. But, as to
its origin, the collectors of proverbs are filent. Petau.
' Spanheim fuppofes it to originate from the impoftures,
perfidy, and magic of the Theffalians, which were alfo pro
verbial. Our Englifh proverb, which is not unlike ir,
44 Patience on force," has an addition, which may perhaps
afford a clue ; 44 is a medicine for a mad horfe ;" the in
habitants of Theffally being anciently famous, for their
hopfemanfhip. TleiSxtay^i is applied by Cicero to Cseiar,
ad Attic, ix. 13. >j
f Mardonius, an eunuch, mentioned afterwards more
particularly in the Mifopogon.
Julian himfelf relates, with fome humour, the circum-
fiances of his own metamorphofis, his down-caft looks, and
his perplexity at being thus fuddenly tranfported into a new-
World, where every object appeared ftrange and hoftile. GlSBOJf. with

n

74 EPISTLE to the ATHENIANS.
with thofe whom I knew to have been the affaffins
of all my relations,, and whom I had reafon to'
fufpect of meditating alfo my dedrvlction. What
floods of tears I died *, and what lamentations I
uttered, when, extending my hands towards ;your
citadel f, I intreated-and implored Minerva to
.protect her fervant, and not to deliver him up
to his enemies, many of you, who were prefenf,
can atted ; and, above all, the Goddefs herfelf
knows, that I petitioned death of her at Athens in
preference to that journey. That the Goddefs did
not abandon me, nor deliver me up, the event has
fhewn. On the contrary, (lie has every where
been my guide, and was conflantly with me,
* Libanius, in his panegyrical Oration on the confulfhip-
of Julian, p. 235, has taken this, and fome other paflages,
almoft in the fame words, from this Epiftle. Petau.
f This was the temple of Minerva at Athens. The
Emperor affigfied Athens for the place of his honorable
exile, which is implied in what Julian fays above of his
44 fliort retirement into Greece." He was fent thither in
May, 355, and there 44 fpent fix months amidft the
44 groves of the Academy (as Mr. Gibbon expreffes it)
44 far from the tumult of arms, and the treachery of
44 courts, in a free intercourfe with the philofophers of
44 the age, who ftudied to cultivate the genius, to en.
44 courage the vanity, and to inflame the devotion of their
44 royal pupil. Gregory Nazianzen was his fellow-ftudent ;
' tl and the fymptoms, which he fo tragically defcribes, of
44 the future wickednefs of the apoftate, amount only to
44 fome bodily imperfections, and to fome peculiarities in
«4 his fpeech and manner. He protefts, however, that
44 he then forefaw and foretold the calamities of the
44 church and ftate." St. Bafil was another of his fellow-
ftudents. borrowing

E P I S.T.LqR :To the, A T, H-E NI , A N S. 75
borrowing .guardian-angelf *r from the -Sun .and

(Moon f

,, What follows may be alfo -Worth relating;, On
my return to Milan, -where I refided- in one of the
fuburbs, Eufebia frequently fent, me .friendly mef-
fages,; and. urged. me to write to her, -on, any- fub
ject, with thq,utjmoft confidence. This induced me
to comppfe this, letter, or rather petition, with an
adjuration : .", So^may you have, children and heirs,
."..fo- may God blefs you with both, as you fpnd
" me home, ^immediately §!"., After this, I -was
apprehend ye, of not being,, able to convey, it f«fel-y
.* Julian did not yield till the Gods had fignified their
"will by repeated vifions and omens. His piety then forbade
¦him torefift.' ¦ • • . Gibbon. "
, He here, < declares himfelf a Pagan, : which may. ferve to
correct the hafty affertion of Ammianus, who fuppofe*
-Conftantinople to-have been the place where he firft' dif-
covered it., , ; Ibid. .-,*•!-.¦ - ¦ ¦''
, -j- Julian, however, feems to have 44 borrowed" thef*
aqgels from the Chriftian Scriptures, with which he was well
acquainted. -On- the angels of the Sun he defeants at large
"in his- ivth, Oration adSolem Regem,' and they are alio men
tioned by lanabiichns, in his Life of Pythagoras, and by
Proclus on the 2d book of Hefiod. '
X So he ftyles Afia Minor, where he had been educated.
--• § Julian animated his army,' not only -by "prefents, but
by conftaritly fwearing by the importance of the enterprize
in which they were engaged- '^So may we fubdue the
'" Perfians'l" 44 So may we repair the Shattered '• Roman
44 world!" A?- Trajan is reported frequently to have con^
. firmed- what he faid by .(wearing, 44 So may I fee Dacja.re-
" duced to a province!" 44 So may I mafter the Danube
44 and Euphrates with- bridges'!" 'and' the like.
Ammianus. into

EPISTLE to the ATHENIANS.
into the palace.' And therefore P befought the
Gods to inform me by night whether I (hould fend
it to the Emprefs, or not. They threatened me, if
I fent it, with the moft ignominious death. I
appeal to all the Gods for the truth of what I
affert. In obedience to them, I fuppreffed it. But
from that night I imbibed an idea which it may
not be improper to mention. " Now," faid I to
myfelf, ,4 I undertake- to oppofe the Gods, and
*4 imagine that I can judge for myfelf better than
44 they who know all things. Human wifdom,
'• confining its view to the prefent, may think
" that it judges well, when, in fome inftances,
44 which rarely happen, it commits no miftake.
" But no one deliberates on events that will hap-
44 pen three hundred years hence, as that is im-
44 poffible, or on occurrences that are long paft,
44 that being needlefs; but only concerning objects
" that are prefent, and of which the beginnings
44 and feeds, as it were, now exift. But the wif-
" dom of the Gods, obferving the moft diftant
" events, or rather all things, always directs what
44 is right, and does what is beft. As they are no
44 lefs the caufe of the prefent than of the future,
44 muft they not neceffarily be acquainted with the
44 prefent ?" Thus far then the laft advice feemed
¦ to me much the moft prudent ; and viewing it in
the light of juftice, I added, 44 Would you not be
44 provoked at being defrauded of any part of your
" property, or, on your requiring its attendance, ••if

EPISTLE to the- ATHENIANS 77
w if any one of your; domedicn animals * #i0]uld
14 abfcond ? And will you, who pretend to be a,
44 man, and that not of the common, vulgar, herd,.
44 but of the rational and temperate, defraud the
44 Gods of your fervice, and, not fuffer them to dift
44 pofe of. you as they pleafe.?. Beware left you act
44 not only foolifhiy, but contemptuoufly, with re-
" gardto thcdivine laws. What occafion is here
44 for fortitude?- The pretence is ridiculous.-:: Will
" you ¦ then condefcend to cringe and flatter, na
44 order to preferve your Hfej indead of removing
44 every obflacle, and allowing the Gods to act as
44 they pleafe ; dividing your foliekude for yourfelf
tc with them f , as was the wifh of Socrates ; com-
44 mitting every thing to them, poffefling and
•4 ufurping nothing, but chearfully accepting
44 whatever they beflow?" Thinking this advice
mod fafe and prudent, as it was fuggeded, by the
Gods (for by avoiding prefent evils to expofe myfelf
to future dangers feemed the utmoft rafhnefs), I
defifted and obeyed. Immediately I was honoured
with the title, and invefted with the robe %, of
Caefar.
* In the original, xat iwoti *«' it(o^«toii, xxv jSot&ov, (4: a
44 horfe, a fheep, or a heifer.")
¦j- AieAo/iS»ov irgoq avrxs [tB{ ©eB;] rnt %ij:ijj.s\&iOi.v mi savry.
This language Julian perhaps rather learned from Chrif-
tianity : n«cra» mt jj.ef>if/.tat vput nri^^atrst; sir avrot [tov ©sovj
k. r. A. Cafling all your care upon bi?n, &c. i Peter, v. 7.
X Ammianus, xv. 8. '4 Saying this, he thus accofts Julian,
44 foon after he had been arrayed with the purple, and de-
44 clared C^far, to the great joy of the army, but fome*
44 what dejected, and with his brow contracted." He means
there-

78 EPISTL&to the'ATHENIANS:
Ciefor. Of this flavery was the confequence, and
every day, -how great, O Hercules, -was my ap-
preftdrifioh, Mov? imminent my dari'ger ! Barred gates,
guards, fervants fearched, led they fhould convey
letters' from my friends, and a flrange houfhold ! I
was with difficulty allowed to bring with me to-courf,'
as"my- perfotial -attendants, four ' dbmedics, two of
whom were boys ; and of the two others one only,'
my librarian *;from confeientious motives, was pri
vately^ to the utmoft of his power, my 'afliflantV
The other, who of my < many ^friends and com
panions' alone was faithful, was my pfiyfician f '.'
Not being known to be alfo my friend, he was1
therefore the purple which was common both to the Coefar
and the Auguftus. Petau.
After the inveftiture of the Csefar had been performed,
the two princes returned to'the palace in the fame chariot ;¦
and during the flow proceffion, Julian, repeated to himfelf
a'verfe cf" his favourite Homer, which he might equally
apply to his fortune and to his fears :
EAAa£: KOcQvgsos Qcttulof, xxi ftoi^a KgeUxm. II. V. 83.
 the purple hand of death
Clos'd his dim eyes, and fate fupprefs'd his breath.
Pope, 108.
The word 44 purple," which Homer had ufed as a vague
but common epithet for death, was applied by Julian to
emprefs, very aptly, the nature and object of his own appre-
henfions. Gibbon,
* Euemerus. He was employed in the care of a va
luable collection of books, the gift of the Emprefs, who
ftudied the inclinations, as well as the intereft, of her friend.
Ibid.
f Oribafius. See the firft note on Epiftle XVII. which
is addrefled to him in confidence. The elogium of " fin-
44 gular fidelity" is applied by the Latin tranflator to the
librarian. The original, 1 think, warrants my applying
it, as is more probable, to, the phyfician.
my

E P I S T L E jT0, the.A T H E NI AN S. 79
my fellow-traveller'. <» Stjch wergmy fears and ap-
prehenfions, that the vifits.wihtehdvere ;Offqred me
by many of my friends, whom- 1 ninth .wifhed to
fee, I chofe to decline, led I fliould involve them
in my misfortunes *. rBat .this, though connected
with my fubject, is rather foreign to it. - - - j '¦
With three, bundred and fixty -foldiers- Conftan
tius fent me. into Gaul, which was then in confufion,
in the middle of winter -r,-npt fo much to command
his armies there,; as p to , be -. fubordinate tor-;Jii$
generals.. For^ they 'had- exprefs orders to be;as
much on their guard againd me .as againft.jh*
enemy, left I ihould attempt any innovations.
Every thing being thus fettled, about the fummer
foldice f he allowed me tp join the army, bearing his
\ ' ¦¦'Jr.- i .. ¦
* Julian reprefents, in the moft pathetic terms, the dif-
trefe of his new fituatiorr. The^rovifion of his table was,
however, fo elegant and fumptuous, that the young phi
lofopher rejected it with difdain. Am in', xvi. ;. Gibbon.
-J- Libanius, in his panegyric on the confulfhip of Julian,
fays the lame, viz. that '4 lefs than four hundred foldiers
" were given him, in the. depth of .winter;" and what fol
lows he has tranferibed, as has before been obferved, froia
this Epiftle. Ammianus (xv. 8.)fays, that " Julian was
44 declared Caefar on the 6th of November [355]; foon after
44 Helena was given him in marriage; and on , De-
44 cember 1, he fet out for Gaul." , Marc-ell us an'l Salluft
were fent with him, and to them all the management , of
the province and of the war was entrufted, left Julian
fliould attempt any innovations. Pe-i au.
X I cannot agree with the learned [Latin] tranflator, who,
for 44 fummer," affirms we fliould read 44, winter- folllice."
For this paffage is not to beunderftoodof that year, towards
the end of which Julian was fent into the Gauls ; but of
the fubfequcnt year, when he entered on his firft confulfliip with

g0 EPISTLE to t«E ATHENIANS.
his robe and image. ' For he had both faid and
written, that {< he did not mean to give the Gauls
44 a king, but one who fhould exhibit to them his
44 drefs * and image.'*
•f^The firft campaign, a* you" have heard, having
been ill-conducted -fy and' no advantage gained, at
my return into winter-quarters, I was -expofed to
the utmod danger. For I had not the power of
affembling the troops ; this was entrufted to anr>
ther/and a few only were quartered with me. My
afliftance being requefted by the neighbouring
towns, after fending them moft, of my forces, I
, ., ... ,. . ."'(:*'¦' •'.'>¦": ¦ had
with Conftantius ; which was the year of Chrift 356. At
the fummer folftice the Gallic foldiers ufed to fet out on
expeditions. Valois.
* Znnfta, not o;p!f«» (44 carriage") the common reading,
/'- Ibid.
f Julian was made Ca?far in the confulfhip of Arbetio
and Lollian, A. D. 355. Towards the end- of that year,
[as above mentioned], he was fent into' Gaul, and wintered
•at Vienne, where he entered on his ¦: firft confulfhip, with
Conftantius (the 8th time) for his colfogue, at the be
ginning of the year 356, which was the firft year of his
Gallic government. This campaign, Julian complains,
was unfuccefsful, and that no advantages were, gained. But
if we refer to Ammianus, we fhall find that lefs indeed than
accorded with the inclination and impetuofity of Julian,
yet much, neverthelefs, was done againft the Barbarian's.
While he was at Vienne, hearing that the Germans were
making incurfions in order to ravage Gaul, and had
with difficulty been repulfed at Auguftodunum [Autun] he
determined to purfue them. After defeating and difper-
fing them, he recovered Colonia Agrippina [Cologne].
And he fo terrified the kings of the Franks, that he com
pelled them to make peace. 4< Rejoicing" (adds Ammi
anus) '4 at thefe firft fruits of conqueft, he went into
44 winter-quarters at Treves, a then convenient town of
5 44 the

EPISTLE to the ATHENIANS. 81
had fcarCe any left "*. So affairs were circum-
danced. But the general in chief f, having in-
44 the Senones." I fufpedt therefore that Julian wrote
[ov ] xaiius Si, u^ ukmoalt, [44 not] ill conduced, as you have
44 heard;") and, foon after, wja^flevTos [thoj] enraicut, (4l and
44 [fome] advantage gained.") But wintering at Sens, with
a few foldiers, the enemy affembled on a hidden,, and be-
fieged the town; and Marcellus, mafter-general of the
cavalry, who commanded in the next cantonment, neglected
and refufed to affift him. Yet in twenty days the Barba
rians raifed the fiege, and retired. Thi.s we collect from
Ammianus xvi. 4. Petau.
Ammianus appears much better fatisfied with the fupcefs
of this firft campaign than Julian himfelf; who very frankly
owns that he did nothing of confequence, and that he fled
before the enemy. Gibson.
* In the original, atlo; as-sA«f>G>j» potts, 44 I was left
44 alone." ¦j- As foon as Conftantius heard how perftdioufly Mar
cellus had acted at Sens, 44 abfolving him from his military
44 oath" (thefe are the words of Ammianus) 44 he ordered
44 him to retire to his own houfe ; and he, as if he had been
44 grievoufly injured, plotted fomething againft Julian,
44 trufting that the ears of Auguftus would be open to every
44 charge." But the eunuch Eutherius, the moft faithful pre
fect of his chamber, being difpatched by Julian, refuted this
calumny. This Marcellus was a native of Serdica, whither,
when he was difplaced, he retired. So fays Ammianus, as I
have corrected him. The common reading is neither perfect,
nor conveys that fenfe. For, after a long digreffion, arifing
from the eunuch Eutherius, on the wickednefs of the
eunuchs, Ammianus, returning to Marcellus, expreffes
himfelf thus : Nunc redeam umk diverti. Snperato, ut dixi,
Marcello, everfaque Serdica, wide oriebatur, Sac. Read rever*
fogue Serdica?n. PETAU.
The fon of this Marcellus afpiring to the empire was
put to death by Julian in 361. Libanius fpeaks rather
more advantageoufly of the military talents of Marcellus.
And Julian intimates [above] that he would not fo eafily
have been recalled, unlefs he had given other reafons of
effence to the court. Gibbon.
Vol. I. G tuned

8? EPISTLE to the ATHENIANS.
curred the; difpleafiire of the Emperor,, was fuper-
feded and dtfmiffed,, for inability; and, becaufe I
had acted with clemency and moderation, my
talents and abilities were not deemed equal to the
command. For I thought it by no means right to
druggie with my yoke, or ofEcioufly to affume the
general ,*, by obtrnding my advice, unlefs when
I faw1 fomething hazardous attempted, that I thought
(hould have been omitted, or neglected, that fhould
have been done. But having more than once re
ceived fome [imjproper f treatment, I determined
for the future to be filent, and contented myfelf
with the pageantry of the robe and. image. For to
that I thought I had a right.
Condantius imagining that the Gallic affairs
would foon wear a better afpect, not indeed that the
alteration would be fo great, gave me the command
of the- armies ^ in the beginning of fpring. As
foon
* Zvyoi*.axHt,aie 7T«p»r?oI»!y«i>.
+ KaflwvTO? (44 properly") in the original. Ov. (" not")
feems neeeffary to be prefixed, implying, that he after
wards was quiet, becaufe he had once or twice been
treated ill. Petau.
X When Julian was appointed general, and what wa»
. the nature of his commiffion, deferves enquiry. He. him
felf fays, that it happened after Marcellus was difmiffed,
and font to Serdica. But he alfo mentions, that, after he
obtained this command, he rebuilt Colonia Agrippina
(Cologne) and another town, Tabernce, with fome other
towns of Gaul, to the numbe? of forty-five, recovered
from the Barbarians. Very different is the account given
by Ammianus.. For he affirms, that Julian recovered Co
lonia before the end of the firft year of his being in'Gaul,
that is,, in the confulfhip of Conftantius (.the 8th time)*and Julian,

EPISTLE To. the ATHENIANS.
foon as the corn was ripe, I took the field, many
of the Germans dwelling fecurely near the towns
that they had defiroyed in the Gauls. There were
forty-
Julian, of our' Lord 356, before Marcellus was corfi-
miffioned by Conftantius, which happened towards the end
of the fame, or the commencement of the enfuing, year.
Marcellus was fucceeded by Severus, a man well verfed in
the art of war, good-natured, andunaffuming ; at the ac-
quifitioh of whom Julian expreffed much pleafure, and
declared 44 that he would obey his able directions," (fays
Ammianus) 44 as a foldier fhould an [obliging] leader."
The fenfe requires morigerus. Barbatio alfo was fent with
him, who was to attack the Barbarians in another quarter
with twenty-five thoufand men. He was mafter-general of
the foot, and SeVeruS' of the horfe, as Ammianus informs
us, 1. xvi. But if we compare the words of Julian with
the hiftory of Ammianus, we fhall find, that the command
of the army was given him in the fecond yeaf of his* being
in the Gauls, viz. A. D. 357, when he engaged the Ale
manni ahd king Cnodbmar," after the corn was ripe." Fdr
in that year he acted as general^ at leaft, of that army
which Severus had commanded. And fo far was' Barba
tio, who! commanded the other, from obeying him, that
he neglected and refufed to -afftft him, when he was ite
danger. Therefore his faying, 4' he gave' me the1 command
44 of the armies," I do not think true of thetii all. Nor
fhould it be omitted, that; even in the firft year, when'Maf-
cellus' was ftill in Gaul, the Csefar Julian was not fo ob
noxious to the generals as not to be entrufted with fome
command. For Amm-anus relates (xvi.) that, in that
.year, which was 356 of Chrift, when Julian went to Rheims,
44 he ordered the army to be collefted in one body," in
order to difguife his force ; 44 which ai'my was then com-
44 manded by Marcellus, the fucceffor of Urficinus ;" and
alfo that Urficinus himfelf was ordered to wait in the fame
place the event of that expedition.' But though he had
the title of governing the province, and" managing the wat,
yet the matters-general of the forces,' as Conftantius hats
ordered, did not implicitly obey him, but in general, were
refractory. Add, that Julian here oratorically depreffes
G 2 hi*

84 EPISTLE to the ATHENIANS.
forty- five fuch towns that were difmantled *, be
fides villages and fmaller fortifications. The Bar
barians then poffeffed all the territory on this fide
of the Rhine, from its fources to the ocean. Thofe
who were the neareft to us were three hundred
ftadia -f» diftant from its banks. A diftrict thrice
as extenfive was left a defert by their devastations,
where the Gauls could not pafture their cattle.
Some towns were alfo deferted by their inhabitants,
though the Barbarians had not yet approached
them. Finding Gaul thus didreffed, I recovered
the city of Agrippina [Cologne] on the Rhine,
which had been taken about ten months before,
and alfo the neighbouring caftle of Argentoratum
[Strafburgh] near the foot of Vofegus J ; and wc
his fituation below the truth, as if he had then no other
employment than carrying about the Imperial image.
Zofimus fays, (1. in.) that "Conftantius permitted Julian,
44 at his departure, to regulate the Gauls as he fliould
44 think expedient." This Conftantius feems to have done
openly ; but privately he ordered his prefects to watch
all his words and aaions, and fometimes to obey perverfely.
See the Oration of Libanius on the confulfhip of Julian.
Petau,
*. Zofimus (1. in.) fays, that 4< forty towns in Gaul,
44 which the Barbarians had deftroyed, were rebuilt by
44 Julian " And he alfo mentions, how much they had over
run Gaul. Libanius enumerates as many as Julian, taking
all that hiftory from this Epiftle. Ibid.
f Near forty miles.
J. One of the principal mountains in Gaul, now Mount
Vauge, which feparates Burgundy from Lorrain, and alfo
divides Lorrain from Alface, ftretching towards the north.
It gives rife to the rivers Maefo, Mofolle, and Sar.
Cluvier.
' fought

EPISTLE to the ATHENIANS. 85
fought not iriglorioufly *. Of this battle, no
doubt, you have heard -f. The Gods then giving
me the captive king of the enemy J, I did not
envy Conftantius the glory of the action. Though
I was not allowed to triumph, I had it in my
power to have flain my enemy, nor could I have
been prevented leading him through Gaul, ex-
pofing him in the towns, and thus infulting the
misfortunes of Cnodomar. None of thefe meafures,
however, I approved, but immediately fent him to
Conftantius, who was then juft returned from the
Quadian and Sarmatian war §. While I was fight
ing, he was travelling alone, and holding an ami*
* Kai iv.ovxfl"lrvw *"e' ¦**"*?• The very words of Horape,
on a different and lefs glorious warfare, 1. iii. ode 26,
JLt militavi n&n fine glorit m ,
¦f Julian himfelf fpeaks of the battle of Strafburgh with
the modefly of confeious merit. Zofimus compares it with
the victory of Alexander over Darius ; and yet we are at a
lofs to difcover any of thofe ftrokes of military genius which
fix the attention of ages on the conduct and fuccefs of a
fingle day. Gibbon.
I Meaning Cnodomar, who, in his flight, falling from
his horfe intq a morals, an.d. being taken prifoner, was fent
to Conftantius. See Ammianus (l.xvi. 12.) 44 Six thoufand
, 44 of the Germans," he fays, 44 were killed in this battle,
44 befides thofe that were drowned, and only two hundred
44 and forty-three of the Romans." Petau. .
§ The events of this war are related by Ammianus,
(xvi. 10. xvn. 12, 13. xix. 11.) The Quadi, a fierce
and powerful nation, were -reduced to foe for peace; and the
Sarmatian exiles, who had been expelled from the country
by the rebellion of their flaves, were reinftated. Con
ftantius, after this fuccefs, received the name of Sar-
maticus. Gibbon.
Q 3 Cable

fijg EPISTLE to - -r ATHENIANS".
cable intercourfe with in- .tions that border on
the Danube. Yet not I, be he, triumphed *.
Another year fueceeded, and a third, in which
all the Barbarians were driven out of Gaul,
mod of the towns were rebuilt, and many loaded
veffels arrived from Britain. Having collected a
fleet of fix hundred (hips -f, four hundred of
which I had caufed to be built in lefs than ten
months, I brought them all into the Rhine ; no
cafy tafk, «m account of the irruptions and neigh
bourhood of the Barbarians. This had feemed fo
* Conftantius, though he was forty days journey diftant,
arrogated to himfelf the glory of this viftory, defcribing
"the battle, as if he had been prefent, in letters crowned with
•laurel, which he fent to the provinces, and never mentioning
the name of Julian. Ammianus.
f Zofimus reckons eight hundred, which, he fays, were
built of materials found on the banks of the Rhine ; that
they might fail to Britain, and bring back corn and pro-
vifions to fupply the garrifons. I know not that Amrni.
anus mentions fo many fhips being built. He fays, indeed,
in his xvmth book, that Julian fortified the towns that
had been deftroyed by the Barbarians, and built granaries
in the room of thofe which were burnt, where the provi-
fions accuftomed to be brought from Britain might be
lodged. Petau.
If we compute the fix hundred corn-fhips at only
feventy tons each, they were capable of exporting a hun
dred and twenty 'thoufand quarters (fee Arbuthnot's
44 Weights and Meafures") ; and the country, which could
bear fo large an exportation, muft already have attained an
improved ftaje of agriculture. Thefe barks were framed in
fhe foreft of the Ardennes. Gibbon.
Some of thefe, veffels, as appears from Ammianus, muft
have been freighted with provifions, as well as with cprn,
which would reduce the quantity of the latter. imprac-

EPISTLE to the ATHENIANS. 87
impracticable to Florentius *, that he had agreed
to give two thoufand pounds weight of filver f to
permit a free paffage. Conftantius, on being in
formed of this (for they correfponded concerning
this propofed prefent), exprefsly ordered me to
agree to it, unlefs I thought it abfolutely difgrace-
ful. But how could I poflibly think otherwife,
when it feemed fo to Conftantius himfelf, though
he was always very obfequious to the Barbarians ?
No payment therefore was made ; but marching
againft them, the Gods being prefent and pro
pitious, I furprifed part of the Salians j, I reduced
the Chamavians j, and took great numbers of
cattle,
•* Praetorian Prarfect of Gaul, an effeminate tyrant, a
crafty and corrupt flatefman, incapable of pity or re-
morfe. Gibbon.
f Five aurei (fomewhat more than eleven fliillings each)
were the legal tender for a pound of filver. Greaves.
Confequently two thoufand pounds of filver would
amount to 5500I. fterling.
X Ammianus (xvii. 8.) relates, that, in the year when
Datianus and Cerealis were confuls, Julian undertook an
expedition againft the Salian Franks, who had formerly
fettled near Toxandria [from the neighbourhood of
Tongres to the conflux of the Vahal and the Rhine] whom,
terrified at his fudden approach, he forced to furrender.
Afterwards, he fubdued the Chamavians. [a people near
Munfter]. Treating the Salians with lenity,'' he marched
againft the Quadi, whom, on account of their notorious
robberies, he juftly deftroyed. And then happened that
remarkable ftory of the king of the Chamavians, which is
related by Eunapius, and more briefly by Zofimus. Petau.
See it alfo in the Abbe de la Bleterie's Vie de Julien,
p. 82 — 4, and in Mr. Gibbon's Roman Hiftory, II. p.
171. G 4 This

88 EPISTLE to the ATHENIANS.
cattle, with many women and children. This ir
ruption fo much alarmed the Barbarians, that
hodages were immediately fent me, and the free
importation of corn was fecured.
To relate every citcumdance would be tedious.
In (hort, thrice, while I was Capfar '*, I pafled the
This difference of treatment confirms the opinion, that
the Salian Franks were permitted fo retain the fettjements
in Toxandria. Gibbon.
It is pretended, that the name of Toxandria is ftill pre
ferved in a village, in the territory of Liege, called Tef-.
fender-loo. La Bleterie,
* In the years 356, 358, and 359. Ammianus treats elo
quently of the two latter. The firft he does not mention {
but it may be inferred from what he fays in his xvith
book, where, relating the actions of the year 357, he fays,
that what chiefly induced Julian to give battle to the
Germans and Cnodomar was, that 44 in the year juft
44 ended, the Romans making large incurfions beyond the
44 Rhine, no one appeared in defence of his own! home,
44 nor flood his ground ; but the Barbarians, removing to
lli a diftance, fubfifted with difficulty, blockading all the
44 roads with trunks of trees, during the inclemency of
44 winter." Which words mean, that Julian made war on
the Germans beyond the Rhine in the year above-men
tioned, and therefore at the approach of winter. And
this happened at the time, when he recovered Agrippina
[Cologne]. Petau.
It was not enough for Julian to have delivered the pro
vinces of Gaul from the Barbarians of Germany. He af-
pired to emulate the glory of the firft and moft illuftrious
of the Emperors ; after whofe example, he compofed his
own Commentaries of the Gallic war. Carfar has related,
with confcious pride, the manner in which he twice pafled
the Rhine. Julian could boaft, that, before he affumed
the title of Auguftus., he had carried the Roman eagles
beyoi.d that great river in three fuccefsful expeditions.
Gibbon. Rhine-

EPISTLE to the ATHENIANS, 89
Rhine. Twenty thoufand captives * I refcued from
the enemy on the other fide of that river. In two
battles and one fiege, I took a thoufand prifoners,,
and thofe not of a ufelefs age, but men in the
prime of life. Four bands of the mod chofen f
foot I fent to Condantius, with three others, not
inferior, of horfe, and two mod diftinguifhed
cohorts. I now, dich was the will of the Gods !
took all the towns: before, I had taken near forty.
I invoke Jupiter, and all the tutelar Gods of cities
and of nations, to atted my attachment and fidelity
to him. I have acted towards him as I would wilti
a fon of my own to act towards me. The refpect
that I (hewed him exceeded that of any former
Csefar to any other Emperor. I may boldly dare
him therefore to allege any thing againft me, even
to the prefent moment, on that head. Some ri
diculous pretences he has invented. " He has de-
44 tained," fays my adverfary, 44 Lupicinus J, and
*? He meant, no doubt, in different campaigns. La Bleterie.
Zofimus relates the whole tranfaction at large. See
Legationum excerpta ex Eunapio. Petau. ,
t What one of our modern generals calls 44 the elite or
44 the army." But why 4l the Jloiver of the army" fhould
not found as well, or why our brave garrifon of Gibraltar
fliould not make lifallies" as well as 44 forties," &c. is dif
ficult to conceive. Thefe military Gallicifms were ridi
culed long ago with great humour in the Tatler.
X This Lupicinus, mafter-general of the cavalry, on the
death of Severus, was gone to Britain at the time when
Julian was made Emperor by the army ; but as he was of a
haughty and enterprifing fpirit, left he fhould take any
fteps againft the new Emperor, a notary was difpatched to
Bononia [Boulogne] to obferve that coaft. Ammianus. 44 three

or> EPISTLE to the ATHENIANS.
44 three •* others." And fuppofing I had even
put them to death, traitors and confpirators as
they were, it dill v$>uld have become him to
have fmothered the refentment which their fuffer-
ings might have excited, for the fake of friend
fhip and union. Thefe men, not in the lead hurt,
I fecured as dangerous difturbers of the public
peace, and though I expended upon them much
of the public treafure, I plundered them of
nothing. But what would have been their punifli-
ment, if Condantius had been injured, and in
flicted it? And does not he, by his refentment
fcgaind me, on account of thefe men, who bear not
the lead relation to him, arraign, and deride my
folly, in having been fo obfequioufly attentive to
the affaflin of my father, of my coufins, and, in a
word, the executioner of my whole family and
kindred ? Confider alfo the deference that I have
paid him ever fince I became Emperor ; as appears
from my letters.
How I behaved to him before that time, I will
now inform you. Being fenfible that I fhould in
cur the whole danger and difgrace of every fault,
though committed by others, I intreated him, that,
if he had determined to declare me Csefar, he
would give me the bed and abled counfellOrs. In-
dead of which, he gave me at firft the vileft.
When one of them, the mod abandoned of
all,
* Of the other three nothing certain can be affirmed.
Florentius feems to have beei one of them, who, Ammi anus

EPISTLE to the ATHENIANS. 9i
aJl *t * * # * | ne HfJened indeed very readily, and
gave me with reluctance an excellent officer in
Salluft \. On account of *his virtue, he foon be
came invidious. But not being fatisfied with him /
alone, and obferving the different manner ia which
Condantius treated the others, confiding in them,
and not regarding him, embracing his right hand
and his knees, 44 Though I am not acquainted,"
faid I, '4 or ever was, with any one of thefe, yet
44 knowing them by report, and in deference to
44 you, I will confider them as my friends, and
44 edeem them as old acquaintance. It is not
44 proper, however, that my affairs fliould be con-
44 fided to them, or that theirs fhould be embroiled
44 by mine. I requed you, therefore, to direct me,
*4 by fome written rules §, what you would wifh
anus fays, at the very beginning of Julian's government
fled from Vienne, where he then was, to Conftantius.
Julian 44 leaving his family and effects untouched, and al-
44 lowing him the ufe of a public carriage, ordered him to
44 return in fafety jnt° tne Eaft." Petau.
If Florentius fled to Conftantius,' how could he be
one that was 44 detained by Julian ?"
* Meaning Marcellus, of whom above. Ibid*
•f Imperfect.
X We are ignorant of the actual office of this excellent
,-ininifter, whom Julian afterwards created Prasfect of Gaul.
Gibbon.
§ When Julian was fetting out, Conftantius gave him a
letter, in which he not only prefcribed rules for his con
duct, but alfo limited his diet, and the amount of his daily
expences. Ammianus, l.xvi. 5. 44 Laftly, as he conflantly
44 perufed the letter, which Conftantius, as if he had been
44 fending a fon-in-law to" fchool, had written With his own
44 hand, regulating, with too much freedom, what fhould
44 be expended on the Csefar's table," &c. Petau.
44 me

92 EPISTLE to the ATHENIANS.
*' me to avoid, and what to do. Then, with the
44 utmod reafon, you will praife me if I obey,
Sl and punifh me if I tranfgrefs. But I am firmly
44 of opinion, that I fhall in no inftance controvert
*¦ your commands."
The innovations that Pentadius immediately
attempted *, it is needlefs to mention. I oppofed
them all confequently he became my enemy. Soon
after, by perverting another, and then a fecond,
and a third, and by bribing againft me Paul f and
Gaudentius X> notorious flanderers, he fucceeded
in having Salluft, who was my friend §, recalled,
and Lucian immediately appointed to fucceed him.
Florentius alfo was irritated by my oppofing his h>
$ At his complaining of Pentadius I am much fun-
prifed. For Ammianus mentions Pentadius (I. xx.) and
fays, that 4l he was mailer of the offices to Julian, and
44 was fent by him, when he was made Emperor, to Con-
44 ftantius, with Eutherius, his chief chamberlain." He
cannot therefore be the fame, who? Julian here fays, was
his enemy while he was Caefar. Petau.
f Paul was a notary, bt>rn in Spain, famous for cruel
informations under Conftantius, Mho was burnt alive, with
Apodemus, when Julian was Emperor, See Ammianus,
(1. XIX. and xxii.) Ibid,
X Gaudentius alfo was a notary, arid having been fent
into the Gauls as a fpy on the a&jons of Julian, was after
wards put to death by him at Antioch. ' Ammianus, (I.
xxn.) Ibid.
Their executions [thofe of the two former] were ac
cepted as an inadequate-atonement by the widows and or
phans of fo many hundred Romans, whom thofe legal
tyrants had betrayed and murdered. Gibbon.
As to Gaudentim, fee the third note on Epiftle X-
§ See the Confolatory Oration on his departure, p. 30, &c.
fatiable

EPISTLE to the ATHENIANS-
fatiable avarice *. They therefore perfuaded Con
ftantius, already perhaps jealous of my actions, to
remove me from the command of the forces. And
he wrote Jetters filled with inveftives againft me,
and threatening deftruction to the Gauls. Soon
after, it appeared that he had ordered all the
flower of the army, without exception,, to be
withdrawn from Gaul, charging Lupicinus and
Gintonius f with this commiffion, and commanding
me in no refpect to oppofe them.
In what words (hall I now relate the works of
the Gods ? It was my intention, they can witnefs,
diverting myfelf of all regal ftate and magnificence,
to reft in peace, and never more to act in public.
,1 only waited the return of Florentius and Lupi-
* See Epiftle XVII.
f 44 Simula, then tribune of the ftables to the Casfar,"
fays Ammianus, (1. xx. 4.) 44 was joined in commiffion
44 with Decentius, a tribune and notary, to conduct the
44 troops out of the Gauls." Of Gintonius I do not re
member to have read. But of this hiftory fee more in Am
mianus and Zofimus, and alfo in the Oration of Libanius
on the confulfhip of Julian. Petau.
Julian was furprifed by the hafty arrival of a tribune and
a notary, withpofitive orders from the Emperor, which they
were directed to execute, and he was commanded not to
oppofe; that four entire legions, the Celta;, the Petulants,
the Heruli, and the Batavians, fhould be leparated from
the ftandard of Julian ;' that, in each of the remaining
bands, three hundred of the braveft youths fliould be fe-
lecled ; and that this numerous detachment, the ftrength of
the Gallic army, fhould inftantly begin their march, and
exert their utmoft diligence to arrive, before the opening
the campaign, oa the fr.ostiers of Perfia. Gibbon. cinuSj

93

94

EPISTLE to the ATHENIANS.
cinus, the one Being in Britain *, aiid the other
at Vienne. In the mean time, a great didurbahce
Was raifed among the natives and foldiers, an ano
nymous libel being difperfed in a neighbouring
town, among the Petulants and the Celts (the le
gions fo named) filled with invectives againd Con
ftantius, and with complaints of his having be
trayed the Gauls. And- the author of that paper
no lefs lamented my difgrace. This being cir
culated, a general difaffectioh eilfued, and thofe
Who were mod in the intered of Condanfius nfed
their utmod endeavours to perfuade me to detach
the troops as foon as poffible, before the like libel's
were difperfed among the reft of the army. (Not
one of my friends was then prefent). They were
Nebridius -j~, Pentadius, and Decentius ^, the
latter
* Ammianus (l.-xx. i.) The valour of Lupicinus, and his
¦military .fkill, are acknowledged by the hiftorian,- who, in
his affefted language, accufes the general of exalting the
horns of his pride, bellowing in a tragic tone, and exciting
a doubt whether he was more cruel or avaricious. The
danger from the Scots and Picts was fo ferious, that Julian
himfelf had fome thoughts of paffing over into the iftand.
Gibbon.
f Praetorian Prxfect. This faithful minifter fingly op
pofed the folemn engagement, of the troops to devote them
felves to the fervice of Julian. Alont; and unaffifted, he
afferted the rights of Conftantius in the mid ft of an armed
and angry multitude, to whofe fury he had almoft fallen-
au honourable, but ufelefs, facrifice. After lofino- one of his
bands by the ftroke of a fword, he embraced the knees of
the prince whom he had offended. Julian covered the
Prefect with his imperial mantle, and proteciing.him from
the zeal of his followers, difmifled him to his own houfe,. with

EPISTLE to the ATHENIANS. 95
latter of whom Conftantius had difpatched for
that purpofe. My reply; that 4t we ought to
*' wait for Lupicinus and Florentius," was totally
difregarded, they all infiding that the oppofite plan
(hould be putfued, unlefs I-meant to confirm and
Corroborate former fufpicions. 44 Befides," they
added, 44 the detaching the troops will how t)e
44 deemed your rneafure ; but when thofe miniders
44 retnrn, C'oridantius will impute it not to you,
¦*' but to 4:hem, and confequently will reprobate*
44 your conduct." Thus I was perfuaded, or
rather compelled, to write to him. For lie may
be faid to act by perfuafion, who has the liberty
of refuting •';' but thofe who can be compelled it is
needlefs to perfuade ; as they act not by choice,
but neceffrty. There being two roads, it was next
debated which fhould be taken. I propofed one ;
with lefs refpect than was perhaps due to the virtue of an
enemy. The high office of Nebridius was beftowed on
Salluft. Ibid.
Nebridius had before been Count of the Eaft, and, from
being quseffor to Julian, was made by Conftantius pre
fect of the Gauls, in the room of Florentius, who hac*
been removed to the prefecture of Illyricum. Florentius
refufed to return from Vienne, dreading the refentment
of the army. Nebridius retired in a private ftation into
his native country, Tufcany. Pentadius is mentioned above.
X There is fome corruption in this paffage, for neither
were they abfent, nor friends to Julian. On the contrary,
they adhered to Conftantius. Petau.
The prefent reading may be fupported either by omit
ting the preceding paragraph, or by putting it (as in the
tranftation) into , a parenthefis. 44 Nebridius, &c.''^will
then refer to the friends before -mentioned, of Conftantius,
as they certainly were.
I but

96 EPISTLE to the ATHENIANS*
but they compelled me to addpt * the other;
led my oppofition fliould excite fome tumult and
.?,- diforder in the army ; and when a didurbance was
once begun, a general confufion might enfue. An
apprehenfion this, which feemed by no means
groundlefs. The legions approached. I, as ufual +,
went out of the city to meet them, and urged
them to purfue their march. They halted one
day ; till when I was a dranger to what they had
been concerting. Jupiter, the Sun, Mars, Mi
nerva,, and all the Gods know J, that I had not the
lead fufpicion of their intentions till the evening
of that day, when at fun-fet they were difclofed
to me §. [At midnight] on a fudden the pa-
•* Through Paris. Julian honeftly and judicioufly fug-
gefted the danger and temptation of a laft interview of the
foldiers with their wives and children. Gibbon.
¦f Even the Emperors themfelves ufed to meet the legiom
by way of honour. Valois.
X Such an oath would be decifive in the mouth of a
Pagan, convinced of his falfe religion even to fanaticifm
and enthufiafm, as Julian was, if Julian had not given
fome proofs of duplicity. But when a man is capable of
; being of two religions at the fame time, of believing one
and profeffing the other, he may well allow himfelf in per
jury. Be that as it may, it muft be owned, that if that
prince moved the fprings which raifed him to the fupreme
power, he concealed his play fo well, as to feem to owe all
to chance, and nothing to intrigue. La Bleterie.
It may feem ungenerous to diftruft the honour of a
hero, and the truth of a philofopher. The devout Abbe
de la Bleterie is almoft inclined to refpect the devout prq-
teftations of ¦ a Pagan. Gibbon.
§ He then refigned himfelf to a fhort flumber ; and
afterwards related to his friends, that he had feen the Ge
nius of the empire waiting with fome impatience at his
door, preffing for admittance, and reproaching his want
of fpirit and ambition. Ibid. lace

\

.EPISTLE to the ATHENIANS. 97
lace * was inveded, and an univerfal fhout was
raifed, while in the mean time I was deliberating
what meafures to purfue, but without forming any
determination. Though my wife was then living -f,
I happened to fleep alone, in an adjoining upper
chamber "£, from which, there being an opening
in the wall, I paid my adoration to Jupiter. The
clamour increafing, and a general tumult prevail
ing throughout the palace, I intreated that God to
give
* Moft probably the palace of the baths (thermarum),
of which a folid and lofty hall ftill fubfifts in the rue de la
Harpe. The buildings covered a confiderable fpace of the
modern quarter of the univerfity; and the gardens, under
the Merovingian kings, communicated with the abbey of
St. Germain des Prez. By the injuries of time and the
Normans, this ancient palace was reduced, in the twelfth
century, to a maze of ruins, whofe dark receffes were the
fcene of licentious love. Gibbon.
Thefe remains, which have all the marks of antiquity ,-
are the greateft curiofity in Paris. They are inclofed in a
houfe, whofe fign is the iron crofs. Our kings of the firft
race refided in that palace. The daughters of Charle
magne were confined there after his death, when Lewis
the Debonnair, a friend to full chant, but an enemy to- '
gallantry, had caufed their lovers' to be put to death. 44 He
44 thought, without doubt," fays F. Daniel, with great
limplicity, 44 that the example would intimidate, and that
44 they would have no more. He was, it feems, miftaken ;
44 they were never without them." Tableau de Paris, cb.
Antiquities. f Helena died foon after, at Vienne, fays Ammianus,
(1. xxi.) ; others fay, in the palace of Julian, and was
buried near her lifter Conftantina, at Rome.
Her pregnancy had been feveral times fruitlefs, and was
at laft fatal to herfelf. Gibbon.
% From Mr. King's very ingenious 44 Obfervations ort
44 Ancient Caftles," p. 5, &c. we learn, that 44 the ftate-'
44 apartments (which Julian, no doubt, then occupied) were
Vol. I. H " always-

9S EPISTLE to the ATHENIANS.
give me a fign. This he immediately (hewed me,
commanding me firmly to confide in it, and not
oppofe the refolution of the army *. Though I
had received thefe omens, I did not, however,
yield without reluctance, but refided as much as
podible, nor would I admit of the falutation, or
the diadem. But not being able fingly to oppofe
fo many, and the Gods, whofe will it was, drongly
animating them, and at the fame time, compofmg'
my fpirits, at length, about the third hour, fome
foldier, I know not whom, giving me a collar f, I
put it on, and then re-entered the palace, groan
ing, as the Gods can witnefs, from the bottom of
my heart ; for though the confidence which the
former fign had giyen me in God could not but
infpire
44 always in the third' ftory, an habitation both {lately and
44 airy, free from' the annoyance of the enemy's inftruments
" of war."
The windows alfo of thefe rooms, even in our cold cli-
Riate, though highly ornamented, 44 appear to have had
4,4 no glafs, and to have been fenced only with iron bars
44 and wooden fhutters, as is, knovvn to have been the
44 ufage in early times." Sequel to the Obfervations on An
cient Caflles, p. loS.
That the Jews, as well as Pagans, prayed 4t with their
44 windows open,'' appears from this paffage of Daniel,
vi. io. He went into bis boufc, and his windows being open
' in bis clamber to-ward Jerufalcm, he kneeled upon bis knees, &c.
* The conduct, which dilclaims the ordinary maxims of
reafon,, excites iufpicion, and eludes our enquiry. When
ever the fpirit of fanaticifm, at once fo credulous and fo
crafty, has inlinuated itfelf into a noble mind, it infenfibly '¦•'
corrodes the vital principles of virtue and veracity. Gibbon.
t Even in this tumultuous moment, Julian attended to
the forms of fuperftitibus ceremony, and obftinately refuted,'"1 the'-

EPISTLE to the ATHENIANS^ §9
infpire me with fortitude, I was afhamed and
abafhed at not feeming to obey Conftantius faith<-
fully to the lafti
A great dejection prevailing in the palace, the
friends of Conftantius endeavoured to improve that
Opportunity of forming a confpiracy againft me,
and diftributed money among the foldiers, hoping
to alienate fome of them, fo at leaft as id make a
divilion between us, if not to perfuade them openly
to attack me. One of the officers who attended
my wife in public '*, hearing what they were
clandeftinely tranfacting* difclofed it to me. But
finding that I difregarded it, with the frenzy of an
enthufiaft, he loudly exclaimed in the market
place, 4' Soldiers, foreigners, and natives, do not
44 betray the Emperor." The minds of the troops
being thus inflamed, they all ran armed to the
palace. Finding me there alive and unhurt^ and
rejoicing like friends who meet unexpectedly, they
embraced me, clafped me in their arms, and bore
me on their fhouiders. It was indeed a mod pleaf-
ing fight, feeming like infpiration. Surrounding
me on all fides, they then infifted that every friend
of Conftantius fhould be put to death. The drenu*
the inaufpicious ufe of a female necklace, or a horfe's collar
(equi phalera), which the impatient foldiers would have em
ployed inftead of a diadem. Gibbon,.
The collar which he put on, enriched with jewels, be
longed, fays Ammianus, t'o 44 one Maurus, afte, wards a
44 Count, then a fpearman of the Petulants." This event
happened in April, 360.
* Ammianus ftyles him aliquis palatii decurio, a kind of
IJ&or.
H 1 OU9

l0o EPISTLE to the ATHENIANS.
ous endeavours that I ufed to fave them, all the
Gods know. After this, what was my conduct to
wards Condantius ? In my letters * to him, even
to the prefent hour, I have never affumed the title
which the Gods have given me, only dyling my
felf Csefar ; and I prevailed on the foldiers to fwear
to me, that they would attempt nothing farther, if
he would differ me to dwell peaceably in the
Gauls, and ratify all that had been done. Add
to this, the legions that were with me fent him an
united letter, urging a reconciliation between us.
In return, he fpirited the Barbarians againd us,
proclaimed me to them as a public enemy, and
bribed them to ravage the Gallic provinces. He
wrote alfo to them who were in Italy, and warned
them to guard againd thofe who came from -the
Gauls. In the towns bordering on the Gallic frontier,
he ordered magazines to be formed ; in particular,
one of fix hundred thoufand quarters + of flour at
Brigantia \, and another of as many more at the foot
of the Cotuan Alps§; that he might be enabled to
march an army againft me. All thefe things were
not only faid but done. For the letters which he
fent || to fpirit the. Barbarians I intercepted, and all
* The Epiftle to which Julian principally alludes has
been inferted, p. 54.
f Three hundred myriads, or three millions of medimiii,
a corn meaiure familiar to the Athenians, and which con
tained fix Roman modii. Gibbon,
X NOw Bregentz,on the bauks of the Lake of Conftance.
§ The mountains that divide' Dauphiny from Piedmont.'
|| Meaning the letters which Ammianus mentions in his
xxift book Yet he exprefles himielf with cool and can
did hefitation, fifamx ioli admittenda eft fides, Gibbok. the

EPISTLE to the ATHENIANS. 101
the provifions, which he had ordered to be col
lected, I feized, and alfo the letters of Taurus *.
Befides this, he addreffed me dill as Caefar, and
declared, that he would never be reconciled to me.
He fent, however, one Epictetus f , a Gallic bifliop,
to affure me of my fafety ; and in all his letters he
intimates, that he will fpare my life; but as to
my honour, he is fllent. In regard to his oaths, I
think, as the proverb fays, they fhould be written
in adies, fo little do they deferve belief. My
own honour, not only for the fake of what is
jud and right, but for that of the fafety of my
friends, I am determined to maintain; not to
mention the cruelties exercifed throughout all the
world. Thefe arguments are to me conclufive ; thefe
meafures appear to me juft; and I adopted them
at firft in the fight and hearing of the Gods. After
wards, on the very day in which I was going to
* Prefect of Italy,, and Conful, with Florentius, in 36r,
when this Epiftle was written. He was banifhed by Julian,
foon after, during his prefecture and confulfhip, to Ver-
cellse, in Italy.
f There was a bifhop of that name, a remarkable fa
vourer of the Arian feet, who, to gratify Conftantius, ufed
great feverity towards the Catholics. But he was bifliop
of Oentum-cellas [now Civita-Vecchia] in Thufcia [Tuf-
cany] not in Gaul. Perhaps Julian wrote YLttra^s'xxoit (44 of
44 Centum-cella;,") inftead of f»W«. (4i of the Gauls".)
Yet Ammianus relates, that the perfon, who was fent into
the Gauls with thefe orders to Julian, was the quxftor
Leonas. Petau. H 3 harangue

io2 EPISTLE to the ATHENIANS.
harangue the army concerning our march huher *,'
facrificing for the event, for my own fafety,. and/
much more for the public welfare, and the general
freedom of the world, efpecially of the Gallic nation,
whom he has twice abandoned to her enemies, not
fparing the fepulchres of their anceftors, though he
pays the utmoft attention to thofe of foreigners f, the
omens were aufpicious. I thought it therefore necef-
fary to reduce our formidable enemies J, and to coin
lawful money of gold and filver ; and if even now he
(hould bedifpofed to treat with me, will be fatisfied
with what I at prefent poffefs. But if he (hould pre*
* Illyricum, where this Epiftle was written.
¦f- The primitive Chriftians called the temples of the
Heathens 44 fepulchres," in contempt, becaufe temples'
began td be built where their Gods were buried? But this the
Gentiles afterwards retorted on the Chriftians, on account
- of the relics of the martyrs, preferved and worfhipcd
in the churphes, And hence they ftyled the Chriftian
churches nothing but rapa; (44 tombs.") Valois.
X After Julian had difmiffed Leonas, and fent a new em-
baff'y to the Eaftern court, that he might keep his troops
in exercife, and preferve the reputation they had gained,
he paffed the Rhine for the fourth time, fubdupd the
Attuarii, a nation of the Franks, who ftill made incurfions
into Gaul; and, repafling the Rhine, reviewed and ftrength-
eued all the ganifons in the frontier towps, as far as the
country of the Rauraci (now the canton of Bafil) ; from
whence he repaired to Befan^-on, and' then to Vienne,
where he kept his winter-quarters.. Before the concfufion
of the winter, the Germans under king Vadomar, having
revolted and pillaged Rhcetia (now the country of the
Grifons), he fiized and baniftied that prince, and paffing
tie Rhine for the fifth and laft time, furprifed the Bar-,
barians, and forced them to fvyear to a peace, which they
never prefumed to violate again during his rite.
La Bleterie. fer

E P I S T L E to the A T H E N I A N 3. i *>
fer engaging in a war, and will in no refpect recede
from his former determination, I am ready to do or
fuffer whatever the Gods may decree. It is more
difgraceful to be conquered by ignorance and pufil-
lahimity, than by ftrength and numbers. If he
excells me in numbers, that is owing, not to him
felf, but to his armies. If he had furprifed me '
dill loitering in the Gauls, and tenacious of life,
and had furrounded me, declining danger, on the
flanks and in the rear by the Barbarians, and in
front by his own troops, I mud have fubmitted,
not only to the utmod extremity, but, which to
the wife is the greated of evils, to difgrace *.
Such are the reflections, men of Athens, which
I have communicated to my fellow-fodders', and
now tranfmit to you and the other cities of
Grece f. May the Gods, the Lords of all, afford
me the affidance, which they have promifed, to
the lad, and grant to Athens, that I may, as much
as pofiible, deferve her favour, and that fhe may
for ever have fuch Emperors as may intimately
i
* Julian explains, like a foldier and a ftatefman, the
danger of his fituation, and the neceflity and advantages of
an offenfive war. Gibbon.
•f- Lacedxmon and Corinth, Zofimus fays, were two of
the other cities that Julian addreffed, but all that remains
of either, or any, of thofe Epiftles, is two fhort paragiaphs
of that to the Corinthians, preferved by Sozomen ; in one
of which he fays, 44 Having reluctantly commenced this
44 war, but haviB-g now, in great meafure, fucceeded,
4* though not yet arrived at the conclufion ;" and in the
other, he claims their favour, 44 on account of the fricnd-
44 Ihip of his father, who had dwelt among them."
H 4 know

»

104

EPISTLE To the ATHENIANS.
know, and with a didioguifhed preference efteem,
her * !
* The humanity of Julian was preferved from the cruet
alternative, which he pathetically laments, of deftroying, ,
or of being, himfelf deftroyed ; and the feafonable death of
Conftantius delivered the Roman empire from the ca
lamities of civil war. The approach of winter could not
detain the monarch at Antioch ; and his favourites durft
not oppofe his impatient defire of revenge. A flight fever,
which was perhaps occafioned by the agitation of his
fpirits, was increafed by the fatigues of the journey ; and
Conftantius was obliged to hajt at the little town of Mop-
fucrene, twelve miles beyond Tarfus, where he expired,
after a fhort illnefs, in the forty-fifth year of his age, and
the twenty-fourth of his reign. Giebon.
This event happened on Sept. 3, 361. It is pretended
that, upon his death-bed, he named Julian his fucceffor, '
willing, no doubt, to make a merit of what he could no
longer withrhold from him, and by that to engage him to
protect Fauftina, whom he had married after the death of
Eufebia, and whom he left pregnant of a princefs [Con:
ftantia], who was afterwards married to the Emperor Gra-
tian. Julian immediately haftened towards Conftantinople,
-which he entered, accompanied by the fenate, foldiers,
and people, on Dec. n. La Bleterie;

AN

[ "5 ]

AN ALLEGORICAL FABLE*.

A

CERTAIN rich man -f- had numerous flocks A. d.

and herds, and many horfes J, grazing in his
meadows. He had alfo many (hepherds, as well
flaves as freed-men, and hired fervants, herdfmen,
goat-herds, grooms, with many edates, fome of
which were bequeathed to him by his father § ;
but mod of them he had acquired, being de-
(irous to enrich himfelf by right or wrong, and
having little regard for the Gods. He had feveral
wives, by whom he had fons and daughters |[,
among
* Julian has worked the crimes and misfortunes of the
family of Conftantine into an allegorical Fable, which is
happily conceived and agreeably related. It forms the
conclufion of the.VIIth Oration. Gibeon.
See a farther account of it in the Preface.
•fr This rich man is Conftantine, that eternal object of
the hatred and malignity of Julian. La Bleterie.
The beginning of this Fable is remarkably fimilar to
that of Nathan's Parable, in 2 Sam. xii. 2. which Julian
had read in the Septuagint. Wkaa-w avfy itpaQdia, w iroWa,
xa.t aysTsoa Pout, fays the Emperor. T» kXmtiui a.f5])i »v xoiptta
itat jUimeXm ito/\7\a oQoifa,, fays the Prophet.
X In the original, ra-3-oi pvptai (44 many mares.")
§ Conftantius Chlorus reigned only over the Gauls,
Spain, and Great-Britain. Conftantine, with much good
fortune, and perhaps too much addrefs, made himfelf
mafter of the whole empire. La Bleterie.
|| Conftantine left three fons, between whom he divided
the empire. Conftantine, known in hiftory by the name
of the younger Conftantine, had the Gauls, Spain, and
Great-Britain. Conftantius had the Eaft. Conftans, Italy,
Illyricum,

362.

io6 ALLEGORICAL FABLE.
among whom he divided his wealth *, before he
died, but without inflrudting them how to manage
it, how to acquire more, if it fhould fail, or, when
it was acquired, how to preferve it. So grofs was
Illyricum, and Africa. We are acquainted only with two
daughters of Conftantine the Great ; Conftantina and
Helena. He married the former to Flavius Claudius
Hannibalianus, his nephew, fon of his brother Dalmatius
the Cenfor. This princefs afterwards married the Cxfar
Gallus. Helena was married to Julian. It is not at firft
eafy to conceive how he can fay, that 44 the fother of the
44 family divided his eftate between his fons and bis daugb-
" ters;" as, among the Romans, the daughters were ex
cluded from the empire. But this paffage of Julian in
forms us of two things ; i. That if Conftantine gave his
nephew Hannibalianus the title of King, with Armenia
the Lefs, Pontus, and Cappadocia, it was on account of
his marriage with Conftantina, on whom, befides, he con
ferred the title of Augufta, and a right to wear the diadem.
2. That if he raifed Dalmatius, the brother of Hanni
balianus, to the dignity of Cajfar, and gave him Thrace,
Macedonia, and Achaia, it was becaufe Dalmatius was to
efpoufe Helena, who was then a child. Hannibalianus and
Dalmatius were included in the maffacre which followed
the death of Conftantine. One fault of that able poli
tician, arfault much more real than that with which Julian
rrre reproaches him, is that of having raifed his brothers
¦and bis nephews to foch a height as to make them for
midable to his children. If he could imagine that he
fhould have authority enough over both to prevent the
ufual effects of jealoufy and ambition during his life, fliould
he have flattered himfelf that they wovfld have fuch refpect
to his memory as to remain within the limits which he had
prefcribed them ? The greateft princes ought always to
think that they will not reign after their deaths.
La Bleterie.
* Whether, after the death of Faufta, the mother of
Conftantius and his brothers, Conftantine contracted any
oilier marriage does not appear from the memorials, ftill
remaining, of thofe times ; except that in general Julian
Here fays, that 4' he had many wives," tyitoflo it avlu yv-
t+Mt; 7roM«i, though without naming them. Spanheim. his

ALLEGORICAL FABLE.
his ignorance, that he thought nothing neceffat*/
but riches ; nor in that art had he much expe
rience, having acquired it, not by any fixed prin
ciple, but rather by ufe and habit, like empirics,
who by practice only cure difeafes, and confe
quently muft be ignorant of many. Thus think
ing that the number of his fons would fufficiently
fecure the continuance of his family, he ufed no
.endeavour to make them virtuous *.
This was the firft origin of their diffenfions.
For each of them defiring, like his father, to have
great riches, and fingly to poffefs all, attacked his
brother, The calamities occafioned by their folly
and ignorance extended alfo to their neareft re
lations, who had had no better education. A ge
neral (laughter enfued, fo as to realife by divine
vengeance the mod: tragical cataftrophe. They
divided their patrimony by the fword, and every
jhing was thrown into confufion. The fons de
ftroyed the temples of their anceftors, which be
fore indeed had been defpifed by their father, and
Jlripped of their offerings, dedicated by many, but
chiefly by his forefathers. But when they deftroyed
the temples, they repaired the old and erected new
fepulchres f , as if they had forefeen, that for their
* Julian, in his firft panegyric on Conftantius, fays, that
the children of Conftantine had the moft excellent education
that could be given to princes. He then perhaps flattered.
Now perhaps he flanders. La Bleterie.
-j- By 44 fepulchres" he muft mean churches. So they
were called by the Pagans, becaufe they were built over the
tombs 0/ the martyrs Ibid, See p. 102, note f.
1 contempt

io8 ALLEGORICAL FABLE.
contempt of the, Gods they would ere long want
many fepulchres themfelves.;
Amidft thefe diforders, marriages alfo being
contracted which were- no .marriages *, and tire^
laws botfi. of Gods aqd men being thus alike 'in-/
fringed, Jupiter, was moved- with ; oompaffioni -'and*
addreffmg himfelf tjp-.the Bun f, .he faid to him,
* Conftantius firft- married-' the : daughter' of Julius'
Conftantius, his uncle. Though h-iftory does- not inform
us who were the wives of Conftantine the younger -and
Conftans, it may be prefunied that they alfo married" their
coufin-germans. Such marriages were not . forbidden
among the Romans till Theodpfju-s, whofe law was -after
wards repealed by JuftiniaTi. However, even be-fdre the
prohibition of Theodofius, they- Were unufual, becaufe they
were odious. It was - thought j .th>K they -bordered, upon
inceft. , This we learn from St. Auguftiije, Je civitate Dei,
I. xv. c 16; Kara par mores' fiebat quod fieri per leges liceb'at. . .
Fa&um \etiam licitum pyiptet vicinftatem: horrcbatur ' illiciti ,} . jf
quod fiebat cum confobrjpa • pen}, cum.forore fieri. videbatM,,
quia et ipfi inter fe propter tarn propinquam confanguinitatem
fratres vocantur,- et ftme ¦ germani furit. Al'lowirig-this, it will-
be eafy to conceive ho* a> palfiqnate enemy, like Julian,
may fo feverely reprobate the, marriages of the children of
Conftantine. This, key, I think, may ferve for want' of
better hiftorical, light. ' , ; ,- La.Bleteiue. -j'..
Julian, whofe mind was biaffe'd by fuperftition • and re
fentment, fligrr.atifes thefe uhnatufal alliances between- his"
own coufins with- the opprobrious name 'of yccput rs ov yapst.
The jurisprudence of the canons .has fince revived and en
forced this prohibition, without being.able to introduce it
either into the civil or the common-law of Europe." "
Gibbon.
One of thefe 44 no marriages" was that of Julian him
felf with his coufin Helena. Another, that of Gallus .and
Conftantina. -j- After what has been faid before, it is. needlefs here*
to oblerve, that Julian means by the Sun that intelligence
produced from all eternity by thefupreme God, &c. in a
word* the Logo* of Plato. La Bleterie. 44 Of

ALLEGORICAL FABLE.
¦" 'Of all the Gods my moft ancient off-fpring,
44 being born before heaven and earth, doft .thou
44 dill retain the memory of the infults thou haft
" received from that difdainful and arrogant man,
" who, by forfaking thee *, entailed fo many
44 calamities on himfelf, his family, and his children ?
44 Though you have not perfonally wreaked your
44 vengeance on him, nor have launched your ar-
44 rows againd his children, are you lefs the author
44 of that dedruction which has defohted his
44 family ? But let us fummon the Fates, and en-
44 quire of them whether any affidance can be
44 given it."
The Fates indantly attended ; but the Sun, as if
abforbed in contemplation, continued to fix his
eyes on Jupiter. The elded of the Fates thus re
plied: ' Judice and Sanctity, O Father, forbid
4 it. ' But it depends on yourfelf, fince you have
' ordered us to be fubfervient to them, to prevail
4 on them alfo.' 4c True," anfwered Jupiter,
44 they are my daughters, and therefore I may
44 interrogate them. — Venerable Goddeffes, what
44 do you advife?" 4 That, Father,' they replied,
' is as you direct; but be careful .'left that word
* The devotion of Conftantine was peculiarly directed
to the Genius of the Sun, the Apollo of Greek and Roman
mythology ; and he was pleafed to be reprefented with the
fymbols of the God of light and poetry. Gibbon.
Among the many .coins of this 'Emperor, found at Re-
culver, in Kent (the Roman Regulbium)., fome have, on
their reverfe, the figure of Apollo, wi.h a ftar, and Soli
invito comiti. This device would have ferved equally well
far Julian. 'Of

I09

,^o ALLEGORICAL FABLE.
* of all crimes, a zeal for impiety, (hould univefj
* fally prevail in the world.* " To that," faid Ju
piter, " I will certainly attend." The Fates then
approached, and fpun as the Father directed. Af->
terwards Jupiter thus addreffed the Sun : 4t You
44 fee this infant *, the nephew of that rich man,
44 and the coufin of his heirs. Though deditute
** and defpifed, he is your off-fpring. Swear,
4,4 therefore, to me, by my fceptre and your own',
44 that you will take efpecial care of him, that yon
44 will be his guide, and fecure him from evil.
44 You fee he is enveloped, as it were, with fmoke,
44 and filth, and darknefs, and that the flame which
" you have kindled in him is in danger of being
44 difled:
44 And owns no help but from thy Caving hands f .
tl Take him therefore, and fuperintend his edu-
44 cation. This I and the Fates allow." At
this the Sun much rejoiced, and was pleafed with
the child, perceiving in him a fmall fpark of
himfelf dill remaining. From that time he edu
cated the boy, withdrawing him
Far from alarms, and dud and blood J.
But Jupiter ordered the moiherlefs and chad's
Minerva to have a (hare alfo in his education.
Thus indructed, when the youth had attained
that age,
* Julian himfelf,
f Iliad IX. 231. Pope, 304. Part of • the fpeech ef
Ulyffes to Achilles, requeuing him to affift the Greeks.
X Iliad XI. 164. Pope, 216. applied to Hector, whea
protected by Jupiter and Farej When

ALLEGORICAL FABLE. m
When fprings the down, when youth has all its
charms *,
'Being apprifed of the numerous calamities which
had befallen his relations and coufins, he was
fo terrified, that he would have rufhed head
long into Tartarus, had he not been prevented
by the benevolent Sun and provident Minerva +,
who threw him into a flumber, which banifhed
that idea. Awaking from this, he returned to
his folitude, and there, fitting on a (tone, he con-
fidered with himfelf how he (hould efcape fuch
a variety of evils; for now every thing appealed
adverfe, and he was abandoned even by hope.
Mercury then, who had an affection for him,
affuming the appearance of one of his young
companions, thus kindly accofled him : 44 Follow
44 me, and I will fliew you a fmoother and eafier
*4 way, as foon as you have gone through this
44 winding and rugged path, which obliges, as
*4 you fee, all who enter it to turn back." The
* Iliad XXIV. 348.
\ In the original, r*; ngorua; A9nra;. In his IVth Ora
tion, Julian confiders Proncea as another name for Minerva.
After the example of Plato, whofe philofophy he adopted,-
Julian, like other Heathens, acknowledged God's Provi
dence. Not to mention his mafter Jamblichus (de Myfter.
I. 1. <.. 9.) 44 the Providence of God" is mentioned by
Euripides, in his Oreftes, ver. 1181. On fome excellent
coins of Commodus it appears under the fymbol of a
woman extending her right hand, and holding a fpear in
her left, or before an altar, with another figure of a
man ftanding, and on each fide a tree, with the infcription
HPONOIA. And on the Roman coins is fometimes l'een a
temple, and fometimes a radiated figure of the fon, with
Providentia infcribed, &c. Spanheim, youth

112 ALLEGORICAL FABLE.
youth then proceeded cautiouily, with his fword,
his fhield, and fpear, but with his head unarmed.
Relying on his guide, he came to a road, though
unfrequented, highly pleafant, and embroidered
with fruit-trees and flowers innumerable, fuch as
are pleating to the Gods, and alfo with ivy, laurel,
' and myrtle.
When they arrived at the foot of a high moun
tain, l< On the fummit of that," faid Mercury,
44 dwells the Father of the Gods; be careful
44 therefore,, for great is your danger, to worfliip
44 him in the moft religious manner. Aik of him
44 whatever you pleafe. You will wifh, my child,
44 for what is bed." So faying, Mercury difap-
peared, though the youth was very defirous of
being informed by him what petition he (hould
prefer to the Father of the Gods. Thus deferted,
he could only advife with himfelf, and he could
not have been advifed better. 44 Though I do not
44 yet fee," faid he, 44 the Father of the Gods,
44 let me folicit him for his bed gifts. O Father
44 Jupiter, or by whatever other name thou pleafeft
44 to be called, for that to me is indifferent, teach
44 me the way that leads to thee. For the region
44 of thy refidence is incomparably beautiful, if I
44 may judge of its excellence by the pleafantnefs
44 of the path through which I have been con-
44 ducted hither." After having thus prayed, he
fell faft afleep. During this flumber, or trance,
Jupiter fhewed him the Sun in perfon. Aftonifhed
at this fight, the youth exclaimed, " For this and
2 44 all

ALLEGORICAL FABLE.
" all thy other favours, O Father of the Gods, I
44 offer and dedicate myfelf to thee." Then em
bracing the knees of the Sun, he intreated his
proteftion. But he, calling Minerva, bade her
firft obferve what arms he had brought. Seeing
only a fword, a fhield, and a fpear, 44 Where, my
44 fon," faid (he, 44 are your cegis and helmet ?"
He anfwered, 44 I could fcarce provide even thefe ;
44 neglected and defpifed, I had no friend in the
44 family of my relations." '4 What then," re
plied the Sun, 44 will you fay, when I tell you,
44 that you muft neceffarily return to it ?" Hear
ing this, the youth intreated him, with many tears,
not to fend him thither again, as, in that cafe, he
fhould never fee him more, but fliould certainly
perifli there, overwhelmed with misfortunes. 44 You
44 are young," faid the Sun, •' and have not yet been
44 initiated. Return therefore to earth, and when you
44 are initiated *, dwell in fafety ; return and pu~
44 rify
* By the hands of Maximus [See the firft note on Epiftle
XV.] Julian was fecretly initiated at Ephefus, in the twen
tieth year of his age. His refidence at Athens confirmed
this unnatural alliance of philofophy and fuperftition. He ob
tained the privilege of afolemn initiation into the myfteries
of Eleufis, which, amidft, the general decay of the Gre
cian worfliip, ftill retained fome veftiges of their primeval
fandtity ; and fuch was the zeal of Julian, that he after
wards invited the Eleufinian pontiff to the court of Gaul,
for the fole purpofe of confummating, by- myftic rites and
iacrifices, the great work of his fan£tification. As thefe
ceremonies were performed in the depth of caverns, and in
the filence of. the night; and as the inviolable, fecret of the
myfteries was preferved by the difcretion of the initiated ;
I fhall not prefume to defcribe the horrid founds, and fiery
¦ Vol. I. J, apparitions,

II3

n4 ALLEGORICAL FABLE.
44 rify yourfelf from all impiety. You mud
44 then invoke me, and Minerva, and the other
44 Gods."The youth, at thefe words, remained filent.
TheSun then conducting him to a mountain, (whofe
fummit fhorie with light, but whofe lower parts
were covered with thick darknefs, through which,
however, as through a mift, the rays of the Sun
appeared dim and faint)j thus addreffed him :
4 You fee your coufin the heir * : Do you fee
* alfo thofe herdfmen and fhepherds ?' He replied
in the affirmative. 4 How is he,' faid the Sun,
4 and how are his fhepherds and herdfmen, em-
* ployed ?' 44 He," faid the youth, 44 feems to me
44 afleep ; he lives in retirement, and devotes him-
44 felf to pleafure. Few of his fhepherds are well-
44 difpofed ; moft of them are wicked and cruel ;
44 for they either devour or fell hisfheep, and thus
44 doubly injure their mader ; they ruin his flocks,
44 and, though they receive much and return him
44 but little, they complain that they are defrauded
44 of their wages ; but it were better that they
44 (hould be paid the whole, than the (heep be
44 dedroyed/) 4 But fuppofe/ faid the Sun, 4 I
' and Minerva, by the command of Jupiter,
' (hould appoint you guardian of all thefe flocks,
4 in the room of this heir ?' This the youth again
apparitions, which were prefented to the fenfes, or the
imagination, of the credulous afpirant, till the vifions of
comfort and knowledge broke Upon him in a blaze of
celeftial light. Gibbon.
* Conftantius. oppofed,

ALLEGORICAL FABLE. 115
oppofed, and earneftly intreated to remain there.
The Sun replied, 44 Be not obftinately difobedient,
44 left my hatred fliould be equal to the love that
•4 I have borne you." The youth then anfwered,
* O moft excellent Sun and Minerva, and thee
' too I atteft, O Father Jupiter, difpofe of me
4 abfolutely as you pleafe.' After this, Mer
cury, again appearing, infpired him with ad
ditional courage. For now he thought he had
found a guide in his return, and during the time
that he was to pafs on earth.
Minerva then thus accofted him : 44 Good fon
44 of this excellent and divine father and of me,
44 attend ! The beft fhepherds, you obferve, do
44 not pleafe this heir; but profligates and flatterers
44 have enflaved him. Confequently he is not
44 beloved by the good and virtuous, and by thofe
44 who feem his friends he is injured and dif-
44 honoured. Be careful therefore, when you re-
" turn, never to prefer a flatterer to a friend.
44 Take another advice, my fon. That man fleeps,
44 and of courfe is often deceived ; but be you
44 fober and vigilant *. A flatterer often affumes
44 the confidence of a friend; juft as if a fmith,
44 covered with fmoke and afhes, fhould, by a
44 painted face and a white garment, induce you to
* Tv it tyQc, xai ypyiyopei.
The fame words as thofe of the Apoftle, Nn+al*, y^yo-
{na-*!*, 1 Pet. v. 8.
This is not the firft paffage in which we have feen our
author availing himfelf of his Chriftian erudition.
I 2 44 give

u6 ALLEGORICAL FABLE,
44 give him one of your daughters in marriage.
44 Thirdly, let me exhort you to have a particular
44 regard to ydurfelf. Refpect us in the fird place;
44 among men, thofe who refemble us mod, and
14 no one befides. You fee^how much this poor
44 wretch has fuffered from a falfe (hame and a
44 foolifli .timidity."
To this the Sun added, 4 Thofe whom you feledt
1 for your friends treat as friends, not as fervants1
4 and domedics. Behave to them -with freedom,
4 candour, and generofity, not thinking of them
' v 4 one thing, and faying another. What was fo
4 dedructive to this young heir as unfaithfulnefs
4 to his friends? Love your fubjects, as you are
4 loved by us. Whatever relates to our worfhip
4 . prefer to all other virtues. For we are your
1 benefactors, and friends, and prefervers.'
Delighted at thefe words, the youth clearly
(hewed his defire to obey the Gods implicitly in
all things. 44 Depart now," faid the Sun, '4 with-
44 joyful hopes, for I, and Minerva, and Mer-
44 cury will every where be with you, and alfo
44 all the Gods who dwell on Olympus, or in the
44 air, or on earth, and all the other deities ; fo
44 you fhall be pious to us, faithful to your friends,
44 and humane to your fubjects, teaching them to
44 excell by your example, and never being en-
44 flaved by their paffions or your own. Retain
44 the armour that you brought hither, and receive
44 from me this torch, which will afford you fuch rfc
" light on earth, that you will not need that of
44 heaven,

ALLEGORICAL FABLE. 117.
44 heaven. Accept alfo from good Minerva an
44 zegis and a helmet, for fhe has many, as you
44 fee, which fhe beftows on "whom fhe pleafes.
44 Mercury, befides, will give you a golden wand.
44 Depart therefore, relying on this armour, and
44 traverfe earth and fea, inviolably obeying our
44 laws. Let neither man, nor woman, your
44 own, countrymen, nor foreigners, perfuade you
44 to neglect our precepts. While you obferve
44 them, you will be loved and efteemed by us,
44 and alfo refpected by our good fervants, and
44 formidable both to wicked men and evil dx-
44 mons K Know that you were invefted with a
44 mortal body in order to difcharge thefe duties.
44 For the fake of your ancedors, we wifli to
44 purify your family from every dain. Remember,
41 therefore, that your foul is immortal, and fprung
' " from us ; and that, if you follow us, you will be
" a God, and with us will behold our Father."
Whether this be a fable, or a true narrative, I
cannot tell f.
* It is well known that the Platonifts admitted of good
and eyil Genii, and that they included both under the
name of dzmons. La Bleterie.
-j- Thus St. Paul, Whether in the body, or out of the bodys
I cannot tell ; God kno-vjetb . 2 Cor. xii. 3.

The

[ »« 3

The Duties of a Priest.
Extracted from the Fragment of an .Oration-,
or Epiftle *.

A.D- ***TF any ate detected misbehaving to their
->- prince, they are immediately punifhed ; but
thofe who refufe to approach the Gods, are pof
feffed by a- tribe "of evil dasmops, who, driving many
*-This Fragment jaras interwoven with the Epiftle to The
miftius, as has been obferyed in the notes on that Epiftle.
We have therefore publifhed it feparately. It is part of an
epiftle which Julian wrote to fome High Prieft, teaching him
the example which he ought to fet to thofe of his own
order both at home and abroad. And there are many
things in this Fragment which he wifhes his people to
pradtife in imitation of the Chriftians. Petau.
1 ' Mr. Gibbon fty les this 44 a long and curious Fragment
44 without beginning or end ;" and adds, 4' The Supreme
44 Pontiff derides the Mofaic. hiftory, and the Chriftian
¦ *4 difcipline; prefers the Greek poets to the Jewifli pro-
44 phets ; and palliates, with the flcill of a Jefuit, the re-
44 lative worfhip of images."
A more full account of it has been given in the Preface by
the Abbe de la Bleterie, whofe reafons for not tranflating-
the whole I deem conclufive. But, omitting the offen
sive parts, the extrafts which 1 have felected fhew the great
ufe which Julian made of, that found form of doBrine which
was once delivered to him by tranfplanfing into his own re
ligious code, but without acknowledgment, many of the
moral

DUTIES of a PRIEST. 119
many of the atheifls * to didraction, make them
think death defirable +, that they may fly up into
heaven, after having forcibly diflodged their fouls.
Some of them prefer deferts to towns ; but, man
being by nature a gentle and focial animal, they
alfo are abandoned to evil daemons, who urge
them to this mifanthropy ; and many of them have
had recourfe to chains and collars J. Thus, on
all fides, they are impelled by an evil dsemon, to
whom they have voluntarily furrendered them
felves by forfaking the immortal and tutelar Gods.
But enough of thefe. I now return to the fubject
from which I have digreffed.
The practice of virtue, in obedience fc> the
laws of their country, (hould certainly be en^
forced by the governors of dates ; but it is alfo
your duty to exhort the people by no means to
moral precepts of the gofpel, particularly that new com:
mandment, Love your enemies, do good to them that bate you,
&c. And, on the whole, if great part of the charge (as it
may be called) which he here delivers to his Pagan prieft-
hood, was obferved by our Chriftian clergy, they would be
more refpedtable, and more refpected, than they are.
* The ufual elogium of the Chriftians with this apoftate.
Spanheim.
-j- Julian feems here to allude to the religious frenzy,
the horror of life, and the defire of martyrdom, which
poffeffed the enthufiaftic Donatifts.
X The folitary fanatics, whofe iron chains, &c. the phi
lofopher here ridicules, were the monks and hermits who
had introduced intoGappadocia the voluntary hardfhips of
the afcetic life. See Tillemont, Mem. Ecclef. torn. ix. p,
661, 662. Gibbon.
Thefe folitary afcetics then abounded in ALgypf, Pales
tine, and AJefopotamia, as is evident from other remainss
of that age. Spanheim.
I 4 tranfgrefs

120 DUTIES of a PRIE ST.
tranfgrefs the facred laws of the Gods. The office,
of a pried being neceffarily more refpectable than
that of any other citizen, it may be proper for
me now to confider that, and to teach you its ob
ligations. Some perhaps may be better informed :
I wifh I could fay all; but I hope it of thofe who
are naturally temperate and virtuous. Such will
own this difcourfe to be adapted to them.
In the fird place, above all things cultivate phi*.
lanthropy ; as this is attended by many other
bleffings, and particularly by that, which is the
greated and mod excellent of all, the favour of the
Gods. For as thofe who kindly participate in the
concerns of their mafters, in their friendfhips,
their dudies, and amours, are more beloved than
. their fellow -fervants ; fo it muft be fuppofed
that the Divine Being, who, by his nature, is a
lover of mankind '*, is delighted with thofe who"
love each other. Of philanthropy there are va
rious kinds; one is the punifliing offenders fpa-
ringly, and that for the good of the puniflied, as
maders correct their fcholars ; another is the re
lieving the wants of the poor, as the Gods relieve
ours. Obferve the many bleffings with which
rhey fupply us from the earth ; food efpecially,
of every kind, and that more in quantity than they
have afforded to all other animals united. As we
are born naked, they cloath us with the hair of
beads, and with fuch raiment alfo as is furnifhed
* *iXa,9jwB-o». 4.?iai9{wwia, in like manner, is afcribed to
God by St. Paul (Tit. iii. 4.), from whom Julian probably
borrowed it.
4 by

DUTIES of a PRIEST. I2r
by the earth and trees. And not contented merely
with rudcnefs and fimplicity, with fuch coats, as,
Mofes fays, they made of (kins * ; confider alfo how
many gifts we enjoy of induftrious Minerva. What
other animal is indulged with wine ? what other
with oil ? unlefs we impart to them what we refufe
to men. What fifties feed on corn ?- or what
beafts on marine productions .? I do not mention
gold, brafs, and iron, with all which the Gods
have enriched us ; not to incur -their refentment by
overlooking the vagrant poor, efpecially when
any of them are in morals irreproachable, but, hav
ing inherited nothing from their parents, are re
duced to poverty by a noblenefs of mind which
defpifes wealth.. On feeing thefe, the generality
of mankind are apt to arraign the Q ods. Indi
gence, however, is by no means chargeable to the
Gods, but to the infatiable avarice of us who are
rich, to which are owing the falfe ideas which men
form of the Gods, and the calumnies with which
they reproach them. Do we defire that God
Would rain down gold on the poOr, as he did for
merly on the Rhodiansfr* Were this to be granted,
immediately fending out our fervants, and every
where placing veffels, we fhould drive away all
* Gen. iii. 21. — the Lord Cod made coats of Jkins, and
cloathed them. /
f Jupiter is faid to have rained gold on the Rhodians at
the time when Vulcan, cleaving his fkull with a hatchet,
delivered him of Minerva. See Pindar. Olymp. VII. and
Homer. II. II. 670.
With joy they faw the growing empire rife,
And fhowers of wealth defcending from the fkies.
Pope 813.
others,

122 DUTIES of a PRIEST.
others, that we alone might fnatch the common
bleffings of the Gods. Some perhaps may wonder
atoiir wifhing for what cannot poffibly happen, and
would be utterly ufelefs ; fince what is abfolutely in
our power we do not pradtife. Who was ever
impoveriflied by what he gave to others ? I, for
my part, as often as I have been liberal to the
poor, have in return been abundantly rewarded
by the Gods; though I have never been a vile
hoarder, nor have I ever repented of my gene-
rofity. I fay nothing of the prefent time (as it
would be abfurd to compare private generofity
with Imperial munificence), but, when I was a fub
ject *, I remember that this often happened -f.
Thus when the edate of my grandmother J, which
had been forcibly with-held, at length devolved
to me entire ; of the little which I then had I ex
pended and bedowed on the poor. We ought
therefore of our abundance to be communicative
to all men, but efpecially to the virtuous ; and to
* Confequently, while he yet frequented the churches
of the Chriftians. Spanheim.
f This had of old been divinely faid by another, the
wifeft of princes : He that bath pity upon the poor, (or, which
is the fame thing, who giveth to the poor), lendeih unto the
Lord, and that which he bath given, will he pay him again.
Prov. xix. 17. And in another place, The liberal foul fhall
be made fat ; and he that watcretb, fiball be watered alfo him-
felf. xi. 25,. Ibid.
X The name of Julian's maternal grand-mother is un
known. She efpoufed Anicius Julianus, who was a pre
fect, and from this marriage fprung Bafilina (the mother
of Juhan), and the famous Count Julian. La Bleterie.
See Epiftle xlvi. the

DUTIES of a PRIEST. 123
the indigent, as far as will relieve their neceffities.
I will add, though it may feem paradoxical, that
it is a duty to give cloathing and food to our ene
mies * ; for we give it to their nature, and not tb
their conduct. And, therefore, I think that thofe
who are imprifoned in dungeons, are alfo worthy
of this attention, as ' fuch humanity by no means
interferes with judice. For as many are imprifon
ed for trial, of whom fome are to be condemned,
and others acquitted, it would be much too fevere
to refufe compaflion even to the guilty for
the fake of the innocent, and rather to treat the
innocent with cruelty and inhumanity on account
of the -guilty. The more I confider this, the more
unjuft I think it. We dyle Jupiter the Hofpi-
table, yet we ourfelves are more inhofpitable than
the Scythians. How, or with what confcience,
can one, who would facrifice to Jupiter the Hof-
pitable, approach his (hrine, when he forgets, that
By Jove the ftranger and the poor are fent,
And what to thofe we give, to Jove is lent f ?
* Can there be a doubt of the fountain from which
Julian drew this living water, fo different from the muddy
ftreams of his favourite philofophers ? If thine enemy hunger,
feed him ; if be tbirft, give him drink. Rom. xii. 20. InafniKch
as ye have done it unto one of the leaf} of thefe my brethren, ye
have done it unto me. Matth. XXV. 40.
. f Odyff. VI. 207. Broome 247. Part of the fpeech
of Nauficaa to Ulyffes on finding him fhipwrecked on
Phxacia. The fame lines occur again in Odyis.xiv. 56. and
are alfo quoted by Julian in Epiftle xlix. They are there
differently tranflated by Pope. Thus alfo Odyff. ix. 270.
 the Gods revere ;
The poor and ftranger are their conftant care. Pope 301.
And

1 24 ~D,\J T I E S of a P R I E ST.,
And how can a worfhipper of: d?cial Jupiter, if
he fees any one in diflrefs, and does. noG giy$:hira
part of a. drachm, think that he worfhips Ju-r
piter as he ought ? When I reflefft on thefe things,
Iam.quite aftonifhed, feeing the; farnames of the
Gods, coeval with the wqrld,;;Confidered as fo many
painted .images, but i in fa& ; by ; no -.means treated
by us as fuch. The Gods z are ftyled by 11s
Houftiold Gods, and Jupiter the DQmeJtie Deity..*
but- we, behave tq our relatione :as jf they were
ftrangers, For man is related, with or without
his cpnfent, to • every , other, man 5 whether, as :is
faid by fome,,, we all proceed, :from One man- and
one woman;. or; whether the Gods produced1 not
one man and .one woman only, bvtt many &t. orice»
in great < numbers,;. together with the world. , For
t^ey-who, could. create one man and one woman,
were alfo able, 'tcf; create many i' and: in the fame
manner that they produced them, they might1' alfo
produce thefe.. Confider not only the variety of
cuftoms and of , laws, but, which is more impor
tant, more excellent, and more prevalent, that
tradition of the Gods which has been , trahfnutted
to us by the mod ancient miniders in things facred;
namely, that, when Jupiter formed the world, forhe
drops of facred blood were fpilled on. the earth,
from which fprung mankind. Thus we are all
relations ; fince from one man and one woman, or
from two perfons, many men and women have
fprung, as the Gods declare,' and we mud necef
farily believe on the tedimpny of, the facts them
felves,

DUTIES of a PRIEST. 125
felves, as we all derive our origin from the Gods.
That many men were produced at once is tedified
by facts, but will be more clearly fhewn in another
place. * * * * *.
It is proper alfo to obferve, as has been faid
by thofe who have preceded us, that man is by
nature a focial animal. Shall we then, who
deliver and edablifh thefe maxims, act unfocially
towards our neighbours ? Urged by fuch cudoms
and inclinations, let every one of us difcharge the
duties of piety towards the Gods, of benevolence
towards men, of chadity in regard to the body,
and all the offices of religion. Let us endeavour
always to retain in our minds fome religious idea of
the Gods, and viewing their temples and images
with honour and veneration, let us revere them as
> much as if we faw the Gods themfelves there-, pre
fent. For the images, and altars, the cuflody of
the facred fire, and all other things of that- kind.
were edablifhed by our ancedors as fymbols of the
prefence of the Gods; not that we fuppofe them
to be Gods, but that we may worfhip the Gods
by them * 
Befides the images of the Gods, theif temples,
their fhrines, and their altars are to be reverenced.
¦It is alfo reafonable that the priefls diould be
honoured, as the miniders and fervants -of the
¦-<{>
* This plea in defence of image-worfhip has been fince
adopted, as is well known, by the Romifh Church. Other
arguments equally futile and jefuitical follow. But the
;atjove may fuffice.
Gods,

125 D U T I E S of a P R I E S T.
Gods, who difpenfe to us what delates to them,,,
and contribute much towards procuring us their
favours. For they celebrate facrifices, and offer up
prayers, for all. And therefore it is jud to pay
them not lefs but rather more honour than to the
civil magidrates. But if any one fhould think that
the civil magidrates are entitled to equal honour,
as they difcharge a kind of priedly function, by
being guardians of the laws; yet no lefs refpect
is due to the others. The Greeks advifed their
king to reverence a prieft "*, though an enemy ;
and (hall we not reverence thofe who are our
friends, and who pray and facrifice for us ?
As my difcourfe has returned to the point from
which it digreffed, it is proper for me now to ex
plain how a prieft ought to act in order to be juftly
efteemed. As to what relates to ourfelves, that
need not here be difcuffed or examined.
As long as a prieft retains his rank, be fhould
be honoured and refpected ; when he is wicked,
let him be degraded from the priefthood, and when
he is unworthy, defpifed. But as long as he facri
fices, and makes libations, and attends on the Gods,
we fliould behold him, as we do their moft valu
able poffeffions, with regard and veneration. For
it is abfurd to love the ftones of which altars are
formed, op account of their being confecrated to
the Gods, and becaufe they are of fuch a fhape
* Horn. II. I. 23. Speaking of Chryfes. AuWSa, ff Ufvt
Jtc. The prieft to reverence, &c. and

DUTIES of a PRIEST.
and figure as are fuitable to the holy office for
which they are intended; and not to think a man,
who is dedicated to the Gods, worthy of honour.
Some perhaps may think that the fame honour is
alfo due to one who acts unjuftly, and is guilty
of many tranfgreffions in his holy office. Such a
one, I fay, fhould be cenfured, left by his wicked-
nefs he fliould offend the Gods ; but till he has
been cenfured, let him not be defpifed. Nor is it
reafonable, having this opportunity, to deny not
fuch only, but thofe who deferve it, the honour
that is their due. Like a magiftrate, therefore, let
every prieft be refpected, as this is the oracle of
the Didymtean God * :
They whom depravity and folly lead
To fcorn the priefts of heaven's immortal powers,
And to the wife intentions of the Gods
Their own vain thoughts contemptuoufly oppofe,
In fafety live not half their days, condemn'd
To perifh by th' eternal Gods, who deem
Their fervants honour facred as their own f.
And again, in another place, the God fays,
For all my fervants by deftructive vice, &c.
and declares, that for that he will inflict punifti-
ments upon them. As there are many fuch fayings
* Didymsean Apollo. This title was given to Apollo,
or the Sun, by reafon of his own light, and that which
he communicates to the Moon. Macrob. Sat. I. 17.
Others derive the name from a temple and oracle of
Apollo at Didyma in Miletus. See Strabo, Geog. 1. xiv.
Pliny, and Lucian de Afirologid.
f Julian quotes this oracle again in his Lxnd Epiftle. of

DUTl-feS of a PRIEST.
of the God, which1 ffiay ihftruct us how much we
ought to honour and venerate the priefthood, I will
difcufS'them more fully on fome other occafion.
It may be fufficient at prefent, as.-I would fay no
thing inconfiderately, to quote this prophecy and
mandate of the God in his own words. If any one
therefore thinks me in thefe matters an inftru&or
worthy of credit, let him revere and obey the Godt
and pay diftinguifhed honour to the priefts.
What a prieft ought to be, I will now endeavour
to explain ; not on your account (for had I not
been firmly perfuaded, not only by the teftimoiiy
of our chief*, but by that of the fupreme Gods-,
that you would ably difcharge this office, as far as
your will and inclination are concerned, I (hould
not have1 ventured to entruft to you a work of fuch
importance) but that you may inftruct others in
your neighbourhood, both in town and country,
by ftronger arguments, ah'd, with fuperior autho
rity, as not being merely your private fentiments,
or your own practice only,' but as being * alfo my
opinion, who, in what relates to the Gods, feem to
be Supreme Pontiff f, and though by nO means
worthy
* KaOiiysfioiro;. Probably Maximus, the pervertefof Julian
to Paganifm (fee p. 113., note *) whom, writing to
another prieft (Epiftle LXI II.) he calls by the fame
name, " Koiwt xa.6wytfu/t, their common mafter;" and oh
whofe advice, in thefe ecclefiaftical arrangements, it ap
pears that he chiefly relied.
t It is remarkable, that Julian here does not exprefsly
ftyle himfelf Sovereign Pontiff, but that 44 he feemed fo be"
i". coKatia f»ai, though Conftantine and flic fucceeding Em-
perors

DUTIES op a PRIEST.
Worthy of fo high an office, yet dudy to be fo,,
and for that purpofe condantly fupplicate the Gods.
Be affured, that they have given us great hopes
after death, and on them we may with confidence *
rely, as they are incapable of deceiving, not only
in fuch matters, but in any of the concerns of
human life. If, by their excellent power, they
can correct all the didurbances and mondrous
abufes that happen in this life, how much more
in the other (where the contending parts are dif-
united, the immortal foul being feparated, and
the body dead), will they be able to perform all
the promifes" that they have made to mankind I
Knowing therefore that the Gods have affigned to
their prieds great rewards, let us make thofe whofe
lives are conformable to their examples, which
ought to fpeak to the vulgar, fponfors in every
thing for their dignity. This we mud begin with
piety towards the Gods. Thus it becomes us to
minider to them as fuppofing them prefent and
feeing us (though we fee not them), and, with a
fight fuperior to every kind of fplendor, pene-
perors (as has been obferved by Spanheim, from ancient
marbles', coins, &c. Obf. ad Jul. Orat. I. p. 278.) retained
this dignity till the reign of Gratian.
Neither was Gallienus, as Spanheim afferts, nor Clau
dius, as others, the laft on whofe coins the titles of Pon-
tifex Maximus, and the tribunitial power, are recorded.
Clarke.
* This is not fo much a Chaldasan, or an Hermetic, or
even a Platonic, as a Chriftian confidence. Spanheim.
Vol. I. K trating

129

130 DUTIES of a P RIEST.
trating our mod fecret thoughts *. That this is
not my fentiment, but that of God, expreffed in
feveral paffages, it may be fufficient to (hew by one
inflance, which will edablifli thefe two points,
that the Gods fee all things, and that they delight
in the pious:
Nothing efcapes the wide-extended beam
Of Phoebus ; folid rocks it penetrates,
And feas ccerulean; nor the darry hod
Eludes it, through the firmament, untir'd,
Revolving, by neceffny's wife law ;
Nor all the nations of the dead, beneath
Immers'd by Tartarus in fhades of night.
Eut not high Heaven delights me more than
goodnefs.
Therefore as every foul, efpecially the human f,
is more nearly connected with and allied to the
Gods than flones or rocks, it is probable that the
eyes of the Gods can penetrate them with much
more eafe and efficacy. Obferve too the philan
thropy of God, in faying, that he is 44 as much
44 delighted with the thoughts of religious men,
44 as with the purity of Olympus." Will he not
therefoie raife the fouls of us all, who pioufly
approach him, from darknefs and from Tartarufc!
* Thus the Pfalmift, Thou underfiandcfl my thought afar
of. Thou art acquainted with all my ways, ice.. Pf. exxxix.
-j- By this diftiniftion, or preference, Julian feems to fup
pofe that beads alfo ha\e fouls, as he muft allude to foine
beings in tenor lo the human. For

DUTIE S of A PR I EST. 131
-For he knows even thofe who are confined in Tar-
tarns, that not being exempted from the divine
power. But to the pious, inftead of Tartarus, he
promifes Olympus *.
Above all, therefore, it is indifpenfibly necef-
fary for the prieds to be active in works of piety,
that they may approach the Gods with religious
awe +, and not fay or heat any thing that is
fhameful. For priefts ought not only to abftain
from all impure and immoded practices, but alfo
from all fuch words and fights. Far, therefore,
from us be all licentious jeds, and all fcurrilous
difcourfe |. That you may more clearly under-
ftand my meaning, let no prieft read Archilochus ||,
nor
* It is curious to hear a heathen philofopher thus in
culcating the immortality, or future exiftence, of the foul,
the.refurreftion, &c. But, as the woman of Samaria faid to
our Lord, the well is deep ; and Julian, like her, had nothing]
to draw with but what he borrowed from Chriftianity.
Where, for inftance, did he learn, that 44 the pious are
44 promifed Olympus r" Virgil, improving on Homer,
fpeaks only of Elyfian fields, or pleafant earthly manfionSj
locos Icctos, tt amoena vireta, &c. in which fages and heroes
were placed after death. But that the juft fhall ba
caught up into heaven, or are promifed Olympus, that
where God himfelf is, there they fhall be alfo, was brought to
light by the go/pel.
f Thus the Pfalmift, Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice
with trembling. Pfalm ii. 1 1 .
X Thus St. Paul, Neither filthinefs, nor foolifih talking, nor
jefling, which arc not convenient, Sec. Eph. V. 4.
II Julian chara&erifes the poetry of Archilochus in hit
vnth oration. He was the firft inventor of Iambics.
Archilochum preprio rabies armavit Iambo,
  Archilochus by rage
Was with his own Iambic arm'd,
as Horace expreffe3 it, in which he syrote fo fererely againft
K. z Lycambjs,

132 DUTIES of a PRIEST.
nor Hipponax *, nor any other writer of that clafi:
let him alfo avoid every thing that has, the fame
tendency in the old Comedy f. Much preferable
and more fuitable to us is the dudy of philofophy
Lycambes, who had promifed him his daughter in marriage,
but gave her to another, that he hanged himfelf. His
poems are now loft.
* A witty poet of Ephefus, whofe Iambics are faid to
have had the fame tragical effect as thofe of Archilochus.
They are alfo loft.
How little Julian obferved this rule himfelf will be evi.
dent to any one from feveral of his works, in which he
more than once alludes to the faying3 both of Archilochus
and the old comic poets, but particularly from the Casfars
and the Mifopogon, which are not only feafoned with far-
cafms and jokes, but alfo abound with feoffs more cutting
and fevere than any of the Iambics of Archilochus or Hip- '
ponax. So that what Cyril faid, in his books againft him,
was not undeferved, that '4 he ftudioufly covets the reputa-
44 tion of great and various erudition." Spanheim.
¦j- The old Comedy was fo called on account of the
alterations that happened afterwards, and which occafioned
three forts of comedy ; the old, the middle, and the new.
The old, in which there was nothing fictitious, either in
the fubject, or in the names of the actors : The middle,
where the fubjects tvere not fictitious ; they were true hif.
tories, but the names were invented : And the new, in
which every thing was feigned; the poets invented not
only the fubjects, but alfo the names. Eupolis, Cratinus,
and Ariftophanes, [all mentioned by Horace, 1. i. fat. 4. I.]
are the three greateft poets of the old comedy, and were
contemporary, about 400 years before our Saviour. The
liberty which they took of naming notorious offenders,
fuch as Cleon, Hyperbolus, Cleophantes, &c. they often
abufed ; Cratinus did not fpare even the great Pericles, and
Ariftophanes refpedted not the wifdom of Socrates. Not
contented with making men's actions the fubjects of their
pieces, they reprefented their faces to the life by means'of
masks, which were made to refemble them. Dacier.
How clofely Foote, the modern Ariftophanes, trod in the
fteps of thefe ancients is notorious. alone,

DUTIES of aPRIEST.
alone, of thofe fectS efpecialty which boaft the
Gods as the fird promulgers of their doctrine, fuch
as thofe of Pythagoras *, Plato, and Aridotle, and
alfo thofe who follow Chryfippus f and Zeno |.
Not that we fliould liden to all, or to the tenets
of them all, but to thofe tenets only which are
productive of piety : and as to the Gods, thefe
teach us, fird, that they are ; fecondly, that they
regard things below § ; and ladly, that they do not
the lead evil to men or others, or are envious,
flanderous, or contentious, as has been related by
our poets, but for which they are defpifed, while
the Jewifh prophets, for ftrongly afferting the
fame, are admired by thofe wretches who adhere
to the Galileans ||. To us thofe hidories are moft
fuitable which relate real facts ; but let thofe fic
tions, which the ancients have compofed in the
form of hidories, be avoided ; fuch as love-tales,
* See p. 21. t See p. 8. X See p- 39,
§ Thus St. Paul — he that cometh to God muft believe that.
he is, and that he is a rewardcr of them that diligently feek him.
Heb. xi. 6.
\\ The featiments of Julian were expreffed in ¦ ftyle of
farcaftic wit, which inflicts a deep and deadly wound when*
ever it iffues from the mouth of a fovereign. As he was
fenfible that the Chriftians gloried in the name of their
Redeemer, he countenanced,, and perhaps enjoined, the u-fe
of the lefs honourable appellation of Galileans. Gibbon.
There might .be a mixture of policy in it too, as know
ing the efficacy of a nick-name to render a profeflion ri
diculous. , , La Bleterie.
This nick-name, however, did not originate with Julian.
Epiitetus gave the Chriftians the fame appellation near 300
y-ears before. See his Difcourfes IV. § 2. &c.
-• K 3 and

i34 D U T I E S of a P R I E Si T,
and every thing in that drain. As all ways * are
pot proper for a pried -j~, but require being point
ed out to him, neither does every kind of reading
fuit him. For the mind is affected by books 5 and
the paflions, being foon raifed, on a hidden burft
forth into a dreadful flame. Againft this, I think,
we fhould watchfully guard long before.
Let no admittance be given to the doctrine of
Epicurus X, nor to that of Pyrrho §. The Gcds
indeed
* This refers to the 4< Sacred Way,'' a ftreet in Rome
fo called, becaufe the priefts went that way on the ides of
each month to facrifice. Horace met his Impertinent in it.
Ibam forte via facrd, &c. /. I . Sat. 9.
•j- As to this inftitution there is a remarkable paffage of
Athenajus, at the end of his fixth boo)c, where he treats
of the remains of ancient frugality and parfimony, which
were ftill retained in the offices of religion: 4l We walk in
44 fome prefcribed and appointed ways ; we carry [in our
44 proceflions] and repeat in our prayers what we are eu-
44 joined, and in our facrifices we act with fimplicity and
44 ceconomy. For we wear nothing more than nature re-
44 quires, either next to our bodies, or in our outward
14 garments; our cloaths and our flioes are cheap, and the
44 veffels with which we minifter are of earth or brafs."
Petau.
X Epicurus, the difciple of Xenocrates and Ariftotle,
fuppofed the world to be formed by chance, or a fortuitous
concoutfe of atoms. He maintained alfo that pleafure was
the end of man, of which he conftituted fenfe the judge.
He denied the natural relation of mankind to each other,
taught irreligion and injuftice, and his principles led to.
oppreifion, adultery, and murder, in the opinion of Epic-
tetus and others.
§ Pyrrho, the founder of the feet of the Pyrrhonifts Jor
Sceptics], was born at Elis, and flourifked about the time
of Alexander. [He was contemporary alfo with Epicurus
and Theophrafius.] He held, that there is no difference
between juft and unjuft, good and evil ; that all things are
equaljy

DUTIES of a PRIEST. 135
indeed have wifely abolifhed them, many of iheir
writings being lofl * ; but it cannot be improper to
mention them,for the fake of example, to (hew what
kind of books the prieds ought principally to fhun.
And if books, much rather fhould thoughts, b»
avoided. For the guilt of the mind, and that of
equally indifferent, uncertain, and undiftinguiftnble j that
neither our fenfes nor underftanding give us either a true
or a falfe information : therefore, that we ought to give
them no credit, but to remain without opinion, without
motion, without inclination ; and to fay of every thing,
that it no more is than it is not; that it is no more one
thing than another ; and that againft one reafon there is
always an equal reafon to be oppofed. His life is faid to
have been conformable to his principles ; ' for that he never
avoided any, thing; and his friends were obliged to follow
him, to prevent his running under the wheels of a coach,
or walking down a precipice. But thefe ftorics perhaps are
nothing but mere invention, formed to expofe the abfur-
dities of his fyftem. Once, when he faw his mafter An-
axarchus fallen into a ditch, he paffed by him, without
offering him any affiftance. Anaxarchus was confiftent
enough with his principles not to fuffer Pyrrho to be blamed-
for this tranquil behaviotir ; which he juftified, as a laudable
inftance of indifference, and want of affection. A fine
picture this of fceptical frieudfliip !
For a more complete account of the fyftem of Pyrrho,
fee Diogenes Laertius, in his life ; and Lipfius ManuduB.
ad Steic. Philofph. 1. n. dif. 3. Mrs. Carter.
* The exultation of Julian that thefe impious fects, and
even their writings, are extingnifhed, may be confiftent
enough with the facerdotal character ; but it is unworthy
of a philofopher to wifh that any opinions, and arguments
the moft repugnant to his own, fliould be concealed from
the knowledge of mankind. Gibbon.
44 With the facerdotal character, of a Pagan or a Papift,
44 fuch exultation may be confiftent ;" but furely not with
that of a Proteftarit, who is' taught to '' | rove all things,"
and whofe feceffion from the church of Rome was grounded
on freedom of enquiry, and juftified by reafon.
K 4 the

136 DUTIES of a PRIEST.
the tongue, are not, in my opinion, of an equal
dye ; but the mind fhould in the firft place be
guarded, as by it the tongue is taught to offend.
The hymns therefore of the Gods fhould be
learned, which are many and beautiful, compofed
both by ancients and moderns ; and chiefly thofe
v/hich are fung in the temples. For mod of them
the Gods have by fupplications been induced tq
deliver ; though fome, the effufions of divine infpi-
ration, and of fouls inacceflible to evil, have been
made by men in honour of the Gods. Thefe de;
ferve to be fludied ; and the Gods fhould fre?
quently be addreffed, in private as well as in
public ; generally three times a day; or, at lead,
at the dawn, and in the evening. Nor is it proper
for a prieft to pafs a whole day and night without
a facrifice ; for as the dawn is the beginning cf-
the day, fo is the evening of the night ; and
therefore it is reafonable to offer the firft-fruits, as
it were, of both thefe intervals to the Gods when
we reft from our priedly function. The rites that
are performed in the temples are performed in
obedience to the laws of our country, and neither
more nor lefs is required than they prefcribe.
Thefe are the property of the Gods. Therefore to
render them the more propitious, we (hould
imitate their nature : And indeed if we confided
of fouls only, as the body would then be no ob-
ftruction to us, it might be proper to prefcribe a
particular mode of life to the priefts. But fince the

DUTIES of aPRIEST. 137
the priefts do not merely confid of fouls *, that
which they are to dudy in the time of their mir
nidration is not the whole of their employment.
What then is allowable to one who is appointed
to the priedly office at the feafons when he is not
engaged in his facred vocation ? lam of opinion
that a pried fhould in every refpect be immaculate,
both by night and day ; that he fliould purify
himfelf everv nio-ht with thofe ludrations that our
ordinances require; and that he fliould confine him
felf within the precincts of the temple as many days
as the laws enjoin. To us at Rome thirty days -j-
are commanded ; , other places differ. All thofe
days he fhpuld refide, I think, and philofophife in
the temple ; and not go either home, or to the
forum ; nor fee even a magidrate, except 'in the
temple ; but take upon himfelf the fuperintendence
of divine worfhip, and infpect and regulate the
whole. Thofe days being completed, when ano
ther has fucceeded to his office, and he returns to
the ordinary bufinefs of life, let him freely refort
* Something here is wanting ; I have fupplied it by
ponje&ure. •f It is remarkable that the leaft refidence enjoined by'
their local ftatutes to the prebendaries in moft o/our
cathedrals confifts of exactly the fame number of days, viz.
fhirty. But their 44 ftridt refidence," as it is called, being
in general indifpenfible, of twenty-one days in continuum,
is much lefs ftridt than that of thefe Pagan priefts, as it is
fatisfied by their appearing in their flails once every day,
and fleeping in their houfes every night. Thirty days re
fidence being enjoined (as above) at Rome to every prieft,
the number allotted to each temple muft have been twelve
at leaft. to

13.8 DUTIES of a PRIEST.
to the houfes of his friends, and, when he is in
vited, to the entertainments, not indeed of all, but
s - of perfons whofe characters are refpectsble. At
fuch times alfo there is no indecorum in his going,
but rarely, to the forum ; or in vifiting the duke *
and prsefedt # of the province, and to the utmoft
of his power relieving theindigeut.
Let me add, that I think it becoming for the
prieds to wear in the temple, during their mini-
dration, a' mod magnificent habit, but out of it a
common plain .chefs. For it is abfurd to pervert
what is given us in honour of the Gods to the pur
poses of pride and vanity. And therefore in the
forum we fliould renounce our codly yedments,
and totally relinquifh all odentation. The Gods,
admiring the modedy of Amphiaraus, though, they
had doomed that army to dedruction, in which,
apprifed of this decree, he ferved, and therefore
his fate was inevitable, removed him from this life
to another, and gave him a divine inheritance. For
when alj the chiefs' who befieged Thebes infenbed
devices on their fhields -f- before they were forged,
and thus erected , trophies, as it were, on the ca
lamities of the Cadmeans t, this converfer with the
Gods went on tha,1 expedition with armour unin-
* The military and civil commanders, the general and
the governor. The former was ftyled r,yijj.u», or dux.
f The1 ofteutatiou's devices, or armorial bearings of thefe
chiefs, may be feen.in ALfchylns.
X The Thebans, fo called from Cadmus, the fupppfed
.founder of their city.
3 fcribed^

DUTIES of a PRIEST.
fcribcd *, fb that even his enemies atteded his
clemency and moderation. Prieds therefore, I
think, fhould [imitate his example f], in order to
infure the favour of the Gods. For we offend
them not a little by expofing to the populace the
facred yedments, and improperly divulging them
to the public view as a wonderful fight. From
whence it happens, as we are approached by many
who are impure, that the fymbols of the Gods are
defiled. But for us to wear the habit, and not to
lead the lives, of prieds, is in itfelf a fummary
* Thus ALfchylus, in his Seven Chiefs againft Thebes,
 with awful port the prophet
Advanc'd his maffy fhield, the fhining orb
Bearing no imprefs ; for his generous foul
Wiflies to be, not to appear, the beft § ;
And from the culture of his modeft worth
Bears the rich fruit of great and glorious deeds. Potter.
As this modeft and amiable augur was fighting bravely,
the earth opened beneath him, and he defcended alive to
the infernal regions, with all his arms, and in his chariot.
Statius has exerted the utmoft force of his genius in de
ferring this righteous hero. Ibid.
Amphiaraus wearing his fhield entirely plain is ac
counted for in the fame manner by Euripides, who has imi
tated the above, in his Phoenician Virgins:.
¦  no unfeemly pride
In his armorial bearings was exprefs'd,
But on his modeft buckler there appear'd
A vacant field. Wodhull.
Homer ftyles him, Odyff. xv. 243.
The people's faviour, and divinely wife,
Belov'd by Jove and him who gilds the Ikies, Pof.E, 274.
44 By Jove," fays Euftatbius, 4i becaufe he was a king,
and by Apollo, becaufe he was a prophet."
t Seme fuch words are wanting here in the original.
§ EJi quam vidfri. of

W

140 DUTIES of a PRIEST.
of every tranfgreffion, and the greated contempt
of the Gods. On that therefore I will be more
particular. I addrefs you on this fubject, as I deem you a
model. At obfcene theatrical entertainments let
not a pried by any means be prefent ; nor admit
them in his own houfe ; as nothing can be more
unbecoming. And if fuch exhibitions conld be
totally banifhed from the flage, and if all houfes
could be kept pure from Bacchus *, I would ufe
my utmod endeavours to effect fuch a reform. But
as I think this fcarce poffible, and, if it were, that
it might not be expedient, I have abandoned that
vain purfuit. I think it, however, highly proper
for prieds to abfent themfelves from theatres, and
to leave their lafcivioufnefs to the people. Let no
prieft therefore enter the theatre, nor form a
friendly connection with any actor, or charioteer -f-,
and
* That his own 44 cup" was 44 temperate" we have not
only his own word (Epift. xlvi.) but that of his con
temporaries. "What he practifed he had therefore a right
to preach. St. Paul, in like manner, teaches his bifhops
and deacons to be not pivento wine, to be lovers of hofpitality,
lovers of good men, jufl, holy, temperate, &c. And, though
omitted here, Julian directs his priefts alfo to be no Jlrikcrs,
in a particular Epiftle (the Lxudj on that fubje£t.
f Thofe who drove the chariots in the Circenfian or
public games, whofe company, like that of our black le^s,
Was fhunned by all who had a regard for their own repu
tation. Nero therefore could not more effectually degrade
his own character than by affuming that. Had he been a
Bririfh prince, he would have rid his own horfes at New
market, or driven a ftage-coach on the road. Actors were
viewed by Julian, and the lovers of decorum, in the lame
diferace-

DUTIES of a PR I E-S T.
and let no dancer or mimic approach his door. I
allow the prieds to go only, if they pleafe, to the
facred games ; provided they are thofe at which
women are forbidden not only to enter the lifts *,
but to be prefent. As to the hunting-matches which
are exhibited in fome cities within the theatres -j",
need I fay, that from them not merely the priefts,
but even their fons, fhould be excluded ?
difgraceful light. Though ALfopus in extravagance might
rival Cleopatra, neither he nor Rofcius was deemed, like
our Garrick, a companion for priefts and fenators.
* Juvenal (Sat. I.) mentions the women in his time as
ambitious of fhewing their courage in encountering wild
beafts, though with the forfeiture of their modefty.
Cum  — Mavia Tufcum
Figat cprum, &c.
When  the mannifh whore
Shakes her broad fpear againft the Tufcan boar.
Dryden.
Martial compliments the emperor Domitian on the fame
account ; and the women are expofed by Juvenal (Sat. VI.)
for engaging even as gladiators. Kennet.
¦*¦ The Venatio direptionis feems to have been an inftitution
of the later Emperors. The middle part of the Circus
being fet all over with trees, removed thither by main
force, and /aftened to huge planks, which were laid on the
ground ; thefe, being covered with earth and turf, repre
fented a natural foreft, into which the beafts being let from
the cavear, or dens under ground, the people at a fign
given by the Emperor fell to hunting them, and carried
away what they lilled to regale upon at home. The beafts
ufually given we;e ooars, deer, oxen, and fheep. Ibid.
The amphitheatral beafts fometimes broke loofe from
their dens, and made great havock in the city, as is men
tioned by Pliny, Ammianus, and others.
For fimilar hunting-maiches in the Greek amphitheatres
bears and panthers were i -. ">vi^ •', as Julian mentions in
his xxxvth Epiftle, for the Argives, I fliould-

duties of a PrieS f*.
I fhould perhaps have previoufly mentioned
from whence, and how, the prieds fhould be
chofen. But there is no impropriety in making
this the clofe of my difcourfe. Let them confift
of perfons of the bed characters in every city.
In the firft place, they fhould be ardent lovers of
th e "Gocls ;- and, fecondly, of mankind .alfo *; of
the poor as well as the rich. As to that, let nodif.
tinction be made between the noble and the mean.
For he whom his modedy fequefiers is by no
means to be rejected on account of the obfcurity
of his merit. Therefore, though a man be poor,
or a Plebeian, if lie have thefe two endowments,
love towards the Gods, and love towards men *,
let him be elected into the priedhood. His love
towards the Gods will appear by his indrudting
his family in religious duties ; and his love
towards men by his didributing from a little
liberally -j- to the neceflitous, by giving With a
Willing mind, and endeavouring to do as much
good as poffible. But this part requires the ut
mod attention, as fome preventive remedy muft be
provided. * What are thefe but the two Chriftian commandments,
the love of God and of our neighbour, on which, fays our
Saviour, hang all the law and the prophets ?
f Thus Tobit, iv. 8. If thou haft abundance, give alms
accordingly: if thou have but a little, be not afraid to give ac
cording to that little, Obfervlnjj,

DUTIES of a P R I fe S T. H3
• ¦ ,;,,.' , .,. ,. / ..:., ... / , . f. >
Obferving, I fuppofe, that our priefts negiect
the poor *, the impious Galileans have adopted
this philanthropy, and on the ferablance of this
duty have founded a moft enormous crime ; like
thofe who allure children with cakes, which hav
ing given them twice or thrice, they inveigle them
from their parents, and, conveying the'm on fh'ip-
board, fell' thefti in diftant countries j ,and ttius
for a tranfientx fvveet the remainder of their, lives
is imbittered -f. In the fame manner, they,- be-
* The author-muff have known, from the facred boo^s
which he read as lecturer in the church of Nicomedia1,
tHat this was an unfair reprefentation, and that the Chrif
tians had a prior and much more cogent obligation in thei'r
divine law, whofe characteriftic is philanthropy and uni
verfal benevolence. But he is not afhamed firft to plundeV
and then- to revile it.
f He infinuates, that the Chriftians, under the pretence
ef charity, inveigled children from their religion arid pa'-
fents, conveyed them on fhip-boardj and devoted thofe
, viftims to a life of poverty or fervitude, in a remote
"country. Had this charge been proved, if was his duty not
to complain but fo punifh. Gibbon.
Though I have tranfcribed this note, T cannot afieiit fa
the conftruction which the ingenious writer has put upon
th.g fehfimehts of Julian in the firft part of it. The 44 in
veigling of children," (above-mentioned) I "apprehtnd to
be only (as I have tranflated it) 4l by way of fimUe ;" hdr
is it faid or implied that Chriftians only were the inveiglers.
The fimile, as ufual, begins with ilo-nsf (" As") and the
application is made by To, avrot «m avloi rofirot (" They, in
*4 like manner") fo that the charge againft the .Chriftians
is confined to their charity and miniftration to the poor
(Forgive them this wrong I) for which indeed (as above
remarked) Julian affigns an unworthy and difingenuous
motive, qualified by a 44 fuppofe" (oi^sei) which he. could
not really 44 fuppofe" to be true. But ready as he was
to calumniate the faithful, let us not impute to him
charges which henever brought. ginning

144 DUTIES of a PRIEST.
ginning with what they call a love-feaft, and a
hofpital *, and the minidry of tables f (for, as the
work, fo alfo is the word, frequent among them)',
pervert the faithful to impiety J; * * * '* * *
* 44 Hofpital" (wiroioxn) I have here reftored to its ori
ginal fenfe, as derived from bofpitium, a fenfe which, from
the difufe of fuch charitable foundations for age and want,
independently of accidents and difeafes, feems almoft loft
amongft us, the term being now generally confined to
receptacles for cafualty and ficknefs. But the hofpitals
eftabliftied by our anceftors, in the true primitive fpirit of
the gofpel, at and near Canterbury, at Guildford, Croydon^
&c. which are ftill in being, were appropriated, in the
former fsnfe, to the lodging and relief of the old and ne-
ceffitous. -j- Aiaxowa; rpairsfyv. The fame expreffion is ufed by St.-
Luke, in A£fs vi. 2.
From hence it appears, as has been related by Ter-
tullian and others, that, on account chiefly of the poor,
thofe common tables, common banquets, koi»«i reairt^on,
xojvai EuwKiai, as the ancient teachers of the, Chriftians after
wards called them, [mifprinted sux^x-ixi. See Athensus,
/. viii. c. 16.] were furnifhed by the rich. And alfo, as
is mentioned by Theophanes, that xenodochia, or receptacles,
were built for receiving any foreign poor, whether Gen
tiles or Chriftians ; and in the fame place he informs us of
the certain quantity of corn which was diftributed in the
province of Galatia for the relief of ftrangers and the poor.
Spanheim.
% The Fragment here ends abruptly. Other charges,
equally abfurd, might perhaps follow ; though, as this is
ftyled the 44 clofe" of it (tbj faye; Xifai), it could not be
much longer.

THE

[ H5 3

THE C^SARS*,

JdLiAN. T T is the feafon of the Saturnalia f ; the'"^.'
-"- God therefore allows ns to be merry ;
but as I have no talent for the ludicrous, I am
inclined, my friend, to blend wifdom with mirth.
Flit end-.
* Julian compofed this fatire after he was Emperor.
I would fay, that the friend with whom he eonverfes was
either Salluft the Second,- or Salluft praefeet of Gaul, if
the fatire of the Ca;fars were the fame as the work, en-
titled, The Saturnalia, as he feems to fay himfelf (Orat,
IV.) that he had addreffed that to Salluft. But a paffage
in the Saturnalia, quoted by Suidas, and which is not in
the Cxfars, proves that they were different works. [That
paffage is. as, follows: 4i But we believe Empedofimus %
44 and Pythagoras, and what^ derived from them, has been
44 delivered by Heraclides § of Poatus, and was lately
44 communicated to us by that excellent hierophant
44 Jamblichus."] It is needlefs to add that the word-
Cafar here means , Emperor, Even after that name had
been appropriated to a new dignity, the Augufti ftill re
tained it, though thofe who were only Ca?fars never bore"
the name of Emperors or Augufti. La Bleterie.
Julian compofed this fatire in the winter that he fpe"nt
at Conftantinople. Suidas.
5, He wrote on Natural Hiftory.
tilian mention* him alfo in the Fragment, by the name of *' the great
Eirr()edotimust'' and drifts him with Socrates and Du^, as being un u!lj
put to death*. , -
5 A narivc of Her-iclea in Pontus, a hearer of Plato and Ariftotle. • He
left fevrrsl.v^-ks, enumerati-'l l.y Diogenes Laertius, but all now lolt. A
tittle trotife " on Cunini.onw.ealit.b" is however aS'cnbtd to him.
Vol. I. J» Ths

,46 THE CISARS.
Friend. Can any one, Caefar, be (o abfurd as
to joke ferioudy ? I always thought that this was
intended only for relaxation, and to alleviate care. Jul.
The book of Henry Stephens, preferved in the London
library, mentions, in the Catalogue of his books, 'Zvpiroo-m,
v Kfowo, (44 The Banquet, or Saturnalia,") and does not
name the Ccefars. Petau.
The philofophical fable, which Julian compofed under
the name of the C;efars, is one of the moft agreeable and
inftruftive productions of ancient wit. Spanheim, in his
preface, has moft learnedly difcuffed the etymology, origin,
refemblance, and difagreement of the Greek Satyrs, a
dramatic piece, which was afted after the tragedy, and the
Latin Satires (from SaturaJ, a mifcellaneous compofition,
either in profe or verfe. But the Caefars of Julian are of
fuch an original caft, that the critic is perplexed to which
clafs he fliould afcribe them. The value of this agreeable
compofition is enhanced by the rank of the author. A
prince who delineates with freedom the vices and virtues of
his predeceffors, fubfcribes, in every line, the cenfure, or
approbation, of his own conducL Gibbon.
Thus agreeable, and thus inftrutftive, it feems extra
ordinary that this fliould be the firft attempt (at leaft I
know of no other) to tranflate the Caefars into Englifh.
¦j- The feftivals of Saturn were inftituted in the conful
fhip of Sempronius Atratinus, and Minucius ; or, accord
ing to others, in that of Titus Lartius. Others make
them commence in the time of Janus, king of the Abo
rigines, who received Saturn in Italy, furvived him, and
placed him among the Gods. The better to reprefent that
peace and abundance which were enjoyed in the reign of
that God, thefe feftivals paffed in entertainments and re
joicings. The Romans quitted the toga, and appeared in
public in an undrefs. They fent preients to eaeh other as
on new-year's day. Games of chance, forbidden at other
times, were then allowed, the fenate adjourned, the bu
finefs of the bar ceafed, and the fchools were fhut. The
children proclaimed the feftival by running through the
ftreets, and crying lo Saturnalia. In ancient times it was
held on the 17 th of December, according to the year of
Numa,

f H E CM S A R S.
Jul. You are in the right ; but that is by nd
means my difpofitiori ; as I have never been ad
dicted to feoffs, fatire, or ridicule. In order, how*
ever, to comply with the ordinance of the God,
fhall I, by way of amufemetlt, repeat to you a
fable, Which you will not pethaps be difpleafed
to hear !
Friend* You will oblige me. For I am fo far
from defpidng fables, that I value thofe which
have a moral tendency, being of the fame opinion
with you, and your, or rather our, Plato> who has
difcufled many ferious fubjects in fidu'onSi
Jul. True.
Friend. But whan, and whofe, fhall it be?
Jul. Not an ancient one, like thofe of iEfop,
but a fi&fcra from Mercury. This I will repeat to
you as I received it from that God, afld whether
it contain truth, or falfhoOd blended with truth, I
will leave you to judge when you have heard it.
Friend. Enough, and more than enough, of
preface. One would think you were going to de
liver an oration rather than a fable. Nov? then
proceed to the difcourfe itfelf.
Numa^ and continued only one day. Julius Caefar, when
he reformed the calendar, added two days to that month,
which were inferted before the Saturnalia, and given x to
that feftival. Auguftus afterwards added to it a fourth day,
and the Emperor Caius a fifth, named Juvenalia. In thefe
five days was included that which was appropriated to the
wOrfhip of Rhea, called Ofalia. There was afterwards
celebrated for two days the feftival in honour of Pluto,
called Sigillaria (or feaft' of ftatues) from fome fmall
images that were offered to that God. All thefe feftivals wevp
aj>penda"ges to the Saturnalia, which thus'lafted feven whole
days, from the 15th to the 21ft of December. Sanadon.
L 2 Jul-

147

THE CJE.SARS.
Jul. Attend. .7 ..;
Romulus, facridcing at the Saturnalia, invited
all the Gods, and Csefars alfo, to a banquet.
Couches were prepared for the reception .of the
Gods on the fummit of heaven, on
Olympus, the firm manfion of th' Immortals*'.
Thither, it is faid, like Hercules, Quirihus, af-
cended. For thus, in compliance withthe rumour
of his divinity, we mud dyle Romulus. Below
the moon, in the highed region of the air, a
repad was, given to the Csefars. Thither they
were wafted, and there they were buoyed up, by
the lightnefs of the bodies with which they, were
inveded, and the revolution of/the moon. Four
couches -j~, of exquidte workmanjhipj, were fpvead
for the fuperior Deities. That of, Saturn was
formed of. polilhed ebony, which reflected fuch a
divine, Judte as- was infupportable. For. on view
ing this ebony the, eye was, as much dazzled by the
excefs of light, as it is by gazing ftedfadly on the
fun. That of Jupiter was more fplendid than
filver, and too white, to be gold, but whether this
fliould be called eleclrum %, or what other name
fhould
* Oily IT. VI. 4a.
t The Roman mode of reclining, at their meals, oil
beds or couches, is too well known to need explanation.
Every couch held three.
* Pure gold was in ufe to the days of Alexander Severus,
who permitted a fifth part" of filver to be mixed with four
parts of gold. This they called eleBrifm.; and, in , confe-
quenceof his regulations, medals were'confecrate-d to.hira.
as the reftorer of the coin : a compliment due, with equal,
jultwjS:-

THE C M S A R S. 149
fhould be given it, Mercury, thoueh he' had en
quired' of the metallifts, could not precifely in
form me.
On each fide of them fat on golden thrones the
mother and: the daughter, Juno near- Jupiter, Rhea
near Saturn. On the beauty of the Gods Mercury
did not defcant ; as that, he faid, tranfcended my
faculties,5 and "Was iihpoffible for him to' exprefs.
For no terms-level to my comprehension ; however
eloquent, could fufficiently extol or do judice to
the inimitable beauty of the Gods.
Thrones, or couches, were prepared for all the
other Deities, according to their feniority. As to
this, there was no difagreemerit ; for, as Homer,
indrucled, no doubt, by the Mufes themfelves,
obferves, " each God has his own throne afligned
44 him, where he is firmly and immoreabfy fixed *."
When therefore they rife at the entrance of theif
Father, they never confound or change their
feats, or infringe on thofe of others. r. Every one
knows his proper dation.
Thus all the Gods being feated iff, a circle,
Silenus f fondly placed himfelf near young and
beautiful
juftice to the providence of the prefent moft auguft Sove
reign of Great Britain ; who, in this and many other re-
fpedts, may be compared to that moft exdeljent and virtuom
Emperor. Clarke.
Julian (as will be obferved in the fequel) has not done
juftice to this prince.
* I do not retjolleft this paffage in Homer, nor has the
Index: °f Seberus enabled me to find it.
f The mixed character of Silenus is finely; painted in the
fixth eclogue of Virgil. Gibbon.
T Servius

1 5<? THE C^SARS,
beautiful Bacchus (who was clofe to his father
Jupiter), as his foder-father and governor, di-,
verting the God, who is a lover of mirth and
laughter, with his facetious and farcadic faying?.
As foon as the table was fpread for the Caofars,
the fird who appeared was Julius Caesar. Such
Was his paffion for glory, that he feemed willing
to contend for dominion with Jupiter himfelf. Si
lenus, obferving him, faid, ,4 Behold, Jupiter, one
44 who has ambition enough to endeavour to de-*
44 throne you : He is, you fee, drong and hand'
44 fome, and, if he refembles me in nothing elfe,
44 his head, at lead, is certainly the fellow of
44 mine *."
Amidd thefe jokes of Silenus, to which the
Gods paid little attention, Octavianus entered,
He affumed, like a camelion, various colours, at
fird appearing pale, then bl.ack, daric, and cloudy f,
and,
Servius remarks that Virgil to.ok {he hint of hjs Silenus,
from Theopompus. According to our ideas of the Heathen
Gods, the p^rt, affigned to him by Julian feems rather
more fuitable to Momus.
* It fhould be remembered that Silenus was reprefented
very fhort, fiat-nofed, with large eyes, and a fat paunch.
Ca:far, on the contrary, was tall, well-made, and of a
genteel fhape. His aquiline nofe, his piercing eyes, and
his noble air feemed to announce the mafter of the world.
But he was bald, like Silenus, which fo much concerned
him, that of all the diflindtions that were lavifhed upon him
by the Roman fena.te and people, none, it is faid, gave him
more pleafure than that of always wearing a crown of
laurel- . Le Bleterie.
t This marks the various chara&ers which the policy of
Auguftus knew how to affume, as occafion required ; the
fupple-

THE C^SARS. 151
and, at lad, exhibiting the charms of Venus and
the Graces. In the ludre of his eyes he feemed
willing to rival the fun * ; nor could any one en
counter his looks. 44 Strange !" cried Silenus ;
44 what a changeable creature is this ! what mif-
44 chief will he do us!" ' Ceafe trifling,' faid Apollo,
' after I have configned him to Zeno, I will ex-
4 hibit him to you pure as gold. Hark ye,' added
he to that philofopher ; 4 Zeno, undertake the care
'of ray pupil f.' He, in obedience, fuggeding to
fupplenefs with which he cringed at firft to the republican
party, his cruelty in the profcription, &c. his conduct
compounded both of good and evil till he had deftroyed
the Triumvirs his collegues ; and, laftly, the gentlenefs
and equity of his government when he was abfolute mafter.
£)n his death-bed he aiked his friends, whether he halS
performed his part well in the world ; ecquid Us vidcretur
mimum vita commode tranfegifii ? He might have been an
swered, that the a£tor was inimitable, and that the piece
would have been applauded without exception, if its be
ginning had been lefs tragical. Ibid.
* Thefe particulars are found in Suetonius : 44 His
44 eyes were bright and lively, and he affecled to have i|t
44 thought there was a certain divine vigour in them, and
44 was wonderfully pleafed, if any one, when he looked
44 earneftly upon him, turned down his eyes to the ground,
44 as at the luftre of the fun." Suet, Aug. c. 79. Ibid,
This image employed by Julian, jn his ingenious fiftion,
is juft and elegant ; but when he confiders this change of
character as real, and afcribes it to the power of philo
fophy, he does too much honour to the power of philo?
fophy and to Oclavius, Gibbon,
. -j- It is pretended that the converfation of the philofo
phers, in particular that of Athenodorus the Stoic, conr
tributed greatly to correct the faults of Auguftus. Atheno
dorus fliall be mentioned jn the clofe of thefe remarks. Let
it be obferved, by the way, that Julian places the philo
fophers in heaven, with the exception, no doubt, of Epi
curus and, Pyrrho, whofe tenets hedetefted. La Bls,-ii-..rie.
L> a hiia

152 Trip CiES A R S.
•. ', - ' * i. i
him a very few precepts, as if he had mutteted
the incantations of Zamolxis, foon rendered him
wife and virtuous.
The third who approached w,asr Tiberius, with
a grave; but fierce afpe£t, appearing 'at once both
wife and martial,. As he turned to' fit down,' his
back difplayed feveral. fears, fonie" cauteries and
fores, fevere dripes and'bfuifes, fcabs'and tumours,
imprinted by luft and intemperance. 'Silenus then
faying, ,
44 Far diff'rent now thou feemed than' before &",
in a mnch more ferious tone, 4 Why fo ,g?3ve, my
4 dear ?' faid Bacchus. 4' That old fatyr, - replied
44 he, has terrified me, and made me inadvertently
44 quote a line of Homer,5' - Take carp that he
4 does not alfo pull your, ears/ faid Bacchus ; 4 for
4 thus, it is faid* he treated a certair^granimarian f*
«' He
* A^oio; /xoi, £f/»E, $«;¦»-,{ viQt -fi rn •nupO)&iv,
This is what Telemachu's fays, in the xvith book of the
Odyftey, to his father Ulyffes, whom he did not yet
know, and in whofe Outward appearance Minerva had juft
wrought a metamorphofis. ' ^ ' La BLETE6irE.'
¦ 44 Before," in- Englifh, is ias equivocal as; itaeo\.ht, in
Greek. This the French tr.nnflator, as he; obferves, could
not retain^ .attparavdnt riot "fignifying 'the' fame as par
de vani. ¦f This facl is unknown. But we kndw that Tiberius had
st his table fonie rrteri of learning (they were at that time
diftinguifhed by the name of. grammarians), whom he
delighted fo crribnrrafs by frivolous and nbfurd queftions.
He afked them, for in'ftance, who was the mother of He
cuba;' what name Achilles' bore at the' court of Lyco-
medes; what the Sirens fopg, &c. ' Thofe who had ^he
misfortune to difpleafe this tyrant did not always efcape- fo
well as he whom Julian mentions. As the queftions of
Tiberius

THE C iE S A R S.
14 He had better," returned Silenus, 44 bemoan
44 himfelf in his folitary ifland (meaning1 Cap'reae)
*4 and tear the face' of fome mi'fet able fifhermari *."
While 'they ' were thus joking, a' dreadful
''monfter [Caligula] appeared.'5' The Gods* avert
ing their eyes, Nemefis delivered him to the'aveng-
inp- Furies, who immediately "threw chim; into
'Tartarus, without allowing 'Silenus to'acrcfft him>
But on the approach oPCkaudius, Silenus began
to fing' tne*"begi'nning of the part of Bembft-
henes in the Knigh'ts of Aridophanes f,'~ cajoling
Clau-
":¦'.»." •j.il fb\h v:I,H3i' * v!j. v ..,-;.-
^Tiberius often [related tp what he had read, the gram
marian Seleucus took care to learn -what books the Em
peror was reading. Tiberius being apprifed of it, not .
contented with banifhing him from the palace, forced him
to deftrdy himfelf. Suet. Tiber. 70 and 56. La &jsetjs,jli£.
.* Afew days. after Tiberius, had retired into the-ifland
X>f Capreae, a :fiiherman came ,ov»r the rocks.,- and pre
fented him with a barbel of an extraordinary fizesi Tiberius,
who thought himfelf in this retreat inacceifible, being ter
rified at the boldnefs of this fifherman, ord6red his face
to be fcratched with his fifli.; Aad.the poor man rejoicing
that he. had not alfo prefented him with a rnoffiftroiHaeirab
that he had caught, Tiberius commanded his iace. to be
torn withirthe.crab. , Suet. Tib. do. Ibid.
-f In the firft feene of that comedy, whofe object is tel
depreciate in the eyes of the people one Cleon, who had
gained their entire confidence, Demofthenes "and Nicias,
two Athenian generals, complain bitterly of the, tyranny
which this new-comer exercifes in the houfe, meaning the
ftate, ov«r the other flaves, that is, thofe who had a fhare-
in the government. 44 Alas! alas!" fays Demofthenes,
" how miich reafon w,e have to complain! May the juft
44 Gads confound that wicked Paphlagonian, both hiiwrand
44 his projects! That flave, lately purchafed, fince he has
«' been introduced into the family, inceffantly beats the
44 fervants."

»53

154

«

THE C I S A R S.
Claudius. Then turning to Qiiiripus, " You
4:4 are unjud," faid he,,44 to invite your defeendant
44 without his freed-men, Narciffus- and Pallas.
" But, befides them, you fhould alfo fend for his
*4 wife Meffalina, for without them, he appears
•4 ..like guards in a tragedy, mute and inanimate."
, "While. . Silenus . was fpeaking, Nebo entered,
playing on his harp, and crowned with laurel. Si
lenus then turned to Apollo, ;and faid, 44.This man
44 makes ^you bis model." ' Jl ftjaU foon uncrown
* him,' replied Apollo : 4 he did not imitate me in
4 every thing, and when he did, he was a bad imi
tator.' Cocytus therefore inftantly fwept hiih
away, divefted Of his frown.

44 fervants." Among the Greeks, the term Paphlagonian
was an affront ; it meant a Barbarian, a blockhead, a
ftammerer,. In every fenfe it fuited the Emperor Claudius-,
who was born in the Gauls ; who, with fome learning and
genius, never reafoncd when he was in fear, and he was in
fear during his whole life,' ea»en on the throne ; and his
words were fo badly articulated, that lie could fcarce be
tiTRlerftoodi But the Paphiagonian of Ariftophanes ill—
treated-thc Haves ; while the Paphlagoniap of Silenus was
governed and ill-treated by the flaves. . Claudius was al
ways the fervant of his freed-men. 'He only complained
of it, andthat even in the fenate. He faid there one day,
fpeaking^ of a certain freed-woman of his mother, 44 She
*4 has always confidered me as her mafter. I fay it to her
44 commendation, becaufe there are at this time feme in
44 my own family who do not think me their mafter." Suet.
Claud. 39.. 'The mixture of truth and irony, in the verfes
of Ariftophanes applied to Claudius, throws, I think, more
humour into the pleafantry of Silenus. M. Spanheim has
but -half underftood it. La, Bleterie.
5 After

THE C 1 S A R S.
After him, feeing many come crowding together,
Vindex *, Otho, Galba, Vitellius, Silenus
exclaimed ; ,c Where, ye Gods, have you found
44 fuch a multitude of monarchs ? We are fuffocated
" with fmoke ; for beads of this kind fpare not
*4 even the temples of the Gods f." Jupiter then
looked at his brother Serapis J, and faid, pointing
to Vespasian, ' Send this mifer,asfoon as poffible,
' out of iEgypt, to extinguifh thefe flames. Bid
' his elded fon [Titus] folace himfelf with a profli-
* C. Julius Vindex, governor of Celtic Gaul, defcended
from the ancient kings of Aquitaine, was the firft who rei
volted from Nero. Virginius Rufus, governor of Upper
Germany, marched againft him ; but the two generals had
a conference, in which they agreed againft the tyrant :
this, however, did not prevent the two armies from en
gaging, jn fpite of Virginius and Vjndex, who could not
reftrain them. The latter was defeated, and killed him
felf in defpair. Julian thinks that he defigned to make
himfelf Emperor. Yet he had written to Galba to offer
him his forces apd allegiance, if the latter would accept
the empire. La Bleterie.
f Silenus has here cfciefly in view the burning of the
famous temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, which was perpe
trated under Vitpflius, and by thofe of his party. This
paffage, which throws light on what Vefpafian fays after
wards, and to which the Latin tranflators, not even F.
Petau, have attended, I have corrected from an excellent
Greek MS. of the works of Julian. Spanheim,
% Julian (Orat. iv.) fays, that 4t Serapis is the fame
44 as Pluto," to whom he affigns fome. functions very dif>
ferent from thofe which are afcribed to him by the poets.
Here Jupiter addreffes himfelf to Serapis, becaufe Vcfpafiari
was firft acknowledged by the legions that we're in uEgypt,
and proclaimed in Alexandria, July i, 69. The years of
his reign are reckoned from this day. Befides, it is pre
tended that this prince had received feveral ftriking marks of
the protection of Serapis. Tacit. Ann. iv.,8i. LaBjletebie.
Vol. I. L6 « tute,

T HE C M S A R <Sj
' tute *, but chain his younger fon [Domitian f J,
' near the Sicilian tyger J.' Then
' * fffla rVJj AfyoMni rnt ff«»3V«, cum Vinere j/SSSUtd. The
manners of Titus, before he was Emperor, were far front
irreproachable. See Suet. Tit. 7. His paffion for Berenice
was very foandalous. The tragedy of Racine has long
accuftomed the Frfench to confider hex as i virtuous' prin-
cefs, worthy to afcend the throne of the Qadars. Great
p'o"ets fometimes determine reputation's" unjuftly. Virgil and
lldcine have made two celebrated queens' what they we're"
ijotv The prudence of Berenice was always very equivocal.-
at leaft. She became a widow Very youfig ; and her zeal
for. the Jewifh religion, which fhe profeffed, did not pre
vent her being accufed of entertaining mote that! friendfhip,
for her brother Herod Agrippa. In order to put a. flop1
to a report fo injurioiis to her honour, fhe married \?6\e-'
moh, king of Cilicia, after having obliged him to embracW
Judaifm ; But fhe did hot live long wi'th him, and left him,'
ft is faid, through life'ertitiifmi This account, taken from
Jofephus, makes mefufpeft that fhe is principally allu'ddfj
to by Silenus, under the name of Venus publico. If tfjfe
colours feem tSo ftrohg, let it bk. remembered, thai thofe
of fatire in general, arid of this in particular, are riot al
ways exa<S. Is Julian, for inftance, excufaBte iii faying
nothing of the good qualities pf Titus, and. iri chafa&er-'
ifing him only by one vicej which ought fcarce to be id-t
rnitted into his portrait, even by-way of ffiacle, as he was
divcfted of it when he was Emperor ? 44 This report,*'
fays Suetonius, " turned to; his advantage, and was" after-
44 wards changed into the higheft praifes ; when thefe wa|
44 found in hi'tii no one vice, but, on the contrary, the ifibf!
44 confummate virtues.' .... He immediately difmiffea
44 Berenice from the city, with the utmoft reluctance,
44 on both fides.!' ;'" All 'that can be faid iri excufe of
Julian is, that ] the reigan of Titus was fo fhort, that one
ca'ahpt venture i6 affirm, that his manners, were really
changed. This was probably the idea of the poet Ah;
foniiis, when he ftyled him 44 happy in hot navi'ng reigner]
44 Jong :" Felix breviiate rtgendi. La Bleterie."
^he reverfe of this, Tnfelix brevitate regendi, M.' de'U
Bleterie applies to joviah, as 'a motto -to his Miftory of thai
ptitice. '- - .; TH/-

THECiESAkS. rjj
Then came an old man [Nerva §], of a beauti*
ful afpeft (for even old age is fometimes beautiful),
in his manners mod gentle, and in his adminif-
tration mild. With him Silenus was fo delighted,
that he remained filent. 4 What !' faid Mercury,
* have you nothing to fay of this man ?' 4< Yes,
44 by Jupiter," he replied ; 44 for I charge you all
44 with partiality, in differing that blood-thirftjr
44 monder to reign fifteen years', bat this man
44 fcarce a whole year." 4 Do not complain,'
anfwered Jupiter ; 4 many good princes fhall fuc-
* ceed him.'
Trajan immediately entered, bearing 00 bis
flioulders theGetic | and Parthian trophies. Siletlds,
Obferving him, faid, in a low voice, but loud
enough to be heard, 44 Our lord Jupiter muft
44 now be careful, or he will not be able to keep
" Ganymede to himfelf." After him advanced a
f The cruelties of Domitian are well knows.
% Phalaris.
^ Nerva, when he was raifed to the empire, was .forty
three years old, at leaft. La Bxeterie. ,
[1 Though the name of Getes was given more peculiarly-
to the nations beyond the Danube, who bordered o.A tho
mouths of that river, the Greeks gave the fame name.
alfo to the Dacians, that is, the Tranfylvanians*' the Wal-
lachians, and the Moldavians. Trajan fubdued them. -. lit
h,is reign the ppwer of the Romans was at , the greateft
height it had ever attained. In' the North, he ireoi ticedi
Diicia to a province. In the Eaft, he .made himfelf linaffcer
of Armenia, Mefopotamia,, and Afi'yria. The Part&iaaiS,
to whom he had given a king, vyere in fome fort beiomd
fubject to ,the Romans.. , Ibid. :~,...
''' *'  '* venerable

i58 THE CiE-SARS.
venerable fage [Haurian], with a long beard *j|
an adept in mufic, gazing frequently on the heavens, and
* Hadrian was the firft of the Emperors who wore a
beard. 44 He let his grow," fays Spartianus, 44 in order to
44 conceal fome natural deformity ;" ut vulnera, qua in facie
¦naturalia erant, tegeret. In reading the hiftory of Hadrian,
and even the little which Julian fays of him ill this fatire,
I am ftruck with fome marks of refemblance between thefe
two Emperbrs. They had both as much genius as it was
poffible to have, and of the fame kind. They were greedy
of glory, jocofe, and farcaftic, fond to extravagance of
the Greeks and the Grecian literature, both friends of
the arts and fciences, both authors, both full of zeal for
idolatry, fuperftitious, perfecutors, aftrologers, defirous of
knowing every thing, perpetually inquifitive, fo as to be
accufed of magic, fickle, obftiuate, lingular, and vain of
being fo. They both made very wife laws, and performed
many acts of mercy. Hadrian fometimes feemed cruel,
and it is faid that Julian was humane only through vanity.
Julian had not the infamous vices of Hadrian, and was not'
even fufpedfed of them ; but he had almoft all his faults
and abfurdities. La Bleterie.
More ftriking to me are fome marks of refemblance
which may be traced between this Imperial fophift and the
royal philofopher of San6-feuci. Both are authors of no
/ fmall repute in various branches of literature. The Me.
' moirs of himfelf and his family, which Julian has inferted
in his Epiftle to the Athenians, may be compared with
thofe of the Houfe of Brandenburgh, and the Hiftory of
his Gallic campaigns, now loft, but mentioned byLibatlius,
with the Commentaries, yet unpublifhed, of the Pruffiah
monarch. Thatjulian was a poet as well asFrederick, appears
from a collection of his verfes mentioned alfo by Libanius,
(Orat. parent, p. 161.) though two fmall pieces (which!
have quoted and tranflated in the notes on theMifopogon),,
are all that now remain. Both folaced their leifure with
the charms of mufic. The epiftles of both have afi air of
familiar elegance. If the Cajfar lamented the lofs of his
friend Salluft, recalled by his jealous coufin, the prince
deplored the fate of his favourite Kat, condemned to
death by his cruel father. Both were married, early in
life,

THE CiESARS. 159
and curioufly invedigating the abdrufed fubjects *.
" What," faid Silenus, think you of this Sophid ?
44 Is he looking for Antinous -f- ? If fo, one of
44 you may tell him that the youth is not here,
life, by their predeceffors, to princeffes not of their own
choice, yet neither of them was ever charged with any
illicit amour. 44 The chaftity of Julian," fays Mr.
Gibbon, ,4 is confirmed by the impartial teftiroony of
44 Ammianus, and by the partial filence of the Chriftians."
44 Fortune," faid the Pruffian hero, after his defeat at
Kolin, 44 is a female, and I am no gallant." The Roman
carried the fimplicity of his drefs to an indecent extra
vagance; his beard and its inhabitants, his inky nails, &c.
are recorded by himfelf. The German, by the foantinefs -
of his wardrobe, his boots, and his fnuff, as Dr. Moore
informs us, is almoft as fingular in thefe more polifhed
times. Early attached to Grecian literature, Julian ne
glected and defpifed the language and writers of Italy.
Equally enamoured of the French Innguage, Frederick has
always profeffed a kind of averfion for thofe of Germany.
If the Emperor invited Maximus, Prifcus, and other Pla-
tonifts from Greece, the King fent for Voltaire, Mauper-
tuis, and other academicians from France. In war too, as
well as in literature, thefe heroes have acted a diftinguifhed
but hot always a fuccefs ful part. In two particulars, how
ever, they materially differ: Julian was a fuperftitious Pa
gan : Of Paganifm or fuperftition Frederick has never been
fufpected ; yet the former believed the immortality of the
foul, which, it appears from his Epiftle to Marfhal Keith,
&c. the latter does not.
* It is faid, that Julian here meant to defcribe himfelf.
He informs us (Orat. iv.) that 44 from his infancy, he
44 flopped to contemplate the ftars with fo much pleafure,
44 that he was even then deemed an aftrologer (ar?o^.«j)ii)
44 though he did not yet know what aftrology was." Is the
title of cur iofttatis omnis explorator, which Hadrian fo juftly
deferved, and that of 44 Sophift," lefs applicable to the
cenfor of Hadrian ? La Bleterie.
•j- The deification of Antinous, his medals, ftatues,
temples, city, oracles, and conftellation, are well known,
and ftill difhonour the memory of -Hadrian. Gibbon. 4< aid

,6o fRt CMS A ft' S.
** and thus check his madnefs and folly. Td
thefe fucceeded a man of moderation, not "in ve
nereal* but political purfuits [Antoninus Pius,]
Silenus", on feeing him, exclaimed, te Strange !
" how important is he in trifles ! This old man
•* feems tO me one of thofe who would harangue
** about a pin s point f.
At the entrance of two brothers^ Ma&cus Au*
relius and Lucius Verus, Silenus contracted his
brow, as he could by" no means jeer or deride them J.
M-A-RCU-S,
* Ouf fatyr here obliquely charges Antoninus Pius with
lafcivioufnefs ; an imputation which was hot true, if being
certain that that Emperor was temperate and chafie. But
he feems to have been accuffcd, though not juftly, of ava*
rice, for adopting, when he was Emperor, the' fimple diet
and parfimorty of a' private fubject. . Petau,.'
Titus Antoninus, furnamcd Pius, that is, 4f the good,"
was one of the greateft .and bcft princes that the Romans
had. Paufanias juftly fays, that '4 he deferved not Only,
44 rhe name of Pius, but alio that of Father of Mankind,,
" which was. tonr.eily given to Cyrus." Antoninus had
in fact the frailties .with which' Silenus reproaches liim ; but
he early corrected them'.' ' La fit£TERiE.«.
¦{¦ E"; tut havfititrut rm Kvpmt. 4t One thill cuts cumin,;"
xVhich fe'ems analogous ty our Englifh phrafo of 44 fkinning,
t4 a flint.'' This we apply, however, only to mifers ; biifj
a« M. de la Bleterie obferves, 44 that of the Greeks refers
44 not only to avarice, but a littlenefs of lfond. Antr>
44 ninus was generous^ but not at the expellee of any other
44 perfon i largus fui, alien! abfiinens.'' 'Our'44 fplrtflrtg a
44 hair'' may perhaps come nearer to it.- - -'
I They were brothers-' only by adoption. ¦ St-IcHus' had
too much to fay of Lucius Verus. Indeed lie Va-s a good- '
natured prince, a fincere friend, and inc'ftp'a-bU* or d'rigiirft. '
He always^confideredihinilelf -ftS;the,lieutirttaiilt' father' than •
the collegue of his, .brother. But he:Jtoiklgpfchidf?tf?J
without- moderation, fo all kin«b> of deteliaberieS,: aniridias ''
,., u . * ailav*

THE C^SARS. 161
Marcus, in particular, though he drldlly fcru-
tinifed his conduct with regard to his fon and his
wife * j as to her, in his immoderate grief for her
death, though die little deferved it; as to him, in
hazarding the ruin of the empire by preferring
him to a difcreet fon-in-law -f, Who would have
made a better prince, and dudied the advantage of
his fon more than he did himfelf. Notwithdand-
ing thefe failings, Silenus could hot but admire
his exalted virtue. Thinking his fon X [Com-
modusJ unworthy of any droke of wit, he filently
difmiffed him. And he, not being able to fupport
himfelf, or affociate with the heroes, fell down to
the earth.
a flave to the rhinifterS of his pleafufes". Excepting that
he was not cruel, that he did not drive chariots in the
•ircus, nor act on the ftage, he much refembled Nero.
LA Bieteriii.
* The greateft and perhaps the only fault of Marcus
Aurelius was his exceflive good-nature* which made him
blind or too indulgent as to his brother, Lucius Verus, his
wife, the too famous Fauftina, and his fon, Commodusj
"We fhall mention him more than once in the fequeh Ibid.
t Claudius Pompeianus, originally of Antioch, and fon
only of a Roman knight, but a man of extraordinary
merit. Marcus AureliUs eaufed him twice to be nominated
conful, and gave him in marriage his daughter Lucilla, the
relift of Lucius Verus. Ibid.
X One of the moft wicked princes that ever reigned. "The
44 enemy of the Gods and of his country, the parricide, the
44 executioner of the fenate, the gladiator, more cruel than
44 Pomitian, more infamous than Nero," is part of the
funeral elogium which the fenate made on Commodus.
This affembly, which, thought it had always a right to fit
in judgment on the Emperors, would have ordered his
body to be thrown into the Tiber, had not Pertinax pre
vented it. Ibid.
Vol. I. M Per-

1 6* T'HECJESARS.
Pertinax then approached, dill lamenting thtf
mortal wound that he received at a banquet *.
This excited the compaflion of Nemefis, who faid,
44 The authors of this deed fhall not long exult;
44 but, Pertinax, you were culpable -f in being
44 privy to the confpiracy that dedroyed, the fon
44 of Marcus." He was fucceeded by Severus |r,
a prince inexorable in punifhing. 4 Of him,' faid
Silenus, 4 I have nothing to fay ; for I am terrified
4 by his dern and implacable looks.' His fons
would have accompanied him, but Minos prevented
them, and kept them at a didance. With a pru
dent didinction, however, he difmiffed the younged
* The fenate and people flattered themfelves with having
again found Marcus Aurelius in Pertinax ; but he only
reigned eighty-feven days. The Praetorian guards, who
could not bear an Emperor fo different from Commodus,,
maffacred him in the palace. La Bleterie.
f The reproof given him by Silenus [rather Nemefis]
for being concerned in the confpiracy of Letus and Marcia
feems not well founded ; but Julian perhaps follows fome
hiftorian unknown to us. The death of Pertinax was re
venged by Didius Julianus, who put Letus and Marcia to
death; and by Severus, who cafhiered the Prastorians.
Julian is right in not naming among the Emperors* Didius
Julianus, worthy of eternal oblivion, for buying the
empire which the Prsetorian guards had put up to atlitioti. Ibid.
X Severus was perhaps the moft warlike of all the Em
perors, Like Hannibal an African, he had all his virtues ;
but he had alfo all the vices which the Romans afcribe to
tfie Carthaginian general. What Sylla faid of himfelf may
be faid of Severus ; 44 no one was a better friend or a worfe
enemy." Ibid.
[Geta],

THE < C M S A R §.
£Geta], arid ordered the elded [CaracalIa] to
be punilhed fair his crimes'*'.
That crafty murderer Macrinus f, and the
-youth of Emefa X [Elagab alus], were driven from
the . facred , inclofure. But -Alexander the
Syrian §, being, placed in the hinder ranks, be-
 ,,.. wailed
* The antipathy- of Cara'dalla-.-and Geta is well known.
The latter feemed to, have fome good qualities*' The
former ftabbed his brother in the arms of Julia, their com
mon mother, who herfelf received a wound, in "the handi
He was as wicked, and almoft as ftupid, as Caligula. He
Was a profeffed enemy to men of learning. La Bleterie.
, -f- Macrinus, Pr^forian praefeft, knowing that Canacalla
intended to kill him, caufed that prince to be affaflinated,
On the road from Edeffa to Cari'ae. The army, who did
not think him guilty of that murder, chofe him Emperor ;
and their choice was confirmed by the' Senate. But four
teen months after, Varius Avitus Baffianus, afterwards
known by the name of Elagabalus, havifig affumed the
title of AugUftus, marched againft him j and attacked him
onthe borders of" Syria and Phcenicia. Macrinus fhame-
fully fled, while the event of the battle was yet undeter
mined. -Endeavouring to efcape into Europe, he was over-*
taken by his purfuersj and put to death; ¦: Ibid,
X Elagabalus was of Emefa in Syria, the fon of Varius
Marcellus, a Roman fenator, by Soemia^ the daughter of
Msefa, fitter to the Emprefs Julia. He may in- fome
manner be cbnfidered as the nephew »of Caracalla. He
pretended even'to be his fon. AH the infamous, extra
vagant, and cruel pra£tfees that can be committed by a
young m'an without genius-, taftej or the leaft fpark of
virtue or feritiiiient, who, to indulge his caprice, endeavours
to exhauft the ipower and wealth of a Roman Emperor ;
this is an abftract of the reign of that prince, or, to fpeak
more property, that monfter. • Ibid*
§ Alexander Severus is confidered by many, even at pre
fent, as a moderate pritic^ mages extra vitia quam cum vir-
tutibus, of a narrow genius, timid, the Have of an impe-
rious>mother, &c. He owes this reputation to the hiftory
Mi of

1^4 THE CISA R S»
Wailed his. misfortune.' Silenus added, " O thot*
44 fool ah d madman ! highly exalted as thou wert,
44 thou, didfl: not goViCrn for thy felf, hut, g^eft
of He'rodiari, an author by no riieans exact, but agree-
able and iffterefting, whom twotra'nflations, one.int Latin,
the other in French; as good at leaft as tie original, have
put within the reach of every ort'e. Herodian difcovers an
extravagant prejudice againft the Emperor Alexander, for
which we might perhaps be able to account, if the hifloriart
were known to us otherwife than by his work-. It were tr>
be wifhed that, a pen as brilliant as his Would endeavour; to
re-eftablifh the memory of a prince in all refpects the,rnoft
amiable and accomplifhed that, is mentioned in ajicient hif
tory.' He wanted neither courage tot firmnefs. If he
had a great deference for ¦> his mother Mammea*, it; was as
much owing to his difeernment as to his gratitude and
tendernefs for her. The (Economy/ with which they art
reproached was a virtue more neceffary than ever in the.
flate to which the fenfelefs prodigality of Elagabalus had
reduced the finances. Alexander died at twenty-nine years
of age, and confequently was younger than Trajan, T.
Antoninus,, and Malrcus.Aurelius were when theyafcended
the, throne ; and yet he deferves at leaft to be Compared
with them, Julian has followed the Memoirs of Herodian;
and, befides, it fliould not be forgotten, that Mammea
was probably a Chriftian ; that Alexander, inftejad of per-
fecuting the Chriftians, worfhipped Jefus. Chriff, whofe
itatue he honoured, in his oratory, with thofe, of, Apollo- ,.
nius Tyanaeus, Abrahafn, and Orpheus; that, he -had a
defigni of building a temple to Jefus Chrift, and of caufing
him to be received among the deities adored by the Ro
mans. This was more than fufficient to, make Alexander
defpifed by Julian. Among the ftrokes of fatire which
are couched Under the name of Syrian, which, he .gives- to
the fon of Mammea, and which, however, he did not de-
ferve, except by his birth, I have no doubt that Julian in
cludes the character^ of a worfhipper of Jefus Chrift.. We
know that Judea, where the Chriftian religion had, its rife,
was an appehdage of Syria, and that the difciples of Jefus
¦Chrifl were firft ftyled Chriftians at Antioch. :
La Bleterie. ¦
2 »« thy

THE CISAR S. 165
*4 thy wealth to thy mother, and^ could'd not be
44 perfuaded that it was much better to bellow it
*' on thy friends than to hoard it *."" ' All, how-
' ever,'
* Maximix, of the Gothic nation, the firft of the Bar
barians of the North, whom I find invefted with the
Roman dignities, made a fenator by Alexander, and com
manding fome troops, confpir'ed againft his benefactor,
caufed him to be affalfinated.near Mentz, and ufurped the
fupreme power. This Maximin was a kind of giant, being
eight feet high, and with ftrength proportioned to his fta-
ture ; he was a great warrior, but fo cruel and blood-thirfty,
that he was named Cyclops andPhalaris. He obliged- the
whole empire to revolt againft- him, and, with his fon, was
at length flain by the foldiers, Who thus revenged the
death of Alexander. ,''....
It is furprifing that Julian fays.not a fingleword of any
of the Emperors who reigned frpm Alexander to Valerian ;
namely, Pupienus and Balbinus, Gordian the younger,
the two Philips, Trajan-Decius, andALmilian, If he had
omitted only the two firft. Gordians, and fome others,
./Emilian, for inftance, it might be fuppofed that he con-
fidered them only as the phantoms'of Emperors. Yet ftill
they deferved to be named as much as Galba, Otho, and
Vitellius, and more fo. than Vindex. Will -it be faid, that
fome of them were unworthyi to ,reign? Yet others were
worthy; and, befides, Julian has juft mentioned Elagabalus.
Will it be faid, that all .thofe princes had a tragical end ?
But he ' prefently introduces Valerian. It may alfo 'be ob-
ferved, than Julian appears to have efteemed the younger
Gordian by offering facrifices and libations on his' tomb,
while he.was marching againft the perfians.
In the IV th century, at lateft, it was faid, that the Em
peror Philip the 'father had been a- Chriftian, and that he,
had fuhmittcd to public penance ; a tradition the more
ftriking, as: the Chriftians had little intereft in - claiming
the murderer of Gordian. The Chriftianity of Philip, real
or pretended,, and the manner fo uncjiriflian 'in .which he
arrived at the throne, might have fupplied the Silenus of
Julian with fome lingular ftrokes; Trajan-Decius would
have been reckoned among the good princes, if he had
M 3 not

z$6 THE. CM'.S A R S,
« ever,'; faid ^Temefis, 4 who were aceeiuary to his,
?, de,ath^ I will; deliver to the tormentors,' . ; And
thuf thejeurh -was difmilTed. • ,,, ,; .- —;-, r;
Gaulienus then entered, with his father [Va,
lerianJ, the latter;dragging the chain of his cap?
tWity;' the other effeminate both in his drefs and ,
behaviour. .Silenus, thus ridiculed the father:
, , «« _^-^_*, By thofe fnowy plumes didingui'fh'd,
f Before the ranks who 'marches in the van *."
•,'"'' t„ '¦ '"-¦. '-. ¦ And
, - b,-..-lfM. ,. . 
not been' a pei-fecutor of the Chriftians1 ; and doubtlefs if
is- not on that account that' Julian, erafes him from the lift
of Emperors.- Certain it is that no fatisfactory reafon can
be affigned for all thefe omiffions. It feems therefore very
probable to irieithat trftTteXt- is,, here mutilated. It is not
theonfy chafm that I think I perceive in the fatire' of the
.Cxfars." <¦'¦¦ LaBleterie,
* Wodhu'H's tr-anflation. -
Thefe ttto'verfes are taken' fipm the Phoenician Virgins
- pf Euripides.1 -By j XstixoMpMs, 44 with the white plume/'
I imagine that "Silenus alludes* -to- the age and white hairs'
of Vaferiah. No one is" -Unacquainted- with his captivity,
aily -more' than the barbarity1 :wifh which he«was treated- by
Sapor I. Upon a falfe report of >the dtjathof Valerian, the
Romans' placed' him among th^'Gods. Thus this unfor
tunate prince had altars in Rome, '. while in.Perfiahe was,
trodden under foot. He was -perhaps' flead alive.-i't Certain
jt-'-is,-that the Perfians tanned his -fkfti, dyed it red, and
covered it with ftraw,- in ' order to preferve it, in a temple.
Valerian had feme excellent qualities ; and his fate would
perhaps have had more claim to -pity, if he1 'had not de-
ferved it by fhedding the blood -of the ehrifldains.1 The,
moft dreadful circumftarice of his misfortune was, the
having- on the throne a fon vyho did hot fend, even ,to
demand his releafe. 4< He would have been revenged,"
fays M; de Tillemont, 44 if - he had not had a fon.-" When
Gallienus was informed of- the imprifonment of his father,
( he anfwefed by an apophthegm ; 44 I knew that my father ,
j* was liable to the misfortunes of human nature." How,
muph

THE'CjESARS. 167
And to the fon he faid,
" Him gold adorns, all dainty as a bride *."
Jupiter ordered them both to depart from the
banquet -h
They were fucceeded by Claudius \, on Whon
all the Gods fixed their eyes, admiring' his mag
nanimity,
much are princes to be pitied ! The flattere'rs of Gallienus "
difcovered philofophy,- and even heroifm, in the indifference
of this unnatural fon. La Bleterie,
* This is an imitation of a line of Ariftophanes, in his
comedy of The Birds. Gallienus was a cowardly, floth-
ful, effeminate prince, a good orator, a good poet, but
a very bad emperor. While he- was engaged in his de
baucheries, and amufing himfelf in fome mifplaced ftudies,
in fome effufion of wit, in making fome pretty verfes, or
uttering fome good jokes on the 16fs of provinces, Italy
jtfelf was ravaged by the Barbarians. Without reckoning
Zenobia and Odenathus, eighteen ufurpers --affumed- -the -..,..
purple. Gallienus, to prevent fuch revolts, excluded the' .
fenators from all military ertiploythents ; a fatal policy j .
which, in the fequel, contributed to raife to the -throne
mere cyphers, men who had nothing Roman but the name. , ;-
In fhort, the reign of Gallienus is the sera of the fall of
the empire, which never perfectly recovered the violent
fhocks which it then received. Ibid.
-j- Gallienus deferyed to be excluded. But Julian feems
to reprefent the Gods as ungrateful. Ought they thus to
treat the" fate of the unfortunate Valerian, who was fo
zealous for their worfhip ? Misfortune, after all, is not a
crime. But it fhould be remembered that Valerian was
taken by his own fault, and that, according to the Pagan
ideas, being a prifoner, he ought tOlWAve fhortened his dif-
grace, and not have furvived his liberty, When Perfeus, .
king of Macedonia, applied to Paulus iEmilius not to
lead him in triumph, the Roman confidered him as a
coward, and anfwered, 44 That depended, and ftill depends,
on himfelf." Ibid.
X Claudius II. had every civil virtue and military talent.
His reign lafted only two years ; but he fignalifed it by a.
M 4 • great

16$ THE C JE S A R S.
nanimity, and granted the empire to his defcend*
ants,, thinking it jud that the poderity of fuch 3
lover, of his, country fhpuld enjoy the fovere'ignty
as long as poflible *. , , •>'
After him entered Aurelius -f, as if to efcape
thofe who were accufing him before, Minos. . For
many
\ great victory gained over the Germans, and by the defeat of
320,000 Goths. , It is, faid, that he devoted himfelf for the
fafety, , of bis -country. This devotement (if we under*
fi:and by it a folemn denotement, like that .which the Decii
made of their perfons in the time of the republic) is a fic
tion, contrary to the relation of thp beft- hiftorians, who
fay, that Claudius, died of a peftilential fever at Sirmiunv
Julian, however, manifeftly alludes to it. He believed, or
was willing to believe; an incident fo honourable to the
memory of Claudius, whom he confidered as the founder
of his family. Conftantius-Chlorus, the grandfather of
Julian, ;w.as,thp fon of Claudia, the daughter of Crifpus,
one of, the brothers of Claudius II. The fmname of Conr
ftantine came from the family of Claudius, as he had a
fifter named Conftantina. Julian paffes oyer Quintillus, ¦
the brother and fucceffor of Claudius, becaufe he reigned
only twenty days at moft;., ,1,,, '- ,.. La Bleterie,
In his firft; oratipn in praife of Conftantius, Julian celer
brates alfo 44 the eminent virtues" of their common anceftor
the Emperor Claudius; 4< the battles which he fought with
44 the Barbarians beyopd the Danube, his condescending
••¦' , , 44 manners, apd that modefty of drefg which was ftill ob-r
44 -fervable on his ftatues." -,;, -.,!-,
* In Julian this was.not.adplation, but lilperftition and
^ vanity. , ,, lt , Gibbon.
-j- Aurelian, thecoj^aeror of the Barbarians, of Zenobia,
and of Tetricus, complpted the recovery of what Gallienus
had loft. Tf he did the ftate too many fervices to be placed
in the rank of bad princes, he was too fevere and too cruel
to be reckpned among the good. He was . bora in Pan*
nonia, or Dacia, of a very obfcure family. The mother
of Aurelian, prieftefs of the Sun in her village^ infpired
her fon, ho doubt, with , -the zeal which lie,ah\fty;s,sprQ-

THE-CJESARS. 169
many charges of murder, which he could not pal
liate or excufe, were brought againd him. : But
my Lord the Sun *, who had patronifed him on
other occafions, affi'fled him alfo on this, by inform
ing the Gods, that the Delphic oracle
44 That he who evil does, fhould evil differ, '
44 Is righteous judgment,'' ....:"
had been fulfilled. ^
. The next was Probus, who in lefs than feVen
years re-built feventy cities, and alfo enacted many
wife laws. Having fuffered unjudly, he was ho
noured by the Gods, and his death was revenged
by the punidiment of his murderers. Silenus^
neverthelefs, endeavoured^ in like manner, to ridi
cule him; and many of the Gods urging him* to
be filent, 44 Let thofe who fhall follow," dud
-- .. :-j '*
feffed for that, God. He chofe him 'for his tutelar c\eity^
as Julian did afterwards.
Tacitus, a prince truly refpedlable, and worthy of th»
fenate who chofe him, ought to have been placed at • the
feaftof the Ca:fars. Neverthelefs, he is not even named,
Is the omiffion owing to Julian, or the tranfcribers ? As
Tacitus reigned only fix months, I will not venture .to de
termine, As to his brother, Florian, who reigned only-
three, or perhaps two, and who, befides, took pofTeffibiy
of the empire, as of an inheritance, without being chofen ...
by the fenate, or even propofed by the army, he deferveq
to be omitted. La Bleterie!'
* Aureliap adqred that Deity as ,the parent of hi,s,lifo
end fortunes. His mother had been an inferior prieflefs in
a chapel of the Sun: a peculiar devotion to the God of
light was a fentiment which the fortunate peafant imbibed.
fo his infancy, and every ftep of his elevation, every victory
of his reign, fortified foperftition by gratitude. Gibbon. jie,

f?o

THE CjESARS.
he, il grow wifer by his example.. Doft thou
44 not know,0 Probus, that phyficians make bitter
*4 potions palatable, ; by irifufmg them: in mead?
44 But thou, who wert always fo fevere and cruel
" that none could equal thee "*, had fuffered, how-
*4 ever unjudly, in like manner. For no one can
44 govern brutes, much lefs men, but by fometimes
44 gratifying and indulging them ; as phyficians
44 humour their patients in trifles^ that- they may
44 infure their compliance in things effential."
4 -What ! dear father,' faid Bacchus ; 4 do you now
* play the philofopher upon us?'' "-.Why not??
replied Silenus." 44 Were not you too* my fon,
44 indrufted by -me in philofophy? Know you not
•Vthat Socrates alfo. held, like me, the fird rank
44 in philofophy among his contemporaries, if you
4)4 credit the oracle of Delphi ? Allow me therefore
41 -to fpeak not always jocofely, but fometimes
44 ferioufly" While they were thus talking, Carus with his
fons [Carinus and NumerianJ Would have
* This cenfure of Silenus is extravagant. Probus can
only be reproached for having enforced military difcipline
with a ftrictuefs of which the Roman armies were no longer
capable. In time of peace he employed them in ufeful
labours. One day happening to fay inadvertently, that
44 there fhould foon be no more need of foldiers," this ex--
predion coft him his life. The fame army, however, who
had murdered him, erected a monument to him, with this
infcription : Hie Probus Impcrator et ver} Probus fitus eft,
vifior omnium gentium barbararum, etiam' tyrannorum. La Bleterie. entered,

THE C JB BARS,' ?7*
gntered; had not, Nemefis fepulfed them *.^ Pit
PPletian -f, aecompanid by ,the two .Maxi?
, ,, ,,:; > . ' ¦ *.,.., ',' -,
* Hiftory represents Carus a a prince above mediocrity :
virum medium, inter bonds, magis\uam inter malos, collocdndum.
But he had the misfortune to icceed Probus, and to have
Carinus for his fon, On the fher hand, he defeated the
Perfians, and took Seleucia aid" Ctefiphon, wheh'a' flafh
of lightning terminated his coifauefts and his life. It mult
not, however, be laid that thl' fentence of Julian is torS
fevere, ' as Carus dared to affjine, -or fuffered flattery ta
give him, the title" of 44 Lordand God." Befides, Julianr
thought perhaps that Carus wkguilfy of the death of his
predeceffor Probus;; but the fat is at leaft doubtful!' His
fecond fon, N'umerran, was no' unworthy of a place lit' the
banquet. Hiftory fpeaks of Hm advantageoufly. . As_to"
what is faid of Carinus, the j\ftice of ;Nemefis canhot but
be applauded. La Blete^i^'.
, -f. Dfocletianireigned for tvtenty years with great pj-ojf-
perity and addrefs ; but he diftf'aqed the latter part of , his
jeign by the moft barbarous p(all perfecutions. He was a
foldier of fortune^and having learned nothing but the art ojf
war, he was a profound politicim, and had a fubtle genhis
that penetrated every, thing, but was itfelf impenetrable.
He always attended to what; waj folid. His projects, though
grand a,nd vafi, were hever-chirrjerical, unlefs it were t^hat o£
extinguifhing the Chriftian nanje ; yet. of' that he was not
the author.. He had the art qf doing good himfelf, and
of employing others to do evil., Being mafter of . his paf-
fions, he could. clifguife all his .vices, except pride, which
made him introduce into ' the court of the,, empercp the
ceremonial of the court of Pqrfia.„,He fhould be con-
fidered as the. founder of anew empire, which had not, it
may be faid, anything in common with, that which was.
founded by Auguftus, but the name. The effective par-v
tition of the provinces fubject to the Romans annihilated
the ancient plan, and gave the finifhing ftroke to the fenate,
which till then had always had an influence in public
affairs^ and whofe authority was much reftored after the
death of Aurelian. The averfion of Diocletian to the city
of Rome prepared the great event of the foundation of
popftantinople. &&
MIAN*,

172

THE CiE'SARS,
iiiknf? and my grandf ther-GoNS-TANTius- *, thed
apprSachedj magnificerily drefled.' Thefe, though
they held each other b the hand,.did not walk on
a line with PiockETB.N. Three others ,f alfo fur-.
*, Conftantiijs-Chlorus. . . '.,-¦•
f Diocletian; firft. divide! the empire with Maximian,
afterwards furnahied. Herculius, his old friend, a great
general, very liberal, and rot deficient in genius ; but un-
pplifhed and cruel, without education , and without manners.
They gave, in conjunction tie title of Caefar to Conftantius-:
Chlorus, and Maximiau-Gaerius, and divided, the Roman
empire, , which was 'gpvernei by two. Emperors and two
0*fars, into four parts.
, Copftantius-Chlorus was the only one of the four who
was of high birth. With dl the talents of his collegues,-
he had none, of their faul s. His. fole ambition was to
make his people happy. N) prince ever loved money fo
little, oJr' was fo much loved by his fubjects : Through fear'
of 'oppreffing. them, he denied himfelf' neceffaries.' Such
is the picture that is drawr of him even by the authors
who have written. finde his family has'been extinct.
As for Maximian-Galerus, furnamed Afmentarius^ or
44 the Hefdfman," he was rather a Barbarian than a
Rorriati. "' HeJ had' great talents for war, and all imaginable
Yices,:which lie neverthelefs concealed a little ; fo much was
he afrai.d.of Diocletian.,.'. He had alfrioft an equal hatred
fo the Ch'riftian religion and to learning, ,apd forced Dio.
cletian tti' become a periecutor. Thefe four princes go
verned yith1 a perfect union, whofe tie Was ' the refpeit
which Maximian-Herciilius, and the two Ca^fars, had for
DiOCletian'i'w'honi' they regarded as, their father, and almOft
is their God: Diocletian, on his fide, did not exalt him.
feVf -above them ; ^and, in particular, he took care to ftifle
bad 'reports. What Julian here fays of the modefty of
that' prince and his collegues 'admits, however, of fonie
exceptidti. "Diocletian fometimes treated Galerius with
great h'aughfipefs ; and Galerius, tired of trembling before
him^made him' tremble in his turn, and forced him to
abdicate the empire. Diocletian and Herculius quitted the,
Jturj>le on the fame day ; the firft at Nicomedia, and the
' ' ¦'."'!- - other

THE C iES A R S.
furrounded him, in the manner of a chorus ; but
when, like harbingers, they would have preceded
him, he forbade them, not thinking himfelf en
titled to any didinction. Transferring only to them
a burthen which he had borne on his own fhoulders.,
he walked with much greater eafe. Admiring
their union, the Gods afligned them a feat fuperior
to many. But Maximian * behaving with im
prudence and haughtinefs, Silenus, though he did
not think him worthy of ridicule, would not ad
mit him into the fociety of the Emperors. And,
befides, he was not only addicted to all kinds of
lafcivioufnefs, but by his impertinent officioufnefs
and perfidy often interrupted the harmonious con
cert. Nemefis therefore foon banifhed him, and
whither he went I know not, as I forgot to'afk
Mercury.
other at Milan. The abdication of Diocletian has been
c.onfidered-as the greateft effort of human virtue; never
thelefs, it was not fo voluntary as is generally fuppoled.
But he made it honeftly, and without return; wifer than
Herculius, who, after refuming the purple, and occafion-
ing many difturbances, was obliged to deftroy himfelf.
La Bleterie.
* I know not why Julian excludes only one of the two
Maximians. As a proof that neither of them deferved to
be admitted, we do not immediately difcover which he
means. However, as this Maximian alone difturbed the
concert formed by the union of Diocletian and his col-
legues, Julian muft neceffarily fpeak of Maximi,an-Galerius.
He died at Sardis, of a dreadful diforder, confidering his
death as a punifhment of the cruelties which he had exer-
cifed againft the Chriftians. . Ibid.
To

173

i?4 THE CiESARS;
To this mod melodious tetrachord a hardi, dif-
agreeable, and difcordant found fucceeded "*. TwO
of the candidates Nemefis would not fuffer to ap
proach even the door of the affembly. Licinius
came thus far, but having been guilty ' of many
crimes, he was repulfed by Minos. Constantine
entered, and fat fome time ; and near him fat his
* Diocletian had flattered himfelf that the partition of
the empire between two Emperors and two Csefars would
fubfift in future ; but one of the chagrins which he felt in
his retirement was the ambition and mifunderftanding of
his fucceffors, each of whom' thought only of making him
felf mafter of the whole empire. Thofe whom Julian has
here In view are Maxentius,' Maximin-Dai'a, Licinius, and
Conftantine. Maxentius, the fon, or fuppofed fon, of Maximian-Her-
culius, was a prince ill-made, without genius, cowardly $
flothful, cruel, debauched. When be harangued his
foldiers, it was to exhort them to make good cheer, to
fpend money, to enjoy life; fruimini. He obliged Sophronia,
daughter of the governor of Rome, to renew the tragical
hiftory of Lucretia. It is well known that he periflied in
the. Tiber, in his endeavour to deftroy Conftantine.
Maximin-Dai'a, as defpicable as Maxentius, and a ftill
more cruel persecutor than his uncle Maximian-Galerius,
being vanquifhed by Licinius, efcaped to the city of
Tarfus, and took poifon at the end of a great entertain
ment. This poifon, failing of its entire effect, occafioned
him a horrible and long malady. I do not find in all an
tiquity a death more fhocking than his.
Though Licinius had courage and fuccefs m war, he was
ftill more wicked than Maximin. He confidered literature
as the peft of a ftate. Conftantine vanquifhed him, ob
liged him to quit the purple, and, foon after, deprived
him of life. Of Conftantine and his fons more in the
fequel. La Bleterie.
5 fons.

THE C^SARS. 175
Fons. As for Magnentius *, he was refufed ad
mittance, becaufe he had never done any thing
laudable, though many of his actions might appear
brilliant. But the Gods, perceiving that they
did not flow from a good principle, difmiffed him
much afflicted.
% Magnentius, who derived his origin from the Franks
and the Saxons, ferved with reputation in the Roman
troops, when he affumed the purple at Autun, and caufed
theEmperorConftanstobeput to death. He was vanquifhed
by Conftantius in the battle of Murfa in 352, and in the fol
lowing year, through fear of falling into the hands of the
conqueror, he killed himfelf in the Gauls, after having
killed all his family. He had profeffed Chriftianity, though
he was perhaps a Pagan in his heart. Courage is afcribed
to him, or that which often produces the fame effect,
the art of concealing his timidity, with a tafte for books,
learning, a lively and animated eloquence, and refpect and
zeal for the laws, when they were no obftacle to his ambitious
projects. No writer charges him with debauchery, and
this filence expreffes much. Such vices, however, are
given him as are always given . to unfuccefsful uforpers.
Julian, in particular, elfewhere paints Magnentius in the
moft hideous colours ; but it is in his panegyrics of Con
ftantius. The opinion which he forms here feems much
more credible, and fufficiently agrees with that of Zofimus.
44 Magnentius," fays that hiftortan (/. ii.) 44 was bold in
44 profperity, and timid in adverfity. He knew fo well
44 how to difguife his natural 'perverfenefs, that thofe
44 who did not know him took him for a man of ftm-
44 plicity and of an excellent character. I think myfelf
44 obliged to make this remark," continues Zofimus,
44 becaufe fome have thought that he governed the ftate
44 well. Let them be no longer deceived in him. Magnentius
44 did nothing from good motives, from a principle of
44 virtue." Let us obferve, by the way, that the true or
falfe idea which Julian gives of Magnentius is exactly
the fame which we ought to have of Julian. La Bleterie. In

i>}i T H E C M S A R S.
In this manner was the banquet prepared. At
the table of the Gods^ nothing was wanting, for
all things are theirs. But that of the heroes Mer
cury thought imperfect, and Jupiter was of the
fame opinion. Quirinus had long requeded to
introduce another of his defendants. But Her
cules faid, 44 I will not fuffer it, Quirinus. For
*4 why have you not invited my Alexander alfo
44 to the fead ? If therefore, Jupiter, you intend
44 to enroll any of the heroes among us, fend*
44 I intreat you, for Alexander. When we
44 are canvaffing the merits of men, why fhould
44 the braved be omitted ?" What the fon of
Alcmena propofed was approved by Jupiter.
Alexander therefore entered the affembly of
heroes; but neither CjEsar, nor any one elfe,
rofe up to him; fo that he was obliged to take the
feat which the elded fon of Severus had left va
cant *, he, for his fratricide, having been expelled.
* What is the reafon that Alexander takes the feat in
tended for Caracalla, when there are fo many others va
cant ? This is one of thofe little circumftances that give
narrations a greater air of truth. Befides, this recalls fome
facts. Caracalla was inflamed with a foolifh paffion. for
Alexander. Not contented with filling the cities, the
temples, Rome, and the capitol with the ftatues of- that
prince, with having a phalanx whofe officers bore the
names of the generals of Alexander, .and dreffing in the
Macedonian manner, he endeavoured to identify himfelf with
his hero in fome fantaftic pictures, where the face was
compofed of half that of Alexander and half that of his
own. He perfecuted the Peripatetic philofophers, becaufe
Ariftotle was fufpected of being concerned in the death of
that conqueror.. La Bleterie. Silenus

THE C M S A R S.
Silenus" then fcoffing at Onirinus, faid, c Take care,
4 or this one Greek will excell all your Romans.'
44 By Jove," replied -Quirinus, <4 I think that many
44 of them are, in every refpect, his equals. My
44 pbderity indeed have fo much admired him, that
44 of foreign generals they ftyle and think him
44 only great ; not that they deem him fuperior to
44 their countrymen", or are void of national preju-
44 dice. But that we fhall foon determine when we
44 have brought their merits to the teft !" Saying
this, Quirinus bludied ,.*, and feemed evidently
anxious for his defendants.
After this, Jupiter afked the Gods, whether all
fliould enter the lids, or .whether they ihould adopt
the-prairice obferved in wredling, where whoever
conquers him who has, gained the mod victories is
deemed the only victor, even of thofe who have-
beeh vanquifhed by his antagohid, though they
have not been his .competitors ? This. was generally
approved, as a jud determination. Mercury then
proclaimed that C^sar diould advance fird, Octa-
vtanus next, and Trajan third, thofe being the
greated warriors. Silence being commanded, Sa
turn, turning to Jupiter, expreffed his furprife at
feeing martial Emperors fummoned to this conted,
* We muft not forget that Julian is a Greek to the
bottom of his foul. His only comfort in being a Roman
was his having been born at Byzantium, and his confidering
Rome as a colony of Greeks. La Eleterie.,
Vol. 1. ¦$* t«t

177

178 THE C.A3 A R S*
but no philofophers *. . 4! Thefe," he, faid,'44,, aye
44 equally dear to me. Call therefore, and intro^
44 duce Marcus [Aurelius]." He. being fum
moned, advanced with a ferious afpeft f, occa^
fioned by the labours of his mind.. His eyes were
hollow, his ,brow was contracted |, and his whole
form difplayed undudied beauty ; for his Jiak was
uncombed, his .beard was lona;, his drefs fimple
and ceconomical, and by icanty _ nouridiment jjjhis.

* It is right for -Saturn, a paertfc G'dd',' and the" father
of the golden age, to be inteaeffedrforiphilofophkalcprinces',
and' for Marcus, Aurelius in particular,, the ,grea/:,efti. , phi
lofopher of thernJ'all ; who, iii fpite'of the various fcourges
with which>tlie ;eaipine was^ afflicted in* his ifume^ promoted
the happinefs of -fbe Romans.. (If ,is faid, of, ttiis Emperor,
that" Providence gave him to- .mankind in, mercy, to temper
the feveri-ry-'ol" the chaftifernents which it had infli£ted<up'on
them in:jijifti§^^ :r i , . , iv1:»v ' LaBjeeterie;
f It .is pretended, that, even in hjs childhood, ,nqither
joy nor 'forrotVever'rn.ide him change countenance : but his
gravity: had niuhing in it fad or auftere. Sine triftitia gravis.
J He is thus reprefented on his medals, efpecially thofe
which were ftmek in the latter years of his life. 'IbufJ
"| Af the age, of twelve years,, Marcus Aurelius took the
habif'of ,a phfipfopher, and foon. after he was defiroijs. of
practifing all'thc aufterilies of the Stoic philofophy, evert-
to the ljrn'g on. the ground under his cloak. "¦' His 'mother
ufed, her -utmoft; endeavours;. to perfuade him to, lie, on a
vvoo'cleu beeffted covered with a fingle fkin. A life fo
hardy made no abatement in the fweetnefs of his temper,
hut it impaired his health. Neverthelefs, his habit-uah in
firmities never prevented him -from- -fulfilling all this duties,
-and fronr finding time befides for ftudy. His foul appeared
.tec have gained what his body had loft. '¦¦''
Julian piqued himfelf on being an imitator .of Marcus
¦Aurelius, flept hardly, and lived on vegetables.' Some of
the

T H E * C M S A R g.
bod} was wanfparent and1 fplendid, like"- the poured:
and cleareft'lighr. When he Was admitted within
the dicred inclofure, Bacchus faid, 44 King Saturn
44 and Father Jupiter, can any thing imperfect; be
", allowed among the Gods ?" No -anfwer being
returned,t "' Let us " fend >then-," proceeded he,
44 for fome lover of pleafure." 4 But,' replied )vU
piter, ' it is net lawful for any one to be 'admitted
4 here who does not Worfliip us *.' '4 Let -judgment
".^therefore,"" faid Bacchus, '4 be, pronounced on
"ihimin jJ.ie vedibule. We will call, with your
41 leave, a prince, not indeed U n warlike 'f'., but
io'biV ;*>b ,-.; .M , , c. i--i. -- '• .--"foftened
•1 .! ?.u?rjho i>T fo ¦' - r.
the Epiftles of Julian give us- reafon to thin'k that1 he wag
frequently ill. "'But it is'- "more eafy to wear the beard of
Marcus Aurelius;, to copy his aufterities, and to ruin one's
health, -like him", than-, to- -acquire-' his; folidity- of genius,
his love of virtue for virtue's fakCj his contempt Of glory ^
and,- if -I may venture fo to exprefs iriyfelf; ;that fobriety
of wifdom, which was the foundation of his character; -
¦ > foiifo- ¦••-¦¦ -:¦ LA Bleterie.
* Ov S:fii1ov evru tpollav a»igi [j.t> ra. r,fj.(\s^a, ^n^atlk'. M. de la
Bleterie tranflates this, 4l Whoever does not take us for
44 his model' cannot ' fet foot here ;" but I underftand it,
44 Whoever is not a worfhipper of -us," &c. in alhifion to
Conftantine,-' who was a Chriftian, It is obferviible, : how
ever, that-;Conftantineand his fons are before mentioned as
entering -the affembly and fitting fome time.
f If Conftantine had been a Have to his pleafures, fo far
as to de-fervei, though he had declared for Chriftianity, the
protection of Bacchus, he would not have been fo diftin
guifhed in war and- iii peace ; he would not have reigned
fo glorioufly for more than thirty years, that is, much
longer than any Emperor had reigned fince Auguftus.
This general reflection may be fufficient to fhew the injuftice
of Julian. Hiftory repr«tfcnts Conftantine to us as a prince
always engaged in fome ufeful provit, giving frequent au-
N J ditnees,

179

i8p THE CM S A R S.
44 fofrened by pleafure and enjoyment. Let Co;n-
44 stastine come as far as the vedibule,?' This
diences, drawing up his laws and difpatches himfelf, bor
rowing from his fleep time to read the holy fcripture's, and
to compofe feme religious difeourfes, which he pronounced
in public,, endeavouring to obtain the affiftance. of Heaven
by prayer, faffing, and abftinence from lawful pleafurcs.
If we deduct' from thefe elogiums whatever may be taken
from panegyrics, if we fet.afide the good that is faid of him
by Chriftian writers, and even the praifes that are given him
by fuch of the Pagans as may bfe fufpefted of flattery, having
written in his reign, or in that of his fons, I mean Libanius,
and the hiftorian Praxagor.as; in a word, if Conftantine be
judged by the teftirhony of Eutropius, who dedicates his
work to Valens, and by what is faid of him by that Victor
who wrote in the reign of the fons of Theodofius I. the
refult will be, that Conftantine was a prince of an elevated
genius, aftive, vigilant, laborious, and, even independently of
what he did for the Chriftian religion, and notwithftanding
the blemifhes that are found in, his life, that he deferved
the title, of Great. The teftimony of thofe authors is
the more important, as they fpare neither his faults nor
failings.,. .......
Zofimus, a partial writer, and the declared enemy of
the Chriftian Emperors, is the only one, befides Julian,
who accufes him, of being devoted to pleafures.. Yet Zo
fimus throws this^feproach only on the latter years of his
reign. In fact Conftantine could have given no pretext
for that accufation till after the foundation, of New
Rome. Tired of wars, and even of victories, he thought
that he had acquired a right to tafte the fruit of, his
labours. Without remaining in inactivity, or living in
voluptuoufnefs (for, to the end of his life, he employed
. himfelf in affairs of ftate, and in thofe of the church),
he gave fome brilliant entertainments. His court was
magnificent ; he procured himfelf fome amufements that
had nothing criminal in the eyes of the world, and which
perhaps he thought were allowed him becaufe he had
not yet been baptifod. It

THE CUARS. iBi
This being allowed (the mode of their conten
tion having been previoufly fettled) Mercury ad-
vifed, that every one fhould feverally fpeak for
himffelf, and that the Gods fhould then give their
votes. rBut of this Apollo difapproved, infiding,
that truth only, and not eloquence, or the charm's
of oratory, ought to be difcuffed and examined
by the Gods. Jupiter, wifhing to oblige all, and,
at the fame time, defirous to prolong the affembly,
replied, <4 There can be no inconvenience in di-
44 reeling, each of them to fpeak by a certain
44 meafure of water *, and afterwards We may
4t" interrogate them and fcrutinife their thoughts."
Silenus jocofely added, ' Take care, Neptune, or
4 Trajan and Alexander f, midaking the water
4 for
It is fuppofed that the imagination and malignity of
Julian working on this Canvas might make Conftantine a
flave to pleafure. Let us never forget that Julian detefted
his uncle as the deftroyer of Paganifm ; and that he was
by tafte, by principle, by vanity, an enemy to all pleafures.
How much muft the magnificence of Conftantine have
wounded a man who gave into the oppofite extreme, who
carried philofophy to fuch an excefs, as to defpife decorum, «,
and who, by the manneis which he afcribes to himfelf in
the Mifopogon, feems to have been defirous that his pic
ture fliould be the companion of that of Diogenes !
La Bleierie.
* When the Greeks and Romans would give orators a
certain fixed time, they employed hbur-glaffes of water,
to which they gave the name of clipfydra, which tht modern
Latinifts apply very improperly to our fands. Ibid.,
-j- It is well known . that Alexander was very fond of
wine, "and that in dfuhkennefs 'he waa capable of the
N 3 ' 'greateft

,82 THE C M S A R 3^
* for.ne&ir, will fwallow it all, -and fo,' leave none
4 for the red.' Neptune anfwered, " They;; were
44 much more fond of your draughts, Silenus,
44 than of -mine. It behoves you thei-efore.'-fo-be
44 rather afraid of your own vines than qf my
44 fprings." Sdenus was chagrined, and made no
reply, but afterwards attended fol.ely to the dfc
putants. Mercury then proclaimed, . ,-u i: .r,
* ' The arbiter of prizes due ¦> ?xu. r,rf; ir.
4 To fighal merit now begins.': --. tUj]].-y
. 4 Delay no longer, Time exhorts,^.,-' ' .-• '-
4 But lend yotir ears to what the- yojce-
4 Of herald Mercury proclaims.
4 Ye kings, to whofe fuperior fway
4 Of pjd jfubmiffive nations bow'd, • \ .
' Who launch'd in fight the hodile fpear,
greateft exceffes. His laft debauch coft him his life.-. As
for Trajan, he was obliged to forbid the-cxecutipn of any
orders which lie might give at coming from a great enter
tainment. One of the methods of which Hadrian availed
himfelf to gain his friendfhip was to caroufe- with him at
table. La B,lete-rie.
* See Lucian, at. the end of his Demoniacs. Petau.
' The three firft lines only (in the original) are quoted
from that work, ..,;!.,
THis proclamation, in the tafte of thofe which were
made- in Greece at the opening of the games, oonfi-fts Of
forms n fed on thofe oceafions, and of ends of verfes taken
from the Greek poets that we have, ,-and thofe, whom we
have not. This kinfl. of cento has in the original,
or rather had,, ij merit which wc may- imagine^, but
which it is impoflible to transfufe into another language, .
La Bleterie.
M. de, la Bleterie has, only given the fenfe. The Englifh
is almofi literal. 4 Advance,

THE CAESARS.
' * Advance, contend,' with prudent minds
' Oppofe your rivals, and await
f" ' The' jud, th' impartial will of Heaven !
4 ' Wldcmi thefe think the end of life,
4 Thofe, vengeance on their foes to wreak,
4 And ferve their friends : of life, of toil,
4 'Pleafure fome make the fingle view,
* Feads, nuptials, all rhat feeds their eyes:
4 From dainty ornaments of drefs,
4 Or rings, with precious gems adorn'd,
4 Others fuperior blifs derive.
4 Jove will the victory decree.'
Mercury having . made this proclamation, the
combatants drew lots : and the lot happened to
concur with the love of pre-eminence habitual to
Cjesar, This augmented his pride and arrogance ; •
fo that Alexander would have declined the con
ted, had/he not been encouraged and perfuaded:
by Hercules. Alexander obtained the next turn
of fpeaking after Cesar. When all the red had
had their proper turns afligned them, Cesar thus
began :
44 It was my good fortune, O, Jupiter , and ye
" Gods, to be bom, after many heroes,- in that
44 illudrious city, which has extended her do-
44 minion farther than any other; fo that they all
44 may be fatisfied, if they obtain the fecond place.
44 For what other city, deducing its origin from
44 three thoufand men, has, in lefs than fix hun-
44 dred years, carried its conquefls to the utmod
N 4 "" extremities

ti

T\H.E .C^E.f A US,
44 extremities of the e,arth ? What other nation has
44 produced fo many didinguidied warriors and
44 legiflators, or fuch devout . woribippers.of: the
Gods ?" 'Born n a city fo renowned, I, fuijpajfed*
44 by my actions, 'not only my contemporaries, but
44 all the heroes that ever lived. Of my own
44 countrymen I know not. one that will deny me
,4 the fuperiorky. But as this Grecian is fo,pre-
*' fumptu-oiis, which of his actions' will he pretend
44 to put in competition with mine ? His rPerfian
44 trophies' perhaps, as if he knew not how many
44 I won from Pompey. And who was the mod ex-
4: perienced general, Pompey or Darius? Which .of '
41 them commanded the braved troops? Indead of
" the refufe of mankind, Pompey had in his army "
44 more warlike nations, than were ever fubjefi to
44 Darius ; of Europeans, thofe who had often
44 routed the hodile Afiatics, and of them the
44 mod valiant; Italian's, '" jllyrians, and Gauls.
44? Having, riren;io»ed the Gauls, can the Getic
44 exploits of Alexander be compared with my,
44 conqtied of Gaul ? He pafled the Danube once;
44 I twice pafled the Rhine; and of my German
44 victories no one can difpute the glory. I fought,
44 with Ariovidus *.
" I was the fird Roman" who dared to "crofs the
44 German ocean f. Though this was a wonder- j
* The antithtfisin this: 44 Alexander met with noop-<-
44 pofition in' his Gerie expedition,"' and therefof-'e he
44 marched wilh impunity. But I was 1 efified by Arioviftus."
.. ; . . . ¦, Petau*.
t In tlie original, t« «V BaW^f, « the outward Yea." ¦
The inner was the iUediieriaucP'i 44 ful

THE CiESA'RS. 185
4,4 ful atchievement, however it may be admired,
44 more glorious was mv intrepidity in being the
44 fird who leaped on fhore *. Of the Helvetic
44 and Iberian nations I fay nothing ; nor have I
44 mentioned my actions in Gaul, where I took
44 above three hundred towns -j-, and defeated two
44 millions of men. Great as thefe actions were,
44 that which followed was greater and more il-
44 ludrious. Being obliged to wage war with my
44 fellow-citizens, I vanquifhed the unconquered
44 and invincible Romans. If we fhould be judged
44 by the number of our battles, I fought thrice
44 as many as are afcribed to Alexander by his
44 greated panegyrids ; if by the number of towns
44 taken, not in Ada only, but alfo in Europe, I
44 reduced more. Alexander faw and rav^rfed
44 jflEgypt ; I, while I feaded there, fubdued it.
44 Will you alfo compare the clemency of each of
44 us, when victorious ? I pardoned my enemies,
* He alludes here to the defcent which Caefar made on
Britain. But the memory of Julian deceives him. Heat-
tributes to Ciefar what Crefar himfelf fays (/. v. de bella
Gallicd) of the eagle-bearer of the tenth legion. 44 He
44 who bore the eagle of the tenth legion, after befeeching
44 the Gods, that the event might be profperons to the
44 legion, faid, 4 Leap aihore, foldiers, unlefs ycu would
4 betray the eagle to the enemy.' 4' Saying this, with a
44 loud voice, he threw himfelf out of the fliip, and ad-
44 vanced with the eagle towards the enemy, Stc." It was
Alexander, who, after paffing the Hellespont,, firft leaped
afhore completely armed. Such a proceeding is more fuit
able to the impetupus valour of Alexander than to the
phlegmatic and fedate courage of Caefar. La Bleterie.
f See Plutarch.
• 1 *4 and

1S0 T fl-E C M S A R S.
44 and received from them fuch a return as tNTeinefis
44 has revenged. He never fpared his enemies,- noi*
44 even his friends. In particular, as you difpute
?4 the; pre-eminence, and will not immediately yield
44 to me, like the red, you compel me to mention
44 your cruel behaviour to the Thebans *. On
44 the contrary, how great was"--rfiy humanity: to
"the Helverii ! The cities of the former were
44 burnt by you ; the cities of the latter, burnt' by
44 their own inhabitants, were rebuilt by me + .
44 Which, . in diorr, was mod illudrious; your
44 defeating ten thoufand Greeks, or my repulfing
44 the attacks of a hundred and fifty thoufand Ro-
44 mans ? Much more could I add, both of Alex-'
44 asder. and myfelf; but as I never had leifure'
44 to dudy the art of oratory "J, you mud excufe
44 me, and, forming a jud and impartial judge-
44 ment both from what I have faid, and what I
44 have omitted, will, I doubt not, give me the
44 fuperiorlty."

a

*-When Alexander took Thebes by ftorm, the inhabi
tants were flain and deftroyed for feveral hours without
regard to fex or age ; and the city was afterwards raxed,,
the houfe of Pindar only excepted.
f The Helvetii having abandoned their ccuntry^and
burnt their towns', as they were preparing to enter Gaul,
were defeated by Caefar, fent back to their country, and
ordered tore-build their houfes.
X In the original, ro-Xsy&v stiiuilsrvcra, or e*eps}ir,<Ta. Per
haps lie does not mean to fay, that Caefar had no excel*
lence in fpeaking ; ' for he was reckoned among the
orators of his time ; witnefs Cicero, in his Brutus; but
that he was-'not ufed to fpeak without premeditation. Cantc-Clarus.
Cesar

THE CMS A R S.
-,-, C*sar thus concluded, but feeming defirous of
faying dill more ; Alexander, who before had
.with difficulty reftrained himfelf, could refrain no
longer, but, with much anxiety and emotipn, thu9
began :
L." How .long, O Jupiter and ye Gods, fhall I
*' filendy bear the infolence of this boafter,^! He
44 fets no bounds, you fee, to his praife of himfelf,
''-or to-his abufe of me. Much better would it
** have-become him to "have abftained equally from
84 both, as. both are alike intolerable, but chiefly
44 that of depreciating my conduct, which he made
il the example of his own. Such is his affurance,
44 that he has dared to ridicule his own model.
44 You fhould have recollected, Cesar, the tears
44 which you died on hearing of the memorials
44 that were railed in honour of my deeds f. But
44 you afterwards owed your elevation to Pompey,
44 who, though he was really infjgnificant X, wa3
44 idolife.d by. his countrymen. ; As to his African
* This is not unlike the beginning of Cicero's Oration
againft Catiline, 'Shioufque tandem abutere, Catilina, patientia
V-ofira ?
,, -f At Gades, obferving in the temple of Hercules a '
flat ue of Alexander the Great, he fighed, and, as if
afhamed of his own fupinenefs in having done nothing me
morable at an age when ' Alexander had conquered the
world, he 'importunately urged to be recalled to Rome,
fhat he might be ready on the fpot to embrace any occafion
that might offer for more important undertakings. Sueton.
Jul. Cufar. c. j. See alfo Plutarch.
, X It is plain that Julian had read the Epiftles of Cicero
Jo Atticus. La Bleterie.
"; - 3 4' triumph,

38 THECiESAftS.
41 • triumph *, no great exploit, his fame was owing
44 to the weaknefs and inactivity of the confuls t.
44 The fervile war J was not waged with men, but
44 with the niod abandoned flaves, and it was con-
44 ducted by Craffus and Lucius §, though Pompey
*' had the name and the reputation. Armenia and
'* the neighbouring provinces were conquered by
44 Lucullus; yet for thefe alfo Pompey triumphed.
44 He was then flattered by his fellow-citizens,
" and named the Great. But than whom of his
" predeceffors was he greater ? Which of his
" actions is comparable to thofe of Marius, or of
" the two Scipios? or of Camillus, who was almoft
44 as much the founder of Rome as this Quirinus,
iS having rebuilt his city when it was almod falling?
44 For they did not arrogate to themfelves the
14 works of others, as is ufual in buildings founded
44 and finifhed at the public expence, where the
44 magidrate, who has only plaiflered the walls,
44 on completing the edifice, infcribes the foun-
44 dationdone. But thefe heroes, as public ar-
44 tificers and architects, have judly immortaliied
44 their own names. It is no wonder therefore,
44 that you vanquifhed Pompey, fcratching his
* Pompey, at the age of twenty-nine, when he was only
a knighi, was fent into Africa to encounter the party of
Marius.- La Bleterie.
f M.-Tullius Decula and Cn. Cornelius Dolabella.
X The war of Spartacus.
§ Lucius Gellius. See Plutarch's Life of Craffus, and
Appian, Bill. Civil. I. 44 head,

THE CMS A R S. i$9
4\ head- *», a«d mote resembling a fox than a lion.
"When he, was, deferred by Fortune, who had
" long favoured him, you eafily conquered liina
44 fingle. , Bur. that your fuccefs was owing to no
44 .fuperior abilities is evident ; for being in want
44 ,of proviflons (which, you, know, is no fmall fault
44 of a general f ), you fought, and were defeated j.
44 And if Pompey, by his imprudence, or folly, or
44 becaufe he could not govern his army, when, he
** fhould have protracted the, war, gave,. battle §,
" and did notpurfue his victory, his failure was
44,the confequence of his own. mifconduct, .not of
44 your military fkill. The Perfians, on the con-
44 trary, though in every refpect well prepared and
44 amply .provided, fubmitted to my dominion.
"-And as it. becomes, a .good, man and a wife
* In the original, ix-Jv>\u' xixajifre, which "the French
tranflat-or has -papaphrafed, 4< who,1 for fear of difaf ranging
4<, his hair, did not. .venture to, touch his head but. with his
44 finger's end." Yet Ammianus (xvii. n.) mentioning
two ludicroiis faults that' the' envious" imputed to Pompey,
fays that this was one, quid gcnuino qxodam more caput una
digito fealpebat-; 44 that he fcratched his head, in a par-
44 tlcular manner, with one of his fingers."
\ Juliaa himfelf committed the fame. fault in his PerfiAta
expedition.- ¦ , - • •>
X At the battle of Dyrrhacium.
§ This interpretation agrees better with the- fenfe, and
with hiftory^ than the proper fignification- of the Greek
words, {which is, 44 when he fhould have declined to give,
44 battle."] For certain it is, from Appian, Plutarch, and
other-writers, that Pompey did not act like a -prudent ge
neral in offerhig battle to Caefar at Pharfalia, vvnea, Caifao
was in fuch a fituation, that he muft eafily have been re
duced by his want of neceffaries. Cantoclartjs. 41 prince

i9o T H E (f^S A & §".
44 prince to act not oiily with rrioderatrbff, but' with
44 juftice, I took' arrris to revenge '"the" Greeks' on
44 the Perfians,' and to free Greece ffdm civil War.
44 Nor- Was 'it ever" my intention to ravage Greece,
44 bur/thofe only, who Would have prevented- my
44 march againd'' Perfia, I chaftTfed';0 You, after
44 fubduingthe Gauls-and Germans^'-" turned your
44 arms' againd -y oi.tr- own country .;i,TWhat;can be
44 worfe, wfliit" mdrfcf'Hi'ramous >:-'jrc -,-i -'¦
44 Yduslfeve' mentioned, with aifneer, 4 rriyde'-
4 f eating ten fhmtf;rrr8'G reeks.' ! 44" ITHSt you-youf-
44' fdves' fprung :?rom fhe Greeks"/ and'tRatthe
"'' Gresks'rhhabited'-the "greated- p£tc.;'6'f"' Italy], 1
**' \vefr' know ; bid "oh th'is^l wrlFmotf-irriif!.''' ''With'
45 a fmall nation "of 'them ^ the' '-liEtbfiatisj. your
" neighbours; you;flibugjit'it;of'gf'ear confequence
44 to make an alliance; but, after, they had fought
44 , for, you.,,. why -did.. you- -reduce them, and that
44 not eafily,' to fubj eetioir ? -If then, in the bid age?
44. as. ,it has biea, '.called, of Greece,"', you could
44 fcarce reduce, not the whole, but ¦• one fmall
4-4 nation, which was fcarce known when Greece
44 was in her vigour, what would have! been the
P event, if you had been obliged to contend with
•4 the Greeks when flourifhing and united ? How
44 much you were alarmed by the invafion of
44 Pyrrhus you need not be reminded. As you
44 think die conqued of Perfia fuch a trifle, and
44 depreciate an cnterprife fo glorious, tell me
44 why, after a war of above two thoufand years,
44 you have never fubdued a fmall province be-
44 yond

THE C M S A R-S. rot
" yond the Tigris *, fubject to the Parthians?
44 Shall I inform you? The darts of the Perfians
44 prevented you-.' Antony, who ferved -"under
44 your command, can give you an account of
" them f. But in "lefs than ten years I conquered
" bothPerfia -and India. -After this, do' ybu dare
44 to contend -with me, who', trained to war from"
44 my childhood,- performed fuch- -deeds] that the
44 remembrance of them, though they- have nor
44 been fufficiently 'Celebrated by "hidovians, Will
44 live -for ever, .like thofe of the invincible Her"
44 cules, of whom I was 'the follower and'imitator ?
44 L rivalled, in fhort, my' anceftbrJ Achilles, and,
"admiring Hercules, I trod in nis''dep.s as nearly
'f»'ias a mortal can follow1 a God. -Thus -mucb,^©1
44 ye Gods, it was neceflary- for me 'tb fay in" my
44 own defence againd an opponent, vvho-m' per-
" haps it might have been better to have filently
44 defpifed. 'If I was guilty of 'any ''cruelties, the
,.-. * Meaning babylonia, where the Roman's never' made
any folid cbnqueft". It was the northern part of Mefopo--'
Barriia. - :."-'La Bleterie.
-*f 'Antony, having1' 'e'ntered Media, thought himfelf
happy to efcapewith the remains of his army, aftcrlofing
twenty thoufand men, and all his baggage. Julian might*
have quoted many other Roman generals and Emperors
[Craffus in particular], who were worfe treated even than
Antony, in their expeditions againft 'the Parthians, or
Perfians. But he: did not forefee that he himfelf would
food add to the number of thofe unfortunate heroes.. Ibid.
It is impoflible to -read the ¦' ihterefting narrative of
Plutarch (torn. v. p. 102— 116.) without perceiving that
Mark Antony and Julian were purfued by the fame enemies,
and involved iri the fome diftrefs. , Gibbon.

Jgz THE C1SARS,
44 innocent were not the objects, but fuch as had
11 frequently and notoriouily offended, and had
44 made no proper ufe of their opportunities.
44 And my offences even againd' them were fol*
" lowed by Repentance *, a very wife Goddefs;
44 and the, preferver,of thofe who have erred. As
44 for my chadifing the ambitious, who always
t4 hated and had often injured me, in that I
44 thought myfelf excufable." .,-.;¦
This military harangue being concluded, theatteri-
dant of Neptune gave the hour-glafs, to Octavi-
antjs, meafuring to him a very fin all, quantity of
water, and at" the, fame time, reminding him.' of his
infolence to that Deity -j-. On which having re
flected with his ufual fagacity, .onutting to fay .any
thing of others, he thus began :
", Indead of, depreciating the, actions of others,
*4 O Jupiter and ye Gods, I will confine my whole
44 fpeech to what concerns myfelf. in my youth
* MsStapihH*., This Goddefs, thus deified by Julian,
feems rather taken from the Chriftian fcriptures, than the
Heathen mythology. The French tranflator ftyles hej
Metanee, from Mtlatoia, and 44 a celebrated retreat for pe-
44 nitents, known in Ecclefiaftical hiftory by the name-of
44 la Metanee."
-j- In the war which Octavius waged againft Sextug
Ponjpey, many reproach him as well for fome of his ex-
prefiions, as for his conduct, having faid, when his fleet-
was loft in a ftorm, that 44 he would gain the victory even
44 in fpite of Neptune.'' And accordingly, when the Cu>
cenfian games were next performed, he excluded the image
of that God from the folemnity. Suet. Aug. c. x-vi.
Julian himfelf, in like manner, fwore afterwards, in a
paffion, that he would never facrifice again to Mars. See
Ammianus, xxiv. 6. 44 I had

THE CiESARS.
44 I had the government of my native city, like
44 this illudrious Alexander. The German wars,
44 like my father C^sar, I happily concluded.
44 Involved in civil differifions, I fubdued' iE'gypt
44 at A&ium in a fea-fight. I defeated Brutus and
44 Caffius at Philippi, and! made the fon of Pom-
44 pey contribute to my glory. Such, however,
44 was my attachment to philofophy, that, indead
44 of being difguded at the freedom affumed by
44 Athenodorus "*, I was pleafed with it, and re-
44 vered him as a preceptor, or rather as a parent.
44 Areus f alfo was my friend and confident. And,
" upon the whole,; I was never guilty of the leaft
* A very bold action is related of this philofopher : Au
guftus, whofe behaviour was never very guarded, fome
times made fome private affignatigns which might have
been fatal to him.x One. day,' when aRdmanlady was to
go to the- palace incognito, Athenodorus got into a clofe
chair, and Ordered himfelf to be carried to the apartment
of the Emperor. Then, ftepping out, with a fword in
his hand, 44 See," faid he, 41 to what yOu expofe yourfelf !
44 Are you not afraid that fome republican, or an enraged
44 hufband, fhould take fuch an opportunity of putting
44 you to death?" Augtiftus thanked the philofopher, for
his leffon, and promifed to reform. He took greater pre
cautions, no doubt, for the future, but his reformation
went no farther. Livia, it is well known, to maintain her
- afcendant over him, was obliged to connive at his infidelities.
La Bleterie.
f Julian in his Epiftles mentions more than once the
philofopher Areus, and the efteem which Auguftus, had
for him. Certainly if by philofophy are meant the phi
lofophers, flie cannot but be- well fatisfied with Auguftus.
Such' equivocal expreffion s are too common. Ibid.
' Areus is mentioned in the Epiftle to Themiftius, (fee p.
25. and note *) and in Epiftle LI.
Vol. I. O 44 offence

193

194

THE CAESARS.
44 offence againd philofophy. As Rome, I faw, had
44 been frequently reduced to the lad extremity by
44 intedine divifions, I fo re-edablifhed her affairs,
44 as to render them, by your affidance, O ye
44 Gods, firm and adamantine. Without indulg-
44 ing an infatiable ambition, I fludioufly endeav-
44 oured to enlarge her dominions ; ,but I concurred
44 with nature in fixing the rivers Danube and
44 Euphrates as their boundaries. After having fub-
44 dued the Scythians and Thracians, I did not
44 employ the long reign with which you indulged
44 me in meditating war after war, but devoted my
44 leifure to the correction of the evils which war
44 had occafioned, and to legiflation ; in which, I
44 apprehend, I did not confult the public wel«
44 fare lefs than my predeceffors ; nay, if I muft
44 boldly fpeak the truth, I confulted it more than
44 any who have governed fuch an empire. For
44 fome who have commanded armies, when they
44 might at length have reded in peace, have made
44 one war the pretence for another, as the litigious
44 contrive law-fuits. Others, when forced into a
44 war, have been immerfed in pleafure *, and have
44 preferred the mod infamous purfuits, not only
44 to their glory, but even to their lives. Well
44 weighing all thefe things, I do not think myfelf
** entitled to the lowed place. But it becomes
44 me to acquiefce in whatever you, O ye Gods,
44 may pleafe to determine."
* Alluding to Antony,
2 Tra-

THE CiESARS.
Trajan was appointed to harangue next.
Though he had a talent for fpeaking *', fuch was
his indolence, that he ufually employed Sura to
fcompofe his orations. Bawling, rather than fpeak
ing, he difplayed to the Gods his Getic and Par
thian trophies. He then lamented his old age, as
if that had prevented him from extending his Par
thian conqueds. * Yoti fool,' faid Silenus, ' you
4 reigned twenty years, and this Alexander only
4 twelve; Why, then, do you not condemn your
*¦ own indolence, ihdead of throwing the blame on
* want of time ?' Provoked at this taunt, for he was
nOt deficient in eloquence, though it was often
blunted by intemperance, Trajan added,
4,4 O Jupiter, and ye Gods', when I affumed the
li reins of government, I found the empire in a
44 torpid and divided date, occafioned partly by
* Trajan, it is faid, had written the hiftory of his wars
with the Dacians. There is a fliort Greek epigram by
him in the Anthologia. He was not learned ; but he
efteemed and favoured men of letters. When he triumphed
over the Dacians, he "had in his car the fophift Dion,
Chryfoftom, and, during the proreffion, he frequently
turned to fpeak to him. L. Licinius Sura was the confident
of Trajan, who loaded him with riches, and raifed him
thrice to the confulfhip? The enemies of Sura accufed him'
of a defign againft the life of the Emperor. Trajan, by
way of anfwer, went to fup with Sura, had his eyes exa
mined by thefurgeonl and was fiiaved by the barber, of
Sura, and flipped with -great gaiety. On the next day he
faid to the accufers, 4t Confefs that, if Sura wanted to dif-
" patch me, he yefterriay miffed a fine opportunity." After
the death of Sura, Trajan borrowed the pen of Hadrian.
La Bleierib,
O 2 4t the-

195

T H E C jE S A R < S. ;i*
44 the tyranny which had long prevailed at home,
44 and partly by the infults of the Getes abroad *.
44 I did not hefitate, however^ fingly to attack the
44 nations beyond the Danube.' That of the Getes
41 I fubdued and extirpated; of all the mod war-
44 like, not only by their bodily drength, but by
44 the courage with which they are infpired by die
44 .doctrine of their renowned Zamolxis f . For the
" firm
i * By the Getes may be utiderftood the Dacians. Dece- ,
balus, king of the Dacians, had obliged Domitian to pur-
chafe a peace, of which he endeavoured to cover the dif-
grace by a magnificent triumph. 44 The poets of the
44 time," fays M. de Tillemont, 4t equalled his pretended
44 victory to thofe of Alexander and Ccefar." For that
they were paid, or expected to be paid ; but the Romans
did not give them credit. Trajan, who was not difpofed
to be tributary to the Barbarians, availing himfelf of the
firft infraction which Decebalus made, or feemed to make,
of the treaty, marched againft the Dacians. They de
fended themfelves with much courage, and even conduct.
But at length Decebalus, being reduced to the laft ex
tremities, deftroyed himfelf, and Dacia was made a pro
vince. La Bleterie.
-j- Zamolxis,,was the lawgiver of the Getes. [Seep. 153,]
Some Greeks pretend that he had been the flave of Py
thagoras ; but Herodotus thinks Zamolxis much more
ancient. The opinion of the Getes as to the immortality of
the foul had an affinity to the metempfychofis : They faid
that the dead went to find Zamolxis, and every five years
they fent an exprefs to reprefent to him the exigencies of
the nation. See Herod, /. iv. 49.
It muft not be fuppofed. that, before Zamolxis, thofe
people believed tint the foul perifhed with the body. Za
molxis oidy publilhcd his own private ideas concerning the
ftate of feparatc fouls. Mo nation is or ever was perfuaded
that all ends with death. No nation has received from its
lawgivers the belief cf another life ; the lawgivers have
every.

THE CvESARS.
44 firm perfuafion that they fliall not perifli, but
44 only change their place of abode, makes them
44 . always prepared as for a journey. This enter-
" prife. I completed in lefs than five years. Of
44 all the Emperors who preceded me "*_not one
41 was fo mild to his fubjects, nor can that "be
44 conteded with me even with this Caesar, be-
44 fore unrivalled in clemency, nor by any other.,
44 The Parthians, till they infulted me, I thought it
44 unjuft to attack ; but after they had infulted me,
44 neither my. age, nor the laws which allowed me
44 to quit the fervice +,. prevented my invading
every where found it. Some have not mentioned this
doctrine, becaufe it was fufficiently eftabliftied. 'Others.
have mentioned it,, not in order to prove it, which was by
no means neceffary, but to particularife it, and to dif-
play its confequences. The perfuafion of the immor
tality of the foul, as well as that of the exiftence of God,
is the tenet of mankind, and the faith of nature.,.
The contrary error is' either the'frenzy of a philofopher
who choofes to 'be lingular, or the interefted wifh of a li-
bertinel La Bleterie.
* In the original, iTavlaiv rut ff^o spa ysyotolut uvrozpollogtiit
w$8*t toic u-ijxcois irjaolalof, u Of all the Emperors who pre-
44 ceded -me I was -the mildeft to my fubjects." . This paf
fage, by which Trajan confounds himfelf with , his prede
ceffors, is fimilar to that of Milton (noticed by Addilon in
the Spectator, N° 2S5.) in which Adam and Eve are ranked
among their -pofterity.
Adam,, the goodlieft, man- pf men fince born , v ; +
His fons, the faireft of, her. daughter Eve.
t Regularly, every Roman, after twenty. .years fervice,
was exempted from bearing arms. Trajan had ferved from
his eariieft. youth. He was fifty-five, years,' old, at , leaft,
perhaps hfty-feven, when he made war with Cofroes, king r
of Partliia. La Bleterie.
O 3 " them.

197

19$ THE CISARS.
44 them. Thus circumftanced, am not I, who was
44 eminently mild to my fubjects and formidable
44 to my enemies, and who revered your divine
44 daughter, Philofophy, juftly entitled to fuperior
44 honours, and even to the firft rank V
Trajan having concluded, it was allowed that
he excelled all in clemency, a virtue particularly
pleafing to the Gods.
Marcus Aurelius then beginning to fpeak, Si
lenus faid, in a low voice, to Bacchus, 4 Eet us,
4 hear which of his wonderful paradoxes and
4 aphorifms this Stoic will produce.' But he,
fixing his eyes on Jupiter and the other Gods, thus,
addreffed them :
44 I have no oceafion, O Jupiter and ye Gods,
44 to harangue or difpute. If you were ignorant
" of my actions, it would be proper for me to acr
44 quaint you with them 5 but as you are privy to
" them, and nothing is concealed from you, you
44 will honour me as I deferve."
Thus Marcus, as in every thing elfe, feemed
worthy of admiration for his extraordinary pru
dence in knowing when to fpeak, and when to be
filent *.
* This is an imitation of a verfe of jEfchylus, quoted
by Aiilus Gellius. In this particular, the pretended copy '
of Marcus Aure'.ius d,d not refemble his original.' Julian
fpoke much and often. Lingua fufioris et admodiim raro
flcntis, fays Ammianus. La Bleterie.

Con

THE C1SARS. 199
Constantine * was then fummoned to fpeak.
He entered the lids with confidence; but when he
reflected on the actions of his competitors, his own
feemed trivial arid inconfiderable. He defeated, it
h true, two tyrants f ; one of them unwarlike and
pufil-
* Every impartial reader muft perceive and condemn the
partiality of Julian againft his uncle and the Chriftian re
ligion. On this occafion the interpreters are compelled,
by a more facred intereft, to renounce their allegiance, and
defert the caufe of their author. Gibbon.
The reflections, or farcafms, on the other candidates are
confined to Silenus, or their antagonifts. On this occafion
Julian is betrayed by his prejudice into a breach of the
unity of character before obferved, by taking, or rather
making Mercury, his informant, take a decided part againft
Conftantine. f Julian ufes his utmoft endeavours to depreciate the
exploits of his uncle. Conftantine was a great general ;
and perhaps his moft fubftantial fault is his having been too
warlike. If he had good fortune, he deferved it ; and the
Pagans themfelves acknowledged that his talents were equal
to his good fortune. Innumera in eo animi corporifque vir-
tuics clarucrunt, fays Euti opius. Militaris gloria appeten-
tijjimus, fortuna in bellis profperd fuit ; verum ita ut non fu-
peraret indufiriam, I know that Maxentius was a kind of
Sardanapalus, who, remaining at Rome, while his col-
legue made war, faid, that he alone was Emperor, and that
the others were his lieutenants ; that he confidered the
going from his palace to the gardens of Salluft as a long
journey, &c. But he had 200,000 troops, a great deal of
money, and good officers " To dethrone him, Conftantine,"
fays a contemporary author, 41 with an army lefs numerous
44 than that of Alexander when he marched againft Darius,"
that is, with no more than 40,000 men, 41 muft have forced
" the pafs of Succi, and have gained the battles of Turin,
44 Brefcia, Verona, and Rome, of which the three firft,
44 at leaft, muft have been very obftinate and bloody."
With regard to Licinius, he was not above fifty years
pJd when he was defeated at the battle of Cibal, au.d about
C 4 lixty

zoo T H E C M S A R S.
pufillanimous, the other unfortunate and advanced
in years, and both of them odious to Gods and
men.1 As for his exploits againd the Barbarians,,
they were ridiculous. For he, in a mannery paid '
i them tribute, to indulge his love of pleafure. He
dood therefore at a didance from the Gods, near
the entrance of the moon, of whom he was ena-
' moured *, and, gazing only on her, was regardlefs
of the victory. HoWr
fixty when he loft the battles of Adrianople and, Chryfb-
polis, which rendered Conftantine mafter of the empire.
Licinius, with all his vices, was brave and fkilful in the
conduct of war. He made his troops obferve the ancient,
difcipline with extreme feverity. Whatever Julian may fay.
of him, his age had not at all abated his courage, any more
than the vigour of his conftitution. He was always prof-
perous when he had not Conftantine to encounter. Add,
that the reproach with which fome writers have branded ,
Conftantine of breaking his word with Licinius, by putting
him to death after having promifed him life, feems remo\ed
by the filence of Julian. As to the victories which he
gained oyer the Barbarians, that is, over the Franks, the
Germans, the Sarmatians, and the Goths, Julian is the
only one who defpifes thofe,44 exploits." It is well known
that Coiiftantirie, far from 4< paying tribute^' to the Bar
barians, freed the Romans from that which they p,;id to the
Gcths under the honourable name of penfion. But as he
took -into the fervice of the empire 40,000 men of that
nation, the pay which he gave them is probably, that which
Julhn calls '' tribute." La Bleterie,
; * Why does- Julian make Conftantine ^4 enamoured of
44 the moon r" This is' an'renigma which I have endea-
, youied to l'olve.' Am I To fortunate as to' have at laft fuc
ceeded ? The reader fliall determine. Antiquaries agree,
that, from the earlieft times, the crefcent was the diftinc-
tiOn, or, as we fliould now exprefs it, the arms of Byzan
tium, as it ftill continues to'be of 'Conftantinople. Thus, when

T HXE C IE S A R S. 201
However, as it was neceffary for him to fpeak,
44 In thefe particulars," faid he," I am fuperior
4U to my opponents ; to the Macedonian, in having'
44 fought againd the Romans, Germans, and Scy-
" thians, indead of Afiatic Barbarians ; to Caesar
44 and Octaviamus, in not having vanquifhed,
44 like them, good and virtuous citizens, but the
44 mod cruel and wicked tyrants. To Trajan
44 alfo, for my drenuous exertions againd tyrants,
44 I deferve no lefs to be preferred. To recover
44 the province * which he conquered feems to me
44 equally
r
when Julian reproaches his uncle with being enamoured of
the moon, and attending folely to her, inftead of thinking
of the victory, the author, without detriment to the other
ideas trf which this reproach may give rife, principally
means, that Conftantine, wholly devoted to the ca're of
founding and embellifhing his new city, had neglected the
affairs of ftate, and fuffered his laurels to wither. This is
exactly what Zofimus, the copyer of Eunapius and the
echo of Julian, imputes to him, by faying, that 44 Con-
41 ftantine, after the foundation of Conftantinople, had no
44 fuccefs in war; i^iktas iro^efj-ot ahva. xdlop9u>pKu;, and that
44 he fuffered the Barbarians to infult him in his new car
44 pital." ' La Bleterie.
The above ingenious folution of a difficulty, before infu-
perable, will, I doubt not, be approved by every reader,
and adopted by allfuture commentators on the Ciefars.
* Meaning Dacia, which Trajan had reduced to a pro
vince. Aurelian having abandoned it, it was ufurped'hy'
the Goths.' There can be no doubt of Conftantine having
carried his arms beyond the Danube. The two Victors
enumerate, among his great actions, his having made a
bridge over that river. But. it is certain, that he did
not conquer the; country of the Dacians. I am convinced
that Julian, in order to render him ridiculous, repref'ents
him' as affecting the importance of a conqueror on account
'",,,, ¦ '•¦ of

THE CISARS.
44 , equally meritorious: perhaps to regain is more
44 laudable than to gain. As to this Marcus, he,
44 by faying nothing for himfelf, yields us all the
44 precedency."
4 But, Constantine/ faid Silenus, 4 why do
4 you not mention, among your great works, the
4 gardens of Adonis * ? "*What mean you," replied
Constantine, " by the gardens of Adonis -f- ?*'
of fome advantages which be had gained over the Goths'
fettled in Dacia ; and perhaps for fome forts which he had
erected on the left of the Danube, With the fame view,
Julian makes him draw, from the filence jof Marcus
Aurelius, the moft abfurd, and, I may venture to fay,
fhe moft foolifh concfofion that can be imagined. La Bleterie,
* Thus Suidas : 44 The gardens of Adonis conlifted of
44 lettuce and fennel, which were fown in pots. It is ufed
44 as a proverb of things immature, or, when in feafon,
44 flight, and not rooted, not lafting, but adhering only
44 to the furface." See A{hen. 1. iy. c. 8. and Arrian's
Epictetus, Cantoclarps,
Thus Shakfpeare fays,
Thy promifes are like Adonis' gardens,
That one day bloom'd, and fruitful were the next.
i Hen. IV. Act. I. Sc. II.
. And Mr. Bramftope, in his Man of Tafte. (Dodfley's
Poems, Vol. I.) fays,
Pots o'er the door I'll place, Ijke cits balconies,
Which Bentley calls the gardens of Adonis ;
and refers to Bentley's Milton, b. IX. ver. 439.
  ¦ thofe gardens feign'd
Or of reviv'rl Adonis.
He might have referred to much more ancient writers
than Mikon or his commentator, whom one would not
have expected to have been ridiculed for this expreffion by
a fcholar. , - <
+ ' Could Conftantine, -though a Chriftian, be ignorant
pf the rites of a religion vhich he had long pradtifed ? If
I rniftake not, he is here meant to be accufed on the moft
common fiibjeets, ,La Bleterie, ' PoisJ

THE CjESARS.
* Pots/anfwered Silenus, " filled with earth, in which
.* women fow herbs in honour of that lover * of
4 Venus. They flpurifh for a fhort time, but foon
4 fade.' At this Constantine blufhed, knowing
it to be intended as a farcafm on his own actions.
Silence being proclaimed, it was expected that
the Gods would immediately have determined the
pre-eminence by their votes. But they thought it
proper fird to examine the intentions of the can
didates, and not merely to collect them from their
actions, in which Fortune had the greated fhare j
and that Goddefs, being prefent, loudly reproached
them all, Octavianus alone excepted, who, die
faid, had always been grateful to her. Of this the
Gods apprifed Mercury, and commanded him to
begin with afking Alexander " what he
44 thought the highed excellence, and what
44 was his principal view in all the great actions
44 and labours of his life ?" He replied, 4 Uniyerfal
4 conqued,' " And in this," faid Mercury, 4< did
44 you think you fucceeded ?" 4 Certainly,' an-
fwered Alexander. Silenus added, with a fneer-
ing laugh, " You forget that you were often con-
44 quered by my daughters," meaning vir.es j and
ridiculing Alexander for his intemperance.
Alexander, well verfed in the Peripatetic apho-
rifms, replied, 4 Things inanimate cannot conquer.
4 There can be no contention with them, but only
f with men or animals.' At, this, Silenus ironically
* A»?gi (!4 hufband") in the original. exprefling

204 THE C'iE S A R S."
exprefling his admiration, exclaimed^'4 Alas! alas!
44 how great are the fubterfuges, of logicians ! But
" in what cl afs will you rank" yburfelfj among
4' things inanimate," or among the animate1 and
44 living ?" "Alexander, with fome difpleafure,
replied, 4 Be lefs fevere; fuch was- my mag-
4 himity, that I was convinced'- that I fliould be,
4 nay that I was, a God".' " You allow then,"
faid Silenus, " that you -were' often conquered bf
44 your felf, when anger, grief, or fome other paflion
" debafed and debilitated your mind." 4 But,'
anfwered Alexander, 4 for any one' to conquer
4 himfelf, and to be conquered by himfelf, are fy-
4 nonymous. I am talking of my victories over
4 others.' " Fie upon your- logic!" returned Si
lenus; 44 how it detects my fophidry ! But when
44 you were wounded in India *, and Peucefles lay
•( near you, and you, almoft breathlefs, were car-
44 ried out of the city, were you conquered by him
44 who wounded you, or did you conquer him I"
1 I not only conquered him,' replied Alexander,
4 but .Laid)' deftroyed the city. * 44 Not you, indeed,
(t you Immortal," faid Silenus; " you Jay like Homer's
* Alexander, when he was Kefieging-the capital of the
Oxydraca, according to4Quintus Curtius, but, as others
fay, of the Mallians, was- fo rafli as to leap alone into
ttye, ciiy, .vi'hefe he . was clangeroufly wounded with an
arrow by an Indian, who, believing him ^ead, ' then ad
vanced to ftrip him: Alexander, however, recovering,
kijled'him. with his dagger, and was foon after refcued by'
his foldiers, and carried off to his tent almoft dead.
- . u - La Bleterie.
.lt-;;<ir-j , 4C Hector,

it
ti <

THE C^SARS.
44 Hector ¦'•', languid, and almofl expiring; others
44 fought and conquered." 4 True, anfwered
Alexander, 4 but under my command.' " How
44 could they obey you," faid Silenus, " who were
44 carried out almoft dead ?"
He then- fung thefe verfes of Euripides, -ft , -
Unjuft the cuftom of the Greeks; the troops
The battle gain, their leaders gain the glory."
Say no more, my dear father,' faid Bacchus,
* led he fhould treat you. as he treated Clitus.'
At this Alexander blufhed, wept, and ,was
filent. '
This difcourfe ended, Mercury thus interrogated
. Cjesar : "What,, Cjesar, was the principal view
" pf your life V ' To eXcell my .contemporaries,'
' he replied, ' and neither to be, nor to be thought,
4 fecond to any." 4' This," faid Mercury, ," ds
44 not quite clear. In what did you particularly
44 wifli to excell, in wifdom or eloquence, in mili-
44 tary skill, or political abilities?" ' In every
4 thing,' anfwered Cesar. 4 I was defirous of be.
' ing the fird of men ; but, as that was impoflible,
4 I endeavoured to be the mod powerful of my
4 fellow-citizens.' " And had you much power
44 among them:" faid Silenus. 4 Certainly,' re-
* When he was wounded by Ajax. II. XIV. 432. and
XV. 246.
f In his Andromache. Clitus is faid to have repeated
thefe verfes at a banquet of Alexander, in order to de
preciate his exploits, by which he provoked Alexander to
kill him, as Quintus Curtius informs us, in his eighth book,
and Plutarch, in his Life of Alexander. ' Barnes.
3 Plied

2°5

26* THE C M S A R S.
plied CiESAR, for I became their governor/
44 That," returned Silenus, ,4 you might be ; but
44 you could never gain their love, though, for
44 that purpofe, you diflembled much humanity,
44 acting a part like a player, and meanly flatter-
44 ing all men." ' What!' faid Cesar ; 4 was I
4 not loved by the people who perfecuted Brutus
4 and Cafiuis?' 4' That," replied Silenus, 44 was
44 not becaufe they had murdered you •, for on that
44 account the people made them confuls * ; but
44 for the fake of your money, as foon as they had
44 heard your will, and found that no fmall reward
44 was given to thofe who fhould be their enemies."
This difcourfe alfo being concluded, Mercury
thus accofled Octavianus: ' Will you alfo tell us
4 what was your principal view ?' He replied,.
44 To reign well." li What means that ?" faid
* This is contrary to hiftory.- Brutus and Gaffius were
not nominated to the confulfhip by the people. The
former was to have filled that place four years after, but
that was an arrangement made by Caefar. Though, in
ftead of ura-ras, '4 confuls," we fhould read atQvwctra<;,-
44 pro-confols," Julian would ftill be miftaken.- It was'
not the people, bhif the fenate^ that invefted Brutus and
Caffius with pro-confular power in the provinces of which
thofe two republican's had taken poffefffon. La Bleterie.
M. de la Bleterie has altered this paffage, in his tranf^
lation, to 44 they thought them worthy of the confulfhip
44 for having killed you." I caniiot allow myfelf fuch a
liberty, remembering the rule of Rofcommon,
Your author always will the beft advife,
Fall when he falls 
A tranflator may correct his author in the notes, but
in the text he fhould let him fpeak his own language. Silenus,,

T HE CiESA R S\
Silenus. <s Explain, Augustus, as this is pretended
*4 even by the wicked. Even Dionyfius * thought
le that he reigned well; and fo did the ftill more
•* abandoned Agathocles *." 4 You know then,*
replied Octavianus, 4 ye Gods, that when 1
r parted with my grand fon -j», I prayed you to
' give him the courage of Cesar, the conduct of
* Pompey, and my good fortune.' " Many ftatues
44 of Gods," faid Silenus, ,c moft curioufly carved,
44 of Gods of great merit, have been fent us by
44 this ftaruary." 4 Why,' anfwered Octavianus,
'* do you give me that ridiculous appellation V
44 As Nymphs are carved," he replied, 44 have not
44 you formed Gods, one of whom, and the prin-
r4 cipal, is this Cesar :" Octavianus blufhed f,
and faid no more.
Mercury then, addrefling himfelf to Trajan,
asked, * what end' his actions had in view ::' *4 The
44 fame," he replied, ,4 as thofe of Alexander,
" but with more moderation." 4 So you were
4 conquered,' faid Silenus, 4 by more ignoble paf-
45 lions. He was frequently fubdued by anger,
4 you by the vileft and mod difgraceful plea-
* Tyrants of Syracufe well known.
¦\- Auguftus- wifhed this to C. Cssfar,. the eldeft fon of
Agrippa and Julia, when he fent him to wage war in the
eaft. La Bleterie;
X Auguftus had reafon to blufli at thofe extravagant
apotheofes ; and Julian was in the right to ridicule them.
But fhould he not hay£ reflected that many of the G°ds
whom he worfliipped were no more than images a little,
older ? Magis s'longinquo reverentia. Ibid.
4 fu'res.

207

2o8 THE CJSA'RS.
' fures *, " Plague on you!" faid Bacchus. 44 Your
44 farcafms prevent their fpeaking for themfelyesa,,
44 A truce with your jokes, and confider now: what
44 you can find reprehenfible iq Marcus ; for he
41 feems to me, in the fenfe of Simonides- -j-, per-
44 feet and faultlefs X-" Then Mercury, turning
towards Marcus, faid, ' And what, O fage, did
4 you think the greated happinefs ?' With a low
voice, and with great diffidence, he replied, <4 To
44 imitate the Gods." This anfwer was immedi
ately deemed highly noble and praife-worthy.
Nor would Mercury quedion him any farther,
convinced, that Marcus- would always anfwer with
equal propriety-. In this opinion- all the other
Gods concurred. Silenus only exclaimed, ' By
4 Bacchus, I will not fpare this fophift §. Why
4 did you formerly eat bread and drink wine, and
* not nectar and ambrofia, like us ?' " Not in
44 order to imitate the Gods," replied he,'44 but
44 to nourifli my body, from a perfuafion, whether
44 true or falfe, that your bodies alfo require
* Yet Pliny the younger makes, an admirable elogium on
the chaitity of Trajan. Rely on panegy rifts. La Bleterie.
f A native of Ceos, one of the Cyclades, diftinguifhed
by his elegiac verfes. His anfwer to Hiero's queftion,
44 What is God ?" is weil known.
i In the original, rlleayutoc, 4< four - cornered," or
^44 fquare." This expreffion occurs in one of the fragments
of this poet ftill preferved.
§ No one lefs deferves the name of fophift than Marcus
Aurelius. 44 A great proof of the regard of the Gods for
44 me," fays he, . . . 44 is that having a very great love'
44 for philofophy, I have never fallen into the hands of any
44 fophift; that I have not amufed myfelf with reading
44 their books, or unravelling their vain fubtleties, &c."
Meditations of Marcus Antoninus, La Bleterie. being

THE CiESARS.
44 being nourilhed by the fumes of facrifices *. 1
44 did not, however, think that you were to be imi-
44 tated in this, but in your minds." Silenus, as
much dunned at this as if he had been druck by a
skilful boxer, replied, 4 This is fomewhat plau-
4 fible | ; but tell me now, in what did you for-
' merly think, that the imitation of the Gods con-
* fided r" Marcus anfwered, 44 In having as few
44 wants, and doing as much good, as poflible."
4 What ! had you no wants ?' faid Silenus. " As
44 to myfelf," replied Marcus, 4t I had none ; but
44 my body perhaps had a few." Marcus feem
ing in this alfo to have anfwered wifely, Silenus at
lad infilled on what he thought improper and
unjuft in the conduct of Marcus towards his
wife and fon, his enrolling her among the God-
defles, and entrufting the empire to him. 4 In
4 this alfo/ faid Marcus, ' I imitated the Gods.
4 For I practifed that maxim of Homer,
* Julian adopts this grofs conception by afcribing it to
his favourite Marcus Antoninus. The Stoics and Platonifts
hefitated between the analogy of bodies and the purity of
fpirits ; yet the graveft philofophers inclined to the
whimficai fancy of Ariftophanes and Julian, that an un
believing age might ftarve the immortal Gods. Gibbon.
+ The Gods of Julian are not jealous Gods. On the con
trary, they are of a good compofition, according to the ar
rogant philofophy of the Stoics, who were fo chimerical as to
imagine, that man has no need of any inward fupport, and
that he may become like to God without any other ftrength
than that of nature. 44 In which man," faid they, 44 has
44 the advantage of Jupiter himfelf. Jupiter is good by
44 nature, but the wife man is good by his own choice."
La Bletejue.
Vol. I. P 4 The

209

aio T H E C M S A RS.
4 The wife whom choice and paffion both approve,
' Sure every wife and worthy man will love *.
4 And as to my fon, I am juflified in my behaviour
* by that of Jupiter himfelf. 44 I fhould long ago,"
' faid he to Mars, 44 have transfixed thee with a
44 thunder bolt, if I had not loved thee, becaufe thou
44 art my fon f." 4 Befides, I never imagined that
* Commodus would have proved fo profligate. And
' though his youth, aflailed on all fides by ftrong
* temptations, was hurried away by the word, I
* entrufted the government to one not yet cor-
4 rupted. Afterwards, indeed, he became wicked.
' My tendernefs therefore to my wife was copied
' from the example of the divine Achilles |, and
'that
* Pope, 4jo. This is faid by Achilles, on the fubjefl
of Brifeis, whom he confiders as his wife, and whom Aga
memnon had taken from him. II. IX. 343. La Bleterie.
Julian, after Homer, ftyles Brifeis 44 the wife" (yafiVM
of Achilles, as he had before ftyled Adonis 44 the husband"
(««ij) of Venus. One would think he had readThelyphthora.
f This is the fubftancc of what Jupiter fays to Mars.
II. V. 896, &c.
X It is importable fully to iuftify the weaknefs of Marcus
Aurelius in regard to his wife. Julian, however, might
have made him offer a more plaufible excufe than a maxim
true in general, but liable to fome exceptions ; and which,
for having come from the mouth of the divine Achilles, an
authority very weak in point of conduct, was not the more
applicable to the calie of Marcus Aurelius. He might
luve alleged, not in his juftification, but as an excufe,
that, never fufpecting evil, and judging of others by him
felf, he had thought that his wife was what fhe ought fo
have been. Whatever fome hiftorians may fay, Marcus
Aurelius was ignorant of the irregularities of Fauftina, at
he thanks the Gods 44 for having given him a wife fo good-
44 natured

T H E C M S A R S. 211
* that to my fon * was in imitation of the fupreme
' Jupiter ; and, befides, in both thefe I was guilty 4 of
44 natured and obliging, full of tendernefs for hef husband,
44 and of a wonderful fimplicity of manners." Meditations
of Marcus Antoninus, I. i. xvn.
44 This ought not to feem very furprifing," fays Madam
Dacier, 4C if we confider, ort one fide, the fimplicity of
44 Antoninus," (fo fhe always calls Marcus Aurelius) 44 and,
44 on the other, the genius of Fauftina, who had no lefs
44 art than beauty, and who had captivated the emperor
44 by all the external demonflxations of a tendernefs, which
44 appeared great in proportion to its falfhood. Half as
44 much would have been fufficient to deceive a man much
44 more diftruftful and fufpicious than Antoninus. If, after
44 this, any are obftinately aftonifhed at his ignorance,"
continues Madam Dacier, 44 I have no objection, perfuaded,
44 that thofe who are fo aftonifhed are in the fame1 fituation ;
44 for the world abounds with fuch examples, and there is
44 nothing of which women are more capable than fuch
44 diflimulation."
Madam Dacier adds, that, 44 if, in the fatire of the
44 Caefars, this prince, inftead of excufing himfelf on ac-
44 count of his ignorance, alleges the maxim of Achilles,
44 and the example of other emperors, who have paid the
44 fame honours to their wives, though they were no more
44 worthy than Fauftina, the reafon probably was, that
44 Julian meant to include in this fatire the wives of Ha-
44 drian, Vefpafian, and Auguftus." That may be. But
I rather think that Julian imagined he had anfwered every
thing when he had quoted fome verfe of Homer. La Bleterie.
The deification of Fauftina is the only defect which
Julian's criticifm is able to difcover in the all-accompliflied
Marcus Aurelius. Gibbon.
Another 44 defect," obferved by Julian in Marcus Aure
lius, was the entrufting the empire to his fon. See .p. 209.
* We will not fay, with the Emperor Severus, that
Marcus Aurelius ought to have, put his fon Commodus to
death. But the faults, which paternal tendernefs made that
philofophical Emperor commit, are utterly inexcufable in fo
P 2 great

2ij T n E C M S A R S.
4 of no innovation. It is the general cudom for
t fons to fucceed to the inheritance of their fathers,
4 and this is alfo the wifh of all. Nor was I
4 the firft who decreed divine honours to a wife,
4 there being many precedents. To have intro-
4 duced it might perhaps have been unreafonable ;
4 but to prevent the neareft relations from fol-
4 lowing a cudom edablifhed by others, would be
' unjud. But I forget myfelf, and have been too
* prolix in my apology to you, O Jupiter and ye
great a man. I know that he at firft took all poffible
methods to give his fon an excellent education. But fome
corrupters infinuated themfelves into the favour of that
prince. It is faid, that, when Marcus Aurelius removed
their, Commodus was fo chagrined as to be ill, and that
his father had the weaknefs to reftore them to him.
Be that as it may, one of thefe three things mull be
allowed ; either Marcus Aurelius was apprifed of the bad
inclinations of his fon; or he confidered him as a young
man wavering between good and evil; or, laftly, he thought
him folidly virtuous. In the firft cafe, the empire not being
hereditary, Marcus Aurelius fhould have caufed the fenate
to name him another fucceffor, and not have falfified the,
fair fpeeches which he himfelf had made : 44 May my
" children perifh, if they lefs deferve to be loved than
44 thofe of Caffuis, and if their lives are not ufeful to the
44 republic!" In the fecond cafe, was the love of his
country difplayed by expofing it to the rifle of having a vicious
Emperor ? On the third fuppofition, how can this prince
be exculpated for having depended too much on the virtues
which he thought he faw in a child ? He made the fenate
confer on him, at the age of fifteen or fixteen at moft, both
the confulfhip, and the tribunitial power, and even the title
of Auguftus ; and by that in a manner divefted himfelf .of
paternal authority. Antoninus had not done fo much in
favour of Marcus Aurelius himfelf, though he was fo early
attached to virtue. La Bleterie. 4 Gods.

THE CiESARS. 213
* Gods, who know all things. Pardon me this
4 indifcretion.' When Marcus had finifhed his fpeech, Mer
cury interrogated Constantine, and aflced him,
44 What good .end he had in view ?" 4 Having
e amaffed great riches *,' he replied, ' to disburfe
' them liberally in the gratification of my own de-
' fires, and thofe of my friends.' At this, Silenus
burft into a fit of loud laughter, and faid, 44 You
44 now wifh to pafs for a banker 1 ; but how can
44 you
* It is difficult to conceive that Conftantine did not op-
prefs his fubjects. I mean, that he did hot lay fome hew
burthen upon them, and even that he granted fome dimi
nution of the old ones, according to Mr de Tillemont.
However, if we confider the ftate in which the empire muft
be, after fo many civil wars, after having fuffered the reigns
of that crowd of Emperors and Csefars, or rather tyrants,
each of whom expended as much as a fingle fovereign, we
fliall allow that, in fuch circumftances, the defign of found
ing a new capital, and of making Conftantinople at once
equal to Rome, the work of fo many ages, was hot that
of a prince fufficiently intent on the welfare of his fubjefts.
But to fay that, in amaffing wealth, his object was to
fatisfy the paffions of others, is unjuftly to render him re-
fporifible for the abufes which were made of his liberality
by fome' of his friends, whom, perhaps he had not chofen
'•with fufficient difcernment. To pretend that his view was
to fatisfy his own paffions is a calumny, unlefs it means his
paffion for New Rome : that paffion, however, did not fo
^xhahft his treafnres as to leave him nothing to diftribute
in immenfe charities, in building and' endowing churches,
and in magnificently rewarding men of letters and artifts.
La Bleterie.
f To underftand this farcaftic pleafmtry of Silenus, we
muft fuppofe that the bankers at that time lived and dreffed
vary penurioufly. 44 As by your own confeffion," fays
P 3 Silenus,

ai4 THE CiESARS.
44 you forget your living like a cook, or a hair-
44 dreffer ? This your hair and looks formerly
Silenus, 44 you employed yourfelf in receiving and counting
44 money, like a banker, you ought to have lived and
ll dreffed like one. You ought not to have indulged your-
44 felf in good cheer, in inventing new ragouts, in paying
44 fo much attention to your hair," The table of Con
ftantine was ferved with magnificence. By his medals it is
thought that he was perhaps too curious in drefs. Eufe
bius mentions fome white hair that was among the pre-
fents which were fent him by Barbarian kings *. He wore
gold -flowered ftuffs, and a diadem adorned with jewels and
pearls. What a lcandal to Julian, who banifhed from his
palace all the cooks, who lived on vegetables, who ne
glected his hair and his perfon, on whom the diadem fat
fo heavy that he retained it only through policy ! He muft
have been enraged at him who, had made the ufe of it
common, and by that means laid his fucceffors under the
deceffity of wearing it. La Bleterie.
The drefs and maimers, which, towards the decline of
life, he cbqfe to affect, ferved only to degrade him in the
eyes of mankind. The Afiatic pomp, which had been
adopted by the pride of Diocletian, affumed an air of
foftnefs and effeminancy in the perfon of Conftantine. He
is reprefented with falfe hair of various colours, laborioufly
arranged by the fkilful artifts of the times, a diadem of a
new and more expenfive fafhion, a profufion of gems and
pearls, of collars and bracelets, and a variegated flowing
robe of filk, moft curioufly embroidered with flowers of
gold. In fuch apparel, fcar'cely to be excufed in the youth
and folly of Elagabalus, we are at a lofs to difcover the
wifdom of an aged monarch, and the fimplicity of a Roman
veteran. Julian, in the Cxfars, attempts to ridicule his
uncle. His fufpicfous teftimony is confirmed, however,
by the learned Spanheim, with the authority of medals.
Eufebius alleges, that '4 Conftantine dreffed for the public,
44 not for himfelf." Were this admitted, the vaineit cox
comb could never want an excufe. Gibbon.
'¦* See Eufebius'; Life of Coriflantine IV. 44 proved,

THE CiESARS. ai5
44 proved, but now your words demonflrate."
Thus feverely farcaftic was Silenus.
Silence being proclaimed, the Gods gave their
votes privately. Moft were in favour of Marcus *,
but Jupiter, after difcourfmg apart with his father,
ordered Mercury to make the following procla
mation : * All you who have engaged in this con-
4 ted, know, that, by our laws and decrees, the
4 victor is allowed to rejoice, but not to infult the
4 vanquifhed. Depart then wherever you pleafe,
' under the patronage of the Gods, and, for the
' future, refiding here, let every one choofe fome
4 guardian and protector.' 1
Alexander immediately haftened to Hercules,
and Octavianus to Apollo ; but Marcus at
tached himfelf clofely both to Jupiter and Saturn.
Cjesar wandered about, and ran here and there,
'till Mars and Venus, moved with compaffion,
called him to them. Trajan joined Alexander,
as if he would feat himfelf in the fame place.
But Constantine not finding among the Gods
the model of his actions, and perceiving the God
defs of Pleafure, repaired to her. She received
him very courteoufly, embraced him, and then
drefling him in a woman's variegated gown, and
* Julian was fepretly inclined to prefer a Greek tp a
Roman. But when he ferioufry compared a hero with a
philofopher, he was fenfible that mankind had much greater
obligations to Socrates than to Alexander. Gibbon.
See his Epiftle to Themiftius, p. 24.
P 4 nicely
/ . ,

2i6 T-HE CISARS.
nicely curling his hair, led him away to Luxury *.
With her he found one of his fons.-f, who loudly
proclaimed,
* Atnslia. Julian here perfonifies Luxury, or (as M. de
la Bleterie tranflates it) Debauchery, and places her among
the Gods, in the fame manner as he had before deified
Pleafure (TgK^n), and Repentance (Mt]*ij.s\eia.)
¦f This fori, whom Conftantine finds with Debauchery, is
tiot one of the three who had followed him to the banquet,'
and whom, Julian fays a little lower, their father 44 led
44 out of the affembly of the Gods." He here means
Crifpus, the eldeft of all, a pupil of the celebrated Lac-
tantius, and known by his tragical death ftill more than-
by his vidtories. But why does Julian place near -De-,
bauchery that prince whbm hiftory mentions as an unfor
tunate hero ? Is it becaufe he thought him guity of the
crime of which hi.S ftep-mother accufed him ? No ; that
would tend to the exculpation of Conftantine. It is rather
owing fo Julian s continuing to treat a manner of living
lefs lingular .than, his own as effeminacy and debauchery.
Crifpus was charged by the Emprefs Faufta with the fame
crime of which Phaddra had formerly accufed Hippolytus,
and of intending to dethrone his father. Conftantine, too
credulous, put- his fon to dpath, and foon after, having
difcovered the innocence of Crifpus, he punifhed the falfe
accufer with a rigour that was confidered as a new crime.
Thefe two deaths, and that of his nephew, young
Licinius, are- indeed enormous crimes, which might hate
been expiated by the baptifm which Conftantine received
before he died. But we may judge of the effect' which
they produced on fuch fuperficial and corrupt minds as
imputed to religion the faults of its profeffors, both by the
blafphemies of Julian and of modern infidels. Without
pretending to penetrate into the judgments of God, we
may confider, with M. de Tillemont, as the chaftifement of
thefe cruel actions of Conftantine, both 'the faults which
the Arians made him commit, and the extinction of his
family, which feemed likely to continue for many ages ; yet,
numerous as it was, perifhed in lefs than forty years, by
fuch a variety of bloody and untimely deaths, as excites
horror. ,Novj thcrefr-e the fword fhall not depart from thine

THE CjESARS. 217
proclaimed, 44 Let all, whether they be libertines,
44 or murderers, or whatever be their crimes *,
44 boldly
thine houfe . . . becaufe thou, haft given great occafion to the
enemies of the Lord to blafpheme. La Bleterie.
Such haughty contempt for the opinion of mankind,
whilft it imprints an indelible difgrace pn the memory , of.
Conftantine, muft remind us of the very different behaviour
of one of the greatefi monarchs of the prefent age. The-
Czar Peter, in the -full poffeflion of dtfpotic power, fub-
mitted to the judgment of Ruffia, of Europe,, and of, pof-
terity, the reafons which had compelled him, to fubfcribe.
the condemnation of a criminal, or, at leaft, a degenerate
fon. . .-, , Gibbon.
* One would think, at firft, that Julian alludes to' the"
ftory which the Pagans of the fifth > century circulated
on the fubject of the" converfioh of -Conftantine. They
faid, that that prince, ftruck with remorfe for having piit'
his fon and his wife to death, having -alked Sopater, chief
of the Platonic fchdol, and the Pagan pontiffs, whether
the religion of the Gentiles had-'any expiation to efface
fuch crimes, anfwered him, that it bad not ; that, in con
fequence, Conftantine had a conference with a certain"
^Egyptian, who had co'me from Spain to Rome, and was well
known to the women of the palace ; that this ^Egyptian and-
fome bifhops affured him that the Chriftian religion' would
give him what the Pagans refufed him ; and that there was
no kind of wickednefs which' could not be wafhed in the
blood of Jefus .Chrift; and that," upon their anfwer, he
embraced Chriftianity, and declared himfelf its protector. '
This relation proves that the Pagans did not confider
Conftantine as a man without conference ; and that, more.
equitable than our free-thinkers, they aforibed his change,
not to policy, but to conviction. If the ftory were true,
there would be no more pretence to iufiilt us for the faults'
ef Conftantine, as he muft have committed them in the
riarknefs of idolatry. But truth obliges me to fay, that the
fact cannot be fupported- For, ,1. as Sozomen remarks,
the philofopher Sopater, being well verfed in the religion-
of the Gentiles, could not be ignosant that it had fome
pretended expiations for fuch cafes as that of Conftantine.
4, 2. It

2t8 THE CISAR'S,
44 boldly advance, ' for by fpririkling them with
44 water, I will immediately make them pure. And 44 if
2. It is not credible that the pontiffs of the idols fliould
have been fo filly as to lay/him under an abfolute neceffity
of 'providing himfelf elfewhere. If they had not had ex
piations', they would have invented them, to quiet the con
science of an Ertiper6r whom they faw on the eve of de
ferring them, arid throwing himfelf into the arms of the
Chriftians. y; Crifpus, Faufta,- and young Licinius died
in 326 ; and in the year 312 Conftantine acknowledged the
Chriftian religion as the only true one.
Julian was toc^ well acquainted with' the hiftory of his
family, and the aera of the converfion of Conftantine,- to
have had in view a fable, which he confi'dered as a fable,
fuppofing that in. his time it had been yet invented. I
imagine therefore Ijthat this apoftate introduces Crifpus
vauntipgthe efficacy- of baptifm and repentance, in order
to infintiate, by that profane irony, that the profpect of the
refources offered to finners. by the Chriftian religion had
emboldened Conftantine to filed the blood of his relations.
If, was a common calumny with the Pagans to fay, that
Chriftkmry favoured the corruption -of men by promifing
pardon to the greateft crimes; as if thegofpcl promifes any
rhing to incorrigible finners, or affures them that they fliall
have time and .the will to reform.
This calumny is the more atrocious in the mouth of
Julian, as, having been of the clergy, he muft be better
acquainted with the fpirit of the church, with the wife
precautions and long probations that fhe employs to be
affured of the tonverfion both of catechumens and of
penitents. A religion, which did not offer to the moft mife-
rable man a method of recovering the favour of God, would
be an ineffectual religion, and little worthy of the goodnefs
<->f God who would have all men faved. It would indeed
favour corruption by plunging or leaving the guilty in.de-
fpair. A religion, which fliould pretend to efface: crimes by
mere ceremonies, without reforming the criminal, would be
no more than a farce, a defpicable-palliative, likely to ex-
afperate the difeafe, but not to cure it. . Chriftianity ob
ferves the juft mean. Adapted to the wants of mankind, and

THE CiESARS. 219
44 if they fhould relapfe, they need only finite
44 their breafts and beat their heads, and they will
44 again be purified." To
and worthy of the fanctity of its author, it prefents men,
to whatever abyfs of degradation- and mifery vice may have
reduced them, with a line which conducts them ftrait to
God, provided, and not elfe, that they become new men
in and by Jefus Chrift. In all times, fome, feparating the
promife from the condition, have affumed, by a deplorable
abufe, a kind of title to fin more boldly. But. God for
bid^ that, on the word of an accufer, who guefles and can-
pot prove, we fliould think that Conftantine was, of that
number, and that the expectation ' of baptifm fhould have
influenced him to actions for which he is juftly reproached !
After all, it is not the fault of phyfic, if, from the uncer
tain hope of the affiftance that it offers, fome are, fp-, ex
travagant as to aggravate .their difeafes. ..¦.,, r
Befides the flanderous imputation juft mentioned, I per
ceive in the words of Crifpus a.fath~fcal ftroke whfch.is not
u/ideferved. . By the confeffion of Eufebius (which is faying
every thing) Conftantine did not enough diftingiiifli from
true Chriftians thofe who embraced 'Chriftianity only to ¦„
make.their fortunes. 44 By. their hypocrify and artifice,"
fays Eufebius, 44 they infinuated themfelves into the favour
44 of the Emperor, and much injured his reputation.", Julian
therefore here means to reproach Conftantine for haying
over-looked everything, and pardoned everything, provided
his religion was profeffed. But why did not the cenfor
perceive, that he himfelf is more juftly entitled to the like;
cenfure ? Neither the uncle nor the nephew had fufficient
delicacy as to their profelytes. Yet they muft have been
well acquainted with a memorable ftory of Conftantius.
Chlorus. That prince, at the time when his collegues
were perfecting Chriftianity with fire and fword, af-
fembled fuch officers of his palace, and governors of his
provinces, as were Chriftians, and gave them the alter
native, either of retaining their places, by facrificing to the
Gods, or of lofing them by adhering to their religion.
When they had all made their options, he faid to the pre
varicators.

THE CM S A R S.
To this Goddefs Constantine gladly devoted
himfelf, -and with her conducted his fons out of the
affembly of the Gods. But theDeities who pUnifh
atheifm * and bloodfhed avenged on him and them
the murder of their relations j;, till Jupiter, in fa
vour of Claudius "£, and ConstANtius, gaye
them fome -refpite. ,: tni?^ ; . » -.
¦:-n : V- - ,fc-,
varicators, 44 You hate bafe arid veiial minds. I cafhier
44 you, and banifli ypu forever from my palace. Hewho
44 betrays his confeience is capable of betraying me. As
44 for you," faid he to the others, 44 1 give you my efteem
44 and confidence. A man is faithful to his prince- and
44 the community when he is faithful to his God." He
retained them in his fervice,. and entrufted them with the
giiaTrr of his* perfon, and the principal affairs of ftate';
confideririg them as his fureft friends and real treafures.
I fhall cpnclude this long note, or father differtation, with
obferving that M. de Tillemont queftions whether Crifpus
had received baptifm. The fpeech which Julian affigns t6
him' leaves no room to doubt it. *Biit it was not befoVe
perceived that it is Crifpus who'fpeaks in this paffage.
" La' Bleterie.
Dr. Eentley, under the borrowed name of PhileieutheruS
Lipfienfis, ftyles this 44 a ridiculous and ftale banter, .ufed
41 by Celfus and others, before Julian, u'pori the Chriftian
44 doctrines of baptifm, and repentance, and remiffion of
44'finsi" and has refuted it at large in his Remarks on a
latedifcourfe of Free-thinkirig, § xln.
* Julian ' treats the Chriftians as atheifts, becaufe they
reject the plurality "of Gods, and acknowledge one only.'
La Bleterie.
-j- After the] death of Conftantine, the foldiers laid
violent 'hands on his three brothers, and five ofhis nephews.
Conftantius was confidered as guilty of this maffacre, and
Julian probably means to charge with it Conftantine the
younger alfo, and Conftans. Be that as it may, the two
latter made war on each other, and Conftantine the younger
was killed near Aquilcia by the troops of Conftans. That
Conftantius put Gallus to death is well known. Ibid.
X Claudius II. mentioned p. 167.

THE CiESARS. sai
14 As for you," faid Mercury, addrefiing him
felf to me, '4 I have introduced you to the kriow-
14 ledge of your father the Sun * ; obey then his .
44 dictates, making him your guide and fecure
44 refuge, while you. live ; and when you leave
44 the world, adopt' him, with good hopes, for
44 your tutelar God."
* Julian, as foon as he rofe, always addreffed a prayer
to Mercury. He thought himfelf under the protection of
that God. We have faid in the preface, and fhall again
obferve in another place, that by the Sun he underftands
the Demiurgns, or Logos. La Bleterie.

The .:"

222

THE CAESARS.
The following Lift of the Roman Emperors, from
Julius Caesar to Julian, will give a fuccinct
view of all that are mentioned, and all that are
omitted, in the foregoing Satire.

Bel

"ore Xt.

A. D.

i Julius Cjesar, i

died 44
A.D.

36 * Maximin, and

died

238

z Augustus

"4

Maximus

238

3 Tiberius

37

27 Pupienus

238
4 " Caligula
41
and
5 Claudius I.
54
Balbinus
238
6 * Nero
68
28 Gordian
243
[Vindex]
68
29 Philip
249
7 Galba
68
30 Dcciuf
2CI
8 Otho
69
31 Gallus
252
9 Vitellius
69
32 f Valerian
2DO
io Vefpafian
79
33 f Gallienus
268
n Titus
81
34 Claudius II.
270
12 * Domitian
96
35 Aurelian
27$
13 Nerva
98
36 Tacitus
276
14 Trajan
lI7
37 Probus
282
15 Hadrian
137
38 f Cams
284
16 Antoninus Pius
161
t Carinus
285
17 Marcus Aurelius 180
and
and
t Numerian
284
Lucius Verus
169
39 Diocletian -j
18 f Commodus
193
and K
refigned 30c
19 Pertinax
193
Maximian J
20 Julian I.
193
40Conftantius.Chlorusd.306
21 Severus
11 1
and
22 * Caracalla
2I7
•j. Galerius
3"
and
41 f Constantine •
rHE
Geta
212
Great
337
33 -f- Macrinus
218
and
and
t Licinius
3*3
Diadumenus
218
43 f Conftantine II.
340
24 f Eliagabalus
222
f Conftantius
361
25 Alexander Severus
23S
and
t Conftans
43 Julian II.
3503^3
"N. B. Thofe marked f were excluded the aflembl y ; thofe *
were thrown into Tartarus ; and thofe in Italicks are not mentioned
Vindex, though mentioned, was not Emperor. And Tiberius
Commodus, and Elagabalus, though they efcaped Tartarus, de-
ferved it.
The
[ "3 ]
The Misopogon, or the Antiochian *.'
A NACREON + compofed many ludicrous a. d.
"*¦ ¦*- poems X> tbe Fates having endowed him 3 3"
with a fportive vein. But neither Alcaeus §, nor
Archi-
* Being jeered by the Antiochians, and feveral afperfions
having been thrown on his beard in particular, Julian took
his revenge in- this fatire, in which, by a figurative repre-
henfion of himfelf, he drew his keen pen againft the man
ners and luxury of the people of Antioch. This work,
and its fubject, are mentioned by Ammianus, /. xxn.
Zofimus, /. in. Gregory Nazianzen, Orat. n. on Julian,
and Socrates, /. in. c. 17. , Petau.
It feems as if Julian meant in fome fort to confound him
felf with his beard, which was fo dear to him that it dif
pleafed the inhabitants of Antioch. After all, the title of
a book frequently refers to fome paffage only in the work.
La Bleterie.
Inftead of abufing, or exerting, the authority of the
ftate, to revenge his perfonal injuries, Julian contented
himfelf with an inoffenfive mode of retaliation which it
would be in the power of few princes to employ. He had
been infulted by fatires and libels ; in his turn, he com
pofed, under the title of 44 The Enemy of the Beard,"
an ironical confelfion of his own faults, and a fevere fatire
on the licentious and effeminate manners of Antioch.
This imperial reply was publickly expofed before the gates
¦ of the palace, and the Mifopogon ftill remains a lingular
monument of the iefentment, the wit, the humanity, and
the indifcretion of Julian. Gibbon.
The fatire of Julian, and the homilies of St. Chry-
foftom, exhibit the fame picture of Antioch. Ibid.
In like manner, Hadrian, it is obfervable, was alfo
much offended with the levity and petulance of the An
tiochians, and had thoughts of disjoining Phoenicia from
Syria, that their city might not continue the metropolis of
fo many others. A Lyric

2i4 THE-MISOPOGON.
Archilochus * of Paros, were favoured by the
Gods with a Mufe who had a talent for mirth and
pleafantry j for when they were oppreffed with
misfortunes, they had recourfe to the Mufes, and
alleviated the weight of their cares by railing at
their enemies. The law, however, forbids me, as
well as every one elfe, to accufe any by name |j,
even
¦j- A Lyric poet of Teos, a city in Ionia, who wrote
many more odes than are tranfmitted to us, as Horace
fays, — perfape cava tefiudine ¦ filevit amorem. Epod. xiv. 4.
X We read in the editions, 44 Anacreon made many
44 ferious and ludicrous poems," x^v «f*»* *M xaSil^*'
Whether this poet wrote any thing but fongs, is the quef-
tion. By faying, that 44 Anacreon made fome ferious verfes,"
Julian would fay the direct contrary of what he meant. I
think therefore that the text flioul be corrected, and the
word rtftrta. fubflituted, or that we fhould only readxagwla.
In one of the MSS. of the King's library, which has been
lent me, the words vipm *«» are not to be found ; and the
other informs the reader, that there are fome MSS. in.
which thofe words do not occur. La Bleterie.
fj A native of Mitylene. From him the Alcaic verfes
derive their name. His pieces were fevere fatires againft
the tyrants of Lesbos, Pittacus in particular. His ftyle,
according to Quintilian, was lofty, and much refembled
that of Homer.
* See p. 131.
|| The Roman laws, beginning with thofe fubfequeut
to the xn tables, condemn jeverely the authors of defa
matory libels. Julian, though in joke, is glad to fhew that
he has a republican fpirit. He confidered the Emperors as
juftly fubject to all the laws, except thofe with which they
had fpecifically difpenfed. La Bleterie.
Perfonal fatire was condemned by the law of the twelve
tables. Si mala condiderit in quern quis sarmina, jus eft
Judkiumque. Hor.
Julian owns himfelf fubject to the law, and the Abbe
de la Bleterie has eagerly embraced a declaration fo agree able

THE MtSOPOGO N. alg-
«ven of thofe, who, as I have in no refpeft in
jured them, are hoflile aggreflbrs. And, befideSj
the mode of education, which is at prefent purfued
by perfons of fafhion *, deprives me of the har
mony
able to his Own fyftem, and irideed to the true fpirit of the
Imperial conftitution. Gibbon.
* I do. not remember elfewhere to, have read that poetry
was then fo much decried. However that might be, in'
Greece the age of verfe was not then over ; witnefs St.
Gregory Nazienzen, whofe fublime and truly Homeric
poems prove that genius and epthufiafm require not the
affiftance of fable. Julian himfelf was a poet ; and Li
banius informs us, that there was a collection of verfes
made by that prince to celebrate the arrivaLof fome men
of learning at his. court. Two fmall pieces of his writing
are all that now remain. In one of them, he elegantly
and forcibly dcfcribes an organ, confifting, like ours, of
pipes, bellows, and . flops. The other is an epigram
44 againft beier-" It muft have been made in the Gauls.
La Bleterie.
Of fhe latter, M. de la Bleterie has given a paraphrafe^
or imitation, in French. The following are clofe tranf-
lations of them both. The . originals, as literary curi-
ofities, are annexed. The Emperor Julian on an Organ*
Reeds ftrike my wond'ring eyes, unknown before,
Sprung from fome brazen foil, fome foreign fhore ;
Fruitlefs our efforts, for in vain we blowj
Till, from a cave of leather, winds below
To hollow pipes harmonious powers impart :
Then, if fome mafter, in th' Orphean art
Experienc'd, touch the well-according keys^
lnftant they warble, and refponfive pleafe.
Itftiaw BamXtu: «? to Qoyatat.
AXhavw o§o« iatux.wt (pvo-n* nira agf. <tM«C
XaXxem? r»xa' f*«Mo» atsG\&m'ra.» apa^lj.
Apyiot, ai' avE/ioicriy v<p' HjUtlepoij iotioilcti,
AX ?i VTj raveeiri; 3-£o9,£w» critTi\vyyo; eusli?
Vol. I. Q %»<*

i%6 THEMIS O POGO N.
raony of numbers. For it feems now as difho-*
naurable to cultivate poetry, as- it was in former
times to be unjuftly rich*
; I will,
NjjSev tvrir&ur xat.afj.ut vito £'£«? oievet.
Km rif anq ayi^x°i *, i%ui §o<* i*?~lv\a x^CU
Tfdlai fcfjJpa.$Q!i)t KUW/sts <Tvfj.typeci[jLov&; aiAfl>,-}-* '
Oi &' awaken axifutls; an-oSAiSaa-iv acnttvi
Merfennus has iriferted a Latin tranflation of this epi
gram, in his lib. ni. De Organ's, p. 113. and Zarlino,
who wrote- in 1-57 1, is of opinion, that the organ here'
mentioned was effentially the fame with the organ of his
time. But the ihtf oductiouof it into churches Is generally
afcribed to Pope Vitellianus, who was advanced to the Pon
tificate, A. D. 663. Dr. Prieftley indeed (Hiftory of the
Corruptions of Chriftianity, vol. II. p. 122.) by fome mif
take, fuppofes it to be introduced into churches by Marinus
Sanutus fo late as 1312. An organ is mentioned by
Gervafe' the monk, who wrote in 1200, as' having been
fometime erected in Canterbury Cathedral, over St.
Michael's chapel (ubi organa filent ejje), and the foundation
of its loft remains to this day. An hydraulic organ (of
which Sir -John Hawkins has given a fketch from Kircher)
is defcribedby Vitruvius, who- livedin the reign of Au
guftus. The following- hote is from Dr, Burnfiy.
The moft ancient proof of an inftrument refembling a
modern organ blown by bellows, and played by keys, very
different from the Hydraiilicon (or water-organ) which is of
much higher antiquity, is a Greek epigram in the Antho-
logia, attributed to the Emperor Julian the Apoftate, who
flourilhed about 364 J.
I fliall here give a literal tranflation of this epigram,
which, though it contain no very beautiful or poetical
images, will anfwer the hiftorical purpofe of afcertaining
¦' A tall fturdy fellow, " alluding to the force neceffary to beat
down that kind of clumly carillon keys of this rude inftrurn'ent
of new invention. BurneY.
t The rulers of the pipes, literally leys. Ibid.
% This is a fmall chronological miftake, as Julian died hi June, the

THE M 1 S O P o GO N. tij
I will not, however, totally difelaim the 'affi fi
ance of the; Mufes. ' I have feen the barbarous
nations beyond the : Rhine" delighted with the
melody of favage muffc, whofe notes referable the
diflbriant fcreams of birds. Bad muficians difguff.
the exiftence o'f an inftrumerit in', the fourth century, which
in many particulars refembled a modern organ.
44 I fee reeds of a new fpecies, the gfowth Of another
44 and a brazen foil ; fuch as are.not agitated by our winds,
44 but by a blaft. that rufhe$ from a leathern caver? be-
44 neath their roots ; while a f-obuft mortal^ running with
44 fwift fingers over the concordant keys, makes them, as
44 they fmoothly dance, Utter -concprdant founds," -- -
Nothing material is omitted in the verfion of this epi-i
gram, or rather enigma, upon the organ, though not a
very ingenious one j for the wo?d av\m, the pipes, difcovers
the whole myftery. , Burneyj.j-
The Emperor Julian on Barley-wine*
Who, what art thou ?' thy name, thy birth declare :
Thou art no Bacchus, I by Bacchus fwear.
Jove's fon alone T know, I know not thee ;
Thou foaeH'ft like goats, but fweet as nectar he. ) .
In Gallia,, thirfty Gallia,, thou wert born^
Scanty of ,gra-pes, but prodigal of corn. .
BrOmi)s,,not Brcmiusj ftyl'd, thy, brows with corn, /
As fprung from Ceres, not from Jove,, adoih,
The tunvor pun, at the conclufiori, cannot be jpreferved.
in Eriglifhv- Rromius was one name of Bacchus, from Bfi^u^
44 to rave," ,. like the Bacchanals; And Julian gives she
name-of Bromus to beer, from B^us, 44 oats." Such, however^,
is the improvement of cjimftes, that modern Gaul pro
duces as much and as good wines as Italy ; and Britain naor«;
and better beer than ancient G.aul. ,
1, I»?.iiva Bay^sir; «; oire» cLVo Kfidiis,
' Tij ; - b-oSep ttq, Aiovto-t-; jtotyafi rot stkrfitot Baxj£o>, ,
Qu dfitiiytytutrxu' rot Ala; olio, payor.
Keoos wxIbj oiniit' ov is rpayot. V ea. at KsAior
Tn witlr, 0oie'jut te'j|»v otnr ar#Xvuy-
T» at xt") *»*««r ' SupnTfM,, 8 Aiovfcrov,
Xlvfoyttn paiXKet, *eu B^opnet, » BjopK,.
Q^z their

228 THE MISOPOGON.
their hearers, but they are naturally pleafing to
themfelves. Reflecting on this, I have been wont
to whifper to myfelf, not indeed with equaj addrefs,
but, I am certain, with equal magnanimity, what
Ifmenias * faid of old, ,4 I will fing for the Mufes
" and myfelf." But my fong is in profe, and will.
contain many bitter farcafms, not on others, by
Jupiter, (for how can that be, as they are illegal ?)
but on the author himfelf. For no law forbids •
my writing a panegyrick or fatire on myfelf;
though if I were defirous of. praifing myfelf, I could
not, but blame I can in many inftances.
And, firft, I will begin with my face. To this,
formed by nature not over beautiful, graceful, or
becoming, my own perverfenefs and Angularity
have added thfs long beard f, to punifh it, as it
were,

* Ifmenias was a very fkilful- player on the flute. Julian
is the only one who afcribes to him this expreffion. Cicero,
[in his Brutus, c. 50.] puts one very like it in the mouth
of Antigenida's, another player on the flute, who, in order
to encourage one of his fcholars, whom the public did not
relifh, faid to him, 44 Play for the Mufes, and for me."
, : La Bleterie.
t Some friends, for whofeunderftanding and tafte I have
the hlgheft fefpect, fuppofihg themfelves to fpeak in the
name of the nation, reijuefted'me to fuppfefs entirely the
idea which Julian here conveys. It is only by fufferance
that they have allowed me to intimate it by one rapid word.
For my own part, I was afraid of giving a handle to infi
delity. Will the French delicacy go fo far as to falfify
authors ? The more difgufting this paffage of Julian is, the
more it charadterifes him; and every thing that charac-
terifes, when it does mrt offend good maimers or religion, fliould

THE MISOPOGON.
were, for no other reafon but becaufe Nature has
not made it handfome. Therefore I fuffer lice to
fcamper about it, like beafts through a thicket : I
cannot indulge myfelf in eating voracioufly, and
muft be cautious of opening my mouth wide when
I drink, left I fwallow as many hairs as crumbs.
As for kifling, and being kiffed, they give me not
the leaft trouble.
Yet amongft other inconveniences of my beard,
this is one, that it prevents my joining pure lips
to fmooth, and, I think, much fweeter lips, as was,
formerly obferved * by one, who, infpired by Pan
mould be facred to a translator. As the notes admit any
thing, here follows a faithful tranflation of the paffage in
queftion ; excepting that the original calls the things by
their name. f_In the French tranflation therefore QSopw,
44 lice," are rendered by dcpetits animaux incommodes, 44 fome
14 little troublefome animals," which might as well be fleas.
And why not des infeiles, or de la vcrmine ?~\ That a Romaa
emperor fhould boaft of fuch a circumitance, and that he
fhould boaft of it falfely, as I fuppofe, is, literally fpeak
ing, a fingular ftroke, which paints Julian better than a
thoufand volumes. La Bleterie.
The friends of the Abbe de la Bleterie adjured him, in
the name of the French nation, not to tranflate this paf
fage fo offenfive to their delicacy. Like him, I have con
tented myfelf with a tranfient allufion ; but the little ani-
Tial, which Julian names, 44 is a beaft familiar to man,
14 and Signifies love." [Shakfpeare, 2 Hen. IV.] Gibbon.
Mr. Gibbon's 4< tranfient allufion" is 44 the fhaggy and
44 populous beard," and <4 la'barbe longue et peuplee" is the;
"4 rapid word" of M, de la Bleterie.
* Theocritus, Idyll, xii. 32.
Oj OS HE 17^07fJ.0(^Yt y\v*.ipu%%u p£«?v£ai x^v* *• T' ^#
He who fliall lips to lips moft fweetly join, &c.
fpeaking of a garland that was prefented at the tomb of
Diodes to the. youth who gave the fweeteft kifo.
0^3 and

229

?3P THE M I S O P O G ON.
and Calliope,^made,fome verfes on Daphnis*. You
fay, that " it is only fit to twift into ropes." That
J would readily allow, provided you could fo.artr
fully extract the briflles, as to prevent their hurting
your foft and tender fingers. Think not that this
offends mej for I will give you a reafon why I
wear a chin like a goat, inftead of making it
iinooth and bare like thofe of beautiful boys,
and of all women by nature lovely. You, fuch is
the delicacy^ and perhaps fimplicity, of yourmau-
ners, even when old, imitate your fons and daugh
ters by ftudioufly fhaving your chins,^ thus dif-
playing the man by the forehead only, and not,
jike me, by the cheeks. But not contented with
this length of beard; my head is alfo nafty and
feldom combed, my nails are unpared,. and my
fingers are ufually bl'^ck with ink. And, to tell
you a fecret, my bofom too is rough and hairy,
like fhe mane of the lion, king of beafts, not
have I ever made it fmoeth, fuch is my meannefs
and illiberally. If I had any wart, I would
readily difcjbfe it, as' Cirrion did, but at prefent
in truth I have none. -. , ,
Jt ..The 'fon of Mercury, whofe ftory is fung in the firft
IdvlHum -Bi'odorus Siculus. fuppofes him to have been the
•firft author pf bucolic poetry ; and, agreeably to this,
Theon, an old ft- ho baft on Theocritus, in his note on the
firft ldy Ilium, yer. 141, mentioning Daphnis, fays,.44 he
44 was the inventor of bucolics." Be that as it may, this
Daphnis was probably the, firft fubject of bucolic fongs.'
. - ' . ¦ Fawk.?s.
Theocritus has alfo an epigram j44 to Daphnis fleeping.''
The above is a note of the translator. ,
Another

THE MISOPOGON. r 231
Another circuraftance, well known to you, I will
alfo mention. Not fatisfied with fuch an uncomely
perfon, I lead a very •rigid life. I abfent myfelf
from the theatres, through mere ftupidity ; nor do
I allow a play at court, fuch a dolt am I, except
on the* calends of the year '*, when I refemble a
poor farmer bringing his rent, or taxes, to a ra
pacious landlord ; and when I am there, I feem as
folemn as at a facrifice +. As it is not long fince
you faw him, you may recollect the youth, the ge
nius, and underflanding of my predeceffor ti my
way of life, fo different from bis, is a fufficient proof
of my frowardnefs.
But to add fomething farther j I have always
hated horfe-races as much as a debtor hates the
forum. Therefore I feldom refort to them, except
on the feftivals of the Gods, nor do I ever pafs
* The calends of January were celebrated by the ancient
Heathens with all kinds of public mirth and lafcivioufnefs,
and for a long time were devoted by the Chriftians to no,
very different amufements. Petau.
f There is in the original a fentence which I omit.
The paffage is certainly faulty, and fo it is thought to be
by F. Petau. Literally tranflated it would be thus : 44 I
44 have no poffeffions ; and though I am ftyled the great king,
44 like a prefect or duke, I am in fact a king, or general, of
44 players and charioteers." But this fenfe does not connect
¦with that which precedes and follows it. The MSS. have
here given me no affiftance. La Bleterie.
For the fame reafon it is alfo omitted here.
X Conftantius. It is needlefs to fay, this is ironical.
The 44 genius and underflanding" of Conftantius Julian
deipifed ; and as to his 44 youth," he was 44 years old*
when he died. O 4 the

-232 THE MISOPOGON.
the whole day there, as was the practice of my
coufin :*, my uncle ¦f, and my brother X ; but after
feeing fix races §, and that not with the keennefs
of a fportfman, but, by Jupiter, with difguft and
averfion, I depart with joy. But enough of my
public conduct. And yet how few of my offences
againft yon have I mentioned !
As to domeftic affairs, fleeplefs nights on ftraw,
and food lefs than enough, give a feverity to my
manners, totally repugnant to a luxurious city ||.
Be not offended with me for this **. A great and
foolilh
* Conftantius.
+ Count Julian. See Epiftle xin,
| Gallus. Julian ftyles him (as he Was) <4 hjs half-
brother." § Out of four and twenty, which was the ufual number.
A twenty-fifth race, or miftht, was added, to complete the
number of one hundred chariots, four of which, the four
colours, ftarted each heat.
Centum qvadrzjugos agitabo adflumina a/rfus.
It appears that they ran five or feven times round the
tneta, and (from the meafure of the Circus Maximus at Rome,
the Hippodrome at Conftantinople, &c.) it might be abiiut
a four-mile courfe. Gibbon.
[I The private life of Julian in Gaul, apd the fevere dif
cipline which he embraced, are difplayed by Ammianus.
i'xvi. 5.) who profeffes to praife, and by Julian himfelf,
who affects to ridicule, a conduct which in a prince of the
family of Conftantine might juftly excite the furprife of
mankind. Ibid.
** It may not be improper to add here the picture which
Libanius draws of Julran's manner of life. 4i Always ab-
•44,ftemious, and never oppreffed by food, he applied him-
44 felf to bufinefs with the activity of a bird, and difpatched
<< it with infinite cafe. In one and the fame day he gave
45 feveral audiences • he wrote to cities, to magiftrates, to
" generals of armies, to his abfent friends, to thofe who
44 were

THE MISOPOGON.
foolifh miftake has from my childhood induced me
to wage war with my ftomach. I therefore never
allow it to be filled with food. Confequently, to
nothing am I fo little addicted as to vomiting: and
this, I remember, befell me once only fince I became
Csefar ; and that by accident, not repletion. It
may not be amifs to relate the ftory, not that I
think it entertaining, but as it was to me of the
utmoft confequence.
I happened to be in winter quarters at my dear
Lutetia * ; for fo the Gauls call the town of the
Parifians.
44 were on the fpot ; hearing letters read that were addreffed
44 to him, examining petitions, and dictating with fuch ra-
44 pidity, that the fhort-hand writers could not keep pace
44 with him. He alone had the fecret of hearing, fpeaking,
44 and writing at the fame time ; and in this multitude of
44 complicated operations he never miftook. After havihV
44 difpatched bufinefs, and dined merely through urgent ne-
44 ceifity, (hutting himfelf up in his library, he read and com-
44 pofcd till the inftant when affairs of ftate fummoned him
44 to other labours. A fupper ftill more fparing than the
44 dinner was followed by a fleep as light as his meals.
44 He awaked in order to labour with other fecretaries
44 whom he had allowed to fleep on the preceding day.
44 His minifters were obliged to relieve each other; but, as
44 for himfelf, he knew no repofe but the change of em-
44 ployment. He alone was always labouring, he multi-
44 plied himfelf, and affumed as many forms as Proteus.
41 Julian was pontiff, author, diviner, judge, general of
44 the army, and, in all thefe characters, the father of his
44 country." Liban. Orat. Parent. La Bleterie.
* Leucetia, or Lutetia, was the ancient name of the
city, which, according to the fafliion of the ivth century,
affumed the territorial appellation of Parifii.
The licentioufnefs and corruption of Antioch recalled to
the memory of Julian the fevere and fimple manners of his
44 beloved

m

234 THE MISOPOGON.
Parifians. It is fituated in a fmall ifland ; two
wooden bridges lead to it, and the river feldom
rifesor falls, but is generally of the fame depth both
in fummer and winter. The water is very clear
, to the eye, and pure to the tafle '*. This is of great
importance
44 beloved Lutetia ;" where the amufements of the theatre
were unknown or defpifed. He indignantly contrafted die
effeminate Syrians with the brave and honeft fimplicity of
the Gauls, and almoft forgave the intempereqce which was
the only ftain of the Celtic character. If Julian could now
revifit the capital of France, he might converfe with men
of fcience and genius, capable of u»derftanding and of
inftructing a difciple of the Greeks ; he might excufe the
lively and graceful follies of a nation, whofe martial fpirit
has never been enervated by the indulgence of luxury, and
he muft applaud the perfection of that ineftimable art which
fattens, and refines, and embellifhes the intercourfe of focial
life. Gibbon.
Worthy patriot ! Enlightened philofopher !
Whatever 44ffofiens, refines, and embellifhes" human life,
in a proper degree, is certainly defirable. But why muft
France be commended with fuch warmth of approbation,
as if file poffeffed this '4 ineftimable art" exclufively? I
think in this polifhed and enlightened age,' the art is
known and practiied in England, as much as is conliftent
with the national character, and the prefervation of that
manly fpirit which is ntceffary to the exiftence of civil
liberty ; an 44 ineftimable" bleffing, which enlarges, and
ennobles, and fecures all the natural rights and enjoyments
of human nature.
I cannot think it confiftent with a good citizen, and a
lover of one's country, to admire and extol the 44 martial
" fpirit" of that nation, which is at this moment moft
hoftile to all we hold dear, and which. in the prefent war
has behaved with fuch perfidy as would ftigmatife an in
dividual in private life with perpetual difgrace.
Knox.
* Julian gives the water of this river a better cha
racter than is ufually allowed it, in modern times at leaft, and

THE M I S O P 0 G 0 N. ,235
importance to the inhabitants, as they are iflanders.
The winter there is extremely mild, which is.' at
tributed to the warmth of the fea, it not. being
above ninety ftadia diftant * ; fo that wholefome
exhalations from the ocean are. perhaps wafted
jthi-ther, falt-water being warmer than frefh.
Whether this be the reafon, or fome other un
known to me, fuch is the fact, the inhabitants of
that country have mild winters ; good wines there
fore are produced there, and fome have even
raifed figs' by covering them with mats by way of
cloathing, and other fuch prefervatives from the
inclemency of the weather.
The winter was then uncommonly fevere, and
the river fupported blocks, as it were, of marble,
(you know, without doubt, the Phrygian quarries,
which large flakes of ice -f-, floating on each other,
greatly referable) forming a kind of continual
paffage and a ftream of bridges. Being, on this
occafion, more boorifh than ufual, I would not
fuffer my fervants to warm the chamber in which I
and efpectally by foreigners. A. late writer, a Frenchman
too, expreffes himfelf thus : 44 The Seine-water relaxes
44 the ftomach of thofe who are not ufed to it. Foreigners
44 generally fuffer the inconvenience of a flight diarrhoea ;
44 but they might avoid it if they had the precaution of
44 putting a.fpoonful of white vinegar into every pint of
44 water." Tableau de Paris.
* The calculation is juft ; but I will not be anfwefable
for the natural philofophy of fhe Parifians of thofe times.
La Bleterie.
-J- The inhabitants of Antioch had never feen the river
hear. Ibid.
fl.pt,

*36 THE MISOPOGO N.
flept, though the cold increafed and grew every
day more intenfe, left it ihould draw the damp
out of the walls. I only ordered fome lighted
brands, and a few live coals, to be carried in and
placed there. Thefe exhaled fo much vapour
from the walls, that, my head being oppreffed, I
fell afleep, and narrowly efcaped fuffocation, But
being carried into the air, and, by the advice of my
phyficians, difgorging the food that I had juft
fwallowed, though I did not difcharge much, I
Was immediately relieved, fo as to pafs an eafy
night, and on the next day I was again fit for
bufinefs. Thus, while I refided among the Gauls, like the
Humourift * of Menander, I led an auflere life.
This, however, gave no offence to that ruflic na
tion -f. But fuch a rich, flourifhing, and populous
city as yours is juftly difpleafed ; a city, in which
are many dancers, many pipers, more players than
* Abo-koXo;, the title of a comedy of Menander.
-f- Though the Gauls had long become Romans, foreign
manners had not yet penetrated into the northern parts of
Gaul. Politenefs, with its advantages and inconveniences,
makes the tour of the world. If Julian were now to re-
vifit his 44 dear Lutetia," would he take it for Antioch ?
No. He would find there fo much love and reipeft for
the fovereign, that he would be foon undeceived. La Bleterie.
Spoken like a Frenchman ! Julian would never have
thought highly of the fenfe, or fincerity, of a people who
could 44 lo^e and refpect" fuch a fovereign as Louis XV.
in whofe reign the above note was written.
5 citizens

THE MISOPOGON,
citizens, and no refpedt for fovereigr.s. A blufh
befits only the pufillanimous ; but fuch heroes as
you fliould revel in the morning, purfue pleafure
at night, and not only teach by words, but fhew
by deeds, your utter contempt of the laws. Thofe
therefore, who, like you, infult the prince, offer
a ftill greater infult to the laws. That fuch is your
delight you frequently and clearly demonftrate,
particularly in the forum and the theatre; the
pepple by fhouts and clamour •, the magiftrates by
their extravagance, which gains them more diflinc-.
tionand applaufe, from all to. whom they have
given thefe expenfive entertainments, than Solon,
the Athenian, obtained from his conyerfation with
Crcefus, king of Lydia *. , All there are hand
fome, fmooth and beardlefs j all,, both young and
old, imitate alike the .happinefs of the Phaja-
cians -f , and
Variety of dreffes, baths, amours,
they prefer, without hefitation, to what is juft and
right. Antiochian. And do you think> Julian, that *
your rufticity, favagenefs, and morofenefs are iuit-
* Every one Tmows the journey which Solon took to the
court of king Crcefus, and the truths which he dared
wtter to that prince, intoxicated, as he was, with opu
lence and grandeur. La Bleterie.
f The ifland of Phse'acia is now the ifland of Corfu.
Isomer, (Odyff. vm. 249.) reprefents the Phaacians as a
nation given, up to good cheer, luxury, mufic, dancing,
and all kinds of pleafure, Ibid.
able

*37

238* THE Ml'SO'POGON.
able to ns r" O thOu moft ignorant and odious * off
all men, is your temperate, little anim'al, as fome
mean mortals have ftyfed your foul, fo mad and
fdolifh, that you think it requires the ornamdnts
and trippings of wifdom ? In this yon are miftaken ;
for, firft, tell us, as We' know not, what wifdom is?
With the name only we are' acquainted, bur of
the meaning we are ignorant. If it" be that which
yon now practife, it confifts iff enforcing fubbr-
dinatioti to the Gods and the laws, in teaching
equals to bear with equals, in obferving mode*'
rati6rf, In preventing' rhe poor from being Op-'
preffe'd by the rich, and, for"' thefe purpdfes,"
ftifimg refentment, encountering ' enmity, anger, '
reproaches; in fhort, fupporting all thefe With
firmnefs', without being provoked, or giving way
to pafffon, but keeping it,- as much as poffibre,'hi'
proper bounds, and under due fubjedtion. AndJ
if it fliould alfo be deemed a branch of wifdom to
renounce even' thofe pteafures which are not uri-
becoming, nor feem difhonourable, from a per
fuafion that it is impoflible for any one to be tem
perate at home, and in private, who is diffolute
abroad, and in public, and enamoured of the
theatre ; if this too be wifdom, you ruin yourfelf, ,
and you would alfo ruin us. The very name of
* <bi\omtx&W>t*tart,'" who art moft fond of being hated."
This is one of the many Greek words 'which can only
be rendered by a periphrafis, M. de ta Eletterie has tranf* ;
lated it le plus haifjable. It occurs again in the clofe of tni# •
fatire. 1 fervitude

THE MISOPOGON. 2$$
fervitude either to the Gods or the laws difgufts us.
Liberty is fweet in all things.
Of what prevarication are you guilty ? You fay,
you are not Lord *, nor can you endure the name* You
* The w;ord dominus, which the Greeks tranflated by
nvput and haicortii [or 44 lord"] properly fignified the power
of mafters over their flaves. Under Auguftus, child
ren already gave that name to their father, fometimes
brothers gave it to their brothers, and wives to their huf-
bands, who returned them that of domina. . Auguftus fuf
fered none but his flaves to give him that title, nor even
his children and grand-children to treat him as 44 lord''
byway of joke, Hominum appellari fe nee a liberis quidem
~»ut nepetibus fuis vel fcrio vel jocv pajjus. eft, atque hujufrmodi
ilanditias inter ipfis prohibuit. Suet. Aug. Satisfied with
having deftroyed liberty, he;fcnapuloufly banifhed every
thing that could induce a thought of flavery. Some one
having called Tiberius 4' Lord," 'he faid, with an angry
look, that he did not like to be affronted. 4i I am," added
he, 44 the prince of the fenate, and the general of the
44 army ; but I am lord only of my flaves." Caligula tos'i:
the name of Lord, and even that of God. But hDne of
the emperors who fucceeded him, not even Nero, .followed
his example, till Domitian, who exprefsly commanded him
felf to be called Lord and God, both in letters and in
fpeech. One day, dictating an edict; he began it with
thefe words, 44 Our Lord and our God ordains what fol-
44 lows." It appears, by the letters of Pliny the younger-,
that Trajan, averfe as he was to that impious pride^, fuf
fered himfelf, neverthelefs, to be called Lord ; but at that
we muft not be furprifed. The more flavery augmented;
the more complimentary the nation became. In the thrfe
of Seneca they gave each other the title of 44 Lord/'
almoft as commonly as we give one another the appel
lation of. 44 Sir," which is much lefs fignificant. Obtiiais,
fi nomen nen fuccurrit, dominos appellansus. Men gave wo-
met} that of domina as foon as they were fourteen
years old. How it was ufed by the fUcceffors of Trajan
is not known. Certain it Is, that Alexander, the fon
of Mammea, rejected the title of Lord as too oftem
tatious.

240 THEMISOPOGON.
You refent it fo much, that you have induced
many, who were formerly accuftomed to ir, to banifh
it from the empire, as invidious ; yet you oblige
us to obey the magiftrates and the laws. How
much better would it be for us to call you Lord,
' but in fact to be allowed freedom ! O mild in ap
pearance *, but in deeds moft cruel ! How un
merciful
tatious. At laft this name made part of the ceremonial
of the court, and was inferted even in the public monu
ments. It is affirmed, that it is not found on any medal till
thofe of Aurelian, and even on them it- is rare : it is more
common on thofe of Carus, and frequent on thofe of
Diocletian, his collegues, and his' fucceffors. Julian had
not time to abolifh it. It is read on many of his.
La Bleterie.
As Julian never abolifhed, by any public law, the proud
appellations of Defpot, or Dominus, they are ftill extant on
his medals, (Ducange, Fam. Byzantin. pp. 38, 39.) and the
private difpleafure which he affected to exprefs only gave a
different tone to the fervility of the court. The Abbe de la
Bleterie has curioufly traced the origin and progrefs of the
word dcminus under the Imperial government. Gibbon.
In the Hippolytus of Euripides, an officer fays to that prince,
My royal Mafter, (for the Gods alone
Challenge the name of Lord,) &c.
on which Mr. Wodhull obferves, after mentioning the
practice of Auguftus aud Tiberius, that 44 we find, by the
44 Mifopogon of Julian, that he followed their example at
44 Conftantinople" [rather Antioch] 44 in much later times,
44 furrounded, as he was, by Afiatic flaves, inured to the
*4. yoke, men to whom the fight of a philofopher on the
44 throne was fo ftrange, that they ridiculed that moderation.
44 in the conduct of their fovereign, which they felt them-
44 felves incapable of imitating."
* In the original, o^aTa (44 eyes") perhaps for owfiaV
(44 names") for Julian was called by his friends -r^aoldloi x«i
qn?.oao<pMos, " the mildeft and moft philofophical." Theod.
-J. iii. c. 15. Petaw.
He

t Hv E M i S G P O G G ft. a4r
merciful is it to Require 'moderation from the -rich
in thte courts of juftice, and to reftrain the poor"
fromflander! By abolifh ing the ftage, the players,
and the dancers, you have ruined Our city, fo that
tire have -no -confolation left, except, after having
groaned nnder your oppreffions for feven months *,
that of referring' our prayers for a deliverance from
fo great an evil to the old women | who con'ftantly
frequent the tombs of the dead. But we liave
fucceeded by our fcurrility, transfixing you with
farcafms as wkh arrows. If you are thus intimi
dated by our taunts, how, noble Sir, will you be
able to fuftain the darts of the Perfians ? , *'J>
But we Will now exhibit another charge. Yon
tfafcrt frequently to the temples, perverfe, aiorofe,
and abandoned as you are. On your account, the
populace, and even many of the magiftrates,, flock
thither, and Welcome you with fhotits, ac'cla-
ttiation% and all the fplendid applaufes of the
theatre. Why then are yon not pleafed? But, hl-
He had probably in his View that line of Farmer's
Achilles^  tCyvoc o<j.txa.T evwI', y.guaiYit o EkaQoio.
Thou dog in forehead, but in heart a deer,
as Pope tranflates it.
* 'Julian- arrived at AntioCh in the' month of July, 362;
He therefore compofed the Mifopogott in the month of
January,. or of February, 363. La Bleterie.
»j- The -churches were generally ihuih over the tomb of
Lome martyr. Julian fuppofbs that the women, more
affiduous at the churches than the men, reqUefted God by
the intercefiiori of the, martyrs to deliver them from him.
In that there might be fome truth. Ibid.
Vol* L R itead

244 THE MISOPOGOM.
ftead of approving, you endeavour, in this refpe£t,
to be wifer even than the Pythian *, by haranguing
the people, and feverely reproving thofe who cla
mour f ; thus addrefling the moft active : 44 You
44 feldom enter the temples, through reverence to
44 the Gods, but when you refort to them on my ac-
44 count, you fill their fanctuaries with difturbance.'
44 Men of found minds fhould pray and afk blef-
44 fmgs of the Gods in filence, obferving this rule
44 of Homer, 44 Silently pray J. -
44 Remember too that Ulyffes checked Eurycleaj|,
* The prieftefs of Apollo, who delivered his oracles
ftanding on a tripod called Cortina, which was placed on
the mouth of a hollow in Mount Pamaffus, whence pro
ceeded a vapour that affected the head ; and round this
hollow was built the temple, of Delphi.
f In his Lxivth Epiftle Julian reproves the people of
Conftantinople' on the fame account.
% In the vnth book of the Iliad, ver. 193, &c. Ajax,
ready to fight with He£tor, fays,
Now while my brighteft arms my limbs inveft,
To Saturn's fon be all your vows addreft.
But pray in fecret, left the foes fhould hear,
And deem your prayers the mean effect of fear.
Said I invfecret ? No, your vows declare,
In fuch a Voice as fills the earth and air. Pope, 229:
How could Julian find, in thefe words of Ajax, a law
which enjoins to 44 pray-in filence ?" All the Greeks had
the practice of quoting Homer at random. It is vexatious
to fee authors, infinitely more refpectable than Homer,
fometimes quoted with as little propriety. La Bleterie.
|| Euryclea was the nurfe of Ulyffes. See Odyff. xxn.
411. 44 when

T M E k I S O P 6 G 6 N\ i54
" when fhe loudly expreffed her aftonifhment at
14 the greatriefs of the' deed ;
44 Woman, experienc'd as thou1 art, cohtr'oul
44 Iriclecent joy, arid feaft thy fecret foul *.
44 None of the Trojans in the Iliad, neither
44 men not women, are made fuppliant to Priam,
44 or to any one of his daughters, or fons, not
44 even to Hector, though it is faid they extolled
44 him as a God : but to Minerva all the women,
14 he fays,
44 With hands, uplifted, and imploring eyes,
44 Fill all the dome with fupplicating cries f.
44 This* -indeed, was fuitable to Barbarians and
14 women, but was no impiety towards the Gods,
44 fuch as you commit by praifing, mortals like
14 Gods, or rather flattering us more than Gods ;
44 when, inftead of flattering even them, you had
44 much better worfliip them wifely.''
JVlian. I repeat,- you fee, orie of thofe re-
rhonftrarices which I have been accuftomed to make,
and, inftead of fpeaking boldly and freely, with
my ufual abfurdity, I bear falfe witnefs againft
.myfelf. Are thefe, and the like, proper leffons for
thofe- who would treat with freedom not only
princes, but alfo the Gods I Can they deem any
one a mild and benevolent parent, who is nam~
rally 'wicked like me ?
* Pope, 448.
f Iliadi vi. 3O1. Popej 3741
R a Ant.

244

T HE MOSOPOGON.
Ant. It is plain then, Julian, that they hate
you, and that they jeer you both in public and
private, fince thofe who fee and applaud you
in the temples you deem flatterers. You have not
ftudied how to accommodate yourfelf to their ideas,
lives, and manners. Well, but , who can excufe
this ? You fleep almoft every night alone *, norcan
* KaOsuosi; a; wwa) tvliup po»o;. 4< You fleep almofl always
44 alone." How is this 44 almofl always" to be reconciled
with the perfect continence which the Pagan authors
afcribe to Julian, and which none of the Chriftian writers,
not even St. Gregory Nazianzen himfelf, deny ? Mamer-
tinus fcruples not to fay that " the bed of that prince was
44 purer than that of the Veftals." If we believe Libanius,
Julian never had the leaft frailty, either before his mar-
, riage, or after the death of his wife Helena. W*hat that
orator fays is fufceptible of no ambiguity or exception. I
will content myfelf with quoting the Latin tranflation of
Fabricius : Nifi conjugii vinculis a Junone fuiffet innexus, de
mutuis hominum amplexibus, non alia ratione quamex Jibris fer-
monibufq'ue edoBus, msriturus fuiffet .... Legitimam qtiiitm
luxit'uxorem ; aliam vera nullam, five antea, five pofi fceminam
attigit, &c.
It may be replied, that Mamertinus and Libanius are
panegyrifts. But what fliall we fay of Ammianus, whofe
teftimony is as pofitive as that of Libanius ? Ammianus is
a moft judicious hiftorian, and does not fpare Julian for
any of his faults. He knew him perfectly, and feems even
to have interrogated, on the point in difpute, thofe. do-
roeftics of Julian to whom his frailties, fuppofing he had
any, could not but be known. Ita inviolatd caftitate enitmtf
nt pofi amiffam cohjugem, nihil unquam venereum agitaret . . .
%tt ne fufpicione quidem tenus libidinis ullius vel citerioris vita:
miniftris incufaretur. Ammianus was of Antioch. Though
he wrote in Latin, he was better, acquainted' with Greek,~
He had read the Mifopogon. Perhaps then Maftimius, the
Latin tranflator of this fatire, M. de Fleury, M. de Tille-
5 ¦ mont,

THE MIS Q P O G O N. 245
can any thiHg foften your favage and brutal dif
pofitiori. You have clofed up all the avenues of
pleafure*
mont, and myfelf tranflate this paffage of Julian impro
perly, and the Greek words «s ""«> do not fignify here
44 almoft always," but 44 always," abfolutely. At leaft,
it is certain that Eiriwa» occurs in- both figpifications. In
this cafe, I ought to have tranflated it, 4< You never fhare
44 your bed with any one." I think, however, that it ought
to be tranflated, as I have done, 44 You fhare fcarce ever."
This reftriction feems to me a refined buf fevere raillery
againft the inhabitants of Antioch, from which nothing
tan be inferred againft the chaftity of Julian. It is
in their name that he abufes himfelf. He muft therefore
fpeak their language. Throughout the whole fatire he
reprefents them as perfons immerfed in debauchery, and
abandoned to the moft infamous pleafures. People of
this character do not believe in virtue. They fuppofe all
men to be vicious^ and that they only differ in vice as to
the more and the lefs. On the part of Julian, whofe morals
were fuperior to ail fufpicion, it is a ftroke of pleafantry
to reprefent his enemies as perfuaded that his wifdom fuf
fered eclipfes, and • making, neverthelefs, his excefs of
wifdom a crime in him. M. de Tillemont^ who under
ftands the text in queftion literally, and confiders it as a
confeffion, which Julian himfelf makes, of his incontinence,
obferves, in order to ftrengthen this pretended avowal, that
Julian, in an Epiftle to the philofopher Jamblicus [the
XLth] fpeaks of the man 44 who nurfed his children."
This learned writer adds, that Codin, in his Antiquities
of Conftantinople, mentions fome ftatues of Julian and
his children. 44 Now," fays M. de Tillemont, 4t he never
f4 had any legitimate, excepting a fon, who was deftroyed
44 by the mjdwife that was fuborned by the emprefs Eufebia :
44 the fact is certain ; he therefore had fome illegitimate."
Let us briefly examine thefe two difficulties, always re
membering that the Pagans, on the one fide, pafs an elo-
gidm on the chaftity of Julian, the compjeteft, the moft
forcible, and the moft exclufive of the leaft reftridtion j and
that, on the other fide, the Chriftians, far from controvef t-

a46 T H E M I S O P 0 G O N.
pleafure, and, which is the greateft of evils, you de
light in leading fuch a rigid life, and make pleafurg
the fubject of your deteftation. In fhort, you are,
angry at the mention of this, though you ought
rather to thank thofe who have kindly and har-
monioufly admonifhed you in anapjefts, firft, to
fliave thofe cheeks, and then, having begun with
yourfelf, to exhibit all pleafurable entertainments
to this laughter-loving people; fuch as players,
dancers, and, in particular, lewd women, public,
affemblies, and feftivals, not facred indeed, in
which wifdom and temperance muft be obferved *, 1
for thefe are as abundant as acorns, fo as toi occa
fion a general difguft. ^
'Julian. The Emperor, I allow, facrificed once
in the temple of Jupiter, and afterwards in that of
ing thofe elogiums, have not faid a word that can render
them fufpected. This eftablifhed, what ftrefs" ought to be
laid on the mere indication of a modern Greek, fuch as
George Codin, who is known to have furvived the taking
of Conftantinople by Mahomet II. ? If Julian had had
baftards, would he have erected ftatues to fhem ? Would
be, who faid, that 44 incontinence is fufficient to tarnifli
44 the beft life," have publifhed his own fharoe, and that
of his children, in tender age ? &c. La Bleterie,
For ivhat is fa-id on the paffage above-mentioned in the
XLth Epiftle, fee the notes on that Epiftle.
This fufpicious expreffion (»; tiriwo;») is explained by the
Abbe de la Bleterie, with candour and ingenuity. Gibbon.
* This is not abfolutely contrary to what is related of/
fhe extravagant proceflions of Julian on the feftivals of,
/. Venus and others. All the Pagan feftivals were not fo li
centious as thofe of "Venus, ' , La Bleterie, Fortune,

THE MISOPOGON. 247
Fortune *. He alfo went thrice to that of Ceres?, ^
I forget how often I went to the temple of Daphne,
that auguft fabrick which was betrayed by the
treachery of the keepers, and by the prefumption
pf the impious -j-. On the Syrian calends J, Caefar goes
* Genius and Fortune were Dii Contubernales, and had
temples dedicated to them jointly. See Paufan. Bosotic,
p. 3^3. Hence what Ammianus calls Genii templum (xxin.
1.) Julian here ftyles wu^nc, the one a male, the other a
female, deity, the images of both being fet up together,
Modern antiquaries, as well as artifts, by a kind of my
thological folecifm, have confounded that diftinction, who
call a female deity the Genius of a city. Bowyer.
t After Babylas (a bifliop of Antioch, who died in
prifon in the perfection of Decius) had refted near a
century- in his grave, his body, by the order of-the/Csefar
Gallus, was tranfported into the midft of the grove of
Daphne. A magnificent church was erected over his re
mains ; a portion of the facred lands was ufurped for the
maintenance of the clergy, and for the burial of the Chrif
tians of Antioch, who were ambitious of lying at die feet
of their bifliop ¦ and the priefts of Apollo retired, with
their affrighted and indignant votaries. As foon as ano-.
tber revolution feemed to reftore the fortune of Paganifm,
the church of St. Babylas was demolifhed, and new build
ings were added to the mouldering edifice which had been) ...
raifed by the piety of Syrian kings. But" the firft and moft
ferious care of Julian was to deliver his oppreffed deity
from the odious prefence of the dead and living Chriftians,
who had fo effectually fuppreffed the voice of fraud or en-
thufiafm. The fcene of infection was purified, according
to the forms pf ancient rituals ; the bodies were decently
removed ; and the minifters of the-church Were permitted ¦
to convey the remains of St. Babylas to their former habi- ¦
ration wjthin the walls of Antioch. The modeft behaviour,' >
which might have affuaged the jealoufy of an hoftile go
vernment, wasj on this occafion, neglected by the zeal of
the Chrjfj ans. ' The lofty car, tha| tranfported the relics
R 4 of

THE MI S OP O GON.
of Babylas, was followed, and accompanied,, and re,
ceived' by an innumerable multitude ; who chanted- with
thundering; acclamations, the Pfalps of David the inoftex-
, preifiye. of their contempt for idols and idolaters. The re-,
turn of the faint was a triumph ; and the triumph was an
infult on the religion, of the Emperor, who exerted his
pride to diffemble his refentment. During the, night which
terminated this- indifcreet' proceffion [22 0^> 362.] the
temple of Daphne was in flames, the ftatue of Apollo was
confumed, and'the walls of the edifice were left a naked
and awful monument of ruin. The Chriftians of Antioch
afferted, with religious confidence, than the powerful in*
terceffiou of St. Babylas had pointed the lightnings of
heaven -againft the devoted roof ; but as, Julian was re
duced to the alternative of believing either a crime or a
miracle, he chofe, without hefitation, without evidence,
but with fome colour of probability, to hm-pule the fire of '<
Daphne to the revenge of the Galileans. Gibbon. -
Julian (in Mil'opogon) rather infinustes, than, affirms^
their guilt. Ammi-anius (xxii. 13.) treats, the imputation,.
as kvijftnius rumor, and relates the ftory with extraordinary
candour. Ibid,
1 I do not find that Ammianus treats this report in- the.
manner here affirmed. All that he fays of it is this : Suf-
picabatur culm id Chnfiianos egiffe, ftimulatos invidia, quod idem
temphm'inviti Videbant ambitiofo circumdarv periflyJie, 4t For
44 he fufpected the Chriftians to have been the perpetrators,
44 urged to it by envy on- feeing rehidtantly that temple
44 furrounded by a fpacious periityle." Then follows, ¦
perebatur autem, licit rumore hvijima, hac ox caufd. conftagnqifi
ddubrum, &c. u But it was. reported;, though on the fiightefi
4ti grounds, that this was the caufe of the fire : The- phi-
" lofopher Afclepindes, being on a vifit to Julian, and
44 -going to that fuburb, as-he* waS> ufed to- carry with him,
4i- wherever he went, a fmall filver image of Juno, placed
41 it at the feet of the great image, and lighting wax tapers,
<f as- ufual, departs d'; from which, irm the middle of the
41 night, when no. one could -attend or affift, foarks flying
44 adhered to the very ancient materials," &c. To this
flory riie-refore, and, not that of the Chriftians^ the levif-
/"»;•;( rumor is app'fd.
X As in the conclufion of the Mifopogorn, Julian, reckons
the Macedonian mo^th Loiis -the tenth of the. Syrian year; this

T H M MU OP O G O N.
goes again to the temple of Jupiter Philius f. Then
comes the general feftival 4",. and Caefar goes to
the temple of Fortune. Omitting an inaufpicious-
this year began with the month Dius. In the Syrian year,
which is ufed by Eufebius, St. Epiphanius, Eua'grius,
Malela, &c„ the month Dius anfwers to, the month e,f
November. But perhaps the city of Antioch had a, Syrian.
year that was peculiar to it. In different Macedonian cities,
the month Dius anfwered to different Roman months. It
js certain that the Syrian year of Antioch began, in autumn.
We cannot, however, pofi'tively affert in which of the
Roman months, September-, October, or November. • Thisi
is the refult of fome learned and judicious obfervations-
"communicated to me by a friend to whom I owe feveral of
my remarks. La Bleterie.
* The patron of friendfhip, the fame with HoJpitaKs,.
44 a bearded face, with a placid look, to denote," fays
Triftan, 44 that true friendfhip is the refult of age." He
had a temple at Antioch, where Julian facrificed to him
more than' once, during- his refidence there; pleafed, no
doubt, to have fo good an authority for his beard, which
as the inhabitants little regarded in Jupiter, no wonder they
ridiculed in the Emperor. Bowyer.
•j- The calends of January [mentioned above, p. 231.]
when the confuls entered on their office, and the priefts,
in a folernn proceffion, offered vows for the public' fafety of
the empire, or of the Roman fenate and people.
This therefore Libanius, in like manner (in his descrip
tion of the calends), ftyles 44- a general feftival to all who
44 live^nder the Roman government." Spanheim.
This day was deemed a feftival throughout all the Ro
man world, though all did not begin the year with it.
For infianee, the Romans then commenced the year with
Dius, which anfwers to the Julian November : Therefore,
in the above paffage of Julian » Tvpn Nis^um*," (44 the Syrian
*4 calends,) are the firft day of the month Dius. This
paflage has been iaifimderftood by Martinius, the [Latin]
tranflator, Valois, day,

»49fe

?$© ^ THE MISOPOGON.
day *, he again pays his vows in the temple of
Jupiter Philius, after the manner of his anceftors f,
Who can endure Csefar's going fo frequently to the
temples, when the Gods fhould be troubled only
once or twice to celebrate thofe feftivals which are
common to all the people, and of which not only
they who honour the Gods, but they alfo with whom
the city is filled, participate X ? What an exquifite
pleafure and delight does every one conftantly en
joy in the fight of a number of dancing men,
dancing women, and dancing boys !
Reflecting, on thefe things, I cannot but think
you happy in fuch diverfions, and yet I am by no
means diffatisfied with myfelf ; for the life I lead,'
by the influence perhaps of fome God, is to me
agreeable. Believe me, therefore, far from being
offended with thofe who reprobate my life and
manners, I even add to their farcafms as many as
pofEble, and accumulate on myfelf more reproaches
for being fuch a fool as not to perceive at firft
what were the manners of this city, efpecially as,
none of my contemporaries, I am certain, are more
. converfant with books than myfelf.
* Jan. 2. The days immediately following the calends,
nones, and ides were reckoned inaufpicious. Ov. Trift.
I. 55. etfea.,
¦f On Jan. 3, when folemn vows were offered for fhg
fafety of the prince.
+ He means the games and fhews at which the Chrif
tians, as well as the Gentiles, were prefent, to the great
offence of the moft holy prelates ; which St. Chyfoftom,
among others, frequently mentions. Petau, It

THEMISOPOGON. 251
It is related that the king who was namefake to
this city, or rather, to whom it owes its name (for
it was built by Seleucus *, but takes its name froni
his fon), Antiochus I mean, from an exceflive in
dulgence in luxurious delights, always loving and
being loved, was at length illegally enamoured of
his mother-in-law -}-. He wifhed to conceal his
paffion, but could not ; his body being emaciated,
and fecretly decaying, his ftrength failing, and his
mind being languid. His cafe feemed myfterious,
the diforder having no apparent caufe, and the
nature of it not being known. The young man's
illnefs, however, being certain, the great difficulty
propofed to a Samian phyfician J was, to dif
cover what the diftemper was. He, fufpedting from
Homer what are ,c the limbs-confuming cares §",
and that anxiety of mind, not weaknefs of body,
is often the caufe of bodily decay, and obferving
the youth, as well by years as conftitution, to be
not averfe to love, took this, method to difcover the
difeafe. He fat down by the bed-fide, and looking
the young man ftedfaftly in the face, he defired
fome beautiful women to be introduced, beginning
* Seleucus Nicator.
4 Stratonice, the daughter of Demetrius Poiiorcetes,
and wife of Seleucus.
I Erafiftratus.
§ ruto£o£oi pihEivvts, u the anxieties that devour the body."
I do not find the word ynoSopoi in the Index of Homer, made
by Wolfgangus Seberus. If the Tndex be not faulty, Julian
is miftaken, or quotes fome work of Homer which we do
not p6ffefs. La Bleterie.
, with

253 T H E M I S O P O G O N.
with the queen. As foon as fhe appeared, or as
foon as he faw her, the youth betrayed fome fymp-
toms of his diforder j he breathed fhort, as if he
had been afthmatic, with his utmoft endeavours he
could not avoid trembling, great was the evident
agitation of his mind, and his face was covered
with blufhes. The phyfician, obferving this, ap
plied his hand to his patient's breaft, and found
his heart beat violently, as if it would burft forth.
Such were his fenfations while the queen was
prefent. But when fhe had withdrawn, while the
others were pafling by, he remained tranquil, and
feemed in perfect health. Having thus difcovered
his malady, Erafiftratus communicated it to the
king, and he, being an affectionate father, faid,
he would refign his wife to his fon. He then re
fufed it ; but his father dying not long after, the
prefent, which, when offered him before, he nobly
declined, he then very eagerly feized *. Such was
the conduct of Antiochus.
That his defcendants therefore fhould imitate
their founder, or, at leaft, their namefake, is not
blameable. For, as in plants, it is probable that
the qualities are widely diffufed, and perhaps thofe
which are produced altogether refemble thofe
* Plutarch relates the ftory differently in his life of De
metrius. For he fays, that Antiochus, the fon of Deme
trius Poliorcetes, married his mother-in-law in the life-time
of his father. Petau. whicjj

THEMISOPOGON. 253
which produce them; fo, among men *, the manners
of the defendants are likely to be fimilar to thofe
of their anceftors. Of the Greeks I think the
Athenians the moft liberal and humane ; though
all the Greeks, I have obferved, are the fame, and
I can truly affirm of them, that of all men they
are the greateft lovers of the Gods, and moft hof-
pitable to ftrangers ; but of the Greeks, I give
this teftimony chiefly to the Athenians. And if
they retain in their manners the refemblance of
ancient virtue, why may not the fame fimilitude be
traced in the Syrians, the Arabians, the Gauls,
the Thracians, the Pannonians, and that nation
which is fituated between the two latter on the
banks of the Danube ? I mean the Myfians,
the flock from which I am defcended f, who
are abfolutely inelegant, boorifh, auftere, uncivi-
lifed, and obftinately tenacious of their opinions,
all which are proofs of lamentable rufticity.
Firft, therefore, I afk pardon for myfelf, for
imitating the manners of my anceftors, and then
I grant it to you for the fame offence ; nor do I
mention, as a reproach, your being
In lying and in wanton dances fkill'd J.
* The inhabitants of Antioch were nothing to Antiochus.
The kind of argument which Julian here employs muft not
be underftood ferioufly. It is a mere joke. La Bleterie.
-j- Eutropius, the great grandfather of Julian, and the
father of Conftantius-Chlorus, Was of the province of
Myfia. " Ibid.
Iliad, xxiv. 261, Priam's reproach of his nine "fur-

vhring fons.

On

254 THE MISOPOGf) N.
On the contrary, your following the examples and
ftudies of your fathers I think much to your hd-
nour; Thus Homer alfo, praifing Autolycus, fays,
that he excelled all men
'In thieving and in fwearing **
* Homer, in the xixth book of the Odyffey* v. 396;
fays, that Autolycus, the maternal grandfather of Ulyffes,
excelled other men, xhiir\oo-vtn ffapnult, 44 in theft and oaths.'*
Mad. Dacier) on this' paffage, fays, in effect, that the word
x^(^^^.oo•l;^)7 may fignify not only 4( theft," but alfo 44 cunning,
44 addrefs, ftratagem, fk.il! to conceal the knowledge of
44 his fchemes, to penetrate the fecrets of others, &c.
11 and that Homer meant to fay that Autolycus was a very
44 acute politician, an artful prince, an able negociator, who
¦' 44 knew how to make treaties to his advantage, but, on the
44 whole, was^ faithful to his word, and one whoirefpedted
44 his oaths." Admitting the charitable explanation^of Mad.
Dacier, it is unfortunate for him to have been praifed by
. Homer in equivocal terms; for the knavery of Autolycus
has grown proverbial. Martial, fpeaking of a thief, fays,
Non fuit Autolyci tampiceata manus. La Bleterie.
Dr. Clarke (on the above line in the Odyffey) un
derftands it, however, as a commendation ; and Fenton,
agreeably to the fame interpretation, has, in his tranf
lation, afcribed to1 Autolycus
. , .J — - — •  a mighty name
For fpotlefs-faith, and deeds of martial fame. 456.
"Shakfpearp, on the contrary, has given his name
to a roguifh pedlar : 44 My father," fays' he, 44 named me
44 Autolycus, who being, as I am, littered under Mercury,
44 was likewife a friapper-up of unconfidered trifles."
Winter's. Tale, Act IV. Sell.
Euripides had two dramas (now loft) named Autolycus,
the firft fatyric (as we learn from Julius Pollux) of which
a fragment is preferved by Galen1 and Athenreus-. Barnes
and Dr.' Mufgrave fuppofe that it derives its name from
this Autolycus ; but from what is tranfmitted to us, Mr.
Wodhull, who has tranflated it,' thinks, with more pro
bability, that another Autolycus, a champion in the pub*
lie games, was its hero.
And

THE MISOPOGON. 255
And fo, you fay, do I in rufticity, obftinacy,
morofenefs, in not being eafily foftened by fup-
plications, or induced by intreaties or clamours, to
mind my bufinefs. W7ith thefe reproaches I am
not in the leaft offended. Which of us is the
moft excufable is known to the Gods, but no man
san determine between us, fuch is our felf-love,
every one admiring his own endowments, and
defpifing thofe of others. But he, who bears with
indulgence a courfe of life the reverfe of his own,
feems to me the moft benevolent.
[On reflection, I find that, in fome other par
ticulars, I have been much my own enemy. For
when I came to a free city, which could not en
dure the naftinefs of my hair, I came to it un
combed and bearded, as if barbers had been
wanting *. You would have taken me for
Smicrines or Thrafyleon f, a morofe old man, or a
frantic
* Soon after his entrance into the palace of Conftan
tinople, Julian had occafion for the fervice of a barber.
All officer, magnificently dreffed, immediately prefented
himfelf. 44 It is a barber," exclaimed the prince, '4 that
44 I want, and not a receiver-general of the finances."
He queftioned the man concerning the profits of his em
ployment; and was informed, that, befides a large falary,
and fome valuable perquifites, he enjoyed a daily allowance
of twenty fervants, and as many horfes. Gibbon.
Libanius fays, that a thoufand cooks, as many barbers
(icapcaq Bx-fkarlttt), more cup-bearers, &c. were diftributed in
the feveral offices of luxury which Julian aboliflied or re
trenched. t Thefe were probably t\yo comic characters of Me
nander, as Cafaubon (Animadv. in Athenavm, I. vi. c. 12.)
mentions

a56 T H E M I S O P O G O 14.
frantic foldier, when 1 blight have appeared, by
the ornamental advantages of drefs, a handfome
b©y„ or* at leaft, a youth, if not in years*, in
efetSirary .and features f <]
.A st. You koow- not bow t© affociate 'with nienj
you adopt- n#t the ma&ims -Of Theognis J, nor
bjritatei(,as he recommends) die changeful polypus §j
f-
menrions a comedy by th?t poet named Thr;afyleon. He,
adds, thatthere was one of the fame name in Latin by
Tui'pilius, a trarifia-tion, he fuppofes, from Menander;
which is often quoted by Nonius. -
* When Julian firft came to Antioch, he was thirty-one
years old.
-,, f. The paragraphs hetwe'en'f ] are omitted here, and
removed lower., by the .French tranflator.^ They feem. in.
deed a repetition of what was faid at the beginning, yet I
ttoJiot.thliik myfelf wanratttelfl to tranfpofe them, though
I. thoroughly affent to, the propriety of the following re-i
mark of M. de la Bleterie, as an excufe for the incorrect-
neHis df-'-f he' author, but not for the corrections of his tranf-
ktpr : 4-4 In general, the Mifopogon is'.'a' little unfewed, .
44 and-the repetitions in it are too frequent. It was cora-
4-4 pofed perhaps in the fpace of one or two nights. Julian
44 was too much employed to be an author by premedi-
44 ration. When an author fcarce reads what' he writes,
44 we cafnnot wonder at tautology." ) -;
X Theognis, a 'poet of Megara, lived aboiit 550 years
before the'-Ghriftiah asra. We have fome fentences, of
maxims, by him, in elegiac "verfe. La Bleterie;
§ Ulyffes, ;, clinging to a-cliff, is compared to this filh ¦
by Homer, Odyff. V. 432. -Ariftotfle, and others, fuppofe^
that it changes its colour,- in order more eafily "fo Catch its
prey, or from fear. St. Paul, who, for good reafons 'became1
till 'things' to all men, is on thrit account, 'compared to a poly
pus by Julian in his work againft the'Chrifiian religion^
preferved and •confuted, by Cyril. But1 its more extra
ordinary power of re-production was referved for the fpecu-
latiori of Biodel'n naturatifts*
' , tvhicli

THEM IS OF O G O N.
""which affumes the colour of rocks, but, on the
contrary, you- behave to all' with the proverbial
rufticity, folly, and morofenefs of a Myconian •*.
Know you not, that we- are widely different from
the Gauls, the Thracians, and the Illyrians ? This
city, you fee, abounds with (hops. But you pro-
'voke the retailers by not fufferihg them to extort,
both from natives and for eigners, what price they
pleafe forprovifions. Theycomplain of the land
holders -j- ; but thefe alfo you make your enemies,
* Archilochus of Paros writes, that Pericles ufed to
come uninvited to the entertainments of 'others, after the
manner of the Myconians, who inhabiting a barren ifland
[in the Archipelago] were notorious for their avarice and
rufticity. Athenjeus.
On this proverb fee Euftathius (in Odyff. xvn .) Suidas,
and Zenobius. Petau.
-f This paffage is obfcure. What follows may explain
it. Ammianus fays (/. xxn.) that Julian^ 44. with no
44 apparent reafon, for the fake of popularity, endea-
44 voured to malce all commodities cheap, which fome-
44 times, by. improper management, occafions dearth and
44 famine." Nor could the magiftraltes of Antioch dif-
fuade him. By fixing therefore a lower price on things
that were to be fold, he made the retailers his enemies.
And when thofe retailers, being charged with the unrea-
fonablenefs of their demands, complained that they bought
corn and provifions dearer of the landholder, he compelled
them alfo,. by the fame edict, to make abatements. This
feverity and rigour," exercifed againft thefe two ranks, ex
tended to the chief men of the city and the magiftrates,
who fupplied the markets, and owned the lands. And
thus they were doubly mulcted. Ibid,
The magiftrates of Antioch perhaps condefcended to fell
wine themfelves by retail, like fome of the prefent nobility
of Florence, as mentioned by Lord Corke, Dr. Smollett,
and other travellers.
'Vol. I. S by

z57

258 T H E M I S,0 P O G O N.
by obliging them to be juft* The magiftrates,
who, availing themfelves -of both thefe diftreffes,
rejoiced before at receiving double- profits-, both
as landholders and as retailers, now, on being de
prived of both thefe advantages, are equally ex-
afperated. The Syrians too, at being precluded
both from drinking immoderately and dancing la-
fcivioufly, are no lefs enraged ; but by giving
them bread in plenty, .you think they, are fuffi
ciently regaled. And fo gracious are you,; that
you are not contented with procuring them oyfters
only. When a complaint, Was lately rfiade, that rip
fifh, and fcarce any poultry, could be procured in
the markets, you faid, with a fneering laugh, that
44 a frugal city ought to be fatisfied with bread,
44 winej and oil; that meat was a dainty; but
44 fifh and poultry' were more than dainties, anil
44 would not have been indulged even to the fuitots
44 in Ithaca." Thus you would have us deem
pork arid mutton luxuries, and fubfift, like you, on
.vegetables *, thinking that in this- you govern well, and
* In the time of Julian,, the' philofophers of the reign
ing feet, who had blended the ./Egyptian and Chaldean
tenets with Platonifm and the ruins of the doctrine of Pj'-
thagoras, tranfmitted by a very uncertain tradition, thofe
philofophers, I fay, or rather the moft perfect among them,
adopted a very auftere mode of life, which made part of
the doctrine which was revealed, fo the myfteri'es, to the
initiated. As Orpheus, paffed for the firft ihftitutor'of the'
myfteries, it Was pjetended that this kind of life was that
which

. T B. E MdSOPOGON.
andiare giving, laws to your Thracian countrymen,
or- to thofe ftupid Qauls, who, by, their, education,
have made you a mere block of holm, or maple,
not a Marathonian but half an Acharnian ^warrior, ona
which Plato and fome other ancients have mentioned under
the name of 44 Orphic life," O^ixo; (3ip;. This life, which
-Porphyry preaches in his book, De abflincntia animalium,
confifled in the practice of moral virtues, added to the pri
vation of things allo\yed. in common life. The Orphics
muft have refembl&d the /Egyptian priefts and frheBramins.
Julian had not embraced the Orphic life, but be en
deavoured to approach near it. To what I have elfewhere
faid of his extreme frugality, I will add here what I find
in his funeral oratiorti -See the Eiblioihexa Graca of Fa-
biicins, vol. vii, p. 309, 310. 44 What private philofopher
44 in his cottage," fays Libanius, 44 ever practifed an a'b-
• 44 ftinence fo rigorous as that of this Emperor? Who de-
44 prived himfelf ffibre Often than he, fofifretimes of one
44 food, fometimes of . another, in honour of Pan, of Mer-
44 Cury, of Hecate, o'flfis, of all the deities ? Who, like
44 him, ever took delight in' abftainihg frequently from all'
44 ncfurifhment ? Thus* he lived in an intimate connection
4t with the Gods .' . .his body not allowing him to raife
!''*4 himfelf to heaven", they deficended On earth to conveffe
• il with him. They came to inftruct him in what he fhould
44 fJo of forbear; ... He had no occafion for human
44 wifddm. or uncferftanding. The immortal being«, who'
44 Know evdfy thing, were both his council and his guard.
44 By them he Was almoft always furrbunded." After this
"quotation, to which I could add marry fimilar,' no Orfe, I
'faftty, willhave the leaft dorfbt of the fahatrcifm of Julian'
' any more than of that of his panegyriff. La Bl-eterte.
* The Achkrnians (fo one of the tribes of Athens was
trailed) were valiant, but rough and hardy. In' the comedy
of Ariftophanes, entitled the Acharhiah, fome old m'crt
•' of that tribe are ftyled "men of oak and maple, foldiers
' «4 of Marathon j" meaning invincible warriors: The in
habitants of Antioch, irr :allufton to this paffage of the
comic poet, reproach Julian for having the hardinefs, the
.• S z impolite-

2£9

%6o THE MISOPO G O N.
one generally, odious and difguftful. Was, Jt not
better for you to walk the forum, fcented with
perfumes, and preceded by beautiful boys, aftd
thus to attract the eyes of the citizens, and bands
of women, fuch as you fee affembled every day *?
Jul. But to look wantonly, calling my eyes on
all fides, and to appear beautiful to you in perfon,
not in mind, my principles will not allow- me.
44 The true beauty of the mind confifts/' yon fay,
44 in the enjoyment of life." But my governor
taught me* when I attended mafters, to behold the
ground, not the ftage, and to.cherifli the hairs of
my chin more than thofe of my head. And even
unpolitenefs, the xoughnefs, of the Acharnians, without
the courage of thofe brave Attic peafants. To thefo. ideas,
which are purely Greek, I have fubftitutecl fome tb,a,t are
equivalent. L,a B^etERXe.
In this tranflation, the Greek ideas are retained. As
Julian is the fpeaker, let him fpeak as a Greek; of Roman, ;
and not like a Londoner or Parifiah, Though it. is not un
common with us to fay, in like manner, of thofe who are
hardy, that they are 44 made of iron and fteel ;" and thus
Charles XII,. was ftyled by the Turks, 44. iron-head," and
by Dr. Johnfon, 44 a frame of adamant, a foul of fire,.",
* Nothing could equal the, feftivals, of Venus* and other
fuch folemnities, when", refuting to give audience to the
officers and magiftrates, Julian, conducted through the city
the female proftitutes, and the other victims of the public
incontinence., The women walked firft, j after , them, came.
the effeminate youths.. Between thefe two infamous troous,
who burft into, loud fhouts, of laughter, and uttered all that
debauchery could dictate, marched the, reformer of Paga
nifm, with a burlefque gravity, heightening as much, as
poffible his puny .ftature, extending a pointed beard, and
affecting the ftep of a giant. Hjs horfe followed, at a, dif-
tance, and his guards clofed this extravagant pomp.-,
La Bleterie. ' at

THEMISOPOGON. 261
at that age I never went to the theatre privately
and voluntarily, but twice or thrice only,
To pleafe Patroclus, by the prince commanded *,
my intimate friend and kinfman. I was then a
fubjecL Pardon me therefore," and rather turn your re
fentment againft that wicked governor, who was
then fq troublefome to me by inculcating thofe
moral leffons. He has occafioned all your diflike
to me by fixing, and, as it were, carving on
my nuncl , what I ought tcV fhun. And, as if he
meant Bcpleafe me, he exerted himfelf with the
utrhoft ea'rheftnefs, calling rufticity gravity, and fh>
pidity temperance, faying, that to refift the paffions
was fortitude, and that the gratification of them
does not conftitute happinefs. My governor often
faid to me, when I was quite a boy, as Jove and the
Mufes can witnefs^ ,4 Do not fuffer yourfelf to be
44 feduced to the theatre by the crowd of your
44 companions, nor be enamoured of fuch enter-
44 tainments. Do you wifh to fee a chariot-race ?
14 It is elegantly defcribed in Homer "}~ : open the
" book, and read. Do you hear of pantomime
* rjalfKixXa mrnpa. tpie<-»> <*(X*" «wfWIf».
This, though not printed as fuch in the editions, or ob
ferved by the commentators, is an heroic verfe ; but
it does not occur in Homer, nor is it clear whom Ju->
lian here means by 4l Patroclus." The prince (aex°»)
muft probably be his brother, Csefar Gallus.
-j- In the xxind book of the Iliad, Achilles caufes fome
games to be celebrated in honour of the funeral of Pa
troclus. Among them is a defcription of a chariot-race.
La Bleterie.
S3 44 dancers ?

i6a T/-H -E M 1 S>Q' P O G G^tSf:
44 / dancers .^ Away with them 1 Till ''Ehajaci&tf-
44 youths are- lefs effeminate "'*. You'have'there';
44 the harper " P-hemius f, and the fiflg^er1 -Demo*
44 docus J'.'.v Hi* trees tiio %-e more -d&l£fefiul to'
44 the ear than ours are to the eye. ¦ " -¦ • "
44 Thus feems the pahif ^'with -' ftate'ly -"honours
44 crown'dp '• srAfrtr Jim, .^ j.. ..--" '¦.
44 By Phoebus' altar jf >3hus cwjrlooks'the ground,
44 The prideof DelosV' *¦¦¦¦ -'-"-' .*;'-oIb. :-
-..', ;,;'.; ,'.-'. ./ ii c- m-. .V- .'ui ^'i t-,n ;
* See therdarjces of the Phaeacians iti^he vnith book of
the OdynV '' '" :" :1 '"" T"^"i ' \Jl bMrieJ /
t Fheiniu's.'wks.a mfifician-of .the jfland'.of.rfhjaea!, whom;
the fuitors of Penelope forced, fo play op th,e harp during,
their 'banquets. Ibid.
X' The Greeks -muft eer-fia inly -have- beefi "very fond of
their Homec, ^s.agovernor^jgcaye as that «c(f JijiJian. ad,,
vifes a child to 'read the fcaudalous romance of Mars taken,
in the- nets' of Vulcan, which Demodocus tings at the fealV
of AlcinoiLr* See Gdyflj. y;ii: , , ,. ;¦' , *¦ ¦ - \IbiaX.
Another grave and -infolljgenM'Ulior, himfelf a proficient
in m'ulic; (who li3s lately' given "excellent '" Advice to. his
*4 pupils,") was alio inattenSiv&fo. thefe furla Deeriufy-zs
Virgil modeftly ftyles them, 1wjj^n.hje-(ajd, 44,,Tl\-e, wife men'
44 of Heathen antiquity referyed the powers of miific fof,
44 the'inftilling"' moral inftruction into youth." Jones's Fby-
Jndhgical Difquiftlions, p. £354.  ,,.'.,.' i'.,^, -" :
§ Odyfl. vi... 162. Broorns, 1^3, Nauficaa is compared,
to this'"palm-tree by Ulyffes. '"
Becaufe the Ulyffes of Homer faid,- that he 44 faw a tall
and tender palm-tree at Deles,*' the fame is ftill fhfewn at
rhh day. 'Cicero de Legibus, I, 1. ' ' •::' '
The palm alio of Delosis vifible' from the time' of that'
God [Apollo.:] Plin. Nut, Hfi. I. kvv. 44. ' "' c
|j In the original it is ra« £*,«*/. "Cafaubon, in fnYno'tes'
on Athenaeus, -xvi. g,-Jquo-fes ' it vtfv j3a>uarl ' But Juliahj irt
the paffage above, reads' it,'; or quotes"it by memory,' «wf*
fiujj^t, > ¦ CL^RltEi
. «4 And

THEM TS O P O G ON. 263
44 And the woody ifland of Calypfo, and the
groves of Circe, and trie garden of Alciridus,
be affured you will fee nothing more enchant-

ing."

Would you know the name of this governor,
arid his family ? By all the Gods andj Goddeffes,
he was a Barbarian, a Scythian, -and name-fake to
him *, who perfuaded Xerxes to wage waragainft
Greece and the renowned Argives. He was an
eunuch, a title, which .twenty months ago r was
revered, but is now the fubjeft of fhame and re
proach. He was educated by my grandfather J,
that
* It is Well known that it was Mardonius, the fon of
Qobryas, who, in the council of Xerxes, gave his opinion
fof making war with the preelcs, and whofe advice pre
vailed. Herod, VII. The governor of Julian had the fame
name. La Bleterie.
T He principally means Eufebius, the chamberlain of
Conftantius, [fee the Epiftle to the Athenians, p. 68.] who,
in his reigu, had the management of public affairs. Am
mianus, (xxi, 15.), rplates,*that 44 Conftantius died Oct. 5.
41 in the confulfhip of Taurus and "Florentius," which was
A. D. 361. He alfo fays, in the next book, that 44 Julian
44 compofed his Mifopogon towards the end of the year 362,
44 and that he marched from Antioch againft the Perfians,
44 March 1, 363." So that from the death of Conftan
tius to thp time °f his writing the Mifopogon there was
an interval of not quite fifteen months. But Julian reckons
twenty. Whether it is a miftake, or not, I cannot tell.
Petau.
Julian probably fixes the epocha of the difgrace of the
eunuchs to the time of his declaring war againft Conftantius.
La Bleterie.
X The prefect Julian (probably Aniciusjulianus, who was
conful in 322) the moft illuftrious private perfon of his age
S4 by

264 T H E } M> Ir S O P O G p: N.
that he might inflrucTmy mother * in the poems of
Homer and Hefiod. I was her firft and only fon -j-,
and a few months after my birth fhe died, leaving
me an orphan, and oppreffed with many misfor
tunes. Young and tender, at fevem years of, age I
was entrufted to his care. . From that time, con
ducting . m§ to proper mafters, he. perfuaded me.
that this. .was. the only right way ;,an,d as he him-;
felf would not know, nor would fuffer me to pur
fue, any,, other, he has, ,expofed me to your re
fentment. - , j
But, if you pleafe,, we will now, make peace,
and terminate our animofity. For he had no idea
of my coming hither, far from expecting that I
by his birth, his riches, ahd his reputation ; and perhaps the
firft Roman fepator who made a public profeffion of Chrif
tianity. He had been engaged in the party of Maxentius ;
but Conftantine, after the victory, revered the fuperior
talents of this great man, arid a virtue ftill fuperior to
them. He made him conful, praefedt, and at length his
brother-in-law. La Bleterie,
* Bafilfoa. It is faid, that, when fhe was 'ready to lie*
in, fhe dreamed that fhe brought Achilles into the world;
and that, upon her waking, while fhe related this dream,
flie was delivered of Julian, almoft without pain. This
princefs died in the flower of her age. She appears to have.
been an Arian and a perfecutrefs, which is not furprifing,
if flie was related to Eufebius of Nicomedia. 44 It is cer
tain that Julian was a diftant relation of this bifliop," fays
Ammianus : probably by the fide of Bafilina, whofe mother,
the maternal grandmother of Julian, might be of Ionia or
Bithynia. Ibid,
•j- Gallus (as above-mentioned) was by another mother. fliould

THE MISOPOGON. 265
(hould govern fuch an empire * as the Gods
have bellowed, much againft the will, believe me,
both of the giver and receiver. For he who con
ferred -j~ this honour, or favour, or whatever elfe
you may pleafe to call it, conferred, it with re
luctance, and by him who accepted it, the Gods
well know, it was fincerely rejected. But their
will is and muft be obeyed. If my governor could
hai^e iprefeen this, he would, without doubt, have
endeavoured to make me acceptable to you. But
now, whatever manners I may -have previoufly con
tracted, whether gentle or boorifh, it is impoflible
for me to alter or unlearn. Habit is faid to be a
fecond nature^to oppofe it is irkfornej but to coun
ter-aft the ftudy of more than thirty years is ex
tremely difficult, efpecially when it has been im
bibed with fo much attention.
Ant. Allowing this, what induced you to in-
veftigate, and determine matters of traffick ? This,
I imagine, was not taught you. by your governor,
as. he did not forefee your reigning.
Jut. This alfo was owing to that wicked old
man, whom, as the principal director of my ftudies,
.you fo juftly reproach as well as me; but know,
that he was deceived by others. You have often
* Conftantius, by the courfe of nature, might have had
children, and Gallus was the elder brother of Julian, who
was intended for the ecclefiaftical ftate. La Bleterie.
f It is pretended that Conflantius, on his death-bed,
named Julian his fucceffor. Julian believes, or affects to
believe, it. - Ibid.
heard,

*& f H E M I S O P; 0 GO N.
heard, I- fuppofe, the names of Plato, Socrates,
Ariftotle, and Theophraftus *, mentioned with1
de-rifion. Oh thefe that old man had the folly to
rely, arid afterwards finding me young and capable
ofJ'improvement, he told me, that, if in every1'
thing I would make them my models, ; I fliould1
excell, he would not fay all other men '(for with
them there was no competition), but myfelf. Thus
guided by him, how could I act otherwife ? Were '
it ever fo defirable, I can now make ho alteration,
and when I reproach myfelf'fbr not indulging every
vice, I recollect what the Athenian- ftranger fays '
in Plato +: " He is to be honoured who commits
44 no crime; he- who prevents others' Troru being
44 criminal is worthy of more than double honour :
44 the former is equal in dignity to a man; the"
44 latter, who difcovers to the magiftrates the crimes
44 of others, is equal to many. ' But he, who, in
44 putaifhing, affociates himfelf in authority with
44 the magiftrates, is a great and perfect citizen,
44 and fhall be deemed victor in the lifts of virtues
44 the; fame praife is due to temperance and pru-
44 -dence, and to all thofe other good qualities
44 which are* not only ufeful to the poffeffors, but
44 are alfo imparted to others."
* A Peripatetic philofopher, who fucceeded Ariftotle in
his fchool. Cic. in Orat. xix. His books of plants and moral
characters are all that remain of his compofition ; the reft
of his works are enumerated by Diogenes Laertius in his ,
ht'e. His name was changed by Ariftotle, for his eloquence,
from Tyrtamus.
-f- De Lrgibus, 1. v.
i Such

T H E") M I S O P 0"G O N. ' 267
'i Sueh were the inftructions that' I received from
one who thought that he was forming a private
individual, not forefeeihg the rank in which Jupiter
feas placed me. h I fhould be afha'med of appear-
rrfg wOrfe as a prince than as: a fubject. I have'
indeed fo far forgbtt-eri myfelf as to- acquaint yoii
with -my rufticity. Another 'laW of" Plato, which
has made me recollect myfelf, and be your enemy,
fays, that 44.the magiftrates and elders fliould pra'c-
'* tife modefty and temperance, that their lives
44*j»iay be leffons' to the 'people/' Singly, there
fore,^ or rather with a few, I obferve^ thefe rules;
but the event has been different from WhatT ex
pected, and has juftly involved me in difgrace*
Seven of <us foreigners *, who have lately
arrived among you, (but one,'£who -h'aS fince
joined us> is^your own fellowcitizen "j*, dear to
Mercury and to me, an excellent mafter of oratory,)
have no connection with the reft of the world ;
we go out but feldom, and that only to the temples
of the Gods. To the theatres we never reform
thinking them of all places the moft ignoble, of
all- purfuits the moft inglorious.' If the Grecian
3iJi ii:"::'.ri 'J.-' it. , : ''.-.f.r-j
* In the number of the fix friends,- whom the Emperor
had with him, muft certainly be placed the philofophers
Maximus"of Ephefus, Prifcus of Epirus, the fophift Hi-
merius of Bithynia, and the phyfician Oribafius of Per-
,gamus. It may be furmifed that the two others were Salluft
¦the fecond and Anatolius. But I do not think that Julian
here fpeaks of, any officer of the empire. La Bleterie.
f It is needlefs to obferve that Libanius is here meant. Ibid.
fages

z6£ THE iMISOPOGON.
fages; will allow me to diftinguifh our fociety by
the ,4Koft remarkable circumitance that attends it,
nothing feems fo peculiarly our characteriftic as
an averfion to public entertainnients *. Thus we
folicit your hatred,; and refentment, inftead of ca
joling and endeavouring to pleafe you.
xi Ant. Suppofea-manjs guilty of injuftice. What
folly,, is it in yon to interfere ! You might not only
have: ingratiated ,;yourfelfrwith(--hiini,i'but have
fbared.the; emoluments of his injuftice. Yet you
prefer his ehtnity. qYoufhou}d, have confidered
that ope, who is injured never complains of. the
magiftrates, but only, of fhe perfon who has in
jured him. But, when he/has been puoifhedi in
ftead of blaming his accufer, heturnsjhis rsfeirteaejit
againft the magiftrates ..... With your ufual wifdom
therefore you fhould have refrained from coropek
ling others to be juft by force, and have allowed
them all full liberty to act as they pleafed, the
manners of this city being remarkably free. Not
attending to this, how qan you.' think they .will
obey the dictates of prudence, or renounce that
freedom which even the affes and the camels here
enjoy ? The drivers lead their camels through the
porticoes, like fo many brides, magnificently
dreffed f. As if the wide ftreets and narrow lanes
* There being no fenfe to be collected from the original,
as it appears in the editions, both printed and MS. I have
adopted that which M. de la Bleterie has fubftitutcd.
-j- A fatirical ftroke on the bad police of Antioch.
4 were

THE MISOPOGON. 269
were not Intended for their ufe, they freely range
the porticoes, and no one interferes, left he fliodld
be thought to abridge their liberty. Such is the
freedom of this city; and yet you would have the
young men here live peaceably, and think, or, at
leaft fpeak, what it may give you pleafure to hear.
But they are accuftomed to banquet freely every
day, efpecially on feftivals.
Jul. The Romans formerly took vengeance on
the Tarentines for affronting their ambaffadors at
a Bacchanalian debauch *. But you, much happier
than the Tarentines, inftead of a few days, revel the
whole year f, and inftead of foreign ambaffadors, :you
* In the year of Rome 473, the Romans fent an embaffy
to the city of Tarentum to demand fatisfaction for an act
of hoftility committed againft their fhips.. Their ambaffa
dors had an audience in the theatre, which was the ufual
place of aflembly in all the Greek cities. The R.oman
ambaffadors defiring to fpeak in Greek were treated as Bar
barians, infulted for their foreign accent and drefs, and at
length. driven out of the affembly. A buffoon, with beaftly
impudence, foiled their robes, to the diverfion of every
one, and was unanimoufly applauded. 44 Laugh now," faid
Pofthumus, the chief of the embaffy; 44 you fhall .we,ep
44 hereafter. This habit fhall be wafhed with ftrea'rnV of
44 blood.". The Romans declared war againft the inhabi
tants of Tarentum. They called Pyrrhus to their affift-
ance ; but Pyrrhus being forced to abandon Italy, the Ta
rentines furrendered at difcretion. The Romans defpoil^d
them of a confiderable part of their territory, obliged them
to deliver up their arms and their fhips, deftroyed the walls
of the city, and made it tributary. La Bleterie.
f Let Julian fay what he will, I do not imagine that
the inhabitants of Tarentum were at all inferior to thofe of

37o "THiEvMISOPO'GON.
ryou infult your, own princes, and, in .particular,
.deride, their 'boards, and the devices of their coin.**
. I congratulate you> moft modeft citizens^ fome for
indulging thefe- fportive conceits, and others for
- applauding and admiring them.. Thofe, it is cer
tain, are not more delighted with uttering, than
thefe are with hearing, fucli ribaldry. Such' a
harmonious concurrence is wonderfully pleafing to
me^ and happy is this one city in being actuated
only by one mind.
To check and reftrain the petulance and licea-
tioufnefs of youth is by no means right or laudable.
For to deprive men of the power of faying aad
doing whatever they pleafe is an offence againft
liberty of the deepeft die. Thoroughly convinced
that you ought in all refpects to be free, firft, you
allow your wives to be their own rulers, that thdy
may be as licentious as poffible ; and, next, you
• devolve upon them the education of your children,
left by our laying reftraints upon you, they alfo
fhould at iengch be enflaved ; or, when they ad
vance to maturity, they fliould be taught to refpect
¦itheir elders," and then by degrees fhould reverence
-their princes; and, laftly, fhould .thus be claffed,
not among men, but flaves, and by becoming tern-"
perate, juft, and honeft, fhould be corrupted and
of Antioch. It is faid of the former, that they had more
. iieafls and public feftivals than there were days in a year.
,;... . La Bleterie.
* The inhabitant of Antioch. ridiculed the marks of
idolatry that appeared on the ccins of Julian. iSid.
ruined.

T H E M I S O P O G 0 N. 2?I
ruined. As to the women, they feduce. tlieir
children to their religion by the charms of. plea
fure *, which'is deemed the greateft good not only
by. men, but brutes. In confequence of this, you
are moft happy when you renounce, ajl fubjecliori;
firft, to the Gods, fecondly to the laws, and, laftly,
to us, the guardians of the laws. And if the
Gods thus connive at this licentious city, and take
no vengeance on its crimes, for us to be indignant
and enraged would be folly in the extreme. :
Neither the Chi nor the Kappa, you fay, have
hurt your city. This senigma of your wifdqm it
is difficult to underftand. But , from fome (inter
preters, of your city, I have learned, that, thefe
letters are the initials of certain names, the one of
Conftantius, the other of Chrift j-. Allow me, on
this fubjecT:, to deliver my fentiments with free
dom. The only inftance, in which you were in
jured by Conftantius, was his not putting me to
death when he made me Caefar. Would to heaven,
that you alone, of all the Romans, had many
Conftantii, or rather might experience the rapine
of his favourites ! As for him, he was my relation
* I: is an accufer who fpeaks. However, it is eafy to
fuppofe, that, in the reign of a prince fo eager, as Julian
was, to make profelytes, fathers and mothers were ex
tremely indulgent to their children, left they fliould em
brace the religion of their fovereign. It is faidy that,, among
the modern Greeks, the children of the loweft of the. people,
when they are ill-treated by their parents, threaten. to turn
Turks, and fometimes keep their word. La Bleteris.
j- Xfir«f and Kxts-a&os, ,'iii.. ¦-¦ >»,< ¦• i. ¦- and

1272 THE M I S O PO GON.
and friend ; but after he Converted his friendfhip to
enmity, and the Gods had terminated our difpute by
gentle means '*, I became a more flncere friend to
him than, before our rupture, he could have ex
pected. Why then fhould you think me difpleafed
• with thofe who praife him ? On the contrary, I am
offended with thofe who difparage him.
But you love Chrift, and adore him as a tu
telar deity, in the room of Jupiter, Daphnsean
Apollo, and Calliope, who has detected your im-
pofture f . . . . Did the Emefenians X A>ew their
love of Chrift by burning the fepulchres of the
Galileans ? But have I ever offended the Emefe
nians? On the contrary,, whom have I not offended
of you ? Moft, if not all, of you, the fenate, the
rich, the populace ? Gr, rather, all the people,
being attached to impiety, are difpleafed with me
* There was no blood fhed in the war. Conftantius
died of a fever, (fee p. 104, note.) while he was marching
againft Julian. La Bleterie.
f Though neither the printed editions, nor the MSS.
take notice here of any chafm, the paffage feems to me
defective. I fufpedt that there were fome blafphemies here,
which the tranferibers have retrenched. Ibid,
X The inhabitants of Antioch placed to the account of
the other people of Syria, and in particular of the city of
Emefa, the fongs and fatires which they compofed againft
the Emperor. But Julian was not duped by them : the other
cities of Syria teftified a zeal for Paganifm, which would
not admit a fufpicion that they wifhed to difhonour the
Teftorer of their religion. The inhabitants of Emefa had
fet fire to the churches built over the tombs of the martyrs,
and had fpared only the principal, which they converted
into a temple of Bacchus. Ibid. for

THE MISOPOGON. 273
for adhering to the laws and ceremonies of my
anceftors ; the rich, becaufe I prevent their exacting
unreafonable prices ; and all oil account of the
dancers and players, not becanfe I abolifh them*
but becaufe I regard them no more than the frog9
of the lakes *. After having excited1 fo much
hatred, may I not be allowed to aeciife myfelf ?
The Roman Cato (what kind of beard he wore
I know not -j~, but of this I am certain) excelled
all who were moft renowned for temperance, mag
nanimity, and, which is the gteateft of all, bravery.
When, therefore, he vifiterj this populous, luxu
rious, -and wealthy city, feeing in the fuburbs the
young men under arms, and the magiftrates in
their robes, he thought all this parade was ex
hibited by. your anceftors in compliment to him ;
and alighting immediately from his hoffe £, he
haftened forward, and blamed his friends, who had
entered the city before him, for apprifing the
* A proverbial hyperbole, meaning that the bufinefs
is nothing to us §. And it is juftly alfo applied to
detractor's, when we mean to fay we hold theit calumnies
in contempt. As though frogs croak continually * arid bark.
at the paffers-by, repeating foceffantly that odious ditty-j
SgEXEXEXE:! xoa| xoas|, yet no one is offended* Erasmus.
f Julian muft furely have known that, in the time of
Cato of Utica, the Romans wore no beards. It may be
faid that he is forry that Cato had not one as long as his
own. La Bleterie.
X Plutarch fays, that 44 Cato was on footj as was his
44 ufual cuftom, and his friends, who accompanied him, ori
44 horfeback. On this occafion, he made themrdifmount."
§ Rather that we totally difregard it ; as many do not regard
what greatly concerns them ; and, on the contrary, pay great at
tention to matters with which they have no concern. Stephens.
Vol. I. T citizens

274

THE MISOP:OG,ON.
Citizens of his approach, and perfuading them to
go and meet him. While Cato thus hefitated,-: and
feemed abafhed, the mafter of the ceremonies
coming up to him, faid, " Stranger, how far off
44 is Demetrius ?" He was a freed-man of Pompey,
and was poffeffed of much wealth. You will
afk-me how much *, as I know nothing more
likely to excite your curiofity. For this I muft
refer you to my author, Damophilus f of Bithynia,
who collected many fuch ftories from various
writers, which are very entertaining both to young
and old who have a tafte for fuch fubjects.. For
old age feems to renew the curiofity of youth in
the moft incurious'; to which, I imagine,, it is
owing, that both old and young are equally fond
of ftories. But to return. Would you know, what
anfwer Cato gave ? Sufpect not that 1 traduce the
city. The ftory is not mine. If the name of a
certain native of Chaeronea J has reached your
ears, of that vile feet, as it is called, of infolent
philofophers, into which I have not indeed yet
been admitted, though fuch is my folly, I have
* Bifliop Warburton, in a note on ver. 390, of Pope's
Fpiftle to Arbuthnot, 44 What fortune, pray," [had your
parents] where 44 his friend's perfonating the town, and
" affuming its impertinent curiofity, gives great fpirit to
44 the ridicule of the queftion," quotes this paffage of Jut
lian as 44 a parallel ftroke," '
-j- Damophilus lived, it is faid, in the reign of Marcus
Aurelius. Julian gives us no high idea of this compiler,
and ridicules him by the way. La Bleterie.
X Every one knows that Plutarch was of Chaeronea in
Boeotia. He relates this ftory in the Life of Pompey. Wh
He relates it- alfo in the Life of Cato, wiflied

THE MISOPOGON. 275
wifhed it ; he, I fay,, relates that Cato made no
anfwer, but only exclaimed, like a madman, " O
44 miferable city !" and departed.
Wonder not therefore at my behaving to you in
the fame manner, efpecially as I am more favage,
and as much bolder and prouder, than Cato as the
Gauls arc than the Romans. He lived almoft
all his life in his native country. But I was
fcarce arrived at manhood when I was fent
among the Gauls and Germans, and into the
Hercynian foreft * ; and jtiaving fpent much time
there, fighting with favages, like a. hunter chafing
wild beafts, I contracted fuch a difpofition as can
not fawn n°r flatter, but can Jive on terms pf
fimplicity and equality with all men. As in the
days of my early youth I travelled through the
works of Plato and Ariftotle -f-, I had no talents
for this ciyij life, and no tafte for pleafure, When
I became a maa, and my own mafter, I lived among
the moft fierce and warlike nations, who had no
,conne<ftion with Venus, fdie Goddefs of love, but
in the way of marriage, and for the . fake of an
off-fpring; nor with Bacchus, the God of wine, but
for the fake of drinking as much as they could,
In their theatres, they have no obfcenity, no in*
folence, no Jafcivious dances. It is faid, that not
long ago a certain Cappadocian fled thither from
hence. You know whom I mean $ the fame who

*

See a Fragment on this foreft at the end of the epiftles,
f H T« iv f»«paKioi? o&>{ ha rut ITXalwra; xai Aj»rol£?iB; *.oywt.
Literally, 4> my way lay through the difcourfes," &p,
T » W93

276 THE MISOPOGON.
was educated in your city by a goldfmith. He had
imbibed, I know not where, fome diffolute prin
ciples, which, I know not how, he had reduced to
practice *. Being introduced to one of their
kings f, remembering what he had feen here, he
firft entertained them with a number of dancers,
and afterwards with many other curiofities of this
city. At length, being in want of a cotylift |,
("with
' * In the Criminal, jualwv ott« koh ieftaflss, w« a $ut opiJ.inv yuvai|i,
uf/pa*ioi; SWip^gttv, bx! alia oxoaa uQaii Jjao-ajxai Ta&ut. 1 have
fubftituted, with the French tranflator, more decent ge
neral expreffions.
•j- n«fa rot izao-t /?(»<tiAeo}, adregem qui illic. Muft we un-
derlland, by this, a Barbarian king, for inftance, the chief
of fome tribe of Franks, who, in the time of Magnentius,
fettled themfelves in a diftrict of Gaul? Magnentius, who
derived his origin from the Franks, might have called fome
of them to his afliflance. Befides, Conftantius had fent
vord to the people. beyond the Rhine, that they might
enter into the Gauls, and that he would cede to them all
the conquefts that they mi^h make there. The Barbarians
fecondtd his views too well. Julian had much difficulty
to make them repafs the Rhine. Peitiaps too it -may be
fuppofed (but this fenfe feems to me lefs natural) that it
relates to oiie of the Emperors, or Csefars, who refidzd in
the Gauls before Julian. The name of |3a<r^s^ was given
to the En;r/erors and Gaefars. It is fometimes given to
them even by Julian, notwithftanding his republican ideas.
La Bleterie.'
X The word cotylifles occurs in no other paffage of Julian.
We are totally ignorant of what he means. However, as
xJlu?i05 and xotow fignify a kind of cup, KuluTiirn?, their de
rivative, may fignify perhaps 44 a player with cups, or
44 a jugler." Seneca calls thefe goblets prafiigia-
torum acetabula. It is remarkable. that xoliAn and acetabulum
have another meaning, which is common to them. They
both fignify the cavity of the os ifchion, in which rhe head
of the thigh is inferted. A: acetabulum means 4i a cup to
41 play tricks," there is .great probability that x«Vii is i fed
2 in

THE MISOPOGON. 277
(with this you are well acquainted both in word
and deed) he fent for one alfo from hence, fuch
was his attachment to your refpeftable way of life.
Though the Gauls were ftrangers to a cotylift, for
this was the firft time that any one had been feen at
court, yet, when the dancers exerted their fkill in
the theatre, they deferted it, thinking thofe per
formers fools or mad.
To me a theatre feems no lefs ridiculous. But
there, the few were derided by the many ; here,
I with the few am derided by you all. This,
however, does not offend me ; for it would be
unjuft in me, after concurring with them, not to
bear with patience this treatment from you. I was
fo beloved by the Gauls, for the fimilitude of my
manners, that they not only took up arms for me,
but alfo made me many prefents ; on my refuting
them, they frequently obliged me to accept them,
and in everything readily obeyed me. From thence,
which was of the utmoft importance,- my name was
often tranfmitted to you with glory; and all ex
claimed, that I was brave, prudent, juft, equally
expert in peace as in war, mild, and courteous.
Of this the manner in which you have treated
me has been quite ther everfe. Firft you fay, 44 I
*' have fubverted the world *," In anfwer ; I know of
in the fame fenfe. I am indebted for this erudition to the
learned M. Falconet. La Bleterie.
* Accordjng'o Socrates, (/. m. c. 17.) the faying, that
44 Julian had fubverted the world," was owing to a bull
and an altar appearing on his coins; F. Petau, M. Fleury,
T 3 " and

478 THE MISOPOGON;
of nothing that I have fubverted, either by defigit
Or inadvertence. Next, that " my beard fhould
44 be twifted into ropes/' And, laftly, that 4< I
afid M. de tillemont fuppofe, that Socrates faysj the bull
lay on his back. But the hiftorian fays no fuch thing. We
know of no medal of this prince on which is feen a bull
thrown down, or even a bull with an altar. We are ac-
quainted with fome on which appears a bull ftandirig, above
which are two ftars. At the feet of that animal is an eagle,
who holds a crown in his beak, and feems to prefent it to
the bull ; but there is no altar. Suppofing that Socrates is
not miftaken, he alludes to fome medal that is unknown to
us. A victim, ready for facrifice, ftamped on the coins of
the Emperor, fhcwed that the empire had changed its re
ligion ; and that is what the inhabitants of Antioch might
very well call the 44 fobverfion of the world." After all,
Julian, by his reftlefs and reforming genius, by the various
changes which he introduced, both in the ftate and religion^
fufficiently defervtd the above reproach, without its being
neceffary to think that this reproach was relative to any
one of his coins. La !leterie«
One medal of Julian with a bull and an eagle and another
with a bull and two ftars, are defcribed by Occo. Among
the Imperial brafs coins belonging to the library of Chrift-!
Church, Canterbury, are three, which are foppofed to
bejulian's. One of them, which feems to have his head, has
ti is infcription, dn Comstanti . . . . '4 from which"
(fays the e^pofitor) 44 one would think this coin a Con^
41 ftantine ; but the head does not refemble either of the
'4 Conftantines, and I do not find that Julian took the
44 name of Conftantlnus, or any name like it. His titles
44 were Flavius Claudius Julianus. The reverfe is a war-
" rior en foot, directing his javelin againft a hprfemaa,
44 w th h:s horle falling to the ground. Fel. Temp. . . .'
'4 Dufrefoe defcribes this reverfe on a coin of Julian, as
44 does alio Occo, and I find no fuch of either of the Con-
44 ftantines. I fhould think Conftanti . . . might poffibly be
44 ..filled up. Conftautinopolis, but i>v ,. Dotninus nofier, fliers
44 it to be the emperor's.name, and not the. city's."' '
Conftanti . . .' on this coin, may, perhaps mean Con-
ftantius, as .a coin of his,, defcribed,. by Occo, has" 'the re*
, ytjrfe here mentioned. 44 wage

THE. MISOPOG O N.
44 wage war againft (he Chi *, and that you regret
44 the Kappa \." 1 wifh that the guardi^nrgods of
this city would give you two fuch Kappas, and thus
revenge your flanderoufly imputing the libels
againft me to many of the neighbouring holy cities,
which agree with me in worfhipping -the Gods ;
cities, which, I am certain, have more affection for
me than for their own children, as they imme
diately reftored the temple's of the Gods, and, at
a fignal lately given by me, deflroyed all the
tombs of the atheifts J, being fo ardent and zealous to
* Chrift. •{- Conftantius.
X The cruelties, which were exercifed againft the Chrif
tians by thofe 44 holy cities," may be feen in the ecclefi.
aftical hiftory. At Heliopolis, a city fituated at the foot
of Libanus, men were feen to gnaw- the entrails of the
facred virgins, to tear out the liver of a deacon named
Cyril, and to eat it publickly. The inhabitants of Gaza
in Paleftine tore fome of the Chriftians to pieces, and com
mitted the fame barbarities on the remains of their bodies
which in other places were practifed on the relics of the
martyrs. The like enormities happened at Arethufa, &c.
I know that Julian did not command thofe barbarities ; but
he could not be ignorant of what the populace are capable.
When we loofen the reins, we are refponfible for their
'fury. Julian fliould at leaft have punifhed thefe exceffes,
inftead of apologifing for tbem. La Bleterie.
This imperfect and reluctant confeffion may appear to
confirm the ,ecclefiaftica| narratives, that in the cities of
Gaza, Afcalon, C-cfarea, Heliopolis, &c. the Pagans
abufed, without prudence or reinorfe, the moment of their
profperity ; that the unhappy objects of their cruelty
were releafed from torture only by death ; that, as their
mangled bodies were dragged through the ftreets, they were
pierced (fuch was the univerfal rage) by the fpits of cooks,
and the diftaffs of enraged women j and that the entrails of
Chriftian priefts and virgins, after they had been tailed
T 4 ^

279

*8s THE MISOPOGON.
to piinifh thofe who had tranfgreffed againft the
Gods, as even to exceed my wifhes.
As to you, many of you, whom my knity has
fcarce been able to pacify, have overthrown the
altars lately erected. But after we had fent the dead
body * back from Daphne f, fome of you, who
worfliipped
by thofe bloody fanatics, were mixed with barley, and
contemptuoufly thrown to the unclean animals of the
city. Such fcenes of religious madnefs exhibit the moft
contemptible and odious picture of human nature. Gibbon.
* Of Babylas, a Chriftian bifliop of Antioch, men.
tioned in a former note, p. 247.
-j- At the diftance of five miles from Antioch the Mace
donian kings of Syria had confecrated to Apollo one of
the moft elegant places of devotion in the Pagan world,
A magnificent temple rofe in honour of the God of light,
and his cofoffal figure almoft filled the capacious fandtuary,
which was enriched with gold and gems, and adorned by
the fkill of the Grecian artifts. The deity was repre
fented in a bending attitude, with a golden cup in his hand,
'pouring out a libation on the earth; as if he fupplicated
the venerable mother to give to his arms the cold and
beauteous Daphne; for the fpot was ennobled by fiction ;
and the fancy of the Syrian poets had tranfported the
amorous tale from the banks of the Peneus to thofe of the
Orontes. . . The temple and the village, infenfibly formed
by the perpetual refort of pilgrims and fpectators, were
deeply bofomed in a thick grove of laurels and cypreffes,
which reached as far as a circumference of ten miles, and
formed in the moft fultry fummers a cool and impenetrable
fliade. . . . The groves of Daphne continued for many
ages to enjoy the veneration of native's and ftrangers ; the
privileges of the holy ground were enlarged by the muni
ficence of fucceeding Emperors ; and every, generation, added
new ornaments to the fplendor of the temple. „ Gibbon.
The whole of the garden at Roufham [in, Oxfordfhire]
laid out by tieiit, for Qeneral Dormer, is as elegant and
antique,

THE M I S O P O G O N. 281
worshipped the Gods, by way of expiation, gave
tip the temple df the Daphnaean God to others
who were enraged on account of the relics of the
dead. And thefe* by their negligence or conni
vance, kindled thofe flames, and exhibited to
foreign nations a fight moft horrid, but to your
citizens moft pleafing, and by the fenate hitherto
difregarded. The God indeed feems, in my opi
nion, to have deferted the temple long before the
fire *. This, at my firft entrance, the ftatue de
clared to me ; and 1 appeal to the great Sun, as a
witnefs of it againft unbelievers.
I muft now remind you of another of my offen
ces, and then, as I have done before, I will cen-
fure and condemn myfelf. In the tenth month f,
accord-
aatique, as if the Emperor Julian had {elected the moft
pleafing folitude about Daphne to enjoy a philofophic re
tirement. Walfolh.
* Ecclefiaftical" critics, particularly thofe who love relics,
exult in this confeflion of Julian, and that of Libanius,
(Nania, p. 185.) that Apollo was diilurbed by the vicinity
of one dead man. Yet Ammianus (xxn. 12.) clears and
purifies the whole ground, according to the rites which the
Athenians formerly pradtifed in the ifie, of Delps.
¦¦ ¦ Gibbon.
+ F. Petau thinks, that we fhould read 44 the eleventh
44 month," and not 44 the tenth ;" foppofing that the month
Hyperbereteus was the firft of the Macedonian year. But
Suidas and Zenobius, from aMacedonian proverb, inform us ,
that this month was the laft; and confequently the month
Dius was the firft. The following is the order in which the
phyfician iEtius, and all the ephemerifts, place the Mace
donian months. I will annex the Roman months to which
they anfwer in the Syrian year, which the ecclefiaftical writers have

a8* the misopogon;
according to your reckoning, (you call it, I thinks
Lous), is the ancient feftival of this God, when
great crowds ufed to affemble at Paphne. I there*
fore haftened thither from the temple of Jupiter
Caflius *, expecting to fee a profufion of wealth and
have adopted ; but, as I have faid before, it was not per-
kaps that of Antioch :
i Dius, November. f- Artemifius, May.
2 Appelloeus, December. 8 Dofius, June.
3 Audinceus, January. 9 Pancmus, July.
4. Perittius, February. lo Lous, Auguft.
5 Dyflrus, March. 11 Gorpi&us, September.
6 Xanthicus, April. 12 Hyperberetoeus, October.
La Bleterie.
* Jupiter was called Cafius, or Caffius, from a very high
hill of that name in Syria,' which bounds Antioch to the
fouth, about fifteen miles diftant. This was a day's jour
ney ; but Julian performed it feveral times during his
relidence in that city. Nothing was difficult to hiiii
when it was to vifit a place revered by the Pagans. One day,
while he was facrificing there, he faw at his feet a man
proftrate on the ground, who humbly intreated him to
geant him his life. He afked who he.w'as. 44 Theodotus,"
he was anfwered, 44 formerly chief of the council of
*' Hierapolis, who, wh£n he conducted Conftantius back,
»4' then preparing to attack you, complimented him be-
44 fore-hand on his victory, and with fighs and tears
44 conjured him to fend immediately to Hierapolis the
44 head of that rebellious, that ungrateful wretch ; thus
44 he ftyled you." 4 I have heard this long ago,' faid the
Emperor, 4 and I have heard it from more than one.' Then
"addreffing himfelf to Theodotus, who was half-dead with
fear, he added, ' Return home in fafety, and difmifs all ,
4 apprehenfions. You live under a prince, who, accord-
4 ing to the maxim of a great philofopher, ftudioufly en-
• deavours to diminifli the number of his enemies, and to
4 increafe that of his friends.' Ibid.
Trajan,

THE MISOPQ GO Ni a8j
and fplendor. Already I feigned to myfelf, and
faw there, as in a dream, the folemn pomp, the
viftims, the libations, the dances, the incenfe, and
the boys, with minds properly difpofed to the God,
arrayed in white and elegant garments. But when
I entered the temple, I found there neither incenfe,
nor cake, nor victim. This much furprifed me,
and I concluded that you were waiting without the
gate, by way of refpect, for a fignal from, me as
fovereign Pontiff*. I therefore afked the prieft
what offering the city intended to make on that
folemn anniverfary ? He replied, 4f I have brought
44 the God a facred goofe from my own houfe,
44 but the city has provided nothing." Odious as
I am apt to render myfelf, I expoftulated, on this
occafion, with the fenate in fevere terms, which
it may not be unfeafonable here to repeat:
44 Shameful," faid I, 44 it is, that fo great a ciyr
44 fliould contemn the Gods more than any village in
44 the remoteft parts of Pontus, and though poflef*
44 fed of a territory fo extenfive, on the late annual
, *4 feftival of your tutelar Deity, the firft fince die
Trajan, in his progrefs againft the Parthians, made an
offering to Jupiter Callus ; on which account his temple is
reprefented on feveral of his coins, and thofe pf other
emperors afterwards. He is fuppofed to be the fame, with
the God Terminus among the Romans. B«*wyer.
Others derive this name of Jupiter from a hill in Pa-
.leftine near iEgypt, where that God had a temple, and
Pompey a tomb. . See Luc. vil. 451. and Plin. v. 1:.
* Julian .difcovers his own character with that tmw&t,
th3t unconfcious fimplicity, which always conflilutes true
humour. ' Gibbon.
6 " God*

284 THE MISOPOGON.
44 Gods difpelled the cloud of impiety, fliould not
44 have brought him even a fingle bird, when
44 every tribe ought to have facrificed an ox ! Or,
44 if that had been too expenfive, the whole city
44 might have joined to have offered him a bull.
44 None of you fcruple being profufe of expence
44 on your private entertainments, and many of
44 you, I know, lavifh large fums'on the feftival of
44 the Maiuma * ¦, but none, either as individuals or a
44 community,
* I know not whether we muft believe, on the authority
of Suidas and of fome comments, that the Maiuma was
originally a Roman feftival. Suidas fays, that in the
month of May, the magiftrates of Rome, followed, no
doubt, by all the people, went to celebrate it at Oftia, and
that, amidft diverfions and licentioufnefs, they puttied one
another into the fea. But we find in no other author
that this feftivity was ever celebrated in Italy, or in any
other part of the Weft. It even feems to have been peculiar
to the Orientals, and particularly to the Syrians. As
places where there was much water were chofen for its
celebration, fuch as the fuburb of Daphne near Antioch,
and we know not that it was celebrated in the month of
May, it is more probable to fuppofe that it was called
Maiuma, becaufe that word in Syriac fignifies " waters."
All tbat is known of this feftival is, that it lafted feveri
davs, and that it *4 was the effence of it not to abftain
44 from any kind of infamy." This is the expreffion of
Libanius, who, a thorough Pagan as he is, often mentions
it with horror. Godefroy thinks that the infamous fpec
tacle againft which St. John Chryfoftom inveighs with fo
much zeal muft refer to the Maiuma. In the middle of an
amphitheatre, in a refervoir filled with water, the common
women fwam and gambolled in the fight of the whole city,
Tf Godpfroy be not miflaken, as we aifp know that the city
of Maiuma in Paleftine, fituated on the fea-fliore, was par
ticularly devoted to the. worfliip of Venus, I fliould fuf*
yedt that the feftival of the Maiuma had originally, for 'its
object

THE MOSOPOGON.
•* community, facrifice for their private or the
u public fafety. The prieft alone has facrifked,
i44 who, in my opinion, ought rather to have car-
44 ried home fome part of your offerings. For
44 the Gods require the priefts to honour them
44 only by their probity, and attention to virtue,
** and their decent miniftration of the facred duties;
" but the city, I think, fliould facrifice both in
44 public and private Inftead of this, all of you
44 fuffer your Avives to fquander your fubftance on
44 the Galileans, who, by feeding the indigent at
object the celebration of the birth of that Goddefs, who.
according to the fable, fprung from the waves. But it ap
pears that, in the time of Julian, theMa'iuma was no longer
eonfidered as part of the religious worfliip of the Pagans.
However, it is no lefs ftrange to fee the Chriftians of
Antioch partake of this fcandalous feftivity, But, as M.
de Tillemont fays, 44 a great nation is often mote, zealous
44 to defend the name of Chriftianity than to practife its
44 morality." 44 A wife prince," fays Libanius, (he t»
fuppofed to mean Conftantius) ',l had fuppreffed the feftival
44 of the Maiuma." . But it was tolerated in the reigns of
Julian and Valens, .and till the laft years of Theodo
fius I. who forbade it fome time before his death. Ar-
cadius, in 396, allowed it to be celebrated on condition
that nothing fhould be done there contrary to decency.
Clemeptia' iioftra placuit, utMaiurax, proviacialibus latitia red-
deretur ; it a tamen ut jervetur honeftas, et verecundia caftis
msribus perfeveret. But as it was impoflible to exact this, the
fame emperor forbade it three years after. Ludicras artes
eoncedimus agitari, ne ex nimid harum refirlBione trifiitia ge-
neretur. Iliad verb quod fibi nomen procax licentia vindi-
cavit, Maiumam foadum atone indecorum fpeetaculurn, dene-
gamus. xv. Cod. Theod. tit. vi. de Maiumd. Some remains
of this feftival were found neverthelefs at Conftantinople in
the ixth century, in the reign of Leon the fon of Con
ftantine Coproiiymi.s. La Bleterie. " your

2%

a86 THE MISOPO GO N;
"your expence, exhibit a wonderful proof of
•* impiety to their poor, who feem to abound
44 every where. But you, though you contemn
14 the worfliip of the Gods, think yourfelves blamer
44 lefs. No one fupplies the altar with neceffaries,
44 not being able, I fuppofe, to defray the expence*
44 Yet when any one of you celebrates his birth-
44 day, he provides a fuitable entertainment, and
44 magnificently treats his friends. While on a
44 folemn feftival no one brings the God a libation,
44 nor a victim, nor even oil for his, lamp, nor
44 incenfe. In what manner this may appear to
44 any good man\ among you, J know not; but
44 that it cannot pleafe the God, I. am certain,"
Such, I remember. Were my expoftulatjons, and
thefe the God, by his te;ftimony, approved ; which
I wifh he had not, but, inftead of deferiirig the
fuburb in which he had fo long refided, had ip
the late tempeft turned the hearts, and opened the
hands, of the magiftrates *. But I was' fo abfufd as
. * In the original, tun Kpalatlm. Who thefe xjaJWlif are is
not fufficientlyxlear to me ; unlefs he means the guardian
genii of the place [Daphne] vvhofo attention and power
were baffled by a divine interpofition, which, -in order to
avenge the people of Antioch, occafioned that conflagra:
tion. Petav.
Tho following is the manner in which the whole paffage
ought, I think, to be tranflated, by repeating a negation
that occurs a little before., 44 In that horrible evenf,
»4 Apollo would pot have diverted the attention of the tutelar
44 genii of the plaee ; he wpujd have flopped the hands of

T&jIfcE Mf SiQPfJGON. 287
astOgbf angr^ vsjjth yqu, iwhen T ought rather ; to
have , been filent, like many , w,h,o entered the
temple rwith, me, and to have made no,-; inquifitive
enquiries nor reproaches. But fuch was my pre
cipitation, and fo ridiculous my flattery, (for it
cannot.be fuppofed that the. fpeecji which I ad
dreffed to you was dictated, by friendfhip, but by
a ¦ yain-jgloriqm- s .affeftation of reverence to th.e
Gods,, and of.^a fincere regard for you, which of
¦ iflf.'. -01. * ¦¦• * ,. ¦ ,'~
44 the incendiaries." For my part, I am convinced that
x%a1at% fignifies here 44 the people in power, the magiftrates,"
and if I thought, that<,rby "the ftorni)" we fhould under
stand 44 the burning of the temple of Apollo," I would
f f ariflafe it '4 he would not have diverted the attention of
44 the magiftrates." But I think it more natural to under-
Hand, by .this,44 ftorm," or 44 agitation-," u utettr, ry £»*ii, the
commotions and diforders that happened at Antioch on ac
count of fhfe fcarcity which Julian mentions in the fequel.
The avaoeafof.-thejmagiftrates, and the'frhoft powerful peT-
fons of the;: city, was the caufe of that fcarcity. ^Thus
Julian would fay, that Apollo, if he had ftill been in his
•temple, would have prevented, or flopped the diforders,
by touching the hearts of thofe rich mifersj by forcing them
to open their hands to diftribute the corn which they locked
"up in their granariesY ' This is the' explanation which I
have adopted, I will not venture, however, to affirm that
it is the true one. , La Bleterie.
I-adopt the fame explanation, though I choofe to tranf-
late the words literally. M. de la Bleterie renders them,
44 In the commotions by whiph it has lately been agitated,
44 he would have forced the magiftrates to open their
44 granaries, he would have infpired them with fentiments
" more humane." Tftfai ciJ&»*ovrw hatmut feems very-
analogous to our fcripture expreffion, 0? airoxdi»rtiern xnphut,
x. r. *. be fliall turn the heart, &c. Mai. v. 6. all

«€8 THEM1SOPOGON,
all flatteries is the moft ridiculous,) that I rafhiy
inveighed againft yo». x"
Juftly therefore you now repay me for thofe
invectives, though not in the fame place. For I
reproached you before the God, at the ¦ altar,, ¦ at
the feet of the ftatue, and in the prefence of
few *, but you are thus farcaftic on me in the
public markets, before all the people, and by the
mouths of fome of your worthy fellow- citizens.
For, be affured, all who fpeak have a communi
cation with their hearers ; but he. Who eagerly
Jifiens.to calumnies enjoys equal pleafurej with
more fafety, ahdisnolefs culpable than he wh.0
utters them.
»' Thus the whole city hears your lampoons on
this unfortunate beard, and on its wearer, whp
has never jfbewn, nor will ever fhew-ojoob, what
you call a good example. For he will not lead
fuch a life as you lead yourfelves, and as you ex
pect your princes fhould lead. As to the afper-
fions which you have both privately and publickly
thrown upon me in feurrilQus anapieftic verfes, I
alfo condetnn myfelf, and very readily allow you
ftill farther liberty. I will never expofe you, on
that account, to the danger of death, ftripes, bonds,
imprifonmem, or to any other punifhment. What
purpofe would that anfwer ? But as the temperate
life which I here lead with my friends feems to
you defpicable and loathfome, and exhibits a fight
by no means agreeable, I have determined to re
move

THE MISOPO G(j N.
move and quit your city *, not from a" per-fuaflon
that my perfon and manners will be more acceptable
where I am going, but becaufe I think k expedient,
fliould I fail Of being thought good and Virtuous, to
give others fome (hare of ray difagreeablenefs, and
no longer todifguft. this happy city wifh the ftench,
as it were, of my' moderation, and of the tern*
perance of my friends. Far none Of us have pur-
chafed fo mUch as a field orJa garden here, or have'
married, or given in marriage) or have- been en
chanted with any of your amufemcnts; nor have w&
coveted the Affyrian wealth,' nor been lavifti of our
patronages + ; nor have we fuffered any -of the
magiftraTes to fliare with us the dominion over you j
nor have we allured the people by the ruinous
fcftivity of banquets or plays.. On the contrary,
we have made them fo voluptuous., that, free from
any apprehenfions of indigence, they have com
pofed anapasfts oh 'thofe to, whom they are in
debted for fo much afflueiice. No gold have we
exacted, ho filver have /we demanded ^ nor have we!
* Julian had refolved to return ^ after ¦ the Perfian Cam*
paign, and to pafs the winter at Tarfus in Cilicia. i
, ,.',,, La Bxeterje.
This not being permitted, he ordered his corpfe to be
interred there, .in the fuburbs.
-j- Ouf. <tv^fJ.apii^a. t«s irgora.o-i.oi;. In the Latin, Ueque pra,
foMurds depafli fimus. . Rather, Nequeftitwciniadiftribuimu's,
For he means the guardianfliip ajid .protection of certain
orders, and. bodies, or the negociatiom of tmfinefe with the
Emperor, the foliciting which was .v*jry lucrative to the
gfcea.t. ., •¦> -, ,' ,1/ ¦¦ . ".- , ¦•¦': Petau*/
Vol. I. V increafed

apo T HE MISOPOGOr?.
increafed the taxes ; but,, befides the arrears now1
due, we have remitted to all a fifth of what they
ufed to pay.
Not contented with being regular myfelf, I have
alfo, (by Jupiter and all the Gods, I am firmly
perfuaded) a moft temperate ufher *; who has
been much, cenfured, however, by you, becaufe;
though old, and rather bald on the fore part of
his head, yet fuch is his perverferiefs, that he
is not afhamed to wear his hair on the back part,
like the,Abantes -f- of Homer. Two or three more,
in no refpect his inferiors, 1 may fay four, I have alfo
at my houfe ; and if you defire even a fifth, fuch
was my maternal uncle and namefake J, who go
verned
* I know not whom Lilian here means. La BleterIe.
, - , i
Eic-ayyEXEu;. dne who introduces perfons to a king ot ,'
prince. Robertson.
This anfwers to the Englifh word and place of gentle-
man-ufher, or mafter of the ceremonies.
T Among the Greeks who went to the fiege of Troy^
Homer reckons the Abantes, to whom he gives the epithet
of oirAtt Kepouilis, -retro comati, becaufe they threw their hair
back. La Bleterie. /
Down their broad fhoulders flows a length "of hair. Pope.
X Julian, Count of the Eaft, broth'er'to'B'afilina. Aftet1
the profanation and deftruction of Daphne, (fee p. 24.S.)
Bein'g ordered by the Empetor to fhut up the cathedral of
Antioch, then poffeffed by the Ariatis, his z'eal induced8
him to exceed his 'commiffion by (hutting up all the other
churches',- and even by beheading a prefbyter, named Theo
dore*. For this rafli aft being reprimanded by his nephewf
he was feized,- a few days after, with an inveterate ulcer,
of which he languiflied two months,; and then died- 4< His
*4. feafonabie-dcath," fays Mr. Gibbon, 44 is related with
', • 44 much-

THE MISOPOGON. ,aox
verned you with the ftri&eft juftice, as long as the
Gods , allowed him , to continue and co-operate
, with us, though he did not manage the affairs of the
ci;y with the utmoft prudence. For thofe governors
who rule with mild-nefs r-.nd moderation feem to me
highly laudable, and this, I hoped* would have
atoned for my want of beauty.' But fince the
length of my beard, the- negligence- of my hair,
my diflike to the theatresj my gravity in the
; temples, and, above all, my adherfcice to equity •
in the courts of juftice^ and my earneft endeavours *
to banifli extortioni have given you fuch of
fence, I fhall with pleafure leaye youE- city. rIf I
¦ were to attempt to alter any conduct, I fliould pro
bably exemplify the old fable of the kite. For the
kite, it is faid, having originally a voice like
other birds, was defirous to' neigh like a high-bred
horfe; but not being able to attain the one, and
•Jofing the Other, he was afterwards deprived of both,
and in voice became inferior to them all. In like
manner, I am very a'pprehenfive of being neither
ruftic nor polite. For, as you yourfelves perceives
I am now,- by the will of the Gods, on the verge of
that' age, when, according ro-the'Tei'an poet,
Grey hairs will mingle with the black *.' Bus
44 milch-fuperftitibus Complacency by the Abbe de la Ble-
<4 terie." To- the above-mentioned indifcretion of his urrclie
-the Emperor probably here alludes.' See Epiftle xiit.
which i$ addreffed to this Count.JUlian.-
* Ellis pot \tvxdi 'faikcutclH a-idfitiXi^otla.! tji^e;.
The poems of Anacreon, now preferved, are faid to have
-jireen firft. difoovered by Henry Stephens ; but where or how
U 2 is

202 THE MlSOFfJGdi
But tell me now, I conjure vyou, by the iirr^
, mortal Gods, and by Jupiter, the guardian of your
city, what has occafioned this ingratitude-? Has-
any private or public offence of mine fo provoked
• you, that, not being able openly to revenge it,
you lampoon me in the forum, inanapsftic verfes*'
as the. comic poets treat and reprefent Hercules
and Bacchus * ? Is it becaufe, though I have
abflained from injuring you by my deeds, 1 have
offended you by Words, that you take your revenge"
in the fame manner? Can this have occafioned
your enmity and- refentment ? But certain I amy
that nothing injurious;- nothing offerifive, has been
done, nor any thing reproachful faid, by me,; either
is fcarce knoWn. His firft edition' of them, which; was
publTflied at Paris in 15441-, was deemed a happy difcoyery
by fome of the learned, and fufpected by others. Stephens,
falling into a' kind of diffraction in the latter part of his
life, fuffered Iris two MSS. which he had carefully collated,-
tQ.perifh, without communicating them even- to Cafaubon, -
-his fon-in-law/ This we learn from'*M. de la Monnoie in
/Fjayle's article Anacreon. And Mi de Pauw, who publifhed
an; edition of that poet at Utrecht in 1732, in 4to, is
fully perfoa'ded'thaYthe odes were compofed by different
authors ; and", befides, doubts whether Anacreon was really .
' the author of any fingle, ode, in the whole collection. Julian-
has quoted from' him one paffage fas above), and refers to*
another in his xvnith Epiftle. But neither of them are
to be found in Stephens's edition.
* We need only open Ariftophanes,- and caft.an eye, in
particular, on- his comedies of The Frogs and The Birds,-
to be convinced of the' licentioufoefs with which the Greek
'poets treated the, Gods.. The ,moft, abufed, andithtsf-s
whom they reprefented in the .miaft- ridiculous, qharscTters,-
n-ere-*Bacchus and..Hercules,' "-.- * t- La BqETSuE.'
'--"-¦' * -. ' -•'•"- pYiVatety

Trff E MISGPOGOrf.
privately againft individuals, or publicly againft
p the community. I have even beflowed comment
dations, whenever I thought them due ; and I have,-
in fome refpecls, heen ferviceable .to you, ask,
came one /who was defirous, of being, tp the ut
moft of .his power, a general benefactor, . It v,:as
impoflible; you, may be affujed, that all the taxes
fliould_ be .remitted to thofe 'who pay them, and
that by thofe- who ufed to receive them all fhould
be returned. -As therefore it appears that I have
not diminifhed the. public largeffes, which ufed fo
be defrayed at the Imperial expenqe, though I
have remitted' you feveral taxes, does not this feem
myfterious l But it is more proper for me tb.be filent
as, to what I have done for all the citizens in
general, that I may not feem ftudioufiy to publifli
my dwnrj panegyric, after declaring that I would
compofe a. bitter fatire on myfelf, The inftahces
of my rafhnefs and imprudence towards you, though
they ought not to haye incurred; your difpleafure,
it is-, I think, incumbent on me to mention, as
they are really difgracefql to me,' and being more
true, apdrelating wholly to my mind, are much
more important than my perfonal defects, I mean;
the roughnefs of my vifage, and my unpoliteqefs *',
.*,.K«i njf a.ta<ppcito-ia.;. Veneris odium in the Latin tranfla*
tion, not properly. To swaipgoJtiov is- oppofed to s5rxp£oJj!o».
But this means 44 agreeable and elegant." That therefore
jis 44 difagreeable and inelegant ;" and etm^oiia-ta 41 rufticity,
f' pnpolitenefs>" Petau,
TJ 3 ' •'-' i:- ¦'-¦ ' And,

?£.+

THE MISOPOG ON.
And, firft, I highly extolled you, before I was
acquainted with you, or was apprifed on what
terms we fhould be, on this co'nfide'ration only, that-
you were defcended from the Greeks, as 1,; though
by birth aThracian, am in manners and difpofltion
a Greek. I prefumed, therefore, that we fliould
have a mutual regard for each other. In this one
inftance I judged rafhly. Afterwards, though you
Were the laft who fent ambaffadors to me, not ex
cepting the Alexandrians, who are fo remote as
iEgypt, yet I remitted you - much gold and filver,
and many taxes, in particular, more than to any
other city. I alfo augmented fhe number of your;
fenators* to two hundred,' audi exempted nonet, ,rny
* ^ofimus, /. in. " The Emperor, indulging the. pity, as
44 was juft, and granting it a large number of fenators who
44 were defcended from parents of 'that rank, who were born
*4 of the daughters of fenators, (which, we know, wasal-
44 lowed to few cities.)" But this was not fo agreeable anfl
honourable fb thofe who were enrolled as to the city itfelfc
For it was rather burthenfome fo he returned to the fenatej
and generally declined on account of the weight of affeff»
ments. Therefore, foon after, he fays, he enrolled thofe"
two hundred in the fenate, 44 -fp'aring no' one," (pHtra]i.m!
aiitof. For the more powerful and .opulent thought1 it, as,
has been obferved, a burthen ; and therefore they were to
be compelled., Ibid.
f Every city had a fenate, which was called in Latin
Curia, the name of Senatus b:ing ufually app'ropriated to
the fenates of Rome and Conftantinople. 'Two' annual
magiftrates, named Duumviri', were at the head of that
affembly, whofe members bore the name of .Curiales or De-
ptiriones. The decurions, among other burthenfome func
tions, were charged with collecting the taxes in the diftfitt

THE MISOPOG ON; 295
my view being to increafe and aggrandife your city,
I allowed- you therefore to choofe them from
among the richeft of my treafurers *',' and the
officers of the mint. You did not, however, make
choice of thofe who were beft qualified, but, when
an opportunity offered, your conduct was that-of an
ill-governed city, and not unlike yoiirfelves. Shall
I remind you of one jnftance ? Having nominated
a certain fenator,' before he was enrolled on the
lift, and while the proeefs of his election was yet
depending, you dragged him from the flreets into
the fenate, indigent "as he was, and thus admitted
into your fociety one of the loweft of the people,
of thofe who are every where elfe difregarded, but
whom you chofe to purchafe at any price |. Such is
of their city, and with mailing good the payments.. Indi
viduals therefore avoided thofe places as much as they"
qould. But it was equally the fotereft pf the empire, and
of the- cities,,- to have the curise numerous and. filled with re^.
fponfible perfons. Curiales fcrvos. effe rfipublica, ac vifcera civi-
tatum, nullus ignorat, quorum ccetum reit'e appellavit anliquitas
minor cm Senatum, fays the Emperor Majoriap. NovelL Theod,
L iv. tit. 1.. Julian therefore gav^h proof of his zeal. 'for the
public good, and of his affection' for the city of Antioch, by;
albjwihg.it tQ,. augment the, number of its fenators, and, to
choofe them from among the officers of the Emperor, who ,
pretended that they were exempted. , L4,3ti^tEkiE.
* Awo, rqw iviT§Qirsvaa.»1'jit tbs Siio-aupaj. He means the Pre
fects and Counts of the treafuries, of whom, the Notitia
treats ; who were under the direction of the Counts of tht?
facred largeffes.. Thus ?» efyao-a^tem to to\ney.u, are tne
officers of the mint. ' ' Petau.
-f Martinius and Spanheim confider this as two foffonces
pf popular licentioufnefs ; the one, that of a man, who
TJ 4 was

sgJi THE M I S; G P O G OH-
is your -difcernment. Many of your elections have.
been equally irregular, but, ,as I cannot? connive
at them, all, the remembrance of my,, pa ft favour^
is loft ; ,and for the refufal of what juftice would
not allow, Hie to grant, :yo,u, are incenfed,,, againft,
me. But thefe were pf. .little importance, and by
no means -fufficient to irritate the whole city. What
{follows was my chief offenee,; and gave the greateft
provocation*. , , -,,, , .-,-,-
When I firft came hither, the people, oppreffed
by the rich, began, with exclaiming in the theatre,,
44 There is plenty of all things, yet all things are
44 extravagantly dear." Next-,day I difcourfed
with your , magiftrates, and endeavoured to con
vince them of the propriety of fpurning unjuf|
was enrolled into the; fenate, while he had a fuit depend
ing, whofe iffue ought to have been expected ; the otherj
that of a poor man, taken from the'dregS of -the' people,
Their miftake feems to arife from" the words' /-Mtsapa t>k J;*ik
ao-ns, which they apply to a law-fuit, and a\\oi, which, as
hfually printed, begins the next' lenience. But the former
words may as w'ell refer to the proeefs of the fenatbrial
election yet undetermined, and accordingly" M. de la Ble
terie tranflates , thgm, lorfque ie precis, ' dout fa nomination
futfuivie, etoit encore pendant . And for AiUo»-(" Another
44 man")' I would fubftitute sui or «u' ("but"), and
clofe the former paragraph with a comma' only, or femi-
riolon." That Julian meant to produce no more' than a,
fingle inftance appears from his introductory words, ButeaOt
pa; n^a-f \>itoptneoi ; 4' Will you . allow me to remind you of
one of them ?" ¦ • '"
* Julian proceeds to make his apology on- account of the
kind of famine which Antioch fuffered, while he refided
there:- Let him fay what he will, the -conduct* which -he.
then purfuedj does lefs honour to his prudence than to his
difintereftednefe and food intentions. La Bleteeie.
- " gain,

T--HJEOM I S O P O GTJ N. 397
gain,-, and of , obliging their fellow-citizens and
foreigners. They promifed to attend to what I
faid ; but after waiting with confidence for three
months, fuch was their negligence that I defpaired
of any good -effect. Finding, therefore that' the
popular clamour -was juft artd reafon able,; arid that
the markets were ftraiteneo* not by dearth, but by
the; avarice of the' rich, I fixed; a moderate, price
on every commftdity, of which I ordeE&L public*
notice to be given- And as there was great plenty
of wine, oil, and all other provifioris, except
wheat, whofe fcarcity was owing to the drought
of the preceding, year, I determined to fupply
that deficiency from Chalcis, Hierapolis, and1 other
neighbouring ciciea. From them I imported for
your ufe four hundred thoufand meafures-; ¦ and
when they were confumed, f brought from 'my .'own
houfe, and gave to the city, firft, five, thoufand,-
then feven thoufand, and how, laftly, ten thoufand
modii, as yew'flyle them, ail which wheat was'ferit
me from iEgypt, for my own conliirnption, and
fifteen meafures I ordered to be fold at the, fame
price that ufed formerly to be given for ten *j If ten
meafures
* With a falutary view, the. Emperor ventured on, ;a
very dangerous and doubtful ftep, of fixing, by legal au
thority, idle value of corn. . , . The confequenees might
have been forefeen, and were foon. felt. The Imperial
wheat was purcafed by the rich merchants j the proprietors
of land, ol; of corn, with-held from the city the accuf
tomed fupply. j and the fmall quantities that appeared in
the market were fecretly fold at an advanced and illegal '
•' ' ' ' price.

T HEM IS OP 0 G ON.
*
nSeafures coft you an aureus* in fummer, what coula*
be expected, when, as the Boeotian poet fays,-
- — * cruel famine rages in the houfe -f- ?
Would you not have' -accepted five meafures *,-
or lefs, in fuch a fevere winter as followed ?
Why then did your rich merchants ctandeftinely,
fell their ftanding corn for more, and thus take
advantage of the public diftrefs I Notwithftanding
this, -befides the citizens $, numbers alfo from the-
country"
price, Julian ftill continued to applaud his o\vn policy,
treated' the complaints of the people as a vain and ungrate
ful murmur, and convinced Antioch, that he had inherited'
the obftfoacy, though not- the cruelty, ' of his brother/
Gallus. The ignorance of the moft enlightened princes
may claim fome excufe; bdt we cannot be fatisfied with
Julian's own defence [as above], or the elaborate apologyof-
Libanius, Orat. Parent, r. -xcyii. p. 321. GlB.BDK,
* From Mr. Greaves's elements, in his excellent dif
courfe on the denarius, we may fix the currency of the
aureus, at foroewhat more than eleven fhilliqgs. Ibid.
-j- Ka^ETrot yiytto-$a.i rot Xi^ov tin iuf/.d\i.
44 If I have fearched well," (as M. de la Bleterie fays of
another paffage), thefe words are not to be found in any
of the works of Pindar that have been tranfmitted to us,
* Julian flates three different proportions of five, ten,
or fifteen modii of wheat, for one piece of gold, according^
to the degrees of plenty and fcarcity. From this fact,
andffofn'fome collateral examples, I conclude, that, under
the fucceffors of Conftantine, the moderate price pf wheat
was about thirty-two flf.llings the Englifh quarter, which
is equal to the average price of the fixtj-Tfour firft years of
the prefent century. Gibbon.
§ K«i ax 1 foTitf fj-otnt. ,-Something, I' think, is wanting
here. For the. fentence feems'abrupt, and rather incom
plete. Underftand it thus. Julian made the price of corn'
only, and the making of bread, cheap';, that is, he fold
fifteen modii of corn for one folidus. But the Antiochians, befides

THE M I S O P O G 0 N. S$§
country came hither in crowds to purchafe bread,
the only commodity that is plentiful and cheap.
But which of you remembers, even in the moft
favourable feafons, fifteen meafures of corn fold fo
cheap as for one aureus? I was therefore hated by
you becaufe I would(not fuffer wine, vegetables*
and fruit to be fold, at an exorbitant price, nor
corn, which the rich had hoarded in their granaries,
to be immediately converted by them into gold arid
filver. 'They-infaffioufly fold it to foreigners, and,
jn confequence, exppfed you to famine,
 that cruel fcourge of' mortals, *
as it is ftyled bf a God, who feverely reprobates
fuch tranfgreffors, Thus, by my -attention, the
befides corn, wifhed to have plenty alfo of wine, vegetables,
and "fruit.- Compare; this with, another paffage (p. 258.)
where he mentions their complaints againft him forocca-
fioning a plenty of bread only, and not alfo of wine, fifh,
and poultry. But here,, he fays, he was reproached for
not fuffering garden-ftuff and fruit . avrohioo-Qat x%va-a, 4t to
44 be fold for gold." ; Where xfvcrc^ that is 44 gold,"
not ygoaat, 44 a piece of gold fo called," I fuppofe to be
meant. For when -the' common people had hitherto pur-
, chafed from the rich, at ah extravagant price, not only
corn but wine, and other articles lefs neceffary to fobfiftence
than corn, Julian, by fupplying the people with plenty of
corn alone, in this particular alleviated-their wants. But
jvhen by his edict he had lowered the prices of meat, wine,
and other things, they were no longer publickiy fold by the
rich; which not being regarded by the Emperor occafioned
the popular complaints. Petau.
/ * ti\\j.ot u.x<,i*lr,ga @%ol&ut. This is the conelufion of an
heroic verfe, though not fo diftinguifhed in the editions. I
fuppofe it -to pe taken from one of the Didvmxan.oracles
ffo called) from which Julian has given another quotation in
..Jus Dutits of a Prieft, p. 130, and in his Lxnd Epiftle. city

gee THE ilSOP'OGON.,
city abounded in bread, but, in nothing eife. Such
conduct,:! was "Welfaware, won Id. not be generally
pk^fing'j but this gave me no concern, as I thought
it my duty to, relieve an oppreffed people, and alfQ
the; foreigners -who accompanied, me hither,, and
the officers who attended me. But fince they are
now departed, and the whole; city has combined
againft me, being hated by fome, and from other;?,
whom I have fupported, haying no return but in
gratitude, relying on divine Nemefis, I will remove
fo another nation, another, city,, without reminding
you of your, acts.of juftice on yourfelves -nine-years
fig©.*, -when the populace,, with fufidus' clamours,
fet fire to the- houfes of the .magiftrates, and rhaf*
facred the governor; and, in return, were punifhecj
by a refentment -juft in the motive, but rigorous irj
the execution ,t«
¦ * In 354., whenGallus fet;out for. Hierapolis, the people
p£ Antioch begged -him to order an. importation of corn.
palhjs contented himfelf with replying, that 44 he left then}
*4 Theophjlus, governor of Syria, who very well knew
S4. how to procure it for them." The people, remembering
thefe words, made Theophihis refporifible for; the dearth.'
On account of a.<quarrel that happened at tha games of the
Circus, they attacked and murdered the governor^ and di
verted themfelves with dragging, his body thro'ugh the
ftceets. Eifoulus, one Of the principal perfons of the city,
and his fon, narrowly efcaped the fame treatment. 'But the
people fet fire to their houfe. Conftantius -font Strategius
to puuifli the rioters. Julian hints that it was at the defire _
pf the magiftrates.. La Bleterie.
•j- Libanius, however, in his oration on this fedition,
much applauds' the cleinency of Conftantius. In

f U E MI S O P O G o isf.
In fhort j what part of my conduct' has giveb
you fo much offence ? Is it my fupporting you*
"from' my own houfe, ait an experice" which no-other
city has feen equalled ? Is it my augmenting the
number of your fenators ? Is it my pardoning.
the ; frattds .which I have detected ? Left this fliolvld
be deemed a rhetorical fiction, let me fpecify ofie
brtWOi Three thoufand lots of land;; yOu faid,
•were vacant *, and dented the grant of them; but
when they were granted, the rich alone divided
them; This, on enquiry, being clearly proved, I
took them from thofe unjuft poffeifo'rs, and making
no fcrnt'my into the former exemption of thofe
who had no right to it, applied them to the' prin
cipal, expences of the city « Thus thofe of yoil-
who annually breed horfes have about three- thott-
fand exempt portions, ,o'»>ing partly fo the pru
dence and good management of my uncle and
namefake •-f, and partly to my generOfity,^ Who/
for thus punifhing thieves' and cheats, am juftly
thought by you to have fubverted the World |.-
* He here charges the Antiochiahs with another inftance"
Of ingratitude. For when-tbree thoufand x\n$ot, or lots^ of
land, were vacant, having. fallen in !:y the deaths of the" ,
heirs; Julian, at their requeft, gave therri to the citizens.-
But as the few rich divided them among tbenifelves,>,he foon
: after refuraed them, and reftored them to the public towards
the experice of their games and entertainments, efpacisj]y
thofe of the Circus; which, hp fays, was the act of his
uncle Julian. ( , . Petau.-
•(• Count Julian, of whom' dbove, p. 290.
X Seep. 277,
f-:, it;:: v For>

|Q* THE MISOP.OG O N.
For, bejieve me, lenity to fuch offenders encourages?
and hardens the wicked *.
This is the whole of my meaning, and with this;
I fhall, clofe my difcourfe. My misfortunes originate
. from myfelf alone. They are owing to the ingra
titude of thofe whom I have obliged, and are there
fore the effect, riot of your liberty, but of my
folly. This will teach me to act with more dif-
cretion for the future, and for the kinduefs which
you have publicly fhewn me,: may you be properly
requited by the Gods -j*!
* Julian, it is obfervable, is fifent as to his fending the
whole body 6f the fenators of -Antioch, confifting of two
hundred of the moft noble and wealthy citizens, under a
guard, from the palace to the prifon, for their difrefpeafnl
and interefted boldnefs. But he fuffeted them to return to
their refpective' houfes before the clofe of the evening.
<4 Their fhort and eafy confinement," fays Mr, Gibbon,
44 is gently touched by Libanius, [Orat. Parent, c. xcvni.
44 PP- 332> 33'3-?')
¦*- Though Julian affected to.laugh, he could not forgive.
His contempt was expreffed, and his revenge might be
gratified, by the nomination of a governor [Alexander, of
Heliopolis] worthy only of fuch fubjects ; and the Emperor,
for ever renouncing the ungrateful city, proclaimed1 his re-
folution to pafs the enfuing winter at Tarfus in Cilicia.
Libanius, in a profeffed oration, invites him to return to
his loyal and penitent city at Antioch. Gibbon.
Soon after writing this fatire, vi^. March 5, 363, Julian -
began his march towards Perfia, of which he has g-iveti the
, particulars, as far as Hierapolis, in his xxvfitfi Epiftle
(the lateft extant), to Libanius, 4l one citizen of Aritioch,"
as the above cited hiftorian expreffes it, 4< whofe genius and
44 virtpes might aton£, in the 'opinion' of Julian', for the
*' vie'e and folly of his country." •" J"

JSV? Epiftle?'

t 3°3 )

XVI Epiftles of LIBANIUS* to JULIAN,

EPISTLE I. f
AY the prefent health and ftrength, that, *•£
you fay, you poffefs,, be your conftant
portion ! For your grief may God fupply a remedy !
Or rather your grief requires in part only the
/ afliftance
* The fophift Libanius was born in the capital of the
Eaft [Antioch]. He publickly profeffed the arts of rhetoric
and declamation at Nice, Nicomedia,. Conftantinople,
Athens, and, during the remainder of his, life, at An
tioch. The preceptors of Julian had. extorted a rafli but
folemn affuranee, that he would never attend the lee.
tures of their adverfary : the curiofity of the royal youth
was checked and inflamed ; he fecretly procured the writ
ings of this dangerous fophift, and gradually furpaffed, in
the perfect imitation of his ftyle, the moft laborious of hiS
domeftic pupils. When Julian afcended the throne, he
declared his impatience to embrace and reward the Syrian
fophift, who had preferved, hi a degenerate age, the Gre
cian purity of tafte, of manners, and of religion. The ,
Emperor's prepoffeffion was increafed and juftified by the
difcreet , pride of his favourite. Inftead of preffing, with
the foremoft of the crowd, into the palace of Conftan
tinople, Libanius calmly expected his arrival at Antioch;
withdrew, from court, on the firft fymptoms of coldnefs
and indifference; required a formal invitation for each vifit';
and taught his fovereign an important leffon, that he
might command the obedience of a fubject, but that he
muft deferve the attachment of afriimd, . .-The volu-

304 , EPISTLES OF LIB ANtUS.
afiiftance of God, for fome part of it you your
felf can alleviate. You are able, if you pleafe,
to re-build the city X 5 but for your concern on
account
fhinous writings of Libanius ftill exift ; among them, hear
two thoufand of his letters * . . . His birtn is afligned to
the year 314. [In a letter to Prifcus] he mentions the 76th
year of his age (A. D. 390.) and feems to allude to fome
events of ftill later date. Gibbon.
Libanius was a great admirer of Julian, fond of Gentilifnn
ahd averfe to Chriftianity, but not an enemy to all Chrif->
tia-ns. He did not' embrace Chriftianity, having been edu;
cated in great prejudices .againd it, and having never ex-"
aniined its evidence. N Neverthelefs, I cannot but efteem
him an ufefuP man. For, as Socrates acknowledges, he
was an excellent fophift; he was continually employed in
teaching polite literature; and had many fcholars; fome -
of whom were afterwards .men of great eminence. Among".';,
them, Socrates and Sozomen reckon John Chryfoflomf,
Theodore of Mopfoufe'ftia, and Maximiis bifliop of ."Seleucia
in Ifauria. ^ Lardmeu,
By comparing their works, we find in reality that Julian
refembles Libanius, but it is with a handfome lik,enefe,.and
in the rfame manner as a perfon of quality,, who. fpeaks
well without affedVing to do fo,, may be faid to refemble a
rhetorician who makes it his ftudy. 44 Hence, I imagine,"
fays Libanius, 44 his iubfequent writings have fome affinity
44 to pur ftyle, as if he had- been one of our fcholars.'*
Julian fubmitted tp his criticifm both his adtions and writ-
, ings. Lfe was thought to have alfifted, him in the conspoJ
fition of the Mifopogon. 44, Libanius," faid he, 44 loves
44 me more- than ever my mother did; he is not attached
44 to my fortune, but to my perfon." ' La BleteriEj
f This Epiftle is one of the three firft publifhed by
Fabricius, with a Latin tranflation, in his Bibliothec'a
Gri£C3,: vol. vii, p. 397. In the edition of \5folfiusi. it is
the x^xmd.
X Nicomedia, the capital pf Bythinia, which, from the
beauty of jtsjfituation, the magnificence of its buildingsj
s ¦ *¦ Inthk Li% his-lftteK, he fays, were innumerable. its

EPISTLES OF LIBANIUS.
account of the dead, may Heaven afford you con
folation ! Nicomedia, ruined as fhe is, I deem
moft happy, Her fafety indeed would have been
moft defirable ; but even thus fhe is honoured * by
your tears. Nor are thefe inferior to the lamen
tations which the Mufes are faid to have uttered
for Achilles f, or to the drops of blood which
Jupiter, in honour of his deareft fon, poured down
at the approaching death of Sarpedon ^. That
fhe therefore, who was lately a city, may again be
a city, will be your concern. Elpidius §, always
its grandeur, and its riches, had been looked upon as the
fifth city in the world, was deftroyed by an earthquake,
Aug. 24, 358, followed by a fire which lafted five days. '-,
A monody, by Libanius, on this fubject, 1 have inferted in
vol. II. Julian was th? n only Csefar ; but he vifited the city,
and gave orders for re-building it, in his way from' Conftan
tinople to Antioch, May 15, 362, after his accelfion to the
empire. Another earthquake, which was alfo felt at Con
ftantinople and Nice, fwallowed up the remains of Nico
media, on Japuary 1, 363.
* Tiiiprflat, h opus I have added, to complete the fenfe,
from the [French] king's largeft MS. where thefe words are
written in the margin, but in a more modern hand. That
of the Vatican alfo has on the fide i-ilipnlai it opus msaatx.
For the city might be honoured indeed, but could hot be
reftored from its ruins, by the tears of Julian. Valois
quotes this paffage of Libanius, in his notes on Ammianus,
xxn. 9. p 319. Wolfius.
t Alluding to Homer, Odyff. xxiv. 60.
Round thee the Mufes, with alternate ftrain,
In everconfecrating.verfe, complain. Pope, 77.
X Iliad, xvi. 4J9.
Then, touch'd'with grief, the weeping heavens difllll'd
A fhower of blood o'er all the fatal field. Pope, 559.
§ A philofopher, to whomjulian has addreffed his Lvnth
Epiftle. Libanius alfo has addrefled feveral Epiftles to-him,
and has mentioned him in feveral others.
Vol. I. X a man

3°5

EPISTLES OF LIBANIUS,
a man of diftin'guifhed probity, has now mad©
wonderful improvements. Thus it is not only true,
as Sophocles fays, that
'.Vife kings are form'd by converfe with the wife *,
but the wifdom of a king improves alfo his friends
in virtue. So ferviceable have you been to Elpiv
dius, making him not only richer but better.
Though younger than he, you have been his in-
ftructor in thefe laudable purfuits, in equity, in an
eager defire to afiift his friends, to treat cour-
teoufly thofe whom he knows not, and by fo treat
ing them, always to retain their friendfhip. For
all, who have approached and converfed with him,
have firft admired and then inftantly loved him," or
rather have difcovgred your ideas in all that you
have entrusted to him. I often difcourfe with him;
and all our difcourfes turn on you1, on the under*
(landing that you poffefs, and the important affairs
in which you are engaged. The manner in which
you will complete them, and how you will ward'
fome impending dangers, we have fagely difcuffed.
I feetned, as ic were, converting with yourfelf. With
particular pleafure I received the intelligence of your
having defeated the Barbarians -f', and that you had;
related your victories in a commentary J, thus acting
"£o$ ai TOf>uttoi rut o-oQojt crvtao-tot.
1 have ft arched Sophocles in vain for this verfe. WoiFitfJV--
f Probably his victories over the Salian Franks and Cha-
marians. See the Epiftle to the Athenians, p. 87;.
X We fhould add him to the number of celebrated his
torians, if his Memoirs of the Gallic war had been tranf-
mitted to us.. La BLKTi&Mk-
' at

EPISTLES OF IISaNIUS.
at once as ah orator and a general *'. Achilles
required a Homer,' and Alexander many fuch 'J-,
but your trophies, your own voice, which has
erected them, will tranfmit to pofterity. Thus
you furpafs fhe fophifts, by propofing to them not
Only actions for them to celebrate^ but the ora
tions, which you have compofed on yonr actions, for
their emulation.
To thefe your trophies I wifh you1 to add that
6f reftoring Pbmpeianus | to his rights ; and thinlt
not this aft unworthy contention. For this is the
man, whom formerly, in Bithyriia, when he was
arabaffador from hence, yoti faw vidth pleafure, and,-
On being informed of what he had been defrauded'/
gave him hopes of recovering his property. Of this'
promife, O prince §,- 1 intreat you. to be minidfuL'
. * See fhe Epiftle to the' Athenians",- p. 88', note *.'
+ TUdtut [.the common reading}- has no meaning-. Span-,
peim has o-vyfpaipitl'uyt, perhaps for o-vyfyaipeut, 44. writers."
M. V. la Croze preferred 2«fww»f (44 Sirens.") To me it is
hot yet clear. Suppofe we fhould read toibIot, ('4 fuch,"J
which I have expreffed in my tranflation ? Salvinius has
4,4 Titenibus." WoLFitts.
J Pompeiarius, who trad been prsfect of Bithynia, is
mentioned wirh elogiums by Libaniusin many other Epiftles,'
and fome are -alfo addreffed' to him.
§' n B-avt\w. Though Julian' was then only Caefar, ai
appears from fome paffages above, both Fabricius and Wo'l-
#us have rranflafed this Imperaio'r. But BatfiWj was offea'
applied to the Gsfars.

± 2 , EPISTLE

307

3&8 EPISTLES OF LIBANIUS.

EPISTLE II. *.
A. D. ARE y°u then forgetful of us ? But Phoenicia
-*"*- does not fuffer us to be forgetful of you, as
fhe celebrates your reign in immortal hymns f.
From your J Afia alfo flows the fame of your
actions, increafing our expectations. Fornothing
that we have heard, great as all thefe a&ions are,
is fo great as to exceed the hopes that we havq
formed. We, on account of our relation to the
Ioriians §, rejoice, trufting that you will proceed
in the right road, and that your authority both
over them and us will be more firmly eftablifhed.
But this muft be left to the providence of God.
Andragathius, in requefting to be the bearer of,
this, has rather conferred than afked a favour of me.
* This is another of the Epiftles preferved by F,abricius.
In the edition of Wolfius it is the ccxxivth.
•f- Godefroi, in one of the indexes to his edition of the
Theodofian Code, quotes this paffage ; but fuppofes this
letter (then unpublifhed) to be addrefled to Count Julian,
Confular of Phoenicia. ,
X T/*e1cfa«. Jn the Barocc. MS. Hpu\a;. Our reading is
fupported by four others; and juftly, as Libanius appeals to
the accounts fent him, of the actions performed by Julian,
from foreign and diftant parts. Addreffing Julian, he ftyles
' Ionia (which is foon after eloquently named) ?' Tour Ada,"
meaning a diftrict of Afia Minor, in which, having left
Phoenicia, he then .was. Wolfius.
§ For this relationfhip, of which Libanius, an orator of
Antioch, here -boafts, the fcholiaft thus accounts : "The
44 lonians near Smyrna formerly fent a colony to Antioch,
44 and therefore he ftyles them relations." Ibid,For

EPISTLES OF LIBANIUS.
For he will not be more gratified by the pleafure
of feeing you than I am by thus being enabled to
accoftyou. This youth will have thefe three recom
mendations to you ; an energy of- fpeech, which he
has difplayed before the prsefects; a courtefy of
behaviour, which endears him to all with whom
he converfes ; and fuch an intimacy with me, as, in
that refpeft, to exceed all the friends that I have
had fince my childhood.

EPISTLE III. »
YOU have gained a double viclory.f, one bj A. D.
your arms, the other by your eloquence. 3S "
One trophy is erected to you by the Barbarians,
and the other by me your friend ; a trophy this
moft pleafing even to a conqueror. For all parents
wifh to be excelled by their children J, and you,
* The Barocc. MS. to the name \a\ixtu adds, Kaio-*$»,
(,4 Cafar,") but the Medic. B.™ KaW<*1« (44 the execrable.")
Ezech. Spanheim quotes the beginning of this epiftle in
his preface to the works of Julian, p. 4. Wolfius.
In the edition of Wolfius, this is the cccLxxud.
f Thus our author, in his cccxcivth epiftle, a : 4< The
" excellent Anatoiius has gained two victories over us."
Ibid.
% A comparifon by no means foreign to this paffage, as
?he fophifts ufed to .ftyle their fcholars their fons. See
Eunapius, in Julian, and Damafcius in the Life of Ifidorus
in Photius on Zenodotus ; 44 alone thought worthy of
" being called the darling child of Proclus." Our author
alfo in his epiftles has frequently the fame expreffion.
That Julian had been inftructed in the art of fpeaking by the
precepts of Libanius, is evident from this as well as from
pther' paffages. Ibid.
X 3 . who

jie EPISTLES OF LIBANIUS.
who by me have been inftructed in writing, have
in that excelled your inftruftor. But now for the
brevity * of my epiftle, I, the orator, muft account to
fjfou, the general, or rather to one no lefs confummate
in the art of oratory than in that of war •}-,. After
'the Emperor X had given you a fhare in the go*
verntnenr, I thought myfelf bound to lay fome
reftraint on my freedom, and not to indulge it, as
.1 had been accuftomed, to a man fo exalted. For
knowing, as we. do, in our declamatory fkirmifhes,
hew to accoft Pericles, Cimon, and Miltiades, it
would have been fhameful in real life to neglect
thofe- laws. And as you yourfelf fay, that the
letters of generals, on account of their avocations,
fhould be fhbrt, this induced me to contract my
4
* Julian loved long epiftles^ as appears from his fecond
to Prohserefius'; 44 Sages, like you, may make Jong and
44 verbofe orations, but from me to you a little is fuffi-
44 cient." ' ' '" :'~ ::'' '" 
f This union of war with eloquence and the other arts
5s applauded by Libanius in other places, ' but efpecially in
his Hid oration to Julian, p. 183. 4t You alone com-
44 prehend the accomplifliments that' are 'divided among
41 Others ; ahd no orator, nor warrior, nor judge, nor
?4 fophift, nor myftic, nor philofopher, nor prophet can
f4 '3'dfr&re himfelf when compared with you. For in your
'* ictififls yog excell. thofe who act, in your fpeeches ,thofe
44 who fpeak." - ¦ '• " ,- Wolfius.
% That. Conftantius,, who, when be was oppreffed with
the, difficulties of the Gallic war, though by no means a
friend' to J»ulian, rather thinking that he had caufe to feat
him, yet yielded' to the exigence of the times, and affo-
eiated, Julian in the empire. For this reafora, in the Barocc,
MS. this epifile has the addition of «' Cxfar." Hii.
epiftles,

EPISTLES OF LIBANIUS. 311
epiftles, fenfible, that he whofe bufinefs prevents
him from writing long letters, by one who fends
him long letters muft be much interrupted. But
bow, as you order me to be diffufe, I will obey.
And, firft, I congratulate you, that, with arms-
in your hands, you have riot fufpended your appli
cation to oratory, but wage war, as if war were
your only ftudy, and attend to books, as if you
Were a ftranger to arms'. And next", that he *, who
has given you a fhare in the empire, has had no
caufe to repent of his having given it, but con-
fidering him as your coufin, and collegue, and lord,
and mafter, in all your actions you promote hie
glory, and exclaim to your falling enemies, " what
" would be your fate, if the Emperor were pre-
" fent ?" All this I applaud, and alfo your not
having changed your manners with your drefs, nor
loft, by gaining power, the remembrance of your
friends. Many bleffings attend you for (hewing
that, when I celebrated your talents, I was not a
liar, or rather for having fhewn that I was a liar
in promifing nothing equal to what you have per
formed ! This is all your own, and copied from
no model. For though fome, together with the
empire,' have affumed the love of money, contract
ing defires to which before they were ftrangers, and
others have given more indulgence to their former
inclinationsj you alonej when raifed to the throne,
* Conftanthis. See the laft not*} p. 310.
X 4 have

;i2 EPISTLES OF LIBANIUS.
have fhared your fortune * among your friends,
giving one a houfe, another flaves, land to this,
money to that, and, when a fubject, were more
wealthy than now when you are prince. Nor do
you exclude me from the number of your friends,
though I am not one of thofe who have fhared
to
your favours. For I can affign a reafon of my
alone having received nothing. As you would
have cities abound with every thing that can pro
mote their happinefs, you deem nothing more
effential to this than oratory, knowing that, if that
were extinct, we fhould refemble the Barbarians,
Apprehending therefore, that, if I abounded with
riches, 1 fhould neglect my art, you thought it
right for me to remain poor, that I might not be
tempted to defert my ftation : Such, at leaft, is my
folution. Not that you have faid, " Amphiaraus
<£ and Capaneus are fomethingf; but this man
" has neither name nor place X" But your not
having
* This may illuftrate what our author, in his Life, p. 42,
relates of Julian, viz. that 44 Libanius loved himfelf, but
Others loved his riches." Wolsius.
f This is a proverbial expreffion, which I do not re
member to have read elfewhere. In other paffages of the
ancients, Capaneus is applied to a faithful friend, becaufe
Capaneus, amidft great wealth, living with frugality and
ceconomy, was moft attentive to his friends. Ibid,
It is needlefs to add, that Amphiaraus and Capaneus
were two of the ftven chiefs againft Thebes.
X Out' e» Aoyw a-r tt ap^fj-u This oracle of Apollo, to the ^
inhabitants of ALgina, is quoted by the fcholiaft on Theo
critus : YfA«s i\ " Miya-pea. bt' i» Xoyu, *.. t. K. Compare the
Chijiades of Erafmus, p. 437. Ibid. The

EPISTLES OF LIBANIUS. 313
having given me any thing is owing to your regard
for the public. Therefore thqugh we are indi
gent of money, we abound with words. This is
your concern ; may we not difgrace the part that
is allotted to us, nor you your illuftrious rank!

EPISTLE IV. *
IS E N T you a fhort oration on an important
fubject. You can add to its length, by fup-
plying what is effential to that purpofe. If you
give that, you will fliew that you think I have a
talent for encomiums. If you do not give it, I
fliall be induced to entertain fome other fufpicions.

EPISTLE V. f
TTNLESS you were well apprifed how long
^-' ago my friendfhip with the excellent Mace-
donius | was contracted, and for what reafons
it has been fince improved, of thefe I would
The inhabitants of iEgina, fay fome, of Megara, fay
others, after gaining a naval victory, enquired of Apollo
who was the braveft of the Greeks; to which he gave a
depreciating anfwer, concluding as above.
* This, in the edition of Wolfius, is the Dxxvth. It is
alfo one of thofe preferved in Latin by Zambicari. See a
note on Epiftle XV. To what oration Libanius here alludes
does not appear.
f This is the DLXXxvith in the edition abovementioned.
X The fon of Pelagius, of Cyrus, a city in Syria, an
orator, and a philofopher. Libanius mentions him with
great encomiums in feveral otherepiftles, and has addreffed
three to him, one of which is a congratulation on his
marriage. firft

3H EPISTLES OF LIBANIUS.
firft apprife you ; but knowing, as you do, iti
foundation, you will not wonder that I, who would
decline no danger for my friends, fhould devote to
his fervice this letter. He has indeed prevailed
with me to ask a favour of you, not that you
grant favours eafily, or grant all that are afked ; but
fuch as are juft and right you willingly confer. And,
in truth, whoever does not oblige his friends, in
matters thus irreproachable, blames the daughter *
of Jove for retaining the Graces in her veftibule.
But that you favour thofe who ask nothing un-
reafonable is evident to all. Now obferve whether
my requeft is fuch as can be cenfured.
Macedonius married a wife who had a fon by a
former husband. That fon is now dead. I wifh
therefore that the mother f, in preference to the
grandfather, may fucceed to his eftate, if a regard
to honour can induce the grandfather to wave his
right, and to prefer praife to a compliance with
the law. Be it therefore your endeavour to con-
* The Greek myfhologifts ftyle her A««i, (44 Juftice,")
whom he virtually condemns, that does not return to a
friend the favour which he could and ought. Wolfius.
f The mothers, among the Romans, had not, in the
beginning, any fhare in the fucceffion of their children,
whether they were emancipated or not. In proeefs of time,
the mothers did fucceed, but differently according to the
different times, and the whimfical changes that many laws
made in their right of fucceffion. In England, if, after the
death of a father, any of his children die inteftatet with
out wife or children, in the life-time of the mother, the
mother, in that cafe, fucceeds jointly and equally with the
brothers and lifters of the deceafed and their reprefenta-
tives. Strahan. vince

EPISTLES OF LIBANIUS. 315
vince him, that it is more creditable for him to de
cline than to take thefe effects. You will be doubly
perfuafive, as, befides the powers of oratory, you
poffefs fupreme dominion. And I hew that this
old man is vain of a good reputation, arid had
rather accumulate fame than wealth. Delay not
therefore to fend for and confer with him, and
thus perform an action more humane than any law.
Nor think that we will admit, as an excufe, your
alleging that the difcuflion of fuch matters does
not belong to you, or, by way of fubterfuge, that
you are unable to perfuade him. To be the inftru-
ment of conferring wealth on the mother, and
fame on her -father, will do you no difhonour.
Every word from you makes a ftrong impreflion
on the hearers.

EPISTLE VI. *
^TP HE laws and myfelf will take care that that
-*- moft abandoned fervant fliall be punifhed for
what he has faid and done. But you, together
with the empire, ' fhe-w that you pofleTs alfo fuch
benevolence as the excellent Prifcian -}- difplayed
to Seleucus J. Acting thus, you will induce the
* This, in the edition of Wolfius, is the Dxcift.
¦J- Prifcian was an excellent orator, and on that account
was invited by Julian to Conftantinople. Libanius has
addreffed feveral Epiftles to him.
X Seleucus is alfo mentioned as a friend of Libanius in
many of his Epiftles, and many are addreffed to him.
preceptors

3ri t EPISTLES OFLIBANIDS.
preceptors of Arrhabius, I mean Calliopius *, and
his father, to treat him with more indulgence. For
' Seleucus married the daughter of one, and the
filler of the other. Him therefore, whom in your
letters you fo highly honour as to ftyle him your
fon, aflift, I intreat you, in his literary improve
ments.

EPISTLE VII. f
"TT7"OULD you have me believe that you do
™ not take the leaft concern in the affairs of
Ulpian and Palladius J, that you neither regard
them as friends, nor efteem them as orators, nor
recollect that they may aflift you with their friendly
offices ? Such reports, which it does not become me
to repeat, are circulated by many. On the con
trary, I contend that none of them, as far as you
are concerned, are true. Write therefore, and
confute them. You will thus confer a favour on
yourfelf, as well as on me.
* Calliopius, by fome of the Epiftles to him, appears
to have been an, orator.
f This in the edition of Wolfius is the Dcud, a.
X Two orators, frequently mentioned by Libanius.

EPISTLE

EPISTLES OF LIBANIUS.

I

EPISTLE VIII. *
H AV E difcharged my obligations to Arifto- A- B*
phanes + ; but you, in return, have given me

fuch fplendid tokens of a vehement affection as are
confpicuous both to Gods and men. So that now
I feem almoft to foar into the fky, elevated by your
epiftle, which has infpired me with fuch hopes,
and has fo decorated my oration J, that all things
elfe, the wealth of Midas, the beauty of Nireus §,
the fwifrnefs of Crifon ||, the ftrength of Poly-
damas **, the fword of Peleus ff, feem little in my
fight.
* This Epiftle is one of the three fifft publifhed by Fa-
bricius. • In the edition of Wolfius it is the DCLxxth.
f This oration for Ariftophanes, a Corinthian, the foa
of Menander, who had been feverely fined by the pre
fect of jEgypt, on account of his confulting aftrologers,
is preferved in the works of Libanius, vol. II. p. 210, &c.
Wolfius,
It is faid in this oration, that he had been fined, fcourged,
and imprifoned.
X The Epiftle of Julian to Libanius, to which this is an
anfwer, is the Lxvinth, or laft, in vol. II.
§ See Homer. Iliad, ii. 671.
1] Crifon was that native of Himera, who gained three
victories in the Olympic games. See the Prolegomena of
Erafmus Schmidius on Pindar, p. 31. Add. Paufan. Eliac.
p. 172. Wolfius.
** A famous Theffalian wreftler, who ftrangled a lion
on mount Olympus, tamed a wild bull, and flopped a
chariot drawn by the ftrongeft horfes. He was crufhed to
death by a rock under which he took fhelter from a ftorm ;
and this was owing to his indifcretion in flattering himfelf that

3*8 EPISTLES OF LIBANIUS.
fkht. Even the nectar of the Gods, were t
allowed to enjoy it,- could rtot give me greater de
light than I now feel, when' my prince, fuch a one
as Plato formerly fought and could fcarcely find *,
has commended my feritimen'ts, admired my oration,
and has not onlv promifed that he \vifl give fome-
thing, but, which is much greater honour, that he
will confult with me what to give. They who
obferve the riling of the celeftial goat -fr, do nor;
always obtain their wifhes ; but I, though I have'
not attended to this, have been moft furcefsfuh-
And if I want any other favour", the Emperor,'
imitating the Deity, is ever gracious. Your epiftle
therefore fliall be prefixed to my oration-, to h>
form all the Greeks, that my dart has not
been launched in vain, for by what I have wriry
ten, Ariftophanes wilT be honoured, as 1 am by
what yon have returned^ or rather both of njfhalt-
that he could fupport the rock, which was beginning to falf,-
when his companions fled. Moeeri.'
Libanius mentions him alfo in his xVith Declamation.
ff Peleus received a fword from Vulcan, with which'1
lie could defend himfelf againft all attacks, as we learn'
from the fcholiaft on the irth Nemean of Pindar, ver. 88,-
&C. Wolfius.
* Alluding to the famous faying of Plato, that 44 go-
44 vernments would be happy, if king* philofophifed of
" pliilofophtrs reigned." Ibid.
T A proverbial expreffion, often ufed of thofe with whom''
every thing fucceeds happily, and as they wifh ; becaufe it
was of old a vulgar opinion that they who faw that goat,"
who was the nurfe of Jupiter, and on that account was
made a conftellation, obtained whatever they defired.
Erasmus'. fhall

EPISTLES OF LIBANIUS. 319
fliall glory in what has been written and will be
given by you, for each of us is honoured by each
of thefe.
But now it may divert you to hear how Arifto
phanes has been terrified. One of your ufual
evening-attendants informed us that, on coming to
your door, he was refufed admittance, becaufe he
Was told, you were bufy in compofing an oration.
This immediately occafioned an apprehenfion that
you had determined to controvert my oration *,
and confute your preceptor, and would thus over
whelm Ariftophanes like the Nile -f. We haftened
therefore to the excellent Elpidius, who, on hear*
ing the caufe of our alarm, burft into a loud
laughter. Thus we recovered our fpirits, and fooa
after I received your elegant epiftle |.
* Libanius means the oration, which he, who had for
merly been the preceptor of Julian, had fpoken for Arif
tophanes. Wolfius.
f Alluding, I imagine, to the inundation of the Nile,
and, at the fame time, to the torrent of Julian's eloquence,
which might ovef-power Ariftophanes. Thus Suidas
afcribes to Chryfoftom 44 cataracts like thofe of the Nile,'*"
and Tzetzes mentions 4' Nile-like floods," both applied to'
eloquence. See p. 305. Ibid,
X This Epiftle of Julian to Libanius is here fubjoined int
a note, by Wolfius, from Fabricius. But I have added mjf
tsanflation of it to his other Epiftles in Vol. IL

E P I S T t

32o EPISTLES OF LIBANIUS.

A.D.
36..

EPISTLE IX. *
HO W much foever I condemned that journey
(fatiguing as it was) f, I no lefs, or rather
more, condemned myfelf for returning fo foon,
inftead of going to the place appointed, and
there indulging my eyes, the next morning, at
fun-rifing, with the fight of his divine vifage.
And fo unfortunate is the city, that fhe cou'd not
afford me the leaft confolation. I ftyle her un
fortunate, not on account of the dearth of pro-
vifions, but becaufe fhe has been and is adjudged
wicked, invidious, and ungrateful j by him whofe
prudence
* To the name lafoatu, Aulox^oloji (44 Emperor,") is pre
fixed in two MSS. And in another, tu r^io-Kala^dlu (44 moft
44 execrable,") is annexed to it. Wolfius.
In the edition of Wolfius it is the occxnth. It is alio
one of thofe preferved in Latin by Zambicari.
f What fatiguing and fruitlefs journey Libanius had
taken, does not appear. Perhaps it was to Mount Caflius,
(fee the Mifopogon, p. 282.) where Jupiter had a temple,
fifteen miles, or a day's journey, from Antioch, which,
however, Julian performed feveral times during his re-
fidence in that city. For 44 from thence," fays Ammi
anus, (xxn. 14.) 44 at the fecond cock-crowing, is firft
44 feen the riling of the fun."
X Meaning Antioch, at that time not only afflicted with
famine, but expofed to the refentment of the Emperor for
difregarding his edict for lowering the price of provifions,
and not abllaining from farcafms on himfelf. This appears
from the embafly (¦xgtaGtv\txoi) our author fent to Julian for
the

EP'ISTL'ES-O F LIB A N I U S. 321
prudence' filrpafTes his dominions, extenfive as they
are. While Alcimus * was with me, I had one
who would hear with indulgence my fl l.-reproaches
arid my 'b'oafts of the dlftihction fhewn me by you.
But after his departure, confidering the cieling as
my only friend, I looked Up to' it, as l.hy in niy
bed, arid faid, " Now the Emperor fent for me :
u now I entered and fit down (for that he allowed
" me); how 1 pleaded for the city, as I was per-
" mitte'd to intercede with him for thofe who
" had offehded him." But he prevailed, fo juft
" was his charge, and" fa powerful his elocution.
" And though I oppofed him, I was neither dif-
'"' liked, -no'r ejected.*' With this banquet I regale
myfelf, and I intreat the Gods, firft, that they will
give you the fuperiority over your enemies, and,
fecond iy, that they will render you as propitious
to us as you were formerly. I have alfo a third
petition, which they have heard, but I will not
here mention. I ought not, howevef, even to
have faid that I will not mention, it. For you are
ingenious enough to conjecture this third article
from my wifhing to conceal what I wifh. And, in-
the Antiochians, which is in the fecond volume of his works,
p. 151, and alfo from his oration to the Antiochians de Im-
pcratoris ird, which, before unpubliflied, our learned Fabri
cius has inferted in his Bibliotheca Gra;ca, vol. VII. p. 207,
Wolfius,
See alfo the Mifopogon, p. 296, &c.
* A native of Nicomedia, and a man tf learning, as
appears from feveral letters addreffed to him by Libanius.
Vol. I. Y deed,

324 EPISTLES OF^LIBANIUS,
deed, I apprehend that the contrary will be your
choice *?.
Now then pafs the rivers ; rufh on the archers f
more impetuoufly than a torrent ; and after
wards think on what you faid you "would think.
But fail not to folace me, in your abfence, as
much as you can. I, for my, part, will fend
epiftles to extort your anfwers from the midft of
the battle, as I am convinced that you have a
genius that can at once command an army, fight
an enemy, and correfpond with a friend. I am fo
infirm, that I am obliged to hear what I ought to
fee. Happy is Seleucus J in this glorious fight,
and in preferring the honour of ferving fuch a
prince to that which he .derives from a good wife,
and a moft beloved daughter !
• I fhould underfland this of marriage, to which Julian
was averfe. Woifiuj.
f Meaning the Perfians, Julian being then engaged in
that expedition. Ibid.
% Seleucus has been mentioned in Epiftle VI. p. 315;,

EPISTLE

EPISTL'ES OF LIBANIUS. 323

EPISTLE X. *
rT"* H AT Alexander f was appointed to the go- A D-
-*• vernmentj it firft, I confefs, gave me fome 363
iconcerni as the principal pgrfbns' among us were
diffatisfied. I thought it difhofiourable, inju
rious, and unbecoming a prince; and that re
peated mulcts would rather weakeri than improve
the city.; But now tht good effects of this feverity
are fb mantreft; that I recant J. For they, who for
merly bathed and flept at rioon, now, imitating the
* This, in the edition qf Wolfius, is the Dcxxud.
f This is the Alexander of whom Ammianus fays, (xxur.
a.) ,4 When Julian was going to leave Antioch, he made
** one Alexarider of Heliopolis governor of Syria, a tur-
44 bulent and fevere man, faying, that 4 undeferving as he
4 was, fuch a ruler fuited the avaricious and contu-
* melious Antiochians." Confult Valois on that . paffage,
who refers to this Epiftle, then unpublifhed. Wolfius.
See the Mifopogon, p. 302. note f .
% Aim irufovaim*. This proverb is taken from a tranf-
action of St.efichorus, the Lyric poet, mentioned by Plato
jn his Phsedrus, For having flandered Helen, in a poem, he
was deprived of his eye-fight ; but Achilles, by her defire,
as Paufanias relates, in his Laconica, having acquainted
him with the caufe of his blindnefs, he immediately fung a re
cantation, by praifing Helen, whom before Ke had cenfured ;
and thus he recovered his fight. Socrates fays, in joke, that
** he wifhes to imitate him, and would rather fing a recan-
" tation in favour of love, which he had blamed, thao
44 lofe his eyes," Erasmus.
Y 2 manners

324 E P I ST LE; S 0 R L IBjA. N I US.
manners of the Lacedaemonians *, labour inde*
fatigably not only in the day-time, but no fmall
part of the night, nailed, as it were, to the gate of
Alexander. And when be glamours from within,
every thing is inftantly in motion. Thus the
fword will, never be wanted, fince his threats ajpne
ate fufficient to render, the ; impudent modeif, and
the flothfulinduftriou4}. [Calliope is alfq honouredj
agreeably to your wifhes..,+,L,not only^by horfe-
-races, but theatrical exhibitions; and facrifices are
offered to that Goddefs in. the; theatre,- without; our
making the; leaft alteration. , Loud;^ applaufe js
given, andamidft this applaufe -¦ the -.GjadjS, are in
voked. With this applaufevthe governqr rfeenis
fo delighted, that he urges many more to add to
it. Of fuch importance, -O'prinee, to mankind is
divination };, .as it teaches every one the bef'ft1 man
ner of governing, a family, a, city, a, nation,, arid
a 'kingdom;' - h'> -
* For the Lacedemonians wererf*r from being, delicate.
Hence arofe the proverb, AaxukKut inirmiy (44 to fup Lace-
.dxmonially,") on which fee Erafm'us, p-s 268. Wolfius,
f This, muft probably be ironies], as Julian was far fr°m
being a favourer, «e frequenter, of the circus', or the
theatre." > See the Mjfopo'gon. pp. 232, 261, and 268,,"' ":
, X Libanius here flatters Julian, as if he had learned by
divination that Alexander was fupha one as ought to govern
Syria and the. Antiochians. < Wolf.ijj's,

EPISTLE

ETISTLES QF LIBANIUS. - 325

~J*U

E PI S T h E XI.

/"\N all accounts' I was plea-fed to fee Ablavius'f^
*^— ' but principally beeaufe; he brought me a
letter from you. ":For fooner-than blame you I
fliould deteft myfelf :; fuch has been ybur attention
to the promotion • of my intereft; 'amidft this" te
dious war, "which you' could hot have: beefij if ; any
one had fpoken to my difttdvantage. ¦ In Teem
ing to laugh, and ifl pardoning thofe whoy in order
to flatter one, calumniate another, you acted like
yourfelf. Flattery is their trade^aod as neceffary
to their fnbfiftehce as rowing is to "that of failors.
-That frge, witb,£ifrhofe morals A'blavius acquainted
.me,: though he wootd notdifclofe his name, gave
me no concern /on; any account, this only excepted,
thjft in. rhentiooingme he was guilty of a foleeifm ;
*:aridQ, though guilty of no offence, was fent by him
"among the Barbarians.'];-. .. Inform, him of this, arid
caution him -to avoid fuch miftakes for the future ;
he may then, if 'he pleafes, fpeak evilof me, for
then, at leaft, he will not fpeak ill §.£ But -this
.'-¦;. ". r; ;;, <,. ¦-.•jC • .'jTnrii
* This, in the edition of Wolfius, is the MXxxyth.
-j- Libanius has two Epiftles to Ablavius, by which it
appears that he was an orator. r - -. ;:• <r -.
X Libanius Tidicule$-"the man, by whofe fpeaking bar-
baroufly"of him, he himfelf was, as it were, made a'Bar-
barian. Wolfius.
'§ This play on the words \tyat xaxus, and «{« xaxn;, I have
endeavoured to retain in Englifli, by the equivocal meaning
of 44 evil" and 44 ill," as applied to (lander and to language.
-' «-i .-.r-v, man

'3*6 ' EPISTLES OF LIBANIUS1.
man is unalterable *. If, however, by his ca
lumnies he fliould ftill offend you, and you wifh
to punifh him, you eafily may, by confining him
to his houfe^ in an afternoon, and obliging him
to fup at home; and when he again grows
infolent, through repletion, and drinks your own
wine agaipft you ;-f-, you need, only repeat, that
guniftirncnt ; you, cannot inflift a greater. This
will effectually,, curb bis .licentious; tongue ; but,
whatever be his name, let rrte know it, that, when
I write his elogium, it may not, be anonymous. ,
'J^'l! bs:j.. ' ,"iV',~ . } -
7;f:inKST L'i xn. t
A- p.- 1 LAS! alas ! how infat'ia&teiis your defire, of
"*• -^ * farther attainments! YtHr poffefs the palm
of eloquence, {hatched from others, at once
" A matchlefs prin.ce. and a^ioft potent fage §.
'•' >3 :':: •<¦•¦• ¦ - ' Other
* Tr^itoi, in <§ree1t,ufual!y figttifies 4S firm, immoveable."
I underitanri, therefore, this paffage of a man who cannot
be changed, but always remains the fame. Wolfius,
-f rii»« t'ov <rot oivou ualee 6-a, It' fliould' feehft by this paffage,
that it was riuflbmary to drink health; ot confufion, in
thofe times as it is in ours.
X In the edition of Wolfius this is the Mcxxvth,;
In allufion to Homer. Iliad III. i?8f ,
Afi^liligot #a«-i*,£i>j t' wyaSoj, xjolegn? t «i^urfln?.
Great in the war, and great in arts of fway. Pope, 136,
That Libanius here did not flatter Julian, in praifing
him for his eldquence, his orations and epiftles ftill extant
atteft. To which may be added what Spanheim fays in
his preface to the works of Julian, c. 2. 44 Among the
•4 Emperors his predeceffors, or thofe who followed him
, 44 in

EPISTLES OF LIBANIUS. 327
Other princes have adted, and we applauded ; but
you excell in both thofe capacities. For how can
we fpeak fo highly in commendation of your
actions as you do of that fhort letter * ? Hence I
conjecture what you will do, when you have fub
dued Phoenicia -\", as already you adminifter
juftice to your fubje&s, wage war with, the Bar
barians, and in the compofition of orationsfar exceed
the common rank. Though I am not folicitous as
to the future, I fhall be as much pleafed with this
{laughter as with a victory. For when the van
quifhed and, the victor are friends, the vanquifhed
haf a fhare in the triumph j as friends, it is faid,
have all things common J,
44 in the fame exalted flation, I cannot fee any, who as to the
" extent, or copioufoefs, of their learning, or the bright -
" nefs of their genius, or the power of their eloquence,
" can in thofe arts, and in the talent of writing, conteir
44 with him the fuperiority." Libanius bellows a fimilar
elogium on Julian in his own Life, p. 41. fty-ling him 44 the
44 moft temperate, the moft oratorical, and the moft war-
" like." Wolfius.
* Julian alfo highly commended other orations of Li
banius. See on' this fubject the remarkable Epiftle of
Julian, before unpublished, mentioned in p. 317. now the
[LXVIIIth.] Ibid.
f I fhould uoderftand this of the orators of Phoenicia. Ibid.
X Koi,« 7«f , p ««¦», t« t«» p\m. This proverb is -quoted
by Euripides in bis Oreftes, in the fame words. See the
Chiliades of Erafmus [p. 13.] and Gregory Nazianz. Ep.
LXIV. Ibid.
44 No proverb," fays Erafmus, " is more falutary, or
J5 more celebrated, than this."

EPISTLE

$Sfe E P PS T L E S' OF L I B A N I U S,

EPISTLE XIII. *
Y^l EMELLUS -f is my felatiori and my friend1,
^-^ and by his manners is no difgrace to his
family. If he had been poffeffed of money and
a large eftate, he would long ago have been em
ployed on fome public function. But as his for
tune is fmall, he has, by my advice, taken a
method which may exempt him from tears arid
chains, the ufual attendants of thofe whom pub
lic employments have reduced to poverty.
Happy he is in difcliarging this office under 'your
infpedtion ; as you never fail to reprobate injuftice,
and to honour what is juft and equitable. Marry
there are who look upon juftice and equity as
meannefs, and accordingly defpife them. But far
different is your conduct ; for you were well born,
and well inftructed, and therefore glory more in
being virtuous than in the numerous nations which
you govern. Of this Gemellus has proofs ; and,
that he may have more, let him be obliged for
1 thofe to you, but for thefe to me. For if he
fliould receive any greater- favours in confequence
of my letter, he will certainly be indebted for
tliem to my advice. ' --
* In the edition of Wolftus thjs^is the Mcccxciv'th.
,+ To this Gemellus Libanius has feveral epiftles.
EPISTLE

EPISTLES OF LIBANIUS. 325

EPISTLE XIV. *
TT T E have made a mutual agreement, that t
* * fhould write to you in behalf of my
friends, and that if their requefts are reafonable,
you will aflift them. Of your afliftance let this
Hyperechius -j~ firft reap the advantage. He
has long been harraffed and oppreffed by thofe
whdfe chief ftudy is unjuft gain. He was one of
my fcholars in my former profperity. Such I
deem the time of my refidence at Nicomedia X >
not on account of the wealth, but of the excel
lent friends, that it procured me> many of whom
are no more. This man, whofe hopes now reft on
you, then came from Ancyra §. In eloquence,*
none excelled him ; in manners, none equalled him. I
love him therefore with a parental affections I can
not fee him injured without aflifting him myfelf;
and urging others to aflift him alfo. And if in this
you think that I act no bad part, fhew by your
deeds that you approve my conduct.
* Iri the edition of Wolfius this is the MCcccxcth.
-j- Ail orator, the fon of Maximus, a native Of Galatia,
Libanius has addreffed feveral epiftles to him.
t.,Our author affirms, in his Life, p. 21, that he fpent
five years with pleafure af Nicomediaj and calls that time
41 the fpring of his lifei" Wolfius;
§ The fame city vifhich Libanius, in his xxv-ith oration,
p. 599, ftyles 44 the grin<?ipal.and 1-a.r.geft city iri Galatia." Ibid',
Vol. L Z EPISTLE

33° EPISTLES OF LIBANIUS.

EPISTLE XV.

A. d. ' I ^ HE oration f, which contains fome account of
-*¦ your glorious actions, you honour not only
with praife, but admiration. And as you are
ranked among the learned, you maintain, I am
told, that Demofthenes could not have written
more forcibly, Socrates more agreeably, or Plato
more copioufly, on the occafion. You affirm alfo,
that greater glory will redound to you from my
writings, than from the fortunate event of your
actions. My opinion is far different. For though,
with my moft ftudious and elaborate endeavours,
I ftrove to exalt your name ; yet, as my ftrength
was unequal to fuch a weight, what I performed
I performed with great pleafure. But fo brilliant
are your .praifes, that the rudeft genius may feem
* This is the md of the nd book of the Epiftles of
Libanius, collected in Greece by Francifco Zambicari of
Bologna, and publifhed, in his Latin tranflation only by John
Somerfeld, at Cracow, 1504. It is alfo inferred by Fa
bricius, in his Bibliotheca Grsca, vol. VII. p. 39a.
f His rifoinpamVo;, or panegyrical addrefs to Julian, when
he was at Antioch, juft before he fit out on his Perfian
expedition. It is the Vth in the lid Vol. of the works
of this Sophift, publifhed by Morell. How agreeable it
was to the Emperor Libanius mentions in an Epiftle to
C-elfos [the DcxLYinthJ, as well as in the above, ^v
Fabricius.
x fuffi-'

EPIST LES OF LIB ANIUS. 331
fufficiently decorated by the dignity of the fub
ject:. Your actions therefore were the nobleft
ornaments of my oration. And though I attempted
to illuftrate thofe actions which in their own nature ,
were moft fplendid, I rather illuftrated myfelf.
So- that you have no caufe to return me thanks,
or to think that they are due to me. But that I
may acquire fuch a fplendor by recording your
exploits, whatever fuccefs may attend you in fu
ture fail not to communicate to me by a letter*

EPISTLE XVI. *
|" C A N fcarce believe that, than which nothing
¦*¦ can be more certain. Departing from you,
iri obedience to your order, and on an urgent
occafion, I am both willingly and unwillingly
abfent from you. For I think I could be fooner
negligent of my fife than of your commands.
Any labours, however great, feem trifles ; however
fmall, when defired to undertake them for you, I
have been ufed to think them fweeter than ambrofia.
To this it is owing, that, were you to command me,
I would depart not only from you, but from myfelf.
But as I confider you as my deity, without you
nothing feems pleafing. Ycu conftantly occur to
my mind ; whatever I hear repeats the voice of
* This alfo is publifhed only in Latin by Zambicari.
It is the XtVth of his lid book.
0 Julian j

35* EPISTLES OF LIBANIUS.
Julian ; whatever I fee reflects the image of my
venerable deity. And when a fweet flumber re*
frefhes my languid limbs, you feem fo prefent td
me, that, by the kindnefs of the immortal Gods,
fepatated and loofed from the body, my miild
feems to fly to you, to embrace, accoft, irt fhort, to
worfliip you; fo that if I were to be deprived of
life, I would wifh that to be my laft day. Farther,
that I may no longer be thus tormented* I intreat
you to give me your permiflion to return td you,
and in your prefence to adore your deity, which
abfent I at once admire and venerate* If not,
as by your indulgence it may be effected*. I could
eafily confent to be banifhed, not only from the
city I fo much love, but alfo from the world *.
* In the Latifij non modi interdict mihi optatijtma »rif*
fedipfd etiam urbe facile patiar— which I do not underftandi
Perhaps ipfa urbe fhould be ipfo orbe, I have ventured f»
to tranflate iu

4k*1f Thefe are all the Epiftles of Libanius to the Emperor
that are extant. Of the others addreffed to Julian
(of which there are ten more), one is to his uncle the
Count of the Eaft, and the reft to fome other perfon,
or perfons* of the fame name*

INDEX.

333

INDEX T O
VOLUME I.

A. Page
AB ANTES, a people of Greece 290
¦*¦* Acharnians, a tribe of Athens 2C9 (note)
- a comedy of Ariftophanes ibid.

Adonis, gardens of 202
JEmilian, Emperor, omitted by Julian in the Ca:fars 165 (note)
JEfchylus, quotation from 139 (note) imitated 198
AStius, an Arian bifliop, duped by Julian 3 (note)
Africanus, fate of 70 (note)
Agrippina (Cologne) retaken by Julian S4
Alceeus, the poet 223, 4 (note)
Alexander the Great 11, 50, 51, 183, 187, 203, &c.
 Severus, Emperor 163
¦ - — governor of Syria 302 (note) 323
Allegorical Fable xxxi. 105
Amphiaraus, his modefty 138
Anacreon, the poet 223, 4. quotation from 291. ac
count of his fuppofed poems ibid, (note)
Anaxagoras, the philofopher 21. 41. 42. 44.
Andragathius, recommended to Julian by Libanius 309
Antinous, his deification 159 (note)
Antioch, inhabitants of, their character and manners.
See the whole Mifopogon
Antiochus gives his name to Antioch. Hiftory of his
marriage 251, 252
Antift henes, the philofopher 20. 34
Vol. I. A a Antoninus,

334

INDEX.
Antoninus, Pius, Emperor 160
 Philofophus (fee Marcus Aurelius)
Antony, Mark 191. 194
Apollo, his feftival ill celebrated at Daphne 283. Com
plaints and reproaches of Julian on that fubject ibid.
Araxius and Areta, friends of Julian 14
Archilochus, the piet, reprobated by Julian 131. 224
Areas, a friend of Auguftus 25, 26. 193
Ariftidcs, the Juft 61, 62
Arifiophancs, the poet, imitation of 167
¦  of Corinth, defended by Libanius 317
Ariftotle, his thoughts on fovereignty 16. his definition
of law 17. his work on the nature of God 24
Athenians, Epiftle to the xvi 1. 59. What Julian thought
of them 253
Athenodorus. A bold action of that philofopher 193 (note)
Auguflus (fee Octavianus)
Aurelian, Emperor (mifprinted Aurelius) 168
Autolycus, equivocal elogium on, by Homer 254 (note)
•  a roguifh pedlar in Shakfpeare Hid.
B.
Babylas, bifliop of Antioch, his corpfe removed 247 (note)
Balbinus, Emperor, omitted in the Cxfars 165 (note)
Bajilina, the mother of Julian 264
Beer, verfes againft, by Julian 2-7 (note)
Berenice, queen. Her wifdom at leaft equivocal 150 (note)
injured the reputation of Titus ibid.
Bleterie, Abbe de la, account of his Life of Julian,
and Hiftory of Jovian v. tranflation of the for
mer vi. his account of the works of Julian ix.
Byzantium. The crefcent was from all antiquity its
arms 200 (note)
C.
Cafar Julius, difputes before the Gods againft Ale
xander ' 183
Cafars. Elogium on that work xxiii 146 (note)
Caligula, Emperor 15,
CaUiftbenes, the philofopher 34
Caracalla, Emperor 163
'Carus,

INDEX.
Carus, Emperor, and his fons 170
Cato of Utica 9, elogium on 273
what happened to him at Antioch ibid.
Chamavians reduced by Julian 87
Charity enforced 122. 142
Charmides, a beautiful Athenian 38
Chriftianity is revenged by the ridiculous opinions of
thofe who attack it xvni. The obligations which
unbelievers have to it 22 (note) does not favour
the corruptions of mankind, whatever the Pagans
may fay 218 (note)
Chyfippus, a Stoic philofopher 8. 133
Claudius!. Emperor 153
 II. 167, 220
Cnodomar, king, taken prifoner by Julian 85
Coins of Julian 277, 8 (note)
Commodus, Emperor 161. 2:0
Conflans, Emperor 105 (note)
Cenfiantine the Great, harangues before the Gods 105. 199.
201. 213. 215
•  the Younger 105 (note)
Conftantius-Chlorus, the grandfather of Julian 172
Conftantius, Emperor. Julian writes to him 54.
his cruelties 63, 64. his death 1.04 {note)
Cotylift, a kind of juggler 276 (note)
Crifpus, Caefar, fon of Conftantine the Great 216
put to death by his father ibid, (note
Curia. What it was 294 (note)
Curiales. Their functions ibid.
Cyril, of Alexandria, St. His books againft Julian
account of, xxi, D.
Dalmatius, brother of Conftantine 63 (note) 106 (note)
 nephew of Conftantine ibid,
Damophilus, a compiler, ridiculed by Julian 274
Daphne, the burning of its temple 248 (note) the
fuburb of defcribed 2?2
Demetrius, a freed-man of Pompey 274
Democritus, the philofopher ? r
Didymaan oracle quoted J2 7" *3°
Diocletian, Emperor I7I
Dion Siculus 9
A a z Demintu,

336 INDEX.
Sominus. What emperors refufed to take that title
239 (note)
Domitian, Emperor JS6
Duties of a prieft 1 1 8 , &c.
Dynamius, an informer 71
E.
Elagabalus, Emperor 163
Elpidius, his praifes 306
Emefa, the inhabitants of, burn the Chriftian churches 272
the Antiochians afcribe to' them the libels which
they made againft Julian ibid, (note)
Epidletus, a Gallic bifhop, fent to Julian by Conftantius 101
Epicurus, his advice controverted 8
his tenets exploded 134
Epifiles of Julian, account of xxxi
—— — XVI of Libanius to Julian 303, &c.
Erafiftratus. How he knew the malady of Antiochus 251
Euemerus. the librarian of Julian 78
Euripides, quotations ftom 139 (note) 166. 205. 240 (note)
Eufebia, Emprefs. Her kindnefs to Julian 69.71.75
Eufebius, chamberlain to Conftantius 68. 71. 263 (note)
Eutropius, the great grandfather of Julian 253 (note)
F.
Faufla, the wife of Conftantine, deftroys Crifpus by her
calumnies, and perifhes herfelf 216 (note)
Florentius, prasfect of Gaul 87
His inveteracy againft Julian 92
Florian, Emperor, juftly omitted in the Carfare 169 (note)
Fragment, a long account of 17. 118 (note)
Friends, fix, of Julian, their conduct and characteriftic 267
their names Ibid, (note)
G.
Galba, Emperor ier
Galileans, a term of reproach 133 (note)
Gallicifms military 89 (note)
Gallienus, Emperor 166
Gallus,

INDEX. 337
Page
Gallus, Csefar, writes to.his brother Julian i. Account
of him ibid. (note). What his Chriftianity
was 4. (note). His cataftrophe 65. 68. Ocea-
fions a. fedition at Antioch 300 (note)
— — . Emperor, omitted in the Caefars 165 (hote)
(omitted alfo by miftake in this page)
Gaudentius, an informer 70. 92
Gauls, elogium on by Julian 275
Adventure of a Cappadocian at the court of one
of their kings 276
Gemellus, a relation and friend of Libanius . 328
Geta, Emperor 163
Gods. The licentioufnefs with which the comic poets
treated them 292
Gordians (the three) Emperors, omitted in the Cjefars f6$ (note)
Gregory Nazianzen, his poems commended 225 (note)
H.
Hadrian, Emperor 158. Compared with Julian ibid, (note)
Hannibalianus, nephew of Conftantine 63 (note) 106 (note)
Helena, wife of Julian 97. 106 (note) 108 (note)
Heraclius, a Cynic. Julian addreffes a difcourfe to him xiii
Hefiod, quotation from 4°
Hipponax, the poet, reprobated by Julian 132
Homer, often quoted by Julian at random 3 (note) 35 (note)
242 (note), paffages from him 3. 10. 15. 20. 32. 35.
(note) 39. 44. 46. 48. 49. 50. 53. 78. (note) no.
m. 121. (note) 139. (note) 148, 149. 210. 237.
241. (note) 242,243. 251. 253,254. 262. 305. (note)
325- ,
Humourift of Menander 23d
Hunting-matches in the theatres H1
Hymettus, mountain 33
Hyperechius, a Galatian, recommended to Julian by
Libanius 329
I. and J.
Ifmenias, a player on the flute. A faying which Julian
afcribes to hina z2°
Aa4 Julian,

338 I N D E X. Pags
Julian, Emperor* LaBleterie's opinion and character
of all his works, ix. Annals of his life, xxxv.
his pedigree, xx. confined in Cappadocia, 65. de
clared Csefar, 77. fent into Gaul, 79. his firft cam
paign, 80. recovers Agrippina, 84. takes king
Cnodomar prifoner, 85. his fecond and third
campaigns, 86. declared Auguftus, 55. 98. his
|iropofals to Conftantius, 56. acknowledges God's
providence, In. is initiated at Ephefus, 113.
(note) his temperance, 140. (note) writes verfes,
22$. '{note) his ftrange picture of himfelf, 228.
his rigid life, 231. hates the circus and the
theatre, 232. his danger at Paris, 236. cannot
endure to be called Lord, 239. quotes Homer
improperly, 242. (note) was he fo chafte as is
faid ? 244. (note) accufed of having fubverted the
world, 277. expoftulates with the fenate of An
tioch, 283. makes his apology on account of the
famine in that city, 296. his commentaries, 88.
(note) 306. his excellence both in arms and ora
tory 307. 309, 310. 327
Julian, Count, uncle to the Emperor 232. 250
Julius Conftantius, the father of Julian 63 (note)
Jupiter Philius 249
.  Caflius 282
K.
Knights of Ariftophanes 1-3
L.
Laws, Roman, againft defamatory libels 224
Libanius, the fophift ; his picture of Julian's manner
of life, 232 (note), his Epiftles to Julian 303. his
character ibid. (note), his panegyric on Julian
praifed by that prince 330
Lice, a remarkable paffage concerning 229
Licinius, Emperor 174,
vanquifhed by Conftantine 199
Logos of Plato. What it was xi
Lucian, quotation from 182
Lucius Verus, Emperor 160
1 Luphinm,

INDEX. Page
Lupicinus, a general in Gaul 89. 93. fent to Britain 89 (note) 94
Lutetia, or Paris. Its fituation and climate 234.
Mr. Gibbon's encomium on it 234. (note) cen
fured by Mr. Knox ib. Julian is in danger of
loling his life there, 236
Luxury, deified by Julian 216
Lycurgus, the lawgiver of Sparta 6
M.
Macedonius, recommended to Julian by Libanius 315
Macrinus, Emperor 163
Magnentius the tyrant 175. Refemblance of that prince
and Julian ibid, (note)
Maiuma, the feftival, hiftory of 284 (note)
Marcellus, a general in Gaul, 81. 91. his perfidy 61
Marcus Aurelius, Emperor 160. 198. blamed for his
conduct towards his wife and fon 161. 210 (note)
Mardonius, an eunuch, the governor of Julian 73. 261
Marriages between coufin-germans exploded 108
Maxentius, the tyrant 174. (note) 199
Maximian-Hercul'ms, Emperor 172 (note)
 Galerius, Emperor ibid.
Maximin I. Emperor 165
II. furnamed Da'ia 174 (note)
Mifopogon, account of xxix. 223 (note). The meaning
of that word ibid, when Julian compofed that
fatire 241 (note) 263 (note)
llonths, Macedonian and Roman 248 (note) 281 (note)
Mufonius, a Roman knight and Stoic philofopher, ill-
treated by Nero 25 (note)
Mycon, ifland of, 257 (note)

339

N.

Nebridius, prefect of Gaul, his refolution

94 (note)

Nepenthes, drug

32

Nero, Emperor

J54

Nerva, Emperor

JS7

Nicolaus, of Damafcus, a philofopher

2S

Nicomedia, city of, deftroyed by an earthquake

304

grief of Julian

305

Ollavi.

340 INDEX.

O. Page
O^avianus (or Auguftus) Emperor 150. harangues
before the Gods 192
Oration, A confolatory xx. 30
Orations of Julian, account of 10
Organ, verfes on , by Julian 225 (note)
Gribafius, the pbyfician of Julian 78
Orphic life 358 (note)
Otho, Emperor 155
P.
Palace of the baths at Paris 97 (note)
Paul, a flanderer 92
Pentadius, his innovations ibid.
Pericles, his friendfhip for Anaxagoras 41. a fuppofed
fpeech of 42, &c.
Pertinax, Emperor 162
Petau, Dionyfius, his Latin tranflation of Julian via.
an account of him ibid, (note)
Phadcians, the idea which Homer gives of them 237
inhabitants of the ifland now called Corfu ibid, (note)
Philanthropy recommended 1 26
Philips (the two) Emperors, omitted in the Csefars 165 <r.ote)
Philofophy incapable of reftoring mankind 22 (note)
Phoenicia, her praifes of Julian 308
Pindar, quotation from 298
Pittacus, one of the wife men of Greece 6
Plato, quotations from n, 12. 37. 266. 318 (note)
Plutarch, an extract from 274
Polemo, the philofopher 34
Pompeianus, fon-in-'aw of Marcus Aurelius ior
Priefts fhould be honoured 125. how they fhould act 126
Probus, Emperor 169
Prujia, king of, compared wifh Julian 158 (note)
Pupienus, Emperor, omitted in the Casfars 165 (note)
Pyrrho, his tenets exploded by Julian 134
Pythagoras, the philofopher 21. 40, 41. 51. 133, a
laying of 4.0
gjii/itillus,

INDEX. 341

CL. Page
Quhttillus, Emperor, omitted in the C^fars 168 (note)
Quirinus (fee Romulus) R.
Repentance deified by Julian 192
Rhine, pafled by Julian thrice 88
a fourth and fifth time 102 (note)
Rodney Lord, his pious magnanimity 29 (note)
Romulus (or Quirinus) his banquet 148
S
Salians, furprifed by Julian 87
Sttlluft, oration on his departure 15. 30 (note) his virtues
recalled 37. 91, 92
. — the fecond, prefect of the Eaft 31 (note)
Saturnalia, account of 146 (note)
Scipio Africanus, his friendfhip with La?lius 39. 41
Seleucus Nicator, the founder of Antioch 251
Severus, Emperor 162
Simonides, the poet, an expreffion of 208
Socrates withdrew from the bar many indifferent orators 3
preferred to Alexander 21. incapable ot reforming
mankind 22 (note) Daemon of 47. Mr. Nares's
idea of it ibid, (note)
Solon, one of the wife men of Greece 6. 18. 2:7
Sophocles quoted 306
Soul, immortality of, inculcated by Julian 117
believed by all nations 196 (note)
Spanheim Ezekiel, account of vm (note) Character of
his tranflation of the Csefars >n. xxvm.
Strafburgh, battle of ' 8q
Stratonice, the wife of Seleucus, marries her fon-in-law 252
Sylvanus, revolt of 71, 72. (note)
T.
Table of the Emperors from Julius Caefar to Julian 222
Tacitus, Emperor, omitted in the Csefars 169 (note)
Tarentines, puniflied by the Romans for infulting their
ambaffadors 269
Taurus, prefect of Italy, banifhed 101 (note)
7 Themiftius,

34* INDEX.
Themiftius, Epiftle to, account of xxxir. 4 (note) a
fenator of Conftantinople 56 (not*)
Theocritus, quotation from 229
Theognis, the poet, his maxims 256
Theophraftus, the philofopher 266
Thrafyhon of Menander 256 (note)
Thrafyllus, the philofopher 25-9
Tiberius, Emperor 15,2
TiUemont M. de, underftands too- rigoroufly an expreffion
of Julian 245 (note)
Titus, Emperor, too harfhly treated by Julian 156 (note)
Juftified, ibid.
Trajan, Emperor 157. harangues before the Gods 195
 Decius, Emperor, omitted in the Csefars 165 (note)
Translations of Julian by La Bleterie v. Petau vni
Spanheim vm. xxviii. V.
Vefpafian, Emperor 155
Findcx C. Julius. Julian feems to reckon him among
the Emperors 155. Rebells againft Nero ibid, (note)
Vticllius, Emperor 15,5
W.
Walpole Mr. his elogium on Roufhaim 280 (note)
Warbun'on Bifliop, compares a paffage of Pope to
one of Julian 274 (note)

z.

Zamolxis, his incantations 38. 152.

his doctrine 196

Zeno, the philofopher

39. 133. 151

End of the First Volumf.

The Tranflator's diftance from the prefs, he is forrv to
find, has occafioned the following ERRATA.

Page
v. 1. 3. r. ' Juliet
xxvn. 1. n.r. * refponfible'
xxxi. note f 1. 1. for
' LXXI' r. ' LXXX.'
xxxvu. L3.fr. the bottom,
r. 360.'

2.

1.

2. r.

anceftors'

7. note fl. pen. after 'ap-
prehenfion', put a comma
so. notefl. i.r. ' afterifks'
note § 1. 1. r. amtvla
§ 2. r. i*
note || 1. 1. r. «»9pa!»»
xiKtvat
note * r. smiroj*
note X 1- 4- r- ' Critias
here fays'
note §. After ' Qto^tXri
put a full flop
note f 1. penult, r.
4 opening of

*317,
20, 38,
49. 93

Page 143. note f 1. 14. r. ' rpiso*
16$. note 1. 16. after ' Tra-
jAN-DEcius'add « Gallus"
16S. 1. 5. r. * Aurelian'
195. note 1. 5. r. * Dion-
Chryfoftom'
197. 1. 7. For* with' r. ' by'
224. note X !• 2. r. ' p&.n.'
227. note 1. 6. fr. the bot
tom, r. * pa. yaii
— 1. 9. fr. the bot
tom r. ' wine'
243. is mifpaged
247. note * 1. 4. r. ' Tv^ns
248. note X '• «&¦ r- ' Lous''
304. note J 1. i.r.' Bithynia'
312. note * I. 3. r. ' Wolfius*
317. note J 1. 2. dele ' or laft,'
3*3. I. 3. For ' it' r. ' at'
— note * r. Moccxxud.
328. 1. 6. For * an'r. iii.

THE WORKS
OFT HE
EMPEROR JULIAN,
AND
SOME PIECES
OF THE
SOPHIST LIBANIUS,
TRANSLATED FROM THE GREEK.
WITH "v.
Notes from PETAU, La BLETERIE, GIBBON, &c,
TO WHICH IS ADDED,
The HISTORY of the EMPEROR JOVIAN
From the French of the Abbe De la Bleterie.
By JOHN DUNCOMBE, M. A.
IN TWO' VOLUMES.
THIRD EDITION CORRECTED.
Him Poefy, Philofophy, deplore,
The fcepter'd Patriot, who diftinitions wav'd,
Lord of himfelf, by Pagan rites enflav'd ;
Whom all, but Chriftians, held their common friend,
Whofe very errors had a virtuous end.  Irwin.
VOLUME THE SECOND.
LONDON,
Printed for T. C A D E L L, in the STRAND.
17Q8.

[ iii ]

CONTENTS QF V P L, II.
Epiftles of Julian i
The Life of Libanius the Sophift, by Fa
bricius - ib
A^ Monody, by Libanius,
on Nicomedia, deftroyed by an Earth
quake 227
A Monody, by Libanius^
on the Daphna*an Temple of Apollo,
deftroyed by fire „ 243
The Hido'T of the Emperor Jovian,
by the Abbe de la Bleterie 25$
An Abflradt of an Eflky, by the farne 365
Additional Notes 381

EPISTLES

THE

EPISTLES

O F

J U I, I A N-

Atraa-ai; fj.it airatlai tir.ut, ra ^'ai/la te t&» EniXTOAHN.
" Superior, as he was, to all men in all his writings, in
" his E PI S T L E S he was fuperior to himfelf."
Libanius,

Vol. II.

***- Of the Epiftles of Julian, the nine firft were printed
in Greek, with other Epiftles by various hands, by Aldus,
Rom. 1499, 4to. and afterwards in Greek and Latin, at
Geneva, 1606, folio. The xth was preferved by Socrates
in his Hiftory, III. 3. The xith, and thofe that follow, as
far as the XLviith, were in like manner publiflied among
the Epiftles of various writers. The XLixth was taken
from Sozomen, v. 16. The Lth, Lift, and Liid Were
firft publiflied in Greek by Peter Martinius, together with
the Mifopogon, and the other Epiftles, illuftrated by a
Latin tranflation, Paris, 1567 and 1583, 8vo. Petau there
fore firft tranflated thofe three, and alfo the Lind, and the
following, as far as the Lvnth, which, together with the
Epiftle of Gallus to Julian, Bonaventure Vulcanius pub
liflied at Leyden, 1597, nmo. at the end of the Epiftles
and Problems of Theophylaetus Simocatta. The Lviuth
and Lixth, but doubtfully blended together, were fitft
publiflied by Nicholas Rigalt, who alfo added a tranflation,
at the end of his Funus Parafiticum, Paris, 1601, 4C0. But
in the edition of Petau, by the advice of Rigalt himfelf, it
was divided into two, both mutilated, the former having
no conclusion, and the latter no beginning. At length
the former was fupplied from a MS. by the learned and
ingenious Lewis Anthony Muratori, in his Anecdota Graca,
Padua, 1 709, 4to. The Lxth and the two following were
firft publiflied by Petau, fopm a copy of an old MS. lent
him by Patricius Junius. The Lxuid, which Martinius
and Petau have given in Greek only, but very imperfeft
and incorretT:, Ezekiel Spanheim amended and fupplied
from the MS. of Allatius, and firft added a Latin verfion.
Muratori has alfo publiflied three other Epiftles of Julian,
the Lxivth, Lxvth, and i.xvith, from the fame MS.
Fabricius.
For an account of the other Epiftles, fee the notes.

*fc

EPISTLES OF JUL I AN.

Epiftle I. To * * * * -h
I" THOUGHT that you had long ago arrived
¦*-. in ^Egypt ; and recolledting what I have often
faid, " Happy," cried I, " are the .^Egyptians in
" the plenty with which they have long been fup-
" plied by the Nile, but happier are they now
" in the poffeffion of your Mufe, a bleffing, in
" my opinion, fuperior even to the Nile : That
" river, by flooding,' 'enriches their country ; but
" you, by your eloquence, improving the minds
" of their youth, endow them with the treafures
" of wifdom, like Plato and Pythagoras, their
" former vifitors."
Such were my reflections, little thinking that
'you, in the mean time, were not far diftant. At
the receipt, therefore, Of your letter I was at firft
fo much furprifed, that I thought it an impofi'tiori,
and could not believe my eyes. But when I pe-
rufed the contents, convinced that fuch elegance
could flow from no other pen, how great was my
delight ! I then entertained hopes of foon feeing
you here, and I rejoiced that yotir own country
Would foon be bleffed with your prefence, however
fticrt might be your flay* On this fubject you
fe,em to have brought a ludicrous charge againft
•f The name of the fage, to whom this Epiftle is ad
dreffed, is not known. La Bleter,ie.
B 2 me.

E P ISTLES OF JULIA N/..,;-
me. For though I allow that the air is fuch as
you reprefent it, that the water is as brackifh as
the ocean, and that the bread is made of barley;
all which, out' of regard to your country, you
have by no means exaggerated; yet, my goxtd
friend, you are much indebted, to her for having
furnifhed your mind with philofophy. But be
ware how you defpife the. luxuries of, ^Egypr.
Wife Ulyffes, though he inhabited a fmal| and
rocky ifland, could not be tempted either by the
charms of Calypfo, or the promife of immortality,
to prefer them to Ithaca. Nor was any Spartan, I
imagine, ever induced by the recollection of his
coarfe domeftic fare to complain of Sparta. But
I know what has occafioned your bringing this
charge againft me. You are fond of money,. and
in that purfuit being difappointed, you iigh with
regret, and envy the Nile and the wealth. that it
produces. This,, you fay, makes you defect your
country, and renders your perfon as inelegant as
that of Chserephon *. But I rather fufpeft that
you are detained by fome kind nymph, and are
fenfible at laft of the power of love. Be, this as
Venus pleafes ! Mean time, farewell; and niay I
foon hail you the father of a family !
* Chaerephon was a writer of tragedies. He celebrated
the actions of the Heraclida;. 'But being greatly emaciated
by his noclunial' lucubrations^ -he" became a vulgar-joke.
The name of,*4 owl", vyas alio given him. See Erafm. in
Cbil. p 685.'
He was a difciple of Socrates. His nocturnal ftudies pro-
cuicd him the name of vtO^s, " bat j" and his palenefs the
epithet of Jt'i;|i»Bj, " the man of box." La Bleterie. Epiftle

EPISTLE SO F JULIAN;

'Epiftle-' II. ' -To Proh^eresius *.
HY fhould I not falute the excellent Pro- a.d.
hserefius, a man as exuberant in language 3<il"
as a river in water, when it overflows its ba;nks;:i
and in eloquence, the rival of Pericles f, except
that he does not embroil Greece I Be not furprifed
at my adopting the Lacedaemonian brevity. Sages,
like youj may make long and'verbofe orations;
but from me to you a little is fufficient.
„ * One of the Chriftian profeffors; who flmt up their
fchools in confequence of Julian's edict. [See Epiftle xlii.]
He 'taught at Athens, and his reputation extended over'
the, whole empire. The city of Rome had' erected a ftatue [
to, him as large as the life, with this in.fcription, " The
'"' 'queen of cities to the king of orators." He had re
ceived from the Emperor' Conftans the honorary title o£
" general of the Roman armies." Julian, it is faid, ex
empted him from the general law, and allowed him to re
tain his feat without changing his. religion., But Prohae-
refius had the. delicacy not to avail, himfelf of; a privilege
which would have rendered his faith fufpefted. Eunapius,
an admirer and a difciple'of-.this fophift^ but a great enemy >
to the Chriftians, relates this fa£t differently.
i, ¦ , La Bleterie.
On the eloquence of Prohaerefius, Eunapius has fully'
enlarged. But Suidas'fays,, that Julian, in order to pique1
him, preferred Libanius. ,,'. ,  , . Petau.
Libanius, in one of . his , Epiftles", recommends him to
Maximus, " as an orhament to 'the' world. by his eloquence,
a good man, and one to whom both Rome and Athens, had
erecled a ftatue of brafs." His, death was celebrated in a
remarkable epigram by Nazianzen,. preferved by Muratori .
in his Anecdota Graca, pi I.
f As to the oratory of Pericfos, fee Ciceio de Oratcre,
xxxiv. B 3 Know

5 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
Know, then, that my affairs are much embarrafied
and diffracted. Wifh all the reafons of my return,
if you intend, .-to compile a .hiftory, I will moft ac
curately acquaint you by tranfmitting the original
,; ..". l&tters and other authentic' evidence. But if you
determine to' profecute your prefent ftudies for
she' Remainder of your life, you fhall have no caufe
tb complain of my filence.:
...-' -.'j-,.  ; ¦ ¦<-..'.¦
l----r -A .-'i^fyy' ::.' aa ^z~ I ;¦''•¦¦ ,
• Epiftle III. To Libanius * ,
A. d. npHOUGH this is now the third day, the phi-
-*- lofoph'er Prifcus -J- is not yet arrived, and a
letter from him feems to intimate that he will defer
his journey. As you have forgotten yourpromife,
I muft remind you 'of it by demanding my debt.
This debt, you, well know, it is no lefs eafy for

•* Eor an account of this fophift, and fome of his
epiftles, fee Vol. T. p. 303.
_f A Pl:atonifly:whom,!,at,the felicitation ofMaximus,
fprung from the fame' fchool, the Emperor fent for from
Greece. He was fo referved and myfterious in what he
knew, as even to tax thofe, who communicated their learn
ing, -with prodigality and profanenefs. But when he con-
defcended to diiplay his own talents, he difcovered a pro
found knowledge of the fyftems of the ancients. The court,
did not corrupt him, and, inftead of ^becoming a courtier
himfelf, he endeavoured to render the courtiers philofopers.
He was one of the philofophers that attended Julian to
the Perfian war^ and with whom he harangued in his laft
moments on the nature of the foul. He was called in
queftion in the reign of the Emperor Valens ; but his inno- ¦
cence was immediately acknowledged. La Bleterie. you

EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
you to difcharge, than it is agreeable to me to re
ceive. Send me therefore your oration, and that
divine difcourfe ; but, by Mercury and the Mufes,
fend them foon. For thefe three days, be affured,
you have much wafted me, if what the Sicilian
poet fays be true,
Lovers in one day grow old *.
If this be a fa£t, as no doubt it is, you, my good
friend, have trebled my age.
I have dictated this letter in the midft of bufi
nefs. I could not write to you myfelf, as my hand
is more tardy than my tongue. , But my tongue
alfo is at prefent "tardy and, inarticulate through
difufe. Farewell, my deareft and beft loved,
brother !

I

Epiftle IV. To Aristomenes f. ,
S an invitation neceflary from, me to you, and A. D.

muft friendly offices never be,anticipated .? Let
us take care not to introduce fuch a troublefome cuftom
* Theocritus, Idyll, xii. by Fawkes.
. f This was, without doubt, a man of learning, and
perhaps a philofopher. From the conclufion of the Epiftle
it may be fuppofed, that he was zealous for the Pagan re
ligion, and perfectly well acquainted with the ceremonies.
This Epiftle. feems to have been written by Julian, when
he was in Cappadocia; wliere he ftaid fome time in his way
from Conftantinople to Antioch. La Bleterie.
In the MS. of Vaflius it is addreffed " to Ariftoxenus."
Petau.
B 4 The

362.

EPISTLES OF JULIAN,
cuftom as that of expecting a friend to b,e as
ceremonious as a common acquaintance, If I arn
iJkeck'/' How can you and I be ftyled friends, as
tf we. are not yet acquainted ?'' I anfwefj Why; do
We .prpfefs ourfelves friends to thofe who wgre
born "a thoufand or even two thoufand years ago.?
Becaufe they were good and virtuous. .We wifh
to refembie them. And though . as to myfelf I,
am confcious of being in faft far otherwife,,^ in,
inclination I. am certahfty not far diftant.
But to ceafe trifling, if you come uninvited, you
will be cordially welcome ; but if you expecf an,j
invitation, you here receive it. Therefore^ by
Jupiter the, Hofpipble, haften hither, I intreat
you, as foon as poffible, and (hew us, arocing the,
Cappadocians, a true Greek *. For as yet fome
facrifice
The i.xxxixth Latin Epiftle of Libanius, b. in. feems to
confirm the former reading, being addreffed- " to Arifto-
" menes,"'and much on the fome fubjeci. Being fhort, I
will add it in Englifli : < • ¦, : '
" You wifli, I hear, to, be known to me. Be affured,
" that you have gained your wifh, as I am better acquainted
" with .nothing than with you. For who can be ignorant
'' of the fplendor of inch a genius ? Befides, my love for
'' you is fuch, that I love myfelf fcarCe more. Confe-
" quently, command my.fervices, if any thing fhould offer.
" in which I can be ufefuL"
*. Avi^a e» KoiTriraioxxit; Ka.QaL%w<; E^^^^y«. ' " A pure Greek
*' among the Cappadocians." The reftorer of the Greek
religion, could not but be difpleafed with Cappadocia.
i. Caefarea, the capital of-'the province, was almoft en
tirely Chriftian. The temples of Jupitef and Apollo, the
tutelar deities of the city, had been long deftroyed. Even
iu the. reign of Julian, the Chriftians had juft pulled down the

EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
the temple of Fortune, the, only, one that remained. This
prince, not contented with confifcating the effects, move
able and immoveable, of the churches, enrolling the clergy
in the moft defpicable militia,, and patting to death thofe
who had aflifted in the deftruclion of the temple of For
tune, erafed the town from, the number of cities, fubje&ed
it to taxation, and made it refuirie the name of Mazaca
which it bore before Tiberius gave it the name of Crefarea.
2. In Cappadocia the Pagans themfelves coijld _nqt be
agreeable to Julian. Befides his complaining of their want
of zeal, their Paganifm was apparently blended( with 'the
religion of the Magi. Strabo, a native of the, province,
fays,' (Geogr. I. xv.) that, in his-time, " there was a great
" number of Magi, called Pyrathi, and feveral -temples' of
" the Gods that were worfliipped in Perfia. Large in-
" clofures<were-feen there, where 'thofe Magi kept up the
" facred fire on an altar," &c. The. fame- author feenis''
to fay, that thofe inclofures, called Pyrathean, were ap-
pendages.to the temples of Anai'tis and Oman., Theftatue
of the latter was carried in proceffion. More than three-
centuries after Strabo, St. Bafil,, a.Gappadocian alfo,; and
contemporary with Julian, being; co,nfolted by, St. Epi-
phanius as to the origin of the, Magi,! and concerning the
Magufuei, replied,'. that " the former were a, nation; ori-
" ginally tranfplanted from .Babylonia into Cappadocia,
" and diffufed throughout all the country. They wor-
" fliipped fire, and condemned the, .killing .of animals,
" though they fcrupled not tq eat them when, they had ,
" been killed by others. Theyhad neither any law in
" their marriages, nor books, nor teachers, nor any rules
" but their ancient cuftorns. They were alfo unfosiable
" with all men, and incapable of reafoning." The Ma-
gufei could not be very different from the Hypfiftarii, a
feet in which Gregory, the father of St. Gregory Na
zianzen, was born. He-informs us, that " the Hypfiftarii,
" or worfhippers of the Moft High, profeffed to adore one
" God only. They defpifed idols, and facrifice," which
muft probably be underftood with fome reftriction, as the
fame St. Gregory' elfewhere fays, that " his father had-
" been fubjected to the idols of animals, They reverenced1
" fire and lamps ; and though they were not circumcifed;
" they obferved the fabbath and the diftindtion of meats." From

io EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
facriSce with relu&ance, and the few who have
zeal, want knowledge *.

Epiftle V. To the moft honoured Theo
dora -j-. ,
L L the books which you fent me, and alfo
your letter, I received with pleafure; by the
excellent Mygdonius X- -And though I have little
leifure (the Gods know I do not exaggerate) I re
turn you this acknowledgment. Farewell, and fa
vour me with more filch letters.
From thefe teftimonies it may be inferred, that the tenets
and, rites of the Perfian religion had made a great progrefs
in Cappadocia, but had undergone feveral alterations. They
were certainly adopted, in fome degree, even by thofe who
embraced the Greek religion ; a mixture highly offenfive to
Julian, who thought that the re-eftablifhment of Hellenifm,.
in its purity, was the chief purpofe of his exiftence.
La Bleterie.
*, UGi\otla$ p-it, a--.' miol'ai h'Qvftt, " Willing, but not know-
" ing how, to facrifice." Like thofe Chriftians, who, St.
Paul. fays, had a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.
Rom. x. j..
¦f This literary lady I apprehend to be the fame who is
addrefled by Libanius in the following fliort Epiftle (thq
Mccxcixth) " We, in return, invite you to come hither,
" and leave the fea. For it is better that you fliould live
" foberly with us than that we fliould feaft with you."
By this fhe appears to have 'been a perfon of fortune as well
as learning.
\ This alfo -was a friend of Libanius, as appears from
two Epiftles to him, the cccci.xxift and the Dxvi.nth;
in the.firft of which that fophift fays, " he was like a pa-
'\ rent to him at Athens." Epiflle,

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. n

Epiftle VI. To Ecdicjus, PrasfecT: of vEgypt *.
npHOUGH you write to me on no other fub- a. d,
¦*¦ Je'cl: f, you' ought, however, to have writ- 3<i2*
ten concerning that enemy of the Gods, Atha-
•" ' nafius,
* It appears from Epiftle l, that' Ecdicius was very
remifs in writing to Julian even on fubjefts in which he
was the moft interefted. La Bleterie.
Ecdicius ftudied oratory at Athens with Libanius, as
appears from feveral of his Epiftles.
f After the tumult' of Alexandria bad fubfided, by the^
maffacre of George [fee Epiftles ix and x], Athanafius,
amidft the public acclamations, feated'himfelf on the
throne from which his: unworthy Competitor had been pre
cipitated. Julian, who defpifed the Chriftians, honoured
Athanafius with his fincere and peculiar hatred. . . . He
a-gain banifhed the afchbifhop from the city ; and he was
pleafed to fuppofe, that this a£t of -juftice would be highly
agreeable to his pious fubjects. The preflirig felicitations
of the people foon Convinced him, that the majority of the
Alexandrians were Chriftians ; and that the greateft part'
of the Chriftians were firmly attached to the caufe of their'
oppreffed primate. But the knowledge of their fentiments,
inftead of perfuading liirrl' to recall his decree, provoked
him to extend to all ALgypt the term of' the exile of Atha
nafius. The zeal of the multitude rendered Julian ftill
more inexorable ; he was alarmed by the danger of leaving
at the head of a tumultuous city a daring and popular
leader ; and the-language of his refentment difcovers the
opinion which he entertained of the courage and abilities
of Athariafius. The execution of the fentence was ftill
delayed by the caution, or negligence, of Ecdicius, Prasfeft
of iEgypt, whp was at length awakened from his lethargy
by this fevere reprimand. Gibbon.
The death of Athanafius was not exprefsly commanded ;
but the Prefect of ^Egypt underftood that it was fafer for
him

12 E'PT S T L E S O P J U L I A N^
nafius, efpecially as you -feave-4eeg been acquainted
with our. edicts, againft him. I rjpw. fwear, by the
great Serapis"', that" if that enemjTof the'Godsdoes
nqt leave Alexandria, or rather iEgypt, before-the
calends of December, the cohort that you. com
mand fhall be fined a hundred pounds of gold *.
him: to exceed, than to negleft, the orders of an- irritated
mafter. The archbifhop prudently retired to the monafteries
of the. defer.t, andj lived to triumph over the afhes; of a
prince, who in words, of formidable injpprt had declared his
wifh, that the whole venom of the Galilean, fchool were con
tained in the fingle perfon of Athenafius.. , Ibid.
Not contented with banifhing Afh,?nQfius> tne Emperor
gave perhaps fecret orders ..to put him to death; orat
leaft Ecdicius, to ingratiate himfelf with Julian-, whafeenied
diffatisfied with -his negligence, took a„refolut;ion to deliver
Paganifm for ever, from,, fo formidable ap, enemy. Beit as
it may, Athanafius went up the Nile in order to retire into
the Thebais', when, he was informed that he was purfued.
" Fear nothing," faid he to' the companions of his flight,,,
" Let us fhew, that he who proi efts' , us is greater than
'.' he who perfecutes us." Saying this, he made the boat
fleer back towards Alexandria., They foon after, met the
affaffin, who afted them if they. had feen Athanafius, and
whether he was far off? He is very near, they replied.
' If. you make ever fo little hafte, you, cannot fail to oyer-
'take him.' The affaffin went on, making hafte, invain,
Athanafius returned to Alexandria, and there remained,
concealed. La Bleterie.
The three Epiftles- of Julian, which, explain his inten
tions and conduct with regard to Athanafius, fhould be
difgofed in the following chronol.ogir.al order, xxvi, x, vi.
 ;Gibbon.
M. de la Bleterie has, by miftake, placed the xth before
the xxvi th.
* From the excellent difcourfe. of Mr. Greaves on the;,
denarius, the Roman pound of golc}, the ufual method of
reckoning large- foms, may be computed at forty pounds
fterling. Gibbon.
4000 pounds fterling therefore would have been the fine.
You

EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
You know, that, flow as I am in condemning, when
I have once condemned, I am much flower in par
doning *.
P. S. In his own hand.
It grieves me extremely to fee all the Gods de-
fpifed by him. None of your- tranfa&ions will
give me fo much pleafure as to hear that the wicked
Athanafius, who has prefumed in my dominions
to perfuade fome. Greek women of rank; to be bap
tized, is expelled from all parts of Mgypt t.

Epiftle VJI. To Artabius J

+•
T) Y the Gods, I would neither have the Gali- A. u.
-4-* leans put to death, nor fcourged, unjuftly,
nor be in any other manner ill-treated. I think ir,
never-
* Surely this, and the other letters relating to Atha
nafius, fhew that Julian did not praftife that indulgence
and moderation towards the Chriftians which he fometimes
boafted of. For no fault is alleged againft Athanafius,
except that he was " an enemy of the Gods," and made
convicts to Chriftianity from among the Gentiles.
, Lardner.
t .Mr. Gibbon tranflates this paffage thus : " Under
" my reign the baptifm of feveral Grecian ladies of the
" higheft rank has been the effect of his perfections;"
and adds, " 1 have preferved the ambiguous fenfe of the
" laft word (huxso-dai) the ambiguity of a tyrant who vvifhed
** to find, or to create, guilt.''- •
X This Artabius, I imagine, is unknown. What is here
given 'as an Epiftle of Julian is perhaps a fragment of fome
edict. ¦ There cannot be a doubt1 that this prince publiflied
fuch a one at the beginning of his reign, declaring Pa-
gaaifm the religion of the empire, and at- the fame time
'"' forbidding

14 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
neverthelefs, highly proper that' the worffiippers
of the Gods ftiourtj be preferred to them. By the
rtiadnefs of the Galileans * the empire was almoft
ruined f, but by the goodnefs of the Gods we are
now preferved. We ought therefore to honour
the Gods, and alfo religious Vn and ftates.

Epiftle VIII. To George J.
A. D. u T7" O U are come, Telemachus §," fays the
-*- poet. I have now feen you in your letter.
I have there feen your divine mind in miniature,
like a large ftatue copied on a fmall feal. For
forbidding the Chriftians to be ill-treated. This therefore
muft have been written in 361. La Bleterie.
This ediift fufficiently indicates what treatment the Chrif
tians were to expect, in his reign. Lardner.
* It was his fancy to call the Chriftians Galileans. In
this appellation there was no reafon or argument. But it
might anfwer Julian's purpofe to make them appear con
temptible in the eyes of weak people. Bid.
j It is certain, that the Arian perfecution produced
great evils in the ftate. Conftantius, defirous of being a
divine, neglefted the duties of an emperor. In order to
hold councils, he ruined the public carriages, and expended
immenfe foms, &c. But it is unjuft to charge the Chriftian
religion with faults which it condemns even when com
mitted for its fupport, Of all religions it is beft calculated
to render a ftate happy. ' La Bleterie.,
X The procurator, or one of the receivers, of the-Casfar.
Epiftle lv is alfo addreffed to him, ; with the addition of
K«6qA»!u, which the MS. of Voffius has annexed to this.
§ HXvfos, Tr^sf*a%£. In Odyff. x\i. 23. mflts, *.. r. x. the
beginning of the welcome of Eumaeus to that prince on his
return from Pylos. much

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. l5
much may be expreffed in little. The wife Phi
dias * was not only celebrated for his Olympic
and Athenian ftatues, but alfo for comprifing works
of real art in fmall fculptures. Such, it is faid,
were his grafshopper and bee, and perhaps his
fly f, each of which, though the brafs was formed
by nature, feemed animated by art. But in thefe,
it may be faid, the appearances of truth might be
owing to the fmallnefs of the infects. Obferve then
his Alexander hunting on horfeback J, whofe
whole dimenfions do not exceed the fize of a
finger-nail : Each figure, however, is fo wonder
fully executed, that Alexander even wounds the
beaft, and with his looks terrifies the fpectator.
But the horfe refilling to rear up, even, in this
¦* This excellent Greek foulptor, in the year of Rome
323, finifhed the ivory ftatue of Minerva, fo much extolled
by the ancients, and confidered as the mafter-piece of his
ait. He placed it in the citadel of Athens. Afterwards,
being banifhed from that city, he retired into the province
of Elis, where he was killed, after finifhing .the ftatue of
Jupiter [of ivory alfo, according to Pliny] which he placed
in the temple of Delphi, and which has been reckoned one
of the wonders of the world. Moreri.
•j- Thefe do not occur among the works of this artift
enumerated by Pliny, in his Natural Hiftory, xxxiv. S.
though he fays, that, " in fmall works Phidias had equal
magnificence." Julian does not . fpeak of them as then
extant — Qaatt is his expreffion, " it is faid." A grafshopper
and locuft of Myron are mentioned by Pliny, as celebrated
in the poems of Erinna. ,
X Here Julian feems to refer to fome well-known work
then in being, (probably at Rome or Conftantinople). The
exp reffion i9 Sxoth, " Behold." A hunting-match of Alex
ander .by Myron, is mentioned alfo by Erinna, as we learn
•fr/m Pliny. theft

16 EPlSTLfcS OF JULIAN.
theft of motion, moves by art. The fame irti-s
preffions, my excellent friend, you have made oti
me. For having been often crowned victor in the
lifts of eloquent Mercury, your Writings, though
few, are excellent, and remind me of the Ulyffes
of Homer, who, by only faying who he was, ter*
rifled the Phse'acians *. Therefore, if my friendfhip
can be ferviceable to you, you may freely command
it. That even the meaneft can be ufeful, princes
may learn from the moufe, whofe gratitude pre
ferved the lion -f.
* Jn Odyff. ix. 19. Ulyffes tells Alcinous and the
Phseaciahs who he is, by faying, Ei/*' O&o-ei/s AsufWtt;,
Behold TJlyffes, fam'd Laertes' fon,
but no terror or confufion, on their part, is mentioned,
nor is his narrative difcontinued till b. xi. Perhaps Julian'
has fobftituted by miftake (trufting to his memory) " the
' " Pha:acians" for " the fuitors," who are indeed faid (xxii.
42 ) to have trembled at hearing il who Ulyffes was."
vn-  ¦  '— cOnfus'd the fuitors flood,
F om their pale cheeks recedes the flying blood. Pope. 53.
¦* Alluding to the fable of the moufe, who, having been
preferved by a lion, in return extricated her benefactor from
a net, by gnawing the meflies.
To this fable Libanius alfo alludes, in his XLViifh
Epiftle: " We mice endeavour more to aflift you lions, than
" you lions, us ;" and that proverb, which Synefius ufes,
" he prefers a moufe to a lion," feems not unknown to the
ancients, applied to thofe who promife much, but perform;
little. Wolfius*

Epiftfa

EPISf LES OF JULIAN. j7

Epiftle IX. To Ecdicius, Praefeft of JEgypt.
gO ME delight to horfes, fome in birds, and
others in wild beafts *. I, from my childhood,
have always been inflamed with a paffionate love
for books f. I think it abfurd to fuffer thefe to
fall into the hands of wretches whofe avarice gold
alone cannot fatiate, as they are alfo clandeftinely
endeavouring to pilfer thefe. You will therefore
oblige me extremely by collecting all the books of
George J : He had many, I know, on philofo phical
* AMim fat utitm, aXXot h optut, «XAoi 0igit» iga<at>. M. de la
Bleterie has tranflated this, Les hommesnaifjint aver dies gouts
differens, and fays, " Some delight in horfes, &c. (as in
" the original) would have had no grace in French." The
Englifli language is not fo faftidioufly delicate. Our af
fected neighbours might with equal reafon object to that
fimilar paffage. of the Pfalmift " Some truft in chariots, and
fome in horfes" &c.
f Thus was truly Julian, what Cicero terms himfelf,
helluo librorum,
% Surnamed, from his parents, or his education, theCap-
padocian . He was born at Epiphania in Cilicia, in a fuller's
fhop. From this obfcure and fervile origin he raifed him
felf, by the talents of a parafite, firft to a lucrative com
miffion, or contract, to fupply the army with bacon, and
afterwards, by his profeffion of Arianifrn, to theprimaey
of Atgypt, vacant by the expulfion of Athanafius. Hisf
-entrance was that of a Barbarian conqueror; and he
oppreffed, with an impartial hand, the various inha
bitants of his extenfive diocefe. Under the reign of
Conftantius, he was expelled by the fury, or rather
by the juftice, of the people, and it was not without a
violent ftFuggle that the civil and military powers, of the
Vol. II. C ftate

A. D.
362.

i8 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
phical and rhetorical fubjects, and many on the
doctrine of the impious Galileans. All thefe I
would have deftroyed * ; but left others more
valuable fhould be deftroyed with them, let them
all be carefully examined. The fecretary of
George may aflift you in this difquiCtion, and if
he acts with fidelity, he fliall be rewarded with
freedom ; if not, he may be put to the torture f.
I am
Hate cquld reftore his authority, and gratify his revenge.
The meffenger who proclaimed at Alexandria the acceffion
of Julian, announced the downfall of the archbifliop.
George, with two of his obfequious minifters, were igno-
minioufly dragged in chains to the public prifon (Nov. 30.
A. D. 361.). At the end of twenty-four days, (Dec. 24.)
the prifon was forced open by the rage of a fuperflitious
, multitude, impatient of the tedious forms of legal pro-
ceedings. The enemies of Gods and men expired under
their cruel infults ; the lifelefs bodies of the archbifhop
and his affociates were carried in triumph through the
ftreets on the back of a camel ; and the inactivity of the
Atbanafian party was efteemed a fliining example of evan
gelical patience. The remains of thefe guilty wretches
were thrown into the fea.
The meritorious death of the archbifliop obliterated the
memory of his life. The rival of Athanafius was dear and
.facred to the Arians ; and the feeming converfion of thofe
fe&aries introduced his worfliip into the bofom of the £a-
.tholic church. The odious ftranger, difguifing every cir-
cumftance of time and place, affumed the mafk of a martyr,
a faint, and a Chriftian hero ; and the infamous George of
Cappadocia has been transformed into the renowned St.
1 George of England, the patron of arms, of chivalry,, and
of the garter. Gieeon^
* It was mean in Julian to wifh that all Chriftian writings
might be deftroyed. It was beneath a philofopher to en
tertain fuch a thought. Lardnes.
j- The deceitful and dangerous experiment of the cri-
,minal queflion (as it is emphatically ftyled) was admitted, rather

EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
I am not unacquainted with, this library ; for when
I was in Cappadocia, George lent me feveral books
to be tranfcribed, which I, afterwards returned
to him.

*9

Epiftle X. To the People of Alexandria *.
T F you do not revere Alexander, your founder f , A- D-
¦*• and more efpecially that great God, the moft
holy Serapis X> have you no regard for your
country,
rather than approved, in the jurifprudence of the Romans.
They applied this fanguinary mode of, examination only to
fervile bodies, whofe fufferings were feldom weighed by
thofe haughty republicans in the fcale of juftice or hu
manity ; but they would never confent to violate the facred
perfon of a citizen, till they poffeffed the cleareft evidence
of his guilt. Gieeon-.
-' * This public tpiftle [occafioned by the maffacre men
tioned in a note on the lalft, p. 17.] affords us a very lively
proof of the partial fpirit of Julian's adminiftration. His
reproaches to the citizensof Alexandria are mingled with
expreffions of efteem and tendernefs. " He fuffered his
" friends," (fays Ammianus), " to affwage his anger." Ibid.
Socrates has tranfcribed this Epiftle, and fo has M.
Fleury. In fpeaking of George, he did not mention the two
officers who had been maffacred with him ; becaufe, not
defigning to revenge their death, which was moft atrocious,
he was afhamed to feem to forgive it. His letter is full of
noble feririments. I would not affirm, that, after having
written it, he was not in his heart pleafed with thofe who
had furnifhed him with the fubject. The Arians circulated
a report that the partifans of Athanafius were the authors
of the death of George ; but the latter net d, no other
apology than the Epiftle of Julian himfelf, which only ac-
cufes the Pagans. La Bleterie.
C z Alexander

& EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
country, for humanity, for deceticy? I Will add,
for me alfo, whom all the Gods, particularly the
great Serapis, have' thought proper to appoint ruler
of the world *, and who ought to have been in
formed of the outrage that you have committed ?
But anger perhaps has miffed you, and rage,
which, fubverting reafon, often inftigates the moft
enormous crimes, has, by a fudden impulfe,, urged
you to perpetrate, as a people, fuch wickednefSfas
in others you have juftly abhorred and detefted.
f Alexander the Great built this city, as one of the moil
glorious monuments of his conquefts, about j'30 years
before Chrift. Its fifuation was moft actvantagedps,, between
the fea and one of the arms of the Nile. Alexandria be.
came not only the firft city in Africa, after the- destruction
of Carthage, but in all the world, next to Rome, as He-
rodian ftyles it. It is at prefent fubject to the Turks. SelWn
fubdued it in 151 7, with the reft of ALgypt, and the
eountry which Compofed the empire of the Manraielus.
The city is almoft entirely ruined,, and it haSj no jnorethan
8dco inhabitants. Its haven, however, is very good and
commodious, and it has ftill fame trade, - Morbri.
X A falfe deity which the ^Egyptians adored. -The
Romans had often forbiddeu the faerifices of Serapis to be
celebrated in their cities. The idol of which the Emperor
Hadrian, and afterwards Julian, wifhed to have a copy,
was compofed of all kinds of metals, wood, and precious
ftOhes. The temple and ftatue were demolifhed in the
time of Theodofius the Great, A. D. 389, in confequence
of a fedition excited at Alexandria by the Pagans. Bid.
* It is obfeVvable, that Julian was fo addicted to the
idolatry of the ^Egyptians, that, though he worfliipped fo
many Gods of his own country, he profeffes himfelf in
debted to Serapis alone even for the empire. On this ac
count perhaps he caufed himfelf to be reprefefited on coins,
together with Serapis, or alone, with the name of Serapis
fofcribe.l, as if he were that deity. Baronius. Brit

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. * 21
But tell me, I adjure you,, by Serapis, what
were the crimes that incenfed you againft George ?
You will anfwer, no dpubt, " He exafperated
" againft us, Conftantius. of bleffed memory; he
" brought: an army into the holy city; the kjng
" pf iEgypt *. feized the npft holy temple of
" God, defpoiling jt of die ..ftatues, the offerings
" and ornaments ; being j qftly provoked, on our
" endeavouring to fuccour the God, or rather to
" prevent his treafures being pillaged, he .with
" equal injuftice, wickednefs, and impiety, dared
" to fend againft us ,aji .armed force, fearing
" George perhaps more than Conftantius, if he
" had treated us with lenity,, jpftead of conftantly
" acting like a tyrant."
For thefe reafons therefore, being enraged at
George, the enemy of the^Qod,s, you have again
* O Bam\EV( tjij Atyvnla, rex ASgypti: fo it is expreffed in
the edition of F. Petau. He thinks, however, t;h.at we
ihould read rp*V?S> (<%) or '"^fX0** ^nd M. Spanheim in-
ferts that correction in the text. But that is not neceflary.
Julian ftyles Artemius " king," or tyrant, of jEgyptj in
derifiori, on account of the outages which he w^s charged
with,h,aving committed, and for which the Emperor had
juft capfed him to be beheaded. La Bleterie.
Some months after the tribunal* of Chalcedon had been
diffoWed, the notify Gaudentius and Artemius, duke ,of
^gypt,- were executed at Antioch. Artemius had reigned
the cruel and corrupt tyrant of a great province. His
merit, who demolifhed temples, and was put to _ -death by
an ,?ppftate, \has, tempted the Greek and Latin churches to
honour him as a martyr. But as ecclefiaftical hiftory attefts
that he t was not only a tyrant but, ah Arian, itris not al-
aagetheneafy to juftify thjs indifereet,pron-|otion. Gi 9 b«n.
C" '3 polluted

*2 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
polluted the holy city, inftead of bringing him to
a legal trial before the judges. In that cafe, there
would have been no murder, »o crime ; by a juft
fentence you would have been entirely1 acquitted,
and by punifliing the impious author of thefe in
curable evils you would have reftrained all who
defpife the laws, all who dare to infult fuch
flourifliing ftates and cities, and think that their
own ufurped power is aggrandifed by cruelty.
Compare with this epiftle that which I fent you
not long ago ; obferve the difference!, and re
collect how much I then commended you. But
now, though I would gladly praife you, by die
Gods I cannot, fo heinous'is your guilt. For the
people have dared, like dogs, to ; worry a man,
without being abalhed, nor have kept their hands
pure' to approach the Gods, the purifiers of blood.
But «' George," you allege, " deferved fuch a
(( punifhment." Allowed, and one even more
fevere- " And for us," you fay. •¦•' This alfo I
will grant, but not by you. For; you have laws,
which you all ought to obey and revere; ¦• and •
though fome individuals tranfgrefs them, yet ftill
the- republic fhould bcwell governed,, you Ihould
obey the laws yourfelves, and not violate, thofe
which have hitherto been conftantly "Well ad'mi-
nifte'red. : ¦ - ¦ .rfo;,,
.-i-This is nobly done by you, men' of Alexandria,
in my reign, Who,Trom my . reverence 'towards
God,1 and from'a'Yegard.to my grandfather*,' and
* Conftantius-Chlorus. my

EPISTLES OF J,ULIAN.< a3
my uncle and namefake *, who governed ..Egypt
and your city, efteem you with a brotherly
affection. The undefpifed authority of a good
and ftrict government will never fuffer the aban
doned wickednefs of its fubjects to pafs unpunifhed.
A defperate difeafe muft be cured by rough pre-
fcriptions. For the reafons above-mentioned I ad-
minifter to you, however, the mildeft, this epiftle
and reprimand, which I hope will have the more
effect -J-, as you are by origin Greeks, and the
laudable and illuftrious ftamp of that noble defcent
ftill remains in your fentiments and actions.
Let this be communicated to my citizens of Alex
andria. * Julian, afterwards Count of the Eaft. See Epiftle
xiii. Note *.
f I cannot fuppofe that he flattered himfelf with cor
recting the Alexandrians merely by reprimands. Their
tumults, which generally arofe in the theatre, were fo
frequent, that the government hardly deigned to take
notice of them. It found, no doubt, that they did them;
felves fufficient juftice, for there was always fome blood
fpilt. They were as foolifh as the inhabitants of Antioch,
and much more wicked. La Bleterle,.

C 4 Epiftle

24 EPISTLES OF JULIAN,

Epiftle XI. To the Byzantines .
ALL your fenators we have reftored to you,
and alfo thofe of fenatorial families, whether
they have attached themfelves to the Galilean re
ligion,
* This title feems to me faulty. I do not think that
any Emperor, efpecially in a law, has given the name of
Byzantium to the city of Conftantinople. But this is not
iny only reafon for thinking that this law of Jirlian was
not addreffed to the inhabitants of New Rome. Whatever
was the city to which Julian wrote, he declares to the
citizens -that he admits into their fenate thofe who by
birth, or any other means^ obliged to take their feats there,
fhould allege fome exemptions and privileges, by way of
excufe. I have often mentioned the zeal of Julisn to
fill up the council of the cities. But that he had occaiioo,
to employ his fovereign authority to retain in the fenate of
Conftantinople, or to recall to it, riiofe who ought to have
been members of it, cannot be conceived. I know, that,
at leail, till the reign of Theodofius the Great, this fenate
was not in all refpeifs equal to that of Rome, Without
being able to afcertain in what that inequality conflfted,
But it was, without doubt, a very auguft affembly, efpe.
dally when Conftantius and Julian had augmented its pre*
Togatives. With regard to the Eaft, it was confidered as
the public council of the Roman nation. It there held in
the political order the fame rank which that of Rome held.
in the Weft. The fame titles were given to both fenates,
The Emperors gloried in being members and chiefs of both,
&c. Thus, though the place of fenator, even in the two
capitals, was attended with very great expences, it muft
have been the object of the ambition of individuals ; and
we fee that one of the methods which was employed to
efcape municipal dignities, obfcure and ruinous honours,
was to obtain , when they could, the place or title of fenator eithef

EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
ligion, or have taken any other method of ab-
fenting themfelves from the fenate, fuch as have
filled any public office in the metropolis * ex
cepted. either of"R<omeor Conftarttuiople, One law of Conftantius
had fuffered ecclefiaftics, in certain ^afes and on certain
conditions, to quit the curia, or municipal fenates ; and it
is probable that Julian, as well from hatred to Chriftianity,
as from zeal for the cnria, was defirous to make tire ec
clefiaftics fit there again; as we fee by one of his laws,
XII fed, Theod. tit. 1. De decurionibus /. 51, Decuriones, qui ut
Chriftiani declinamt munia, remoemtur. But who can he per
fuaded that he wanted to force them to be fenators of Con
ftantinople ? That would have been a ftrange kind of per
fection. I could add many other reflections, were I not
appreheofire t^at they would make this note degenerate
into a differtation, perhaps curious, but certainly mifpjaced,
I think I have faid enough to prove, that the word BuiJ»«-
tiojj, which appears in the title of this Epiftle, has been
put by miftake, inftead of fome other fimilar word, which
J will not endeavour to Teftore, becaufe I fliould only ad
vance very uncertain copje4iur.e5. La Blete-tue,
From this Epiftle it (hould feem that the place of fenator
was copfidered as a burthen rather than as an honour ; but
the Abbe de la Bleterie has fhewn that this Epiftle could
npt .relate to Conftantinople. , Might we not read, inftead
pf the celebrated name of Bv£«A«pi$, .the obfcure but awe
probable word Bio-a»fi»i»ot« ? Bifanthe, now Rhodoffo, was a
fmall maritime city of Thrace. Gibbpn.
* E» tv p-vTivxaM. I fuppofe $,ome and Conftantinople. La Bj,eterie„

Epiftle

26 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.

Epiftle XII. To Basil «.
Ar D. « -rr o U do not declare war f," fays the pro- '
or lii. *- verb. But I add, from the comedy, " O
" meflenger of golden words !" Come then, ex
emplify this, and haften hither. You will come a
friend to a friend. Conftant attendance on public
bufinefs is fatiguing to thofe who difcharge it negli
gently ; but thofe with whom I act are diligent and
induftrious, and in every refpect deferving. I em
brace therefore this opportunity, without neglect
ing public bufinefs, to take fome relaxation. For
being ftrangers to the courtly hypocrify (which
you perhaps have experienced) of loading with
* There is not a word in this Epiftle which can autho-
rife the fuppofition of its being addreffed to Bafil the Great.
The name of Bafil was not uncommon. Who this was is
unknown. As to the Epiftles of Julian to St. Bafil, and
from St. Bafil to Julian, which are printed with the works
of .that father, they are unworthy of either, both as to
their ftyle and matter. Their fpurioufnefs is vifible at the
firft glance. La Bleterie.
-f- On tto^e/xov uyyiXhw A common faying, when any one
brings good news to a -town, as war is the moft calamitous
of III things : and yet with the rumour of it many people
at prefent are delighted ; namely, thofe who feed on the
miferies of mankind. Julian has doubled the proverb; as the
following expreffion, x?Vl7°' ayynXai; tvut, taken from the
Plutus of Ariftophanes, is alfo proverbial. They are the
words of the old men, who fupply the chorus, to Carion,
who had informed them of the approach of Plutus. They
are alfo adopted by Plato in his Phxdrus; and again in his
I lid book De Legibus. Erasmus.
• - , - praifes

EPISTLE SOF JULIAN.
praifes thofe whom it really detefts, with mutual
freedom we accufe, when neceffary, and blame
each other, yet are as cordial as the greateft
friends. Hence it happens, envy apart, that I
find ftudy a relaxation, and thus ftudious as I am,
I feel no anxiety, and fleep ferenely, as when I
have watche I, I have watched not for myfelf alone»
but alfo for others. Thus far perhaps I have been
trifling with you through mere idlenefs, and, like
Aftydamas *, I have praifed myfelf. But I fend this
to inform you, that 'the company of a fage like
you will be highly ferviceable tome. Haften there
fore, as I have faid before, making ufe of a public
carriage f, and when you have ftayed here as long
as you pleafe, you fhall be conveyed wherever you
think proper.

27

I

Epiftle XIII. To his Uncle Julian J.
T is now the third hour of , the night, and hav- A. D,

ing no fecretary, as they are all employed, I
with difficulty write you this. I am living, thanks
,',..: r to
->;• * An actor, who, being ordered a ftatue in the. theatre,
for his excellent,, performance of .Parthenopaeus, infcribed
his own elogium ; whence the proverb, Aftydamas fe ipfum
laudat. See Erafmus in Chiliad, p. 627. It is alfo ufed by
Julian, in his Lixth Epiftle, and by Libanius.
t The government furnifhed Carriages to thofe who
travelled by .order pf the prince ; and thefe were then
called public carriages. La Bleterie.
y \ Afterwards Count of the -Eaft,- the Emperor's maternal
uncle. He had alfo been prxfect of jEgypt. (See Epiftle X.)
4 At

361.

aS EP IS T-LTE S O F JULIAN.
to the Gods, and have been preferved from doing
or fuffering incurable evils. The fun, whofe affift-
anee I particularly requefted, and alfo royal Ja-
¦piter, can atteft, that I never wifhed the death af
Conftantius, but that I rather wifhed the contrary.
'Why-then did I wage war? Becaufe the Gods
exprefsly commanded me, promifing me fafety. if
I obeyed, but, if I hefitated, that which all the
Gods avert! By appearing openly in arms I
thought I might intimidate him, and thus accom
modate matters more eafily ; or, if a battle fhould
prove inevitable, I determined to rely on Fortune
and the Gods, and to wait whatever their good-
nefs fhould determine.

Epiftle XIV. To Libanius *.
I READ yefterday moft; part of your oration f
before dinner ; and after dinner, without in-
termiflion, I finilhed the remainder. How happy
AAc.Iiis requfft, being alfo a.n appftate, gB(j hating, the
Chriftians with lefs diftinetion than his nephew, Julian
pardoned the Pagan murderers of George at Alexandria.
As foon as Julian had heard in Illyricum of the death of
Cpnftantius, he wrote this Epiftle to his uncle by the
rneffeqger whom he difpatched wjth the news of that in-
terefling event. La Bleterie.
•¦ One MS. adds ,£|#p7 xai Kxfiatfupt, " Sophift and
QLyaeftor." See the firft note on Epiftle xxvii, which is fo
illp.erfcribed. f Perhaps this was the oration in praife of Julian, which
is mentioned by , ^ujdas ; or .perhaps one of the two that
,^1-e publiflied. ' Bako^ius. are

EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
are you to be ; able! thus to fpeak, or rather, thus
to think ! What a difcourfe ! what judgment !
triiat an underflanding ! what wifdom ! what ar-
gifrments! what an arrangement ! what ftrength!
what language! what harmony ! what compofition I

Epiftle XV. To the Philofopher Maximus *.
A LEX ANDER of Macedon is faid to havse A. d.
-*- ¦** flept upon the poems of Homer, that, night 3
and day, he might be con<v.erfant with his martial
inftruitions.
* The boldeft and moft fkilful mafter of the Theurgic
feience, by whofe hands Julian (after having imbibed the
.firft rudiments of the Platonic doctrines from Edefius) was
.fecretly initiated at Ephefus, in the twentieth year of his
age. As foon as Julian had taken poffeffion of tlie palace of
Conftantinople, he difpatched an honourable and preflitig
invitation to Maximus ; who then refided at Sardis, in
Lydia,, with, Chryfanthius,. the affociate of his art and
ftudies. . -. . His journey through fhe cities of Afia dif
played the triumphs of philofophic vanity ; and the ma
giftrates vied with each other in the honourable reception
which they prepared for the friehd of their fovereign.
Julian was pronouncing an oration before the fenate, when
he was informed of the arrival of Maximus. The Em
peror immediately interrupted his difcourfe, advanced to
meet him, and, after a tender embrace, conducted him by
the hand into the midft of the affembly ; where he pub
lickly acknowledged the benefits which he had received
frOm the inftructions of the phitofophel-. Maximus, who
foon acquired the confidence, and influenced the councils,
of Julian, was infenfibly corrupted by the temptations of
a court. His drefs became more fplendid, his demeanour
more lofty, and he was expofed, under a fucceeding reign,
to an enquiry into the means, by which the difciple of
Plata

30 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
inftrudtions *." But I fleep with your epiftles as fo
many Pasonian medicines, and am no more weary
of perufing them, than if they were new and juft
received. To give me therefore in your corre-
fpondence a picture of yourfelf, write, I intreat
you, and fail not to write frequently. Or rather
come, with aufpicious omens ; and be affured that,
during your abfence, I cannot be faid to enjoy life,
except while I am reading your letters.
Plato had accumulated, in the fliort duration of his favour,
a very fcandalous proportion of wealth. Three other
Epiftles (xvi, xxxviii, and xxxix.) in the fame ftyle of
frendfhip and confidence, are addreffed to this philofopher. Gibson.
Maximus and other philofophers accompanied Julian in
his Perfian expedition; and, when he was mortally wounded,
fome of his laft words were a metaphyfical argument with
Maximus and Prifcus on the nature of the foul,- having
Socrates no doubt in view. See Ammianus, xxx. 5. He
was fined and imprifoned in the reign of Valens, and at
laft beheaded for magic by Feftus, pro-conful of Afia, in
374- Though Maximus was greatly refpe£ted, and much
admired by the Emperor Julian, and many learned Heathens,
as a great philofopher, and was alfo reputed to have com
merce with the Gods, I do not think he was a wife man.
Lardner.
* Of all the remains of antiquity, Alexander had the
greateft efteem for Homer, who, he thought, was the only
writer who had perfectly defcribed that wifdom by which
empires fubfift ; and fuch was his paffion for him, that he
was ftyled " Homer's lover." He ufed to carry his works
always with him ; and even when he went to bed, he 'put
them and his fword under his pillow, calling them his
" military viaticum, and the elements of martial virtue."
FreinshemiUS. Epiftle

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 31

Epiftle XVI. To the fame.
'TpHE fable fuppofes, that the eagle, when he
-¦- would try his genuine brood, carries them
unfledged into the air, and expofes them to the
rays of the fun, that by the teftimony of that God
he may diftinguifh the true from the fpurious off-
fpring. But I offer my writings to you as to
eloquent Mercury : and if they can bear your
penetrating ray *, you will judge whether they
are fit to be publifhed. If not, throw them away,
as ftrangers to the Mufes ; or plunge them, as
fpurious, in the river. Thus the Rhine, the de
cent avenger of adultery, does juftice to the
Celts f, by overwhelming illegitimate infants with his
* T»i» o-ijt axltm in one MS. which feems preferable to
Kxor,t (" hearing") the common hearing, as it continues the
metaphor. f On examining all the paffages in which Julian has ufed
the word Celtes, I have obferved that he makes it fometimes
fignify the Gauls, fometimes the Germans, and at other
times both of them. I think that it is employed in this
latter fenfe here. Claudian (in Rufin. I. n.) reckons
among the Gauls thofe to whom he afcribes the cuftom of
making their infants undergo the trial of Water, by plung
ing them in the Rhine :
Thus the fierce Gauls with yellow locks proceed,
Whom the fwift Rhone or flower Arar breed,
Or whom, new-born, the Rhine's deep current try'd,
Or whofri Garumna waflies with his tide,
When fwell'd with torrents from the troubled main,
The refluent river floats the cover'd plain. Jaeez Hughes.-> But

& EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
But this poet does not afcribe to them this cuftom ex-
clufively of die German's. The nations fettled on the two
banks of the Rhine muft have had nearly the fame manners
and the fame cuftoms, becaufe many of thofe who inha
bited the left fide of that river were of German origin.
We Know aJfo that the Germans plunged their children in
cold water- as foon as they were born, to afeertain whether
they were ftrong, and to, inure them to the cold, as did
many other nations, and as, it is faid, feveral in America
do at prefent.
As to the intention of proving the legitimacy of infants,
it is probably a fable invented by the Romans. Seeing them
pfonge in the Rhine thofe children of whom fome perilhed
through weakoefs of conftitution, or by the mifmanage-
ment of thofe who bathed them; and judging, by their own
corruption, of that of other nations, they imputed to the
Germans fome views which they had not, and an anxiety
from which the prudence of the women fufficiejitly preferved
their hufbands. Be that as it may, the moft ancient au
thors Who mention this motive are Julian, Gregory Na
zianzen, and Libanius; but many have mentioned it fince ;
among others, Nonnus, Theophylactus, Euftathius, &c.
I know not whether Ciaudian fhould be added, as he doe9
not mention the object, of the trial. According to the
author of a Greek epigram, quoted by Cluvier (German.
I. i.) infants were expofed on the Rhine in a buckler.
When a fable is once invented, circumftances never fail to
be added. I fhall obferve, however, that Julian, who in
two paffages mentions this trial, fpeaks of it as a report
in his fecond Panegyric on Conftantius ; inftead of which,
in this Epiftle to Maximus, fobfequent to that difcourfe,
he expreffes himfelf in an affirmative manner ; a difference
the mote remarkable, as in the fame Epiftle he takes care
to relate only as a fable what he fays of the eagle and his
VOUBg 01. *-i. O pit jkuSoc iroiH rat allot, «.. T. Ti. Fabula fingit
aquilam, &c. But, after all, it is probable that Julian was
really certain of the fad, that he had feen the nations
bordering on the Rhine plunge their children in that river,
but that he was miftaken as to the mothe. La Bleterie.
The other paffage, to which M. de la Bleterie alludes, is
the following, in the iid Oration : " It is faid, that,
" among the Germans, there is a river, which is an in-
*' fallible judge of chaftity, which neither fighing mothers,
7 " nor

EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
his flood;; -but fuch as he acknowledges to be of
a pure origin he fupports above the water, and
again delivers into the hands of the trembling
mother, rewarding her with the fafety of her child,
as a teftimony of her incorrupt and, irreproachable
nuptials.

33

Epiftle XVII. To Oribasius *

w

E are told by the divine Homer, that there A- a
are two gates of dreams, and that their

credit, as to future events, is different f . I think you
" nor fathers dreading the event for their wives and chilr
" dren, can perfuade to conceal their fhame, being always
" true and flncere."
That in thofe days pf darknefs and ignorance fuch a fu-
perftitibn might prevail, may eafily be believed, when we
confider, that in much later times female chaftity *ras as
abfurdly fubje&ed to the teft of another element ; and that
even in our own country, polifhed as it is, and in pur own
memory, the aged of the lame fex have been expofed to
a trial fimilar to that above-mentioned, and drowning has
been deemed the only method of exculpating them from
the charge of witchcraft.
* Of Pergamus. He was phyfician to Julian, and one
of the four domeftics whom Conftantius allowed him to
retain when Csefar. (See the Epiftle to the Athenians,
p. 78.) Oribafrus attended him to the Perfian war, and in
his laft moments tried in vain all the refources of medicine. .
This, letter muft have been written in Gaul.
The Chriftian Emperors afterwards ftripped him of all
his fortune, and banifhed him among cruel Barbarians, by
whom and their kings he was much efteemed, prdbably for
his flrill in phyfic or forgery. He was then recalled' to his
native country, had his eftate reftored to him, and married
VpL. II. D a wife

34 EPISTL ES OF JULIA N.
you have had a clear infight into futurity |. And
a wife with a large fortune. This we.learn ,from his life,
among thofe of the fophifts, by Eunapius, who mentions
him as living when he'wrote, which was about the year 400,
above forty years after his going into Gaul with Julian.
Suidas fays, that Oribafius was of Sardis, arid both he and
Photius mention feveral of his works, particularly thefe
four : 1. " An abridgment of the works of Galen," in fe
veral books. 11. " The fetitimeftts of other phyficians,
" as well as Galen," in feventy books. Both infcribed to
the Emperor Julian, ur. " An abridgment of the other
•« two," in nine books, to his fon Euftathius. 1 v. " Another
" " compendious reprefentation of the principles of medi-
" cine," in four books, infcribed to Eunapius (probably his
biographer), at whofe defire it was compofed. Lardner.
The Csefar bad rejected with abhorrence a mandate for
the levy of an extraordinary tax; a new fuperdiction, which
theprnsfect [Florentius] had offered for his fignature; and
the faithful picture of the. public mifery, by which he had
been obliged to juftify his refufal, offended the court of
Conftantius. We may enjoy the pleafure of reading the
fentiments of Julian, as he expreffes them with warmth
and freedom in a letter [the above] to one of his moft
intimate friends. Gieeon.
f Odyff. xix. c(>2.
Immur'd within the filent bower of fleep,
Tw*o portals firm the various phantoms keep;
Of iv'ry one, whence flit, to mock the brain,
Of winged lies a light fantaftic train :
The gite oppos'd pellucid valves adorn,.
And columns fair incas'd with polifh'd horn,
Whete images of truth for paffage wait,
With vifions manifeft of future fate. Fenton.
Virgil has imitated this in iEneid VI. 893.
X It is obfervable, that Julian ufes this language to an
intimate friend. Can his belief then in dreams be doubted?
In what remains of his books againft the Chriftian religion,
he affirms that " iEfculapius often cured him by remedies
*• which he had difclofed to him." The Pagans believed
that that God appeared to them in their; fleep:
- ¦¦ ¦ ¦ La Bluterib. the

£ PIS TIES OF JULIAN. 35
the fame I myfelf alfo have had to-day *. A lofty
tree •f- grew, I thought, in a fpacious room, with
its branches bending down to the ground, and
from its root fprouted another, fmall and young,
and very floufifhing. For this plant I was very
anxious, fearing left it fli6uld( be rooted up, to
gether with the tree. Approaching nearer, I faw
the large one fallen to the ground^ but the fmall
One not only erect, but raifed into the air.- , Seeing
this, I exclaimed, with much concern, " What a
" downfall is this ! The root, I fear, will perifh
" alfo." One, who was; a ftranger to me^ then
faid, " Obferve with attention, and- be not afraid !
"For as the root ftill remains in the ground,
*' the "plant is unhurt, and will fix more firmr
" ly +7-" Such was my dream ; what it portends
God knows e

* Even in his fleep the mind of the Csefar muft have
been agitated by the hopes and fears of his fortune. Zo
fimus relates a fubfequent dream. Gibbon.
f This" tree isConftanthis, and the fhoot Julian' himfelf7.
La Bleterie.
X He here plainly intimates, that he fhould fucceed
Conftantius. To the fame purpofe is the following paffage
of Ammianus, xxt. 2. " As Caefar Julian w-as brandifhing
*' a buckler, which he was exercifing with various motions
" in the field, the pegs, by which it was faftened to-i
" gethei-, being fhakeri out, the handle alone remained,
" which he grafped hard in his hand. And all that
" were prefent being terrified by the bad omen," ' Let
" ' no one,' he faid, ' be alarmed :' I grafp firmly what
«' I held !'
D a "As-

36 EPLS.TLTES OF JULIAN.
As to that wicked and effeminate wretch.*", 'I
am "very defirous to learn, when he thus difGpurfed
concerning me, whether before we'metj or fince:
inform me as far. as you are able. He well knows,
that frequently, when he oppreffed the provincials,,
I was more filent than I ought ; not hearing fome
things, not admitting others, not crediting a few,
and imputing many to his friends and favourites.
But when he thought proper to endeavour to
brand me with infamy by fending me bafe and
fcandalous memorials to fign t, what was the proper
ftep for me to take f To be filent, or to revolt I
The former was foolifti, mean, and odious ; the
latter was juft, manly, and liberal, but* on account
of fome prefent circumftances, inconvenient. How
then did I act I In the prefence • of many, who, I
knew, would acquaint him with it, I faid, " He will
" certainly alter his plan, its injuftice is fo ap-
" parent." Hearing this, inftead of afting with
difcretion, he did what, by heaven, a common
tyrant would have fcrupled, and that almoft before
my eyes. In fuch a fituation, what conduft could
one, who is a zealous • bbferver of the precepts of
¦* Ta fj.ia.pa atipyma. He means Florentius, prefect of
Gaul. La Bleterie.
See the Epiftle to the Athenians, p. 92. Petau and others
underftand this of the euniich Eufebius.
¦j- A fcheme to augment the capitation. Bid,
This, in the reign of Conftantius, was in Gaul twenty-
five pieces of gold, annually, for every head. The humane
policy of his fucceffor reduced the capitation to feven
pieces. Gibbon.
Ariftotle

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. . 37
Ariftotle and Plato *, with propriety adopt? ^Should
I abandon the wretched people to the merey of
thefe extortioners, or fhould I not, to the ut
moft of my power, protect; them, reduced as they
are, by that profligate crew, to the laft gafp fl
' Shall I punifh a military tribune, when he deferts his
poft, with immediate death, and not deem him
worthy even of interment ; and fhall I abandon my
own ftation, when I am called upon to defend the
oppreffed; a ftation, in whichT was placed by God
himfelf? If difgrace muft be my portion, a pure
confcience is no fmall confolation. Would to heaven,
that I were ftill bleffed with fuch an excellent friend
as Salluft ! { If, on this account, T fhould be fuper-
feded, I fhall not be concerned ; as a fhort time
;* It is .plain that. his illuftrious actions proceeded from
pedantry at Jeaft, as much as from, virtue. La Bleterie.
•f In the original, To xvxmit efaWi, " they fing the fong
" of fwans.": Julian here adopts the ancient pcfetical idea of
the dying melody of this bird. And the fame expreffion of
the " fwan-fong" is proveibiaily ufed td this day, in the
fame fenfe, in Sweden, Yet even among the ancients it
was doubted by'&lian, deniedby Pliny, and ridiculed by
Lucian, arid by modern naturalifts it is generally exploded.
Some, however, have fupported-it. Mr. Jodr&U; in his
elaborate illuftrations of Euripides, after employing thirty-
four,8vo j>ages' oh the fubject, recapitulates the modern
evidence on' both fides; and a late writer in. the Gentle
man's Magazine (for 1782, p. 420.) wifb.es " Mr. Hnr^ter
" would-afcertain the capabilities of this common b rd fo;
" fuch enchanting melody," as he has thofe of the.Curan-
Outang for fpeech ; and queries .-" whether it may not re-
" fide, like that of bees and other flying infects, in the
',, • c .u :' •' A, ii' ~A'l , / ".j
" motion of; the wings.
X An officer of great mer^t',' by! nation a Gaul. See the
Confolatory Oration on his 'departure, or' recall, in Vol. I.
D 3 well

E P I S T L E S " O F JULIAN.
-well fpent' is preferable to a.long.cgurfe of evil *t
'The Peripatetic philofophy is not, as fome thjnk,
•more pufillanimous than that. of the Stoics, In
this only* I apprehend, they, differ,;- the fprmer^s
more fanguine. and lefs, fyftematical; the latter
i more cool" and prudent,. Urging 3 tenacious ad-
¦ herenceto opinions. - '  .-.mi (,v.7

<

;;. L> Epiftle XVIII. To, the Philpfopher
;, „ ,,;-ui . .EUGENIUS f . . r ¦ ',
, ; n:z-i o: I. ,r,; ::':..¦ :;:-. ¦; - - ; :.-.(;r," -;
X M. D A L U S, it is faid, formed waxen . wings
¦tf for Icarus- J j and endeavoured by art tofurr
. pafs nature.. Though I .admire, his art, I cannot
commend his prudence, in venturing to truft the
fafety-of his forr to " diffoluble wax*' But if I had
the ..power, according to the wifh of the Teian
lyric, : to be changed into a bird §., I would4 not
"fly tp Olympusj ' or on any amorous purfuit,' but to
i .'Pf; ¦;-. ,;j . -• ¦ : ¦ \
*. Such, a cpnduct ahrtofb juftifies,the encomium of Ma-
mertinus : Ita Mi annifpatia Jivifa futit, ut out Barbaras do-
yiitet,, aut civibus jura rejlituat ; perpctuum profcffus aut contra
hoflcm, aut centra vitia., ccrta-n/en. Gibbon.
f There is great reafon to fuppofe that this Eugenius
was the father of Themiftius. For he alfoj was a philo
fopher, • and 'of ho fmall reputation, if the teftimony of
his -fon may- be credited. See the. Hd oration of The
miftius.-'-. '.'... . ,J. . ./,,,, ,,. Jetau.
X Se'e Ovid. Metam. VIII. Fabr 3. <¦')¦ •¦< '
§ No fuch paffage occurs in any of the Odes of Ana;
creon that are known vto us, or fo' ftyled. See a note on
the Mifopogon, p. 291. The'ideaas, certainly, Anacreontic.
'ta""" tKe

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 39
the tops., of your mountains, that, as Sappho fays,
Thee, my care;, I might embrace *.
. Nature, however, having confined me in the
prifon. of a human body, and not allowing me to
elevate even my words on high, with fuch wings
as I have I purfue you,> with my writings, thus
endeavouring to be with you as much as poffible.
Homer Jtyles words " winged j-," becaufe they can
fly any where, like the. fwifteft birds, and make
what excurfions they pleafe.' But do you, my
friend, write alfo. For you have an equal, if not
a larger, fhare of the wings of words, to enable
you to reach your friends, and, as if you were
prefent, every where to afford them delight.

Epiftle XIX. ToEcebolus %.
T>IND AR thinks that theMufes are of filver §,
'¦*- ' comparing the clearnefs and fplendor of their
art to the moft fplendid of all fubftances. The wife
* Ita at, To f/.t'Kyifj.a rttf/.ot, a-Egiw1f^upfl(i.
This ajfo muft be in fome Ode of Sappho that has not
been preferved.
t Eirta'WIe'joiila, II. I. 201. II, 7. and innumerable other
places. Thus alfo Virgil,
 — — — — verbis,
Qute tuto tibi. magna volant. JEh. XI. 380.
X The preceptor of Julian, a fophift, whofe confeience
was fo fupple, that he was conftantly of the religion of the
fovereign, and perhaps, in reality, of none. Under Con
ftantius he inveighed againft the Gods of the Pagans.
Afferwa-rds he declaimed for them, when his pupil Julian
D 4 had

40 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
wife Homer ftyles filver {< fhining */' and water
" lilvery f," as glittering; by the bright rays of
the fun, and by its own fplendid form. Fair Sappho
calls the moon " filvery," and fays, " on this ao.
" count all the other ftars are obfcured \." Some
therefore may fuppofe that the Gods abound with
filver more than gold. For that filver is more fit for
the ufe of mankind* and better than gold, as being
more eafily attainable, and much more pleafing and
commodious, is not my idea, but that of the ancients,
had opened the temples again. And as foqn as he heard of
the death of that prince, he acted the part of a penitent. by
proftrating himfelf at the doors 6f a church, and, 'ift 'a
lamentable tone, exclaiming to the faithful, .".Trample me
*' under foot : I am like fait that has loft its favour."
He made Julian promife, with the-rnofl dreadful impre
cations, never to be the difciple of Libanius ; precautions
likely to give Julian a greater tafte for that fophift. La Bleterie,
§ Pindar, in his VHIth Ifthmian, ffyles the Mufe
" golden," (xs»««0 ; but I do not find that the epithet
'f filver" is fo applied in any of his works now extant.
* Aiy7W)£VT«. ¦ ' ,
f A^yuptot. Neither of thefe epithets are to be found fo
applied in the Index of Homer by Seberus, They muft
therefore be in fome work that has not reached us. Water
indeed is often ftyled " fplendid," (ayiuot) both in the Iliad,
and Odyffey,
X This alfo muft be taken from fome poem of Sappho
that is loft. The only paffage in which, the moon is men
tioned in her few remaining works is in a fragment,
and that without the epithet, which the tranflator has
added s Ativxt fj.it a. at^onta,
Ka« flheiuits, k. r. X.
The Pleiads now no more are feen,
Nor Aiines the^ [filver] moon ferene. ¦ Fawijes, There-

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 4*
Therefore, if for a piece of gold, prefented by you,
I return filver, as of equal value, think not the,
favour lefs, nor imagine, as in the cafe of Glaucus,
that the exchange of armour is difadvantageous
to you ; and even Diomed perhaps exchanged his
Elver *" arms for gold, becaufe he thought, thofe
much more ufeful and more proper, like lead, to
blunt the point of fpears.
What y'ou wrote has occafioned this jocularity."
But if you would fend me gifts- more valuable than
Hold, write, andTail not to write inceffantly. For
a letter from you, however fhort, will be preferred
by me to the moft coftly prefehts.

r-
¦ ! r

Epiftle XX. To Eus.TbCHius f.
.. - -- ;,.- 9Ci - '' '¦ '-—--- -!'•-• -I
TH £ wife Hefiod thinks^ that our nieighboursl A-& D*
fhould be incited to entertainments^ that
they may feaft and rejoice together, as well as
lament: and inourn together, When they meet with
any unexpected rmisfprtun£(;'f; But I think, that
pur friends, not our neighbours only* fhould be
* Afyvfa%p>aa*,.. In Hbtfiter *he &m& b"f Diomed areof
Jjfafs : ^evaitoc, x"*y.eiur. II. Vi. 236.
M. de la Bleterie has not tranflated «his Epiftle.
t A native of Paleftine, an eloquent orator,' mentioned
%y Libamus in feveral of his Epiftles. In one of them he
f*ys, «*- Euftochius, by his manners, conciliates every one ;
?* they render thofe Who are fierce gentle," &c.
+ Works and Days, I. 340.
'' No friends forget, nor entertain thy foe,
Jijor let thy neighbour uninvited go. Cooke, 457.
invited j

EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
invited ; becaufe a neighbour may be an enemy,
but a friend cannot, any "more than white can be
black, or hot c6ld. That you are my friend, not
only how, but have long been fo, and that your re-r
gard [for me has never varied, if there were no other
evidence, my loVe and efteem for you would fuf-
nciently prOve. Come then, and partake the con
sular' feftivity *.- "The public road will, convey
you, and you rnay command one carriage, and a
Supernumerary horfe f. To complete your wifhes,
I have invited the friendly Enodia and Eno/iius to
meet you".  1 ,
, .::•¦? j ,0 ..; '/ -; >: -,v' i'^- : ¦•'¦ ¦¦
* It was a cuftom >'fo.t thp eonfuls' elect -to' invite their
friends to the confulfhip, which was on the calends of
January ; this was c&lleoT fbgdre "ad confulatum. And fome
times the confuls eject not only invifed their friends by
their own' letters, 'but' alfo by the letters "of the prince
himfelf caufed them to be aiked to their confulfhip by his
^geuJu^Which; honour, Libanius, in his oration on his own
life, p. &7» fpeaking .of tjje confol Prichome/fes, f&ys, was
ffr'ft' offeVe'd to him. Be that as it. may,, that the cuftom
w=as' frequent in thofe 'rimes-toe' learn' from ttfe t th and- 6th
boo^s of thevEp}ftl^..o,f Sym.m.achus. And of the. fam«
kind is this, Epiftle of Julian. .. Valois.
Julia'h'invited Eflftochiiis both as prince and cdnful, which
he was.the fucceedingyear. ^Salluft the fecond was his
collegue. f This w«|iTwo5j-;in,terpret to be a fingle horfe, a third,
in addition to the two that drew ; the car.riage,.whigh horfe^
for the greater expedition,, king Theodoric,' in; an Epiftle
preferved by Cafliod.pr.us, , forbade to carry more, than, an
hundred pounds weighri. The fame indulgence is granted
by Julian to" .^Eltius, in" Epiule.xxxi. Petait,
This' is alfo omitted by M. de la Bleterie, _ ,,• ¦•

>l* ***<-¦¦> ¦•*  ¦• - ¦- - Epiftle
l-jiC/i'i.

E P IS TLES, OF -JUL I,- A- N. 43

Epiftle XXL; :To, Callixene *, Prieftefs
¦; ¦• -, . of Ceres, ., -
-'*'- *»' '¦• '^'-'.r.-'i ;"..'¦ -. -,i'if '¦'''. -r ..
' | * I ME alone evinces men to be juft. So we A. d,
m:-*- were taught of old. Let me add, pious and
, .religious. But you fay, the love fof Penelope for
herhufband was .alfo thus demonftrated. To flijsT
. anfwer, who can prefer, in a woman, conjugal love
r.lo pioty, ^jthout being thought 46 have fwallowed
large draughts of mandragora -j- ? And who that
* It is plain, by this Epiftle, that Callixene had been
rriolefte'd, -on- account of- her religion, for; twenty years,
--'that :iff, 'during almoft the, whole reign of Conftantius.
The date of it may evidently be (fixed to the time of the
journey which Julian took to Peffinus. La Bleterie.
¦ JSee note * next page. ,,.,,,
. '" Theenthufiafei of- Julian prompted him to embrace the
- friends of Jupiter ae; his perfonal friends ;and brethren ; and
though he partially 'overlooked the, merit of Chriftian con-
: ftahcy, he admired and rewarded; the noble perfeyerance of
thofe Gentiles who had preferred the favour of the, Gods to
that of the Emperor. - Thus he prajfes and rewards the
fidelity of this prieftefs, and thus, in Epiftle xxyii, he ap
plauds the firmnefs of Sopater of Hierapolis-. .^Qibbon.
f Mandragora has fuch, a foporific quality, that, if \ye
credit Pliny, (xxv. n.) large draughts Of it are fatal.
It is alfo called Circean, becaufe its root is fuppofed to be
ufeful in love-philtres. Therefore thofe who neglect their
duty, and fall afleep, are faid " to have drunk much man-
ff dragpra." Erasmus,
Thus Shakfpeare, in Othello :
 Not poppy, nor mandragora,
Nor all the drowfy fyrups of the'world,
Shall ever medicine thee to that fweet fleep
Which thou hadft yefkrday. Aft III. confiders

44 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
confiders the times, and compares Penelope, though
praifed almoft univerfally for her conjugal fidelity,
WHh the pious1 matrons who lately hazarded their
lives, and, in addition to thefe evils, twice the
length of time,, can juftly put Penelope in com-
; petition with you I
, Difregard not thefe praifes. All the Gods will
reward you. We, for our part^ will honour you
with a double priefthood, and tO that, which you
had before, of the moft holy Goddefs Ceres, we add
the priefthood of the great Mother, the' Phrygiaa
Goddefs at facred Peflinus *.
' ' '"' ',"),,¦ ; -- _¦', [r. ¦ s
¦*' The ftatue of •Cybele had been removed f/om this
temple 'to Rome by Scipio Nafiea,,many centuries before.
See Livy,'xxrx. 10. and Pliny, v> 32. When Julian arrived,
• on1 the -Confides of Galatia, in his way to Antioch, he quit
ted his route to vifit Peflinus. And probably he compofed
there, in hohour of the Mother of the Gods, that hafty
difcourfe which is ftill extant, as "it eofthim," he fays,
" not a whole night," it @$(*x" ivxloq ^w, after venting
his anger on two Chriftians^ one of whom had pulled down
the altar of the Goddefs/
The Peffinwitians had- fuch an indifference ' for the
Mother of the Gods, their ancient protectrefs, that it is
ho wonder that this priefthood was vacant. Julian confer*
it as Sovereign1 'Pbntiff, the head of the Pagan religion.
LA Bleterie.

Epiftle

EPISTLES OF JULIAN- 4*

Epiftle XXII. To Leontius.

HP H E Thurian hiftorian fays, that " mens ears
-*- " are lefs faithful than their eyes *." But
as to you I diffent, and my eyes are lefs fakh'
ful than my ears. For though I were to fee you
ten times, I fhould never truft my eyes fo much as
I now truft my ears ; having heard, from one of
unimpeached veracity, that, as you excell others
in every thing elfe,, you excell yourfelf in afting,
as Homer exprpflfes it, both " with hands and
" feetf." Allowing; you, therefore, the ufe of
arms, we have fent you a complete fuit of armour
proper for the foot» being lighter than that of the
*[ Thus Horace, in his Epiftle to the Pifos,
 What we hear
More flowly moves the heart than what we fee.
Julian ftyles Herodotus, the author of this faying, " the
" Thurian," becaufe he lived and died at Thurium, in
Magna Grecia. It is taken from his Clio, fpeaking of
the queen of Candaules, whom he wifhed to fhew naked
to his friend Gyges.
f When we mean to exprefs our utmoft endeavours, we
fay, " with hands and feet." For by the " hands" is de
clared induftry in performing, and by the " feet" fwift-
nefs in forwarding, an undertaking. Thus Horn. II. XXr
360. Erasmus. horfe ;
''' ' -hl:<f,,  ; . ,-i ¦, , , , ' ;

4« £ PI S T L E S O F J U L I A N,
horfe ; and have enrolled you among our domefffe
guards, who confift of fuch as have borne arms,
and ferved in the army *.

Epiftle XXIII. To Hermogenes, formerly
Prefect of iEgypt-
A. D. A LLOWme to fay, with the poets,
361. ii How blefs'd beyond my hopes am I !
How much beyond my hopes have I heard of my
efcape from that many-headed Hydra f ! I do
not mean my brother Conftantius (whatever he
was), but the Wild beafts who furroundcd hira,
Whofe eyes nothihg cotrld elude, and who made
him more fevere, who in his own difpofltion was
not the mildeft, though he feemed fo to' many.
But he is no more. On him therefore, as the fay
ing is, light lie the earth ! As to them, I would not
have them, Jupiter knows, treated with the leaft
injuftice; but as many charges are brought againft
jhem, I allow them a trial J. In Order to be
prefent,
* Symmachus, Epift. 67. l.nf. u For to fuch veterans
" a prerogative is due, that they may have the rank of
*' ghards, as a reward for their long fervices." Petau.
This Epiftle is omitted by M. de la Bleterie.
-j- Tlo/\vx.t<pct.'\ot [in one MS. r^ixt(pa./\o>]vS^at. Hermogenes
was, like himfelf, -converfant with the Greek ppets. GlEEON.
, „ J To conduct this enquiry, Julian named fix judges of
the higheft rank in the ftate and army ; and as he wifhed
to efcape the reproach of condemning his perfonal enemies,
2 he

? T"

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. tf
prefeiir/, haften hither, my dear, friend, even be
yond your ftrength ; for, by the Gods, I have
long wifhed to fee you : and as I have had the
great fatisfaftion of hearing that you are well, I
now command you to come.

Epiftle XXIV. To the moft excellent
. Serapion *.
COME prefent . their friends with panegyrics;
*-' but I, as a delicious repaft, have fent you a
hundred of our long-ftalked, dried figs f; a gift
whofe beauty far exceeds its value. Ariftophanes
fays, that " dried figs are the fweeteftof all things,
" except honey ;" and he is afterwards of opinion
that not even honey is fweeter {. The hiftorian
Herodotus thought that a true folitude was fuffi
ciently defcribed by faying, " it has neither figs,
he fixed this extraordinary tribunal at Chalcedon, on fhe
Afiatic fide of the Bofphorus, and transferred to the com-
miffioners an abfolute power to pronounce and execute their
final fentence, without delay, and without appeal. They
were a fecond Salluft; Prefect of the Eaft, Prefident ; the
eloquent Mamertinus, one of the confuls elect, and four
generals, Nevittaj Agilo, Jovinus, and Arbetio. Ibid.
* A fenator, probably, of Conftantinople.
t Pliny (/. xv. c 18.) mentions, among the various
kinds of figs [twenty-nine in all]y thofe of a purple colour
(porpbyritides) with very long ftalks. Petau.
* X The only two paffages in which Ariftophanes mentions
figs, are in his, Knights, act II.. fc. 2.^ and his Acharnians,
act.. III. fc. j. and in neither of thefejare- they. compared
with honey. Julian muft therefore refer to fome play, pr
work, that is not extant.

a$ EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
" nor any thing elfe that is good *•" As if no fruit
excelled figs, and where there were figs, nothing
good could be wanting- Homer praifes other
fruits for their fize, their colour, or their beauty;
but to the fig alone he gives the appellation,, of
" fweetnefs f." Honey he calls " new J," fearing
left he fhould inadvertently ftyle that fweet which
often happens to be bitter : on the fig alone he
* Herodotus, in the firft book of his hidories, thus
proves the excellence of figs : " You are preparing to
" make war, O king, againft men who wear breeches,
" and other garments, of leather, who feed, not on what
-i* they like, but on wha,t they have, inhabiting, a rugged
" country ; they have no wine, by Jove, but are water-
«« drinkers ; nor have they figs to eat, nor any thing elfe
" that js good," Athene us.
The above is part of the fpeech of Sandanis, a Lydian,
who in vain attempted to diffuade Crcefus from invading
Perfia. , >
•J- In the garden of Alcinb'us, Odyff. vn. 117. Xum»i «
•/Kvxtgou. x. 7\. r.
The blufhing fig with lufcious juice o'erflows. Pope, 148.
And again, xi. 589. among the fruits that torment Tan
talus, where though the line in the original is* the fame,
Broome drops the epithet, and fubftitutes two of his own :
 Figs lfcy-dy'd a purple hue difclofe. ,
•* Homer's epithets," fays Euftathius, " are excellent.
" For it is obfervable, that the poet gives every tree an
" epithet fuited to its peculiar nature. Thus the apple is
" " beautiful," and its fruit, as he expreffes it," fplendi4"
«« (ayXaos) he therefore ftyles the apple a " fplendid-fruited
<{ tree" (aykaoxacwoi) ; among the autumnal fruits, the fig?
" by way of eminence, " fweet," and the olive " verdant."
% M«M x*">po», part of the entertainment given by Neftor,
in II. xi. 630. and by Circe in Odyff. x. 234. Pope ren
ders it in one place by " frefh," and in the other by
" new-preffed." The Latin tranflator of Julian has made
it fiavum* '- '' beftows

EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
beftows this peculiar praife, as on nectar, becaufe
of all things the fig only is fweet. " Honey,"
fays Hippocrates, " is fweet to the tafte, but quite
" bitter when digefted * :" and I am of his opinion ;
for that it breeds bile is generally allowed, and
gives the humours a different favour ; which fhews
that it is in its nature rather bitter than fweet.
For it would never change to bitter, if it were not
fo originally, and afterwards becanae the reverfe.
But the fig is not only fwset to the tafte, but eafy
of digeftion. It is fo ufeful to mankind, that Ari
ftotle deems it an antidote againft all poifons, and
fays, that " for no other reafon it is introduced at
*' the beginning and clofe of meals; as, in pre-
" ference to every thing elfe, affording a facred re-
" medy againft the injuries of food." That the fig
is confecrated to the Gods, and in all facrifices is
placed on the altar, and is better for perfumes
than any frankincenfe, is not merely my opinion ;
but all who are acquainted with its ufe know that
fuch alfo is the opinion of that fage the Hie-
* Hippocrates fays this, though not in thefe words, in
fubftance, in his work de internis affeBionibus, but of honey
boiled : " Boiled honey is heating, and adheres to the
*' belly ; but after it is digefted, it ferments, and the belly
¦*' fuddenly fwells, and burns, and feems as if it would
" burft." Galen alfo, in his iiid book de facultate alimen-
torum, fays, that " honey, in its nature, is fubtle, and by
'* its acrimony fwells the belly before it can be digefted, fo
" as to be voided. Therefore by correcting this we render-
" it fitter for digeftion and concoction." And this is
done by mixing it with water, and boiling both together.
For then, being clarified, it digeftt eafily. Petau.
Vol. II. E rophant.

49

So EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
rophaht *. The excellent Theophraftus. +, in his,
precepts of husbandry, explaining what kinds of
trees can be grafted on others, and the manner of
engrafting them, commends, I think, above all,
the fig-tree as capable of admitting various forts,
and as being fingular in eafily bearing at the fame
time grafts of every kind, if you fplit any of its
boughs, and engraft upon them the fhoots of other
trees ; fo that it often refembles a whole orchard,
diffufing, like a beautiful garden, the variegated
fplendor of different kinds of fruit. And while
the fruits of other trees continue but a fhort time,
and attain no age, the fig alone furvives the year,
and accompanies the growth of the fucceeding,
fruit X' Honjpr therefore fays, that, in the garden of
* AvJ^o; o-oips xai itgo^asvla. I fuppofe that Julian here
means the Eleufinian pontiff, peculiarly ftyled Hicropbantes,
or a revealer of facred things. He was obliged to devote
himfelf to the divine fervice, and lead a chafte and finglelife.
He was attended by three officers, a torch-bearer, a herald,'
and one who aflifted at the altar. (See Epictetus, /. m.
c. 21. and Potter's Greek Antiquities, vol. I. c. 20.) This
pontiff was fuppofed to be more profound even than Maxi-
rrius in the foience of Theurgy. And Julian muft have
been well acquainted with his fentiments, as he initiated
him in the myfteries at Eleufis, and was afterwards invited
by that prince to the court of Gaul, to perfect his fancti-
fication. , I am not confident, however, that the interpre
tation which I have given is the true one.
f Theopbraft.us has treated on figs, and on the grafting
of them in the nd book of his Hifl. Plant, c, 1. and 7. ana
alfo in his ift book de Caufis, c. vi. Petau.
X Theophraftus alfo mentions fome wild fig-trees which
bore twice, and others thrice, in a year, as in the ifland'
of Ceos. The late Mr. Markland, in an ingenious illnf-
trafion
- .1

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 5,
of Alcinous, ,fome fruits grew old upon others * ;
which, as to other fruits, perhaps may feem a
poetical fiction, but, as to the fig, is confiftent with
truth, becaufe of all fruits it is the moft lafting.
Such, I think, is the nature of the fig in general;
but of all figs ours is far the beft ; as that is fu
perior to all other fruits, ours is fuperior to all other
figs, and though it excells every other kind of fruit,
it is, in its turn, excelled by ours. And, to con
tinue the comparifon, it not only furpaffes, as is
fit, all others, but even in thofe particulars, where
it feems inferior, it really excells. Nor is this
undefervedly our peculiar lot. For it was juft,
I think, that the true city of Jupiter, and the
eye of the whole Eaft, I mean the holy and moft
fpacious Damafcus, as fhe is pre-eminent in every
thing elfe, in the elegance of her facred rites,
the magnificence of her temples, the happy tem
perature of her climate, the beauty of her foun
tains, the number of her rivers, and the fertility
tration of Mark xi. 13". 'adopted from Bifliop Kidder, refers
" thofe who will not be 'convinced that the tree fhould
" have figs on it at the tipe of the Paffover," to the above
paffage of Julian. See Bowyer's Critical Conjectures and
Obfervations on the New Teftament, 4to, p. 65.
* Odyff. vil. 117. .
, Each dropping pear a following pear fupplies,
,-On apples apples, figs on figs arife :
The fame mild feafon gives the blooms to blow,
The bud6 to harden, and the fruits to grow.
Poi'E, 154.
E 2 . of

52 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
of her foil *, fhould alfo be unrivalled in this
wonderful fruit.
This, tree will not bear tranfplanting, nor will-
it leave its native foil, difdaining, like an indi
genous plant, to grow any where but in the' colony.
Gold and filver are probably produced in various
places ; but our country is Angular in giving birth
to a plant which will not flourifh in any other.
As the wares of India, and the filks of Perfia, and
all the valuable productions of .^Ethiopia, by the
law of commerce are exported to all other parts of
the world, fo this our native fig is tranfirittecl by
us into all other countries ; nor is there a city, or art
ifland, to which its admirable flavour is unknown.
It graces even royal banquets ; of every entertain
ment it is the boaft and ornament ; nor is there
any cake, or wafer, or conferve, or any other kind
of confectionary, that is comparable to it in fweet-
nefs, fo much does it excell all other dainties.
Other figs are eaten in the autumn, or are dried
for that purpofe ; ours- alone are fit for either
purpofe ; they are good on th© tree, and- when
they are dried they are ftill better. And Were
* Damafcus is fituated in a very fertile plain at the foot
of Mount Libanus, being, furrounded by hills in the manner
of a triumphal arch. It is bounded by a- river which the
ancients named Chryforrhoas, as if it flowed With gold,
and it is divided into feveral canals. Damafcus has ftill a
* great number of fountain's, which render it exttemely
agreeable. Its fertile and delightful meadows, covered
with fruits and flowers, contribute alfo to its fame.
Morkri.
S you

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 53
you to obferve their beauty when growing, how
they hang from every bough by long -ft'alks, like fo
many ciips, and furround the tree in a circular
form, "thus exhibiting various charms, you would
fay, that what a necklace is to the neck, fuch
is this appendage to the tree. In the art of
preferving .them, there is alfo no lefs ingenuity
than there is pleafure in eating them. For they
are not,, like .other figs, thrown together iri heaps,
and promlfcuouily dried in the fun ; but, firft, they
are gathered caVefulTy from the tree's, and "then
they are hung againft a wall, by briars or twigs,
that they may be bleached by the action of the
pure iays of the fun, and may alfo be fecured from
the attacks of animals and birds, being protected
by the prickles as by fo many guards.
In the praife of their origin, flavour, beauty,
confection, and ufe, my epiftle has been fportive.
Let me now inform you, that the number a hun
dred is more honourable than any other, and con
tains in itfelf the perfection of all numbers. I
know indeed that the ancient fages preferred an
odd to an even number "*,.... Homer feems to
me
* Thus Virgil, Eel. viii. 7;. — Numero Deus impure gaudet.
Some paragraphs that follow in the original, being only a
trifling play on the number a hundred, I have omitted,
*' as affording," fo the words of M. de la Bleterie, " neither
" entertainment nor inftruction." The French tranflator
indeed has omitted the whole Epiftle, and reprobates it in
his preface, as one of thofe " which turn on mere trifles."
*-' I would fuppofe," he adds, " that this piece \\ only a
E 3 " profti-

54 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
me to have given in his poem, not lightly, or In
confiderately, a hundred- folded fhield to Jupiter *';
as he meant by this obfcurely to intimate either
that he appropriated the moft perfect number,' and
that which would moft honour him, to the moft
perfect God, or perhaps becaufe, as no number
but a hundred defcribes the world, which, on ac
count of its rotundity, is difplayed in the circular
form of a fhield, that intelligence which is fo ap-
parent in the world is alfo expreffed by a century
of circles. For the fame reafon, hundred-handed
Briareus is placed near Jupiter, aridxohtends with
the Father, to give an idea of his perfect ftrength
by a perfect number. Pindar alfo the Theban,
" proftitution of wit and learning, and perhaps a cfiti.
" cifm;,for it appears, by the' Letter "itfelf, that fuch
" elogiums were fafhfonable." Wit and learning, how
ever, are never more difplayed than by' giving1 irtiportance
and charms to trifles. ,-':,;. , ..'• ',, ¦; vot i
* The paffage alluded tcj is. in Iliad, II. 447. t ;;
The dreadful ALgis, -Jove's immortal fhield,
Blaz'd on her -j- arm, and fighten'd all the field :
Round the va-ftorb a hundred ferpents roll'd, , ,,
Fqnn'd the bright fringe, and feem'd to burn jn gold,
Pope, 526.
This foaky jEgis, but without the number, is defcribed
alfo in II. V. 738.
But to make amends "(which I wonder Julian fhould
omit) the helmet of the Goddefs is defcribed as narot to-
j\tut Kevhzta' «{«gma, either, ks Eiiftathiiis, fays, " becaufe
?' it could cover a hundred warriors, or becaufe it'had the
-varriors of a hundred cities engraved upon it." -Pope adopts
the latter, but amplifies the idea:
So vaft, the broad circumference contains '
A hundred armies on a Jiundred plains. 920,
f Minerva's. when

1

EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
when he celebrates the flaughter of Typhceus in a
triumphal fong, and afcribes the ftrength of this
greateft of giants to the greateft king of the Gods *,
beftows fuch extravagant applaufe on him, for np
other reafon than his being able to deftroy this
hundred-headed monfter with one blow ; as if no
giant was able to contend with Jupiter but he
alone whom his mother had armed with a hundred
heads, and as if no God but Jupiter was worthy
of the'conqueft and deftruction of fuch a giant.
Simonides, the Lyric poet, thinks it a fufficient
commendation of Apollo to ftyle him Exa/ov, and,
in preference, to any other .title, adorns his. name
with this facred diftinrtion, becaufe he flew the
ferpent Python, it is faid, with a hundred arrows ;
and he delights rather to be ftyled EkccIov- thaa
Pythius, being diftinguifhed by that as by a fur-
name f. The ifland Crete, the nurfe of Jupiter,
as a reward for his birth and education, is now
honoured with a hundred cities J. Homer ftyles
Thebes
* This muft probably be in one of the Olympics that
are loft, as no fuch paffage, or " triumphal fong", is
extant. t This feems a forced conftruction. Apollo's name
Etolos is naturally derived from his fhootiug at a diftance,
like ik>:€oXo;, fo often applied to him by Homer, and I do
not recollect his being any where ftyled Exitlot, The above-
mentioned paffage of Simonides is not in his few remaining
fragments collected by Henry Stephens.
1 II. II. 649.
Crete's hundred cities pour forth all her fons. Pope, 790.
It is obfervable, that in the Odyffey, XIX. J 74, only
• — Ninety cities crown the fea-born ille. Ffnton, 19-7.
E 4 on

5$

56 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
Thebes " hupdred-gated *," but gives this, praife
to no other, becaufe there is a wonderful beauty
in a hundred gates. I fay nothing of the heca
tombs f offered to the Gods, of the temples a
hundred feet wide J, the altars with a hundred
bafes, the hundred rooms, the hundred-acred fields,
and other things, divine and human, which are in-
eluded in the appellation of this number. This
number adorns the eftablifhments both of war §
and peace j|, it exhilarates the military centuries,
and with its addition honours the title of the
judges. on which Euftathius remarks -c " Crete is ' ninety-citied,'
** in the Odyffey, which i;s * a hundred-citied' in the
" Iliad, from an accidental circumftance ; for it is faid
" that ten cities were deftroyed by Idomeneus, at his re-
*' turn from Troy, when Leucus poffeffed ji, whom, being
" his fon by adoption, he foft guardian of the kingdom,
" " a foftered foake," as Lycophron ftyles him ; but thofe
" ten cities are faid to have been rebuilt after the Trojan
" war. Others underftaad ' hundred-citied' here not .in
" a determinate fenfe, but merely as ' many-citied,' For
*' ' a hundred' was fometimes fo ufed on account of the
•' distinction of that perfect number, like ' a hundred
" fringes,' and the warriors of ' a hundred' cities. Thus
»* ' bundfed-eitied' Crete is ' many-citied," Virgil has
followed the Iliad : Centum urbes habitant magnas, Mo..
III. 106.
* Exalo^s-iAoi. II. IX. 383.
That pours her heroes through a hundred gates.
Pope, 503,
f The facrifice of a hundred oxen.
X EnalonlaTe&s. Such, as appears from Plutarch, was the
temple of Minerva, in the citadel of Athens. Spanheim.
§ Centurions, captains Over a hundred foot each,
]| Centumviri, judges chofen, three out of every tribe,
to hear and determine certain civil caufes. I could

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 57
I could add more, did not the rules of epiftolary
compofition forbid. Pardon me, if I have faid too
much. Should it, in your opinion, attain medi
ocrity, the laudable attempt fhall be communicated
•to others, fuch is my confidence in your judgment.
But if another hand fhould be neceffary to make it
anfwer its intention, who better than you can polifh
this epiftle fo as tO enable it to delight its readers ?

^Epiftle XXV, To the Cqmmujjjty of
the Jews *.

FORMER times were not fo grievous to you A. d.
on account of the yoke of flavery, as on that 352"
of your being oppreffed by furreptitious decrees, and
* We are informed by fome or all our ecclefiaftical hif-
«or>ans, who write of Julian, that he fent for fome of the
chief men of the Jewifli nation, and enquired of them,
why they did not now facrifice, as the law of Mofes di
rected. They told him, that " they were not to facrifice
" at any place, except Jerufalem; and the temple being
*' deftroyed, they were obliged to forbear that part of
*' worfhip." He thereupon promifed to rebuild the temple
at Jerufalem. And we ftill have a letter of Julian, in
fcribed, " To the Community of the Jews," which, how
ever extraordinary, muft be reckoned genuine. For Sozo-
men exprefsly fays, that " Julian wrote to the patriarchs
" and rulers of the Jews, and to their whole nation, de-
" firing them to pray for him, and for the profperity of
" his reign." That is an exact defcription of the letter
which is infcribed (as above). It was writ in the year
362, as Bleterie fuppofeth ; in the beginning of that year,
fay TiUemont and the bifhop of Gloucefter. Lardner. Aldus

58 EPISTLES O F J U L I A N.
and. obliged to pay large fums into the treafury;
of. which I faw- much with my own eyes, and have
learned more from the edicts which were preferved
Aldus (Venet. 1499.) has branded this Epiftle with an
otyt^am^; but this ffigma is juftly removed by the fob-
fequent editors, Petavius and Spanheim. It is mentioned
by Sozomen (v. 22.) and the purport of it is confirmed by
Gregory (Orat. iv.p, 11 1.) apd by Julian himfelf, Frag
ment, p. 295. Gibbon, i
What Gregory Nazienzen, in his fecond invective, tells
us of the conference that followed this letter, plainly fliews
it to be genuine. " Julian," he fays, " affured the leaders
" of the Jews, that fie had difcovered from their facred
" books, that the time of their restoration was at hand."
It is not a mere curiofity to enquire what prophecy it was
that Julian perverted ; becaufe it tends to confirrnthe truth
of Nazianzen's ¦ relation. ¦ I have fometimes' thought rit
might ppflibly be .the, word? of the Septnagint, in. Dan. ix.
27. Tvtlth&a iqhatrai is^ r>jv fgriftuait, the ambiguity of which
¦ Julian took the advantage of (againft helleniftic Jews, who,
; it is probable, knew no more of the original than himfelf),
fignifying the tribute fiiall be given to the dcfolate, inftead of
the ¦confummation fhall be poured upon the defolate. For the
lette.r in queftion tells us he had remitted their tribute, and
by fo doing, we fee, was, for paffing himfelf upon them
for a fecond Cyrus. -,¦ Warburton.
It feems that the Jews, after the deftruction of Jerufalem,
,, preferved a fort of monarchy till the beginning of the Vth
century. They had. in Paleftine an Ethnarch, or chief of
their nation, who, by the toleration of the Romans, was
invefted with great power. He ftyled himfelf alfo Patriarch,
His place was hereditary, and defcended from father to fon.
All the fynagogues of the Eaft and Weft paid him tribute,
tinder the pretence of contributing to the fupport of the
Rabbins, who applied themfelves in Judea to the ftudy of
the law. Thofe whom he commiffioned to levy this tax
were ftyled Apofles or Envoys. Thefe patriarchs, who had
made thernfelvcs very odious by their extortions and rapines,
did not exift in 429. See M, de Tillemont's Hifloire des
H'.ipcrcurs, tome I. La Bieterie. againft

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 59
againft you. The tribute again ready to be'-levied
r'upwn you I have revoked ; this infamous impiety *
I have1 reftrained ; and the decrees againft you- re
maining iri my offices I have deftroyed, that :rione
may be able to circulate- fuch an impious ^re
port. Of thefe great oppre'flioris the meniorable
Conftantius, my brother; was left' ' guilty than
fome men,- barbarous in their underftaiidings arid
wicked in their minds, who frequented his table;
whom, arretted by my own hands, and thrown
into dungeons, 1 put to; death, that no memorial
of their deftruetion might remain among us f,
¦¦.-,-.:.',- • -: -.v, ,.; ...". ,,;*, ,,, , ,,<-,,, Defirous
:-¦•'¦-- •-- '' ' v.r.-, ,•>,,: .(,, , ,
* Aai^7iiiM..i Julian, defirous of flattering the Jews,- con
fiders them as a facred nation, who could not be injsured
'"without impiety. -•:: ¦ ii.oq t •-- La Bleterie.
-fr' From this part it appeals to have been written early
in his reign, on his firft coming to Cohftantinopfe, Tvhen
he purged the city and palace of fpies and informers, and
the like pefts of a corrupted court. , Warburton.
The chamber of juftice, created by Julian, proceeded
againft the favourites and minifters of Conftantius. with the
utmoft, rigour., But thai; Julian thruft any of .them into
dungeons " with his own hands," no where appears, and
is not even probable. It muft therefore be deemed a moft
extravagant exaggeration; or we muft fuppofe,, that the
.words fi xt^at £«,*!; AaGo/iEMs were added by. feme Jew.
Though with Meffrs de TiUemont and Ffeury, T have made
nfe of this Epiftle in -the Life of Julian, I own neverthelefs,
that this paffage makes me in fome meafure fufpect it,
and ftrikes me much more than the ftyle of the Epiftle,
which feems to me written with much lefs purity than
the others; for, after all, it is not neceffary for it to
have been didated by Julian himfelf, or that all his fecre-
taries fliould have been pure writers. It might alfo, as well
as fome others, have been written in Latin, La Bleterie. In

$o EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
Defirous to fhew you ftill greater favours, I have
urged my brother Julus *, your moft venerable
patriarch,;, to .forbid the tax which you ftyle
apoftjefhip, and no. one Avail opprefs you by ex
acting fuch .for the, future, that you may enjoy
eafe0and fafety . in all my dominions, and maybe
ftiU. more fervent in your prayers for my empire -to
the moft excellent God, the creator of all things f,
; ,', .,, y who
,.' ; . ¦ .i-,l >¦ . *, -". i'/ ,i.. . ~ ' ^ '' ;
In the ftrange boaft of his peTfonal atchieveinerit in
*hrufting down the'delators into dungeons *' with'his town
" hands" the Imperial character is fo, little preferved, that
thefearned M. de la Bleterie is almoft tempted, on this
fmgle cireumftance,, to give up the letter as a forgery.
But he here forgets what he himfelf had before mentioned
of; the' -ftrange efeapes of this faotaftic Imoraarch : " St.
*' Gregory Nazianzen fays,, that Julian drove away with
" euffs and kicks the poor who came to foiicit favours from
*' him." Life of Julian, b. IV. , Warbprtom.
* Julian in this refcript forbids ithe affeffments and
tributes which the patriarchs of the Jews ufed to exaft :by
apoftles. Of the Jewifli patriarchs, fee lib. xvi. Ctd.
Theod. tit. 8. Petau.
¦fr This language of Julian is by no means a proof that
the letter is forged. We fliall fee, in the conclufion, that
he believed that the God of the Jews was the Demiurgus,
who had created, or rather arranged, the univerfe. The
Demiurgus, or Aoyo;, proceeded eternally, fubftantially, and'of1;--
iriinfelf, from the firft God, named The Being, the One ahd
the Good. Whether the Platonifts admitted a diftinetion of
nature between The Being and the Demiurgus, or whether
they only acknowledged a diftinction of perfons, or laftly,
whether they confidered the Demiurgus as an attribute of The
Being, it is certain that they gave even the Thcurgus the name
of the firft, the Supreme God. It was the Theurgus whom
Julian worfliipped under the name of the Sun-King, meaning
not the orb which ftrikes our eyes, but an intelligence which pre.

EPI ST LES OF JULIAN. 6*
who Iras condefcended to crown me with his own
pure hand; Thofe who labour under any anxiety
muft neceffarily be timid and difpirited, and can-*
not elevate their hands with confidence in prayer \
but thofe who are utterly free from care rejoice
with their whole hearts, and more frequently and'
more effectually offer their devout fupplicat'ons to
God that the ftate may be governedin the beft maur
ner agreeably to. my wifhes. In this alfa you are
deeply interefted; that, after having happily termi
nated the Perfian war, I may dwell in the holy city
Jerufalem*, which you have longdefired to fee
inhabited,
prefides over that orb, and holds the fame rank in the intel
ligent world which the material fun holds in the fenfible.
La Bleterie,
*' Julian did not wait fo long before he gave the Jews
fome proofs of his affection, or rather of his hatred to the
Chriftians., by the project which he formed of re-building
the temple of Jerufalem; a project, which, as Pagan writers
themfelves atteft, was confounded by one of the moft aftonifh-
ing and beft attefted miracles, mentioned in hiftory. Ibid.
On this remarkable event Mr. (afterwards Bifhop) War-
burton, publiflied, in 1750, his Difcourfe,, entitled, Julian,
&c. (occafioned, by Dr. Mitddteton's Free Enquiry into the
miraculous Powers) written, it is generally thought, with
temper andcandour, thaughMr. Gibbon brands it " with all
" the peculiarities which are imputed to the Warburtonian
*c fchool1," and charges the author with " revealing the
" fecret intentions of Julian, and, with the authority of a
" theologian, prefcribing the motives and condnct of the
" Supreme Being."
Dr. Lardner, however, (Jewifh and Heathen Tefti-
moniesy vol. IV. p. 47- — 71.) doubts the truth of this
miriacfe. His reafons are drawn from Julian's own- writings (the

62 EPISTLES OF JUL I A -N.
inhabited, and in that, reftored by my labours,
may with you glorify the Moft High *.
(the above paffage in particular, which intimates his inten
tion of re-building Jerufalem after his return from the
Perfian war, which never happened), the improbability of
his allotting money for fuch an expenfive work when he
Was juft fetting out for Perfia, the credulity, in other in-
ftances, of Ammianus, the incredible miracles, or pre
tended miracles, with which the hiftory. -of -this event is
loaded by Chriftian writers, there.- .being no occafion,., at,
that time, for fuch (a miraculous interpofition to hinder
that undertaking, and the filence of feveral Chriftian con
temporary writers, particularly Jefom, Prudentius, and
Orofius. He concludes thus: " Let not any be offended
" that I hefitate about this point. I think we ought not
" too eafily to receive accounts of miraculous interpofitions
" which are not becoming the divine Being. There are
" many things faid of Julian, which all wife and good
" men do not" believe," But let us hear another excellent
writer. The interpofition certainly was as providential as the at
tempt was impious. . . There are indeed many witneffes
to the truth of the fact, whom an. able- critic f hath well
drawn together, and ranged in this order: " Ammianus Mar-
" cellinus an Heathen, Zemuch David a Jew, who confef-
" fes that Julian was divinitus impeditus', ' hindered by God,
" in this attempt,' Nazianzen and Chryfoftom among-thc
" Greeks, St. Ambrofe and Ruffinus among. theLatihs, who
41 flonrifhed at the very time when this, was, done ; Theo-
" doret and Sazomen, orthodox hiftorians, Philoftorgius.an
«' Arian, Socrates a favourer, of the Novatians,who,wrote
" the ftory within the fpace of fifty years after thej thing
" was done, and whilft the eye-witneffes of the , fact
" were yet fuiviving." But the public hath been obliged
with the beft and fulleft account, of this whole tranf-
action in Dr. Warburton's Julian, where the evidence for
the miracle is fet in the ftrongeft light, and all objections
are clearly refuted, to the triumph of faith and the con
fufion of infidelity. ..¦-, . Bifliop Newton.
* The blind foperftition and abject flavery of thefe un
fortunate exiles muft excite the contempt of a philofophic
•fr Whitby's general Preface, p. xxviii. Emperor ;

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 63
To THE PRINCIPAL physicians. An Edict *. ,J June»
362.
That the medical art is "falutary to mankind, ex
perience clearly demonftrates. The philofophers
therefore juftly teach that it came down from
heaven ; for the weaknefs of our nature, and the
frequent diforders to which we are liable, are by
that corrected. Therefore, as reafon and juftice
require, and according to the example, of former
princes +, we, from our benevolence, exempt
you, for the future, from the fenatorial functions.
Dated at Conftantinople, on the 4th of the ides of
May, in the confulfhip of Mamertinus and Nevitta. Epiftle
Emperor ; but they deferved the friendfhip of Julian by
their implacable hatred of the Chriftian name. Gibbon.
*This law was, without doubt, written originally in Latin.
An abridgement of it is found, with the title and date,
in the Theodofian Code, xiii. /. 3. de medicis et profefioribus.
It is addreffed ad arcbiatros. The title of archiatri was given
to the phyficians of the Emperor, and to thofe who prac-
tifed phyfic in the two. capitals. It is therefore to the phy*
ficians of the court, and to thofe of Rome and Conftanti
nople, that this law of Julian is addreffed. La Bleterie.
f The Imperial laws exempted the principal phyficians
from every public office. They could not be obliged tabs
members of the council, nor to exercife the magiftracies
in the municipal towns. If they became fenators of Rome
Or Conftantinople, they enjoyed fome honours and privi
leges annexed to that office, without being required to dif-
charge its functions, or to bear its burthens, &c. See the
Theodocian Code, at the title juft quoted, and the notes of
Godefroi. Thefe privileges were as early, as the reign of
Auguftus. They had been confirmed by a great number
of Emperors, and very recently by Conftantine, whofe
law-;ari- ftiil in being. But it is well known that Julian
was -'he declared enemy of exemptions, and that he loved
to undo wtiat- Conftantine had done. The phyficians
then, te were uneafy. Julian, however, maintained them
4 in

64 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.

A. D.
36a.

Epiftle XXVI. To the AlexanCrians.
An Edia *.
ON E who had been banifhed by fo many Im
perial decrees fhould have Waited at leaft for
one edict f before he returned home, inftead of
contumelioufiy infdlting the laws, as if there were
none in being. For we have not allowed the Ga
lileans, who were banifhed by Conftantius, of
in their privileges. The Latin text feems to give them more
than is granted to them in the Greek. Securi a moleftiis mu.'
Tterum omnium publicorum reliqnttm tempus atatis jugiter agi-
tabitis. The Greek only fays, rut /SaTLst/lixcsj 7\dlaf>ynfj.dlut.
It is remarkable that the exemptions of the profeffors,
though they were the fame as thofe of the phyficians, and
though Conftantine had confirmed them by two laws, were
not attacked. It was notorious that Julian's love of litera
ture, and of thofe who taught it, exceeded his hatred of
exemptions, and even of Conftantine. La Bleterie.
* Athanafius had been banifhed once by Conftantine,
ahd twice by Conftantius. He was in his third exile when
Julian recalled all thofe whom Conftantius had banifhed
on account of religion. Prudence did not allow Athanafius
to avail himfelf of this recall while his fee was occupied
by George of Cappadocia. But fdsn after the death of the
ufurper (fee p. 18.) he returned to his church, where the
Pagans did not fuffer him to remain long in quiet. They
reprefented to the Emperor that Athanafius would pervert
the whole city, and that, if he continued there, not a fingl?
Heathen would foon be found there. Their complaints
determined Julian to iffue this edict. Ibid.
f This was not neceffary, as Julian had, without dif-
tinction, recalled all thofe whom Conftantius had banifhed
for the " madnefs" of the Galileans. Ibid,
bleffed

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 6$
effed memory, to return to their churches *, but
only to their countries. Yet I hear that he moft
audacious Athanafius, with his ufual infolence, has
again ufurped what they call the epifcopal throne ;
and that this has not a little difpleafed the people
of Alexandria f. We therefore command him to
depart from the city on the very day that he fhall
receive the letter of our clemency ; and if he
remain there, he may expect a much feverer
punifhment.

Epiftle XXVII. To the Sophift and Quzeftor
Libanius J.
AN ray arrival at Litarbe §, a town in Chlcis, March,
^S I found a road where were fome remains of 3&i'
the Antiochian winter camp. One part of it w. s;
moraffy ;
* Whether Julian thought of this diftinction at firft, or
whether it was an after. ftroke, that this prince employed
it only againft Athanafius is glorious to that prelate.
La Bleterie,
This explication feems evafive, and perhaps was now firft
thought of. Lardner,
f This was the " pious" people who tore " men in pieces
" as if they had been dogs." [See Epiftle X.]
La Bleterie.
X It appears that Julian had given Libanius the ho
norary title of Quaeftor. But Eunapius reports, that Li
banius refufed the honorary rank of PrEetonai Prsefeet,
which one of the fucceffors of Julian would have given him,
as lefs illuftrious than the title of Sophift {in vita Sophift.
p. 135.) The critics have obferved a fimilar fentiment in one
of the Epiftles (xvm. edit. IVolf.) of Libanius himfelf.
Vol. II. F In

69 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
moraffy; the other hilly, and extremely fteep; over
the morafs loofe ftones were placed by chance, and
not artfully cemented, as roads are in a manner built
n other places, where, inftead of fand, the ftones
are laid in mortar, as in a wall. Paffing this with
fome difficulty, I reached my firft ftage *, about
the ninth hour, where I faw in the hall the prin
cipal part of your fenate f. Of the fubject of our
converfation, though perhaps you may have heard
it already, if the Gods permit, I will inform you.
From Litarbe I proceeded to Berea J, where Ju-
In this Epiftle Julian gives the journal of his march from
Antioch to Hierapolis. La" Bleterie.
He informed Libanius of his progrefs in an elegant
Epiftle, which difplays the fertility of his genius, and his
tender regard for the fophift of Antioch. Gibbon.
§ This place Euagrius mentions, /. v. c. 12. and fays, it
was three hundred ftadia from Antioch. Petau.
* It is fingular that the Romans fhould .have neglected
the great communication between Antioch and the Eu
phrates. Gibbon.
•j- The martial impatience of Julian urged him to take
the field in the beginning of the fpring ; and he difmiffed,
with contempt and reproach, the fenate of Antioch, who
accompanied him beyond the limits of their own territory*
to which he was refolved never to return. Bid.
X Now Aleppo. The inhabitants of this place are re-
eordedwith honour in the ABs of the Apoftles, ch. xvn. for
the readinefs of mind with which they received the word,
preached by Paul, and fearched the fcriptures daily whether
thofe things were fo. By Julian's account, they ftill adhered
to their Chriftian principles, receiving, as Mr. Gibbon ex
preffes it, "with cold and formal demonftrntions of re-
" fpect, the eloquent fermon of the ApoftleJ of Pa
ganifm." St. Bafil has addreffed two Epiftlts to the inhabitants
of Berea, applauding their piety. See his works, vol. 111.
p. 1 ocp. piter,

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 67
piter,- by. the deareft omens, declared all things
aufpicious.. Staying there a whole day, I vifited
the caftle, and royally facrificed to Jupiter a whit:
bull*. With the. fenate I cohverfed a little on
matters of religion, but though they all praifed
my difcourfe f, a few only were convinced by it 5
however, ,the'y were fuch as, before I fpoke, .1
thought, fenfible; the others affumed a kind of
licence, and feemed totally deftitute Of fhame-.
Men are apt to be. extremely abafhed at qualities
that are laudable, fuch as fortitude of mind and
* He was more a fuperftitious than a legal obferver of
facred rites, facrificing innumerable cattle without parfi-
mony, fo that it was thought, if he had returned from
Perfia, oxen would have been wanting ; like Marcus Cxiar,
of whom, we are told, it was faid, " White bulls to Marcus
" Caefar:" ' If you conquer, weperifh.' Ammianus.
To Capitoline Jupiter white victims only were facrificed
in triumph. See Turneb. I. 39. 26.
f The fon of one of the moft illuftrious citizens of
Berea, who had embraced, either from intereft or con-
fcience, the religion of the Emperor, had been difinherited
by his angry parent. The father a,nd the fon Were invited
to the Imperial table. Julian, placing himfelf between them,
attempted, without fuccefs, to inculcate the leffon and
example of toleration ; fopported, with affected calmnefs,
the indifereet zeal of the aged Chriflian, who -feemed to
forget the fentiments of nature, and the duty of a fubject ;
and at. length, turning towards the afflicted youth, " Since
«' you have loft a father," faid he, "for my fake, it is
" incumbent on me to fupply his place." ,
Julian alludes to this incident [above] ; which is more
diftinctly related by Theodoret (/. in. c 21 ) sThe in
tolerant fpirit of the father is applauded by TiUemont,
(Hift. des Empereurs, torn. IV. p. £34.) and even by La
Bleterie (Vie de Julien, p. 413.) Gibson.
F 2 piety;

EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
•piety; but in the bafeft actions and fentimenls *,
in facrilege and puflllanimity, they have the con
fidence to glory.
Batnas next received me, a place to which I never
faw any fimilar but Daphne f. But though Batna
may now vie with Daphne, not long ago, when
the temple and the image were in being, I fhould,
without fcruple, not only have compared Daphne
to Offa, Pelion, Olympus, and Theffalian Tempe,
but even have preferred it to them all. The place
above-mentioned is dedicated to Olympic Jupiter
and Pythian Apollo. But on the fubject of
Daphne you have compofed an oration \, fuch as
no other mortal,
Of thofe who live in thefe degenerate days §,
With his utmoft efforts, could have written, and, I
think, not many of the ancients. Why therefore
fhould I enlarge upon what has fo elegantly beea
defcribed by you ? Far be that idea !
* Mahuxix. ytufj-m "«' aufjolio^. It is not furprifing, that by
the Pagans that abftraction and contempt of the world, with
which the gofpel infpires every true Chriftian, fhould be
deemed meannefs of fpirit. But why is not Julian afhamed
to blame in the Chriftians thofe virtues whofe very fliadow
he adored in the philofophers ? See bis, Epiftle to The
miftius. La Bleterie.
t See an elegant defcription of Daphne by Mr. Gibbon,
in a note on the Mifopogon, Vol. I. p. 280.
I This lamentation is ftill extant in the works of Liba
nius, and compofes his IXth Oration. It is entitled, " A
" Monody on the Temple of Apollo at Daphne, confumed
" by fire, or, as it is faid, by lightning." It is tranflated
in this volume.
§ Horn. II. V. 304.
1 Ac

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 69
At Barase (though the name is barbarous, the
town is Greek) we inhaled the fumes of incenfe
from alt the adjacent country, and faw victims
every where prepared. This, though it much
pleafed me, feemed rather too fervent and foreign
to religion *. For facrifices fhouldi be offered in
private, far from all public roads and paffengers,
and alll that is required is a fupply of victims and
offerings-. But this by proper care may be eafily
carre&edv Batna? is fituated on a plain fkirted by a grove of
cypreffes, none of which were old or decayed, but
all were equally young and flourifhing. My palace
was by no means magnificent, being conftructed of
clay and boards, and having nothing ornamental.
Nor could the garden vie, with that of Alcinous f,
but rather refembled that of Laertes J. There was
alfo a fmall grove of cypreffes, and a row of thofe
trees was planted along the walls : in the middle were
potherbs and fruit-trees of every, kind. I facrificed
there in the evening, and again early in the morn
ing, as was my conftant cuftom every day ; and as
the rites were aufpicious, we proceeded to Hiera-
* He too clearly difcerned that the fmoke which arofe
from their altars was the incenfe of flattery, rather than
of devotion. Gibbon.
•f Odyff. vn. 112.
X Ibid. xxiv. 204. — Laertes cultivated land.
The ground himfelf had purchas'd with his pain,
And labour made the rugged foil a plain. Pope, 235.
F 3 poll's,

:7o EPISTLES O,? JULIAN.
polis *,- where we were met by the citizens, and I
was received as a gueft by one whom, though I
had fcarce ever feen him before, I had long
efteemed. Though you are well acquainted with
the re?fon, I cannot deny myfelf the pleafure of
repeating it; for to hear and fpeak of thefe perfons
• is always nectar to me. Sopater, the father-in-law
bf': this, was a difciple of the moft divine Jambli
chus f. Did I not love all that were connected
with him, I fhould deem myfelf guilty of the
* Hierapolis, fituate almoft on the bank6 of the Eu
phrates, had been appointed for the general rendezvous of
the Roman army, who there pafled the great river on a
bridge of boats, which was previoufly conftructed. Gibbon.
The ancient and magnificent temple, which had fancti-
fied, for fo many ages, the city of HitrapOlis, no longer
fubfifted ; ;'and the confecrated wealth, which afforded a
liberal maintenance to more than three hundred prief^E,
might h'aften its downfall. Ibid.
-j- Of" Chalcis, a Pythagorean philofopheri the difeiple
iof- Porphyry, .and uncle to the philofopher of the fame
jiarr.e,, to whom Julian has addreffed fix foblequent Epiftles,
and v. hom M. de la Bleterie foppofes to have been here
meant ; but a-s I underftand that the father-in-law of. this
Sopate'r (jlfeo dead) had been his difciple, it feems rather
more applicable to the elder Jamblichus. The elder Sopater
was probably that Platonic philofopher who was put to
death by Conftantine the Great, being ftyled, by Suidas and
others,-"' ^difciple of Jamblichus."
The French tranflator alfo ftyles this Sopater of Hiera
polis the " fon-in-law" (as well as " pupil") of Jambli
chus, for which I can fee no authority in the original, or
in any other author. Let the reader judge. ia;j.CAixs ra
SriJWia to S^E,ii//« Eswal^o;, rula xn&rtis f| oaa. In the French,
Sepatrc eft f eleve et le gendre du divin Jambliquc, meaning the
younger of thefe philofophers, then living. worft

EPISTLES OF JULIAN;
Worft of crimes. But there is another reafon ftill
more cogent. Having often entertained at his
houfe my coufin and my brother *, and, as might
well be fuppofed, being ftrongly urged by them
to apoftatife from the Gods, he had the great
merit of never being infected with that contagion.
Thefe particulars, immediately relating to myfelf,
I now communicate to you from Hierapolis. As
to military and civil transactions, you fhould be
prefent to fee and obferve them yourfelf. For, be
affured, if they were diftindtly related, they could
not be comprifed in a letter of twice the length
of this. But, as I am writing, I will briefly men
tion them. I have fent an embaffy to the Sa
racens |, urging them, if they are fo inclined, to
join, us. This is the firft article. Next, I have
difpatched, as was proper, fome obfervant fpies,
left any deferter fhould acquaint the enemy -with
our motions. Add to thefe, I have decided a mili
tary difpute |, I am perfuaded, with lenity and
juftice,
* Conftantius and Gallus.
¦j- A wandering people in the deferts of Arabia [who
ftretched from the confines of Affyria to the catarafts of
the Nile], warlike and felf-interefted, dangerous enemies
and burthenfome friends. Nee amid nobis unauam nee hofles
cptandi, are the words of Ammianus. The love of rapine
and war allured feveral of them to the imperial flandard,
though Julian fternly refufed the payment of the accuftomed
fubfidies. La Bleterie.
X Xr(dlM%xnt hxnv. M. de TiUemont fufpects that this
relates to a fact mentioned by St. Chryfoftom. Being
F 4 ready

7a EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
juftice. I have procured excellent horfes and
mules, and my army is affembled. The boats are
filled with corn, or rather with bifcuit and vinegar.
What a long letter would it require to tell you
how each of thefe points was accompliihed ! What
was faid on every fubject you may eafily guefs.
As to the happy omens *, having recorded them
in many letters and books, which I every where
carry with me, why fhould I trouble you with the
repetition I
ready to pafs the Euphrates, Julian made an attempt to
gain fuch of his foldiers as were ftill Chriftians. Some
fuffered themfelves to be feduced, but the reft refufed, and
the Emperor did not dare to cafhier them, for fear of
weakening his army. Ibid.
* Infatuated with his expedition, he faw every thing in
the beft light, and only kept a regifter of what he confidered
as happy prefages. He paffes over in filence the fatal ac
cident which hjppened when he made his entry into Hiera
polis. Fifty foldiers were cruflied to death by the fall of
a portico, and many more wounded. Ammianus xxm. 2.
Ibid.
Another bad omen is mentioned by Ammianus at Batna;
in Ofdroena (after the date indeed of this letter), fifty men
being alfo killed there by the fall of a ftack of ftraw.
Julian flayed three days only at Hierapolis, and then
proceeded to Carrha» in Mefopotamia, fourfcore miles
diftant. This is the laft Epiftle of his writing that is extant.

Epiftle

EPISTLES OF JULIAN.

Epiftle XXVIII. To Duke Gregory *.
A SHORT letter from you is fufficient to give
"*"*¦ me great pleafure. Being much delighted
therefore with what you have written, I return you
many thanks. The love of our friends fliould be
meafured, not by the length of their epiftles, but
by the extent of their affection.

Epiftle XXIX. To Alypius f, the Brother
of C^ESARIUS.

s

YLOSONJ, it is faid, came to Darius, re- A- D.
minded him of a cloak which he had for- or ^t.

merly given him, and in return requefted Samos.
Darius
* Though the military Counts and Dukes are frequently
mentioned both in hiftory and the codes, we muft have
recourfe to the Notitia for the exact knowledge of their
number and ftations. The fecond of thofe appellations is
only a corruption of the Latin word, which was indiferi-
minately applied to any military chief. AJ1 thefe provin
cial generals were therefore dukes. Gibbon.
The Greek word is vye/uir, which M. de la Bleterie tranf
lates Commandant des troupes.
-J- Among the friends of the Emperor (if the names of
Emperor and of friend are not incompatible) the firft place
was afligned by Julian himfelf to the virtuous and learned
Alypius. The humanity of Alypius was tempered by
fevere juftice and manly fortitude ; and while he exercifed his

|+ EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
Darius afterwards was much elated, thinking that
he had returned a great prefent "for a fmall one.
. . . But
his abilities in the civil adminiftration of Britain, he imitated,
in his poetical compofitions, the harmony and foftnefs of
the odes of Sappho. [See *he next Epiftle.] ' Gibbon.
This minifter, who is ftyled- by Ammianus "a man of an
amiable character,'? and who, like himfelf, was a native of
Antioch, afterwards received from his.,mafter, juft before
he fet out for the Perfian war, the extraordinary commif
fion to rebuild, in conjunction with the governor of the
province, the temple of Jerufalem. But the attempt was
defeated, as Ammiaifos, a Heathen and a contemporary,
relates (xxin. i.), by a miraculous interpofition, " dread-
" full balls of fire imetuendi'globi ' fiammarum) , breaking out
" frequently near the foundations, and rendering the place
" inacceffible to the fcorched andblafted-workmen.'" The
truth of this miracle, Mr. Gibbon queftions, and even Dr.
Lardner has doubted. The reafons adduced by the latter
have been briefly mentioned, p. 62. " A philofopher
(fays Mr. G.) " may ftill require thp original evidence of
" impartial, and intelligent fpectators," But Ammianus
alfo was " a philofopher," and therefore, no doubt?
" required" and had the " original evidence" of his'
fellow ;tfoldiers, of his friend and countryman Alypius,
in particular ; and would not rafhly have named him, and,
related a fait, which, if falfe, muft, have been imme
diately contradicted. In the reign of Valens, after having
been long in, a private' ftation, Alypius and his fon
Hierocles, a youth of an. excellent difpofltion, were both
. apprehended on a charge of poifoning. Alypius was de
prived of his eftate, and banifhed." And the fon, when he
ivas leading to execution, was happily faved. 'How is not
mentioned. Amm. xxix. 1. Yet Libanius (Ep. xxv. &c.)
mentions this Hierocles as perifhing in the earthquake at
Nicomedia, in 358,
X S^ioftm' was the brother of Polycrates, tyrant of
Samos. ' See Herodotus, /. 111. c. 140. and ./Elian. Far.
Hift. I. iv. c c. He gave his cloak at Memphis to Darius,,
whenthat prince was only one of the guards of Cambyfes.
Julian relates the fame ftory in his Illd Oration.

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 75
But Sylofon found it a woeful gift *. Compare
my conduct with that of this prince. In one re-
fpect I have the advantage. I did not want to be
reminded, but retained the remembrance of you
unimpaired, and on the firft opportunity that God
gave me I ranked you, not among my fecond hut
my firft friends. So much for the part.
As to the future, will you allow me (for I am a
prophet) to predict I We fhall be more fnccefsful,
I doubt not, if Nemefis be propitious. For you
need not a prince to aflift you in deftroying a city,
but I require the afliftance of many in re-building
thofe that have been deftroyed f. Such is the
pleafantry of- my Gallic and barbarous Mufe X'
Come with the aufpices of the Gods.
P. S. In his own hand-writing.
" The cloak of Sylofon," (« toXoaollo; ^Xasft'uj) is adduced
by Erafmus (Chil. p. 352.) as a proverb applied to " "thofe
" who boaft arid pride themfelves on theirdrefs." And (he
adds) " it may be properly faid of thofe to whom a fmall
" gift, feafonably beftowed, returns with large intereft ;"
and then relates, as the origin of it, the above ftory from
Herodotus. * Sylofon was put in poffeflion of SamOs, but the city
being taken, it was pillaged by the Perfians, fo that he
only reigned over a defert. La Bleterie.
f This perhaps may allude to the forty cities in Gaul,
which, Zofimus fays, the Barbarians deftroyed, and Julian
rebuilt. See the Epiftle to the Athenians, Vol. I. p. '84.
| Julian fomewhere fays, [Ep. LIV.] that his refidence
.in Gaul had made him a Barbarian, fo that he had .almoft
forgotten Greek. He would have been forry to have been
taken at his word. La Bleterie. There

76 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
There is- ready for you plenty of game, goats
and fheep *, which we hunt in Our winter-quarters.
Come to a friend who loved you before he knew
your worth.

Epiftle XXX. To the fame f .
T WAS juft recovering from an indifpofition,
-*- when I received the geography J that you fent
me, nor was the book lefs acceptable for coming
from you. For it contains not only better defcrip-
tions than any book of the kind, but you have
* Ail? tptput k«i t»; sv toi{ j^EijoeafficK? Suja? rat irpcGdltwt,
This paffage is obfcure and perhaps corrupted. Does
Julian mean to fay that the winter did not allow hunting ;
and that there was nothing at his table but butcher's meat ?
But Julian was not fond of dainties, nor, as I recollect, of
hunting. No more might Alypius. The meaning is, that
the troops of Julian made incurfions, during the winter, on
the territories of the enemy, and carried off flocks and herds.
If fo, this Epiftle muft have been written in the Gauls be
fore the abfolute rupture between Julian and Conftantius.
Alypius might be then in Britain, where, we know, he was
employed before the reign of Julian. Britannia; curaverat
pro prafeBis, fays Ammianus Marcellinus. La Bleterie.
Vice-praefect therefore, or vicar, was his proper title,
Britain being one of the diocefes that were governed by a
roagiftrate fo named, fubordinate to the Prxfect of the
Gauls. f La Bleterie has neglected to tranflate .this Epiftle. It
was probably addreffed to Alypius, while he was governor
of Britain. Gibeon.
X This geography feems to have been the compofition
of Alypius. Moreri fays, " another geographical work
" " is alfo afcribed to him, which was a defcription of the
»« old world." alfo

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 77
alfo embellifhed it with Iambics, not " finging a
Bupalian * war," as the Cyrenean poet f expreffes
it, but fuch as fair Sappho would have thought
worthy of adapting to her hymns. Such a work
it may be proper perhaps for you to give, but
certainly it is moft agreeable to me to receive.
With your adminiftration of affairs, as you .ftudy
to act, on ail occafions. both with diligence and
mildnefs, I am highly fatisfied. For to blend lenity
and moderation with fortitude and refolution, and
to exert thofe in encouraging the goad, and thefe
in correcting the wicked, requires, I am confident,
no fmall degree of genius and Virtue.
May you have thefe objects always in view, and
make both fubfervient to your own honour! The
wifeft of the ancients juftly thought that this fliould
be the end propofed by every virtue X- May health
and happinefs be your portion as long as poffible,
my moft efteemed and beloved brother § ! . Epiftle
* Bupalus, a ftatuary, made the image of the poet
Hipponax, who was very deformed in perfon, in ridicule ;
which he refenting, wrote fuch fevere Iambics againft him,
that he hanged himfelf. This was the common report, which
Horace (Epod. v. 14.)' feems to confirm. But Pliny (xxxvi.
5.) fays, that report was falfe. Hipponax is reprobated
by Julian in his Duties of a Prieft, Vol. I. p. 132.
f Probably Callimachus, born, as Strabo fays ( /. xvn.)
at Cyrene in Africa, in the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphia.
Thence he is often ftyled " the Libyan bard." His hymns
were tranflated by Dr. Dodd.
X Thus they made the entrance to the temple of Virtue
the paffage to that of Honour.
§ Little did. Alypius imagine, while he was exercifing
his poetical and political talents in Britain, among a people

78 E P I S T L E S O F J U L I A N.

56

Epiftle XXXI. To Bifliop Mr 1 u s

*

A-£D- A LL the reft who were banifhed by the late
-^*- Conftantius, on account of the madnefs of
the Galileans, I have recalled. As to you, I not
only remit your banifliment, but, mindful of our
old acquaintance, I alfo invite you hither. Ufe a
public vehicle as far as my camp, and one fuper-
numerary horfe "j~.
as infenfible to the charms of his poetry as their rocks and
forefts, that, in a diftant age, when the Britons could have
relifhed his verfes, he would not have been known as a
poet, and fcarcely as a governor, eminent as he was in both
thofe characters, had not this accidental billet been happily
refcued from the gulph of time.
* A celebrated Arian prelate, who had been fent by
Gallus to his brother Julian, while he was reader in the
church of Nicomedia, to ftiengthen him in the Chriftian
religion. See the Epiftle from Gallus to Julian, Vol. I.
p. 1.
The death of Gallus had been followed by the exile
of Auras, his divine and confident. Pie was made re-
fponfible for fome of the faults of that unfortunate prince,
and the demi-Arians accufed him to Conftantius as a
very dangerous hereliarch. The rank of bifhop, which
is given him in the title of the above Epiftle, muft have
been added by the tranfcribers. . Auius was not a bifliop
when Julian wrote to him. But he was foon after or
dained by the bifhops of his party, who then came to an
open rupture with the demi-Arians. The credit which
iEtius had with the Emperor, who prefented him with an
eftate in the ifland of Lefbos, no doubt infpired the Ano-
means, or pure Arians, with the boldnefs to complete their
fchifm. It does not appear that iEtius, though a bifhop,
was ever fixed to any fee. La Bleterie.
¦f- See note f on Epiftle XX. p. 42. Epiftle

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 79

Epiftle XXXII. To the Sophift Lucian.
f WRITE, that I may be entitled to an anfwer.
-*- If I offend you by the frequency of my letters,
give me, I intreat you, the fame offence *.

I

Epiftle XXXIII. To Dositheus f.
COULD fcarce refrain from tears, and with
reafon, when I heard your name mentioned,
recollecting your X beloved, noble, and in every
refpect excellent father; whom if you imitate,
you will be happy, and, like him, render your life
honourable ; but if you are indolent, you will
grieve me, and difgrace yourfelf, for being ufelefs
to the world.

* The length of this letter could not offend. Many
fcraps, equally infignificant, from Pope, were treafured
up by his friend Richardfon.. But, le jeu ne vaut pas la
chandelle. •j- Dofitheus is mentioned by Libanius, in his cxxxift
Epiftle, and a fliort Epiftle to him from that fophift is pre
ferved (in Latin) by Zambicari.
X In the printed editions it is »/*«, a miftake forely for
vjj.m. Julian could fcarce remember his own father.

Epiftle

80 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.

Epiftle XXXIV. To the Philofopher
Jamblichus*.
IT was fufficient for Ulyffes to fay to his fon, in
order to check his high opinion of him,
No God am I ; for heaven referve that name f.
But I cannot think myfelf a man, as the faying is,
while I am abfent from Jamblichus. I will allow
myfelf, however, to be your admirer, like that
father of Telemachus, and though fome perhaps
may think it unbecoming, that fhall not prevent
my loving you. For I know that many who have
* This Jamblichus muft not be confounded with ano
ther of the fame name, who was more ancient (fee p. 70.
notef.) This was the difciple of Edefius. Julian has addreffed
fix Epiftles to him, [xxxiv, xl, xli, liii, lx, lxi.]
which I have not tranflated. To thefe Epiftles in par
ticular may be applied what M. Fleury fays, in general, of
thofe which are addreffed to the fophifts, Elles font pleincs
des louanges outrees, et dun empreffement qui marque plus de le-
gerete que d'afifcBion. La Bletreie.
Mr. Dodwell (Exerc. de Pythag. atate) fufoects the au
thenticity of thefe Epiftles, ',' becaufe they treat on very
" trifling fubjects, more worthy of a fophift than a prince,
" and fhew a greater attention to ftyle than becomes even
" a philofopher." As to his argument drawn from a mif
take in chronology, in regard to Sopater, that may eafily
be obviated by fuppofing there were alfo two of that name,
as Julian feems to intimate See note -)-• on Ep. xxvii.
p. 70. Libanius has addreffed feven Epiftles to this
younger Jamblichus, of which one is prelerved by Fabri
cius, Bibliotheca Grsca, vol. IV. p. 384.
f Odyff. xvi. 187. Broome, 222. admired

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 81
admired fine ftatues, far from detracting from the
praife of the artift, have by their paffion for them
added frefh honour to the work. As to your
humoroufly ranking me among the ancient fages,
that I am far diftant from them is as certain as that
you are one of them. But you unite not only
PindaT, and Democritus, and the muft ancient
Orpheus, but almoft all the Greeks, who are faid
to have gained the fummit of philofophy, as the
Various notes of vocal and inftrumental mufic
combine in a perfect concert. And as Argus, who
guarded lo, is defcribed by the poets as furrounded
with eyes, fo you, the genuine guardian of virtue,
are enlightened by eloquence with the pure eyes
of learning. It is faid, that Proteus, the Egyptian,
affumed various forms, fearing left he fhould in-
- advertently appear wife to thofe who queftioned
him *. But as Proteus was really wife, and, as
Homer fays, had much knowledge, I praife him
for his knowledge ; but I do not admire his
virtue, as he acTed not like a benevolent being,
but an impoftor, in concealing himfelf to avoid
being ufeful to mankind. But who, my noble
friend, does not admire you, not only for equal
ling Proteus in wifdom, but alfo for never in-
vidioufly withholding from any one that virtue
and perfect knowledge, which you poffefs, of all
things excellent ? Thus, like the fplendid fun, the
radiance of your wifdom enlightens all, both by
* See Virg. Georg. IV. and Ovid. Metam. XI.
VQi. II. G inftructing

H E'PLSTL-ES OF JULIAiN;
inftrudttng-ithe prefent,; and by your, writings,5 as
far as- poffible, improving the abfent. 3; In this yqu
-ex-cell even the illuftrious Orpheus,; finee he Rafted
his mufic in: :th§,folace of -brutes, but .. you, as, , If
born. for the -gopd of mankind, imitate the" hand
of JEfculapius, and every where diffufe your elo
quent and falutary precepts. So that Homer," I
think, if be, were to return, to life, might with
rrjuch mote reafon apply that line, to you,
— i One fti.lli living, traverfes the world *.'
For ,tg> thofe wboAare. of. ancient ftamp, to us in
particular, a certain facred. fpark, as it Were, of
true and fertile; learning is by you addne rekindled
and revived^ And, O Jupiter the Preferver, and
eloquent Mercury, grant, in- return, that, for the
general good of mankind, the life, of, the excel
lent Jamblichus may be prolonged to the utmoft
extent-! If for. Homer, Plato f, and all that are
; worthy. of their fociety, juft vows were of old fuc-
*' Homer. Odyff. iv. 198. Proteus fpeaking of Ulyffes-
to Menelaus,
Ei; i' tit ita £uoc xdlt^vxilxt evpui irotlii, ,
Otherwife., tvpii Koo-pir.
Not fo well. For the word xospcoc does not occur in Homer
in that fenfe. Clarke.
This various reading may perhaps' reft on no better
foundation than the above paffage of Julian, in which his
infertion of xoafj,® may be accidental, by his quoting, (as
ufual) from memory, or intentional, as better fuiting his
purpofe: .n ;
, . f .The Lafin tranflator has added " Socrates," but ,witli-
'out any. authority from the original; and indeed Julian
would hardly have- mentioned him oh this occafion, -as his
life, though in an advanced age, was fliortened by violence,
and the .prayers of the virtuous. "were; therefore in- that- re-
ipe^t unfoccefsful. 3 cefsfully

EPISTLES OF jULI'A'N. 83
cefs fully7 offered, and'their lives were 'thus pro
longed, why fhould 'not a contemporary 'of ours,
their equal both in virtue and eloquence, be trans
mitted by fimilar vows to the extremeft old age,
and endowed with every bleffing ?.

Epiftle XXXV. For the Argives *.
f N favour of the city of the Argives much may
¦*- be faid by any one who would celebrate their
actions ancient and modern. Of the, glory ac
quired at Troy they are juftly. entitled to the
greateft fhare \, as are the Lacedemonians and
Athe-
* The Argives being oppreffed by the Corinthians, and
fubjected to new exactions, contrary to law, Julian recom
mends them, as- I imagine, to the Pro-conful, faying it
was unjuft that a city; fe.flourifhing of -old, and, on ac
count of the expence of the facred games* exempted from
taxes, fliould pay a tribute, to Corinth towards the amphi-
rheatral fports. Corinth was made a Roman colony by
Auguftus, who, at the defire of Julius Caefar, raifed that
city from ruins. Under this title fhe claimed authority
over feveral cities that were not colonies. That this was
not an edict of the Emperor, but a petition, of Julian, then
a private man, appears by an pbferyation made in a fob*
fequent note. Petau.
This Epiftle, which illuftrafes the, declining ftate of
"Greece, is omitted by the Abbe de la Bleterie.
The eloquence of Julian was interpofed, moil .probably
with fuccefs,, in behalf of a city which had been the royal
feat of Agamemnon, and had given to Macedonia a race,
of kings and conquerors. Gibbon.
f It feems ftrange that he fhould afcribe the. greateft
fhare in the Trojan war to the Argives, in the fame manner
^as he does afterwards to the Lacedemonians and Athenians.
G 2 For

84 EPISTLES OF JULIAN*
Athenians afterwards. For though both thofe
wars were waged by all Greece, of praife, as well
as of cares and labours, the. generals may claim a
large proportion. But thefe are of ancient date.
After the return, of the Heraclids, the birth- right
taken from the eldeft *, the colony fent from thence
into Macedonia, and the conftant prefervation of the
city, free and independent, from the neighbouring
Lacedemonians, were proofs of no moderate or
For they attempted nothing afterwards againft the Trcr-
jans ; but by the appellation of " Trojan" he means fome
other expeditions which were undertaken by the Greeks
againft thePerfians, as if ,T$«w.a were the fame as BaeSa^xa, Petau.
Agamemnon, the " king of men," was king of Argos
(in Achaia), as well as of Mycenae, but is not fo ftyled by
Homer in his catalogue of the fhips, the troops of Argos
being, there fubdivided from thofe of Mycenae, and led by
Diomed, ailing as their general under Agamemnon. " Di-
" omed" (as Mr. Wodhull obferves, in his notes on th«
Orcftes of Euripides), " though he derived his title of
*' king from jEtolia, never poffeffed that throne, but re-
" fided chiefly at Argos (about fix miles only from My-
" cense), till he fettled in Italy. Euripides, it has been
" obferved, perpetually confounds thofe two cities."
* Temenus. The origin of the Macedonian kingdom
was derived from the Argives by Caranus (their firft king),
brother to Phidon, king of the Argives. On which ac
count, he fays, the anceftors of Philip and Alexander
fprung from Argos. Petau,
This pedigree from Temenus and Hercules may be fuf-
picious, yet it was allowed, after a ftrict enquiry, by the
judges of the Olympic games (Herod. /. v. c. 22.) at a
time when the Macedonian kings were obfcure and un
popular in Greece. When the Achaian league was declared
againft Philip, it was thought decent that the deputies of
Argos fhould retire. Gibbon..
common.

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 85
Common fortitude. Actions fimilar to thofe of the
Macedonians againft the Perfians may alfo be af-
cribed to this city ; as this was the country of the
latter anceftors of Philip and Alexander. In latef
times it obeyed the Romans, not as a vaffal, but
rather as an ally ; and, I think, partook with the
reft of the freedom and other privileges which the
Emperors have always indulged to the cities of
Greece. But now the Corinthians *, prone to op-
preffion, compell that city, which is annexed to
theirs (for thus it fhould properly be expreffed)
by the reigning city f, to be tributary to them;
and this innovation, it is faid, they have now
* Argos, he fays, was made tributary to Corinth by
the authority of the reigning city, becauftV when 'the
Achaians were fubdued by Mummius, and .Corinth, de
ftroyed, all Greece, being affeffed under the name of
Achaia, received a magiftrate from the Romans, who,
under the Emperors, was ftyled a Pro-conful, arid refided.
at Corinth, which was therefore the metropolis ofoAchaia,
nay of Peloponnefus, and confequently of all Greece. See.
Paufanias, in Achaicis, p. 222. and Pliny, Ep. nlt.l. vm.
Seven years before Julian wrote this Epiftle, the Corin
thians had begun to exact a tribute from the Argives to
wards their wild beafts aud hunting-matches. , "Petau-
f Rome. Julian gives her the fame appellation in his
ift Oration, p. c. Eunapius, who flourifhed after the death
of Julian, ftyles her n fixaiXuiaaa Pufj,v, in his Prohaerefius.
Themiftius, though he was ambaffador from Conftanti
nople to Conftantius at Rome, in his lid Oration, p. 41.
ftyles the one " the queen of cities," and the other " the
*' fecond." For the fame reafon, Rome is reprefented" on
ancient coins, and thofe ftruck even under Conftantine or-
his fons, as a woman fitting, and holding a globe in her
light hand. "" Svanheim..
G 3 prachfedj

S£ E P I S-T.L-ES.O F-.J.U L FA N„
practifed for feven years, not confidering that
Delphi ^ld^El is are by agreement 'exempted ^'frotff
tribute b'ti account of 'their' celebrating 'the facred'
games.' For fifice there'are1, as'is we'll known, four
great and - Moft illufttfcW* g'airfes in: Greece, the
Eleans ftirnih and' direct "the O'lyiiipicV'the Deh
pliians the' Pythian, ;th'SJ(3orihrhians:rhe Itfhmiari,
and the Argives ' the Nemean. ' Why1 then ihould
thoferetaihthe exemptions1 formerly granted, arid
thefe,- whby-'on account of 'the like exptfnces, were
forMerly exempted, or perhaps not taxed originally^
now be -'deprived' of &' privilege with 'which they
were once honoured ? (Befides", Efis and Delphi "*;
for thbfe'-highly celebrated games every fifth' year',
are ufed to contribute only once ; but at Areos
,- .::~'-irO oi ----1 '¦•! -At: ' '•' , ¦' •¦'.' °
there! are, uyo Nemean, as there are two Ifthmian at
CuSwiAtii.'o'jAnd at this time aiu two other games
j .ji.".iiT i,h ,. .,„ uA\i. gr:-,_ ; ,...- ¦ ¦ " .
Cv; W'WO'A ' .... ¦•.¦'" - ;.' .' ,
* -The- Olympic and Pythian games were. celebrated, once
iii ".five yea^s ^ , the N.emc.ar] .and .Ifthmian twice. ; For, the
Nemean w.ere kept at fhg beginning of the firft, and, , in
like manner, at the clofe of the third year ; the one being
in,, winjtej;,, , and the other, in, foamier. Befides the, two
Nemean,., (lie Her'ean alfo -were defrayed by the, Argives.
Four folemnities, therefore, in the. whole, were exhibited by
them, on which account they .ought juftly to have been
exempted' from tribute. . ' ? Petau.
¦ ¦?.,.'.. i':i- '• ''f; --ti- . ¦ ¦ -r: .
The firft injjitutor qf the Olympic , games is unknown,
though it is generally fuppofed to have been Pelops... They
w.ere confecrat^ed to Jupiter, and were performed in the
neighbourhood of Olympia, in the diftrict, of Pifa. The
Pythian were, celebrated at Delphf in honour of Apollo;
the Nemean at Nemea, in Peloponnefus, in .honour of
Hercules; and the Ifthmian. in the Ifthmus. of Corinth, in
honour of Neptune.
i - are

EPISTLES OF JULIA-N.
sfife added to thofe at Argos,, fo that- there, are fou£
games ki four years. Is it proper then that thofe
who exhibit them only once fhould be exempted*
pnd -that thefe who exhibit them four times at
home -.fhould be. obliged to contribute .to others,-
efpecially, as they are not ancient nor acGuftomed
in Greece?; For the Corinthians do not require
thefe l^fge fums for the fupport of gymnaftjc or
mufical performances ; ' but for hunting-matches,;
which they often exhibit in the theatres, purchafing,
for that purpofe, bears and panthers.; an, expence
which they, eafily defray by means of tbeir,, wealth
and large reysnues ;. <and as mapy others contribute,
alfo towards it, they reap the advantage of their
own inftitutton.i- But do not the Argives, who are
extremely indigent, by thus being made to^con-
tribute to a foreign entertainment in another coun
try, fuffer unjuftl-y and illegally, and in a manlier
unfuitable to the ancient power and glory of their
city ? And as they are neighbours; they ought On
that account to be more 'efteemed, if that' faying
be true, __ ;,;,..
"  Bad muft be your neighbours;
" If an ox perifh *."" . ', H/1;
„,,:• ¦ '..'" ¦ ! ¦ BaC
* OaiS' k» /3a; aitoKotio, ei f/.5i ita y.axiav ynlotut. >
Taken from one of the moral maxims of Hefiod,,
Oui'at Rut airoXa!l% it fJ.ri yellow xa.xo$ fl«.
Works and Days, "Ver. 346.
A cor'refponding Latin proverb occurs in Plautus :
> — Verum Mud verbum effe experi'or vefus,
Aliquid mali efifc propter vicinum malt m.
-• Mercator, Act. IV. Sc 4. 31.
1 G 4 Juvenal

88 EPISTLES O F J U L I AN.
But the Argives do not bring this charge agaim%
the Corinthians through their folic'itu'de for one
ox only, but for many and great expenCes with.
which they are unjuftly burthened. The Corin
thians might alfo be afked, whether they would;
choofe to adhere to the ancient laws of Greece, or
adopt thofe which they have fince received from,
the reigning city I For if they approve the ma-
jefty of the ancient laws, the Argives are ;no more
bound to pay tribute to the Corinthians, than the,
Corinthians are to pay it to the Argives.- But if the
Corinthians adopt the modern laws, and, becaufe
they are made a Roman colony, contend that they
JuyenaL, in his xvjth Satire, ver. 36. expreffes. his appre?
henfion of fimilar dangers from bad neighbours.:
¦— — Convallem ruris aviti
Improbus,iaut campum mihi fi vicinus ddemit, * " >?
JEtfizcrum qffodit medio de limite faxum. ,f,
If any rogue vexatious fui.ts advance .1 .'
Ag-dnfl me for my known inheritance,
.Enter by violence my fruitful grounds,
Or take my facred land-mark from my bounds.
Drydes.
Many other parallel paffages might be adduced bothj
from the, Latin and Greek writers.
I am indebted for this note to a writerin the Ge.ntferaan's,
Magazine for 1783, p. air.
Similar hutmnity to animals and good neighbourhood;
are inculcated in the Levitical law. Thou Jhalt not fee thy
brother's ox or, his fieep go aftray, and hide thy felf from them:
thou Jlialt in any cafe bring them again unto thy brother. Thou
Jhalt not fee thy brother's afs or his ox fall down by the viay,
and hide thyf elf from them : thou fiialt furely help him to lift
them up again. Dcut. xxn. 1, 4. Sec. have

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 8*
have the dominion over Argos, , we will humbly
intreat them not to be more affuming than their"
fathers, nor to new model, or fubvert, to the de-i
triment of their neighbours-, thofe cuftoms which
their anceftors with found Judgement obferved,
relying on the decree which they lately obtained,,
and meanly taking advantage of the ignorance: of
the advocate who pleaded for the Argives *. For
if this caufe had been removed out of Greece,
the Corinthians would have had much lefs in-.
fluence, and its merits, difcuffedi by many fkilfu.L
a,dyocates, would have been more apparent; oa
W'hi h account it is .probable, that the judge,,
a bathed by the eftablifhed dignity of Argos, would;
have made a juft decree. Concerning the rights of
the city, if you will only hear the orator*, and
they raaY ^e allowed to fpeak, you fhall be ac
quainted with the caufe from the beginning, and,
from their arguments may form a, judgement
of ..the. whole. On what is faid, that We ought ;
not to credit thofe who are fent hither as peti-,
tioners f, it may now be proper to add a- few words*
¦•\ ' - 4 •¦;;'&
. * In the reign of Conftantius this difpute between^ the
Corinthians and Argives had been litigated, and the latter
loft the'r caufe through the inexperience of their advocate
in law-affairs. . Petau.
f It appeai-s from this paffage, that Julian, then a pri-
yate man, had been requefted by the Argives to ufe his
intereft with the pro-confulof Achaia in their behalf: other*
wife he would have commanded with authority, inftead of
prefenting a petition ; as he himfelf would have put an
end to the difpute, "¦ ' ' " Ibid. If

#v EPISTLES. OF JUL fANT
If -there are any philofophers- in thefe times,'
Diogenes and Lamprias are fuch: They decline
the legiilative and lucrative offices of the ; ftate j<
but if their country wants their affiftance, they*
ferve her to the utmoft of their abilities; when
the city is in any emergency, they plead caufe's,-'
affift in -the government, engage in embaffies, and
liberally expend their- money, thus confuting by
their "Conduct the fcandalous afperfions on philo
fophy,' and- difproving that vulgar notion, that)
thofe who ftudy! philofophy, are ufelefs to their:
country. For theificountry employs them in thofe-
frajfiftapsj '-and they endeavour to defend the caufe'
of juftice by our affiftance ; but we employ yours,
i All that remains for the defence and fafety of
thejoppreffed is -the' appointment of a judge both
willing and able to make a juft decree. If either
of -thefe be wanting; if he be either miftaken or
unfaithful, juftice muft-abfolutelyvperilh;7 But
tfeoOgh We fhduld have'a judge agreeable to- our
wifhes,: we have not the liberty of fpeaking *, as
we- have not appealed; this, they requeft, may-
firft be allowed them, and that the indolence of
him who then pleaded for the city, and managed
her caufe, may not entail fuch a burthen on pof-
ter'rty." -Nor can there be any impropriety in grant
ing a new trial. It is fometimes expedient p forego
* The advocate of the Argives, when he foft the former,
caufe, nefodted to appeal ; therefore the city could not,
bring a View action, nor demand another trial, Petau, fome

EPISTLES^ OF JULIAN $t
fome prefent advantages and opportunities, for the
fake of future fecaxitju^. A-nd-as-hfe is fhort, they
wifh to pafs that fliort fpace with tranquillity. But
that the -caufe, fho.ujd fink before-the judgement-
feat, and be tranfmitted to pofterity undetermirje^l^ , , ,
is dreadful -;'::fo that, t&e'^azafd -being fo' gre|t, -6-
it feems better to accept half the 'advantages than,.
by contending, ' t'o lofe' the'" whole."' But tnofe im-"
mortal cities;-' tfrYIefs*a jiift decree be1' made, .and
th'eit" mutual' animbfities"tefminated, muft necef
farily be at' perpetual' Variance.'; For enmity gains
ftrength by time; 3:l':r" :;o ' e' l'
*T have " faid''*', 'aV^re'oratofs' exprefs them
felves. ' May' juftice 'direct 'your1 determination !
. '¦,„;[;ir.. aha,: - ::¦'.-'.•¦ ,* V '
, j r . .
- * EtjKlai oy' ifi-or, t.oyo^, analogous to Dixi, in Latin.

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:f, .-.A.-.ir.imO'
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•;¦.;;; „;d«J;i.".v 3"i<».i •''"¦' ¦'
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->•;;. ',?

Epiftle

Stf EPISTLE Si OF JULIAN.
; -...a-v: G.TOI

.::.-;o

Epiftle XXXVL To Porphyry *.

*¦¦*>• 'TT' HE library; of George w;as large and Co-
\A . pious f. It was flocked with books of phi-
Iofophy of all kind?, and with many of hiftory ;
oh other fubjects not a, few; and. with various
writings of the Galileans, Examine,; therefore
carefully the whole, and fend it to AtHioch.- Be
affured,, that, unlefs you make a diligent fcrur,
tiny, you fhall be. feverely fined ;, and as to thofe
who arC in the leaft. fufpecled, of; having feqreted
any of thefe books, if you cannot induce them, by
all kinds of arguments, and adjurations, and in
particular by putting their flaves to the torture,
let them be compelled by fore? to reftore them all |»
* Treafurer-general of jEgypt. Libanius mentions him
in one of his Epiftles as an excellent friend; and fays, that
he was caluminated and oppreffed by two jEgyptians4
a race " more favage than all the wild beafts of Libya.'*
+ See Epiftles IX, and X.
X This is by no means an inftance of cruelty in Julian,.
A confiderable robbery had been committed, and of pro->
perty much more valuable than it is at prefent. The Ro
mans, on the flighteft fufpicions, put their flaves to the,.
^orture,. La B^etehie,,

Epiftle

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 93

Epiftle XXXVIL To Amerius *
X7"OUR letter, in which you mention the
¦*- death of your wife, and exprefs your extreme
'affliction, filled my eyes with tears. Painful would
it have been to hear that any wife, young, chafte,
and engaging, and alfo an excellent mother, was
prematurely fnatched away j but that you have
fuftained fuch a lofs gives me peculiar concern.
For, of all my friends, Amerius leaft deferved fuch
a calamity; a man whofe underflanding is fuperior
to moft, a man whom I highly efteem.
If I were Writing on this fubject to any other
perfon, I fhould be more prolix in telling him that
fuch is the lot of human nature, that fubmiffion
* I know hot that this man of letters, apparently a fophift
and a Pagan, is elfewhere mentioned. One MS. ftyles hits
" Himerius." We are acquainted with a celebrated pro-
feffor of that name, the rival and tlie co'lfegue of Pra-
haerefius, and who, like him, taught eloquence at Atheiis
when Julian was there. Himerius left fome difcourfes, of
which there are fome extracts in the Bibiiotheca of Photius.
It might be fuppofed that this Epiftle was addreffed t»
him, if the MS did not ftyle him " Prefect of jEgypt.'"
In the reign of Julian that province was governed by
Ecdicius ; and this Epiftle is certainly written to one who
was a teacher : but it might not be impoflible for the titls
of Praefeit to be here no more than an honorary title. In
thofe times honorary titles of the greateft employments
were fometimes given to men of letters. I would not ven
ture, however, to affert, they had that of governor of any-
particular province. I.A Bletehib. IS

EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
is neceffary, that the moft poignant grief admits of
confolation *, and, in fhort, fhould ufe, as to a
novice,- all the arguments that are likely to allej
viate affliction. But as I am afhamed of employ
ing to one who inftructs others thofe arguments
Which are ufed to teach, and improve the ignorant,
waving every thing elfe, I will relate to you a
fable, or rather a true ftory, of. a certain wife man,
not new perhaps to you, but probably unknown
to many, whofe only medicine, mirth, you will
find as effectual a remedy for forrow as that cup t
which the fair Lacedaemonian is fuppofed, on a
fimilar occafion, to have given to Telemachus.
It is reported, that Democritus X ot" Abdera,
finding nothing that he faid could confole Darius for
* Thus the three remedies which Pliny prefcribes are,
" Length of time, the neceffity of fubmiflion, and fatiety
" of grief."
-j- In the IVth book of the Odyffey, ver. 220, &c. when
Menelaus gives an entertainment to Telemachus, Helen
puts into the wine;a drug which had-, the virrue to induce
an oblivion of the moft cruel anxieties. La Bleterie,
Julian refers to the fame paffage in his Confolatory Ora
tion, Vol. I. p. 32, where it is quoted in the notes.
X Demonax comforted Herod the philofopher under
.affliction by a fimilar fable, as Lucian relates in his life.
Petaij.
This ftory is no where found. Though Democritus had
travelled into Perfia, and was acquainted with the fecrets
.of magifm, his difcourfe with Darius has all the appear
ance of being only a philofophical novel. At the time of
the death of Darius, the ion of Hyftafpes,' Democritus
was, at moft, 28 years old ; perhaps he was no more than 23>

£ P I St T;L E S O: F , J:U L IAN. 9£
for the lofs of a beautiful wife, promifed to r.e-
ftore her to life, if the king would fupply huri
with all things neceffary for the purpofe,. Darius
ordered him to fpare no experice, but to take what
ever was requifite to perform his promife. Soon
after, Democritus told him, that: " every thing was
" ready for the completion of the work, one only
" excepted, which he knew not how to procure ;
" but that Darius, as he was king of all Afia,
" would perhaps find no difficulty in providing
" it." On his afking What this important matter
was, Democritus is faid' to have replied, "If you
" will infcribe on the tomb of your wife the names
" of three who have never known affliction, fhe
" fhall immediately return to life, this ceremony
" being irrefiftible *." Darius hefitating, and not
being able to recollect any one who had not ex
perienced fome forrow, Democritus laughed, as
ufual, and faid to him, " And are not you, the ab-
" furdeft of men, afhamed ftill to lament, as if
23, or even nine. This philofopher1 was on his return to
Greece, when Darius II. furnamed Nothus, afcended the
throne, in the year before Chrift, 423. La Bleterie.
See Vol. I. p. 21. note f.
* It is in the Greek Etflu; avlvt ¦a.vaQtuata^at r<u tds rsXEt/1];;
tofiu ivauKapttvi, which Martinius has tranflated thus : Plata
¦ab inferis ejfe rcdituram ; fore cmm ut ejus mortis confuetudine
erubefceret, I think that it may be reftored by leaving Out a
Angle letter. Inftead of -"j; tiAsJIb,-, we fliould read sus
rchelri;, and tranllate it, fore utfiatim revivifceret, ejus cerema-
nia ritu exorata. The word ieauirua'jSu.i fignifies not only
*' to blufli, to be afhamed," but alfo, " to fuffer oa'efelf
" to be perfuaded, to be moved." .dbid.
" you

<$5 EPISTLES OF JULIAN;
" you alone Were involved in fuch diftrefs, wheii
" you cannot find one that ever lived exempt froril
" fome domeftic misfortune ?"
That Darius, an illiterate Barbarian, a flate
both to joy and grief, fhould be told this, wis
highly proper ; but you, a Greek, Who cultivate
true literature, fliould learn from yourfelf to govern
your paffions. For it is fhanieful that reafon fhould
hot anticipate the certain effects of time *.

A. t>.
360.

Epiftle XXXVIII. To the Philofopher
Maximus -j-;
ip\y|*Y ideas cro^wd fo faft upon me, that they
LVA choak my utterance, fome hindering the
paffage of others* Whether this be frigidity, or
any thing elfe, you will determine. But let me
now arrange them in order, and firft return my
* If Julian had read the Latih author^ (and why fliould
he not have read, at leaft, fome of them ?) I fhould fay
that he has copied this paffage of the letter of Servius Sul-
picius to Cicero : Nullus dolor eft quern nan longinqnitas tent'
poris minuat atque molliat. Hoc te expeBare tenipus tmpC efi, ac
non ei rci tuafapientid te occurrere. La Bleterie.
f This Epiftle was written in Illyricum at the tim*
when Julian was preparing to march againft Conftantius. Ibid.
Among the philofophers, Maximus obtained an eminent
rank in the friendfhip of his royal difciple, who commu-
nicatedj "with unreferved confidence, his actions, his fen-
timentSj and his religious defigns, during the anxious fuf-
pence of the civil war. Gibbon.
See the firft note on Epiftle XV. p. 29.
7 thank*

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 97i
thanks to the Gods, whofe goodnefs ftill allows me
to write *', and perhaps will permit us to meet.
When I was firft made Emperor (the Gods know,
and I, as far as poffible, declared to them, with
what reluctance), I was waging war againft the
Barbarians. After paffing three months in that
fervice, as I was returning to Gaul, I looked round,
and enquired of thofe v/ho came from thence
whether any philofopher, any fcholar, ot any one
clad in a woollen coat or cloak, had arrived there.
At .length I approached Vefontio f. This fmall
town, now rebuilt, was formerly a large city,
adorned with magnificent temples, and fortified
both by ftrong walls and its natural fituation,
being furrounded by the river Dubis j, and ele
vated, as if in the fea, on a high rock, almoft in-
acceflible even to the birds, except where an ifth-
mus joins it to the continent. Near this town I
met a Cynic philofopher, with his cloak and ftaff.
• It is probable that Julian, after his taking the title
of Auguftus, wrote feldom to Maximus, for fear of em
broiling that philofopher, who dwelt in Ionia, or Greece,
and confequently under the dominion of Conftantius. La Bleterie,
+ Now Befancon, the capital of Franche-Comte. Julian
pafled through this town, which had fuffered feverely from
the fury of the Barbarians, after his fourth expedition be
yond the Rhine, A.D. 360, in his way to Vienne, where
he fixed his head-quarters for the enfuing winter. See Am
mianus, xx. 10. Of the citadel of Vefontio, on a high
mountain, fee Cafar, de bell. Gall. /. 1. F. Martinius
tranflates it " Danubius."
X Now the Doux.
Vol. II. H At

EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
At a diftance I thought it was you *, and on his
nearer approach I imagined that he came from you.
He proved to be alfo a friend of mine, but not
fuch as I hoped and expected. He was ufeful to
me therefore in one inftance only, that of giving
me reafon to conclude that your anxiety on my ac
count had prevented your leaving Greece. Witnefs
Jupiter, witnefs great Sun, witnefs Minerva, and
all ye Gods and Goddeffes, how much, in my re
turn from Illyricum to Gaul, I trembled for you !
And I enquired of the Gods, not that I dared
myfelf (for I was not able f to fee or hear any
thing of the fituation in which you then might be),
but I entrufted that office to others. The Gods'
clearly {hewed, that fome troubles would befall
you, but that nothing terrible fhould enfue, nor
any wicked device prevail.
I omit, you obferve, many important events.
You are chiefly interefted to know how foon we
experienced the manifeft affiftance of the Gods, and
* This clearly fliews that Maximus was of the feet of
the Cynics. A Cynic was as vain of his ftaff and cloak as
if he had been decked with all the ornaments of drefs.
But this Maximus muft be diftinguifhed from another Cynic
of the fame name, under the Emperor Theodofius, who was
of Alexandria. Baronius.
•j- He means the danger to which Maximus was ex
pofed under Conftantius, and affirms, that he did not
venture himfelf to confult the Gods concerning him, left
he fliould be compelled to hear fome inaufpicious tidings,
as was highly probable. Petau,
After this, can there be a doubt of Julian's belief in
theurgy ? La Bleterie. efcaped

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 99
efcaped fuch a multitude of traitors, killing none
and fpoiling none, but only imprifoning thofe who
were apprehended in the Very fact *.
Thefe things perhaps it might have" been better
to fpeak than to write. I am certain, however,
that they will give you pleafure. We worfliip the
Gods publickly, and all the troops that are re*
turning with me profefs the true religion. We
openly facrifice oxen. We have made our grate*
ful acknowledgments to the Gods in feveral heca
tombs fi They command me to reftore their
worfhip with the utmoft purity J. Moft willingly
I obey them. They promife me great rewards, if
t am not remifs. Euagrius § is arrived.
* Soon after Julian was proclaimed Auguftus, ah eunuch,
fuborned by the partifans of Conftantius, attempted to
affaflinate him. Julian pardoned him. Welearn from hence,
that this was not the only confpiracy which threatened his
life. Ibid.
t "Phe legions of Gaul devoted themfelves to the faith$
&s well as to the fortunes, of their Victorious leader ; and,
«ven before the death of Conftantius, he had the fatif-
faction of announcing to his friends, that they affifted, with
fervent devotion, and voracious appefite, at the facrifices,
which were repeatedly offered in his camp, of whole he
catombs of fat oxen. " So that the foldiers," fays Am
mianus (xxn. 12.) " living grofsly on fat meat, and
" greedy of drink, were carried through the ftreets on the
" moulders of paffers-by, from the publie-houfes ....
" to their quarters." The devout prince and the in
dignant hiftorian d'efcribe the fame fcene ; and in Illyricum,
Or Antioch, fimilar caufes muft have produced fimilar
effects. Gibbon.
X He had no doubt of his being raifed up by the Gods
to be the reftorer of Paganifm. La Bleterie.
§ See the firft note on Epiftle. XLVI.
H z- EpiftUf

too EPISTLES OF JULIAN.

Epiftle XXXIX. To the fame.

D" \X7"ELCOME the coming, fpeed the part-
' ^ ing gueft *.
Such is the law of the wife Homer. But our
friendfhip is fuperior to that of; hofpitality, being
founded on learning and religion. So that no one
could juftly charge me with tranfgreffing this law
of Homer, if I fhould think proper to detain you
longer with me. But as, I fee, your diminutive
frame -j~ requires more attention, I allow you to
go into your own country J, and have provided
for the convenience of your journey, by giving
you the ufe of a public carriage. May iEfcu-
lapius, and alt the Gods, conduct you, and bring
you fafely back to us again !
* This is faid by Menelaus (Odyff. xv. 74..) when Te
lemachus, after vifiting him at Lacedcemon, was going to
take his leave. La Bleterie.
Pope, 84. He has adopted this line in his imitation of
the 2d fatire of the ift book of Horace. Thus alfo The
ocritus, Idyll, xvi. 27. as tranflated by Fawkes.
With prudent hofpitality they f'pend,
And kindly greeting fpeed the parting friend.
¦f Tujidltot, corpufculum. As from at^wntaw;, homuncio,
applied to Athanafius in Epiftle LI. it has been inferred,
that the primate of iEgypt was a little man, the fame con-
clufion perhaps may be drawn from the above exprefTion
in regard to Maximus ; though, in this inftance, the dimi
nutive is a term of affection, and, in the other, of contempt.
J Ephefus. Maximus probably took this journey while
the Emperor was at Conftantinople. La, Bleterie. Epiftle

EPISTLESOFJULIAN. 101

Epiftle XL. To Jamblichus *.
I AM fo fenfible of the good-nature with which A. D.
you blame me, that I think myfelf equally ho- 363'
noured by your letters, and inftructed by your re
proofs. But were I confcious of the leaft failure of
attention to you, I would certainly endeavour, if pof
fible, to palliate the fault, or I would not fcruple to
alk your pardon, efpecially as I know that, whenever
your friends indlfcreetly violate the laws of friend
fhip, you are not implacable. Now then (fince
negligence, or indolence, generally prevents my
accomplishing what I ardently defire), afcend, as
it were, a tribunal, while I plead my caufe before
you, and fhew that I did not treat you with im
propriety, or act with tardinefs or neglect.
Three years ago I left Pannonia +, with diffi
culty efcaping thofe fnares and dangers of which
you are well apprifed. But when I had croffed the
Chalcedonian ftrait X> a°d approached the city of
Nicomedia §, to you firft, as to the God of my
country, I paid due offerings for my fafety, by
fending you a meffage as a token of my approach,
* See the firft note on Epiftle XXXIV.
f Now Hungary.
+ Now the Bofphorus.
§ This city was then in ruins by an earthquake, which
happened in 358. See a note on ,an epiftle of Libanius,
vol. I. p. 304. and his Monody on that event, in this vol.
H 3 or

loz EPISTLES OF JULIAN,
or a kind of facred prefent. The letter was con*
figned to the care of one of the Imperial guards,
by name Julian, the fon of Bacchylus, a native of
Apamea v, to whom I the more readily entrufted
it, as he was going thither, and declared that he
knew you perfectly well. After this, I received,
as from Apollo, a facred epiftle from you, ex-
preffing that you had heard with pleafure of ray
arrival. Wife Jamblichus, and a letter from Jam*
blichus, were to me a happy omen, and the dawn
ing of good hopes. Need I fay how much I re
joiced, apd how greatly I was affe<£ted by your
letter ? For if you have received what I wrote on
that fubject (which was fent to you by one of the
letter-carriers that came from thence), you cer
tainly know the great fatisfaction that it gave me.
And again, when the man who nurfed my child
ren f returned hQmes I feP1 you another letter, i«
* The metropolis of Phrygia.
f Ta re.°<p<-*i{ rut tfj.a.v1a iratiut. M. de TiUemont, who,
takes in its moft rigorous fenfe that fufpicious paffage in the
Mifopogon (p. 244.) in which Julian ironically urges the
reproach of the people of Antioch, that " he almoft always
(«,- tariffs, ! lay alone," and confiders it as a confeffion that
Julian himfelf makes of his incontinence, obferves, in order
to ftrengthen this pretended confeffion, that Julian, in
this Epiftle (which is one of thofe that I have not tranf
lated), fpeaks of '*¦ the man who had nurfed his children."
" Now," fays M, de TiUemont, " he never had any le-
" gitimatc, except a fon who perifhed by the wickednefs
?' of the midwife, whom the Emprefs Eufebia, the wife of
?' Conftantius, had fuborned. The fact is certain: there-
" fore he had fome illegitimate." But

EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
in which I expreffed my acknowledgments for your
former, and alfo requefted a repetition of the
favour. Afterwards the diftinguifhed Sopater *
came to us on an embaffy, and, as I knew him, I
inftantly fprung forward to embrace him, and fhed

But we muft not conclude from this paffage, as M. de
TiUemont does, that there was actually a man who was
charged with the care of the children of Julian. Helena
had a fon. After her firft lying-in, fhe never went her
full time. But at every pregnancy a nurfe was provided.
The fame perhaps was frequently chofen. It was probably
the hufband of that nurfe whom Julian ftyles " the nurfe
" of his children." I fay probably, becaufe a number of
other plaufible reafons may be fuppofed for Julian's having
given fome one that name. Who knows, for inftance,
but that it was a man whom he had deftined for the care
of the children that he hoped to have ? Whether he did
not caufe fome children that did not belong to him to be
educated with the tendernefs of a father? Or whether it
was not a joke which Jamblichus perfectly underftood ?
La Bleterie,
When Julian fpeaks of " the tutor of His children,"
who is not named, the expreffion muft be underftood figu
ratively. For Julian had no children, legitimate or ille
gitimate. Hiftorians are quite filent about them, except
ing that one which he had by his wife Helena, who was not
fuffered to live. If Julian had any children out of lawful
marriage, and therefore illegitimate, can it be fuppofed
that Chriftian writers would have been filent about it ? By
no means. Eumenius, in his Panegyric, recommends to
Conftantine not only his five children of whom he was the
parent, but his other children likewife, as he calls them,
whom he had educated for the bar or the court. In fome
fuch figurative fenfe Julian muft be underftood. He intends
fome young perfons under his fpecial care. Lardner.
* See Epiftle XXVII. p. 70. note f. That this was the
fame Sopater who entertained Julian afterwards at Hiera
polis, though probable, I cannot affirm.
H 4 tears

104 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
tears of joy, dreaming of nothing but you and a/
letter from you. As foon as I received it, i kiffed
it, held it to my eyes, and ftrained it clofe, as if
Ihad feared, that, while I was reading it, the
features of your face fhould fecretly efcape me,
I immediately wrote an anfwer, not only to you,
but to the excellent Sopater, his fon, telling him,
in joke, that I, had accepted a common friend from
Apamea as an hoftage for your abfence.,,, :
From that time to the date of my prefent writing,
I have received no letter from you but that in,
which you feem to chide me. If by this appear
ance of a charge you mean only to urge me to
write, I accept the whole charge with the utmoft
joy, and the very letter which I have now received
I deem the higheft favour. But if you really
accufe me of having given you the leaft offence,-
who can be more miferable than I in having been
prevented by the negligence of letter-carriers from
giving you the fat isfadtion that I wifh? However,
though I were not to write very frequently, I might
juftly claim your indulgence, not op account of
the bufinefs in which I am engaged (for I am not
fuch a wretch as not to prefer you, as Pindar fays,
to all my affairs *) ; but, becaufe there is more
* Ao-jif-oAias airotavis to xd\ap at Harlot yyeiaQut . The fenfe, but
n£)C the words, of Pindar.
 Toy teov, x%V(7a(''!>1 ©j)bof,
Ti^ayfAa. xeu aax^tag VTrtpltpcy
Go.tntj.eu  Ifthm. I. I,
Your bufinefs, golden-fhielded Thebes,
To all my own I willingly prefer. wifdom

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. xo$
wifdom in being loth to write to fuch a man as you,
who cannot be recollected without veneration, than
in being too prefumptuqus. For as thofe who venr '
ture to gaze ftedfaftly on the light of the fun,
unlefsthey are in a manner divine, and can behold
his rays like the genuine off-fpring of eagles *',
cannot fee what is unlawful to be feen f, and the
more they endeayour it, the, weaker are their
efforts ;,fo he, who prefumes to write to you$
clearly fhews;that the bolder he is, the more he
ought to fear. But youj, diftinguifhed fage,, who,
I may fay, were created for^ the total prefervation
of Gentilifm, judged right in, fending, me frequent
fetters, and thus, as far as poffible, checking my
indolence. For as the fun (again to . compare you
With that deity)> when he fliines perfectly bright,
¦with full radiance* is regardlefs whether, all the
obje6ts : that he illuminates perform their re-
fpective. functions with propriety];; you, in like
manner, fhould liberally diffufe the light of. your
knowledge among all the Gentiles, aftd not fe~
crete it becaafe fear or modefty prevents your,
hearers from making a reply. JEfculapius,does
not heal difeafes from interefted motives, but
every where difplays his humanity, like a kind of
doctrine. You, being the phyfician of noble fouls,
* See Epiftle XVI. p. 31.
\ Ovle a fj.n Stfti; opOnvesi. Not unlike St. Paul, <* ax s£a»
cdQ^utu Kcthvaat, not lawful for a man to utter. 2 Cor. xii. 4.
X This paffage in the original being corrupted and mu
tilated, I can only gu'efs at the meaning.
I fhould

toG EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
fhould do the fame, and in every thing obferve the
precepts Of virtue; like a good archer, who, though
he has no adverfary, always exercifes his art againft
a proper opportunity. Our views are not the
fame, as we wifh to en]oy your aufpicious letters,
and you to receive ours. But we, though we
fliould write a thoufand times, refembie the play
ful children in Homer, Who erect clay-buildings
on the fhore, and then foon overwhelm them with
fand * : While your letter, however fhort, is pre
ferable to the moft copious ftream; And in truth,
lh ad rather poffefs one epiftle of Jamblichus than
all the gold of- Lydia.
If you have any regard for your friends (and
fome regard you have, or I am much miftaken),
do not neglecV u's,- who, like poultry, are always
jn want of 'your fuftenance ; but write frequently,
and forbear not to nourifh us with your good
cheer. And if we have been deficient, difcharge
at once two friendly offices, that of writing to us,
and alfo of writing for us. For fuch a pupil of
eloquent Mercury as you are} fhould employ his
rod, not in exciting, but in banifhing and dif-
pelling fleep, and in this -particular, above all, let
him be your model.
* II. XV. 362, where the rcet deftribes the Grecian
turrets nodding, and the bulwarks falling, when fliaken by
A polio ;
Eafy, as ivhen aflicre, the infant -f ftands,
And draws imagin'd houfes in the fends,
The fportive wanton, pleas'd with fome new play,
Sweeps the flight works and fafhiori'd domes away. Pope.
¦[- lir':an; rv,o:iii£ W rr'-ircry, fubiiitutes -«irr; for r:a:;.

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 107

Epiftle XLL To the fame.
IN obedience to the Delphic oracle, we Ihould
have known ourfelves, and not prefumed to ftun
the ears of a fage like you, whofe very looks it is
difficult to encounter, much more to contend with
him in genius, as he combines all the powers of
philofophic harmony. Every mufician, Ariftaeus *
not excepted, muft yield to Pan, when he breathes
fweet melody; and when Apollo Warbles to his
lyre, all, though they had the mufical powers of
Orpheus, would be filent. Confcious, as we are,
of our own inferiority, it is juft that the lefs fliould
fubmit to the greater. But he who would put
human in competition with divine harmony muft
be unacquainted with the cataftrophe of Marfyas f
the Phrygian, and with the river named from him#
which flows as a punifhment to the mad mufician.
* The fon of Apollo by Cyrene, the daughter of Pe-
neus, king of Arcadia. He is faid to have difcovered the
ufe of honey, milk, rennet, and other ufeful things. Juft.
Hift. xi 1 1, 7. This the poets have turned info a fable.
SeeVirg. Georg. ly. 317, &c. One MS. inftead of Apraio?.
has «{iro5, (" thp beft" mufician.) The fable of Ariftaeus
is alfo in the IV th book of the Odyffey.
t A fatyr, who challenged Apollo, and, being overcome
by him, was flead alive, and changed into a river, See
Pyid. Metam. VI. and Liv. XXVIII. 13.
Nor

io,8 E P I S T L E S O F JUL I A'JW,
Nor can he have heard of the fate of Thamyris *,
who unfuccefsfully contended in finging with the
„ Mufes. Not to mention the Sirens f, of whom
fuch of the.l\lufes.as conquered them ftill bear a
wing in their foreheads. All thefe now fuffer, and
vyillilqng fuffer, for their prefumption ; we there
fore, as I faid before, ought to have remained
within our own bounds,, and to have' been quietly
fatisfied, with your ftrains, like' thofe Who filentiy
receive -the oracle, of Apbllo iffuing from the facred
*;ii.V»V ',. ,. . r;: 'Vji
'-'¦'•'- - Superior once of ill the' tuneful race,
. m[ Till, Vajn of mortals empty :prdife, he. ftrove
To match the ffeed, of cloud-compelling Jpve.
Too daring bard ! wtiofe unfuccefsful pride
,v':'. TV immortal Mufes in their art defy'd.
, Th' avenging Mufes; of the light of day
Depriv'd his eyes,' and fnatchMhis voice away,
' * ' Pope, 732.
, f As to the wings of the Sirens,' fee- ALlian de naturii
anim../.' xyu. r.,23.,- .. . . . , ,,,
: This cohteft of the Sirens with the Mufes is thu? men
tioned by Spenfer :
They were fair ladies, 'till they fondly ftriv'd
With th' Heliconian maids for maifterye,
Of whom they overcomen were, depriv'd
: -o Of their proud beauty, and th' one moiety .
Transform'd to fifh, for their bold furquedry J.
Fairy Sueek, b. xi. c. 12. ft. 31,
yhich Mr. Spenee juftly quotes as one inftance (among
many) -of this great poet's " mifreprefenting the ftories and
" allegorical perfbnages of the ancients, the Sirens being
" never reprefented in antiques with a,nfh-tail? but with
",,theupper part human, arid-the lower like birds." See
Poiymetis, p. 302.
Cvid, in his Metamorphofes, v. 553. afcribes their tranf-
formation to another caufe, + D..f.,M.,'...

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 104
ihrines. But fince you lead our fong, and by your
eloquence, as with the rod of Mercury, roufs us
from fleep, we, in the manner of thofe enthufiafts,
who with dances meet Bacchus, when he celebrates
his orgiesj will join in unifon with your harp, as
'they in tune and meafure accompany the leader of
the dance. Accept therefore the orations *, which,
by the command of the Emperor -f-, I lately com
pofed on the celebrated junction of the ftraits J ;
a fmall work, if compared with yours, and brafs
for your gold § ; but fuch prefents as we have |j,
we offer to our Mercury. Thefeus by no means
defpifed the coarfe fare of Hecale *** ; but, urged
by neceffity, was fatisfied with little. And the
fhepherd Pan difdained not to apply to his lips the
pipe of a young herdfman. Such as it is, then,
receive it, and fcorn not to beftow great atten
tion on a fmall poem •ff. If it have any merit,
both the work and its author will be fortunate in
receiving fuch a token of efteem from Minerva.
* Thefe orations are not extant.
¦f Conftantius.
J Does he mean the Hellefpont joined by Xerxes ?
Pet Air.
§ II. VI. 236. Julian feems particularly fond of this
paffage, this being the third time of his quoting or alluding
to it in thefe Select Works.
Jj Oi; St txopt* |ew>i; — ifi»»)ej> Not unlike that expreffion
of St. Peter, Acts IH. 6. Oiitx"* ra'h aot iiiu.fj.t. Such as I
have, I give thee.
** A poor old woman mentioned by Callimachus, a*
paving entertained Thefeus with wild lettuce. See Plin.
Hift. Nat. xxn. 22. and xxvi. 8.
ff- OTuyu |*e?i«. Could this be one of thofe which before
tyere ftyled Myut (" orations ?")
And

iro EPISTLES OF JULIAN,
And fhould a finifhing hand be neceffary to com*
plete it, difdain not, I intreat you, to fupply its
defects. Thus of old the God appeared to the
archer * Who invoked him, and directed his fhaff,
and thus the harper who was playing the Orthian f
tune was anfwered by Apollo in the form of a
grafs-hopper J.

An Edict relating to Profefibrs §<
*7J»m> T>ROFESSORS and mailers fliould be dif-
362. W~ I . .
-*- tinguiflied firft by their manners, and in the
next place by their talents. We therefore forbid any,
* Paris probably, when Apollo guided his arrow againft
Achilles. See Ovid. Metam, XII.
f A kind of loud mufic ufed by Arion, according to
Herodotus. It is introduced by Homer, II. xi. ji. where
Difcord
- .  Through the Grecian throng,
With horror founds the loud Orthian fong. Pope, 13.
X I am aware that the Greek word tet1i|, and the Latin
cicada, mean a different infect from our grafs-hopper ; for
it has a rounder and fhorter body, is of a dark green co
lour, fits upon trees, and makes a noife five times louder
than our grafs-hopper. It begins its foilg as foort as the
fun grows hot, and continues finging till it fets. Its wings
are beautiful, being flreaked with filver, and marked with
brown fpots ; the outer wings are twice as long as the
inner, and more variegated ; yet, after the example of Mr.
Pope (fee II. m. 300.), I retain the ufual term.
/ Fawkes on Theocritus.
§ I have taken this Epiftle from the Theodofiart Code,
<xin. V. 3, De meditis etprofefforibus. It is not known fromwhat

EPISTLES OF JULIAN, m
any, whoevet they be, to intrude haftily or rafhly
into this hnportant office. He who would keep
a fchool muft be approved by the council of the
town, and alfo have the fanction of the principal
inhabitants ; and, as I * cannot be every where
perfonally prefent, let the decree be fent to me for
examination, that the candidate may have the ad
ditional honour of feeing the fuffrages of his fel
low-citizens f confirmed by our opinion.
Given at * * * * on the fifteenth of the calends
of July. Received at Spoleto on the fourth of the
calends of Auguft, in the confulfhip of Mamertinus
and Nevitta.
what place it was dated, nor to whom Julian addreffed if.
It only appears that he wrote it on the road from Conftan
tinople to Antioch, as he left Conftantinople in the month
of May, and was at Antioch towards the end of July. It
was made, without doubt, on account of fome profeffor of
Spoleto, a city of Picenum, and confequently was addreffed
either to the Prefect of the Prsetorium of Italy, or to the
Prefect of Rome, or perhaps to the Confular of Picenum
(•now the march of Ancona), or, laftly, to the inhabi
tants of Spoleto. The intention of Julian is plain. He
referves to himfelf the right of confirming or annulling
the election of profeffors, in order to exclude the Chriftians
from all literary offices. This law might perhaps be par^
of the following edict. I have therefore placed it here.
La Bleterie.
* The Emperors generally fpeak in the plural in their
laws ; Julian, however, here ufes the lingular. Sed quia
fingulis civhatibus adejje ipfe nonpojjum,jubeo, &c. Ibid.
\ The original is, Hoc enim decretum ad me traBandum
deferetur \, ut altiore quodam honor e nsftro judicio (M. de la
Bleterie thinks we fliould read noftrum judicium) fludiis civi-
tgttim accedat. % In Gothofred's sditian, riferitur, Epiftlo

U2 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.

362.

fepiftle XLlf. An Edia, forbidding the
Chriftians to teach polite Literature *.
A. D. HHRUE learning, in my opinion, confifts not
"-^- in words, in elegant and magnificent lan
guage, but, in the found difpofitions of a well*
formed
* Two motives induced Julian to feftrain the Chriftian
profeffors from teaching: 1. He flattered himfelf, thatj
in order to keep their chairs, they would change their re
ligion. In this, he did not fucceed, if, as Orofius fays,
almoft all rather chofe to quit them. This, in particular,
is affirmed of Prohaerefius, the fophift, of Athens, and of
Marius Vidtorinus, who profeffed eloquence at Rome.
2. Julian knew, by his own experience, that mafters, when
they fhewed their fcholars the ancient authors, never failed
to infift on the weaknefs and folly of Paganifm. He was
fenfible how much a Chriftian mafter can contribute to the
progrefs of religion, when he explains profane authors
chriftianly, and equally avails himfelf of the truth and the
falfhood which he finds there in order to conduct his pupils
to God and Jefus Chrift. This is what he wifhed to pre
vent. But, inftead of difeovering his true motives, he em
ploys the moft lamentable pretext that can be ; fo that this-
piece of eloquence is a mafter-piece of fophiftry. M. Fleury
has inferted moft of it in his Ecclefiaftical Hiftory, La Bleterie.
His moft illiberal treatment of the Chriftians was, hri
forbidding the profeffors, who were of that religion, to
teach humanity and the foiences in the public lchools.
His more immediate defign in this was to hinder the youth
from taking impreflions to the difadvantage of Paganifm ;
his remoter view, to deprive Chriftianity of the fupport of
human literature. His own hiftorian, Ammianus Mar-
cellmus, paffes a fevere fentence on this edict, xxi. 10.
Warburton. His

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 113
formed mind, and in juft notions cf good and
evil, of virtue and vice. Whoever therefore
thinks or teaches otherwife feems no lefs deftitUte
of learning than he is of virtue. Even in trifles,,
if the mind and tong-ue be at variance, it is always
efteemed a kind of difhonefty. But if in matters
of the greateft confequence a man thinks one thing
His driving from their fchools fuch teachers of rhetoric
and grammar as profeffed the Chriftian religion, was fevere
(inclemens), and fliould be buried in eternal oblivion. Ammianus.
He enacted no oppreflive laws .... a few excepted ;
among, which was that fevere one, which forbade Chriftian
mafters to teach rhetoric and grammar, unlefs they con
formed to the worfliip of the Gods. Ibid.
Ammianus has twice mentioned this Edict, and always
with diflike, as a great hardfliip. Orolius fays, that
" when Julian publifhed his edict forbidding the Chrif-
*' tian profeffors of rhetoric to teach the liberal arts, they
w all in general chofe rather to refign their chairs than
" deny the faith." And Jerom, in his Chronicle, affures
us, that " Prohxrefius, the Athenian fophift, in particular,
[fee Epiftle II.] " fhut up his fchool, though the Em-
•' peror had granted him a fpecial licence to teach." Au-
guftine records the like fteadinefs of Victorinus, who had
long taught rhetoric with great applaufe at Rome. But
Ecebolus, a Chriftian fophift at Conftantinople [fee Epiftle
XIX.], who had been Julian's mafter in rhetoric, was over
come by the temptations of the times, and with great hu
miliations intreated to be reconciled to the church.
Lardner:
This Edict may be compared with the grofs invectives- •
of Gregory {Orat. in. /. 96.). TiUemont (Mem, Eccl. torn.
vn. p. 1201 — 1204.) has colle&ed the feeming differences
of; ancients and moderns. They may be eafily reconciled.
The Chriftians were directly forbid to teach ; they were
indireclly forbid to learn, fince they would not frequent the
fchools of the Pagans. Gibbon,
Vol. II. -*. I and

n4T EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
and teaches another *', does he not refembie thofe
mean-fpirited, diflioneft, and abandoned traders,'
who generally .affirm what they know to be falfe,
in order to deceive and inveigle euftomers ?
' All therefore who profefs to teach ought to be
ftricf in their morals, and fhould never entertain
opinions oppofite- to thofe of the^ public; fuch,
efpecially, ought to be thqfe who inftruct youth,,
and explain to them the works of the atacients,
whether they are orators, or grammarians ; but
particularly fophifts, as they affect to be the teach
ers, not only of words, but of manners, and infill
that civil philofophy is their peculiar province.
Whether this be true or not I fliall not at pre
fent confider. I commend thofe who make fuch
fpecious promifes, and fhould commend them much
more, if they did not falfify and contradict them- :
* If the Chriftian proftffors, when they explained in
their fchools Homer, Hefiod, &c. had canonifed the
doctrine of thofe writers, the reproaches of Julian would
have been juft ; yet perhaps he would not have made them.
A book may be efteemed in fome refpects, and condemned
in others. No one 'is deceived by this. To explain the
claflic authors, to commend them as models of language,
of eloquence and tafte, to unveil their, beauties, Sec. this
is not propofing them as oracles of religion and morality.
Julian is pleafed to confound two things fo different, and
to erect, under favour of. this confufion, the puerile fe-
•phiftry which prevails through his whole edict. La Bleterie.
Thus Homer's Achilles, II. ix. 312.
Who dares think one thing, and another tell,
My foul" def efts him like the gates' of hell. Pope.'
- "¦* - <t - .--.,.
i • felves

EPISTLES OF JU.LIAN. 115
felves by thinking one thing, and teaching their
fcholars -another. What then? Were not Homer
Hefiod, Demofthenes, Herodotus, Thucydides, Ifo-
.crates, Lyfias, guided in their ftudies by the Gods
and efteemed themfelves confecrated, fome to Mer-
.cury, and others to the Mufes I It is abfurd there
fore for thofe who explain their works to defpife
the Gods whom they honoured.
I do not mean (I am not fo abfurd *) that
they fliould change their fentiments for the fake
of inftructing youth ; I give them their option,
either not to teach what they do not approve, or,
if they choofe to teach, firft to perfuade their
fcholars, that neither Homer, nor Hefiod, nor
any of thofe whom they expound, and charge with
impiety," madnefs,, and error, concerning the Gods,
are really fuch as they reprefent them. For as
they receive a ftipend, and are maintained by their
Works, if they can act with fuch duplicity for a few
drachms, they confefs themfelves guilty of the moft
fordid avarice.
Hitherto, I allow, many caufes have prevented
their reforting to the temples ; and the dangers
that every where impended were a plea for their
difguifing their real fentiments of the Gods. But
now, when the Gods have granted us liberty, it
feems to me abfurd for any to teach what they
do not approve. And if they think that thofe
* Petau thinks that fomething- is wanting here to per
fect the fentence. I » Writers

ii6 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
writers whom they expound, and of whom they
fit as interpreters, are truly wife, let them firft
zealoufly imitate their piety towards the Gods. But
if they think their ideas of the moft holy Gods
erroneous, let them go into the churches of the
Galileans, and there expound Matthew and Luke *.
In ebedience to your rulers, you forbid facrifices.
I wifh that your ears and your tongues were (as
you exprefs it) regenerated \ in thofe things of
which I wifh that myfelf, and all who in thought
and deed are my friends, may always be par
takers. * Let all the moral truths which are found, or are fup
pofed to be found, difperfed here and there in the Pagan
writers, be collected ; let all profane antiquity, if I may fo
exprefs myfelf, be laid under contribution ; the fyftem
which can be drawn from it will be far lefs valuable
than what we are taught in a few words by the authors of
whom Julian affects to fpeak with contempt, and will fo
far only be rational, as it refembles their doctrine.La Bleterie.
A juft and fevere cenfure has been inflicted on the law
which prohibited the Chriftians from teaching the arts of
grammar and rhetoric. The motives alleged by the
Emperor to juftify this partial and oppreflive meafure might
command, during his life-time, the filence of flaves, and
the applaufe of flatterers. Gibbon.
t He ridicules the Chriftians by the trite application of an
expreffion ufed by them. Ata-yitnatf is commonly underftood
of baptifm, the reformaf-ion of the new man, and the
change of ftudies and manners, Therefore forbidding the
Chriftians to read the books of the Heathens, he fays, he
would have their ears and tongues cleanfed from all ac
quaintance with their writings, that what is depofited
in them may in a manner be born again. PetaV.
To

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 117
To matters and teachers let this be a general
law. But let no youths be prevented from reforting
to whatever fchools they pleafe *-. It would be as
unreafonable to exclude children, who know not
yet what road to; take, from the right path, as it
would be to lead them by fear, and with reluctance,
-to the religious rites of their country. And though
it might be, proper to cure fuch reluftance, like
madnefs, even, by force f, yet let all be indulged
with that difeafe. For the ignorant fhould, in my
opinion, be inftrutted,not punifhed.
* This was fair, but would by no means be accepted.
Here the bait was half ofF-the hookj and difcovered, that
to draw them to the fchools of the Pagan profeffors was
one end of the edict, which he imagined would neceffarily
reduce things to this ftate, either to difpofe the Galileans,
during their youth, in favour of Paganifm, or to difable
them, in their adult age, to defend Chriftianity. So that
it appears from hence, his forbidding Chriftian profeffors to
explain Pagan writers to any audience whatfoever, amounted
to a prohibition of learning them. War burton.
Mr. Gibbon has adopted the fame idea in a former note,
p. 113.
f'He derides the /nagia r*XiXaiw» (Epift. VII.) and fo far
lofes fight of the principles of toleration as to wifh (Epift.
XLIL) «w»Vj kw8«>. Gibbon.

1 $ Epiftle

nS E P I S T L E S OF JULIA' N.

A. D

Epiftle XLMI, To Ecf/b'olus

$12.' '^2. "^ rnild and humane have 'been" -my decrees
'^ concerning the Galileans, that hone" of them
can fuffer any violence," or he "-dragged td the
temples,' or be expdfed'to any "'other injury. Bnt
they who are of the Ariah' chhrch,'vbeing pam
pered with riches- f, have attacked the Valeii-
tinians, and have' dared to perpetrate : fuch out
rages at Edeffa as can never be tolerated in a well-
governed city. Therefore, as they are taught,,in
their wonderful law, the moft eafy 'method of en-i
tering into the kingdom of heaven, for this pur«
¦- ' ' - ¦ ¦ ' ' ¦ ,, i. ., n
* This is not the fophift under whom Juli'an'had ftudied,
and to whom he addreffed Epiftle XIX. This, "no doubt,
was the chief magiftrate of Edeffa, the capital of Ofrhoena,
a province beyond the Euphrates and the Tigris. "
La BtETERIE.
About the fame time that Julian ^vas informed of the
tumult of Alexandria, he received intelligence fromEdeffa
of the diforders which occafioned this .mandate. Gibbon
•f The Arians were put in poffeifion of the church of
Edeffa, nnder Conftantius. They muft neceffarily there
fore be great pcrfecutors to retain it under Julian. Thq
Valentinians derived their name from the herefiarch Va-
lentinian, who lived in the fecond century after Jefus Chrift,
and who, by a mixture of the gofpel, of Platonifm, and}
the theogony of Hefiod, formed a fyftem fo compounded,
fo extravagant, that we do not underftand it, perhaps he
did not underftand it himfelf. Some remains of the
yaleatinians ftill exifted in the Vth century. La Bleterie. pofe

EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
pofe co-operating with them *, we have ordered all
the wealth of the church of the Edeffenes f to be
confifcated and given to our foldiers, and the lands
to be annexed to our demefnes. Thus being poor
they may become wife, and not fail of that
heavenly kingdom to which they afpire J.
We alfo command the inhabitants of Edeffa to
refrain from all tumults and feditions §, left, if
they provoke my humanity, you yourfelf fhould
be punifhed for the public diforders by exile, fire,
and the fword. ' Epiftle
* Julian might boaft as much as he pleafed of not beinp-
a perfecutor. Thofe profane and cruel railleries, which
fell from the pen of the fovereign, were in themfelves a
cruel perfecution, and muft expofe the Chriftians to the
fury of the idolaters, wherever they found themfelves the
ffrongeft. In-order to ill-treat thofe who are not of their
religion, the populace only wait for the leaft fignal from
the prince, and frequently not even for that. La Bleterie.
f The effects of the church of Edeffa Were probably
returned to it by the fucceffors of Julian. At leaft, it was
very rich in the vth century. Ibid.
X Doubtlefs Julian refers to divers texts of the gofpels ;
perhaps to Matth. v. 3. Luke vi. 20. Matth. xix. 21.
or fome other parallel places.' But few will allow him to
be a good interpreter of fcripture, or that he deduces right
conclufions from it. Lardner.
§ Thefe divifions might perhaps be occafioned by th?
Arians having feized the church and its revenues, though
the greater part of the inhabitants was! inviolably attached
,to the Catholic faith. It is notorious, that, nine years
after the death of Julian, in the reign of Valens, the bifliop,
the clergy, and the laity, ftrictly deferved the glorious title
of confeffors. The women, and even the children, fhared
fhe glory of this confeffion. The Edeffenes pretended
I 4 - that

is> £ P I b T L E S O F J U L 1 A N.

Epiftle XLIV. To LfBANius *.
RECOVERING lately from a fevere and
dangerous illntfs, by the providence of the
Supervifor of all things, your letter was delivered
to me on the day that I firft bathed. Reading k
in the afternoon, 1 can fcarce exprefs how much
it confirmed me in my opinion of your pure and
difinterefted benevolence, of which I wifh I were
worthy, that I may not difgrace your friendfhip.
I immediately began your Epiftles f, but could
not finifh them : thofe from Antony to Alexander
I poftponed to the next day. A week after, my
health, by the providence of God, improving to
my wifh, I wrote yon this. May you be pre
ferved, my moft efteemed and beloved brother,
[by God, who regards all things ! may I fee you,
my beft friend ! With my own hand, by your
fafety and my own, by God the fupeiintendant
that their city had the honour of being the firft that dedi
cated itfelf to Jefus Chrift, and fhewed in their archives a
letter which they believed to have been written to one of
their kings by Jefus Chrift himfelf in the courfe of his
mortal life. We may judge to what degree Julian hated
them, and we muft no longer be furprifed at his writing
to Ecebolus, or rather to the whole fenate of Edeffa, fo
bitter and fo threatening a letter. La Bleterie.
* This, in one MS. is addreffed " to Prifcus."
f What thefe " Epiftles" were we know not. Poffibly
fome in affumed characters (now loft), fuch exercifes beina
common with this fophift, of

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 121
of all thiags, I have written what I think. Ex
cellent man, when fhall I fee and embrace you?
For how, like a difappointed lover, I am ena
moured even of your name *.]

Epiftle XLV. To Zeno +.
T>ES IDES many other proofs of your having A. D.
attained the fummit of the medical art, to
'which you have added propriety of behaviour,
good-nature, and regularity of life, this teftimony
now crowns all, your having turned the whole
city of Alexandria towards you in your abfenee ;
fuch a fling, like a bee, you have left behind you.
And with reafon ; for Homer well obferves,
A wife phyfician, fkill'd our wounds to heal,
Is more than armies to the public weal J.
And you are not merely a phyfician, but alfo a
mafter to all who practife phyfic, fo that you are
to phyficians what phyficians are to others. For
this reafon you are re-called from exile, and with
great fplendor. If you were obliged to quit Alex-
* The words between [ ] are added in one MS.
f Some MSS. give Zeno the title of " Chief Phyfi
cian," (apx*dpu). He was, it appears, a celebrated pro
feffor of phyfic, a Pagan without doubt, as Julian ex*
preffes to him fo jnuch efteem and affection. La Bleterie.
X H. xi. 514. Pope, 636, The words of Idomeneus on
Machaon. It is needlefs to obferve that the ancient phy
sicians were furgeons, andria

122 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
audria- by the Georgian * faction, as the proeefs
ivas unjuft, you may moft juftly return. Return"
therefore to your former honour, and let acknow
ledgements be paid to us by. both ; by the Alex
andrians for reftoring Zeno to them, and by Zeno
for reftoring to him the Alexandrians,

Epiftle XL VI. To Euagrius f. if
CJ . ... ; f . ... .v." ¦ ;., *
I INHERITED from my grandmother J a fmall
eftate in Bithynia, confifting of four farms, and
with it L reward your, affection to,. me. It is too incon-
fidsrabje to elate a man with wealth, or to confer
.yj'" .r . - ' , . , , . ¦ -i ..;.-...;;
*' George had equally perfecuted the Catholics and the
Pagans.-' He -muft have procured by furprife fome order of
Conftantius ;to banifli Zeno j/for if George had only driven
him out- by force, this phyfician,; fo dear to the' city of
Alexandria, would not have waited for ah order from the
JTucceflbr of Conftantius. to return thither. '. La Bleterie.
«-•;-•+ It is not known to, whom this Epiftle is;addreffed. Jt
is -very well written ; neverthelefs, it is tinctured with 'pe
dantry; Ibid.
ii The name of ',' Euagrius" occurs in the index to Petau's
edition. I have therefore added it. He is, probably the
fame*who is mentioned in the conclufion of the xxxvmth
Epiftle. Libanius has two Epiftles to one of this name, and men-
•tSons him in feveral others. He held, it appears, fome
office under the government, and being accufed of fome
niifrnaria.gement in it, was brought to trial, but was ac
quitted by. the jntereft of Salluft, whom Libanius thanks
tor his good offices.
j In the Duties of a Prieft, p. 122, Julian mentions his
.inheriting the whole eftate of his grand-mother, which had
been forcibly with-held from him. felicity,

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 123
felicity, but its endowments are by no means un-
pleafing, as you may judge from the particulars.
•And there is no reafon why I fhould not be jocular
to you who abound with elegance and wit. .
~- -It is twenty-'ftadia * diftant from the fea, and' is
therefore undifturbed by'trafficking merchants and
clamorous or quarreifome "failors. Yet it is 'not
entirely deftitute of thegraces of Nereus-; for it
can always ifup'p'ly a gatping fifh frefh-caught, and_
an eminence near the ' houfe commands a vie\y:of
the Propontic' fea, the iflands, and the city, which
bears- the -name of a great prince f ; ( and vinftead
of being di'fgufted by fea-weedj and various other
kinds of -filth that fhall be namelefs, which are often
thrown on the beach and the fands, ground-ivy,
thyme, and other aromaticherbs, will afford you
a conftant resale. When with tranauil attention
you have purfued your ftudies, and wifh to, relax
your eyes, the profpecl of 'the fhips and the ocean
is delightful. In this retirement 1 found, many
charms when I was a boy, for it has fountains alfo
far from defpicable, a beautiful bath, a garden,
and an orchard ; and when I grew up, I was .ftill
fo fond of it, that I frequently reforted to it, and
therefore my obtaining it feemed a fortunate cir-
cumftance. It affords too a fmall memorial of my
agriculture, a fweet and fragrant wine, which is
* About two miles and a half.
¦f Conftantinople, _ good

"4 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
good even when it is new *. In fhort,: you will
there fee Bacchus and the Graces. The grapes;,
both when they hang, on the vinesi, and are preffed
into the vat, are as odoriferous as rofes. But as
foon as the wine is in the cafks, to fpeak in the
language of Homer, it is
A rill of nectar, flreaming from the Gods f ,
Why then, you will fay, did I not plant many
more acres with fuch vines ? Becaufe I was not a
very keen hufbandman; and befides, as mine is a
temperate cup, and the neighbourhood abounds
with nymphs, I provided enough for myfelf and
my few male friends. Such as it is, my dear friend,
you will now accept it : however trifling; the
* In the original, Ovx' am\i.ttot\a. ti Hagt ts ygm* irpoa\a.£&t,
literally, " not waiting to receive any thing from time."
But the Latin tranflator has affixed a meaning no lefs ,op-
pofite to the intention of Julian, than to fact and obfer-
vatiou : neque temporis diuturnitate vitli quicquam affiohit.
Though our Imperial author was no votary of Bacchus,
his " cup" (as he fays) being " temperate" (miJiaXio;), be
muft have known, and meant to intimate, that, in general,
old wine is proverbially good, and vice verfd. A new friend,
fayB the wife fon of Sirach, is like new wine ; when it is old,
thou Jhalt drink it with pleafure. Eccl. IX. 10.
f Ta n«1o|0{ E)-i» airopfuf. Odyff. IX. 359. Pope, 426.
Tire elogium of Polyphemus on the rich Maronean
wine given him by Ulyffes. This wine alfo, like that of
Julian, Breath'd aromatic fragrances around, ver. (410.) 14$.
Julian, it appears, had feveral female friends whom he
occasionally mentions, viz. Areta, Theodora, Enodia, &c,
but here, to avoid any mifeonftruction, he takes particular
care to fpecify, that though " there were many nymphs
" there" (wo\u rut tvpiput h srw), thofe whom he entertained
were " a few of .the other fox'' (o^yo> J» «¦» ro xw'- ™1
atogalt.) 1 prefer^.

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. «.$
prefent, it is pleafing to a friend both to give and
receive, " from houfe to houfe," according to the
wife Pindar *.
This is a hafty epiftle, written by lamp-light.
Whatever therefore may be its faults, do not cri-
ticife them with the feverity of one orator towards
another f.

Epiftle XLVII. To the Inhabitants of
Thrace J.
TO a prince who was avaricious your requeft
would feem unreafonable, nor fliould the
public revenue ever be injured through any favour
to individuals. But as it is our view not to collect
from our fubjects as much as poffible, but rather
to do them the utmoft poffible good, we remit
you what is due. Not indeed the whole, but it
fhall be divided ; one moiety you fliall retain,
and the other fhall be given to the foldiers. Of
* OixoSsv otxaiii. I have not found thefe words in Pindar.
Jf I have fearched well, it muft be fuppofed that Julian
took them from one of the works of that poet which has
not been tranfmitted to us. La Bleterie.
M. de la Bleterie has not '• fearched wej.1." They are
both in the vith and vnth Olympics.
f This conclufion favours more of the author than the
prints. Bid. .
| He remits them the arrears of taxes till a certain
time, namely, till the third indiftion, or levy, which be
gan in the year of Chrift, 359. This ufed to be ftyled
" an indulgence." See Cad. fhead. I. xi. tit. 38. De indul-
gentiii detittrum. F E T A V .
this

126 ET I S.T L E S CO F J U L I A N.
thist no iuconfidejable part will alfo be; yours, aS
they preferve you in peace and fafety. We remit
you therefore, till the third indiction *, a^l that is
iniarrear; after that, you muft pay it as ufual.
.For what we have remitted to you. ., is fully fuf$-
cient ; and the public revenue we muft not im
pair. I have written on this fubject to the pre
fers, that the favour intended you may have its
full effect.
I pray the Gods always to preferve you -f.
* The name and ufe of the indictions, which ferve to
afcertain. the chronology of the middle ages, .were derived
from the regular practice of the Roman tribute's. The
Emperor fubfcribed with his own hand, and in purple ink,
the folemn edict, or indiction, which was fixed, up in the
principal city of each diocefe, during two months. previous
tb the firft day of September. And," by a very eafy con
nection of ideas, the word" indiction" was transferred to
the meafure of tribute which it prefcribed, and to the
annual term which it allowed for the payment.
¦ The proportion, which every citizen fhould be obliged to
contribute for the public fervice, was afcertained by an '
accurate cenfus, or furvey, and from the well-known period
of the indictions there is reafon to believe that this- dif
ficult and, expenfive operation was repeated at the regular
diftance of" fifteen years. The cycle of indictions, which
may be traced as high as the reign of Conftantius, or
perhaps of his father Conftantine, is " ftill employed by the
papal court j but the commencement of their year has been ¦-
very wifely altered to the firft of January. Gibbo,n.
-j; This fentence is added in one MS.

.,.¦ , -. ..... ,. m..
v.-- ':.* ,; ,' . "'ri.ivb:

.TTji' ....

Epiftle

EPISTLES OF JULIAN.. "7

Epiftle XL VOL To**

* *

MY body is on many accounts in an indifferent
ftate of health * ; my mind, however, ,is
pretty well. An epiftle from one friend to ano
ther cannot, I think, have a better preface. Of
what then does this preface Confift? Of a pe
tition, I fuppofe. For what I An epiftolary cor-
refpondence; which, I hope, will confirm my
wifbes, and bring me intelligence of your health,
and happinefs.

Epiftle XLLX. To Arsacius, High-prieft
of Galatia f.
^PHAT Hellenifm J does not yet fucceed as we a. d.
-*- wifh is owing to its profeffors. The gifts or35£",
of the Gods are indeed great and fplendid, and far
fuperior
*" From this and feveral other paffages, which the reader
muft have obferved, it appears, that Julian had frequent'
, returns of illnefs, owing probably to his great and conftant
fatigue of mind and body, and to his rigid manner of life.
f This pontiff is not known. I imagine this Epiftle was
written, at rhefooneft, towards the end of the year 362, as
if foppofes that fome, time had been employed in endeavour
ing to re-eftablifh Hellenifm. Sozomen and M. Fieury have
thought the whole worth being inferted in their Ecclefiaftical
Hiftory. indeed it would be impoflible to produce a more
honourable and lefs fufpicious teftimony in favour of our
religion, J But 1 will not deprive the reader of the pleafure of

u8 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
fuperior to all our hopes, to all our wifhes. For
(be Nemefis propitious to my words!) not long
ago no one dared to hope for fuch and fo great a
change in fo fhort a time. But why fhould we b*
fatisfied with this, and not rather attend to the
means by which this impiety § has increafed,
namely, humanity to ftrangers, care in burying the
dead, and pretended fanftity of life I All thefe, I
think, fhould be really praehfed by us.
It is not fufficient for you only to be blamelefs.
Intreat or compel! all the priefts that are in Galatia
to be alfo virtuous. If they do not, with their
wives, children, and fervants, attend the worfliip
of the Gods, expell them from the prieftly function ;
and alfo forbear to converfe with the fervants,
of making himfelf all the ufeful refleftions which the pe-
rufal of this piece fupplies. La Bleterie.
The paftoral letters of Julian, if we may nfe that name,
ftill reprefent a very curious fketch of his wifhes and in
tentions. Gibbon.
I This was the ftyle at that time. Hellenifm is Hea-
thenifm, or Gentilifm. And Heathens are called Hellenes,
and Hellenifts, by our Ecclefiaftical hiftorians, Socrates,
Sozomen, and Theodoret, efpecially in their hiftory of
Julian's reign. Lardner.
§ A Angular kind of impiety, which renders man the
friend of man, and makes him practife all virtues 1 To,
charge good men with hypocrify is the ufual refource of
extravagant prejudice and wickednefs. Julian, with all his
genius, did not and would not fee that a fociety, fo nu
merous as the Chriftians then were, does not carry on and
cannot even conceive fuch a defign. Hypocrify will never
be a popular vice. The multitude, be it what it may, is
always honeft. La Bleterie. children

fePlSTLES OF juiiA.it. ti$
children, and wives, cf the Galileans *, who aire
impious towards the Gods, attd prefer impiety to
religion. Admonifh alfo every prieft not td fre
quent the theatrej ribr td drink in taverhs, nor to
exercife any trade or employment that is mean and
difgraceful. Thofe whd obey you, honour ; and
thofe who difobey youj expell; Erect alfd hof-
pitals in every city} that ftrangers may partake our
benevolence ; ahd hot "drily thofe bf our own re
ligion, but, if they are indigent, others alfo.
How thefe expences are to be defrayed muft
how be confidered. I have ordered Galatia to fup
ply yoh with fni'rty-thbufahd bulhels of wheat •+-
every year ; of which the fifth part is to be given
* AWtt ovi^ckIg t » 6ixllut, 1 vtsxt, »i rut taXi\amt ykiiilur,
x. t. A. I have attempted a new tranflation of this paffage,
not being fatisfied with any other which I have met with.
In' Spanheiih's edition the Latin Verfion is, ne patiantur
fcrvos, aut filios, aut conjuges Galilaorum impie in Deos fe
gerere, et impietatem pietati praporiere. And much to the
fame purpofe is the Latin tranflation of this Epiftle in
Sbzb'meri, made by Valefiu's, which would be commanding
every Heathen prieft ana his family to become pefifecufOb ;
which cannot be fuppofed to be pk>babfe. Cave, in the
introduction to his'Hiftory of the Fathers of the i Vth cen
tury, p. 34. " riot; fufferihg their fervatits, children, or
" wives, to be Galileans, who are defpifers Of the God?,
*' and prefer impiety before religion," which cannot be
ri'ght. Eor h is a tautology, faying' over again the fame
thing which had been Taid juft before. Ahd yet Bletcrie's
tranflation is much to the fame purpofe : s Us fouffrent dans
teur famille de ces impies de Galileens. Lardner.
1 have adopted this cohftru£Hon.
f The Latin and French tranflatiohs add here " and
*' fixty- thoufand fc.xtarii (or feptiers J of wine," wOrds, for
v. hich there is no authority in Petau's or Spanheim's edition.
Vol. IL K to

13a EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
to the poor who attend on the priefts, and the
remainder to be diftributed- among ftrangers and
pur own beggars. For when none of the Jews beg,
and the impious Galileans relieve both their own
poor and ours, it is fliameful, that ours fhould be
.deftitute of our affiftance *•
Teach therefore the Gentiles to contribute to
.fuch minifterial functions, and the Gentile, villages
to. offer to the Gods their firftrfruits., Accuftom
them to fuch acts of benevolence,, and inform them
that this was, of old, the regal. office. For Homer
puts thefe r words, into the mouth of Euma^us :
 It never^was our guife
To flight the poor,, or aught humane defpife ;
For Jove unfolds our hofpitable door,
'Tis Jove that fends the ftranger and the poor f .
Let us not fuffer others to emulate our good
actions, while we ourfelves are difgraced by floth X*
left
f Julian beheld with' envy the wife and humane regu-
g\f'lation's"of the church, and he very frankly confeffes his
intention to deprive the Chriftians of the applaufe, as well
as advantage, which they had acquired by the exclufive
practice of charity and benevolence. Gibbon.
.Sei 'the codc'lufidn of the Duties of a Prieft, Vol. I.
p. 142, &C.
f Odyff. XIV. 56. Pope, 65. This paffage is quoted
by Mr. Harris, on the fubject of the Arabian hofpitality.
See his Philological Enquiries, part III. ch. 7.
% Who doubts but that, before Chriftianity appeared in
the world, the Pagans performed fome humane actions,
and that fome among them practifed fome moral virtues ?
But it was not as Pagans, it was as men that they prac
tifed them : In that they only followed the impreffions of
the law and religion of nature. It was becaufe the cor*
>. • ruption

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. i3i
tuption of the heart, the ftrange idea which the idolaters,
at l^afb the people, formed of the divinity, and that mon-
ftrous collection of fenfelefs opinions, of fcandalous tra
ditions, and of ridiculous fuperftitions, in which Paganifm
corififted, had riot abfelutely fextinguifoed the light which
fbineth in darknefs*
The Pagans 'had a' morality, but Paganifm had none. It
is no lefs abfurd to appropriate virtues to itj as Julian does,
than it ..woulcl.be, to afcribe to infidelity fome virtuous
aftions, of no confequence,,. which efcape from infidels.
Suppofing that the'y have feme- probity, it is from temper,
from intereft, from caprice, becaufe they are men, and
often becaufe, they. have prefsrvdd. fome remain's of a Chrif
tian educatidn. This epifHe. of Julian fliews,„how many
.Virtues, even thofe .which by the pleafure that .attends their
practice, carry with them their Reward, were rare among
the- Pagans. Gould the finger of Go'd be miftakerr in a re
ligion which renders all' virtues common ; which, founded
'alfo on all the proofs of which ajfact is fulceptible, bring*
into the world a fyftem .of 'morality the moil: perfect that
can poffibly be imagined, fupparts it by the moft powerful
motives and examples, regulates .even the moft, fecret mo
tions of our fouls; in a ivordj-jwhich re-eftablifhes, un
folds, and perfects the principles of the lavf of nature,
almoft effaced iii the minds of .men, arid iftiibfaiore in their
hearts ? ..¦ :-. .. .,-,! .¦ r -
Let us judge of the necefllty-'of Chriftianity by the
horrid crimes which were : committed, and, are ftill com
mitted, in the beft-goverried Pagan nations.- .To', the dif
grace of Philofophy, it Will, for. inftance, be' always. trUe
to fay,, that 'mankind aTe indebted to the Tgofpel ' of Jefus
Chrift for the abolition of the barbarous, cuftom pf ex-
pofing infants, Iri this refpeet the: moft.- favage animals rife
iip in judgement, even: at the- tribunal ofurBafon, a'gainft
the Greek, , the Roman, and the Cbinefe. ,' -,- ;•¦
To deprive our religion- of a, gldry 'which is peculiar to
it it would be ufelefs to fay, that Mahometanifm has been
equally feryiceabie to. humanity-. Who knows not, that
this falfe religion fuppofes and acknowledges the million of
Jefus Chrift, and is onlya corruption of Chriftianity and
Judaifnv? No one can deny,. that the Chriftian religion has
.at leaft/ fweetened th© manners,, c&ilifod: the barbarous
people who have embraced it, enlightened, as to his duties,
K 2 the

*3* EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
left by negligence we lofe our reverence for the
Gods. If I hear that you pr^ftife this, I (hall
overflow with j'oy.
Vifit the dukes * feldom at their houfes, but
write to them often. Whenever they enter a city,
let none of the priefts go to meet them ; but when
they refort to the temples, let them be received
within the veftibule. When they enter, let none of
the rudeft Pagan, diffufed every where fome delicacy of
confeience, and, even among thofe whom it does not alter,
a tincture of probity. A Chriftian, moderately inftructed,
and of common virtue, knows more in point of morality,
and is more philofophical than a philofopher. Thofe who,
like Julian, but with lefs fplendbr than he, have aban
doned the' Chriftian religion, are more indebted to that
religion than they imagine. They, as well as Julian, are
indebted to it for the exacteft and pureft notions of certain
moral virtues. It is from that that fome have retained
thofe maxims of rigid, prbbity of which they/ would net
have made parade,' if Chriftianity had not given them re
putation. ;It! has already been faid, that if,' which is im
poflible, the gofpel were falfe, it would be for the intereft of
mankind to believe it true. ' .: - La Bleterie.
* Or commanders of the troops. See note on Epiftle
XXVIII, p. 73. Julian, in what follows, feems very attentive
to the dignity, of the priefthood, by endeavouring to prevent
thofe who were ordained to any holy office from degene?
rating. into mere fecular politicians, party zealots,' and
danglers at jhelevtfes (as we now call them.) of the great.
What fopcopen to imprefs them with a juft opinion of their
own rank and importance as;. to forbid their mixing in
popular affemblies and tumultuous proceflions, even when
intended to give honour where honour was due, and pay
ing idle, or even ceremonious vifits, and rather to confine
them within the precincts of their own temples; where,
without offence, they had an undoubted precedence ? In
the Duties of a Prirft, in like manner, the priefts are al
lowed to;" vifit the d .kes and prtefe&s." See Vol. I.p. 138.
their

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 133
their guards precede them; but let who will fol
low them. For as foon as they enter the door of
the temple, they become private perfons. You
yourfelf, you well know, have a right to precede
all who are within it, that being agreeable to the
-divine law. Thofe who are truly pious will obey
you, and none will oppofe you but the proud,
oftentatious, and vaiu-glorious.
I am ready to aflift the people of Peflinus *, if .
they can render the Mother of the Gods pro
pitious to them. But if they neglect her, they
will not only be culpable, but, which is more harfh
to fay, will incur my difpleafure f.
No law requires that they my care fhould prove,
Or pity, hated by the powers above J. There-
* See Epiftle XXI, p. 43.
+-An ungenerous diftinction was admitted info the mind
of Julian, that, according to the difference of their re
ligious fentiments, one part of his fubjects deferved his
•favour and friendfliip, while the other was entitled only to
the common benefits that his juftice could not refufe to an
obedient people. Gibbon.
X See Odyff. X. 73. What Julian fays here does not
feem to agree with the order which he has juft given tp,
eftablifh fome hofpitals, where all might be received, Chrif
tians as well as Pagans. This contradiction, if foch it
were, would not have been the only one of which he had
been guilty. But it is only apparent. The duties of hu
manity are ftrictly juft. They are obligatory with regard
to all men. But favours are due to none ; and it was fome
favour that the inhabitants of Peflinus j\3<l afked of the
Emperor. La Bleterie,
Thefe two lines, which Julian has changed and perverted,
in the true fpirit of a bigot, are taken from the fpeeeh of
<Eolus, when he refufes to grant Ulyffes a frefh fupply of
K 1 wind?.

1^4 E?;ISTLES OF J U L I A:N.
Therefore affure them, that, if they wifh for
my protection, all the people muft fupplicate the
Mother of the Gods.

Epiftle J-4. To Ecdtcius, Praefeft of
^gypt *.
A- D- " XT O U tell me my dream f ," fays the pro-
-** verb. But I am going to tell you what
you have feen waking. The Nile, I am informed, has
winds. Libanius (Orat. Parent, c. $a..,p, 28£.) attempts to
juftify this partial behaviour by an apology, in which per
fection peeps through the mafk of candour. Gibbon.
The lines in Homer are,
Of 'yaj |U.oi Se^i; *r' x.ofj.t£ifj,tt, ai' axotttfj.iittt
Asfya, t' ps xs Stotait airt^Bvlai fxaxaptaatt.
His baneful fuit pollutes thefe blefs'd abodes,
Whofe faith proclaims him hateful to the Gods. Pope, 85.
Julian has altered them thus, at the expence of a falfe
quantity, and a jingle :
Ov yap fJM ^ifJ-ti in xofj.tiffj.tt, if iktatpett
Atigas, oi xat btotait a-itiyytutr ecQettofloiotv.
In the laft word, probably, his memory might deceive,
him, as awrE^aJvlai paxocpamt would have fuited his purpofe
and metre as well. The other alterations (nai perhaps ex
cepted) muft have been intentional.
* This Epiftle is a good piece of pleafantry on the negli
gence of Ecdicius. That governor, I fancy, would rather
have received a ferious reprimand. Nothing, was more
interefting to the Emperor and the empire than an account
of how many cubits the H'\\e had rifen in the autumnal
folftice, as on that depended the fertility of ALgypt, and
the fubfiftence of Conftantinople. Where the waters rofe
too much, or too little, the' lands could no{ be fowq.
•}.{ If the increafe," fays Pliny, (/. v, c, 9.) «? be bnty
l.\ twelve.

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 135
lias rifen feveral cubits, and overflowed all ./Egypt.
If you wifh to know the number, it was fifteen '
on the twentieth of September. This intelligence
I received from Theophilus, prefect of the camps.
If you had not heard it before, rejoice at hearing
it now from me.
" twelve cubits; the province is afflicted with famine ; if
" it be only thirteen, -it ftill fuffersi Fourteen give joy ;
" fifteen fafety; fixteen abfolute plenty." The Nile fwells
from the middle of July to the' folftice, J Wbfcri it is at its
greateft height, the canals are opened, to let it in upon
the lands. It- returns to its bed in the month, of No
vember. The feeds are then ,fown. . The corn is reaped in
May. La Bletekie;
The cubit, by which the filing of, the Nile in jEgypc
was meafured, had been ufually lodged in the temple of
Serapis [at AlexandriaJ. Conftantine removed it into a
Chriftian church. But Julian ordered it tobe' replaced in
the temple of Serapis. His ftatue and temple having been
demolifhed, by orderof Theodofius I. in the year 391, it
was given out by the Gentiles that the Nile would "no.
longer overflow. Neverthelefs k rofe the following year
to an uncommon height. ""The cubit was then again re- •»
ffored to the Chriftians.. Lardner.
Thales, the Milefian, accounted for the inundation' of
this river by the Etefian winds blowing againft, the mouth
of it at that feafon. But the fame would probably then
happen to other rivers where the like winds are known to
blow. The true caufe is probably the melting of the foows.
.on the mountains of Ethiopia, when the fun comes over
them. Yet thefe winds may contribute to make the over
flow more regular and lafting, as they are an equal balance
to the waters, and prevent their running, into the fea after
thefe have fufficiently fertilifed the land.
¦f X« aot ov«f o-oi ifnyafj.xt, " I tell you your dream. ' That
is, " I tell you what yon yourfelf know better than I."
In Suidas this proverb is quoted from fome unknown au
thor, and alfo in Plato De Republ. I, vni. It feems derived
from thofe who confult interpreters of dreams ; whom fome
alfo. require to guefs what they have dreamed. Erasmus.
K 4 Epiftle

ijo" EPISTLES OF JULIAN.

Epiftle LI. To, the Alexandrians *,
A. d. TF your city had had any other founder, any ona
3 i- -'-of thofe. who, tranfgreffing their own laws f,
had juftly fuffered punifhmem: for leading a wicked
life, and introducing a new do&rine, a new re
ligion, even then it would have been unreafonable
for you to wifh for Athanafius. But now, a,§ the
founder pf your city is Alexander J, and your
ruler apd tutelar clejcy king Serapis, with the
virgin his affociate, and the queen of all iEgypr,
Jfis, * * 9 *, you do npt act like a healthy city,
but the diftempered part dares to arrogate the
* The Catholics, who were, without doubt, the moft
rmmeroijSj prefented, in the name of the city, a petition
to the Emperor, requeuing the repeal of fh,e order which
he had iffiied agajnft Athanafius. The Emperor anfwers
their petition by this new Edjdtj M, Fieury quotes the
whole of it. La Bleterie.
t Thofe whom Julian here treats as apoftates (a re
proach ftrange enough in his mouth), had not abandoned
the God of their fathers, to run after ftrange gods. They
believed in the fecond revelation, which was only the
object, the fequel, and the accomplifhment of the firft.
By dying for the doctrine of their mafter, they have proved
that they were not deceivers. The proofs of the fact which
determined them to embrace it are of fuch a nature, that
it is impoflible for them to have been deceived. Could
Julian allege anything fimilar in jullification of his change?
He-has here given us a very remarkable fketch of his
feafons in the pathetic difcourfe which he addrefles to the
inhabitants of Alexandria; Ibid,
X See Epiftle X. note f, p, 20.
v nama

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. I37
name of the Whole. By the Gods, men of Alex*
andria, I am afhamed, that any of you fhould
avow himfelf a Galilean.
The anceftors of the Hebrews were formerly
flaves to the ^Egyptians. But now, men of Alex
andria, you, the conquerors of iEgypt (for iEgypt
was conquered by your founder), fuftain a volun
tary fervitude to the defpifers of your national
rites, in oppofition to your ancient laws * ; not re
collecting your former happinefs, when all iEgypt
had communion with the Gods f , and enjoyed
many bleffings. But tell me, what advantage £
has accrued to your city from thofe who now in
troduce among you a new religion ? Your founder
was that pious man § Alexander of Macedon, who did
* The Hebrews were fubjected to the ancient kings of
iEgypt ; the Alexandrians therefore ought to prefer' the
preek religion tp the doctrine of the Apoftles : What a,
lingular complication of bad arguments : La Bleterie.
f Jf they recolle&ed it, they recollected but little of it.
Ibid.
Julian makes intercommunity the diftinguifhing cha
racter of the Pagan religion. For the Imperial fophift,
writing to the people of Alexandria, apd upbraiding them
with having forfaken the religion of their country, in order
to aggravate the charge, infinuates them to be guilty of in
gratitude, as having forgotten " thofe happy times when
" all Aigypt worfliipped the Gods in common" (tjHtsa »s»
imutttt.). War burton.
X The Chriftian religion does not promife temporal
bleflings ; but, if men practife it, they will be as happy as
they can be on earth. La Bleterte.
^ In matters of religion, what authority was thaf of
Alexander ? What conquefts were his, compared to thofe of

133 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
did not, by Jove, refembie any one of thefe, of
any of 'the Hebrews, who far excelled them,
Even Ptolemy, the fon of Lagus *, was alfo fu
perior to them. As to Alexander, if he had en*
- countered, he would havfe endangered, even the
Romans, What then did the Ptolemies, who fuc
ceeded your founder ?- Educating your city, like
their own daughter, from her infancy, they did
not bring her to maturity by the difcourfes of Jefus,
nor did they • conftruct the form of government
with which fhe is now bleffed by the doclrine of
the odious Galileans.
Thirdly, after the Romans became its mafters,
taking it from the bad government of" the Ptole
mies f, Auguftus vifited your city, and thus ad
dreffed the citizens : " Men of Alexandria, I ac-
te quit your city of all blame, out of regard to
" the great God Serapis, and alfo for the fake of
" the people and the grandeur of the city. A
" third caufe of my kinduefs to you is my friend
of the Apoftles ? I beg the reader to recollect that paffage
in the epiftle to Themiftius (p. 24.), where Julian raifes
Socrates above Alexander ; and to determine whether 'the
juft reafons which he has given for preferring the former
are not infinitely more ftriking and decifive in favour of
the difciples of Jefus Chrift. Here Julian fpeaks like 3
true fophift. He was well acquainted with Alexander,
and would not have wifhed to refembie him in every thing.
La Bleterie.
* Ptolemy, the fon of Lagus, was one of the generals
of Alexander, who fhared his empire. He founded the
kingdom of jEgypt. Ibid.
f The family of the L^g'.des terminated in the perfon
of Cleopatra, after having reigned 300 v ears. Ibid.
" Areus."

EPISTL-ES OF- JULIAN! *39
ff Areus *."' This Areus, the companion of'AuC
gnftus Caefar, and a philofopher, was your fellow-
citizen. , The particular favours Conferred upon your city
by the Olympic Gods were, in fhort, fuch as thefe.
Many more, not to be prolix, I omit. Thofe blef
fings which the illuftrious Gods beftow in common
every day, hot on one family, nor on a fingle city,
but on the whole world, Why do you not acknow
ledge? Are you. alone infenfible of the fplendor
that flows from the fun f ? Are you alone igno
rant that fummer and winter are produced by him,
and that to him all things owe their life and origin ?
Do you not- alfo perceive the great advantages
that accrue to your city from the moon, from him
and by him the difpofer of all things? Yet you
dare not worfhip either of thefe deities ; and
this Jefus, whom neither you, nor your fathers
have feen, you think muft neceffarily be God the
Word \, while him, whom, from eternity, every
* The fame who is mentioned in the Caefars, (Vol, I.
p. 193.) and in the Epiftle to Themiftius, (p. 25.)
La Bleterie^
f All nature, and the heavenly bodies, in particular,
prove the exiftence of a Supreme Being, and declare his
power, his wifdom, and his goodnefs. But. their fplendor,
the regularity of their motions, and the ufes -which
they render to mankind do not prove that they are go
verned by fome particular intelligences, and much lefs that;
they deferve to be worfliipped. Ibid. .
J I have already faid that Julian placed' the Logos, or
P'emiurgus, in the Sun. Bid.
e«ov Aoyoj. Taken from St. John, i. r. ©eo? w i \oyot,
Tlie Word was God. generation

140 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
generation of mankind has feen, and fees, and
worfliips, and by worfhipping lives happily, the
great fun, I mean, a living, animated, rational,
and beneficent image of the intelligible Father *,
you defpife. If you liften to my admonitions f,
* * * *? yOU will by degrees return to truth. You
will not wander from- the right path, if you will
be guided by him, who, to the twentieth year of
his age, purfued that road, but has now wor-=
{hipped the Gods for near twelve years.
If you will follow my advice,' my joy will be
exuberant. But if you will ftill perfevere in that
fuperftitious inftitution of defigning men, agree,
however, among yourfelves, and do not defire
Athanafius. There are many of his difciples who
are abundantly able to pleafe your itching ears X>
defirous as they are of fuch impious difcourfes.
I wifh that this wickednefs were confined to Atha
nafius and his irreligious fchpol. But you have
* In another place (apud Cyril. I. it. p. 69.) he calls the
fun " God, apd the throne of God." Julian believed the
Platonician Trinity, and only blames the Chriftians for
preferring a mortal to an immortal Logos. Gibbon,
Though the Alexandrians faw the fun, they by no means
faw that he was a divinity ; but without having feen the
Man God, they had certain proofs of his million ; proofs
which, all united, form, in fact, a complete dernbnftra-j
tion. It is worth obferving, that Julian, in one and the
fame phrafe, fpeaks the language of Pyrrhonifm and that
of credulity. La BLtTEpiE,
f Something here is wanting,
J T«s a*o«? viivt xmriuaat. Similar to that expreflion of
St, Paul, 2 Tim« iv. 3. xwDo/tivw th **¦%*», among

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 14*
among you many, «ot ignoble, of the fame feet,
and the bufinefs is eafily done. For any one whom
you may felect from the people, in what relates to
expounding the fcriptures will be by no means in
ferior to him whom' you folicit. But if you are
pleafed with the fhrewdnefs of Athanafius (for, I
hear, the man is crafty), and therefore have peti
tioned, know, that for this very reafon he was
banifhed. That fuch an intriguer fhould prefidc
over the people is highly dangerous •, one, who Is
not a man," but a4 puny contemptible mortal, one
who prides himfelf on hazarding his life *, cannot
but .create -^ d ifturbances. - That nothing of that
kind might happen^ I.ordered him formerly to leave
the city, but I now banifli him from all iEgypt.
,..•;<- Let this be?< communicated to our Alexandrians. i,;
,>..,;"" ajii ¦ r j A> Aj 1^ -j:.A' ; "";-•
* I cannot convey all the^energy of .the Greek : f-Uh
«»?if, aXX* ati^urttaxtx eylj^m, icetSiiref uloj, o |U<ya; (it flioiildbe
1 To f*iya) oioftivo; rttfit ni;'riiqMr,<; xn'h'ityntl ' Ne'vir^qitidem, fad
homuncio nullius pretii^'ifuails ifte eft', qui -de "eapite pericli/aj-i
magnum aliquid exifilimat. "- ' LA 'Ble'tERIIi.
-;-l The prefent tranflator may fay the fame.
- iiM. de TiUemont concludes from this text, that Atha
nafius was a little man, and that his perfon had nothing v
that announced the grandeur and elevation ofJ his mind.
The moft, I think that we'ean coneludfr-from this expreffion
of Julian is, that,- Athanafius was not of a proper hrig' t. I
f ry,the moft; for it muft be obferved, that it is an Eiiiperor
who fpeaks of one of his fubjects, and who affects to fpeak
of him jn a tone of contempts Gregory Nazianzen (Orat.
.?cxi.) fays, that Athanafius " had the form of an in-gel,'1'
«tyye?iuco5 to «&fi It even appears, that, when he went' to
' meet the. Emperor Conftantitie the younger, in Gaulj that
prince was .ftruck with his advantageous appearance. ' 'Ibid,
. .;-^T:;.id , . •= ,;1 ''-'iu lJ> --'
,:.¦>.' EP'ftle

14a EPISTL.ES OF JULIAN*

• .Epiftle, LII. To the Bostrenians **. '
A»& T THOUGHT that the prelates of the Gali-
-1- leans had been. under, greater obligations tome
than to my predeceffbr. For in his reign many
of them were banifhed, perfecuted, and imprifoned;
and numbers of t-hafc, who are, ftyled heretics, were
. put to death,, particularly at Samofata and Cyzicus 5
and in -Paphlagonia, Bithynia, Galatia, and many
other provinces, . whole villages were laid wafte
:and entirely depopulated f, ,, In my ireign the re-
; ;." '¦• •_ .': A: '. - f j^C '" ¦ ¦ ¦'-'¦''
* Boftra, or Bofra, as it is ftyled in .fcripture, was a
Roman colony, :and the' capital Of Arabia'.' It had then
for its, bifhop a man equally Wellverfed in polite literature,
and the doctrine of the church, named Titus, La Bleterie.
In this very reinakable Epiftle to the! people of, Boftra,
Julian profeffes his rrioderation, and betrays his zeal; which
is acknowledged, by Ammianus, and expofed by Gregory,
{Orat. 111. p., 73.) ' Gibbon.
•f- The fucceffor of Conftantius has expreffed, in a con-
cife, but -lively, manner, fome of the theological cala
mities whjch afflicted the empire, and more efpecially! the
Eaft, in, the reign of a prince,, who was the flave of his
own paffions, and of thofe of his- eunuchs. " Bid.
Under Conftantius the Arians, who pretended to be the
Catholic church, had perfecuted not only the orthodox, but
alfothe fectaries; efpecially .the Novatians, who^ without
receiving the council of, Nice fubfequent to their fchifm,
were no lefs, zealo.us than the orthodox for confubftanfiality*
They were the fublifting and unfufpected proof of the
novelty of Arianifm ; which made them much regarded
by the Catholics, and more odious Co the Arians than the
Catholics themfelves. La Bleterie4
¦• - 1 verfe

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 145
verfe has happened. For they who had been ba
nifhed are. .allowed to return, and to thofe whofe
goods had been . confiscated, all have been re-
ftored. Such, neverthelefs, are their madpefs
and folly, that, becaufe they can no-more . ty
rannise, or perpetrate what they had .pro] ected,
firft againft their brethren, and then againft us,
the worfliippers of the Gods, enraged and exafpe
rated, they. move every ftone, and dare to ajarm
and inflame, the people;,* • impious towards, the
Gods, and. dtfahedient to ouu edi&s, humane ,,as
they are. F,ov we Luffer 'none- of them-to be dragged
to the alwrs. againft, their ^will,',, We alfo, publickly
declare, that, if any are defirous. to partake of' pur
luftrations andjibations, _the.y muft firft offer, faqri-
fices of expiation,. and„fupplicate, the. Gods, , the
averters of evil. So, fax -are. we from wifhjug to
admit any of the irreligious to our facred rites
before they have purified their fouls by prayers to
-the God% $$. their bodies by legal; abluiiens-jt..
The populace therefore, deluded by' thofe' who
are called the;- clergy, as the feverity above-men
tioned is abolifhed, grow tumultuous. For they
who have been ufed to tyrannife,', not_ fatisfied
with impunity, for their pajff crimes, but. ambi
tious of their former- power,- becaufe they are^nc*
* The Arian clergy, who were in 'poffeflfon, of a great,
number, of churches, gave occafion to ,the invectives .of
Julian. ,;..',:- ' La Bleffe.hie.,
f One who fpeaks in this manner was very., capable of,
having endeavoured to efface his baptifm. ,,, Lid.
7 - ;' longer

H4 E P I S T L E & 6 F 'J U L t A tf.
longer permitted to act as judges *,' Or make
wills f, or embezzle the effates of others, and ap
propriate every thing to themfelves, all, if 1 may
fo fay, pull the ropes of feditiori, and, "as the pro.
verb expreffes it* heap fuel on the fire, and fcru'ple1
not to add greater evils to the former by urging
the multitude3 to coirimotionS.
It is my pleafure therefore' to declare and puo-
lifh to ill the people, by this edict, that they mufti
not abet the ' feditions of the clefgy, fior fuffer
themfelves to he induced by tberii to throw ftones',
and difobey the magiftrates. ' 'They may affemble'
together? if they pleafe, and Offer up fuch prayers
as they have eftabliftied for themfelves. '$ut if
the clergy ' endeavour to peffua'de th'efii to foment
difturbances on their account, let therrtby no' means?
concur, oh pain of pnnifhmerit.
* Julian had revoked; all the privileges granted to th'ei
church, and, among them, the law by "which Conftantine
allowed thofe who had la'w-fuits to decline the ordinary?*
jurifdiclion, and fo apply to the bifhops, whofe fentences
were to be executed like thofe of the Emperor himfelf.
La Bleterie,' "
t Vi-y.feit ita9r,xot(, fribcre teftamenta, may'here have three
meanings ; I. to make wills ; .-.. to receive wills in a public
capacity; 3. to dictate or fug'geft wills. Julian had not
deprived the clergy of the right of making wills. This is
proved by the filence of Chriftian writers* Among theRo*
mans, to the making of the moft folemn will no public per
fon was requifite : there only wanted a certalfi number of
wifneffes. The third fenfe therefore remainSs A law of
Conftantine, which is ftill in being, allowed wills to be made'
in favour of flu- church. Julian having abrogated that law,
tie ecclefiaftics could no longer" engage any one to give his
eftaie to the church by will, and confequently to their ad
vantage, as Julian j" rctends they had. Ibid.
3 I thought

EPISTLES "OFJULiAN. 145,
I thought proper to make this declaration to the";
city of Boftra in particular, becaufe the bifhop,
Titus *, and the clergy -j-, in a memorial which
they have prefented to me, have accufed the people
of being inclined to raife difturbances, if they had
not been reflrained by their admonitions. I will tran-
fcribe the words which the bifhop has dared to in^'
fert in that memorial : " Though the Chriftians
" are as numerous as the Gentile?, they are re-1
" ftrained by our exhortations from being tumul-
" tuous." Thefe are the words of the bifliop
concerning you. Obferve, he does not afcribe your
regularity to your own inclination ,- unwillingly, he
fays, you refrain, " by his exhortations." As your
accufer, therefore, expell him from the city J. And^
i«.'i . for
* This Titus, bifliop of Boftra, taught that we do not
die in confequence of the fin of Adam, but by the ne-
ceflity of nature ; and that Adam himfelf would have diedj
if he had not finned. In this he was followed by Pelagius.
Priestley.
f It feems asif there was an apprehenficn of fome com
motion in the city of Boftra. Julian had threatened to
make the bifliop, Titus, and his clergy, refponfible for the
whole. The bifhop had prefented, or canfed a memorial
to be prefented, to the Emp. ror, accounting for his conduct.
La Bleterie,
X If we did not know hew much the mind is narrowed
by the fpirit of party, it wou!d be inconceivable that an
Emperor, a man who piqued himfelf on rea'foning, arid
who publiflied this himfelf, fhou!d be' cajbrb'c of foch
a trick [tracafferle.] I ll e this word, becauieit is a
low one, and I know none more proper to charactcrif©.
fhe artfulnefs of Julian,- who was de ermined, at any
tate, to prejudice in the m'mds of the peopie an irre_
Vol. II j L proachab;

146 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
for the future, let the people agree among them
felves ; let no one be at variance, or do an injury
to another j neither you who are in error, to thofe
who worfliip the Gods, rightly and juftly, in the
mode tranfmitted to us from the moft ancient
times ; nor let the worfhippers of the Gods de
ftroy or plunder the houfes of thofe who rather
by ignorance than choice are led aftray. Men
fliould be taught and perfuaded by reafon, not by
blows, invecYives, and corporal punifhments. I
therefore again and again admonifh thofe who em
brace the true religion in no refpect to injure or in
fult the Galileans *, neither by attacks nor re
proaches.
proachable prelate, who employed his authority to main
tain the public tranquillity. This philofophical Emperor,
in an edict which breathes the principles of mutual fup
port, foments the flame, which he pretends it is his wifh
to ftifle. If he had banifhed the bifhop, his orders vvoula
have been peaceably obeyed. But does not his advifing
the people to drive him out indicate a defign to excite 4
tumult ? Some might confider the advice of the Emperor
as an order, and others only as an advice. Hiftory does
not inform us what was the confequence of this affair.
La Bleterie.,
After this, no inftance of bafenefs, or injuftice, will be
thought ftrange. It is remarkable that the author of th#
Characteriftics has given us a tranflation of this letter, for
• «' a pattern," as he tells us, " of the humour and genius,
l' of the principles and fentiments, of this virtuous, gallant,
*' generous, and mild Emperor." p. 87, &c. 4th edition.
It is true, his tranflation drops the affair of Titus, their
bifliop. So that nothing hinders his readtr from concluding
but that the Emperor might be as " gallant and generous"
as he is pleafed to reprefent him. Wauburtom,
* How irreconcileable is this with the above Edicl,
{Epiftle XLII.Jfor which he deferred no fmall reproof fr.em

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 147
proaches. We fhould rather pity than hate thofe
who in the mbft important concerns act ill. For
as piety is the greateft of bleffings, impiety, "cer
tainly, is the greateft of evils. Such is their fate,
who turn from the immortal Gods to dead men *,
ahd their relicks. With thofe who are thus un
happy we condole, but them who are freed and
delivered by the Gods we congratulate -f".
Given al Antioch on the calends of Augujl. Epiftle
(in other refpects) his chief panegyrift ! " It Was very un-
" merciful in him (as that excellent writer expreffes it) to
" forbid the maftefs bf grammar and rhetoric to teach
" the Chriftians, unlefs they embraced the worfliip of the
•' Gods." Amm. Marc. xxv. 4. Si'AtfHEiM.
* As-o &tut fns ra; ttxga; fx{ld]ileosfj.fj.tta;. An expreffion fimi
lar to that of St. Paul, Zirtrptydlt irpos Ton Gtot <x,m rut itiukut :
Te turned to God from idols, to ferve the living God. 1 The/.
i. 9- \ From this Edict, as well as from' other things, It ap
pears .that Julian was very fond of Hellenifm, or Heathenifm.
And Sozomen's obfetvations appear to be very pertinent.
Julian was very ready to lay hold of every pretence, and to'
improve every occafion, to, rid himfelf of the Prefldents of
Chriftian chufche's ; efpecially fuch as had an influence with
the people. We fee three inftances of this, in Athanafius of
Alexandria, Eleufius of Cyzicnm, and Titus of Boftra, all
of them men cf great diftiniftron.
Julian here ma"kes repeated profefJioris-of moderationand
"equity toward the Chriftiansj But the letter bears witnefs
againft him. Titus was one of the moft learned men of
the age. His people were peaceable, and he had exhorted
them to be fo. And yet. Julian commands his people to
expell him out of their city ; under a pretence, that hia
exhortations to a peaceable behaviour implied anaccufation
of an nnpeaceable temper.
Julian was a man of great ingenuity, fobriety of man.
tiers, and good-natured in himfelf. But his zeal for the
religion which he had embraced was exceflive, awl de-
L 2 generated

148 EPISTLES OF J U LI AN.

Epiftle LIII. To the Philofopher Jam
blichus *.
O JUPITER ! can it be true that we refide In
the middle of Thrace, and winter in its ca
verns, while from the excellent Jamblichus, as
from fome eaftern fpring, letters greet us, inftead
of fwallows, though we are not yet allowed to go
to him, nor he to come to us? Who but a Thracian,
or one like Tereus f, can with equanimity fupport
this ?
O royal Jove ! from Thrace the Grecians free J,
Difpell thefe fogs, and give us but to fee
generated into bigotry and fuperftition ; infomuch that '
with all his pretentions -to right reafon, and all his pro-
feflions of humanity, moderation, tendernefs, and equity,
he has not efcaped the juft imputation of being a perfe
cutor. Lardner,
This learned writer has given an Englifli tranflation of
the above Epiftle in his Jewifli and Heathen Teftimonies,
Vol. IV. p. 108.
* See Ep. XXXIV. note *, p. 80.
•f Tereus was a king of Thrace, but fetms here intro
duced for his cruelty and brutality. See Ovid.3Ietam. vi.
X Zsu sm n'A\n av tniaat onto Q^nnQtr A^aiu;, altered from II.
.XVII. 645.' Ztv nVl'gi «M« av pjaat nr rit^oc vtx( Aj^aiwr, the
beginning of the celebrated prayer of Ajax, applauded by
Longinus and others. The other line is the, fame as in Ho
mer. Pope has thus tranflated them :
.  — — Lord of earth and air !
O King I O Father ! hear my humble prayer !
Difpell this cloud, the light of heaven reftore,
Give me to fee, and Ajax aflcs no more. 727.
3 fome-

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 149
fometimes our Mercury, and to falute his fhrine,
and embrace his images, as Ulyffes is faid to have
done, when, after his wanderings, he at laft faw
Ithaca * ; though the Pheeacians departed, after
laying him out of the fhip, like a bale ef goods,
in his fleep f. But fleep does not feize us till we
are allowed to fee the great bleffing of the world.
You too are jocofe in faying that I and my com
panion Sopater J have tranfported all the Eaft
into Thrace. For if the truth mujft be fpoken,
while Jamblichus is abfent, I feem involved in Cim
merian § darknefs. Befides, you defire one of thefe
alternatives,
* Ulyffes, at his return to Ithaca, Odyff. xiii.
-—  With joy corifefs'd his place of birth, ¦
And on his knees falutes his mother earth ; Pope, 403.
but where Julian found the two other circumftances men
tioned above, I cannot fay.
+ Odyff, XIII. 116.
Ulyffes fleeping on his couch they bore,
And gently plac'd him on the rocky fhorc, &c. Pope, 138.
X Could this be the Sopater, who afterwards entertained
him at Hierapolis, (fee p. 70.) whom he " had (then)
" fcarce ever feen before ?"
§ The Cimmerians were a people of Italy who ¦ dwelt in
a valley, between Bais and Cuma:, fo furrounded with hills,
that it is faid they never faw the fun. There was the
Sibyl's grot, and there was fuppofed to be the defcent to
hell. Great obfcurity, or darknefs, of the mind, is called
** Cimmerian darknefs." This adage arofe from the pro
digious darknefs of the Cimmerian region, which Strabo
defcribes in his firft book of his ..Geography, and quotes
the following paffage from the Odyffey of Homer, xi.
14. L 3 There,

i5P EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
alternatives, either that I would go to you, or
that you may come to me ; one of; which, namely,
that I would 'return to you, and;.. enjoy your ad
vantages, is very defirable to me. 0, The. other ex
ceeds all my wifhes. But as this is not only
inconvenient to you, but alfo impracticable} remain
at home, fare you well, and continue to enjoy your
prefent tranquillity. A§ to me, whatever the Gods
fliall allot, I will bear with fortitude ; for it is the
character of the virtuous to cherifh good hopes,
and to perfprm their duty ; but always to fubmit to
fatal neceffity. ,',.,. ,
There, in a lonely land, and gloomy cells,
The dufky nation of Cimmeria dwells ;
The fon ne'er views th' uncomfortable feats,
When radiant he advances, or retreats :
Unhappy race, whom endlefs night invades,
Clouds' the dull air, and wraps them round in fhades.
Broome, 15,
Tully alfo mentions the Cimmerians in the ivth book of
Jiis Academic Queftions. And in this country Ovid, in the
jith book of his Metamorphofcs, has built a temple to the
God of Sleep. Erasmus,,

l Os .---¦ ' ' , ,. ., ,'v,j,. ¦
"1 '?¦' ¦ , ¦; ii ir.
; , ',  -1 .,

Epiftle

EPISTLES OF JULIAN.

Epiftle LIV. To George, the Catholic *
T ET Echo be, as you fay, a Goddefs, and
¦*-** talkative, and alfo, if you pleafe, the wife
of Pan f . I fay nothing to the contrary. Though
Nature would teach me, that Echo is the found of
the voice reverberated by the percuffion of the
air, and reflected back to the ear, yet, by the
opinion both of ancients and moderns, as well
as by yours, I am induced to think that Echo is
a Goddefs. But what is this to me, who in love
to you far exceed Echo ? For fhe does not reply
to every thing fhe hears, hut only to the laft
words of the voice, like a coy miftrefs, who re
ceives the falute of her lover on the extremity of
her lips. In this as I gladly lead the way, fo again
challenged by you, like a tennis-player, I return
the ftroke. You fhall not efcape, but fhall be con
victed by your own letter ; and in that image yop
may difcover a refemblance of yourfelf, as you re-
* Epiftle VIII. is addreffed to the fame.
4 The Mythologifts fable, that Echo was defperately
beloved by pan. See, among others, Hephjeftion in the
Writers of poetic hiftory, publifhed by Thomas Gale, p. 333.
Wot f 1 us.
And thus Libanius fays to his friend Demetrius, '• You.
'¦' have tranfmitted me fo fweet a voice by your epiftle,
" that I was quite captivated by it, and enamoured of its
" charms, admiring the beauty of the words no lefs than
il Pan admired the Goddefs !" Ep. ccccxlii.
L 4 ceivc

152 EPISTLES OF JULIAN,
ceive much and return little, not of me, who en
deavour to excell in both. But whether you re
turn wjth the Line meafure that you receive, or
pot, whatever I- receive from 'you is agreeahle to
me, and fhall be deemed a full and fatisfacfory
Anfwer.'

J Epiftle LV. To Eumenius and Pha-
-,!; , . JUANUS *,
A- v- TTTHOEVER has perfuaded you that any
^ T f thine is more pleahW and beneficial to
.'• i i.v,." .3 ¦ ¦ ' ', • ¦¦ ' < * ;.;'.;.'''.
mankind than philofop.hifing in eafe .and fecurity,
is. deceived himfelf, and . deceives you. If you
retain your former fpirit, and, like a fparkling
flame,, 'it be not fuddenly extinguifhedj I deem you
happy. Four years have. now elapfed, and almoft
three months more, fince we parted., I would
gladly, therefore learn what prqgrefs yoti have made
in that time. As to me, it is a wonder that 1 can
even fpeak Greek, fuch barbarifm I have con-;
trafled in this country f. Defpife not pratory,
* Thefe were probably two of Julian's felfow-ftudents,
whom he left with regret at Athens, in 355, when he was
fummoned to court by Conftantius, and created Caefar. I
have therefore dated this Epiftle as above. I know pot that
their names occur any where elfe.
Among thp Epiftles of Libanius, preferved (in Latin) by
Zambicari, "are two to Eumedius, (111. 237, 8.) which
probably means this Eumenius, efpecially as in one of them,
Andromachus, an Athenian, is recommended to him.
-j- This expreffion fhews, that Julian was then in Gaul.
It is fimilar to one in Epiftle XXIX. p. 75. nor

EPIS.TLES OF JULIAN. 153
nor negleft rhetorick, nor be inattentive to poetry.
But let; your _< principal ftudy be philofophy; and
in this beftow all your labour on the maxims of
Ariftotle and Plato. Be this your chief work ; be
this the bafe, the foundation, the walls, the roof-
Let the reft be no more than offices ; which, how
ever, you may finifh with more' fkill than fome can
build a manficn. • :
This advice is given you by one, who, by di
vine Nemefis, loves you both with a brotherly
affection, as having been.' his fchool-fellows, and
intimate friends. Jf yoq retain a regard for me,
my affection will increafe, IF not, I fhall grieve.
And what at length may be the confequence of
continual grief, for the fake "of a better omen^ I
fupprefs, (

Epiftle LVL To Ecdicius, Pr<efe&: of'
TF any thing particularly deferves out ferious
attention, it is facred mufic. Selecting there*
fore from among the Alexandrians fome youths of
good families, order two artaba * to be diftri-
buted every month to each ; and fome oil, wheat,
and wine. The prasfects of the treafury fhall fup
ply them with cloaths. They fhall be chofen by
* Among the .(Egyptians, that an artaba made twenty
modii we are told by Jerom on lfaiah, eh. V.
Among the Perfians it was different, as we learn frorii
Herodotus, /, 1, Robertson. their

154 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
their voices. Meantime, let thofe who are pro
ficients in that art be informed, that We have al
lotted rewards for their labours. And, befides
thefe encouragements from us, they may alfo be
affured by thofe who have a right judgement in
thefe things, that they will profit their fouls by
purifying them with divine mufic. So much for
thefe youths. As to, what relates to the fcholars
of the mufician Diofcorus; let them cultivate that
art with more attention, and they fhall receive from
us all poffible affiftance *.

EpiftieLVII. To tHePhilofopher Elpidius f.
TH E pleafure even of a fhort letter is great,
when the friendfhip of the writer is meafured,
not by the, concifenefs of his epiftle, but by the
greatnefs of his mind. Therefore if my prefent
mental falutation be rather fhort, do not from
thence form, a judgement of my regard. But as
you well, knoW the. extent of my love for you, ex
cufe the brevity of this addrefs, and anfwer it with-
* This Epiftle is a proof of the Emperor's great efteem
for mufic. 'And indeed it is impoflible to read his works
without being convinced, that he was ignorant of nothing
which was then neceffary to be known to render a man an
univerfal fcholar. ' La Bleterie,
It is omitted, however, by this tranflator,
•4- This phifofopher, and the Emperor's kindnefs to
him, are mentioned by Libanius in one of his Epiftles t<>
Julian. See Vol. I. p. 305. out

EPISTLES O F JULIA N. ' t$$
out delay. For whatever you fend me, though
it be fmall, I efteem as a fpeqmen of every thing
that js good, .

Epiftle LVIII, To the Alexandrians.
XT" O U have a ftone ohelifk *, I am informed, A- D«
¦*- of a proper height, but that, as if it were
worthlefs, it lies on the fhore. Conftantius, of
bleffed memory, had conftrufted a veffel on pur
pofe to convey it to my country, Conftantinople \ .
But as he, by the will of the Gods, has taken a
fatal departure from hence, that city now requefts
this prefent from me, being my country, and con
fequently more nearly connected to me than to him.
His was a brotherly, but mine is a filial, love J;
for
* In a remote but polifHed age, which, feems to have proc
eeded the invention of alphabetical writing, a great num
ber of thefe obelifks had been erected in the .cities of
Thebes ahd Heliopolis, by the ancient fovereigns of iEgypt,
in a juft confidence that the fimplicity of their form and
the hardnefs of their fubftance would refill the injuries of
time and violence. Gibbon,
t Conftantius caufed- one of the obelifks that are ftill
feen at Rome to be tranfported thither from ./Egypt. It is
that which was erected by Sixtus, V, ; Conftantius was de
firous of procuring a like decoration for New Rome. •
La Bleterie.
A veffel of uncommon ftrength and capacioufnefs was
provided to convey this uncommon weight of granite from;
the banks of the Nileto thofe of the Tyber. Gibbon,
X Julian, I think, might have faid that Conftantine loved
fhe city 35 his H daughter ;" and then he would hav? had no

156 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
for I was born there, I was educated there, and
therefore I cannot be ungrateful to her *.
As your city is no lefs dear to me than my own
country, inftead,. of a triangular ftone engraved
with ^Egyptian characters, I allow you to ereft
the cbloffal ftatue f, which has lately been made,
of a man whofe refemblance you defire. And as
it is generally reported that fome perfons repofe
en the top of that obelifk, arid pay it adoration }',

it

no occafion to magnify his affection for that place above
'Conftantine's. However, the more to fatisfy the Alexan
drians, he promifes them a column of brafs, of a large fize,
in the room of the jEgyptian obelifk of ftone. And thus
Julian does what had been blamed in Conftantine. He robs
and ftrips Alexandria to enrich and adorn Conftantinople.
.- , ; Lardner.
¦ This learned writer, it is obfervable, has here miftaken
" Conftantine" for" Conftantius." Yet he refers to Span-
Jteim's edition, where we read » paxaednc Kwnravta;.
* In the editions of Julian the Epiftle ends here. M,
Muratori found the concLufion in a MS, of the Ambrofian
library, and has -publifhed it in his Anecdota Grata, from
whence M. Fabricius has inferred it in his Bibliotheca Grieea.
La Bleterie,
•f- 1 imagine this was a ftatue of Julian himfelf. Bid,
\ Ti»e$ «triv oi' §iptnrivoi\t$ xxt TrpoaxotQcviotltc aula rv> xogvpv.
M. Muratori tranflates it, quofdam effe thcrapcutas qui dbclifci .
bujus vcrtici indormiunt. He thinks that thefe tberapeuta
were fome monks, who, no doubt in the fpirit of morti-
-ficaticn, flept on that obelifk. M. Fabricius adds, that
thefe were certainly fome Stylites. But, i. in order to find
therapeuts here, a force muft be. put upon the text,
and no regard paid to the conjunction copulative which con
nects the two verbs : cultum adbibentes et indormientes ejus
vertici. 2. The Stylites were entirely unknown before the
illuftrious St. Simeon, who did not afcend his pillar i\\\
about the year 423 ; and it is remarkable that the an
chorets

EPISTLES OF JULIAN,, 157
it fhould, I am convinced, on account of that fu-
perftition, be removed. For thofe who fee them
fleeping: there, amidft the filth which muft fur-
chorets of iEgypt fent and declared to him, that they
feparated themfelves from his commurfiOh, becaufe they
could not approve fo new a kind of life; Nor did they
.again unite with this faint till they had had proofs of hia
©bedience and humility. It is better therefore to tranflate
it as I have done, and to fay that fome Heathens paid ado*
ration to this obelifk. It is well known, that all the obelifks
were dedicated to the fun, a reafon fufficient to miflead
fome Chriftian anchorets ; and the hieroglyphics which were
feen on this might render it ftill more refpectable to ido
laters. Some, hoping no doubt to have, divine dreams,
went to fleep on the- point, or rather near the point, of
this obelifk, which lay on the fea-fhore. The heat of the
climate will not admit a doubt that this was in the night ;
and this nocturnal fuperftition ferved as an occafion and a
pretext for fome- diforders which completed the diferedit
of Paganifm. Julian, if I may be allowed the expreffion,
was defirous of removing that ftone of offence, and of pre
ferving from this ridicule his unhappy religion, which had
already too much of it. Ibid.
This obelifk might be that which Spon faw at Conftan
tinople in the fquare of the Armeydan, where was for
merly the Hippodrome. It is of ^Egyptian granite, fifty
feet high, and covered with hieroglyphics, . The infeription
on the bafe relates that " Theodofius undertook to en.it
" this monument, which lay on the ground, and that Pro-
*' clus accompliihed the work in thirty-two days." Julian, no
doubt, was dead before his obelifk was erected, and Valens
had neglected it. In the reign of Theodofius they were
far from giving the honour of it to Julian, or from faying
that it had been tranfported frpm ./Egypt by the orders of
that apoftate. It may be objected that, the obelifk of Spon Is
fquare, but that this which Julian mentions was triangular,
rptyma. But this word is* a correction of M. Muratori, as
the MS. gives rptruta, which has no meaning. Probably we
¦ fliould read rDpayma, efpecially* as, according to M. Mura-
-tori himfelf, all the other obelilks are fquare. Ibid.
round

*58 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
round the place, ahd fhe fliameful actions there
cdmmitted, can by no means regard this ftone as
facred^ and the fuperftition of thofe who dwell on
it confirms unbelievers in their infidelity. You
fhould therefore fecond me in my undertaking, by
fending this obelifk to my Country, which, when"
' you navigate our feas, receives you with fuch hof-
" pitality, and thus contributing your affiftance to
the outward embellifhment of that city. Nor can
it be difagreeable to yourfelves to have fomething
of your own extant among us, which, as you
fail towards the city, you may hereafter view with
pleafure.

Epiftle LIX *. 'ToDionysius ^
V~\/T ORE prudent was your former filence thari
*-¦*"-*¦ your prefent defence;] for then, though
, perhaps you devifed fcandal, you did not utter it.
[But now, teeming, as it were, with flander againft
us, you pour it forth moft abundantly; unlefs I
ought not to deem flanderj and abufe your thinking
* For an account of this Epiftle and the former, fee
p. 2. In the editions of Rigalt, Petau, and Spanheim, it
is imperfect. The above is tranflated "from a copy in the
Lux Evangelii of Fabricius, p. 326. collected by Roftgaard.
The additions are inferted within [}.
+ The Medicean MS. has. this inferiptiou: I«X>«yo{ xd}a
N«x«. The beginning of the Epiftle is wanting in the edi
tion!. Fabricius. me

E P I S T L E S O F J U L I A N. 15*
me like your friends ; to each of whom you offered
your fervices unafked *, but particularly unafked by
the firft, and the fecond only hinting that he fhould
be glad of your affiftance, you immediately com
plied. Whether I refembie Conaftns and Mag
nentius f, fads, as the faying is, will fhew. But
you, like .Aftydamas in the comedy, are your own
panegyrift { ; and this is evident from what you
have written. For thofe expreffions, " intrepidity,'*
and " great boldnefs," and, " I wifh you knew who
" and what I am," and the like, for fhame ! what
boafting and oftentation do they exhibit ! But, by
Venus and the Graces, if you are fo bold and. noble-
minded, [why were you fo fearful of being under the
neceffity of offending a third time I For thofe who
have incurred the difpleafore of princes, if they
are wife, find an eafe, and perhaps a pleafure, in
* Suidas : ax\nloc, atatvfj.c(, itiuitcti atavlot axXnlot ru itul;;o.'.
He alludes to the words of Julian. By -irpoltpot (" the
" former,") underftand Conftans (" the fecond,") vitiAt^c,
is Magnentius. Pabkicius.,
f Conftans, the youngeft fon of the great Conftantine,
was engaged in a civil war with his eldeft brother Con-.
ftantine, who was killed in the courfe of it. Magnen
tius revolted againft Conftantius, and ufurped the Weft.
By comparing Julian to them, Dionyfius perhaps meant
to ftigmatife him with the murder of Conftantius and four-
pation of the empire.
X In the MS. e-Ectvlor ftTuttet;, not crowlv ctuiim;, yvtat, ti
even Rigalt to Onofander, in his edition, p. go. It refers
to Philemon, the comic poet, 'aS appears from the Proverbs
of Apoftolius, Centur. xvn. 30. and Suidas on «Wli* nrcM&f.
See alfo Zenobins, v, ioo. Julian quotes the fame proverb
in his xitth Epiftle, Fabricius. being

loo EPISTLES' OF JULIAN.
being difcharged from bufinefs ; or if they muft be
fined, they fuffer in their fortunes ; or the utmoft
effect of refentment is that incurable evil, as it has
been called, thetofs of life. All thefe things are
fcorned and defpifed by you, who have renounced
your friend, a man, from common and general re
port, well known to us, dull as we are. Inftead
of this, you fay, you invoke the Gods that you
may not offend a third time. My anger therefore
will not from being good make you wicked. He
that could do thfl would be a prodigy indeed. Ac
cording to Plato, it might indeed have the contrary
effect *. But virtue being perfectly free, you ought
to have no fuch ideas. You, however, think it a
great matter to flander all men, to utter the bit-
tereft farcafms, and to convert the temple of peace
into a brothel.J
Do you think that your paft faults are in general
excufed, and that your late courage has atoned for
your former cowardice ? You know the fable of
Chabrias f. A cat was once in love with a handfome
youth J. Learn the reft from the book. What-
* De Legibus, vi.
f The words rot XaGpta are in, the Medicean and Barro:.
MSS. and this is in the xvith fable of Chabrias, or Ba-*
brias, a Greek poet, who has put the. fables of JEfop into
Iambic verfe.
X Rather, according to our fables, a young man was
in love with a cat. Dionyfius could no more diveft himfelf
of his natural pufillanimity, &c. than the cat (tranf-
formtd to a woman) could forego her purfuit of mice.
/ The Latin tranflator renders it muftcla (" 3 weafel") ; but'
y*M Cgnifies alfo " a eat/' ever

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. i6t.
ever you may fay, you will perfuadc no one that
you were not what you were, and what many have
Jong known you to be. But your unfkilfulnefs and
temerity are owing, not to philofophy, the Gods
Forbid ! but rather to what Plato calls " a double
ignorance *." For though experience might have
taught you, as it has me, that you know nothing,
yet you think yourfelf the wifeft of all men, paft,
prefent, or to come ; fo great is your ignorance, fo
abundant your felf-conceit.
But enough concerning you. Some apology
perhaps is neceffary to others for fo readily giving
you a fhare in the conduct of my affairs. I am
hot the firft, nor the only one, Dionyfius, who has
been miftaken. Your name-fake alfo deceived
Plato f. [And fo did Callippus the Athenian j",
whom, he faid, he knew to be wicked, but that he
was profligate to fuch a degree he never could have
fufpected.] And need I add, that the greateft of
phyficians, Hippocrates; faid, *' in my opinion of
" the futures of the head I was miftaken § I Thus
they, were deceived in what they ought to have
known,
* The one is when men acknowledge their ignorance,
the other when they think they know that of which they
kre ignorant. In Alcib. I.
f Dionyfius the younger fent for Plato into Sicily, to in-
firuct him in philofophy. See the Life of Dion in Plutarch.
X A hearer of Plato, who murdered Dion.
§ The following is doubtlefs the paffage to which Julian
alludes : " Autonomus of Omilus died of a wound on hi*
" head, oa the fixteenth day, having received a hurt by a
Vol. II. M, . " flone

i5z EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
known, and even a phyfician was ignorant of a
theorem of his own art. Is it ftrange then that
Julian, hearing that Nilous *, or Dionyfius, had on
a fudden behaved bravely, fhould be miftaken ?
You have heard of Phsedon f of Elis, and you
know his hiftory. If not, read it with attention.
He thought that no one is fo depraved that phi
lofophy cannot cure him, and that it purifies hu
man life from the paffions, defires, and all fuch dif
orders. For that it fliould be ferviceable to thofe
who are well born, and well educated, is not at all
extraordinary. But if it brings back into the light
thofe whofe minds are ever fo much darkened by
depravity, this feems to me truly admirable. And on
that account, as all the Gods know, I began by de->
grees to form a more advantageous opinion of you.
" ftone on the futures. I did not think it neceffary t»
*' open it ; for that the futures themfelves were injured by
•' the blow efcaped me.'* (sx>ie«]/*ii Si fj.a mt ytufj.ru at %a.$u.\,
k. r. a.) Hipp, de morb. V. 7. 27. The words above quoted,
as from Hippocrates, are, iaa}t>x»t is pa mi ytu^t at ittpt mi
xi^aXM, £«?»•. But though in a particular cafe (as above)
this great phyfician had the candour to own himfelf mif
taken, it does not follow, nor does it appear, that he was
ignorant of the nature of the futures in general. Julian
trufted to his memory, which, though good, was not in
fallible. This candid confeffion of Hippocrates i3 mentioned alfo
with applaufe by Celfus, vui. 4, and Plutarch de frofeBit
in virtutem, p. 82.
* Tov HetXvot. MS. TocNeiXor. FABRICIUS.
f A fcholar of Socrates, fo much beloved by Plato, that
he infcribed his divine book, on the immortality of the foul,
Phuedon.
5 Not

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 163
Not that I placed yon in the firft, or even in the fe
cond, rank of worthies, as you yourfelf perhaps
may know. If not, afk the excellent Symmachus *,J
for he, I am perfuaded, being naturally difpofed
to fpeak truth, will never utter a wilful falfliood;
[But if you refent my not railing you to the
higheftt, I reproach myfelf for not degrading you
to .the lowed, rank. And I thank all the Gods
and Goddeffes for preventing me from forming an
intimacy with you, and making you privy to my
counfels, as a bofom friend. Though the poets
have faid many things of Fame, as a Goddefs ;
fhe. is rather, if you pleafe, a Daemon. For
Fame is not always to be credited; and there
fore her nature is demoniacal, being not abfolutely
phre or perfectly good, like that of the Gods, but
allayed with fome degree of evil J. And though it
may not be proper to fay this of the other Daemons,
I know I may fafely affirm of Fame, that fhe utters
many falfhoods^ as well as many truths J. For I
* A Roman orator and prefect, well known by his
fepiftles ftill extant, and-hy his writings againft Chtiftianity,
refuted by Prudentius and St. Ambrofe. Three epiftles to
him are extant from Libanius, to whom, it appears, he
wrote in Latin, as his letters required an interpreter. He
ivas conful in 391.
f And had not the Gods, as well as Fame and the
Damons, of Julian and the Heathens, much evil in their
nature ? Not to mention the notorious vices of Mars,
Bacchus, Apollo, and the reft of them, in what was their
Jupiter, their Supreme, fo pre-eminent as in his debau
cheries ?
J Tam falfi [ravique tenax quam confeia 1 e i. Vikg.
M 2 wo.ld

164 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
would by no means be accufed of bearing falfe
Witnefs.] You value your freedom of fpeech at four
cboli *, as the faying is. [But know you not, that
Therfites, among the Greeks, was alfo a free-fpeakef,
and in return was chaftifed by the wife Ulyffes with
his fceptre f? and that the drunkennefs of Ther
fites was lefs regarded by Agamemnon than the flies
in the proverb were by the tortoife j ?]
What avails our reproaching others ? We fhould
rather be irreproachable ourfelves. If you are fo,
convince me of it. [When, you were young, you
told fine ftories of yourfelf to ydUr elders. Thefe
adventures, with the Electra of Euripides §, I pafs
* That is,' at ever fo high a rate. Suidas on Tefia.^m
'oGoauv, quoting this paffage of Julian. Fabricius.
He quotes it, as ufual, without naming his author. An
dbolus was, a fmall- Athenian Coin of filver, weighing about
twelve grains ; in our money five farthings.
t II. II. 199.
 Cowering as the daftard bends,
The weighty fceptre on his back defcends. Pope, 336.
X Suidas quotes thefe words from an author to me un
known, ru St Pi.y%fj.tfj,taH. x. r. a. Flies cannot hurt a tortoife,
on account of the fliell with which it is furnifhed. Similar
to this is, " an elephant does not regard a fly." It would
be more pleafant if applied to the mind, A mind fortified
by virtue and philofophy no more fears the attacks of for
tune than " a tortoife flies." Erasmus.
The paffage above quoted by Suidas is this of Julian,
which has been brought to light long fince the time of
Erafmus. It is alfo quoted anonymoufly by Apoftolius, in
his Centur. XX. proverb. 66.
§ Eurip. Electr. ver. 946. 1122.
I never with the opening morn forbore
To breathe my filent plaints, &c. Potter.
6 in

EPISTLES OF JULIAN, 165
in filence. But when you became a man, and
joined the army, you did, by Jove, juft what you
fay of truth ; it gave you offence, and you de-
ferted it. By how many witneffes can I prove this,
and thofe not of the vulgar and abandoned, but
fome by whom you yourfelf were repulfed,' who
came to us from that neighbourhood ?] To depart
from princes in enmity, moft fagacious Dionyfius,
is no proof either of courage or wifdom. Much
more would it become you to conciliate, by your
intercourfe with mankind, their affections to us.
But fuch, by the Gods, will never be your con
duct, nor that of thoufands more who are like-
minded. If rocks dafh againft rocks, and ftones againft
ftones, inftead of being ferviceable to each other,
the ftrongeft eafily breaks the weakeft. I fay not
this with Laconic brevity; for I think on your fub
ject I feem more loquacious than the Attic grafs-
hoppers *. For your drunken abufe f of me,
with the leave of the Gods, and powerful Nemefis,
I will inflict upon you a deferved punifhment.
" To what purpofe ?" you fay. [To reftrain as
much as poffible your mind and tongue, and] to
* This is faid of a man immoderately talkative, or
very mufical ; becaufe this infect, living only on dew, chiefly
delights in finging. And Socrates, in the Phaforon of
Plato, relates that fome who were fo abforbed by mufic
that, neglecting their food, they were famifhed, were
changed by the Gods into grafshoppers. Erasmus.
-j- See the Fragment (from Suidas) on Mufonius.
M 3 prevent

166 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
prevent your offending [in the leaft] either by
words or deeds; in fhort, to diveft your fcurrildus
tongue of fo much flander. I well know that
the fandal even of Venus is faid to have been ridi
culed by Momus *'. But you fee that Momus, though
envious of all her beauties, could find nothing but
her fandal to depreciate. May you grow old,
fretted, in like manner, with envy, more decrepid
than Tithonus, more wealthy than Cinyras, and
more effeminate than Sardanapalus, fo as to verify
the proferb, " Old men are twice children ! f"
[But why does the divine Alexander feem to you
fo renowned ? Why do you profefs yourfelf his
imitator and rival ? Is it for that with which the
youth Hermolaus X reproached him ? Of that no
one is fo filly as to fufpect you ; but of the con
trary, for which Hermolaus, grievoufly complain
ing, fuffered ftripes, and, it is faid, would have
killed Alexander, there is no. one who is not per-
* Viz. The creaking of it. See Philoftrati Epift. XXI.
f On the word Kalaynjas-at, Suidas has the above para
graph (not mentioned as a quotation from Julian) with
this addition, " which is faid of thofe who live long. For
*' Tithonus, being i'uperannuated, was, at his own defire,
11 changed into a grafshopper. Cinyras, a defcendant of
? ' Pharnaces, king of Cyprus, was famous for his riches.
'f And Sardanapalus, the laft king of Affyria, fell a victiin
" to intemperance and luxurious delights."
X " We confpired to kill you," faid Hermolaus, " be-
" caufe you have begun not to govern us as free-men, but
*' to tyrannile over us as flaves."- Q^Curtius. fuaded

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 167
fuaded that you are guilty *. From many, by the
Gods, who faid they had a great regard for you,
I have heard feveral things advanced by way of
extenuating this offence ; and one there was who
difbelieved it. But he was a fingle fwallow, who
does not make a fpring f. Perhaps Alexander
appears great to you, becaufe he cruelly flew
Callifthenes \ ; or becaufe Clitus \ fell a facrifice *
to his intemperance ; and alfo Philotas J, and
Parmenio J ; whofe fon Hector was afterwards
fmothered in the whirlpools of the ./Egyptian Nile,
or of the Euphrates, for both have been men
tioned §. I omit his other follies, that 1 may not
feem to revile a man, who, though by no means
diftinguifhed for virtue, was a moft valiant and ex
cellent commander. Of both which, virtue and
* Hermolaus, a noble youth, of the royal guards, for
killing a boar, vvhich the king had deftined for his own
fpear, was by his command fcourged ; a difgrace which
he fo bitterly refented that he wept, and formed the above-
mentioned confpiracy. Qi Curtius.
f See Erafmi Chiliad, xciv.
\ The cruel deaths of this philofopher and thefe generals
are well known, and are related at large by Quintus
Curtius. " One," faid Hermolaus, [Clitus] " fprinkled
" your table with his blood ; another [Philotas] fuffered
" more than one kind of death. Parmenio was maffacredj
*' unheard, &c."
§ According to Curtius, as this youth, one of the few dear
to Alexander, was attempting to follow him down the Nile,
the fmall veffel in uhkh he had embarked, being over
loaded, fonk. Hector, after long ftruggling with the ftream,,
at length reached the bank, but there, for want of affiftance,
periflied. Of this, however, Alexander feems to have been
innocent, Philotas-- was a!.fo a fon of Parmenio.
M 4 valour,

168 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
valour, you have a lefs portion than fifh have of
hair. Now hear with calmnefs what I advife :
Not thefe, O daughter, are thy proper cares!
Thee milder arts befit, and fofierwars *.
What follows, by the Gods, I am afhamed to
tranfcribe. I would have you, hoWever, attend td
it, fince it is highly reafonable that deeds Ihould
follow words, and that one who has been remifs
in his deeds fhould never ftart at words. ' But you,
who revere the fhades of Magnentius and Conftans,'
Wage war with the living, and, in fome way or
other, afperfe the beft characters. Are the living
lefs able to revenge affronts? This yoU will by no
means think proper to affirm, be the confidence'
Which you mention, whatever it may: Rejecting
that plea, will you admit this, that you deride
them becaufe they are infenfible ? Nor is this, I
prefume, the true reafon. For who among the
living is fo ftupid, or pufillanimous, as to think
your good opinion of the leaft importance, and
would not prefer being totally unknown to you, or;
If that were impoflible, Would hot rather clioofe to
be reviled by you, as I am now, than honoured I
I would by no means err fo egregioufly' iii my
judgement as not to think your praifes better than
your reproaches. But even this, perhaps, 'that I
am now writing to you, proves that I am hurt.
By no means, I call the preferving Gods to wit
nefs j I only wifh to check the intolerable arrogance
* II. V. 428. Pope, 519. Of

EPISTLE? OF JULIAN. ib5
of this reviler, the petulance and prurience of his
tongue, the frenzy of his mind, and his fury on
all occafions.' If I were injured by you, I might ,
by deeds, hot words, have a legal remedy, as
ybu, being a citizen, and of the fenatorial rank,
have difobeyed the command of the Emperor.
But for this there was no occafion, nothing
but the laft extremity requiring it. I did not think
proper therefore to fubject you to any punifhment,
but rather chofe firft at leaft to write to you, hoping
that a fhort epiftle might effect your cure. But
as you perfevere in thefe crimes, or rather exhibit
to the public the frenzy which was before con
cealed, let ho one, for the future, think you a
man, who are not a man, or mi flake the fury,
which tranfports you, for courage, or fuppofe you
to be learned who are an utter ftranger to litera
ture, as may eafily be proved from your epiftles.]
/ None of the ancients, for inftance, ever ufed to
tyxlov, to fignify " manifeft," * as you have, befides
many other blunders, in your letter. No one, in
the longeft difcourfe, could exprefs your loofe
and indecent behaviour, your felf-profticution- For
you
* <5>poaJo» is rather aQattc, txwoim, atpallor. (" Far diftant, ob
fcure.)" See Hefychius and Harpo'cratio. Fabricius.
¦i f Among the flagrant crimes of which he accufes D'°-
nyfius, Julian here condefeends to arraign his phrafeology,
and, like a former- Dionyfius, exchanges his fceptre for a
rod. Thus a miftake in the meaning of a word, or in the
graces of ftyle, is put on a level with treachery and [realon,
and feems as unpardonable to this Imperial critic, as an
offence againft the graces of behaviour was to a late Britifh
< -• • ¦ ¦ ... peer.

170 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
you feduce, not only fuch as are willing and for
ward, * * * * nor thofe who hunt after public
employments, but thofe who, in confequence of a
found judgement, act right, [and therefore have
been felected by us for their prompt ohedience.
You make fair promifes, though not by way of
intreaty, or fubmiffion, if we will again employ
ynu in fome place of truft. But fo far is that
from my intention, that when others have been
admitted, I never fent for you, as I have for many,
known and unknown to me, of the inhabitants
of that heaven-beloved city, Rome. Such value
I fet on your friendfhip ; of fuch attention I
thought you worthy ! I fhall therefore act in the
fame manner probably for the future. And this
epiftle, which I am now writing, I intend, not only
for your perufal, but think it neceflary to be com
municated to many more. 1 will give it indeed
to all, for all, I am perfuaded, will readily receive
it ; fuch a general indignation your infolence and
arrogance have excited.
You have here a complete reply, fo that you
can defire from us nothing farther. Nor do we
wifh any return from you. Make what ufe you
pleafe of our letters; for you have fold our friend"
fliip. Farewell ; amidft your banquets abufing me !]
peer. The above criticifm is perfectly in the fpirit of
Bentley vcrfus Barnes. But Julian fhould have recollected
that this Roman wrote Qreek in compliment to him. Epiftle

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. '7r

V

Epiftle LX. To Jamblichus.
O U came, and acled. For you came, though

¦*¦ abfent, by your letter. But, by the ardour
pf the friendfliip which I feel for you, I do not
decline your love +, * * * nor in any refpeft
defert you, but, as if you were prefent, I view
you with my mind, and am with you, though
abfent, nor can any thing elfe give me complete
fatisfachon. You are never weary of obliging
the prefent, and not only delighting, but preferving
the abfent by your writings. For being told that
a friend was arrived with a letter from yon, though
I had been three days ill of a pain in my ftomacb,
and was much indifpofed with a fever, yet hearing,
as I faid, that a letter from you was at the gate, like
one not mafter of himfelf and divinely infpired, I
fprung up and-Tufhed out to him before he could
enter. But as foon as I had taken the letter into
my hands, I fwear by the Gods themfelves and
that regard for you. which inflames me, my pain at
once abated, and the fever inftantly fled, abaflied,
as it were, at the evident prefence of fome tutelar
deity. And when lhad opened and read it, what,
think you, were my fenfatians,' or how great was
my fatisfaction, praifing immoderately, and loving
f Imperfect. the

172 EPISTLES OFJULIAN,
the moft friendly, as you ftyle him, * * * * f, who
is really deferving of love, and the minifter of
good, for being inftrumental in forwarding to me
your letter, and configning it to me, like a bird,
by a favourable and profperous gale, which not
only gave me the delight of hearing that your
affairs were in a proper ftate, but alfo recovered
me from illnefs ! As to other things, how fhall I
exprefs what I felt when I firft read that epiftle,
or how can I fufficiently demonftrate my affeftion ?
How often did I turn back from the middle to the
beginning ! How much did I fear, left, when I
had finifhed it, I fhould forget it ! How often, as
in the circuit and compafs of a ftanza, did I carry
back the conclufion to the beginning, repeating at
the clofe, as in a mufical compofition, that meafure
with which the fong began ! And what followed I
How often did I apply the letter to my lips, as
mothers kifs their infants i How clofely did I pref§
it to my mouth, as if I had been embracing my
deareft miftrefs ! How frequently did I accoft and
kifs even the fuperfcription, which, as a well-
known fignature, you had written with youc
own hand ; and then fixed my eyes upon it, rivetted,
as it were, by the fingers of that facred hand on
. the traces of the letters I
-f Imperfect. The name of the friend who forwarded
the letter feems all that is wanting.
" Much

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. jj$
** Much falutation from us attend you !" as fays the.
fair Sappho * ; and, not only during our feparation,
but fare you well always, not failing to write, and,
as is fitting, to remember us ! As to ourfelves,
there will never be a time, there can never be an
occafion, there will never be a difcourfe, in which
we fhall not remember you * * * *. And if Ju
piter fhall ever allow me to revifit my native coun
try, and again to enter your facred manfion, fpare
not the fugitive; but, as a deferter from the Mufes,
brought back from flight, bind him, if you pleafe,
to your delightful benches, and, when properly
chaftifed, reprimand him. I will by no means de
cline the punifhment, but will fubmit to it volun
tarily and chearfully ; as to the provident and falu
tary correction of an indulgent father. But if you
will permit me to pronounce my own fentence, I will
with pleafure acquiefce in this; the being faftened,
my noble . friend, to your veft, fo as never to be
feparated from you, but clofely to adhere to you,
and every where to be carried about with you, as
fables feign of double men ; unlefs they ludi-
croufly mean it as an alluCon to the excellence of
friendfhip, expreffing the congenial agreement of
each foul in the bond of communion.
* Xai£s St xat oitHos i)/m> 5toaa». This muft be in fome
poem that is loft. Epiftle

174 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.

Epiftle LXI. To the fame.
THAVE fuffered, I confefs, fufficient punifh-
¦*¦ ment for my abfence from you, partly in the
fatigues which I endured in my journey, but
chiefly on account of my long feparation from you.
Though I have every where met with a variety of
accidents, fo as to have left none unexperienced ;
though I have fuftained the tumults of battles, the
diftrefs of fieges, the wanderings of flight, with ter
rors of every kind, and alfo the feverities of winter,
the dangers of difeafes, and many and various other
calamities from Upper Pannonia to the paffage of
the Chalcedonian ftrait, I can truly fay, that no*
thing has happened to me fo grievous and perplex
ing, fince my leaving the Eaft, as my not having
feen, for fuch a length of time, you, the general
bleffing of the Greeks. Wonder not therefore, if
I fay, a kind of darknefs and thick clouds hang
ever my eyes. For, in truth, the fky will be
ferene, the light of the fun more fplendid, and a
moft beautiful fpring of life will, as it were, be
renewed to me, when I can embrace you, the great
ornament of the world. Then, like a darling fon,
gfcaped from war, or returned from a long voyage,
and reftored unexpectedly to an excellent father,
relating to you all my fufferings, and the dangers
that I have furmounted, and retting, as on a facred

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. V*
anchor, I fhall find a fufficient folace for my fur
rows. For calamities are confoied, and fufferings
alleviated, by communication, and by the know
ledge of out friends participated. Mean while I
tender you my beft fervices, nor will I ever fail to
write to you, and during the whole time of my
abfence to fend you fuch epiftolary tokens. If
I can obtain the fame from you, the perufal of
your letters, like an aufpicious omen, will abate
my grief. Receive mine with complacence, and
be more favourably difpofed to make a return.
For whatever good you fhall exprefs or commu
nicate, I fhall prefer to the eloquent voice of
Mercury, and the fkilful hand of JEfculapius.

Epiftle LXII. f. To * * * * (Imperfea,)
*********
SHOULD not the fame indulgence, which is
given to wooden blocks, be allowed to men X • For
fuppofe that one invefted with the priefthood be
unworthy, fhould he not be fpared, till, having afceri
f The Gentiles, who peaceably followed the cuftoms of
their anceftors, were rather furprifed than pleafed with the
introduction of foreign mariners ; and in the fliort perioo\,
of his reign, Julian had frequent occafions to complain of
the want of fervour of his own party. See Epiftles LXII.
and LXHI. Gibbon.
Many of the Epiftles of Julian are the effufions of pri
vate friendfhip ; fome are public EdiCls j while others arc
juftly

i?6 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
afcertained the. enormity of his offence, he can be
removed from the minifterial function, and deprived
of the name of prieft, injudicioufly perhaps con
ferred upon him, and may be fubjected alfo to cen-
fure, fine, and other punifhments ? If you underftand
not this, you cannot have evert a fuperficial know
ledge of any thing ; for how ignorant muft you
be of what is juft and right, not to know the difi
ference between a prieft ahd a private man !
And what muft have been yourtemper, if you have
beaten one to whom you ought to have rifen from
your feat! Nothing can be more fliameful, in you
it is particularly, unbecoming, in the fight both of
Gods, and men. The bifhops and prefbyters of the
Galileans perhaps affociate with you ; and if not
publickly, through fear of me, yet by ftealth and
juftly ftyled by Mr. Gibbon "paftor'al letters," and are
dictated by the Emperor as Sovereign Pontiff. In this
pontifical character he addreffes the Kpiftle^ of which this
fragment only is preferved, to a Gentile prieft, who, for
getting the nature of his fpiritual warfare, had violently
affaulted and beaten one of his brethren. As a Chriftian
Pontiff would have quoted St. Paul to Titus, A bijhop
muft be no ftriker, this Gentile apoftle appeals to the
Didymsean. oracle, and then , pronounces a fentence of
fufpenfion. \ This paragraph is unintelligible, for want of that
which precedes it. Julian perhaps- had been fpeaking of
fuch images of the Gods as were worn out and decayed,'
which he has mentioned alio in his long Fragment. "" If
" any one, " fays he, " thinks, that, bee ruffe they have
" been once called the images of the Gods, they cart
" never decay, he feems to me to have loft, his fenfes.
" For then they could not have been the workmanfliip of
" men," &c at

EPISTLES OF JULIAN.; ^7
<rt home with your concurrence. But the prieft;
has been beaten. Otherwife your pontiff would
not have preferred fuch a complaint againft youi
Paffages .from Homer you think fabulous; hear
therefore the oracle of the Didymsan lord, and
confider whether he rightly admohiflied the Greeks
of old, and afterwards, in his difcourfes,' taught
men to be wife and virtuous : . .., .;•;;
They, Whom depravity and folly lead
To fcorn the priefts of heaverf's immortal powers,
And to the wife intentions of the Gods
Their own Vain thoughts conteraptuoufly oppofe,
In fafety live not half their days, condemn'd
To perifh by th' eternal Gods, who deem
Their fervants honour facred as their own *« '
Not only thofe, you fee, who beat or infult priefts,
but fuch as deny them honour are [declared f] to
be enemies to the Gods ; fo that he who beats them
is guilty of facrUege. I therefore, as the Sove
reign Pontiff of the religion of my country, having
now obtained the prafecture of fhe Didymsean
Oracle, forbid you to interfere in any thing that
relates to the priefthood for three whole months.
If, within that time, you fhould appear deferving,
on my hearing from the chief-prieft of your city,*
I will confult the Gods whether you'' fhall be re-
inftated.' To this punifhmenr, which I inflict upon
* This paffage has been quoted before, in the Duties of
a Prieft, p. 127.
f Some, fuch word is wanting in the original.
Vol. II. N you

EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
you for your rafhnefs, the ancients ufed formerly
to add, by words and in writing, the curfes of the
Gods. But of this I do not approve, as it never
feems pra&ifed by the Gods. And in other re-
fpects, knowing that the priefts are the minifters
of our prayers, I join my hopes and prayers to
yours, that by many and earneft intreaties you may
obtain the pardon of the Gods.

A. D.
361.

Epiftle LXIII. To the High-Prieft Theo
dore *.
rTP H E Epiftle that I have addreffed to you differs
-*• from that which I have tranfmitted -to others f,
as I think your friendfhip for me fuperior to theirs.
It is no inconfiderable circumftance, that we have
«
* This High -Prieft Theodore was, as may be inferred
from this Epiftle, a zealous Pagan, the difciple of Maxi
mus, who, like Julian, had been initiated by Maximus,
and inftructed, like that prince, in the principles of theurgy.
This letter is inferted in the edition of F. Petau, but only
in Greek. It had been copied from a MS. fo defective,
that it was not poffible to tranflate it. M. Spanheim, from
a MS. lefs imperfect, has given it, with a Latin verfion,
which is not anfwerable to the reputation of that learned
writer. La Bleterie.
¦\ Julian had fent, without doubt, a circular letter to
the Pagan pontiffs as foon as he was in peaceable pqffeffion
of the empire. As this feems to have been written at the
fame time, 1 affign it to the year 361, Jbid.
Julian muft then have been at. Conftantinople. one

EPISTLE SOF JULIAN.
one common mafter, and you well remember *. . . .
In a Converfation that paffed between us, a few
evenings ago, it gave me great pleafure to hear
him exprefs the higheft regard for you. In my
friendlhips I am ufually very cautious. As for you?
I had never feen youi, Before we can love, we muft
know ; and before we can know, we fliould try.
But a certain reafon determined me-j*. I have there
fore thought proper to rank you among my friends.
And now I entruft to you an affair very interefting
to me, and highly advantageous to all men. ' You
will tranfact it, I doubt not, with propriety, which
will afford me much joy here, and better hopes
hereafter J. For I differ in opinion from thofe who

* He intimates by half a word, and a myfteiious air, what
they faw, or thought they faw, when they were initiated
by Maximus. La Bleterie.
f It is impoflible to guefs this reafon ; but we may partly-
difeover, that, in the initiation of Theodore, fomething
happened which induced Julian to conclude that a man
fo agreeable to the Gods deferved to be the minifter and
the affiftant of the apoftle of Paganifm. Ibid.
X As this Epiftle was not written to be fhewn, ii proves
to what a degree Julian was fanatical and convinced of
his falfe religion. It fliews, at the fame time, that he
believed a providence, another life, and the immortality
of the foul. He detefted the materialifls. Iri one of his
works he fpeaks with horror of Pyrrhonifm, and of the
doctrine of Epicurus. He thanks the Gods for having
extinguifhed thofe fects, and caufed moft of the books
which contained their .pernicious tenets to be deftroyed.
[See the Duties of a Prieft, p. 134..] Probably the tree-
thinkers would not hive tnumplisd in his leign. Why
N z, then

itts EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
who think that" the foul periflies before or wirh the
body "*. We rely, however, on no man, but only on
the Gods, as they only can be well acquainted
with thefe things, or rather they alone neceffarily
know them'. Men may form conjc&ures, but
knowledge belongs to the Gods. The commiffion
that I now give you is the fuperintendence of all
the priefts in Afia, both in the cities and in the
country, with full powers to treat every one ac
cording to his defects.
In a high-prieft the principal requifite is mode
ration, together with kiudnefs and benevolence to
the deferving. As to thofe who are unjuft or in-
folent to men, and irreligious to the Gods, let
them be" rebuked with boldnefs, or puniflied with
feverity. Whatever is neceffary to be regulated
. in common, in order to render divine worfliip as
perfect as poffible, I Will fooh direct, with many
other particulars. Some of them, in the mean time,
I will here mentions in which it is right for you to
then fliould they defend him ? But fome Commoti interefts
often' ferve to unite iri appearance irreconcileable ene
mies.- dnd the fante day they v.cre made friends together;
for before they -were at enmity benveen thenifelves. Of this' the
affection which Julian teftified for the Jews is a remarkable
•iiiftan'ce.. , Ibid.
* Thofe who believed the foul to be immortal, and even
the materialifts, diftinguifhed in the foul the intellectual
part, »bj, and the fenfitive part, faxm. There were fome who
imagined, no doubt, that the intellectual part was with
drawn, and others that it was deftroyed,when they faw the
body reduced to a mere animal life. Ibid. be

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. j.gi
be advifed by me, For on many of thefe fuh-
Jects I fpeak, as all the Gods know, with much
premeditation. In circumfpection no one exceeds
;me, 'and I am an enemy, and have been fo ftyled, '
to all innovation, efpecially in matters of religion,
thinking it highly proper to adhere to our ancient
paternal laws *, which were certainly given us by
the Gods. They could not be fo excellent, if their
proceeded from men. But by the prevalence of
riches and pleafures they have been fo neglefled
a'nd corrupted, that they require, T think, a new
foundation. Seeing therefore fo great an indif
ference among us towards the Gods, and all fe.n{e
of' religion banifhed by debauched and luxurious
manners, I have continually lamented in- private.
* Paganifm, in general, had no religious code, unlefs it
were fome pretefided oracles, apparently very modern, as
to the ceremonies which ought- to be obferved in facri-
fices, and the victims which were fuitable to every kind
of Gods. Eufebius quotes fome paffages of thefe oracles
in the fourth book of his Evangelical Preparation. I ima
gine that the laws which Julian here mentions are prin
cipally the ancient rites of every nation, city, and temple.
Thefe rites had in time fuffered various alterations, and in
the decline of Paganifm fome were abolifheJ.
Julian, deeply 'verfed in antiquity, was . defirous of reft
. ftoring thing's to their former ftate. As to the wifdom quite
divine which he admires in thefe rites, that is the work of
his imagination. He confiders them as fymbolical. Being
an ingenious and fruitful allegorift, by the force of arbitrary
explanations he difeovered fome wonderful things in the wor
fliip, as well as in the hiftory, of his Gods, Tp oe convinced
that he every where found all that he chofe, we peed only
jread his difcourfe " on the Mother of tlje Gods," La BlETERIE.
N 3 Fo? '

EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
For thofe who are diftinguifhed in the fchool of
impiety * are fo zealous as to fuffer want and
famine rather than tafte fwine's flefh -j~, or that off
any thing ftrangled, or even killed by accident;
while we are fo regardlefs of the Gods as to for
get the laws of our anceftors, and not even to
know whether any fuch exift; But thefe men are
in part only religious, as the God whom they war*
fhip is really moft powerful, and moft benevolent,,
and governs the vifible world J.
They therefore who do not tranfgrefs the laws
feem to me to act right. I blame them only for
'* AvaasQaai ax"M in^oax'^u -" Thofe. who are attached!
<; to the fchool 'of impiety." I think that we fliould read
<!t^otxot\w, " the chiefs, the principal teachers." The fequel
fhews that this refers to the Jews. -La Bleterie,
¦j- This would ojily prove that Julian fpeaks of the Jews.
Indeed the Chriftiairs, throligh refptct for the Council -of
Jerufalem, abftained from*-blood and things ftrangled longer
than the reafons Tubfifted on which the prohibition was,
founded ; and- the Oriental Chriftians continue to ab^ftafo
from them ftill. But 'after God had revealed to St. Peter
(Acts xv.) that the diftinction of meats, was abrogated,
no Chriftian fcrupled eating fwine's flefh, except the Ju-
diifing Chriftians, who were not tolerated till the fecond
v destruction of the Jews, which happened under the Em-
*peror Hadrian. Bid\
t Tn the books of Julian againft the Chriftian religion,
of which St. Cyril, in refuting them, has preferved a con^
liderable part, this prince fays, in direct terms, that "he
m " worfhips the God of Abraham, of Ifaac, and of Jacob :"
Aet "r^ojxvtut rot ©tot AGpa-a-fj., xctt laaax, xou IxxuQ. But it
appears, in the fame books, that he means, by this God,
the Demiurgus; in which he is miftaken if he makes
the Demiurgus, or Logos, of a different nature from the
BH1.NG, to ct, r'aya^a. Ibid.
worfhip-:

EPISTLESOF JULIAN. 583
\7prfl1ipping God alone, and defpifing the worfliip
of other Gods. Hurried into this frenzy by the
pride of Barharians *, they think that he is hidden
from us Gentiles only. But from the Galilean im
piety, like a peftilential diftemper -f * * * *..
[The remainder is •wanting in the original.^
* Whatever incenfe Julian gave the Jews in the E.piftle
which he wrote to them, this text, and many others, (hew
that he defpifed them. In general, what moft prejudiced
the Pagans againft both the Chriftian and Jewifh religions,
was their being exclufive and, admitting no community with
any other. But they endured the Jews with lefs impar
tience, -ahd contented themfelves with defpifing them, be
caufe the latter gained few profelytes. The barrenuefs, with
which the fynagogue was ftruck, made it fmd grace in the
fight of our common enemies; but the fertility of the ,
church alarmed and enraged them. They forefaw that
fhe would at length deftroy their altars, Julian, in par
ticular, kept good terms with the Jews, becaufe they en
tered into his plan, 1. By their implacable hatred to the
Chriftians ; z. from the defign which he had formed to re-
ftore the nation and the temple, in order to falfify the
fciptufes, Befides, the religion of the Jews ordained fa-
crifices, and in this point of view was agreeable to Julian,
who, as may be feen in his life and his works, had a tafte
for bloody facrifices more worthy of a butcher than a phi
lofopher. ' La Bleterie.
¦f It is evident that Julian here launched forth againft
Chriftianity and the Chriftians ; perhaps in a manner fo
atrocious as to {hock the franferibers. Ibidf*

N 4 Epiftle

EPISTLES OF JULIAN,

<

Epiftle LXLV. *. To the People f , cfy
' moroufly applauding in'the Tychaeuin, or
Temple of. Fortune.
A. D. TT7"PIEN I enter the theatre, even privately,
% T you pay applaud ; but in the temples be
filent, and transfer your applaufes to the Gods.
Praifes are much more properly due to them,, -
'#'
. '* This Epjftle was fir|l -publiflied by Muratori, in hjs
Anecdota G'r<eca, from a MS. 700 years old, in the Am-
brofian library,' and is copied by fabricius, jn .bjs Eiblio-
thcca Graces,
In the edition of Wolfius, it js the jvrccxxth Epiftle of
Libanius. Afid the editor fubjoius in. a note, " I neither
" underftand whaf Libanius here means, nor the occafion
" on which he wrote this Epiftle." Jet as Muxa'torj ,an,d
Fabricius had preyioufly given it to Julian., I qarmot .account
for its being there afcribed to Libanius- , Surely it feems
much more characteriftic of a prince than of a fophift ;
and is befides a fubject, which Julian has difcufled in. the
, Mifopogon, Vol. I. p. 241, &c.
f Probably " of ponllantinople," Fabricius inferibes i{
Byaanti/iis, like Epiftle Xi. But fee a note on that Epiftle,
p. -4, . ¦

tp.itie

JfPJSTLES OF JULIAN, ^$

Epiftle LXV, To i Painter *
-* Not being able to fatiefy myfelf' as to the" metfoing of
the firft part of this fliort Epiftle, I will acid the original,
with the Latin trarifhtiori of Muratori, by whom this alia
is preferved :
"Hgos $W*$o». Tj,L Ad PiBorem.
E* ij.it fj-xt e<xo'Ji !"*' zx<*?",u Siq/fidem nan haberem, et mi'hl
pot, yvyytuw wfla. «f.o5. E. h AUI" gratificatus, vcnia dig-
, . -'¦ . Hus efles. Sin autcm habi-
etyot u.ii, hx. txpffifxiJ-nt rt, ts? - jj
. .rem, neque uterer, Deos far ran:
&tac ttptcot, u.oKKm ot vtro iysut, . . n.. j- ' . a-
ve 4 tji jr. n/wpotius, Du me for rent, lit
ttptpo^i. Zv ij.qi ayjjj-w pxrt* vera quote alienum mihi habj-
5Tu; ttl'Sa.:, indlfct ', Oioj ft.t fife} tum dedifti,' O am'uc ? £>ualem
fotdlot xctt ypa,-\ot. me vidifii, talem etiajupiugitv.
The meaning of the two laft paragraphs' is. fufficiently
clear.' '^ But why,' my friend, have you given me a foreign
<!i drefs? Paint me as you 'fee me." The painter perhaps
had drawn him, like a Roman Emperor,' with a Umll beard,
3ad not like a Grecian Philofopher, with a 1-iigt u.ic.

Epifili

iS5 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.

Epiftle LXVI. To Absaces, Satrap of
Armenia *.

A-J>- A RM, arm, Arfaces, againft the furious Per»
-*• -*- fians, and haften to join my forces, fwift as
thought. My martial preparations and deter
mined refolution have one of thefe ends in view; either
* The feeble Arfaces Tiranus, king of Armenia, had
degenerated, ftill more fhamefully than his father Chofroes,
from the many virtues of the great Tiridates ; and as the
pufillanimous monarch was averfe to any entefprife of
danger and glory, he could difguife his timid indolence by
the more decent excufes of religion and gratitude. He
cxpreffed a pious attachment to the memory of Conftan
tius, from whofe hands he had received in marriage Olym-
pias, the daughter of the prefect Abl.avius ; and the -al
liance of a female, who had been educated as the deftined
wife of the emperor Conftans, exalted the dignity of a
Barbarian king, Tiranus profeffed the Chriftian religion ;
he reigned over a nation of Chriftians ; and he was re-
ftrained by every principle of confidence and intereft from
contributing to the victory which would confummate the
ruin of the church. The alienated mind of Tiranus was
exafperated by the indifcretion of Julian, who treated the
king of Armenia as his flave, and as the enemy of the
Gods. The haughty and threatening ftyle of the Imperial
mandates awakened the fecret indignation of a prince,
who, in the humiliating ftate of dependence, was ftill con,
fcious »of his royal defeent from the Arfacides, the lords
of the Eaft, and the rivals of the Roman power. Gibbon.
Thi« Epiftle, printed, for the firft time, in the Anecdota
Graca of M. Muratori, -is inferted in the Bibliothcca Graca,
[rem. vn. p. 86.] of Fabricius. It is in very bad Greek.
vulgar, brutal, meanly vainglorious, without genius, con
trary

EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
either to pay the debt of nature,- bravely fighting,
and exerting my utmoft efforts, if fuccefs fhould
attend the Parthians ; or, if the Gods fliould aflift
me,- to return triumphant, and to erect trophies
trary to policy; and, what is ftill more remarkable, it con
tains expreflions that 'Could not proceed from the pen of a
fuperftitious Pagan, at the eve of a great enterprife, and
in circumftances where the leaft word of bad^omen was
fcrupuloufly avoided, as capable of being fatal. Can it be
fuppofed that Julian would have ventured to fay, even by
way of circumlocution, that " he was refolved to perifh?"
Would lie have communicated the prediction that we find
at the end of the Epiftle ? Whatever the illuftrious M.
.Muratori may fay of it, I can fcarce believe that it is the
fame which Sozomen has mentioned ; efpecially as this does
not contain all that the Ecclefiaftical hiftorian relates. I
do not infift on this laft reafon, becaufe it may be an
fwered, that we have not the whole Epiftle. But, after
all, it is fo ftrange a piece, that, inftead of afcribing, it to
Julian, I would rather fay, which is not neceffary, that
Sozomen was deceived by a fpurious piece. La Bleterie,
Muratori has publifhed an Epiftle from Julian to the
Satrap Arfaces, fierce, vulgar, and (though it might
deceive Sozomen) moft probably fpurious, La Bleterie
tranflates and rejects it. Gibbon,
And fo does the prefent tranflator.
The paffage of Sozomen, to which M. de la Bleterie re,
fers, is as follows : " He wrote alfo to Arfaces, king of
'' the Armenians, an ally of the Romans, to join him in
*' the field. In this Epiftle, after boafting immoderately,
" and extolling himfelf as fit to reign, and dear to the Gods
" whom he worfliipped, and ftigmatifing Conftantius as
" pufillanimous apd impious, he threatened Arfaces moft:
" coritumelioufly. And as he had heard that he was a
" Chriftian, in order to aggravate his reproaches, he ut-
f tered fome'wicked blafphemies againft Chrift, with great
" pride and oftentation, fignifying, that the God whom.
?' he worfliipped would by no means defend him, if he
f* neglected his commands." Hift. P-ccl. I. vi. c i. taken

l&8 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
taken frOm the enemy. Shake off therefore your
inactivity, forego all eyafionsy and thinking no
longer of that Conftantine of happy memory *, or
of the wealth of the nobles, which was lavifhed on
you and other Barbarians, by the effeminate and
too aged 'f Conftantius, now cultivate the friend*
fliip of Julian, Sovereign PontifF, Caefar, Auguftus»
the fervant of Mars and the Gods, the deftroyerof
the Franks and Barbarians, but the deliverer of the"
Gauls and Italians. If you have any other defign,,
for I hear that you are very crafty, a bad foldier,
a boaft er, I fhall not be furprifed, as you now
fecrete a public enemy, trufting to the chance of
war. To deftroy the enemy, We need only the
affiftance of the Gods j but if Fate, whofe decree
is their will, fhould determine otherwife, I fliall
fubmit with fortitude and complacence. Know
however, that you, in confequence, will be fuhjefted
•to the Perfian power, your houfe and your whole
family will be deftroyed by fire, and the kingdom of
* ManwpiV ekeivov Kuvratlmt, " That bleffed Conftantine."
Julian would hardly have fpoken fo favourably of his undo,
the conftant object of his hatred and ndicul*. It appears
by the conclufion of the Csefars," p. 220, that he rather
thought him curfed than " bleffed."
¦\ TldKvilat; Kutratlta, annofi Conftaniii. Conftantius lived
only 44 fr 45 years. La Bleterie.
In like manner, Julian, in his ift 'oration, ftyles Licinius
" an old man," (yt'otln), at the battle of Cibalis in 314,
though he was then not :;o. M. de la Bleterie tranflates
snAsilss " atti na vccu que. trap long tcms {" who had lived too
" long.") Armeni^

EPISTLES OF JULIAN
Armenia fubverted. The city of * Nifibis will
alfo fhare your misfortunes. This the Gods re
vealed to us long ago.

Epiftle LXVII. To the People [of Aw
TIOCH -j-.]

s

OME are fo audacious as to prophane the fe- "Fek

pukhres and confecrated graves of the dead,
though to remove, from them even a ftone, or to
dig the earth, and pull the turf, was always deemed by
* The bulwark of the Eaft, given up to the Perfians by
Jovian, now reduced to 150 houfes. See Voyagesde Niebubr,
tome ii. p. 300 — 309-.
Be this letter genuine, or not, " Arfaces," as M. de 1-a.
Bleterie expreffes it, " attentive only to his own intereft,
'*• and diffatisfied with Julian, would not leave his own
*' frontiers." This prince, in the reign of Valens, was trea-
cheroufly feized, imprifoned, and put to death, by Sapor,
lung of Perfia, as Ammianus relates, xxvu. 12.
f I take this law from the Theodofian~Code, ix. xvn.
3. tit. De fepulchris violaiis. , It is the only piece of any
length that is left of the Latinity of Julian. It is forcible
and elaboratej but much lefs pure than his Greek. The
reader perhaps will not diflike being enabled to judge for
himfelf. The following is the whole Epiftle.
Imp. Julianus A. ad Populom.
Pergii aiuldcia ad bufta diem funBorum et agger es cortfeeratos i
turn et lapidem bine movcre, terrain folicitdre, ehcefpitejn vellere,
praxinium facrilegio majorcs femp'er. h'abuerini. Sed ornamenta qui-
dam iricliniis, aut porticibus, atlferunt/ de , fepulchris. ^uibu's
primis confulentes, ne in piaculnm incidant contaminata religione '
iuflorum, 'hoc fieri prohibemity pound Manium vindice cohibentes.. Setuxdiixe

363-

r9o EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
by our anceftors next to facrilege. Some take
away the ornaments of tombs to adorn their por
ticoes or parlours. To prevent, in the firft place, the
criminal impiety of polluting fepulchres, we pro
hibit it under pain of the punifliment that is due to
thofe who offend the Manes *.
Secundum illud efi, quod efferri cognovimus cadavera mor-
tuorum per confertam populi freqUentiam et per maxiniam inftf
tentium denfitatem, quod quidem oculos hominum infauftis incejiat
afpeBibus. £>ui enim dies eft bene atifpicatus a funere ? Aut
quomodo ad' Deos et tcmpla venietur f Idebque, quoniam et dolor
in exeqmis fccretum amat, et diem funSlis nihil intereft, utruni per
noBcs, an per dies, efferantur, liberari convenit populi totius af-
peBus ; ut dolor effc in funcribus, non pompa exequiarum, nee
oftentatio, videatur.
Datum prid. id. Feb, Antiochiee, Juliana Aug. iv. tt
Salluftio, Coff. La Bleterie.
* The profanation of fepulchres was Confidered in all
times among the Romans as a kind of facrilege. Thofe
who dug up the body, or the bones^ of a dead perfon, were
punifhed with death, if they were of mean condition*
They were confined in an ifland, if they were of genteel
rank. Thofe who deftroyed a fepulchre, or took any thing
away from it, were condemned to the mines, or banifhed*
Conftantine, in a law, whofe object was to render divorces
lefs frequent, and to make the Roman jurifprudence as to
marriage again fomewhat like the gofpel, by reftraining
divorce to certain cafes, fpecifies, among the crimes which
gave a woman a right to repudiate her hufband, murder,
poifoning, and the violation of tombs. 'Si bomicidam, vel
medicamentarium vel fepulcbrorum dijjolutorem maritum fuuni
effe pvobaverit. m Cod. Theod. tit. xvi. De repudiis. But
the refpeet for the dead, and their tombs, which nature
herfelf feems to infpire, was carried to an excefs among
the Pagans, They honoured the fouls of the dead as di
vinities, and fepulchres as temples.
The Chriftian religion, which enlightened the world as
to the fate of thofe wretched divinities, and the impiety
cf the worfliip that was paid them, no fponer became the
religion

EPISTLES OF JULIAN, . t9i
religion of the empire, than many individuals fell into ah ,
excefs oppofite to that of Paganifm. A zeal ill underftood,
and, under the mafk of zeal, avarice, always ready to draw
from the trueft principles falfe concl-ufions- which favour
it, deftroyed tombs, applied the ftones' and ornaments to
¦other ufes," and difperfed the afjies of the dead, in order
to find fome valuable fluffs, or trinkets, which fup'erftitioa
might have interred with them.
M. Muratori, in his Anccdota Graca, has inferted near
eighty fhort copies of verfes compofed by St, Gregory.
Nazianzen, againft the Violators of fepulchres.- As feveral ot"
them feem made in order to be engraved on the tombs of <
his friends-, of whom the majority at leaft profeffed Chrifti
anity, we may infer that the tombs of the Chriftians were
riot fpared, were it only by the Pagans, who, without'
doubt, ufed reprifals. The law, above, quoted, fhews what
the Emperor Conftantine, long after his converfion,
thought of thefe diforders, which not only outraged'
»ature, but alfo might render Chriftianity odious, on whofe
account they had become more common, though it had
always condemned them.' However, in the reign of
Conftantine, the laws were not executed with rigour. It
appears by a law of Conftans, that fome individuals, and
even fome of the magiftrates, had violated them with im
punity. He caufed a fearch to be made for the guilty :¦
but he moderated the feverity of the ancient laws, and re
duced it to pecuniary penalties. Conftantius renewed antj
even augmented it, as he fuffered the pecuniary penalties-
to remain, when he re -eftabliftied the punifliment of death.-
Other chriftian princes, particularly Yalentinian III. ex
erted themfelves, in like manner, againft this crime,
Julian, who confidered the worfliip of the Manes as an
euential part of Hellenifm, here coridemns\ from fopei-
ftkion what thofe princes condemned from a "principle of"
humanity and Chriftianity, though fome Pagan expreflions
have crept iuto their ordinances, which, without doubt,
muft be afcribed to their fccretaries. The firft part of. the
law of Julian -is in the Code of Juftinian, with fome al
teration. That which favoured too much of Paganifm has
been reformed. LaBleterih.
If ;n ancient were to revifit the woFld, with what af-
tonifliment would he be ft-ruck in the amphitheatre of the
Academy Royal, which no* law authorifes to have dead
bodies 3
6

J92

EPISTLES OF JULIA Ni
Secondly* we have heard that dead corpfes ate
carried to interment. through large crowds of people
and numerous fpeciators, a fight, that defiles the eyes
of high by its inaufpicious appearance. For what
day is well-diriened by a funeral? Arid how can we
afterwards approach the- Gods and the temples I
For thefe reafonsj and becaufe funereal grief loves
privacy, and as it is" of no confequence to the de
ceafed, whether they are interred by day or by
night, it is proper that funerals fhould be fecreted
from the public view, fo as to be expreffive of
forrow, rather than of pomp and oftentatioh *.
bodies ! A corpfe was efteemed by the ancients a facred
object, which was refpectfully placed under a funeral pile ;
and he who dared to lay hands in it was declared impure!.
What would he fay on feeing that corpfe horribly cut and
mangled ; and all the young forgeons, with their arms
itripped and bloody, joking and laughing amidft thofe
dreadful operations ! Tableau de Paris.
* Whatever refpect the Pagans, had for the dead, by d
contradiction, of which I will not here trace the origin)' -
they confidered a human corpfe as the impureft thing in thi
world. They thought they ought not to enter into a
temple on a day when they had attended a funeral. But,'
delivered from a vain fuperftition, the Chriftians, and per
haps fome Pagans, after their example, paid the laft duties
to the dead in open day. Julian was defirous of reviving
the ancient practice, and even endeavoured to fupport, by
philofophical ideas, the Pagan notions on which that practice
was founded. This fecond part of his law i's in' the Theo-
dofian Code, though it does not appear to have been ob
ferved after his deith. ; La Bleterie,
Of the laws which Julian enacted in a fliort reign of
fixteen months [Di-c. 361 — June 363.] fifty-four have been
admitted into the Codes of Theodofius and Juftinian. (Go-
tbofred. Chron. Legum. pp. 64 — 67.) Gibbon.
c Givirt

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. • 193
Given at Antioch, on the day preceding the id#5
of February, Julian Aug. {for the ixtb time), and
Salluji being Confuls.

Epiftle LXVIIL To Libanius *.
"\7"OU have made a proper return to Arifto- a. d.
-*- phanes \ for his piety to the Gods, and his 3fc2'
affechon for you, by making what . was formerly
a difgrace to him redound to his glory, not only
* This Epiftle was copied by the illuftrious Roftgaard
from the Modenefe MS. D. collated with the two Medicean
E. and F. and is not to be found among thofe which have
been publifhed, except, with many more, in the Salutaris Lux
Evangelii of our Fabricius, p. 323. But it is here more en
larged. It is thus infcribed : IeXiavoj Avloxpxlup AiCana ru £0-
<pir» -xatpett. WoL F IUS .
Libanius anfwers this Epiftle (occafioned by his oration
in defence of Ariftophanes) in his DCLXXth, which fee
Vol I. p. 317. The original of it is inferted by Wolfius, in
his notes on that Epiftle.
Muratori obferves that in one of the Ambrofian MSS. [at
Milan] there was a fliort Epiftle of Julian, not yet publiflied;
" but," he adds, " the evanefcent letters made me totally de»
" fpair of reading it. I hope, however, that it will fome time
" Or other be publiflied, together with fome other remains
" of the Apoftate, by Frederick Roftgaard, a noble Dane.
" For when he was travelling througn Italy, and collecting
" the Epiftles of Libanius from various MSS. in order to
" give them to the public, he thought he had fagacity
" enough to decypher alfo this Ambrofian MS."
See the firft note on the next Epiftle.
f Meaning Ariftophanes, a Corinthian, the fon of Me
nander, for whom there is an oration of Libanius, in Vol.
II. of Morell's edition, p. 210. Fas-ricius.
Vol. II. O at

i94 EPISTLES O F JULIAN.
at prefent, but in future times ; as the calumny of
¦* aul *, and the fentence of that judge \, Can by
no means be compared with your orations. For
fuch fiery proceedings were inftantly detefted, and,
together with their authors, are now extinct ; while
your orations delight the true Greeks of the prefent
age, and, unlefs I am' much miftaken, will alfo de
light their pofterity.
Be affured, in fhort, that you have convinced
me, [or rather that you have induced me to retract
my opinion of Ariftophanes, and that I think him
fuperior to all the allurements both of profit and
pleafure. Can I refufe to concur with the moft
philofophical of orators, the greateft partifan of
truth ? After this, perhaps you may afk, why
we have not placed his affairs in a more profperous
* This Paul, who pleaded for the informers againft Arif
tophanes, before the Emperor Conftantius, is mentioned
in the fame oration of Libanius, p. 212. Fabricius.
Julian has ftigmatifed Paul as a " notorious flanderer,"
in his Epiftle to the Athenians, Vol. I. p. 92. See alfo Am
mianus, xix. and xxir. He was burnt alive, by the order
of that prince, foon after his acceffion to the empire ; a
fate to which he feems to allude above by alalia, (" fiery'')
and avtairtaSn, (" extinguiftied together.") In Fabricius it
u «i0b»1», (" at their firft appearance.")
Libanius, in the oration above mentioned, fays, in one
jftace, " Ariftophanes received many fevere ftripes from
" balls of lead" [tied, probably, to firings], " which
*' Paul thought fit inftruments of death ;" and in another,
that " he had irritated Paul by fome expreflions fuitable
" indeed to him, but which it would have been better to
" have fuppreffed."
j- The Emperor Conftantius. Faericiiti,
3" ftate,

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 105
ftate, and removed every inconvenience attending
his difgrace. When two their efforts join, &c. *.
You and I will confer together. For you are
worthy to be confulted, not only as to the pro
priety of affifting a man who devoutly honours
the Gods, but alfo in what manner, of which
indeed you have given fome hints. But of thefe
matters it will be better perhaps to difcourfe than
to write. Farewell, my moft dear and beloved
brother f.]
* Zut rt iv tpx"f.ttu, x.t. X, Iliad X. 224.
An expreffion of Diomed, enforcing the propriety of an
afliftant in his nightly expedition. The fame meaning is
conveyed by our Englifh proverb, " Two heads are better
" than one."
t This vvas immediately followed by Ateytut it y%n rot
\oyr,t, x. 1. *.. (" Reading yefterday your oration, &c")
which is the XlVth Epiftle of Julian [fee p. 28.] pub
liflied by Ezech. Spanheim, among his works, as a Angle
Epiftle, and (as is very probable) totally unconnected with
the former. WolfiusJ
The concluding farewell is exactly the fame with that of
Epiftle III. to Libanius alfo.
All that is between [ ] is only in the copy publiflied by
Wolfius.

O a Fpiftle

io6 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.

Epiftle LXIX *. To Sosipater f .
"TT T H E N an opportunity offers of writing to
our friends by a domeftic, the pleafure it
affords is much augmented. For thus your letters
convey to them fomething more than a mere image
of your mind. So fortunate am I at prefent. And
therefore, as I was fending to you Antiochus, the
tutor of my fons j, I could not omit this oppor
tunity of informing you, that if you wifh to have
any intelligence concerning us, you may learn it
particularly from him. And if you have a regard
for your friends, and that you have fome I am
certain, when you have a fimilar opportunity of
writing, you will by no means neglect it.
* This, and the feven following Epiftles (and alfo great
part of theLlXth andLXVlIIth, as has been obferved in the
notes on each) were firft publiflied by Fabricius, in his Lux
Evangelii, 1731, with a Latin tranflation. He was indebted
for them, he fays, to Count Chriftian Dannefhiold de Samfoa
(then lately deceafed), who purchafed them in 1726, to
gether with many hundreds of unpubliflied epiftles of Li
banius, at the public auction of the library of the " moft
" noble and learned Frederick Roftgaard," having been tran.
fcribed by him in Italy, from the Vatican, Medicean, and
Ambrofian libraries. See p. 193, note *.
f Or was it " to Sopater," thu fon-in-law of Jamblichus,
who is frequently mentioned in the XXVIIth, XLth, and
Lllld Epiftles of Julian ? Fabricius.
See p. 70, note f .
X This probably muft be the perfon mentioned by the
fame appellation (T^w; ruts mcvIb iratiiut) in Epiftle XL,
;;t-e p. 102. note -j-.
7 Epiftle

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. J97

Epiftle LXX. To Philip ».
TT7 HILE I was Caefar, the Gods can witnefs, A. r.
* y I wrote to you, and, I think, more than ?,<J'
once. Great cenainly was the impulfe I felt, but
many and various were my avocations ; and, befides,
as the friendfliip between me and the bleffed f Con
ftantius, in ccfcfequence of my advancement, was
that of wolves, I was extremely cautious of writ
ing to any one beyond the Alps, left I fhould in
volve him in the greateft difficulties. Confider
my writing to you now as a proof of my friend
fhip, for frequently the tongue refufes to corrt-
fpond with the heart. And fubjecfs perhaps have
reafon to exult and glory in being able to fhew the
letters of princes, displaying, them to the unex
perienced, like rings to perfons unacquainted with
* This feems to be the fame to whom there are feveral
Epiftles of Libanius, in [one of] which he fays, that the
letters which he received from Philip were written " not
" with ink, but with a Pegafean liquor." Fauricius.
Libanius had two correfpondents of this name, one a
prsefect, whom he mentions in his Life, p. 25, and the
other a poet.
It muft have been written in the fpring of 362, probably
at Conftantinople, when Julian was preparing to remove to
Antioch. f So Julian ufed to ftyle Conftantius, now dead, as he
calls him /*awajfl»i5 in his XXXIft and LVIIIth Epiftles, and
in his XXlIId, ixtttu iJtt at, trail) pcexapHw; tyittio, xBpu y*i. Ibid.
O 3 fuch

i93 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
fuch trinkets. True friendfhip is generally found
between equals; but there is a fecond kind, when
one has a real, not a pretended, efteem for the
other, and though fuperior in rank and genius, is
loved for his good-nature, affability, and difcretion.
But fuch epiftles are apt to be filled with vanity
and trifles. And I often reproach myfelf for
making them too prolix, and being too loquacious,
when I fliould teach my tongue a Pythagorean
filence. I have received your prefents, a filver cup, a
pound in weight, and a piece of gold coin. I am
indeed defirous, as you fay in your letter, of hav
ing your company here. But now the fpring ap
proaches, the trees begin to bloffom, and the
fwallows, though not yet expected, when they ar
rive, will expell us, engaged on a like expedition,
from our houfes, and bid us remove to a diftant
country. Therefore, as we fliall pafs near you,
it will be better for you, if the Gods permit,
to meet us in your own neighbourhood, This, I
hope, will foon happen, unlefs fomething provi
dential prevents : which may the Gods avei'E !

Epiflle

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 199

Epiftle LXXI. To Eutherius*
TTr E live, preferved by the Gods f. Offer fa-' A. D.
y crifices therefore to them in acknowledge*
ment of my fafety ; but not for the fafety of one
individual only, but of all the Greeks J in general.
If you have leifijre to pafs over § to Conftanti
nople, I fliall think myfelf not a little honoured
by your company.
* To this Eutherius I have three Epiftles of Libanius
in MS. Fabricius,
There are fix in the edition of Wolfius. Julian muft
have written this foon after his arrival at Conftantinople in
the winter of 361.
f Zuy.tt uwo rut &swt autistic;. On the fame occafion Julian
ufes an expreffion very fimilar to this in his XII kh Epiftle,
to his uncle: Zufj.it Ji'arss ©sbj. In the Latin of Fabriciug
jt is mifprinted Ficimus,
X Meaning the Gentile worfhippers of idols. Fabricius.
§ This expreflion (StaQitai) fhews, that Eutherius vra|
then on the oppolite fide of the Bofphorus,

O 4 Epiftle

200 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.

Epiftle LXXII. To the Patriarch *.
TBI S is the fecond letter' that I have fent in
favour of Amogila f,: my former having
been rendered ineffedtual by the powerful influence
of her oppreffors. Lamenting therefore the fate
of my former Epiftle, pay due regard to this, and
make it not neceffary for us to write a third.
* Mention is made of Julus, the Patriarch of the Jews,
¦whom he calls *' moft venerable," in the XX Vth Epiftle of
Julian. Fabricius.
See p. 50.
This, as has been obferved of the LXIVth Epiftle, p.
184. has alfo, by miftake, been afcribed to Libanius, being
printed in the edition of Wolfius, as the DCCCXXXVth of
his Epiftles. There are fix morefo infcribed. But a MS. of one
of them in the Vatican library has the additjon of Atltox'ut.
fhis therefore, and all of them, were probably addreffed,
not to the Jewifli Patriarch, a? Fabricius fuppofes, but to
the Chriftian Patriarch of Antioch, who in the year 361 was
Meletius. f Ajj-uytM^. In the copy (above mentioned) afcribed to
Libanius, the name is AppunXAii;, (" Ammonilla.")
This is followed in Fabricius, by
" To iEnus. (Seep. 78.)
" K.oi»w; /*« aitual, Sec. This, in the editions of Petau and
" Ez. Spanheim, is the XXXlft Epiftle, p. 405, but inftead
" of Kotwi, (" in general,") we there read Aonroij, (" the
" reft,") and then inftead of the words fj.sy^t ra rpWtSi*
" ra spa. (" as far as [my] camp,") there is only in the
*' Medicean MS. f«x?' TB rpdloirtia. This Epiftle, by which
" we find the bifhops, whom Conftantius ' had banifhed,
\' recalled by Julian, is mentioned by Sozomen, l.v. c 5."

Epiftle

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. 30I

Epiftle LXXUI. To Diogenes *.
AFTER your departure^ Diogenes, your fon
•*¦ -^ came to me, and faid, you were angry with
him, and as much enraged as a father could be
with a fon : he begged me therefore to intercede
for him, and to reconcile you to him. If his of
fence be flight, and fuch as may eafily be forgiven,
yield to nature, and, recollecting that you are a
parent, reftore your fon to favour. But if it be
fuch as cannot be pardoned, you yourfelf are the
beft judge which is moft expedient, to act gene-
roufly on this occafion, and to conquer the dif
pofltion of your fon by the beft advice, or to truft
his amendment, and the reparation of his fault, to
length of time.
* An Athenian philofopher, to whom there are fome
Epiftles of Libanius. Fabricius.
In one of them he acquaints Diogenes with the death
and burial of his wife. He is alfo mentioned by Julian
in his XXXVth Epiftle. See p. 90. He was the uncle of
Ariftophanes, the Corinthian, mentioned p. 193.

Epiftle

202.

EPISTLES OF JULIAN.

Epiftle LXXIV. To Priscus *.
A D- f^\ ^ receiving your letter, I immediately dif-
^^ patched Archelaus -j~, and gave him fome
epiftles for you, with a paffport, as you defired,
for a longer time. If you are inclined to fpeculate
the ocean, every thing, under God, will profper
to your wifli, unlefs you dread the inelegance of
the Galatians, or a ftorm. But this will be a,s God
fliall think fit. I fwear to you by him, who is to
me the giver and preferver of all good, that I wilh
to live only for the fake of being ufeful to you,
By you, I mean the true philofophers ; of whom,
convinced that you are one, you well know how
much I have loved, and love you, and wifh to fee
you. May divine Providence preferve you in
health many years, my moft efteemed and friendly
brother ! The excellent Hippia, and your children,
I falute. * The father of the prasfect Anatolius. Fabricius,
Anatolius was mafter of the offices, and was killed in
the fame fkirmifh in which Julian himfelf was mortally
wounded. He would otherwife perhaps have fucceeded
that prince, as he himfelf is faid to have wifhed. For an
account of Prifcus, fee p. 6, note f,
t To this Archelaus, as I fuppofe, Libanius has four
Epiftles, in one of which he expoftulates with him for
envioufly burning fome of his declamations,

Epiftle

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. aoj

Epiftle LXXV. To Libanius, Sophift and
Quaeftor *.
T_T O W fortunate was our difappointment of a
public carriage ! For inftead of the terror and
apprehenfion attendant on fuch a vehicle, where we
meet with drunken muleteers, and mules, like thofe
in Homer, " pampered with barley f," fuch are
their idlenefs and repletion, and are annoyed with
clouds of duft and the intolerable diffonance of
clamorous drivers and fmacking whips J, I now
travel at my leifure on a pleafant fhady road,
abounding with fountains, and having many com
modious inns, and when the hour of refrefliment
arriyes, 1 reft wherever I pleafe, beneath the fpa
cious, fragrant boughs of the plane or cyprefs,
with the Myrrhinulian § Phsdrus ||, or fome other
work of Plato, in my hands. As I thus enjoy an
unembarraffed journey, did I not communicate this
pleafure to you, my deareft friend, I fliould think
myfelf inexcufable.
* So ftyled alfo in Epiftle XXVIIth. But here, for a
reafon given below, I fuipect it to be an auachronifm.
•f Axorr,G-«<7i. Iliad. VI. 506. xv. 263.
X The inconveniences of the public vehicles in thofe
days feem by this account very fimilar to thofe experienced
in our times. Had Julian then been Empeior, or even
Caffar, all the public carriages, with their motions, would
have been at his command. ,
§ Of Myrrhinus in Attica. Fabricius.
|| The book of Plato fo infcribed, from his fcholar of that
name. Epiftle

2Q4 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.

Epiftle LXXVI. To thePhilofopherEucLiD*.
TT7 H E N did you leave us, that we muft write
to you ? or when do we not view you, as if
you were ftill prefent, with the eyes of our mind,
feeming not only to be conftantly enjoying your
company and converfation, but alfo taking the fame-
care of your affairs as when you were here ? If,
however, you would have me write to you as to
one who is abfent, confider whether this requeft
does not prove that you are really abfent. Be that
as it may, if it gratifies you, even in this we readily
obey you. Indeed, according to the proverb, you
will fpur to the field a free horfe. See then that
you make a fimilar return, and fail not to be punc
tual in your replies. Though I am unwilling to
interrupt your labours for the public good, yet,
as I obferve that you purfue what is excellent, far
from offending I fhall feem to render an effential
fervice to all Greece by difmifling you unmolefted,
like a generous hound, to track learning through
all her paths, through every footftep f. If you
have fuch alacrity as neither to negleft your friends,
nor to difcontinue thefe purfuits, hafte, and exert
yourfelf in both thofe courfes.
* I do not recollect that this philofopher is elfewhere
mentioned, either by Julian or Libanius. An Eucladius
occurs in the Dci.xxind Epiftle of the latter.
f Rnfj-dlt, otherwife An.upaii, ("argument.") Fabricius. Epiftola

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. *oj

Epiftola LXXVII *. Ad Photinum f .

T

U quidem, O Phofine, verifimilis videris et
proximus falvare, benefaciens nequaquam ia
utero inducere quem credidifti Deum. Diodorus X
autem Nazarai magus ejus pigmentalibus rr.an-
goneis acuens irrattonabilitatem aeutus apparuit
fophifta religionis agreftis. * * * * Quod fi nobis
opitulati fuerint dii, et deas, et mufa: omnes, ct
fortuna, oftendemus infirmum et corruptorem le-
* This Epiftle, mentioned by Fabricius, in his Lux- Evan
gelii, p. 310. is preferved by Facundus, bifliop of Her-
mania in Africa, in his book dedicated to the Emperor
Juftinian, in defence of the *' three chapters," as they wets
called, which were the writings of Theodore ot Mopfoeftia,
Theodoret of Cyprus, and Ibas of Edeffa, againft all which
Juftinian had publiflied an edict, A. D. .544. See Mofli'-ira,
I.299. It wa-s printed by Sirmond, at Paris, 1629, Svoj
and from that edition, p. 163, this letter is extracted.
This letter of Julian, if not written originally in Litin,
feems to have been tranflated in a very bombaft ftyle. He
here threatens his work againft the Chriftians. I will uor
give it in Englifli.
f Photinus, bifliop of Sirmium, publiflied, fo thf, year
343, his opinions concerning the deity, vvhich were equally
repugnant to the orthodox and Arian fyftems. His te
merity was chaftifed, not only by the orthodox in the
councils of Antioch and Milan, held in the years 34c and
347, and in thnt of Sirmium, whofe date is uncertain, but
alio by the Arians, in one of their affemblies held at Sir
mium, in the year 3 ci. In confequence of all this, Pho
tinus was degraded from the epifcopal dignity, and died
in exile in the year 372. Mosueim.
For his extravagant notions fee vol. I. of this hiftonan,
323. I Of Antioch, bifhop of Tarfus, an orthodox prelate.
See Mofheim, I. 188, and Moreri, article D'udore d' .iiaioche.

zofS EPISTLES OF JULIAN.
gum, et rationum, et myfteriorum paganorum, et
deorum infernorum, et ilium novum ejus deum
Galilceum quern reternuni fabulosc praedicat indigna
morte et fepultura denudatum confidtoe a Diodoro
deitatis ! Ifte enim malo communis utilitatis Atkenas
navigans, et philofophans, imprudenter muficorum
participatus eft rationem, et rhetoricis confecti-
onibus odibilem adarmavit linguam adverfus ca>
l.eftes deos ufque adeo ignorans paganorum myf-
teria omnemque miferabiliter imbibens, ut aiunt,
degenerum et imperitorum ejus theologorum pifca-
torum errorem. Propter quod jam diu eft quod ab
ipfis punitur diis. Jam enim per multos annos in
periculum converfus, et in corruptionem thoracis
incidens, ad funimum pervenit fupplicium. Omne
ejus corpus confumptum eft : nam maltc ejus conci-
derunt, rugre vero in altitudinem corporis defcen-
derunt, quod non eft philofophicse converfationis
indicio, ficut videri vult a fe deceptis, fed juflitiae
pro certo deorumque poena? qua percutitur com-
petenti ratione ufque ad noviffimum vitae fua? finem
afperam et amaram vitam vivens et faciem pallorc
confectum.

FRAG-

207

FRAGMENTS O F
EPISTLES OF JULIAN,
Tranflated from SUIDAS.

Article A M P H I O N.
. J. i • L OR you have leifure, you have excel-
¦*¦ lent natural endowments, and, if any
one ever had, a love. for philofophy. Thefe three
united Were fufficient to render Amphion the in
ventor of ancient mufic * ; namely, time, divine
infpiration, and the love of harmony. The want
of inftruments cannot be any impediment to thefe ;
and he who is poffeffed of thefe three will eafily
find thofe. Have we not heard that Amphion not
only invented mufic, but alfo the harp, either by
the wonderful powers of his genius, or fome divine
affiftance, or fome unufual co-operation I And moft
of the ancients, by principally attending to thefe
three, feem to have philofophifed without difguife,
and to have required nothing elfe.
* The lute, on which Amphion played fo harmonioufly as
to bring together the ftones with which the tower of Thebes
was built, is faid by others to have been prefented to him
by Mercury. Some fuppofe that there were two Amphions,
and that the younger, called the Dircxan, from the river
Dirce, in Bceotia, was the mufician and the inventor of
mufic. Article

208 EPISTLES OF JULIAN.

Article Herodotus.

TT7*HO is ignorant of what the Ethiopians
* ^ faid of the moft nourifhing food we have?
On tafting fome of our bread, " they wondered",
they faid, " how we could live upon dung," if we
may credit the Thurian hiftorian *. Thofe who
have treated on the various climates of the earth
alfo relate that there are nations of men who feed
on fifh and flefh, and never, even in a dream, faw
fuch diet as ours. If any one of them fhould at
tempt to adopt our mode of living, he would fare
no better than thofe who fwallow hellebore or
hemlock. * Herodotus, fo called from Thurium in Magna Graecia,
where he lived and died. Julian gives him the fame ap
pellation in Epiftle XXII. The paffage to which he here
alludes is in the md book of that hiftorian, and is part
of the enquiry which the ^Ethiopians made of the Ichtby-
ophagi, or " fifh-eaters," whom Cambyfes fent to explore
that country. Their king, they faid, lived upon bread,
explaining the nature of wheat, and that eighty years was
- the longeft period propofed by a Perfian. The Ethiopian
anlwered, " I do not wonder, as you live upon dung, that
" you are fo fhort-lived ; and, were it not for this
" beverage (wine), you would not live fo long."
This extraordinary perfon was born at Halicarnaffus, a
Grecian <_olony in the lefler Afia, not long before the in-
vafion of Greece by the armies of Xerxes. In his youth
he retired from his native city to Samos, in order to avoid
the arbitrary, proceedings of Lygdamis, the grandfon of
the famous Artemifia, who acquitted herfelf with much
honour in the n".val engagement of Salamis. There he
formed himfelf upon the dialect of Ionia, and compiled his
hiftory

&¥ \ . g f 17 t SP 0 F; J U L I'A N/l ao9
hiftory, which begins with Candaules and Cyrus, and gomes
down to the battle of 'MyeWfe', towards the latter end of
the reign of Xerxes, a period of 120 years. In the mean
time he fpared no pains to inform himfelf Of all that was
neceffary, in the beff mariner wriichhe could. To this end
he travelled into TEgypt, fur'veyed its chief townsj con-
Verfed with thepriefts of Thebes and Memphis, and pene
trated into the principles of their religion and learning, as
fav as- hW own fagatity could carry him-,' and their reclufe-
nsfe wttuld permit him, He travelled through the feveral
diftri&s and republics of Greece, faw the .principal cities
of'Aftfet, and viftted the borders of Thrace, Scythfa, arid
Arabia.- Returning) however, after a long votunfary exile,r
into- his own country, he bore a confiderable fhare in thtt
expulffon of the tyrant ; but meeting with envy from his
fSHew -citizens;' ¦iti/fQ&& of that gratitude1 which he expected
as-the -juft reward of his fervfces, ha went to Athens, and
after about a twelvemonth's ftay there, departed into Italy
vWfh a 'cdfOnjV'of Athenians*,' to' build a city called Thuriuin
(henee^therabdve 'appellation) near the ruins of the ancient
Sybaris. As foon a-s he had drawn up his hiftory, from the
materials he had collected with fuch infinite diligence and
induftry, he determined to expofe it to the judgerhent of
all Greece. It happened, that during his refidence at
Athens., bolides the fekft of Panatheftxa where he read his
work aloud, the Olympian exertifes were performed, to
which the-Grecians reforted in general from each ftate, and
thus he had a very favourable opportunity of putting his
defign into execution. Many of his auditors had, no
doubt, been perfonally engaged in fome of the battles,
againft Xerxes andMardonius, and not one of thenvcould
be unacquainted with the principal fails of a w'aF, fo ho«
nourable to Greece, and fo inglorious to Perfia. In tha
midft of this affembly he declared, that " he appeared be-
*' fore them not fo much a fpeftator of their games, as *
" competitor for the prize of reputation;" and recited his
Work publickly a fecond time with univerfal applaufe. Of
this nothing can be a greater teftimony than thAt the names
of the nine Mufes have been given to the nine books of his
hiftoryj as if the compofition were above the ftandard of
humanity, and the joint labour of thofe celebrated divinities.
Vol. II. P Article

EPISTLES OF JULIAN/

Article MirsoNits*.

T

1 H E drunken abufe, With which the com-*
mander in Greece f has loaded me, you
have borne with ferenity, thinking that it did not
in the leaft concern you. As to your earneft de
fire to be ferviceable to the city in which you re-
fide, that is a cettaiti proof of a philofophical
mind. The firft feems to me fuitable to Socrates,
the fecond to Mufonius. He faid that it was
wrong for a good man to fuffer himfelf to be in
jured by the wicked J. For he had the fuper-1
intendence of the towers when he was banifhed
by Nero.
* For an account of Mufonius, fee the Epiftle to The
miftius, Vol. I. p. 2t. note U .
f This poffibly might be Dionyfius, whofe " drunken'
" abufe" Julian mentions in Epiftle LIX. p. 165. The words -!
in the original are fimilar, mijomav and ireiraputnxots. '" ' '
X Though I hive literally tranflated this paffage, I do)
not clearly apprehend its meariingj or its connection with
what follows. :"

Article

EPISTLES OF JULIAN. m

Article XPHMA.

. • • /^VUR Journey lay through the Hercynian A. d.
^-J foreft *. There I faw a moft. wonder- 35?"
ful light (xpriiA<z, c£ct,i<riov). I can confidently affure
you, that you have never feen the like, though I
know that there are many of the kind in the Ro
man dominions. But let any one think of the in-
acceflible Theffalian Tempe, or of Thermopylae f,
or of fteep and extenfive Taurus X ; and all thefe
will feem infignificant when compared in rugged-
hefs with the Hercynian foreft.
* This feems alfo to be ftyled the Hercynian foreft by
Zofimus, /. in. It is at prefent called der SpeJJard, for
merly a part of the Hercynian foreft, and is on the left
bank of the Mayne, not far from the confluence of the
Rhine and Mofelle, as Cluverius fays, I. iii. c. y,
Valois.
In Caffar's time this foreft extended from the country
of the Rauraci (Bafil) into the boundlefs regions of the
North. Julian mentions his being " fent into the Her-
" cynian foreft when he had fcarce arrived at manhood,"
in the Mifopogon, p. 275 ; and Ammianus, xvn. r. where
it is ftyled fylvam fqualore tenebrarum harrendam,
f Straits between the mountains. of Theffaly and Phocis,
which divide Greece, famous for the defence of Leorirdas
againft the Perlians.
X The higheft- and moft extenfive mountains in Alia.

INDEX

Zljh

INDEX to the EPISTLES,

Epiftle

le L

(37) To * * * * page

3

II.

(11) To Proherefius.

5

III.

(31) To Libanius.

6

IV.

( 1 7) To Ariftomenes.

7

V.

(44) To the moft honoured Theo

dora.

10

VI.

(30) To Ecdicius, Prefect of

iEgypt.
11
VII.
( 6) To Artabius.
J3
VIII.
To George;
U
IX.
(23) To Ecdicius.
'7
X.
(22) To the Peopleof Alexandria,
J?
XI.
(49) To the Byzantines.
24
XII.
(13). To Bafil.
26
XIII.
(5) To his Uncle Julian.
27
XIV.
(43) To Libanius..
28
XV.
( 9) To the Philofoplier Maximus
. 29
XVI.
(41) To the fame*
31
XVII.
(3) To Oribafius.
3?
Xvin.
To the PhilofopherEugenius.
38
XIX.
(38) To Ecebolus.
39
XX.
To Euftochius.
41
XXI.
(18) To Callixene, Prieftefs of
Ceres.
43
XXII.
To Leontius.
45
XXIIL
I N D £ X to the E P I S TL E£S.

Epiftle

Page

XXW. ( 7) To Hermogenes, formerly

' ""Praefect of iZEgypt.

46

XXIV. To the moft excellent Se-

rapion.

47

XXV. (14) To the 'Community of the

Jews.

57

(19) To the principal Phyficians.

1

An Edict.

63

XXVI. (27) To the Alexandrians, An

¦Edict.
64
XXVII. (35) To Libanius, Sophift and
Qnffiftor.
65
XXVIII. (47) To Duke Gregory.
73
XXIX. (12) To Alypius, Brother of
'Ga^farius.
ib.
XXX. To the fame.
76"
XXXI. (10J To Bifhop iEtius.
78
XXXII. (46) To the Sophift Lucian.
79
XXXIII. (45) ToDofitheus. ,
ih.
XXXIV. To the Philofopher Jamb
lichus.
80
XXXV. For the Argives.
83
XXXVI. (24) To Porphyry, Treafurcr of
iEgypt.
92
XXXVII. (39) To Amerius.
93
XXXVIII. ( 4) To Maximus.
96
XXXIX. (16) To the fame.
100
XL. To Jamblichus.
10.1
¦P3 :
SLI.
2i4 I N D E X to, the E P I S T L E S.

Epiftle

Page

XLI. To Jamblichus.

107

(20) An Edict relating to Pro

feffors.

no

XLII. (20)  forbidding the Chrifti

an 5

to teach polite literature

:. I12

XLIII. To Ecebolus.

118

XLIV. To Libanius.

120

XLV. (25) To Zeno.

121

XLVI. (36) To Euagrius.

., I"

XLVII. (42; To the Thracians.

1*5

XLVIII. To * * * * ;

127

XLIX. (32) To Arfacius, High Prieft

/

of Galatia.

ib.

L. (28.) To Ecdicius.

134

LL (29) To the Alexan<lrians.

I36

LII. (26) To the Bbftrenians.

I42

Lilt. To Jamblichus.

I48

LIV. To George.

ISI

LV. To Eumenius and Phari-

anus.

W

LVL To Ecdicius.

!S3

LVU. To thePhilofopherElpidius.

*54

LVIII. (15 J To the Alexandrians.

}55

LIX. To Dionyfius.

158

LX. To Jamblichus.

171

LXI. To the fame.

*74

LXII. To * * * * (Imperfea.)

175

LXIII. ( 8) To the High-Prieft

Theodore.

178

¦~

lxiv;

INDEXjo ths EPISTLES,
Epiftle Page
LXIV. To the People, clamoroufly
applauding in the Tychseum. J84
LXV. To a Painter. 155
LXVI. {34) To Arfaces, Satrap of Ar
menia. 186
LXVII. (33) To the People [of Antioch.]* 189
LXVIII. To Libanius. 195
LXIX. To Sofipater. 196
LXX. To Philip. * ^ r 197
LXX I. To Eutherius. 199
LXXII. To the Patriarch. aoo
LXXIII. To Diogenes. 201
LXXIV. ToPrifcus. 202
LXXV. To Libanius. 303
LXXVI. To the Philofopher Euclid. 204
LXXVII. AdPhotinum. 205
Fragments of Epiftles. 207 — 211
. N. B. Thofe tranflated by M, de la Bleterie are
marked with Arabic figures, which fhew the chro
nological order in which he has endeavoured (as far
as he could) to arrange them. Gallus to Julian,
and Julian to Themiftius, are his two firft. And
thofe to the Athenians and Conftantius he has
omittedc

P4 THE

%l&.

T;HE
"L I l„F E
0 F
LIBANI US, the Sophist.
From the Latin
Of John Albert F^iiicius, D, D. *

L

IBANIUS was born, pf an ancient and noble
family at Antioch, on the Orontes, . in -the
year of our Lord 314. Suidas calls his father
?< Phafganius •," but this was* -the name, of one -of
his uncles f ; the other, who was the elder, was
named Panolbius. His great grandfather, who
excelled in the art of divination, had publiflied feme
pieces in Latin, which oecsfioned his being fup
pofed hy fome, hut falffy, to -be an Italian, His
maternal and paternal grandfathers were eminent
in rank and in eloquence ; the latter, with ' his
brother Brafidas, was put to death, by the order of
* In his Bibliotheca Graeca, vol. vn. p. 378.
¦j- Libanius, in his Life (which he fays, p. 19, he wrote
when he was fixty), vol. 11. p. 6. and 40, and Orat, xxiv.
p. 534. He mentions, p. 46. that he attained his fiftieth
year imder Jovian j and, p. 48, his fifty-feventh under
Yalem, Fabricius.
Pioclecian,

LIFE OF LIBANIUS. -si?
Diocletian, in the year 303, after tiie tumult of
the tyrant Eugenius. Libanius, of , his father's
•tihree fons the fecond, in fheiifteenrh.year of his
age, iwifhing to devote himfelf entirely to litera
ture, complains that he met with' fome " fhddows
tf of fophifts." Then, aflifted by a proper mafter "*,
he hegan £0 read the ancient writers at 'Antioch,
and from thence,->with Jafion, a'Cappadocian, went
to Athens, and' refiding there for more than four
jyears became intimately acquainted- with Grifpinus
«f Heraclea, who, he fays, enriched him afterwards
swith books qt Nicomedia, and went, but feldom, to
the fchools of Diophantus. At Conftantinople he
ingratiated himfelf with Nicocles of Laced«emon (a
grammarian, who was mafter to the Emperor Julian),
and the fophift -Bemarchius. Returning to Athens,
and ibliciting the office of a profeffor, which' the pro-
conful had before intended for him when he was
¦twenty *five years of age, a certain Cappadocian hap
pened to be preferred to him. But being encouraged
-by Dionyfius, a Sicilian, who had been prefect of
Syria, fome fpecimens of his eloquence, that were
prablifhed at Conftantinople, made him fo generally
known and applauded, that he collected more than
eighty difciples, the two fophifts, who then filled
the chair there, raging in vain, and Bemarchius
ineffectually oppofing him in rival orations, and
when he could not excell him, having recourfe to
* This was probably the fame whom Libanius freed
from the refentment oi the Emperor Conftantius, as he
•relates, p. 34. * ' Fabricius.
5 the

-i8 LIFE OF LIBANIUS.
the frigid calumny of magic. At length, about
the year 346, being expelled the city by his com
petitors *, the praefect Limenius concurring, he
repaired to Nice, and foon after to Nicomedia, the
Athens of Bithynia, where his excellence in fpeak
ing began to be more and more approved by all, and
Julian, if not a hearer, was a reader and admirer
of his orations. In .the fame city, he fays, he
Was particularly delighted with the friendfhip of
Arifhenetus +> and the five years, which he paffed
there, he ftyles " the fpring, or any thing elfe that
," can be conceived pleafanter than fpring, of his
" whole life." Being invited again to Conftanti
nople, and afterwards returning to Nicomedia, being
alfo tired of Conftantinople, where he found Phcenus
and Zenobius, rival fophifts, though he was pa
tron ifed by Strategics, who fucceeded Domitian as
prefect of the Eaft, pot daring, on account of his
.rivals, to occupy the Athenian chair, he obtained
permiffion from Gallus jCgefar to vifit, for four
months, lus natiye city Antioch, where, after
Gallus was killed in 354, he fixed his refidence
for the remainder of his life, and initiated many
* The jealoufy of his rivals, whp perfecuted him from
one city to another, confirmed the favourable opinion which
; Libanius oftentatioufly difplayed' of his fuperior merit.
Gibbon.
f The death of this Ariftxnetus, prefect of Bithynia,
who was overwhelmed at Nicomedia by an earthquake in
358, he laments, p. 40, and in his XXIXth and XXXIft
Epiftles. See alfo the following jyionody.
6 1 ,.'¦¦ in

LIFE OF LIBANIUS.
in the facred rites of eloquence. He was alfo much
beloved by the Emperor Julian, who heard his dif
courfes with pleafure "*, received him with kindnef§,
and imitated him in his writings. Honoured by
that prince with the rank of quajftor -j-, and with
feveral Epiftles [of which fix. only are. extant JJ,
the laft § written by the Emperor during his fatal
expedition againft the Perfians, he the more la
mented his death in the flower of his age, as from
' him he' had promifed himfelf a certain and lafting
fupport both in. the worfliip of idols and in his
• own ftudies. There was afterwards a report that
Libanius, with the .younger'Jamblichus, the mafter
of Proclus, enquired by divination who would be
the fucceffor of Valens |j, and in confequence with
difficulty
* Fabricius corrects this miftake in his Lux Evangelii.
\ Seep, 6$.
X Viz. the ilid, xivth, xxvrith, XLivth, Lxviuth, and
Lxxvth'.' §" The xxyrith.
|| In the year 373, or 374., whilft Valens was at Antioch,
a difcovery'was made of a eonfultation which fome Gentiles
had together for finding out the name of the perfon who
' fliould 'fucceed the Emperor. There are accounts of it
in feveral ' of ' our Iicc'lefi'aftical hiftorians, and in divers
Heathen authors, particularly Ammianus Marcellihus, who
is the fulleft of all, "and was then in the Eall, and poffibly
at Antiodh. The confeffiotis made by Patritius and Hilary,
both'lkilful diviners,'' he thus particularly relates : •¦
"' " A tripod made Of laurel was artificia'ly prepared, and
" confederated With -certain preTcribed 'fe:ret charms and
*' invocations. Jt was then plated iri^the middle of a
" room, perfumed with" Arabian fpices. The charger, on
" which it was fet, had on its utmoft brim the four and
" twenty'letters of the' alphabet, neatly engrared, and fet
«' at due diftances from each other. Then a perfon, clad

5?19

*20 LIFE OF LIBANIUS.
" in linen veftments, with linen fodks \ipon his feet, arid
" a fuitable covering upon bis head, came in with laurel
" branches in his hands, and, after fome myftic charms
" performed, fhook a ring, hanging at a curtain, about
** the e<)ge of the- charger ; which jumping up and down,
" fell upon fome letters of the alphabet, where it feemed
*' to ftay ; the prieft alfo then compoling certain heroic
" verfes in anfwer to the queftions that ha-d been propdfed.
*' The letters, which the ringpointed out in this cafe, were
" four, ©, E, 0, A, which being put together, one that
" was prefent immediately exclaimed, that the oracle
'*' plainly intended Theodorus" [then fecond in the fecre-
,taries office], " nor did we make any farther enquiries,
*' being all well fatisfied that he was the perfon intended,
'"< though- himfelf was totally ignorant of this proceeding."
Cave's Tranflation.
Zonaras gives a different account of the method of divi
nation then made life "Of, He fays, " that the four and
«' twenty letters of the alphabet were written upon the
•' ground, and at each one was placed a grain of wheat or
" barley. Then, after fome myftic forms, a cock * was let
" cut, which picked up fuch grains as lay at thofe four
" letters." But it is much more reaforiable to rely upon
Ammianus, who was contemporaiy, and likely to be well
•informed. His account alfo is agreeable to that in Sozo
men and Zofimus, who have both mentioned the tripod.
When Libanius fays, that " Valens hoped to, have had
" him alfo-accufed as one of the confpirators," I take it to
be a mere flourifh. He was willing to make a merit of
.fome danger with the reft of his friends, though really he
was fafe enough. Lardneb.
For this confutation and divination many were put to
death, viz. Simonides and Maximus, philofophers, the
latter the friend and perverter of Julian, Diogenes, who
had been prxfefl: of Bithynia, and Theodorus, the perfon
named, perhaps with many more who owned the fatal
Syllables. Theodofius fucceeded. Alypius too (fee p. 73. ^
who had beep vice-prefect of Britain, was condemned, but
only, baniflled ; and his fon Hierocles, when he was leading
to execution, was happily faved, it is fuppofed} by a tumult
of the people.
* To this method Fabricius plainly alludes by the word akarjemann The

L IF E O F- L I B A N I US* &ai
difficulty efcaped his Cruelty *, Irenseus attcfting
the. innocence of- Libanius. In like manner he,
happily efcaped another calumny, by the favour-.
of Duke Lupicinus, when he was accufed by his;
enemy Fidelis, or Fiduftius, of having, writtea
an elogium on the tyrant Procopius j-. He was
not, however, totally neglected by Valens* whom
he not only celebrated in an oration, but ob"
The inquifition into the crime of magic, which, under
the reign of the two brothers, was fo rigoroufly prbfe-
cuted both at Rome and Antioch, was interpreted as the
fatal fymptom, either of the difpleafure of heaven, or of
the depravity of mankind. Lardner has copioufly and
fairly examined this dark tranfaclion. Gibbon.
* That future events may be conjectured. by the motions-
of-the ftars Libanius does not deny, in an Epiftle [th«\
Xivth of Zambicari, /. I.] to Euftohus. That he alfo.
ftudied the interpretation of dreams may be deduced from
Vol. II. of his works, p, 74. Fabricius.
f procopius, a relation of the Emperor Julian, who hadi
haftily promoted him, from the obfcure ftation of a tribune
and a notary, to the joint command of the army of Me-
fopotamia, retired, after the de&th of that prince, to his
, ample patrimony in Cappadocia. But being fufpected and<
ordered to be apprehended by the new fovereigns Valentinian
and Valens, A. D. 365, he efcaped from his- guards, parted-
over to the country of Bofphorus, and, after remaining
many months in that fequeftered region, embarked for Con
ftantinople, and affumed the fovereignty. Being joined by
fome G.illic foldiers, whofe numbers rapidly increafed, he
fubdued the unarmed provinces of Bithynia and Afia, the
city and ifland of Cyzicus, &c. but being- at laft deferted-
by his troops, in two engagements, after wandering fome
time among the woods and mountains of Phrygja, he was
betrayed by his defponding followers, conducted to the inr-
perial camp, and immediately beheaded. Abridged from GlEBON. tained '

izz LIFE OF LIBANIU S."
tained frpm him a confirmation of the law againft'
entirely excluding illegimitate children from the
inheritance of their paternal eftates, which he fo
liated from the Emperor, nb doubt, for a private
reafon, fince, as Eunapius informs us, he kept a
miftrefs *, and was never married. The remainder^
of his life he paffed, as before-mentiOned, at An
tioch, to an advanced age, amidft various wrongs
and oppreffions from his rivals and the times, which
he copioufly relates in his Life, though, tired of
the manners of that city, he had thoughts, in his
old age, of changing his abode, as he tells Eufebius
in his DLIVth Epiftle [edit. Wolf.] He continued
there, however, and on various occafions Was very
ferviceable to the city, either by appealing fe
ditions, and calming the difturbed minds of the
citizens, or by reconciling to them the Emperors'
Julian and Theodofius. That Libanius lived even
to the reign of Arcadius, that is, beyond the
feventieth year of his age, the learned collect from
his oration on Lucian and the teftimony of Cedrenus ;
and of the fame opinion is Godfrey Olearius, a
man not more refpeflable for his exqUifite know
ledge of facred and polite literature, than for his
judgement and probity, in his MS. praelechohs, id
¦* He laments her deith, and mentions a fon, whom he,
had by her, in his Life, p. 82. and in feveral of his Epiflfes."
In others it appears that his name was Cimon ; that his
father fent him to ftudy at Athens, and that he died before
him. which,

L I F E 6 F L I B A N 1 U S. **$¦
Which, when he was profeffor of both languages
in the univerfity of his own country, he has given
an account of the life of this fophift.
The writings of Libanius * are numerous, and
he compofed and delivered various orations, as well
demonftrative as deliberative, and alfo many fic
titious declamations and difputations. Of thefe
Frederick Morell t publifhed as many as he could
collect in two volumes, folio, in Greek and Latin. In
the ift vol. Paris, 1606, are XIII. Exercifes (Pro-

* The voluminous writings of Libanius ftill exift ; for
the moft patt they are the vain and idle compofitions of
an orator, who cultivated the fcience of words ; the pro
ductions of a reclufe ftudent, whofe mind, regardlefs of his
contemporaries, was inceffantly fixed on the Trojan war,
and the Athenian commonwealth. Gibbon-.
f The Latin tranflation of Morell has been obferved by-
many of the learned to be often obfcure, and in numberlefs
places to have miftaken the fenfe of Libanius. Whoever
therefore fliall undertake another edition of this author,
muft new tranflate many paffages, efpecially in the nd
volume. It is faid, neverthelefs, that Morell applied to
his verfion with fuch intenfe application, as not to fuffe
himfelf to be interrupted by an account that his wife was
at the point of death, if we credit Ifaac Voffius, in Colo-
mefius, p. 99. of his works : " I have heard from M.
" Voffius, that while Frederick Morell was employed on
" Libanius, fome one came to inform him that his wife
" was very ill':" to which he replied, " I have only three
" or four fentences more to tranflate, and then I will go
" and fee her." Another coming to tell him that fhe was
dying ; " I have only two words," faid he, " I will be
" there as foon as you." At laft, being informed that his
wife was dead, " I was very happy," he anfwered coldly,
" fhe was an excellent woman." Fabricius.
gymnafmata)

2*4

LIFJE OF LIBANIUS.
gymnafmata)jX.LYV Declamations .*, and i i-i moral
differtations, and in the tid vol. Paris, 1627, are'
the Life f of Libanius, and xxxvi other orations,
moft of them long and on ferious fubjeifts.-
Befides what are contained in thofe volumes,
and his Epiftles, ten other works of this- fophift
have been feparately publiflied, moft of them- ora
tions J, and in the Excerpta Rhetorum of Lee*
Allatius,
* That his Declamations were "" pofTefled, read, arid
" thought worthy of being imitated by many," appear*
from an Epiftle of Libanius to Archelaus [xnvth of Zam-
bicari, /. i,], who, from envy, had committed fome of theitl
to the flames. Erafmils (I.- c$o>) has tranflated the ift' of
them, the "oration of Meneiaus," which Morell has-
adopted verbatim, without acknowledgment, (-1, 189.) hi*
name being prefixed as the tranflator of them all.
f Libanius has compofed the vain,- prolix, but curious
narrative of his own life, of which Eunapius (pi 130 — 1 3 5.)
has left a concife and unfavourable account. Among the
moderns, TiUemont, Fabricius, and Lardner have illus
trated the character and writings of this famous fophift.
Gibbon.
X Gf thefe, as of all the others, Fabricius has given
the titles and fubjefts. The Vth of them-, " an oration'
" for the Temples," that they may not be deftroyed, to-
Theodofius the Great, 390, firft publiflied by Godefroi,
¦Geneva, 1634, 4to. is tranflated into Englifh by Dr. Lard
ner, in his Jewifli and Heathen Teftimonies, Vol. IV. p>
137 — 158, with Obfervations. The Vlth, " On reveng-
*' ing the death of the Emperor Julian," addrefled to the
fame Theodofius, 379, was firft publifhed, from the Bod
leian MS._ by 01earius< above-mentioned, Leipfie, 170-1,
Bvo. to which he afterwards added a Latin tranflation, and
learned notes, at the defire of Fabricius, which- he pub
lifhed, in Bibliotheca Graeca, Vol. Vll. p. 145 — 179, with
the original, and affo with the Vllth, " To thofe who
*' called him1 troublefome," 373; and the VIHth, "To
" the Antiochians, on appeafing the refentment of the
" Emperor"

LIFE Of LIBANIUS. » 225
Allatius, Greek and Latin, Rom. 1641, 8vo. are
xxxix Narrations, vir Defcriptions, and vn more
Exercifes of Libaniusj with tranflatiofls by Al
latius. His unpublifhed works are,
1. Many hundred Epiftles * yet concealed in va
rious libraries, a mode of writing in which it ap
pears he excelled by the teftiritony even of the
ancients, particularly Eunapius and Photius ; and
of that the perufal of them will eafily convince
the intelligent reader j for they abound with Attic
wit and humour, and every where Recommend
themfelves by their pointed concifenefs no lefs than
by their elegance and learning -f. 2. Several
" Emperor" [Julian], 363, both for the firft time, and a
Correct copy of the "'* fuher'al oration On Julian," vvkh
translations of them all by the fame Olearius.
* Eleven years after Fabricius printed the above, John
Chriftopher Wolfius, his pupil, friend, and collegue, affifted
by the collections of Frederick Roftgaard, a noble Dane,
(fee p. 196.) publifhed at Hamburgh, in onevodume, folio,
1738, with learned notes, mdcv Epiftles of Libanius, in
Greek and Latin, two-thirds of them collected from various
MSS. to which he added nxxn Epiftles of the fame author,
in Latin only (xc of them duplicates, being alfo iii the
Greek), tranflated from the originals, colledled in Greece,
and publiflied at Cracow, about the middle of the XV th
century, by Francis Zambicari of Bologna, and republifhed
there by John Sommerfeld, M. A. tjoj. See Vol. I. p.
330, note *.
f The critics may praife their fubtle and elegant brevity";
yet Dr. Bentley (Diflertation upon Phalari.-, p. 487.)
might juftly, though quaintly, obferve, that " you feel by
" the emptinefs and deadnefs of them, that you convc-rfe
" with fome dreaming pedant, with his elbow upon hi*
" defk." Gibbon.
Vol. II. Q_ The

226 LIFE OF LIBANIUS.
2. Several Orations, as in a MS. of the Barbe-
rini library, of excellent character, moft correctly
written on vellum, from which Allatius afferts *,
that all the publifhed works of Libanius might alfo
be given much more correct and perfect.
3. Various Declamations, in the above MS. and
one in the Vatican library.
And that there are many MS Epiftles, Orations,
and Declamations of Libanius in the Imperial
library [at Vienna], Neffelius has obferved, affirm
ing alfo that feveral <Jreek fcholia are frequently
inferted in the margin.
Though fo many of the writings of this fophift
are preferved, there is no doubt that many both
of his Epiftles and Orations have been loft "j~.
The MDLXxivth Epiftle of Libanius occurs among thofe
of Phalaris, and is infcribed to Antimathius, n. xxvu.
It is thought at prefent by almoft all the learned, Bentley,
the prince of critics (viro x^liixuldlu) at their head, that thefe
Epiftles of Phalaris may juftly be afcribed to fome fophift.
It may be worth while to confider whether all of them
perhaps were not fabricated by Libanius. I recollect, at
leaft, that in my notes I have frequently compared the
phrafes and expreflions of Phalaris with thofe of Libanius.
See, for inftance, the notes on Ep. mcxli. Wolfius,
* Praf. ad Excerpta Rhetorum Gracorum.
f Of xi of thefe, mentioned by Libanius himfelf in dif
ferent parts of his works, Fabricius recapitulates the titles,
befideS various Counfels 'av^SaXat J) to the Emperor The- -
odolius, mentioned in the beginning of his oration for the
temples of the Heathens. And many more, which Fa
bricius has omitted, might be fpecified from feveral of
his epiftles.
% Tranflated by Dr.*I.*rdner, " Oraticns, aril the counfcl delivered in
them."
A MONODY

227

A MONODY* by LIBANIUS,
On Nicomedia,
Deftroyed by an Earthquake f.

H

O M E R never fufters even a tree to perifli A- Dy
. 358»
without commiferation ; but, as if he himfelf

had been the planter or gardener, when he fees it
ftretched on the ground, he fings a lamentation
* A mournful fong, recited by one only on the ftage,
without a chorus, was called Matui.cc. And mention is
made of a Monodiaria, or of a woman who fung a monody.
Wolfius.
Libanius, in his XXXIft Epiftle, mentions^two Monodies
which he compofed on this ocCalion ; one (which is now
before us) relating to the city, the other, no doubt, to
Ariftenetus, Prefect of Bithynia, who periflied in it (fee
the next note) ; but the lattei" is loft. " I alfo," fays he,
(Ep. xxv.) " am one of thofe who are overwhelmed by
" that great calamity. For Ariftsenetus, O Jupiter, has
«« perifhed ; and, befides this, we\ have fuffered another
«' ftroke, as fate has not fpared the head of Hierocles."
All the ancients fpeak of Nicomedia as a place of great
note: Pliny calls it " a famous and beautiful city:"
Ammianus, " the mother of all the cities of Bithynia."
In this city the Roman emperors refidedj when the affairs
of the empire called them into the eaft. Conftantine the
Great chofe Nicomedia for the place of his abode after he
retired from Rome, and there remained till the buildings
that he had begun at Byzantium were fihifhed. This city,
once fo famous, is now but a fmall village, known to the
Turks by the name of Schemith J. Universal History,
+ Aecordirtg to Pococke, Ifmiu
Q^a At

228 A MONODY BY LIBANIUS,
+ At break of day, on the gth of the calends of Septem
ber, the fky, which before Was clear, was obfcured by thick
dark clouds; and the light of the fun being veiled, neither
near nor contiguous objects were difcernible. Then the Su
preme Deity throwing, as it were, fatal thunder-bolts, and
removing the winds from their very hinges J, the fury of
the ftorm abated ; and to thefe hurricanes and whirlwinds
fucceeded an horrible earthquake, Which totally overthrew
the city and fuburbs. And on account of the declivity of
the hills, fome houfes fell upon others, all refounding with
the dreadful crafh of the ruins. Mean time the lofty roofs
re-echoed with various cries of thofe who were feeking their
wives and children, or deareft friends. After the fecond
hour, but long before the third, the fky, now fair and clear,
difcovered the funereal carnage. For fome, cruflied by the
overwhelming force of falling rafters, periflied under the
weight of them : fome, buiied up to the neck, though they
might have furvived if they had had timely affiftance, died
for want of help ; others hung fixed to the tops of ftanding
beams ; many men were killed a little before by one blow ;
then were feen promifcuous flaughtered bodies ; fome, the
roofs of their houfes falling in, were confined unhurt, victims
to anguifh and famine. Among whom Ariftsnetus, who
governed the diocefe lately defiired with vicarial power, to
which Conftantius, in honour of his wife, had given the
name of the Eufebinn Piety ||, by this calamity, long tor
tured, expired. Others, cruflied by hidden bulky ruins,
are ftill covered by the fame heaps. Some, who had their
fculls fraftured, or had loft their arms or legs, between
life and death, imploring with earneft intreaties thofe who
were affifting others, were deferted. And the greater part
of the inhabitants might have furvived the facred and pri
vate buildings, had not flames, widely difperfed, for fifty
days and nights, confumed whatever was combuftible.
Ammianus.
See alfo an Epiftle on this fubject from Libanius to Julian,
Vol. I. p. 3°3-
X Ventofj'ie ab iffis exritante carditibus.
JJot unlike to this arc Milton's " winds," that
 •  rufh'd abroad
From the four hinges of the world. Par. Reg. iv. 409.
|| After the example of the Julian Piety, a name given to Pola in
Iftria (of which fee Win. 1. 111. e. 19.) Lino'jjnbroc,
3 over

ON NICOMEDIA.
over it *. And can I permit Nicomedia, where I
increafed my knowledge of the liberal arts, efpe
cially eloquence, and acquired, belides, a degree
of reputation which I had not before, to be de
ftroyed, can I fee fuch a city, a city no longer, re
duced to afhes, unmourned, unwept ? This con
cern I fhare in Common with the vulgar ; let
her alfo participate of the oratory which fhe
cherifhed. As, if I had been a mufician, and had
gained many victories there in mufical contefts,
fhould I have fuffered others to lament without
joining in the lamentation?
Let me now addrefs the Gods, fnppofing them
prefent, and thus endeavour to eftimate our ca
lamity. When, fitting in the palace of Jupiter, with the
other Gods, you, O Neptune, were enraged on
account of the wall which the Grecians had built
* Homer deplores the definition of plants in Iliad ix
tndxvui. Morell.
¦ a monftrous boar,
That levell'd harvefts, and whole forefts tore.
Poi'E, ix. 659.
Much more expreffive in the original.
In the xvmth I find a plant, or a tree, mentioned only
thus, Like fome fair olive, by my careful hand
He grew, he fiourifh'd, and adorn d the land.
Pope, 175 and 512.
If Libanius had been acquainted with the Pfalmift, and
unprejudiced by Paganifm, he could not have overlooked
that beautiful allufion of the " vine brought out, of
" jEgypt," and the complaint of its being " rooted up,
" burnt, and cut down." Pf. lxxx. 8 — 16,
Q-3 at

*3o A MONODY BY LIBANIUS,
at Troy to cover their fhips, was not their neglect
of the Gods, when they laid the foundation, the
principal fubject 'of your complaint *? And there
fore, when Troy was taken, you judged right in
thinking it neceffary to deftroy that Wall ; which
you eafily accompliihed by turning againft it the
rivers that rufhed from Ida f. But in the foun
dation of this city what was the offence that in
duced you to treat it in the fame manner ? Did not
its firft founder J, defigning to build a city on the-
fhorc
* Horn. II. vn. 4C0.
See the long walls sxtendiqg to the main,
No God confulted, and no victim flain, &c. Pope, 535.
f Ibid. xii. 17.
Then Neptune and Apollo fliook the fliore,
Then Ida's fummits pour'd their watery ftore ;
Rhefus and Rhodius then unite their rills, &c.
Thefe, turn'd by Phcebus from their wonted ways,
Delug'd the rampire nine continual days ;
The weight of waters faps the yielding wall,
And to the fea the floating bulwarks fall.
Inceffant cataracts the Thunderer pours,
And half the fkies defcend in fluicy fhowers, &c.
Pope, 15.
This is a noble paffage in the old bard j ftorm, inijnda.
tion, and earthquake magnificently combined. B.
Milton alludes to it in his vilion of the Deluge, b. xi.
¦  ¦ Then fhall this mount
Of Paradife, by might of waves, be mov'd
Out of his place, pufli'd by the horned flood,
With all his verdure fpoil'd, and trees adrift,
Down the great river to the opening gulf,
And there take root, an ifland fait and bare,
The haunt of feals, and ores, and fea-mevv§' clang. 829.
X Nicomedia is faid to have been firft built by Olbia,
and had its firft name fiom him, It was afterwards re-built
5 by

O N N I CO MEDIA. 331
fhore oppofite to that where it now ftands, or rather
where it once flood, begin his work from you ?
Were not the altars covered with victims, and fur-
rounded by a crowd of Worfhippers ? But by an
eagle and a prodigious fnake you diverted their at
tention to the hill ; of thefe, the former with her
talons fnatched the head of the victim from the fire;
and the latter, large and refembling thofe which
are bred in India, iffued from the earth. The one
cleaving the fea, and the other the air, repaired to
the brow of the hill. The people followed, led,
as they thought, by the guidance of the Gods.
Thefe omens were all deceitful. The city was at
firft overwhelmed by the torrent of war *. Be it
fo. Your own Corinth f alfo, and the land of
by Nicomedes I, king of Bithynia, though Olbia feems
rather to have been near it, and that the inhabitants of it
were tranfplanted to this place. Pococke, '
Nicomedia, Aftacus, and Olbia are fpoken of by
Ptolemy as three neighbouring but diftinct cities. Strabo
writes that Nicomedes, the fon and fucceffor of Zipcetes, de
ftroyed Aftacus, and transferred its inhabitants to Nicomedia.
Universal History,
* This muft probably have been in the reign of Nico
medes III. who was twice driven from his throne by Mith
ridates the Great, king of Pontus,
-f- Among other names which Corinth anciently had we
find that of Heliopolis, or city of the fun, for which this
reafon is commonly given ; that the poets feign Apollo and
Neptune to have contended for it, and that Jupiter having
appointed Briareus, the Cyclop, their umpire, he adjudged
the Ifthmus to the latter, and the Promontory, which com
mands the city, to the former. Universal History,
Q^ 4 Cecrops,

4

%l% A MONODY BY LIBANIUS,
Cecrops *, your beft beloved, have experienced
the fame fafe f, Another founder came, who,
making the Gods his principal leaders, and, by the
fuperior magnicude of his offering, rendering your
minds more propitious, reftored the city. How
then, like the land of iEtolia, for the offence of
QZneus \, did Hie deferve to be punifhed with coin
tempt ? Is it right, has it been ufual, for the Gods
to deftroy with their own hands works like thefe,
in which they have co-operated with mortals, and
to imitate the paftime of children, who are ac-r
cuftomed to pull down what they have erected § ?
Or did it become you, O Neptune, to enter into a
Conteft with your niece for an Attic city not then
jn being, and to overflow a citadel fo diftant from
* An ^Egyptian fugitive, who introduced religion into
Greece, and founded the Athenian monarchy. See note *
P 233.
•f Corinth was furprifed by Antigonus and Aratus, taken
and burnt by the Rqmans, &c. Athens was deftroyed bv
Mardonius, takeu by the Lacedemonians and Sylla, &c.
| Oeneus, king of JEtoYva, or Calydon (its chief city)
facrificing to the reft of the deities, neglected his duty to.
Diana, who in confequence fent a wild boar to ravage and
deftroy the country, which was killed by his fon Meleager,
and his company. See Horn. II. ix. 53Q.
§ Thus Tibullus, . ¦ puer e virgis extruet arte cafas.
1. 11. el. 1,
And Horace of a boy, . — amata relinquere per nix.
Morell,
Libanius had here, no doubt, in his view that paffage in
the Iliad to vhich Julian alfp refers in his 3^Lth Epiftle,
Sec p. 106. the.

ON NICOMEDIA.
the fea *, yet to difplay no regard for fuch a great
and important city as this, but even to fubvert it
from the foundations ? What city was more beau
tiful I I will not fay larger, for in fize it was ex
ceeded by four -j-, but contemned all that increafe
of extent, which would have "wearied the feet of
its citizens J. In beauty alfo it yielded to thefe,
and was equalled, not excelled, by fome others :
for, ftretching forth its promontories, with its arms
* Cecrops not knowing what name to give to his new-
built city, an olive-tree, and a fountain of water (or, as
ethers fay, a horfe) appeared. The oracle, being confulted,
anfwered, that *' Neptune and Minerva were contending
" for the honour of naming it, that the olive was the gift
" of Minerva, and the fountain (or horfe) that of Nep-
'* tune ; and that that which they efteemed moft benefi-
" cial to mankind fliould adjudge the prize to the giver."
The men and women being affembled to give their judge
ment, the former gave it for the God ; but the women,
who were more numerous, gave it for the Goddefs j and
the city was named from her Athena, Neptune, in revenge
of the affront, overflowed their territories. Apollodoros.
Here we have an account of the PofW mentioned by Li
banius, which Morell has rendered Procella, though it
fignifies properly " the violence and force of water, a billow
" of the fea :" as, in the poem on Hero and Leander, the
poet fays, he flood on the fhore,
syta.ttBfj.ttut poQiut iroXvnxtf' @ofj.Got otxaut'
where f3oju.Gov excellently expreffes the heavy found occafioned
by the fall of the waves. B.
•j- Rome, Byzantium, Antioch, and Alexandria.
X Toaalot dlifj.ccaaax ra ptyelia;, oaot spiXte hmenaut rat otxi\-
7eg«» rui icoiocf. This is an odd paffage, and feems to me a
puerile conceit. Morell's marginal reading, ta. iratia; (for
iroius) is pleafant enough. I wonder he fhould think any
alteration neceflary, as he underftood the true fenfe of the
place ; for men may be fatigued as well as children, I have
rjo doubt that he was a great walker, B. it

234 A MONODY BY LIBANIUS,
it embraced the fea. It then afcended the hill
by four colonnades extending the whole length.
Its public buildings were fplendid, its private
contiguous, rifing from the loweft parts to the
citadel, like the branches of a cyprefs, one houfe
above another, watered by rivulets, and furrounded
with gardens *. Its council-chambers, its fchools
of oratory, the multitude of its temples, the
magnificence of its baths, and the commodi.
oufnefs of its harbour I have feen, but cannot
defcribe. This only I can fay, that, frequently
travelling thither from Nice f, we ufed on the
road to difcourfe on the trees, and the foil, abun
dant in all productions, and alfo of our families,
our friends, and ancient wifdom. But after we had
pafled through the intricate windings of the hills,
when the city appeared, at the diftance of a hun-i
dred and fifty ftadia f, on all other fuhjedts a pro
found filence inftantly enfued, and, no longer en-.
gaged either by the towering branches of the
gardens, or by the fruitfulnefs of the foil, or by
* In like manner, Dr. Pococke defcribes the prefent town
as " fituated at the foot of two hills, and all up the fouth,
" fide of the weftern one, which is very high, and on part
" of the other : it is near the N. E. corner of the bay. All
" the houfes have fmall gardens, or courts, to them, efpc-
" cially thofe on the hills. The gardens are planted with
" trees §, and the vines, being carried along on frames built
" like roofs, make the city appear exceedingly beautiful.
" There .ire very few remains of the ancient Nicomedia.''
-j- Thirty-two miles. Pococke,
X About nineteen miles.
§ K>i7roi atKiajj.ttot rot; xKaioii ate the words of Libanius. the

ON NICOMEDIA. 335
the traffic of the fea, our whole converfation turned
on Nicomedia. And yet mariners, or thofe who
labour at the oar, and enfnare the fifh with nets,
or hooks, naturally attract the obfervation of tra
vellers. But the form of the city, much more
fafcinating, by its beauty tyrannifed over our eyes,
and fixed their whole attention on itfelf. Similar
were the fenfations of him who had never feen it
before, and of him who had grown old within its
walls. One fhewed to his companion the palace,
glittering over the bay ; another the theatre em-
bellifhing the whole city ; others various other rays
darted from various objects: which furpaffed it was
difficult to determine. Revering it as a facred
image, we proceeded ; in our way to Chalcedon,
it was neceffary to turn, till the nature of the road
deprived us of the fight *. This feemed like the
ceffation^of a feaft.
A city fo great, fo renowned, ought not the
whole choir of the Gods to have furrounded and
protected, exhorting each other to decree that it
fhould never be fubjected to any calamity ? But
now fome of you have deceived, others have de-
ferted,, and none affifted her. And all thefe par
ticulars, which I have mentioned, once were, but re
main no longer. What a beautiful lock has For-
.* He firft mentions the pleafure arifing from the prof.
pect of the city, as they approached ; and then their con-
pern at tofing fight of it, as they proceeded from it to
Chalcedon. B.
tune

236 A MONODY BY LIBANIUS,
tune now fevered from the world *! How has (he
blinded the other continent by thus bereaving it of
its illuftrious eye ! What a deplorable deformity
has fhe diffufed over Afia ; as if her moft fpacious
grove had been felled, as if her moft confpicuous
feature f had been lopped off! O moft injurious
earthquake, why didft thou perpetrate this ? O de
parted city ! O name of it in vain remaining ! O
grief difperfed over land and fea ! O dire intelli
gence, diftrefsful to the hearts of all ranks, of all
ages ! for what heart is fo ftony, what heart is fo
adamantine, as not to be wounded by this relation?
who is fo deftitute of tears as now to with-hold
them ? O dreadful misfortune, which has reduced
the innumerable ornaments of the city to one
ruinous heap ! O unpropkious ray f, what a city
didft
* Thus Pindar ftyles ./Etna " the front," or forehead,
" of the fruitful earth," tvxctfiroto yaia; piluKot, Pyth. I.
and Nicomedia was a beautiful city " high-mounted on a
" hill," as Sandys fays of fome other. I am afraid the hill
of Nicomedia hardly deferved the name im/Woi* y*i«j; but
a panegyrift may make mountains of molehills. B.
f Borfcx8^ o$8*ty"«, what next ? aTio-o;, jiv (" The lock,
*' the eye, the grove, the nofe.") In the name of pro
priety, what has aXo-oj to do here ? Are we to underftand it
of the hair of the head ? B.-
This idea feems anticipated by #<y-£«%05. The metaphor
indeed feems here loft, " a grove," or " wood," being no
feature, like the others. Pi». feemed in Englifh to re
quire a circumlocution.
X £1 ivrvx^S *«l»w{, "'«» /**» TpoadouXKs rnt iro\tt utaaxaaa'
ots» it afHaa xdltiv. Morell tranflates aAto; tridentis radios.
But why fliould it not mean (as ufual) the " fun's ray r"
Anx» and xsfla&yw are ufed for the " rifing and fetting of the
fun,"

ON NICOMEDIA. 23?
didft thou fmite at thy rifing, what a city funk with
thee ! The day had almoft advanced to noon * ;
the tutelar deities of the city abandoned the
temples, and fhe was left like a fliip deferted by
its crew. The lord of the trident fhook the earth,
and convulfed the ocean ; the foundations of the
city were difunited ; walls were thrown on walls,
pillars on pillars, and roofs fell headlong. What
was hidden was revealed, and what had appeared
was hidden. Statues, perfect in beauty, and complete
in every part, were blended by the concuffion in one
confufed mafs. Artificers, working at their trades,
were dafhed out of their fhops and houfes. v In
the harbour was much deftruction, and alfo of
many worthy chofen men collected about the Prffi-
feift f. The theatre involved in its ruins all who
fun." I do not recollect that alitt is ufed abfolutely, as
here, for the " prong of the trident." The trident too
is thruft under the foundation. See the beginning of the
Phceniffae of Euripides, where Jocafta, addreffing the Sun,
complains of his darting an " uupropitious ray" on Thebes.
HAlE, Seal; ttttttnatt, it. T, A.
O thou, that glorying in thy fiery fteeds,
Rolleft the orient light, refplendent Sun,
How inaufpicious didft thou dart thy beams
That rlay on Thebes, &c. Potter. Poffibly Li
banius may allude to it. B.
* Mixpoa /jtst aituxtt nfj-ipx ittpt irtoQaaott ayopxt eiixi.
Literally, " it was near high market." But Ammianus
fays, that it happened at break of day ; aad George Ce-
drenus, in the night,
f Ariftametus, the great friend and patron of Libanius,
who, in feveral of his epiftles to him, celebrates his eio,
quence and fweetnefs of manners. See p. 227. note *. He
was afterwards buried at Nice, of which he was a native. were

£3& A MONODY BY LIBANtUS,
Were in it. Some buildings, which had long flood
tottering, and others which had yet efcaped, with
all who were in them, fhared at laft the general
fate. The fea, violently agitated, deluged the
land. Fire, which abounded every where, feizing
the rafters, added to the concuffion a confla
gration * ; and fome wind, it is faid, fanned the
flames. Much of the city, much of the ramparts,
ftill remains. Of thofe who have efcaped, a few
ftill wander about wounded,
O all-feeing Sun, what were thy fcnfations on
feeing this ? Why didft not thou prevent ftlch a
city from leaving the earth r For the oxen pro
faned by the famifhed mariners f fuch Was thy
refentment as to threaten the celeftial powers that
thou wouldft give thyfelf up to Pluto X , but for
the glory of the earth, for the labour of many
kings, for the fruit of prodigious coft, deftroyed
in the day-time, thou haft no compaffion.
O faireft of cities, on what a faithlefs and fro-
ward hill didft thou fix thy feat 3 which, like a
vicious horfe, has difmounted its excellent rider?
Where are-now thy winding walks ? where are thy
* Thus at Lifbon, Meffina, and in all great earthquakes,
fire has been their conftant attendant.
f Horn. Oqyff. xii. Libanius has before taken Nep
tune to tafk ; he here reprimands Apollo.
X Alluding, to <what Apollo fays on that occafion in the
fame book of the Odyffey.
" Vengeance, ye Gods, or I the fkies forego,
" And bear the lamp of heaven to (hades below." Pope, 450.
por-

O N N I C O M E D I A. 439
porticoes? where are thy courfes, thy fountains,
thy courts of judicature, thy libraries, thy temples?
Where is all that profufion of wealth ? Where are
the young, the old ? Where are the baths of the
Graces and of the Nymphs ? of which the largeft,
named after the prince, at whofe expence it was
built, was equal in value to the whole city *.
Where is now the fenate? Where are the people?
where the women ? the children ? where is the
palace? where is the circus f, ftronger than the
walls of Babylon X • Nothing is left ftanding ;
nothing has efcaped j all are involved in one com
mon ruin.
O numerous ftreams, where now do you flow ?
what manfions do you lave ? from what fprings
do you iffue ? The various aqueducts and refervoirs
are broken. The plentiful fupply of the fountains
runs to wafte, either forming whirlpools, or ftag-
nating in moraffes ; but drawn or quaffed by no
one, neither by men nor birds. Thefe are terrified
* As Diocletian, according to Lactantius, embellifhed
Nicomedia with a great number of ftately buildings, with
a defign of equalling it to Rome, poffibly thefe baths might
be part of them, and named after him, as we know his
baths, now magnificent in ruins, were at Rome ; which, fays
Ammianus, with no fmall exaggeration, " feemed rather a
" province than a building."
f He [Diocletian] built there feveral bafilics, a circus, a
mint, an arfenal, a palace for his wife, and another for
bis fon. Lactantius.
, X The walls of Babylon were fo celebrated among the
ancients as to grow proverbial. Libanius mentions them
in like manner in his cxcvith Epiftle. by

240 A MONODY BY LIBANIUS,
by the fire which rages every where below, and,
where it has a vent, flames into the air. This city,
once fo populous, now in the day time is deferted
and defolate, but at night is poffeffed by fuch a
multitude of fpedtres, as I think muft crowd the
inhabitants of the infernal regions after they have
pafled Acheron*
Celebrated of old were the difafters of Lemnos *
and the Iliad fings the woes of Troy. Their re
membrance will be flighted, but the excefs of our
calamities any one may hence determine. Former
earthquakes, though they deftroyed fome parts of the
city, fpared others; but this has overwhelmed the
whole. Other cities have alfo periflied, but never one
of fuch a magnitude. If it had been deprived only
of bodies infected with the plague, or of thofe
perfons who, contrary to the laws f, were cele
brating
* Great misfortunes were proverbially ftyled " Lent-
" nian ;'* fome fay, from the {laughter of the Attic
women, and the children which they had by them, by the
Pelagians, who inhabited Lemnos ; others, from the mur
der of their hufbands, on account of their offenfive breath,
by the Lemnian women. See Ludolph Kufter on Suidas,
torn. II. p. 441. Bayle's Dictionary, vol. II. p. 1780'. and
Erafmus, in his Chilcades. Wolfius.
Libanius, in his xxivth Epiftle, thus alludes Xo this
paffage; " I faid little when I expreffed the ruin of Ni-
*' comedia by the misfortunes of Lemnos."
f K«L* to/xet. It feems a little hard that people fhould be
deftroyed for facrificing " according to law ;" yet xdlx toptov
is certainly " according to lavv." Let us fuppofe an error of
the prefs, and make it topa. He alludes to fome event, which
I do not recollect. I fufpect that he has taken a line from
fome Greek poet, and accommodated it to his purpofe, B.
Though

ON NICOMEDIA.
trating a general facrifice without the city, and
had not itfelf fallen, 'the ftroke might have "been
fupportable. The whole would not have been
defolated ; now both lie proftrate, and the form of
the city is cdnfufed With the flaughter of the
titizens. Lament therefore, every ifland and every con
tinent, peafants and mariners, cities, villages, cot
tages, every thing that is connected with humari
nature ; and let tears prevail over all the world,
as in iEgypt whenever Apis dies *. Even rocks
fhould now be indulged with tears, and birds with
reafon, to join in an elegiac fong. O harbour,
which fhips now carefully avoiding, rather fleer
into the ocean, their cables flipped, which for
merly wert filled with loaded veffels, but now
cannot boaft even a pleafure-boat, and art more
dreaded by mariners than even the manfion of
Scylla ! O difappointment to travellers, who no
longer frequent the road, which, gloomy and iri
the form of a crefcent, beautifully winded round
the dyk es f the haven,, but embarking fail to-
Though Libanius, like Julian, was probably acquainted!
with the Mofaic hiftory, I will not affirm that he here
alludes to it ; but certain it is, that this paffage has no
diftant affinity to the earthquake that fwallowed up Korah
and his company, for offering unhallowed incenfe, and to
the plague that deftroyed their abettors. Numbers xvi.
* When Apis dies, they behave as if they had loft their
deareft children, and bury him in the moft fumptuous man
ner. Nor do the people ceafe from lamenting till th*
priefts have found a calf" with the fame marks.
Diodobus SicuLtrs,
Vol. II. B. wards

~24i a Monody by liSaNius, i
wards the hill, to which they formerly haftened*
[by land], trembling as at Charybdis, and unable to
conjecture in what part of the fea they ufed to
ftand on the fhore ! O deareft of cities ! in your
ruin you have involved your inhabitants ; you have
deftroyed them by your fall ; fo that all mankind
apply themfelves to ^applications, thinking the ex
tinction of their whole race determined. After the
lofs of this moft valuable poffeflion, nothing here
after, they apprehend, will be fpared. Who will
fupply me with wings to Waft me thither ? Who will
place me on an eminence to view the diftrefsfuJ
fight? For a lover has fome confolation in feeing
furrounded by the objects of his affection, though
in ruins *.

* For the notes on this and the following Monody,'
©larked B, I am obliged to a learned ahd amiable friendi

A MO

A MONODY by LIBANIUS,
ON THE
Daphnsean Temple of Apollo, deftroyedfby
Fire, or, as it is faid, by Lightning *.
lELLOW-citizens, whofe eyes, like mine, are A- D-
361.
now involved in darknefs f, this city we fhall
no longer ftyle beautiful or great J.
* The Greek title of this Monody is more perfect in the
Royal MS. which I have followed, than in the Bavarian ;
m which it is only ftyled, " A Monody on the Daphnsean
*' Temple of Apollo." But the corollary, which is added
to the infcription here adopted, does not give ths fenti-
ttients of Libanius, who had conceived an idea, that fome
incendiary by a fmall fpark had kindled this great confla
gration, as he fays, in the beginning; and foon after, that
he may obviate the opinion of thunder from heaven, he
adds, that " it happened in a clear and cloudlefs fky ;'*
Which to the orthodox increafes the miracle, of which St.
John Chryfoftom, the contemporary of our Libanius, in his
ift Difcourfe on the Martyr St. Babylas, p. 725. " As
" foon as the bier was brought to the city, lightning
" fell from heaven on the head of the image, and con-
" fumed every thing." And the Emperor Julian too was
well aware of this; " he knew that the blow came from
" heaven j" though he afferts, in the Mifopogon, that " the
" temple~was deftroyed by the negligence of the keepers,
" and the prefumption of the impious." Morell.
After the interment of St. Babylas, Apollo gave oracles
as before ; and Julian caufed a f'uperb colonnade to be built
round his temple. But in the night of the 2^d of October,
36a, a fire confumed the wood work of that ancient edi
fice, and the ftatue itfelf ; nor could Julian, who haftened
R 2 to

2*4 A MONODY BY LIBANltfg,
to the place, fupply any remedy. That Jire was afcribed
by the Chriftians to the divine vengeance, and by Julian to
the refentment and jealoufy of the Chriftians. He fufpected
the facrift, and "the minifters who kept the temple, of being
in a confederacy with them. But thofe idolaters,- being put
to the torture, accufed no one. On the contrary, they
conftantly affirmed, that the fire began from above ; and
fome peafants, who were that night on the road in their
way to the city, faid, they faw fire from heaven fall qn the
temple, though the weather was very calm, and there waa(
no appearance of a ftorm. Julian, however, either by way
of reprifal, or to prevent the Chriftians from triumphing,
ordered the great church of Antioch to be fhut, and its
riches to be carried to the imperial tre'afury.
La Bleterie.
See alfo Vol. 1. p. 247, 248.
f What darknefs hangs over the eyes of the Antiochians ?
Is it the darknefs of a cloud, which
With mifts and filSns involves their mortal fight ?
Such as the Pallas of Homer boafts to have removed from
Diomed, and the Venus of Virgil from iEneas ? Oris it the
gloom of forrow, which, hanging over the eyes of the
fnind, obfcures the ufe of reafon and thought ? Morell.
X On the beauty and extent of Antioch, fee Philoftratus
on the Life of Apollonius', /. I. c. xii. p. 21. " Apollonius
»' came to Antioch the Great," &c. and our Libanius, in
hi? oration to Theodofius the Great, on the fedition, in be
half of the Antiochians, where, in the conclufion on the mif-
fort'unes of that city, he adds, as here, " our city is be-
" come different, or, to fpeak more truly, it is no .longer
" a city." Aufonins celebrates it among the famous cities,
lertia Phosbea lau'ri domuS Antiocbia.
With the Phcebean laurel grac'd, the third
Ij Antioch.
After the firft fentence, Chryfoftom in the fame placet
d.clarcs, that Libanius added i'omething of the fable of
Daphne, and perhaps it was the fable which Philoftratus,
in che above mentioned paffage, calls " Aroadian," and
explains as follows : " He entered the fane of Daph-
" r.a;an Apollo^ to which the Affyrians afcribe the Ar-
"' cadian fable. For they fay, that Daphne, the daugh-
. *' ter of Ladon, vv?s there transformed ; and the rive?
1,1 Ladon ^flows among ttitm, and the laurel -;.'eo is hO-
" noured by them, 0.1 acccunt oi' that virgin." Ibid*
* - . [A king

On theDAPHN^AN TEMPLE.
• • • [A king of Perfia, one of the anceftors of
him who is now at war with us, having by trea
chery taken and burnt the city, as he was preparing
the fame fate for Daphne, was fo thoroughly di.
verted from his purpofe by the Deity, that, throwing
away the torch which he brandifhed, he proftrated
himfelf, and adored Apollo : fo appeafed was his re
fentment, fo checked was his fury *.] He, though
he led an army againft us, thought proper to pre
ferve this temple, and the beauty of the image re
trained his barbaric fury. But now, O heaven and
earth, who and whence is that traitor, who want
ing neither light -j- nor heavy-armed foot J, nor
* This I have not publifhed in the Greek, becaufe it
jivas not in our Royal and Bavarian MS. And John Chry
foftom himfelf, though he did not infert it in its properplace,
hurried away by the eddy of his difcourfe, yet afterwards
pays it as a debt, or brings it back as a fugitive, with this
introduction, " You read this in the beginning of the
" Monody, " A king of Perfia," &c. [as above]. But
who was this king of Perfia, unlefs it were Sapor, the
fecond king,who, according toZofimus, fucceeded Artaxerxes
the firft king?. The fame took Antioch, and held it till the
Emperor Gordian, having defeated the Perfians in feveral
battles, difpoffefled king Sapor, and recovered Antioch,
with Carrhse and Nifibis, all which were under the Perfian
dominion, as Julius Capitolinus relates in his Gordian.
Morell.
+ The light-armed foot of thg Greeks " fought with
arrows, darts, and flings ; and were placed either in the van
to begin an engagement, or on the flank of the wings to
gall the enemies cavalry, and prevent their breaking in.
J The heavy-armed foldiers engaged with long fpears,
broad fhields, and cutting {'words'. The Grecian cavalry
Wds not very numerous. R 3 horfe,

A MONODY BY LIBANIUS,
horfe, has confumed the whole with a fmall fpark ?
Nor was our temple deftroyed by a violent ftorm?
but in a ferene and cloudlefs fky. Hitherto,,
Apollo, your altars thirfting for blood, you have
remained the conftant and careful guardian off
Daphne; and though neglected, and fo far con
temned as to be ftripped of your outward orna
ments, you acquiefced. But now, when many
Iheep, many oxen, have been offered to you-,
when the facred lips of an Emperor * have im-
preffed your feet ; feen by him whom you have.
exalted, feeing him whom you have proclaimed, and
delivered from the hateful neighbourhood of a
certain dead body f, which difturbed you, you
have withdrawn from the midft of your worfliip.
How can we now expect to be honoured, in fu
ture, by thofe who have a veneration for temples
and images I When fatigued in our minds, of what
a relief, O Jupiter, are we deprived ! How pure,
how free from all tumults, was the region of
Daphne ! how much ftill purer was the fhrine !
like a haven formed by nature within a haven ;
both being tranquil, but the inner affording the
moft tranquillity. Who did not there lofe his
difeafes, his fears, his forrows ? Who there wifhed,
* Julian. The Pagans ufed religioufly to kifs the images
of their Gods, if" they could, and putting their hands to
their mouths, they wafted kiffes to them at a diftance.
From this cuftom fome derive the word 'adoro. Thus Job,
xxxi. 27. If my mouth hath kiffed my hand, &c. Wolfius.
t The regains of Tabylas. See the Mifopogon, Vol. I.
p. 347. for

On the DAPHNiEAN TEMPLE.
for the ifland of the bleffed ? Ere long will be the
Olympic games *;that annual feftival will convene
the cities; thefe cities too will come, bringing oxen
as victims to Apollo. What then fhall we do ?
Where fhall we fecrete ourfelves ? Which of the
. Gods will open the earth for us ? What herald,
what trumpet, but will excite tears? Who now will
ftyle the Olympic games a feftival, as this late mif-
fortune fuggefts fo dire a lamentation ?
Bring me my bow of horn f,
fays the tragedy. I add, a little in the fpirit of
prophecy, That thus I may attackj and thus deftroy,
The vile incendiary.
O impious deed ! O facrilegious foul ! O daring
hand ! Surely this was another Tityus J, or Idas §,
* Of Antioch. In the adjacent fields a ftadium wa;
built by a fpecial privilege, which had been purchafed frorn.
Eiis 5 the Olympic games were regularly celebrated at the
expence of the city ; and a revenue of thirty thou,fan4
pounds fterling was annually applied to the public pleafures. Gibbon.
In three of his Epiftles Libanius urges three of his
friends to fupply thefe games with wreftlers ; and in his
Life, pp. 59 and 68, he mentions two orations which he
compofed on that folemnity, which are not now extant.
A third is in his works, Vol. II. p. 538.
¦f Ao; ro|a pot xigovkxa. Euripides in Orefte, 2 £8.
X Struck by Jupiter with a thunderbolt, for attempting
Jo ravifh Latona. See Odyff. xi. 575. and JEn. vi. 595,
§ — matchlefs Idas, more than man in war.
The G°d °f day ador'd the mother's charms,
Againft the God the father bent his arms.
Pope, II. ix. 672.
Let us not imitate that daring Idas, who bent his bow,
it is faid, againft the God ; for this is waging war with
Apollo. Libanius.
R 4 the

148 A MO NOD Y BY LIB A NT US,
the brother of Lynceus, not an archer, indeed, like
the one, ojp a giant, like the other,, but a proficient in
nothing fave frenzy towards the Gods. The fons of
Aloe'us *, while they meditated mifchief againft the
Cods, you, Apollo, quieted by death; but him, bring
ing fire from afar, your arrow did not arreft, tranf-
fixing his heart. O wicked hand of Telchin f \
O injurious fire ! What did it firft catch ? Where
did the evil begin ? Seizing the roof, did it defcend
to the inferior parts, to the head, the face, the cup f,
the tiara, or the Rowing robe ? 'Vulcan, the dif-
/¦. ' .,
* Othus and Ephialtes, who being of a gigantic ftature, *
and threatening to make war againft the Gods, were tranf-
fixed and flain by the darts of Apollo and Diana. ^See
JEn. vi. 582.
+ The Telchifies, who inhabited Rhodes, were the inven
tors of feveral arts and other things beneficial to mankind^
They are alfo faid firft to have made images of the Gods,
and fome of the ancient ftatues were furnamed from them.
Thus among the Lindians Apollo was called Telchinius,
Juno was alfo ftyled Telchinia. . . They were called en
chanters ; and were faid to produce, when they' pleafed,
clouds and rain, and to generate hail, and to be invidious
in teaching their arts. Diodorus Siculus.
Thus it appears that the Telchinians were a people of
great ingenuity, by which they got a bad name, like our
Roger Bacon, and the German Fauftus, who is fuppofed at
this' very day to have dealt with the Devil ; fo that this
exclamation, n &f»«s TtX^ivof, ftandihg in immediate con
nexion with the preceding fentence, Telchin here muft be
Apollo. And perhaps he means to gjve Apollo a rap here?
as-;he did Neptune [and Apollo too] in the other Monody. B'.
X The coloffal figure of the deity almoft filled the Ca
pacious fanctuary. He was reprefented in a bending atti
tude, with' a golden ciip in his hand, pouring out a libation,
oh the earth ; as if he fupplicated the venerable mother to
give to his arms the cold and beauteous Daphne, Gibbon.. penfer

On the DAPHN^AN TEMPLE,
#enfer of fire, though indebted to the God for his
former obliging difcovery *, did not rebuke this
waftifag flame. Nor did Jupiter, who has the
command of rain, pour water on it, th9ugh for the
unfortunate king of Lydia he extinguifhed the fu-j
neral pile f .
What was the 'firft , fuggeftion of him whq
undertook this enterprife ? whence this raflmefs ?
how could, he retain his fury ? how could he avoid
abandoning his purpofe through reverence for his
beauty of the God ? My fancy, O my countrymen,
jirefents me with the form of the God, and fets
before my eyes his image, the complacency of the
afgpp-, the tendernefs of the fkin expreffed in the
marble, the fafh over his breaft confining the golden
robe, fo that fome parts of it fUbfided, and others
rofe, What mind had fuch fervour that the whole
appearance of the ftatue could not calm ? For the
God feemed in the act of finging ; or as when he
was once heard playing on his harp at noon. The
fong was in praife of the Earth, on whom, gaping
|p receive the virgin, and then contracting to coh-
* Alluding to that paffage of Homer, Odyffey vm?
where, in the loves of Mars and Venus, fung by Demodocus,
Warn'd by the God. who flied the golden day,
Stern Vulcan homeward treads the ftarry way, Broome.
f Crcefus, being placed by Cyrus on a funeral pile,
praying to Apollo was faved by a fliower of rain, which
extinguifhed the flames, See Herodotus, I. 8y. Julian
afcribes this miracle to Jupiter. ceal

»50 A MONODY BY LIBANIUS,
ceal her, he feemed to pour a libation from the
golden cup.
At the eruption of flames the traveller exclaimed ;
the guardian of Daphne, the domeftic prieftefs of
the God, was alarmed j the beating of bofoms,
and ftirill fhrieks, echoing through the fpacious
groves, foon reached the city, diffufing univerfal
grief and horror. The prince *, whofe eye had
fcarce yet yielded to fleep, at the dreadful intelli
gence fprung from his bed. Tranfported with fury,
and wifhing for the wings of Mercury, he rufhed
forth to inyeftigate the caufe. Inwardly he burnt
no lefs than the temple. The rafters now fell, fcat-
tering the fire below, which deftroyed all thatwas
within its reach; [the ftatue of] Apollo imme
diately, being near to the roof ; then other orna
ments of the temple, the Mufes, the ftatues of
the founders, the fplendid marbles, the beautiful
pillars. Crowds of fpectators flood by lamenting,
but unable to aflift, Hke thofe, who from land be-i
holding a fhipwreck, can afford no relief but their
tears. The Nymphs, leaving their fountains, loudly
exclaimed; fo did Jupiter, who fat not far diftant,
lamenting, as became him, the tarnifhed honours!
of his fon ; fo did alfo an innumerable throng of
Demons who inhabit the foreft. Nor fefs was the
lamentation of Calliope, in the middle of the
* Julian,

On the D APHN^AN TEMPLF, 2.$\
city *, when the high-prieft of the Mufes was
injured by the flames * * * * \.
As propitious may'ft thou now be to me, Apollo,
as Chryfes rendered thee, when he imprecated ven
geance on the Greeks, full of indignation, and
" dark as night J." Since while we were offering fa-
crifices to thee, and were reftoring whatever had
been purloined from thy temple, the object of our
worfhip has been fnatched away from us ; like a
bridegroom, who, while the garlands are weaving
for his nuptials, dies.
* I have an idea that there was a ftatue of Calliope in
the middle of Antioch, to which Libanius here alludes ;
and alfo in one of his Epiftles. See Vol. I. p. 324. And
from a paffage in his Dccxxxvnth Epiftle, to Rufinus, it
feems to have been erected to that chief of the Mufes by
the great-great-grandfather of that friend,
T Something here is wanting.
J NukIi iowala. Horn. II. I. 47.
Preathing revenge, a fudden night he fpread. Pope 65.

THE

THE
HISTORY O F T H E
EMPEROR JOVIAN.
From the French
Of the Abbe de la BLETERIE,
¦¦ ¦' - » hfelix brevitate regendi.

T H ti
AtlTHOR's PREFACL
A S the empire and religion are at the death of
-^ -*- Julian in a kind of crifis which intefefts the
turiofity of the readeri the Life of that prince
would remain in fofne degree imperfect, if the
Hiftory of Jovian were not annexed to it. Though
he reigned only a few months, and though, ' in our
age, when fingularity alone may fupply the place
of merit, his character maf be lefs intereftirig than
that of his predecefibr, I may venture to fay, that
his hiftory prefents fome memorable facts, and
fuggefts more reflections than the long reigns of
many other fovereigns.
It is characterifed by two remarkable events*
one good, the other bad : I mean the re-eftablifh-
ment of Chriftianity, which is feen to re-afcend
the throne of the Ciefars^ never again to leave it ;
and that fatal treaty of peace, which announces
arid begins the fall of the Roman greatnefs. It is
thus that he who di&elleths in the hedvens laughs at
the defigns of his enemies. Julian flattered him
felf with reftoring his empire to its ancient fplendor.
6 He

t5B ' TheAUTHOR's PREFACE.
He had, or feemed to have, moft of the talents
neceffary for the execution of this plan ; yet the
imprudence of Julian muft have been the caufe,;
or, at leaft, the occafion, of the ruin of the empire.
Julian made no doubt of fuppreffing the Chriftian
religion : but Providence had decreed that he
Ihould be the laft Pagan Emperor. The war which
he waged with Sapor was preparatory to that
which he meditated againft us [the Gauls]. He
thought that the conqueft of Perfia would give him
fufficient leifure and authority to complete by force
of arms the work which his cunning and his artifices
had only fketched ; yet it was really that war
which preferved the Chriftians from the other
which he was preparing againft them ; it was that
war which took him out of the world, and gave
the Romans an Emperor who was zealous enough
to make Chriftianity triumph by means worthy, of
the true religion.
Hitherto the reigti of Jovian has remained loft,
as it were, in general hiftory. I fhall be thanked,
perhaps, for fnatching it from oblivion, I have
treated it with all the care of which I am capable,
and I dare not fay how much it has coft me.
Hiftory is not a compilation of facts collected ai
random, a brilliant collection of pretty thoughts, a
tiffue of learned differtations. It is neither a pa
negyric, nor a fatire ;v it ought to be an impartial
and cfifinterefted narration, fimple and natural,
though' femimental, always eafy in its ftyle, even
2 wheri

The AUTHOR'S PREFACE. *57
When it offers the refult of many refearches artd
difcuflions. It ought, if I may fo fay, to render
the reader contemporary with the events, to in-
ftrudt without fatiguing him, to enlighten without
dazzling him, to make him think, and to give him
the pleafure of believing that he thinks for himfelf,
not faying every thing, and leaving nothing to be
wifhed, allowing neither too much nor too little to
conjecture, and removing apparent contradictions
by lucky difcoveries ; in a word, it fhould fupply
the place of original authors to thofe who have it
not in their power to read them, and enable thofe,
Who can confult them, to read them with more
pleafure and emolument. I have endeavoured to
Write in this manner the Hiftory of Jovian. I do
not flatter myfelf with having fucceeded ; happy
if connoiffeurs find fome marks of refemblance
between the execution and the idea.

Vol. II, S HISTORY

a$8

H I S T O R Y
O F T H E
EMPEROR JOVIAN.
A- D- TT may be feen, in the Life of Julian, that that
-*- prince; after paffing the Tigris above Ctefiphon,
by an extravagance which even fuccefs could not
excufe, burned his fleet and provifions *. He was
defirous
* He deftroyed, in a fingle hour, the whole navy, which
had been tranfported above five hundred miles, at fo great
an expence of toil, of treafure, and of blood. Twelve, or,
at the moft, twenty-two fmall veffels were faved, to accom
pany on carriages the march of the army, and to form oc-
cafional bridges for the paffage of the rivers. A fupply of
twenty days provifions was referved for the ufe of the fol
diers; and the reft of the magazines, with a fleet of eleven,
hundred veffels, which rode at anchor in the Tigris, were
abandoned to the flames, by the abfolute command of the
Emperor. The Chriftian bifhops, Gregory and Auguftin,
infult the madnefs of the apoftate, who executed, with
his own hands, the fentence of divine juftice. Their au
thority, of lefs weight perhaps in a military quefti^n, is
confirmed by the cool judgement of an experienced foldier
[Ammianus], who was himfelf fpe£lator of the confla
gration, and who could not difapprove the reluctant mur
murs of the troops. Yet there are not wanting fome fpe
cious, and perhaps folid, reafons, which might juftify the
refolution of Julian. The navigation of the Euphrates
never afcended above Babylon, nor that of the Tigris above
Opis. The diftance of the laft-mentioned city from the
Roman camp was not very confiderable ; and Julian muft
fe»n hav* renounced the vain and impracticable attemptof forcing

HISTORY OF JOVIAN. t$S
firous of penetrating into the heart of Affyria; but
at the end of fome days march, finding neither
corn nor forage, becaufe the Perfians had laid all
the country wafte, he was obliged to approach the
Tigris. Being unable to pafs it for want of boats,
he took for the model of his retreat that of the
ten thoufand *, and refolved to gain, like them,
the country of the Carduci, called in his time
forcing upwards a great fleet againft the ftream of a rapid
river, which in feveral places was embarraffed by natural or
artificial cataracts. The power of fails and oars was in-
fufficient ; it became neceffary to tow the fhips againft the
current of " the river; the ftrength of 20,000 foldiers was
exhaufted in this tedious and fervile labour; and if the
Romans continued to march, along the banks of the Tigris,
they could only expe£l to return home without atchieving
any enterprife worthy of the genius or fortune of their
leader. If, on the contrary, it was advifeable to advance
into the inland country, the deftruction of the fleet and
magazines was the only meafure which could fave that
valuable prize from the hands of the numerous and active
troops which might fuddenly be poured from the gates of
Ctefiphon. Had the arms of Julian been victorious, we
mould now admire the conduct, as well as the courage, of
a hero, who, by depriving his foldiers of the hopes of a
retreat, left them only the alternative of death or con
queft. Recollect the fuccefsful and applauded rafhnefs of
Agathocles and Cortez, who burnt their fhips on the coafts
•f Africa and Mexico, Gibbon.

the martial throng,

Up Tigris' banks who wound their march along;
O'er wilds and mountains held their toilfome way,
By hofts aflaulted, and the folar ray ;
By thirft, by famine, by eternal fnows —
Whom heaven and earth united to oppofe.
Unconquer'd ftill the Greeks each peril meet,
Regain their fhores, and dignify retreat. Irwiw.
S 2, Cprduenhe,

*6o HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
Corduenne, a name which is ftill found in that of
Curdes and Curdiftan. Corduenne, then fubject to
the Romans, is fituated on the north of Affyria.
Thus marching on that fide, Julian had the Tigris
oh his left, and went up towards the fource of
that river.
Superior in every attack to the lieutenants of
Sapor, whether they waited for him in line of
battle, or contented themfelves with infulting him '
on his march, he was ftill advancing, when on the
26th of June, 363, repulfing the enemy with too.
much ardour, he received a wound, of which he
died the night following *.
At the death of Julian the Roman army was in
a ftrange fituation; victorious, but in want of
every thing. Corduenne, its only refource, was ftill
far diftant. To reach this province it muft traverfe
without provifions, beneath a burning fky, a ruined
country, fuftahvin this march the continual at-
•* The defection of this great man from the pureft of
all religions cannot be defended, though it may be ac
counted for ; ahd his averfion and difcountenance to Chrif
tians fuit not the informed and liberal mind of Julian in
other points. It will fuffice to fay, that his life feems to
' ha.ve belied the name of Apoftate, which he brought upon
himfelf by his deviation from the faith in which he was
educated. If the paths of Virtue lead to the temple of
Truth, he invariably trod them ; and may charitably be '
fuppofed to have arrived, by an indirect courfe, at the di
vine goal. The circumftances of his death are fo fimilar to
thofe of Epaminondas, that we muft be rejoiced to find
their lives were equally dignified by purfuits that rendered
their end immortal. ' Irwin. tacks,

HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
tacks of the Perfians, always formidable though
vanquifhed, becaufe they were as ready to rally
as to fly, and, befides, as the death of Julian had
raifed the hopes of king Sapor.
It feemed difficult to remain without a chief; the
moments were precious. On the 27th of June,
therefore, at break of day, the officers met to
choofe a fucceffor to Julian, who had juft expired.
The creatures of that prince *, and thofe who
ftill remained of the old court f, having neither
the fame interefts, nor the fame views, all earneftly
defired an Emperor of their own faction ; but as
neither of the two factions had had time to con
cert among themfelves, all their fuffrages, not one
excepted, were united in favour of Salluft the
fecond, Prafecl of the Prastorium,of the Eaft. This
illuftrious Pagan, whofe virtue cannot be fuffi
ciently admired and lamented, completed the jufti-
fication of that choice by the firmnefs with which
he refufed to load himfelf with a burthen too op-
preffive, he faid, both for his age and infirmities.
A fubaltern officer J, then feeing the embarraffment
into which the perfevering refufal of Salluft had
thrown the affembly, faid to the generals, " What
* Nevitta, Dagalaiphus, and the Gallic officers. B.
+ Arintheus, Victor, &c. :B,
X Thus I tranflate that expreffion, honoratior aliquis miles.
I fufpect that Ammianus thus defcribes himfelf. B.
The modeft and judicious hiftorian defcribes the' fcene of
the election, at which he was undoubtedly prefent (xxv. 5.)
Gibbon.
S 3 ** would

tfa HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
" would you do, if the prince, inftead of march-
" ing in perfon, had given you the command of
" the army ? You would only think of extricating
" yourfelves from this dilemma. Act, as if he
" were ftill living ; and when wc have once reached
" Mefopotamia, in concert with the army of ob»
ie fervation we will choofe an Emperor, whofe
" election cannot be contefted." This perhaps
would have been the beft advice; but fome on a
hidden exalted their voices in favour of Jovian, and
by their tumultuous clamours drew away all the
reft, without giving them time to confider.
Flavius Claudius Jovianus, aged about 33
years, was the firft of the Emperor's guards *. He
had conducted the corpfe of Conftantius to the im
perial city ; and as, according to cuftom, fitting in
the fuuereal car, he received in fome fort the
honours which were paid to that prince, it was
imagined, after the event, that this honourable, but
tranfient and mournful, employment had been the
prognoftic and image of his future grandeur -f.
The
* Jovian was not captain of the guards, as fome have
thought ; but only what was called domefticorum ordinis pri
mus. What rank this was we know not. Domeftici, or pro.
tcBores domeftici, are certainly the body-guards. B.
The primus, or primicerius, enjoyed the dignity of a fe
nator, and though only a tribune, he ranked with the mili
tary dukes. Cod. Theodofian. I. vi. tit. xxiv. Thefe privileges
are perhaps more recent than the time of Jovian. Gibbon.
f Wherever the Emperors parted, deputies were fent
to them : they Were harangued, famples of the provifions
intended for the tioops were prefented to them, the horfes
» were

HISTORY OF JOVIAN. 263
The nobility of his family afcended no higher than
count Varronian, his father, born in the territory
of the city of Singidon in Myfia, and probably a
foldier of fortune, who, for his merit, had been
appointed to the command of the Jovians : Such
was the appellation of a body of troops formed by
Diocletian, who, it is known, had taken the fur-
name of Jovius. It was owing perhaps to his
regard for the troop of which he was chief, that
Varronian made one of his children bear the name
of Jovian. This officer, full of years and glory,
ftill enjoyed his high reputation in retirement.
Some even pretend that it conftituted the prin
cipal merit of his fon. But to refute them it is
fufficient to fay, that though Jovian had declared
that he would rather quit the fervice than renounce
the Chriftian religion, Julian did not ceafe to keep
him near his perfon, and to take him with him,
when he fet out on his fatal expedition. Julian
was well acquainted with his talents, A confeffor
of the faith, whom an apoftate and intolerant
monarch thought worthy to retain a place of con
fidence, was certainly no ordinary "fubject. The
Pagans themfelves do juftice to his valour, and if
were fhewn to them, &c. which the public maintained for
the ufe of thofe who travelled by order of the court. The
fame ceremonial was obferved with regard to the Emperors
after their deaths. On that occafion he who attended the
corpfe acted and fpoke, without doubt, in the name of the
late Emperor. It was a kind of fovereignty which expired
on the tomb of th? prince. See Amm, I, xxi. c, ult, B.
S 4 they

264 HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
they fometimes fpeak of him as a timid prince,
this reproach falls rather on the politician than the
warrior. To finifli his portrait, without copying the Chrif
tian authors, who might here perhaps feem lefs
credible, I will chiefly confine myfelf to the tefti
mony of Ammianus and Eutropius, both Pagans,
who were in the Perfian war, and of whom the
former ferved in the guards with Jovian. With the
fentiments of a generous and beneficent foul this
prince united affable manners, a fund of gaiety
which induced him to joke with thofe who ap
proached him, fufficient application and activity,
but too little experience. He had fuch a know
ledge of mankind as promifed difcernment in the
diftribution of employments; fome literature *, and
great regard for men qf learning ; an extreme at
tachment to his religion, but a great refpeft to con-
fcienee, which he thought accountable only to
God. Zealous without bitternefs, and moderate
k without indifference, he profeffed orthodoxy ; but
he perfecuted neither heretics^ nor even Pagans.
It is faid, that thefe excellent qualities were accom
panied with fome faults. Ammianus accufes him
of loving wine and the table, and fome other
pleafures ftill more unbecoming a Chriftian. Men
are apt to be inconfiftent, and their belief has not
always a fufficient influence on -their morals.
*¦ This feems to me the fenfe of thofe words of Amml-
arujSj Mediocriter crudiius, magifque bencvolus, B.
(< But,"

HISTORY OF JOVIAN. 265
ff But," fays the fame author, " the refpect which
*c he owed to his purple would have corrected
" them *." Jovian was in ftature much above the
common ftandard, and large in proportion, fo that
it was difficult to find an imperial habit that would
fit him. He was round-fhouldered, as he appears
alfo on his medals, and had a majeftic air, but a
heavy walk. The gaiety of his mind fparkled on
his face and in his eyes. He is ranked among the
good princes. Perhaps he would have been placed
among the greateft, if he had afcended the throne
at a juncture lefs fatal, and if he had reigned
longer. The army was ftill ignorant, it feems, of the
death of Julian. It was beginning to leave the
camp, in order to march, when the new Emperor
appeared, and, invefted with the marks of his
dignity, repaired to the different quarters to fhew
himfelf to the foldiers. The name of Jovian re-
founded on all fides ; but the refemblance of this
name to that of Julian caufing a miftake, fome
cried, Julian Augustus. Their cries, foon ap'-
proaching by degrees to the vanguard already at a
diftance from the camp, were repeated with the ;
moft lively tranfports. It was imagined that the
wound of Julian was not dangerous, and that he
was leaving his tent, according to cuftom, in the
* Thefe are the hiftorian's own words, Edax tamen et
•vino venerique indulgais ; qua vitia imperiali verecundid forfitan
corrtxiffet, B,
a midft

z£i> HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
midft of acclamations. But this tranfient joy was
immediately fucceeded by affliction and tears, as
foon as the prefence of Jovian announced what had
juft happened.
Such is the recital of an eye-witnefs, a Pagan
indeed, but an impartial writer; I mean Ammianus
Marcellinus. His teftimony does not allow us to
underftand literally what Theodoret wrote about
half a century after him, of the perfect unani
mity with which all the army demanded Jovian
for Emperor, while the officers were affembled for
the election. Nothing, however, obliges us to re
ject what the fame father adds : " Jovian," he fays,
" was placed on a tribunal prepared in hafte ; the
te names of Auguftus and Emperor were given
" him. The prince then faid to the foldiers, with
" his ufual franknefs, that, being a Chriftian, he
" could not command Pagans, and that he faw the
" wrath of the living God ready to fall on an army of
" idolaters." " You command Chriftians," exclaimed
with one voice thofe who heard him. " The reign
" of fuperftition has been too fhort to efface from
*' our minds and our hearts the inftrudtions of the
" great Conftantine and his fon Conftantius. Im.
" piety has not had time to take root in the fouls
" of thofe who have embraced it *."
While Jovian received the homage of the army,
* Ammianus, calmly purfuing his narrative, overthrows
this legend by a tingle fentence : Hoftiis pro Joviano extifque
infpeBis, pronuntiaium eft, &c. xxv. 6. Gibbon,
6 an

HISTORY OF JOVIAN. 267
an enfign of whom he had reafon to complain *,
fearing his refentment, deferted to the enemy. He
found Sapor, who had juft joined his troops, at the
head of a confiderable reinforcement. This fugitive,
admitted to an audience of the great king, told him,
that " Julian was no more ; and that the fervants
" of the army had tumultuoufly fupplied his place
*' with the phantom of an Emperor, one only of
" the body-guard, a man without vigour, without
".courage, without capacity." At this unexpected
news the monarch 'ftarted with joy. The valour
of Julian, and the rapidity of his conquefts, had
fo alarmed him, that he paid no attention to his
hair, and ate on the ground as in the greateft ca
lamities. The Perfians, even after the death of that
formidable enemy, reprefented him, in their hiero-
glyphical paintings, under the emblem of thunder,
or of a lion vomiting flames ; fuch was the terror
With which he had impreffed them. Sapor, who
faw himfelf at the fummit of his wifhes at the very
time when he thought himfelf on the brink of de-
ftrudtion, flattered himfelf that the Romans would no
longer ftand before him, and detached a body of
cavalry -f- full fpeed to fall on their rear-guard,
with the troops that had fought the preceding day.
Sapor had no doubt that the Romans were on
their march ; but the election of Jovian had fuf-
* He was an enemy of Varronian. By mangling the re
putation of the father, he deferved the hatred of the fon. B.
•J- Perhaps the ten thoufand Immortals, Gibbon. pended

-6S HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
pended their departure ; and this prince thought
of deferring it till the next day. The Pagans,
for all were not converted, having offered fome
facrifices of thankfgiving for his election to the
empire, the augurs found in the entrails of the
victims that all would be loft, if they remaiued in
the camp, but that they fhould gain fome advan
tage, if they began their march. As the Emperor
knew how much fuperftition can affect courage,
he did not hefitate to purfue the latter. The Ro
mans had fcarce left their entrenchments when they
faw themfelves attacked. Their cavalry was at firft
put into diforder by the elephants which preceded
that of the Perfians; but the legionaries fo vigoroufly
fuftained the fliock of the hoftile fquadrons, that
they forced them to retire. On the fide of the.
Barbarians, befides fome elephants, a great number
of foldiers were left on the field. The Romans,
however, paid too dearly for that advantage, as it
coft them three of their braveft officers *.
After having paid them the laft duties, as well
as the time and place would permit, they encamped
near a caftle named Sumera -f- ; and on the next
day, for want of a better defence, they entrenched
* Tribunes. ,
f On the banks' of the Tigris, about one hundred miles
above Ctefiphon. In the ninth century, Sumere, or Sa
mara, became, with a flight change of name, the royal
refidence of the Khalifs of the houfe of Abbas. The
obfcure villages' of the inland-country are irrecoverably loft;
nor can we name the held of battle where Julian fell.
* Gibbon. them-

HISTORY OF JOVIAN. *H
themfelves in a valley furrounded by eminences
which left only one outlet. From the top of thofe
hills, covered with trees, the Perfians rained on
the camp a fliower of arrows, which they ac
companied with the bittereft taunts, calling the
Romans " traitors, and the murderers of their
" Emperor." Thofe reproaches originated from the
frivolous difcourfe of fome deferters, and the en
deavours which the great king ineffectually employ-
• ed to difcover who had delivered him from Julian.
Sapor having offered a reward proportioned to
the importance of the fervice without any one
appearing to claim it, he concluded that Julian had
been killed by one of his own fubjects ; as if it
were impoflible for that rafh prince to have been
ftruck either by a dart thrown at random *, or that
the horfeman, who wounded him, might himfelf
have loft his life.
Libanius indeed has difplayed all his rhetoric to
give fome colour to this accufation. This fophift
abfolutely infifts that the fatal blow, which fhort-
ened the days of Julian, came from a Chriftiaij
hand directed and employed by the chief of the
Chriftians -f. By this Libanius probably means fome
* Thus Ahab was killed by a certain man who drew a
bovo at a venture. I Kings xxii. 34.
-j- Wt\o\r,t nXr^at ru atyut avlut aexovli. Implens acceptum ah
eo qui praeft Mis mandatum. Perhaps it fhould be tranf
lated praerat ; as the oration gf Libanius was not com
pofed till the reign of Theodofius. I have retained in the
Irene i«

HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
fome diftinguifhed bifhop, whom he makes the
author of a confpiracy formed againft the life of
Julian. He pretends that he was privately ac
quainted with all the particulars of that dreadful
tragedy, and that there needed only public au
thority to unravel and afcertain its horrors. Li
banius, however, utters only conjectures that are
eafily confuted by other conjectures as probable as
his ; and as to the pretended confpiracy, the pro
found filence of all writers of the fame religion is
a proof either that they had not heard it men
tioned, or at leaft that they confidered it as a fable *.
Thofe authors, and Zofimus himfelf, fay exprefsly,
or plainly fuppofe, that Julian was wounded by
a foldier of Sapor. The malignity of Zofimus is
Well known : all the evil which he has not faid of
the Chriftians, and which others have faid of them,
has much the air of a calumny.
French the equivocal expreffion of the Greek. It is im
poflible to know what bifliop Libanius had in view. It is
furmifed that it might have been either St. Bafil or St.
Gregory of Nazianzus. For my part, I think that in the
time of Julian there was no bifhop in the Eaft who deferved
the name of " chief of the Chriftians" better than St.
Athanafius. B.
* Above fixteen years after the death of Julian, the
charge was folemnly and vehemently urged in a public
oration, addreffed by Libanius to the Emperor Theodofius.
The fufpicions are unfupported by fact or argument, and
w,e can only efteem the generous zeal of the fophift of
Antioch for the cold and neglected aflies of his friend.
> Gibbon. After

HISTORY OF JOVIAN. 27'
After all, that a rhetorician, like Libanius, a
Pagan even to madnefs, fhould think the Chriftians
capable of attempting the life of Julian, is not
furprifing. That it is poffible for an ignorant and
fanatical Chriftian to think that he fliall immor-
talife himfelf both in this world and the next, by
delivering the church from an implacable perfe
cutor, hiftory unhappily affords too many examples.
But that an ecclefiaftical hiftorian, like Sozomen,
fliould be tempted to canonife fo deteftable an
action, might perhaps not be credited on my af-
fertion. Let him fpeak for himfelf: " It is not
" improbable," fays that writer, " that one of
" thofe who then ferved in the army might have
t( reflected, that the deftroyers of tyrants, were
" highly extolled, not only by the ancient Greeks,
" but by others even to our times, as men who for
" the common liberty of all did not hefitate to die,
" having chearfully aflifted their countrymen,
" friends, and relations. No one certainly," con
tinues Sozomen, " can eafily blame him, who, for
" the fake of God and his religion, has acted fuch,
" a manly part *." Sozomen, it feems, had ftudied
profane antiquity more than the morality of the
gofpel and the fpirit of true Chriftianity. Let it
be obferved, that this hiftorian was not a father
* Sozom. Hift. Ecclef 1. VI. c. 2.
Sozo-ren applauds the Greek doctrine of tyrannicide ;
but the whole paffage, which a Jefuit might have tranf
lated, is prudently fuppreffed by the prefident Coufin. .
Gibbon. of

?72 HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
of the church, that he has no authority in matters
of doctrine, that his language is hete contrary to
all tradition, that he wrote towards the middle of
the fifth century ; and that he is the firft in whom
we perceive fome marks of that anti-chriftian fa-
naticifm. But it is time to refume the thread of
the hiftory.
While their enemies, pofted on the heights, were
infulting the army, a detachment of cavalry forced
the gate of the camp, called the Praetorian gate ;
and were very near penetrating even to the imperial "
tent : but they were repulfed with lofs. The
Romans afterwards encamped at Carche ; from
whence on the fucceeding day, July i, they ar
rived near the city of Dura *, which muft not be
confounded with another of the fame name, fitu
ated in Mefopotamia. Four days were there loft
by the obftinacy of the Barbarians. As foon as
the army was on the march, they harraffed it by
continual fkirmifheS', fometimes in rear, fometimes
in flank. If it faced about to receive them, by
degrees they gave ground, being only defirous of
retarding its march, and leaving to famine the
care of fighting for them.
The fear of the worft misfortunes makes men
credulous and ready to adopt the moft hazardous ex
pedients. On a fudden a report being fpread that the
* Dura was a fortified place in the wars of Antiochus
againft the rebels of Media and Perfia. (Polybius, I. v.
e. 48. 52.) Gibbon.
frontiers

HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
frontiers of the empire are not far diftant ; on
this falfe fuppofition the foldier will no longer
coaft the Tigris, but clamoroufly infifts on being
allowed to pafs it. The Emperor, with the prin
cipal officers, oppofes this rafh project in vain. In
vain, fhewing this river always fo rapid, and then
fvvelled by the melting of the fnows of Armenia,
he reprefents that moft of them cannot fwim, that
the. enemy is mafter of the two banks, and that,
if they gain the other fide, it will only be to fall
into his hands. Thefe fage remonftrances are dif-
regarded. The clamours increafe, threats are
added ; every thing breathes fedition. It was necef
fary to allow a number of Gauls and Germans * to
attempt the paffage. Jovian flattered himfelf that if
they periflied, the reft would become more tractable,
or, if they were fo lucky as to fucceed, he might
reafonably make an attempt to tranfport the army.
By favour of the night, five hundred able fwinv
mers crofs the Tigris with more eafe than could
have been expected, and find the Perfians, who
guarded the oppofite bank, buried in a profound
fleep. They make a great flatighter, and as foon
as the day begins to break, they raife their hands,
and throw their cloaths into the air, to announce
their fuccefs. The army, anxiou/to follow them,
urges the engineers to conftrudl; a kind of [floating j
* The text of Ammianus gives Sarmatis ; but it is pro
bably faulty. Soon after, the fame author calls them Ger-
IllfltlS. -*•
Vol. II. T

2 73

274 HISTORY OFJOV I AN.
bridge, which they propofed to make of fheep
fkins faftened together *. They laboured on it
two days; but it was impoflible to fix it on.
account of the violence and rapidity of the ftream.
The foldiers, having confumed the provifions that
they had left, became defperate, and rather chofe
to perifh fword in hand than languifh under the
horrors of a flow and cruel death.
Ths Perfians, on their fide, had alfo much t&
lament. The intoxication of Sapor was already
difpelled ; from the moft prefumptuous confidence,
he relapfed into an extreme perplexity; he faw his
country laid wafte, his towns taken by affault, his
troops, always defeated when they dared to wait
for the enemy, having no refource but in flight,
and confiderably dimiiiifhed by the lofs of an in
numerable multitude of men, and almoft all the
elephants. Every day fome. new check made him
perceive that the valour of the Romans was not
- buried + with Julian. Animated with the genius
of that conqueror, they feemed to think as much,
and perhaps more, of revenging him than of fur-
viving him. Famine itfelf could not force from
them the leaft propofal of peace. Was Sapor
certain of avoiding a battle ? And if he muft fight,
* Covered with a floor of earth and fafcines. A fimilar
expedient was propofed to the leaders of the ten thoufand,
and wifely rejected. It appears, from our modern tra
vellers, that rafts floating on bladders perform the trade
and navigation of the-Tigris. Gibbon.
t Enfevelie, A flight inaccuracy. Julian was not then
" buried." what

HISTORY OF JOVIAN. 275
what had he not to fear from men refolved to de
termine their fate, either by gaining a complete
victory, or at leaft by rendering their defeat fatal
even to the conquerors? Could he flatter himfelf
with annihilating the Roman army, he was not
ignorant that Julian had left in Mefopotamia 40,000
men, under the command of his relation Procopius:
at length the vaft provinces of the empire might
eafily furnifli other legions, who, by attacking
Perfia when exhaufted and terrified, might over
throw the throne of the Artaxerxides already tot
tering. Amidft thefe melancholy reflections, he was in
formed of the fuccefsful temerity of the Gauls and
Germans. This exploit of a handful of deter
mined men alarms him, and makes him fenfible of
what a whole army of defperadoes will be capable.
Immediately he turns all his thoughts towards an
accommodation with the Romans j he does not
hefitate to make the firft advances, proceeding to
effentials, and defiring, at any rate, to commence
a negociation, which, in the prefent circumftances,
mult infallibly terminate to his advantage. Thus,
contrary to their expectations, the Romans law the
Surena (he was the general of the Perfian cavalry),
arrive in their camp, with another lord *. " The
" Great King our mafter," faid the deputies to
* Sextus Rufus (de Previnciis, c. 29.) embraces a poor
fubterfuge of national vanity. Tanta reverentia nominis
Romani fuit, ut a Per/is primus de pace fermo haberetur. G 1,2 BON,
T a Jovafl

276 HISTORY OF JO VI AN.
Jovian and the principal officers, " is not dazzled
" by profperity ; he knows the fituation to which
" fortune has reduced you-, but he knows ftill
" better the uncertainty of human affairs. Sapor
" refpedts unfuccefsful virtue, even in his enemies.
" He efteems you enough to feek your alliance,
" and to offer you peace on equitable terms."
As the Romans were fupported only by defpair,
the hope of peace weakened them at once, and
made, it may be faid, their arms fall from their
hands. Jovian, in particular, was eager to enjoy
the empire, and to infure to himfelf its poffeffion
by repairing fpeedily to the capital. How did he
know, but that, in his abfence, fome ambitious
leader, Procopius for inftance, then at the head
of an army, might feize the diadem ? At that time,
thofe who affumed the purple did not even deign
to feek pretexts to colour their enterprife ; and
Procopius, as he was related to Julian, might
allege the rights of confanguinity. The propofals
therefore of Sapor were embraced with eagernefs.
They were vague, embarraffed, equivocal, and liable
to great difcuflions. At all events, this able poli
tician defigned to protract the negociation, in order
to famifli the Romans more and more.
The Emperor, on the contrary, impatient to con
clude it, difpatched, without lofing a moment,
Salluft, with Arintheus *, to draw from Sapor
himfelf
* Libaniu3 puts' the general Victor in the room of
Arinjheur. The latter was reckoned one of the greateft
captains

HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
himfelf fomething determinate. They had many
conferences equally long and intricate by the
management of the old monarch, who negociated
peace as he Waged war. The more the Romans
advanced, the more he retreated. He formed fup
pofitions upon fuppofitions, and raifed difficulties
upon difficulties. Now he required time, then he
would no longer grant what he had promifed, and
promifed what he had refufed. Befides, he feemed
to think it ftrange that the death of Julian was
not revenged ; for he ftill thought that that prince
had been killed by a Roman * ; and as the de
puties probably did not allow the fact, " if one
" of my generals f," added he,." had loft his
captains of his age. Prodigies are related of his valour.
He was of an extraordinary ftature, yet fo well made,
that, St. Bafil fays, he was confidered as the model of a
man. His ftrength was equal to his courage. His looks
alone had made him gain fome battles. He received
baptifm before his death. We have a confolatory letter
written by St. Bafil to the widow of Arintheus, who had
been the protector of the churches, and the friend of St.
Bafil. We have alfo a letter from the fame faint to this
general, in which he praifes him for his generoiity and
liberality, of which every one perceived the effects. See
M. de TiUemont on the Emperor Valens, Hiftoirc des
Empereurs, torn. V. p. 100. B.
* For the Perfians alfo had heard this report, and, in
confequence, before Jovian made peace with them, the
common foldiers reviled the Romans as traitors and mur
derers of the greateft of princes, as we learn from Am
mianus, xxv. 6. Oleahius.
f Libanius heard thefe words of Sapor to the Roman
ambaffadors, no doubt, from Salluft himfelf, with whom
he was extremely intimate, as four of his epiftles to Salluft
fufficiently atteft. Ib:d.
T 3 " life

HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
Cf life in a battle, thofe, who, being near his
" perfon, had'the cowardice not to die with him,
" fliould not efcape my juft refentment. I would
(( inftantly fend their heads to the family of that
" officer." We here difcern the ideas and lan- ,
guage of an Eaftern monarch. Sapor, by affecting
to intereft himfelf in revenging Julian, was alfo
defirous perhaps of teftifying his efteem for that
prince, with a view to infinuate, that he had little
regard for his fucceffor, and that he no longer
feared the Romans.
They became lefs formidable every moment. A
devouring famine confumed them, while by chi
canery and affected delays he trifled with their
deputies. " We paffed four days," fays Ammi
anus, t( in a ftate more cruel than the fevereft
" punifhments. During that time, if the Emperor,
" difcovering the artifices of Sapor, before he
" fent deputies to that prince, had continually
" gained ground, he would certainly have arrived
•" at the ftrong places of Corduenne, which then
" belonged to us ; and which wqnld have fupplied
*' us. with provifions in abundance. We were but
" a hundred miles diftant *."
* About thirty leagues. g
It is prefumptuous to controvert the opinion of Ammi
anus, a foldier and a fpedator. Yet it is difficult to under
ftand, how the mountains of Corduenne could extend over
the plain of Affyria, as low as the conflux of the Tigris
and the great Zab : or bow an array of fixty thoufand
men .coujd march one hundjed miles' in four days.
Gibbon* J wifh

HISTORY OF JOVIAN. 279
I wifh Ammianus had clearly explained the poffi-
bility of this march. If I am not miftaken, this
is his idea. Sapor himfelf had occafion for a peace,
and only offered it to his enemies becaufe he feared
to encounter them. Jovian therefore fhould have
oppofed craft to craft, fliould have expreffed lefs
eagernefs for peace, fliould, however, have given
good words to the envoys of Sapor, fhould have
purfued his route, fhould have fent deputies to
that prince, and have treated on his march. Sapor,
from the fear of being forced to a battle, or of
thwarting the accommodation, would not have at
tacked the Romans, and would have been taken
in his own fnare. Ammianus was a foldier : he
underftood his profeffion, and knew the country.
He faw things near, and he faw them with re
flection ; to be convinced of this we need only read
him. The judgement of an hiftorian like him muft
embarrafs the defenders of Jovian.
When Sapor thought he had fubdued the Ro
mans by famine, he threw off the mafic, and,
fpeaking with authority, he declared, firft, that
he infifted on their reftoring to him, for fo he ex
preffed himfelf, the five provinces beyond the
Tigris *, formerly conquered by the Emperor
* Moft of thefe provinces were on this fide the /Tigris
with regard to the Romans. In calling them " beyond the
" Tigris" they conformed to the language of the Perfians,
whom they were on the other fide of that river. As to the
particular names of the provinces, they are not the fame
in all authors. _ B.
T 4 Maximian-

2 So HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
Maximian-Gaierius from King Narfeus* his grand
father . viz. Arzanenia, Moxoenia, Zabdicenia,
Rehimenia, and Corduenne. Secondly, that befides
thele, there fliould be ceded to him fifteen caftles,
the City of Nifibis, that of Singara in Mefopo-
tamia, and another important place called the Caftle
of the Moors (Cajlra Maurorum). Thirdly, that
they would engage to interfere no more in the
affairs of Armeuia, and even refufe king Arfaces
the affiftance whicli he might demaud againft the
Perfians. " It would have been a thoufand times better,"
fays Ammianus, " to have tried the chance of
*' arms than to have accepted any one of thefe
" conditions." In fact, under pretence of a refti-
tution, which is not honourable but when it is
voluntary, to cede five provinces, annexed to the
empire for about feventy years, was to pay a
ranfom the more humiliating as there were added
to it almoft all Mefopotamia, and even Nifibis,
which had been poffeffed by the Romans ever fince
the' wars of Mithridates; Nifibis, the bulwark of
the Eaft, and the rOck which wrecked the pride of
Sapor *, By

*

He acquired, by a fingle article, the impregnable fity
of Nifibis, which had fufhined, in three 1'uci.eflive ficges,
the effort of his arms. Gibbon.
The treaty of Dura is recorded with grief, or indig
nation, by Ammianus (xxv. 7.) ; Libanius {Orat, Parent,
c 142. p. 364.) ; Zcfimus (1. in, p. 190, 191.) ; Gregory
Nazianzen {Orat. iv. p. ij;, uti. v,ho imputes the diftrefs to

HISTORY OF JOVIAN. a8i
By binding his hands with regard to Armenia,
Jovian furrendered at difcretion, to a revengeful,
perfidious, and cruel prince, Arfaces *, the faith
ful ally of the Romans, to whom he was connected
by the neareft and moft honourable ties, as Con
ftantius had made him efpoufe Olympias, daughter
of the Prefect Ablavius, who had been contracted
to his brother the Emperor Conftans. Sapor was the
declared enemy of the Chriftians; and, what muft
perfonally affect Jovian, Arfaces, by his attachment
to Chriftianity, had merited, like Jovian himfelf, dif
grace from Julian. King Arfaces had been effentially
ferviceable to the empire. He had juft ravaged
the provinces of Perfia bordering on Armenia.
That was his crime in the fight of Sapor, and the
fecret reafon, but eafy to be gueffed, for which
- he required them to refufe him affiftance.
Thefe ccnfiderations cuuld not efcape Jovian ;
but he was befieged by a crowd of flatcerers, who
to Julian, the deliverance to Jovian) ; and Eutropius (x.
ij.) The laft-mentioned writer, who was prefent in a mili
tary ftation, ftvles this peace neccffariam quidem,fed ignobilem. Ibid.
* See p. 186. The unfufpicious Tiranus was per
fuaded by the repeated affurances of infidious friendfhip
to deliver his perfon into the hands of a faithlefs and
cruel enemy. In the midft of a fplendid entertainment, he
was bound in chains of filver, as an honouii^due to the
blood of the Arfacides; and, after a fhort confinement in
the Tower of oblivion at Ecbatana, he was releafed from
the miferies of life, either by his own dagger,, or by that
of an affaffin. The kingdom of Armenia was reduced to
the ftate of a Perfian province. Ibid.
inceffantly

2S2 HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
inceffantly reprefented to him Procopius as an
enemy more dangerous than Sapor *. . . His fear
of Procopius was well grounded ; and it may be
faid that his revolt f juftified it two years after, if,
neverthelefs, this fear itfelf did not occafion his
revolt. Befides, there is the greateft probability,
that the irreparable lofs of four days, imprudently
confumed in inactivity, had rendered the army
utterly incapable of fighting, and reduced Jovian-
to the iudifpenfible neceffity of accepting the peace.
Thus the treaty was peihaps lefs the work of his
timid policy than of his inability.
Be that as it may, to the difgrace of the Roman
name, this prince received the law from Sapor, and
agreed to all the articles propofed. All that he
obtained, and that ,with difficulty, was, that the"
garrifons of the places ceded as well as the
inhabitants of Nifibis and Singara, fhould retire
into the territories of the Romans. Arfaces was
included in the treaty, of which he did not fail
to be foon after made the victim. On both fides a
peace, or rather a truce, of thirty years was fworn,
and in the mean time hoftages J were given for the
performance of the treaty.
* I a Bleterie has expreffed, in a long direct oration,
thefe fpecious confiderations of public and private intereft. Gijbon.
This harangue being imaginary, I have omitted it,
-\ For an accouat of his revolt and death, fee p. 221.
note X Rcmora, Victor, and Bellovasdius, tribunes, on the
p:irt of the Romans ; and Biuefes, with three other Satraps,
on that of the Perfians. Ammianus. liufinus

HISTORY OF JOVIAN. 283
Rufinus and Theodoret, deceived by probability,
pretend that Sapor furnifhed the Romans with pro
vifions *. Nothing was more natural ; but with
out doubt, the Perfians had no magazines, and fub-
fifted themfelves with difficulty in an exhaufted
country. At leaft, it is certain that the R.omans
gained by that difgraceful peace not even the per-
miffion to deviate from the banks of the Tigris -j~,
where the roads were rough and craggy, in order
to crofs the country to the place where they in
tended to pafs that river. Thither they proceeded
by long marches, continually. tormented by famine,
to which was alfo added want of water. Many,
collecting their expiring ftrength, withdrew from
* Such a fact is- probable, but undoubtedly falfe. See
TiUemont, Hift. des Empereurs, torn. iv.p. 702. Gibson.
f In the neighbourhood of the fame river, at no very
copfiderable diftance from the fatal ftation of Dura, the
ten thoufand Greeks, without generals, or guides, or pro
vifions, were abandoned, above 1200 miles from their na
tive country, to the refentment of a victorious monarch.
The difference of their conduct and fuccefs depended much
more on their character than on their fituation. Inftead of
tamely refigning themfelves to the fecret deliberations and
private views of a Angle perfon, the united councils of the
Greeks were infpired by the generous enthufiafm of a
popular affembly ; where the mind of each citizen is filled
with the love of glory, the pride of freedom, and the
contempt of death. Confcious of their fuperiority over
the Barbarians in arms and difcipline, they difdained to
yield, they refufed to capitulate ; every obftacle was fur-
mounted by their patience, courage, and military fkill : and
the memorable retreat of the ten thoufand expofed and in
fulted the weaknefs of the Perfian monarchy. Gibbon.
See p. ?56. note *. the

HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
the body of the army, and endeavoured to fwirn
crofs the Tigris. Moft of them periflied ; the reft
fell into the hands of the Perfians and Saracens
pofted on the other fhore. Thefe Barbarians, in-
cenfed by the maflacre of their companions whom
the Gauls and Germans had flaughtered, put to
death all who efcaped the waters, or if they fpared
fome of them, it was only to fell them, and fend
them to fuch a diftance that the Romans could
never reclaim them.
When the Emperor and the army were arrived
at the place of paffage, which no author, not even
Ammianus, has taken care to point out to us, after
fome flight preparations, the trumpet gave the
fignal. It is impoflible to exprefs with what pre
cipitation every one, caring only for himfelf,
haftened to outrun his companions, and braved
danger, to efcape, as foon as poffible, from that
fatal country. Some on bad hurdles, by way of
rafts, drew after them their horfes fwimming }
others were carried en bladders ; all availed them
felves of what was offered them by chance, or of
what neceffity, ever fruitful in expedients, made
them contrive. Twelve fmall flat boats, the re
mains of the fleet of Julian, ferved to tranfport
the Emperor, with the principal officers, and made,
by his order, as many voyages were neceffary to
complete the tranfportation. " Thus," fays Ammi
anus, " by the divine goodnefs, we all paffed
" fafely,

HISTORY OF JOVIAN. 2S;
" fafely, excepting fome who had the misfortune
*' to be drowned."
Immediately after, advice was received that the
Perfians, out of the fight of the Romans, were
conftructing a bridge, no doubt that they might
intercept the ftragglers and the baggage ; but fee
ing themfelves difcovered, they did not dare to
execute their perfidious defign. Thus the Per
fians, it appears, had materials for a bridge. Why
then did not Jovian infift, as a preliminary, that
they fhould facilitate his paffage I Sapor was ,too
great a gainer by the treaty to have made a difficulty
of a condition which he could with eafe perforin.
This feems worth remarking, as another proof of
the inability of Jovian.
The Roman army, continuing its march with
extreme diligence, encamped fome leagues from
- the Tigris, near the town of Hatra *, fituated on
a hill in the midft of a vaft defert, formerly in
habited by the Scenites Arabians: it had been
reckoned impregnable, but had' now been long
abandoned. Perhaps the Romans, when they faw
Hatra, confoled themfelves a little on their dif- '
grace, by recollecting that which had befallen,
under the ramparts of that place, the two greateft
* So called by Ammianus, by Dio, (lib. ult.) Ta. A1f«,
and by M. de la Bleterie, Atra.
M. d'Anville (fee his maps, and I'Euphrate et le Tigrc,
pp. 92, 93.) traces their march, and affigns the true po-
lition of Hatra, Ur, and Thilfaphata, which Ammianus
has mentioned. , Gibbon.
5 generals

*86 H I S T O R Y O F J O V I A N.
generals that had filled the throne of the CjefarS.
Trajan had made the taking it a point of honour,
but nature abfolutely armed againft him, in de
fence of the befieged ; and what may be coniidered
as a prodigy of another kind, Severus, who, after
having raifed the fiege, attacked it a fecond time,
called back his foldiers very unadvifedly, when
they were juft ready to ftorm the place, and when
he ordered them to return to the affault, he could
never make himfelf obeyed. This prince, as well
as Trajan, thought he fliould have periflied before
that town with all his army. Artaxerxes, the
founder of the fecond monarchy of the Perfians,
was not more fuccefsful, and Providence * feemed
conftantly to declare in favour of Hatra. How
ever, the frequent attacks of the Romans, and the
danger to which the town was expofed, efpecially
in the laft fiege, might make the Scenites Arabians
think, that the liberty, of which they were always
fo jealous, and which they ftill preferve, was lefs
endangered in their tents than under the ihelter of
the ftrongeft walls. They abandoned Hatra We
no where read that it was taken, and yet it had
been long deferted when Jovian arrived there. The
Romans were now informed, that they had a plain
* In this Dr. Delany, a learned Englifh divine, thinks he
difcovers the marks of the vifible protection of God to the
defcendants of Iflimael, agreeably to the promifes made
to Hagar and Abraham, Gen. xvi. and xvii. See th«
work, entitled, Revtlation examined ivitb Candour, Vol. II.
differt. IV. , B,
Of

H I S T O R Y O F J O V I A N. aSj
of thirty leagues to traverfe, where nothing was
to be found but wormwood and fuch kind of herbs,
with a little putrid and brackifh water. They pro
vided therefore fome frefh water, and killed fome
of the camels and other beafts of burden, whofe
unwholefome flefh prolonged their lives at the ex-
pence of health.
In about fix days march they met, near the caftle
of Ur, a place dependent on the Perfians, a con
voy of fome provifions, which Jovian, immediately
after his election, had fent the tribune Mauricius
to feek in Mefopotamia. This weak fupply, the
fruit of the oeconomy of the two generals Proco
pius and Sebaftian, enabled the Emperor to recover
breath, and to take meafures to make himfelf
acknowledged through the whole empire. He
might even confider this affiftance as an ait of obe_
dience on the part of Procopius and his collegue,
whofe fubmiffion neceffarily drew after it that of
the Eaftern provinces. But who could in fure to
him the Weft, till Illyricum and Gaul hadacknow-
ledged him? The troops of Illyricum and Gaul
had often difpofed of the purple, and occafioned
great revolutions. They were indeed lefs formid
able fince the time of Conftantine. That prince,
more on his guard againft civil wars than againft
the invafions of the Barbarians, had, by good or
bad policy, weakened the authority of the generals
by dividing it. He had alfo difperfed in the inner
part of the provinces the legions long ftationed on
the

288 HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
the frontiers, where the proximity of their quar
ters placed them within the reach of keeping up
correfpondences, of fecretly forming and fuddenly
executing confpiracies. Neverthelefs, in fpite of
thefe precautions, the recent examples c-f Vetranio *
in Illyricum, and of Magnentius f and Julian in
Gaul, did not allow a doubt that the legions might
again make Emperors there ; and the diftance muft
increafe the uneafinefs of Jovian.
He difpatched therefore, with the neceffary
orders to fecure to him thofe important provinces
two confidential men, Procopius, fecretary of ftate^
who muft be diftinguifhed from the relation of
Julian, and Memoridus, a tribune. The whole
family of Jovian was in Illyricum ; his wife, his
fon yet in the cradle, Count Varronian his father,
and his father-in-law Count Lucillian. Both, after
having quitted the fervice, enjoyed the repofe of a
quiet life. But the infirmities of age without doubt
rendered Varronian incapable of acting, as die
orders of the Emperor were addreffed to Count
Lucillian. The meffengers carried him the com-
* Vetranio, an aged general, beloved for the fimplicity
of his manners, who had long governed the martial coun
tries of Illyricum, affumed the purple in 350. But Con
ftantius, having feduced his troops, and undermined his
throne, at an interview with the ufurper, appointed at Sar-
dica, by the defection of his followers, Vetranio was de-
pofed and banifhed to Prufa, where he lived fix years in the
enjoyment of eafe and affluence. Abridged from Gibbon.
f For an account of the ufurpation of Magnenthis, fee.
Vol. Lp. 175. note *. million

HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
million of mafter-general of the horfe and foot *.
Thus invefted with two employments which were
ufually feparated, he was to take with him fome
officers of merit and known fidelity, whofe names
were mentioned in a private difpatch, and to repair
immediately to Milan, from thence to. watch over
the remainder of the Weft, and to refort, in cafe
of commotions, where-ever the exigence of affairs
might require his prefence. The Emperor took
from Jovinus the command of the troops in Gaul,
and conferred it on Malarich, by nation a Frank,
long attached to the fervice of the Romans. Thus
he freed himfelf of a man whofe fuperior talents
rendered his fidelity fufpefted, and put in his place
a foreigner, who, not being able to have any pre-
tenfions to the empire, would always confider the
good fortune of his benefactor as the foundation of
his own, and would confine his ambition to ferving
him- well. The meffengers had alfo orders to
announce on their journey the death of Julian and
the election of his fucceffor, to convey to the go
vernors of the provinces the letters of Jovian, and
to publifh every where that he h^d terminated the
war by an advantageous peace. They travelled
night and day, without flopping ; but, more expe
ditious and more fincere than they, Fame out-
ftripped them, and declared the truth.
-* In M. de la Bleterie, le brevet de generaliffime de Vinfan*
terie et de la cavalerie: in the original of Ammianus, ma-
gifterii equitum et pcditttm codicillis. For obvious reafons I
prefer the latter.
Vol. II. U Joviau

290 HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
Jovian wrote, without doubt, at the fame time
to the fenate of New Rome, and efpecially to that
of the Old, which ftill retained fome kind of pre
eminence, praying them, at leaft for form-fake,
to confirm what the army had done in his favour.
It was at that time probably, that he nominated
himfelf conful for the enfuing year, with his father
Count Varronian, who had learned," in a dream,
if we credit Ammianus, that he fhould be ap
pointed to the confulfhip, but who certainly knew
not that death would prevent his taking poffeflion
of that high dignity *.
If the Pagans of the army had been fenfibly
affected by the lofs of Julian, it was no lefs dif-
treffing to the others, of whom there were fuch num
bers throughout the empire ; and, without doubt,
the latter, not being conftrained by the prefence
of their new prince, abandoned themfelves to their
grief with more freedom. " This intelligence,"
fays Libanius, " was a ftroke that pierced me to
" the heart. I eaft my eyes on a fword, and wifhed
" to rid myfelf of a life that would henceforth be
" more cruel to me than death. But I recollected
" the prohibition of Plato, and the punifhments re-
" ferved in hell for thofe who difpofe of themfelves
* Count Varronian thus dying foon after he had heard
of his ion's good fortune, and before he had feen him,
Jovian declared his infant-fon Varronian conful with him
felf, in the loom of his gr andfather ; '• becaufe," adds
Ammianus, " the old man was foretold in his fleep that
" the higheft magiftracy fliould be borne by that name."
" without

HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
•' without waiting for the command of God. Be-
" fides, I reflected that I owed that hero a funeral
" oration *."
Libanius acquitted himfelf of that duty by con-
fecrating to the memory of Julian two difcourfes,
which have been tranfmitted to us. The firft f,
which feems to have been compofed immediately,
is only a very fhort and yet fufficiently tedious la
mentation, with more wit than fentiment, and more
pedantry than wit. The fecond J is an hiftorical
elogium, laboured at leifure, in which the orator
follows Julian ftep by ftep, and always fhews the
bright fide of him. This piece, perhaps the beft
of his works, and worthy, almoft in every refpect,
of the pureft antiquity, makes, on the whole, a re
markable contraft to the eloquent difcourfe of St.
Gregory of Nazianzus §.
At Carrha; in Mefopotamia, a city entirely de
voted to Paganifm, the meffenger who brought
the firft account of the death of Julian, was near
* De vita fud.
f IsXi«w>{, n Entrap io5 tirt ru TaXiaxa. (" A funeral ora-
" tion on Juliati.") This difcourfe was publifbed imper-
fe&ly by Morell; but more correctly, with Latin tranflation
of Olearius, by Fabricius, Bibl. Grac. Vol. VII. p. 223.
J YTEe ra isXia/s Tafias. (" On revenging Julian.")
Spoken before the Emperor Theodofius, 379, firft publifhed
by Olearius, 1701, and afterwards, with his tranflation and
notes, by Fabricius. See p. 224. note J.
§ Though in the editions of this Father the work is di
vided into two. it is, however, only one and the fame
difcourfe, as is proved by the judicious writer who has
given a French tranflation of it, printed at Lyons, in 173;,
a tranflation much lefs known than it deferves to be. B.
U 2 beinr*

292 HISTORY OF JO VI AN.
being ftoned to death, and really was fo, according
to Zofimus. Such was the defpair of the Pagans.
They faw their reign vanifh like a dream, the flat
tering hopes which they had conceived from the
youth and zeal of Julian pafs away in fmoke, Hel
lenifm ready to be buried in~the tomb of its re-
ftorer, and the Chriftian religion again invefted
with the purple, and more ftrengthened than ever,
at the very time when, thinking it arrived at its
fatal period, they only waited the return of Julian
to give the laft blow. Many had perfecuted it with
out difcretion, and had been betrayed into the
greateft exceffes. What probability that the moft
moderate Chriftian prince would let crimes, at
which Julian himfelf had been forced to blufh,
pafs with impunity ! >
On the other fide, the Church, in the tranfports -
of a fudden deliverance, bleffed by its canticles
the God ever faithful to his promifes, whofe arm
had exterminated the new Sennacherib. But the.
Chriftians, it muft be owned, did hot all confine
themfelves to the legitimate fentiments which this
kind of refurrection planted in their hearts. Inftead
of a Chriftian joy, pure in its 'motives, humble
and modeft in its effects, miked with compaflion for
a perifhing enemy, and with fear at the profpect
of profperity ; many gave themfelves up to the
merely human emotions of a proud and , outrageous
joy, and feemed already to threaten the vengeance
cf a religion which teaches only patience and for
given efs.

HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
givenefs. Thofe of Antioch, perfonal enemies to
Julian on fo many accounts, infulted at once the
memory of the Pagan, the philofopher, and the
author.- In this great city, fo voluptuous, and
which thought itfelf fo Chriftian, there was no
thing but public entertainments, nothing but facred
, and profane feftivals. ' In the churches and ora
tories of the martyrs were feen dances, and the
tumult of public fhews; and the theatres refounded
with religious exclamations. There was publifhed
the victory of the crofs ; there was apoftrophifed,
though abfent, the philofopher Maximus, , the
oracle andy the perverter of Julian. " Foolifh
" Maximus," they exclaimed, " what is become of
" thy predictions ? God and his Chrift have con-
" quer'ed."
But if the Church triumphed, the empire was
covered with difgrace, and had received a deep
wound, of which it never recovered. Thus the
tranfports with which the intereft of religion,
efpecially when joined with animofity, at firft in-
fpired the people, were no fooner abated, than the
public rejoicings gave place to uneafinefs and
alarms. To inveigh againft Julian, to impute the
calamities of the ftate to his apoftacy and fenfelefs
Conduct, publickly to expofe the fhocking remains
of the human victims which he was accufed of
having facrificed in his abominable myfteries, this
might be a kind of confolation, but it was not a
refource. Jovian alone gained by it, becaufe he
U | had

29-

HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
had the advantage of fucceeding a prince that was
hated, and confequently refponfible, in the opinion
of the multitude at leaft, for the firft faults of his
fucceffor. By the ceflion of the provinces beyond the Tigris,
and of Nifibis, Syria was going to become almoft
a frontier, and the city of Antioch remained ex
pofed, with the reft of the Eaft, to the incurfions
of the Barbarians. Whoeyer had ftill a Roman
heart muft confider, that for the fpace of about
eleven centuries, neither the annals of the republic,
nor thofe of the monarchy, furnifhed an example
of an event fo grievous, fo ignominious, all things
confidered, as the treaty of Jovian ; that if, in
former times, fome generals had fubfcribed to dif-
honourable conditions, the fupreme authority,
which then refided in the people, by declaring
thofe treaties null, had made all their infamy fall
on their authors ; that the majefty of the empire,
after it was concentered in a monarch, had
been no doubt deeply humiliated by the captivity
of Valerian, who had grown old in the chains of
another Sapor ; but that this majefty had degraded
and annihilated itfelf in the perfon of Jovian, v/ho
had forfaken the fundamental principle of the
policy of the Romans, who yielded nothing by
force, nor were ever more haughty, or more in
tractable, than when 'they . feemed cruflied ; that
this precious maxim, efcaped from the wreck of
she republic and of ancient manners, had fupported to

HISTORY OF JOVIAN. 205
to the prefent day the empire which it had formed;
but when that was once abandoned, the Emperors
would in future be feen fucceffively to cede the
provinces, to difmember the ftate, under a pre
tence of faving it ; in fhort, that it was eafy to
forefee the fall and total ruin of that vaft body.
Without extending their views fo far, the in
habitants of Nifibis, fufficiently occupied with
their own calamity, trembled to fee themfelves at
the mercy of Sapor, and of Sapor provoked. They
retained, neverthelefs, fome hopes founded on the
importance of their fortrefs, their paft fidelity, and
their recent fervices. They could not believe that
Jovian would deliver them to Barbarians; and
they flattered themfelves, that if, from a regard to
his oaths, he did not dare directly to infringe the
treaty, fenfible at leaft of the juftice of their re-
monftrances, he would not deprive them of the
liberty of defending themfelves againft an enemy,
whom, they had already fo often repulfed.
The army, however, after having confumed the
little provifions that it had received, again endured
fo ftrange a famine, that they were on the eve of
eating human flefh. If a bufliel of corn was
found by chance, " which happened," Ammianus
fays, " but feldom," it was fold for at leaft thirteen
pieces of gold. By degrees, as the horfes were
killed, the arms and baggage were abandoned;
fo that there is perhaps lefs exaggeration than ma
lignity in the picture which Libanius draws of the
U 4 ftate

HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
ftate of the troops at their return : " Our foldiers,''
fays- he, " returned without arms, without cloaths-
" They aiked alms, being as naked, for the moft
" part, as people who efcape from fhipwreck.
" If any one retained half his buckler, a third
" part of his fpear, or even one of his boots, which
,c, he carried on his flioulder, he confidered himfelf
" as a hero. All thought themfelves fufficiently
" juftified, by faying, that Julian was dead, and
" that it was not furprifihg that the Romans fhould
" appear in the deplorable ftate in which the Per-
" fians would have been, if that conqueror had
" lived."
It is fuppofed, that the army re-entered the ter
ritories of the empire at a place named Thifal-
phata. It was there, at leaft, that Procopius and
Sebaftian, with the officers of the troops of Me
sopotamia, came to pay their duty to the Emperor,
who received them gracioufly. Jovian foon re
paired to the gates of Nifibis, and encamped under
the walls, without liftening to the prayers of the
inhabitants, who conjured him, with reiterated in
treaties, to lodge in the palace, like his prede
ceffors. He was afraid to fhew himfelf, and was
ftill more afraid, no doubt, to confine himfelf in a
Roman colony, of which he had put the Barbarians
in poffeffion. That very evening he committed an act of de-
fpotifm more fuitable to the fufpicious character
with which he is reproached, than to the delicacy of

HISTORY OF JO VI AN. 297
of confcience on which he piqued himfelf. At the
beginning of the night, on his rifing from table,
an officer, who had diftinguifhed himfelf in the
laft war at the taking of Maogamalcha *, was put
to death. He was dragged out, and thrown into a dry
well, where ftones were heaped over him. He was
named Jovianus, like the Emperor, and had had
fome votes to fucceed Julian. To remain a fub
ject, after having appeared worthy to reign, is a
fituation. fo delicate, that the greateft circum-
fpedtion is fcarce fufficient to ward its dangers. Of
this Jovianus was not aware- Ambition or vanity
made him utter fome expreflions the more fufpicious
as he occafionally invited fome officers to his table ;
and " to this," fays Ammianus, " his deftruction
" was certainly owing." The tragical end of this
unfortunate man, v/ho feems to have been more
imprudent than culpable, is related by none of the
modern writers who mention Jovian f. I queftion
whether they would have omitted a fimilar paffage
in the hiftory of his pfedeceffor.
On the next day Binefes, a lord of the Perfian
court, who attended Jovian, to ferve as an hoftage,-
and at the fame time to urge the execution of the
* Whilft the Barbarians defended themfelves, finging,
according to their cuftom, the praifes of their king, and
braving the Emperor, faying, he might fooner fcale the
walls of heaven than take Maogamalcha, the legions en
tering by the mouth of the mine, furprifed them, maffacred
them, and threw down the ramparts. B.
-j- A fubfequent hiftorian, Mr, Gibbon, ironically ftyles
it " a royal act." treaty

s$8 HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
treaty of peace, efcorted, no doubt, by a guard
which the Emperor gave him, entered Nifibis, and
difplayed on the citadel the ftandard of the Great
King. The fight of this fatal flag, and the order
which the inhabitants received to retire fomewhere
elfe, threw them into the utmoft confter nation.
At firft they had imagined, that Jovian had en
gaged to deliver up the city with all its inhabi
tants. One would think therefore that it muft
have been fome abatement of their grief to learn
that their perfons would not fall into the hands of
Sapor. But befides their not being able, as I have
faid, to perfuade themfelves entirely that this en
gagement would take place, the banifliment, to
which they faw themfelves condemned, appeared
to them as terrible as flavery. Several perhaps
would even rather have chofen to live flaves in the
bofom of their country, that is, fubjects of the
kings of Perfia, than to preferve in exile, in po
verty, in the miferies of a new eftablifhment, a
chimerical liberty under the Roman Emperors,
princes as abfolute in fact * as thofe who bore the
fceptre of Arfaces and Artaxerxes pretended to be
by right, .
It is very ufual with hiftorians, when they re-
Sate the ruin of illuftrious cities, to recount in few
words their origin and the principal events which
rendered there diftinguifhed. May I therefore be
allowed to fay fomething here of the famous Nifibis,
* Witnefs the inftance juft related, as

HISTORY OF JOVIAN. 299
as the Romans then loft it for ever, and as it in a
a manner even perifhed itfelf by the total tranfmi-
gration of its citizens? Nifibis, if we may credit
the oriental hiftorians, is the fifter and contem
porary of Babylon, Nimrod alfo being its founder.
According to fome, he gave it the name of Chalya ;
according to others, that of Jehad •, and it is, fay
thefe, the fame city of Accad which is mentioned
in Genefis, among thofe of which the fon of Cufh
laid the firft foundations in the land of Shinar.
It took afterwards the name of Nifibis ; and if we
had a right to infift on an uncertain etymology *,
we might conjecture that it was already, or then
became, a place of ftrength. One of the kings of
Syria who fucceeded Alexander, gave it the name
of Antioch of Mygdonia, and certainly it was fo
called, as may be feen in Polybius, (/. v.) in the
reign of Antiochus, furnamed the Great. It was
fituated in the north part of Mefopotamia, two
days journey from the Tigris, near mount Mafius,
in a pleafant and fruitful plain, watered by the
river Mygdonius, which interfered the city. Not-
wjthftanding its antiquity, Nifibis does not begin
to figure in hiftory till towards the latcer time of
the Roman republic.
Tigranes, king of Armenia, having taken it
from the Parthians, being himfelf attacked by
* ^^3 fignifies, it is faid, in Phoenician, " columns,
" heaps of ftones." It means in Hebrew, " a monument,
" a ftatue," &c. but it alfo fignifies in the Bible " a gar-
tl rilon, flationary foldiers." i Sam. xiii. 12. B.
Lucullus,

joo H I S T O R Y O F J O'V I A N.
Lucullus, there lodged his xreafures. He thought
them fafe in a city furrounded by two walls all of
brick '*, of a prodigious thicknefs, which a broad
and deep ditch fecured from being undermined,
and alfo put out of the reach of machines. Thus it
defpifed Lucullus, when he ventured to appear be
fore Nifibis in the depth of winter. But by the fa
vour of this contempt, and of a tempeftuous night,
he carried the place by fcaling, fixty-eight years be
fore the Chriftian cera. After the defeat of Craffus,
it again became fubject to the kings of Armenia.
Occupied by their civil wars, the Romans did not
think of retaking it ; and the policy of Auguftus,
who fixed the limits of the empire to the banks of
the Euphrates, was a law to his fucceffors till Tra
jan. Thus for more than a hundred and fifty years
the Romans faw without jealoufy Nifibis and its
territory in the hands of the kings of Armenia,
their vaffals, or of the kings of Adiabena, vaffals
of the Parthians. Trajan, the moft warlike of the
Emperors after Julius Caefar, exploded the ftate-
maxim introduced by Auguftus, and carried his
victorious arms far beyond the Euphrates. The
taking of Nifibis was one of the firft exploits on
that fide ; but Hadrian foon abandoned it, with the
* Nifibis is now reduced to one hundred and fifty houfes ;
the marfliy lands produce rice, and the fertile meadows,
as far as Moful and the Tigris, are covered with the ruins
of towns and villages. See Niebuhr, Voyages, torn, ii,
p. 300 — 309. Gibbon. new

HISTORY OF JOVIAN. 301
new provinces which Trajan had conquered in the .
Eaft'. Lucius Verus, the brother and collegue of Mar
cus Aurelius, retook it •, and in the time of Severus
befieged twice, once by the people of Mesopo
tamia revolting againft the Romans, and the other
time by Volagefus king of Parthia, it defended
itfelf with fuch vigour and fuccefs, that Severus,
who firft firmly eftabliftied the Romans in Mefb-
potamia, not contented with fortifying Nifibis, ahd
making it the capital of a particular province,
raifed it even to the dignity of a colony, and made
it take the name of Septimia. In the time of
Alexander the1 fon of Mammea, Artaxerxes, who
had juft dethroned Artabanes, the laft king of
Parthia, and reftored to the Perfian nation the
fceptre which fhe had loft for about SB5 years,
endeavoured, but ineffectually, to make himfelf
mafter of Nifibis.
Under one of the fucceeding Emperors it was
taken either by the fame Artaxerxes, or his fon
Sapor I. ; but by taking it he only procured the
younger Gordian the honour of re-conquerihg it.
Julius-Philip, the murderer and fucceffor of Gor
dian, deferved by fome benefactions to be con
fidered as a new founder of the colony, as on a
medal which fhe caufed to be ftruck in honour of N
Philip, fhe took the name of Julia with that of
Septimia. The captivity of Valerian, and the
effeminacy of Gallienus his unworthy fon, ceded
to Sapor I. moft of the Afiatic provinces. It
1 w'as

HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
was neceffary for another Barbarian, named Oden-
athus, the chief of fome Saracens, more Roman
than the Emperor himfelf, to take care of the in-
terefts of the empire ; and he faved it in the Eaft.
Nifibis firft fubmitted to that prince, whofe fer
vices Gallienus rewarded with the title of Auguftus.
It feemed again feparated from the empire in the
reign of Zenobia, the widow of Odenathus ; but
it was re-united by Aurelian. The Perfians having
made themfelves mafters of it after the death of
Carus, the terror of the arms of Diocletian forced
them to abandon it.
In fhort, the aera of the glory of Nifibis, and
the moft brilliant parts of its hiftory, muft be
fought in the IVth century after Jefus Chrift. In
the reign of Conftantius, Sapor II. as has been
faid, was thrice foiled before its ramparts. Of
thofe three fieges, the moft memorable is that of
the year 350 *, defcribed by Julian with no lefs
elegance than energy, in his two firft orations,
which the orator has found the fecret to render
interefting in a certain degree, though they are
panegyrics, and the panygyrics of Conftantius. To
give an idea of that fiege, I will add, that Sapor
having learned that the revolt of iYtagnentius, and
the progrefs of that ufurper, called Conftantius into
the Weft, defirous of availing himfelf of that
juncture, invaded Mefopotamia at the head of an
* The other two fieges were in 337, and 359, accord
ing to Spanheim. Mr. Gibbon, though he refers to this
author, has (in his margin) by fome miftake, placed the
three fieges in 338, 346, and 350. innumerable

HISTORY OF JOVIAN. 303
innumerable army, and that, after having taken
fome caftles, he on a fudden invefted Nifibis. At •
firft he befieged it in form ; but neither the ram,
nor the mine, nor the tortoife, having any effect, he
turned thecourfeof the river Mydonius, hoping to
reduce the inhabitants by drought. From this, hap
pily, the fprings and the wells preferved them. The
Great King then conceived a defign worthy of Da
rius and Xerxes. He furrounded the place with a
high and ftrong mound, and flopped the river below
it. The waters ebbing filled a bafon that was pre
pared for them, and rofe almoft as high as th#
rampart, which was not more above their level than
was neceffary to prevent the city from being
overflowed. Sapor then equipped on this lake a
fleet of barks filled with machines to batter and
fcour the walls, and with foldiers to affau'It them.
This new mode of attack continued feveral days
with an amazing lofs on the fide of the Barbarians,
and with prodigies of intrepidity on the fide of the
Romans, till a weak part of the bank breaking
buried in the waters great numbers of the befiegers.
Sapor, feeing his reputation endangered, flopped
the Mygdonius above the city, and difcharged the
river againft the walls, of which it threw down a
hundred cubits, 152 feet. Though he played in-
ceffantlyon the breach, the inhabitants raifed anew '
wall fome paces from the old one, with fuch expe
dition, and defended it with fuch vigour, that they
repulfed all the affaults. The king, in the violence
,! "" ' of

HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
of his paffion, fhot an arrow into the fky to revenge
himfelf, as far he could, of the deity himfelf. But
he made that impious prince ftill more fenfible of
his power by an army of gnats, whofe ftings fo
enraged the horfes and elephants, that they cruflied
in pieces feveral thoufand foldiers. At length,
after lofing 20,000 men, he burnt his machines,
and raifed the fiege, which had lafted more than
four months. Count Lucillian, who commanded in
the city, and St. James, its bifhop *, divided the ho
nour of having faved it; the former by his courage
and military talents, the latter by his fervent
prayers, which he' interrupted only to animate his
people to fight for their liberty and religion ; for
they all profeffed Chriftianity, of which Sapor was
the perfecutor.
Such was the city of Nifibis, which the fon-in-
law of Lucillian ceded to the fame Sapor. Thofe,
whom he ordered to leave it and give place to Bar
barians, were in general the fame, who, thirteen
years before, had fo well defended it. The fenate,
in a mournful filence, • and the people uttering la
mentable cries, repaired to the camp of the Em.
peror, and, proftrate at his feet, faid to him every
thing that grief and the love of their country fug-
* The miracles which Theodoret (/. n. c. 30.) afcribes
to St. James, bifliop of Edeffa, were at leaft performed in
a worthy caufe, the defence of his country. He appeared
on the walls under the figure of the Roman Emperor, and
fent an army of gnats to fling the trunks of the elephants,
and to difcomfit the hoft-of this new Sennacherib. Gibbon. gefted

HISTORY OF JOVIAN. 305
gefted to them moft affecting. As the whole an
fwer that he oppofed to their fupplications, to their
arguments, to their fighs, was the fanctity of an
oath ; " Sire," faid they, " if neceffity conftrains
" you to cede your rights to Nifibis, do not forbid
" us, at leaft, to fupport ours, fword in hand.
" We afk of you neither ftotes, nor troops, nor
" money. By conquering Sapor we are all be-
" come foldiers. Confider us as foreigners. Aban-
*' don us to ourfelves, or rather to Heaven, the
" protector of juftice and innocence. That will
" continue to render invincible fuch Romans as
" fhall fight for their altars, for their hearths, for
" thofe walls which they have cemented with their
" own blood. After we have repulfed Sapor, the
u only ufe that we wifh to make of our liberty is
" to give ourfelves back to you."
Jovian anfwered, that he had exprefsly fwo'rn
to deliver up the city, and that he was incapable
of eluding an oath by vain fubtleties. Then
Sabinus, to whom his birth and riches gave a dif
tinguifhed rank among his fellow-citizens, faid to
him with equal fpirit and boldnefs : " Conftantius,
" always at war with the Perfians, was almoft al-
" ways unfortunate ; he fhivered at the name of
" Sapor, and this terror embittered all the mo-
" ments of his life. Conftantius, however, over-
" whelmed with misfortunes, Conftantius, reduced
" to the neceffity of efcaping almoft alone, and of
" eating a morfel of bread in the cottage of a
Vol. II. X "poor

2p6 HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
" poor woman, ftill preferved Nifibis. What do
" I fay ? He never ceded to the enemy an inch
" of ground ; but Jovian no fooner comes to the
" empire than he furrenders the bulwark of the
'¦ Eaft." Jovian heard thefe reproaches unmoved,
ftill intrenching himfelf in arguments drawn from
a point of honour and confcience.
It was cuftomary for every city to offer new
princes a crown of gold. In the critical fituation
to which the inhabitants of Nifibis were reduced,
they were particularly careful to perform that duty.
The Emperor, who did himfelf juftice, being very
fenfible that he did not deferve the crown, efpecially
from them, refufed that which they prefented to
him. But the inhabitants, With a perfeverance proof
againft all refufals, conjured him to receive ir,
thinking, without doubt, that he would allow him
felf to be affected by that mark of attachment and
refpect, and that, if he accepted their homage, he
would contract a kind of engagement with them.
Jovian, in order to extricate himfelf from their im
portunity, feemed at length to accept it ; and in
ftantly a lawyer, named Silvanus, exclaimed, with
a loud voice, " In like manner, great Emperor,
" may you be crowned by the other cities !" At
this fpeech he was fo exafperated, that he imme
diately ordered the inhabitants to evacuate the city
in three days, and fent fome troops to haften them,
with orders to p; t any to death who fhould remain
there after the time prefcribed.
3 - Tkis

HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
¦ This terrible decree filled Nifibis with confter*
nation. Inftantly nothing was heard but groans^
cries, imprecations againft the government, and
frightful howlings. To fee fome women of rank
forced by their fovereign to banifli themfelves from
the fcenes of their birth, from the places where
they had happily paffed their days in the bofom of
opulence, forced, I fay, to abandon all their pof-
feffions, and, what was more diftrefsful, to remove
for ever from the tombs of their hufbands, their
parents, their children, whofe afhes remained at the
difcretion of the Barbarians, was a fight capable
of moving Sapor, if he had been prefent. Some
times they tore their hair and their faces, fometimes
they clafped in their arms the doors of their houfes,
bathing them with tears, and bidding them a laft
farewell. In a word, there was feen the image of
a city taken by affault, and all the fymptoms of
grief and defpair which great calamities produce
among the orientals, whofe paffions were always
more expreffive than 'ours. But who could defcribe
the anguifh of heart which muft be felt by thofe
brave men who had fuftained three fieges, and
Who Would have thought themfelves happy to
¦filed the remainder of their blood for a country,
which they confidered not only as the place of
their birth, but alfo as the theatre of their glory,
and the monument of their valour ! Every one
feized in his hafte, and as if he had ftolen it, any
thing, that he could carry away, of his own effects;;
X 2 for,

307

308 HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
for, to complete their misfortunes, beafts of burden
were wanting, fo that a large quantity of valuable
furniture was obliged to be left.
The roads were foon covered with thefe poor
fugitives, who, groaning under their burdens, and
ftill more oppreffed by the weight of their affliction,
were going to feek the firft afylum that 'providence
fhould be pleafed to offer them. Moft of them
retired under the walls of Amida, where Jovian
ordered a walled fuburb to be built for them,
which was called the town of Nifibis. Amida,
founded by Conftantius, and almoft ruined by Sapor,
thus increafed by the ruins of this ancient city, and
repaired its loffes with fo much advantage, that it
became the capital of what the Romans retained
in Mefopotamia. As foon as the inhabitants of
Nifibis were departed, Jovian difpatched the tri
bune Conftantius to expell thofe of Singara, ano
ther Roman colony, and to deliver the five pro-i
vinces to the officers of Sapor. Thus this famous
treaty was literally executed, a treaty, which may
be regarded as the epocha of the fall of the empire,
and whofe execution expofed Jovian, more than
the treaty itfelf, to the reproaches not only of
Pagan, but of fome Chriftian authors. Are their
reproaches well founded ? This is a problem, whofe
difcuffion will be more properly placed at the end
of this hiftory *. After
* The Abbe de la Bleterie, though a fevere cafuift, has
pronounced, that Jovian was not bound to execute his
promife j

HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
After having fulfilled his engagements with the
Perfians, the Emperor ordered Procopius to con
vey to Tarfus in Cilicia the corpfe of Julian, agree
ably to the laft will of that prince.. In the fu
neral proceffion, which muft have been a fortnight
at leaft on the road, the cuftoms of the Pagans
were obferved, of which the moft fantaftic was, to
enliven the funeral pomp of the great, and even
of the Emperors, at the expence of thofe whom
they pretended to honour. They added humour
and fatire to the demonftrations of grief. Here
were heard mournful fongs and lamentations, and
tears were feen to flow : there drolls and buffoons
danced and acted fome jocofe fcenes, or one of
the troop, ir> a mafk which reprefented to the
life him whofe obfequies were celebrated, imitated
his gefture and his voice *, and made him utter,
in a ludricrous ftrain, the language moft proper to
characterife him. The inferior perfonages loaded
promife ; fince he could not difmember the empire, nor
alienate, without their confent, the allegiance of his people.
I have never found much delight or inftruction in fuch po*
litical metaphyfics. ' Giebon<
Not being convinced or edified by the Abbe's reafon-
ing, I have not tranflated his diflertation.
* Of this we are informed by Suetonius in the following
remarkable paffage : " At the funeral of Vefpafian, Favo,
" the chief of the comedians, who played his part, and imi-
" tated, as is cuftomary, his words and actions while alive,
" afked the managers of the folemnity aloud, " What
" would be the expence of the funeral pomp ?" and they
" anfwering, ' a hundred millions of fefterces, 'the pretended
" Vefpafian exclaimed, " if they would give him but a
'•* hundred fefterces, they might throw him into the river." B.
X 3. this

HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
this principal performer with railleries and affronts.
The pretended Julian muft have been highly ri
diculous, as thecopy was always more extravagant
than the original. Neither the faults of that un
fortunate prince, nor perhaps his good qualities^
were fpared. He was reproached in the bittereft
terms for his apoftacy, his temerity, his defeat, his
death. To conceive how far the licentioufnefs was
carried, it muft be remembered that the actors re
venged themfelves on the enemy of the ftage, and
that they were fure of the applaufe of the Chrif
tians. As foon as Procopius had acquitted himfelf of
this commiffion, alarmed at the fate of Jovianus,
and at the falfe report that was fpread, that Julian,
his relation, had wifhed, at the point of death, to
have him for his fucceffor, he thought that his life
¦was in danger. He therefore fecreted himfelf, and
had the art to elude the fearches of Jovian, and
afterwards thofe of Valens. About two years after
the death of Julian, he appeared again in order to
afcend the throne, from which he fell almoft the
fame inftant '¦*.
From Nifibis Jovian took the road to Antioch,
and came to Edeffa, which fhould have been dear
to him for the fame reafon f that had made it
odious to his predeceffor, pie was in that city on
the 27th of September, according to the date of a
* See p. 221, note f .
t Julian would not pafs through Edeffa, becaufe that
pity was ftrongly attached to Chriftianity. B.
law,-

HISTORY OF JOVIAN. 311
Lw *, tohich excufes the foldiers from going to
forage more than twenty miles, or one day's journey,
from the camp. Julian, the reftorer of military
difcipline, had obliged them to go in fearch of it
to that diftance ; but perhaps fome officers fent
them ftill farther. Jovian, interefted in conciliating
the affection of the troops, delivered or preferved
them from that fatigue, to which there was no
right to oblige them ; and the fpirit of his law
agrees exactly with that of Julian.
The Emperor confiauing his march by long
ftages, and received very forrowfully on his route,
entered Antioch in the month of October, and
could not difpenfe with making fome ftay there,
notwithftanding his impatience to go and fhew him
felf at Conftantinople, and afterwards, no doubt,
in the provinces of the Weft. His troops were in
extreme want of repofe. Antioch, the abode of
plenty, and the centre of all the conveniences of
life, was the propereft place in the world to re
cover them; and prudence did not yet allow Jovian
to feparate himfelf from an army, whofe fuffrages
were the only right that he had to the empire.
During fix weeks, more or lefs, that he paffed
in the capital of the Eaft, he applied himfelf
chiefly to regulate what concerned religion. That
* This law is dated in the confulfhip of Jovian and Var
ronian, and confequently the date is falfe, at leaft in that
refpeit. It is well known, that the dates marked in the
Theodofian code are fo faulty, that fcarce any ftrjfs can be
laid on them. B. X 4 portion

HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
portion cf public affairs, fo effential and alway«
fo delicate, then required extreme difcretion.
Julian, with his pretended toleration, which had
been no more in fact than a perfecution aukwardly
difguifed, in which the injuftice of oppreffion was
aggravated by the infolence of difhonefty, had in
a manner fet all the fubjects of the empire at va
riance. The people were incenfed againft the
people ; cities were divided ; families were dif-
united ; the ferment of minds was fo violent, that
it feemed as if it could not be calmed but by the
extinction of one of the parties. The unexpected
revolution, which again gave the Chriftians a
prince of their religion, was not fufficient to re-
ftore tranquillity. There was room to fear, that,
under the appearance of zeal, the animofity of
fome ill-informed Chriftians, indulging itfelf in
fome unworthy reprifals, might drive the Pagans,
with whom patience was founded on no religious
principle, to extremities. Already the temples were
every where * fhut ; the blood of victims flowed
no longer ; the priefts of the idols abfconded ; the
philofophers trimmed their beards, and quitted the
cloak, to refume the common drefs. This was not
a panic fear : they had unworthily abufed their
credit. St. Gregory of Nazianzus, at the conclufion
of his difcourfe againft Julian, exhorts to the for-

i

* Ta ttfa. rut YXKmut irtttra a.vix\tt(\o. Suppofing that So
crates is not miftaken in faying that the temples were
every where fhut, this could not have happened before the
law which we fliall prefently mention. B.
givenefs

HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
givenefs of injuries in a manner that would induce
a belief, that, on that occafion, he confidered ober
dience to the precept as a great effort of virtue.
One would be apt to think, that, though he in
veighs with fuch warmth againft the Pagans, and
againft the memory of Julian, it is a ftroke of
Chriftian policy ; and that by taking, as it were,
in the name ^ of the church, and by public au
thority, a lawful vengeance, he means to prevent
and difarm that of individuals.
The war kindled between the Chriftians and
Pagans was not the only one of which religion
was either the pretext or the caufe. Not to men
tion fome fects that were obfcure or of little ac
count *, every thing that bore the Chriftian name
was divided between the faith of Nice and the
herefy of Arius. The moft vehement contro-
verfies are often no more than difputes on words.
Here, under the appearance of difputes on words f,
and even on letters, there were real divifions as to
fundamental tenets ; and the difputes were managed
with as much animofity, as if incomprehenfible truths
had been in queftion. The Arians, whom the
favour of Conftantius had put in poffefiion of the
churches of Conftantinople, and of the principal
* Such as the Valentinians, the Marcionites, the Mon-
tanifts, the Manicheans. B.
f The terms opoaatoi;, " confubftantial," " of the fame
fubftance," confecrated by the council of Nice, and
oftoiso-io;, " like in fubftance," which moft of the Arians ad
mitted, only differ an iota more or lefs. B.
fees

314 HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
fees of the Eaft, fubdivided into pure Arians and
demi-Arians, agreed only againft the Catholics.
In lefs than fifty years they had made fixteen for*
mularies of faith "*, and it was doubted whether they
had made the laft. Arianifm was a cruel feet, and
even by that, according to St. Athanafius f, bore
on its front a mark of reprobation. To cruelty
it knew how to add cunning and artifice. De
ceived by its equivocal forms J, under Conftantius
the whole world was furprifed to find itfelf Arian
without thinking of it; but error did not long en
joy this imaginary triumph. A reunion founded
on duplicity had only produced a more cruel
divifion. On the other fide, thofe who acknowledged the
'divinity of the Word, did not all agree as to the
reft. Some, by an excefsof delicacy, rejected the
term " confubftantial," as not being in fcripture ;
and though they admitted the tenet meant by that
word, all had not, like Athanafius §, equity enough
to companionate their weaknefs, and to reckon them
among the orthodox.
An obftinate fchifm, formed by miftake, and
perpetuated by imprudence, rent the city of
* The enumeration of them may be feen in the Eccle
fiaftical Hiftory of M. Fieury, 1. xiv. 23. B.

+

Ath, I lift. Arian. ad Mciachos, t.
d.

1. p. 382. Edit-. B.

X

At the Council of Rimini.

B.

§

Alba.*:, de Synodil, 1. II. p. 755.

B. Antioch.

HISTORY OF JOVIAN. 31$
Antioch *". There were feen two Catholic bifhops,
befides one Arian. At Conftantinople, and elfe-
where,
* In the year 330, under the reign of Conftantine, hav
ing fucceeded in depofing and banifhing St. Euftathius,
bifhop of Antioch, the moft zealous of the Catholics began
to hold their i'eparate affemblies. As they ftill acknowr
ledged Euftathius, the name of Euftathians was given them.
The fee wis fucceffively filled by feveral bifhops, more or
lefs attached to the Arian cabal, with whom the great
number of Catholics of Antioch, either through love of
peace, or from weaknefs, did not fail to communica.e. Things
remained in this ftate during the reign of Conftantius. But
in 361 (the laft year of that prince) Anianus, the Arian bifliop,
having been baniflled, and, befides, Euftathius having died in
his exile, they were defirous to elect a bifliop who might
re-unite the church of Antioch. Tha Arians and the
moderate Catholics eaft their eyes on Mtleiius, the moft
amiable and frioft peaceable of men. Every one thought
him of his own party. But in that the Arians were mif
taken. Meletius was no fooner elected than he declared
for the Catholic faith. The Euftathians, however, ob
ftinately refolved not to acknowledge him, becaufe the
Arians had had great fhare in his election. On the other
fide, the Arians, enraged at being deceived in him,
caufed him to be baniflled a month after, to the great re
gret of the moderate Catholics, who, retaining an inviolable
attachment to the holy bifliop, would no more affemble, as
they had hitherto done in the churches of the Arians, and
offered to unite themfelves with the Euftathians, or zealous
Catholics. But thefe refufed to admit them to their com
munion. There were then at Antioch therefore three
parties ; the Arians, the Euftathians,' and the Meletians.
After the death cf Conftantius, in 362, Lucifer, of Cag-
liari in Sardinia, whom that prince had banifhed into Syria,
a man celebrated for his courage, and his fufferings in the
good caufe, but whofe views were too confined, ordained
as bifliop the prieft Paulinus, whom the Euftathians already
confidered as their head. Lucifer thought that the Me
letians, more pacific than the others, would accept Pau
linus, who, befides, was very worthy of the prelacy ;
but

316 HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
where, the Macedonians *, orthodox, at leaft in
appearance, as to the confubftantiality of the Son,
denied that of the Holy Ghoft. The Donatifts,
thinking that there was no church, or even facra-
ments, out of their fociety, carried fanaticifm in
Africa to a decree of madnefs. The Novatians f±
whofe herefy was to erect a defperate rigour into
an article of faith, kept up fome good underfland
ing with the Catholics, who diftinguifhed them ex
tremely from the other fedtaries ; and it may be
faid, that they merited that diftinction by the purity
of their manners, and by their attachment to the
ancient doctrine as to the divinity of Jefus Chrift.
They had fupported with heroic courage the Arian
perfecutions : but fome had fhewn ^, that for the
defence of their faith they knew how to employ
other arms than thofe of true Chriftians.
As the moft natural effect of a foreign war is to
fufpend civil diffentions ¦> in fpite of the artifices of
but this imprudent ftep only ferved to put an end to the
fchifm. Thus there were feen in the fame city three bifhops,
Euzoius the Arian, Meletius, returned from his exile, and
Paulinus, both Catholics. This divifion did not terminate
till long after, under bifhop Alexander, to whom the Eu
ftathians re-united themfelves in 415. B.
* So named from Macedonius, archbifliop of C»n-
ftantinople. B.
f The Novatians did not admit to penitence thofe who
had fallen after baptifm. B.
X Under Conftantius fheNovatian peafants of Mantinium
in paphlagonia, armed with fcythes and axes, cut in pieces
four companies of foldiers, who had been fent to oblige
them to embrace Arianifm. B. Juliaa

HISTORY OF JO VI AN 317
Julian to foment the flame of difcord, there ap
peared in his reign between the moft oppofite com
munions a kind of truce refembling peace. Ex
cepting only the Donatifts, who committed exceffes
againft the Catholics, for which the magiftrates
thought it their duty to account to the Emperor ;
excepting, I fay, thofe madmen, the Chriftians had
feemed to forget their domeftic divifions, and to
employ themfelves in concert in offering up prayers
for their common deliverance. But as foon as the
election of a Chriftian prjnce was known, the
flumbering difputes began to awaken, and the
chiefs of the different communions were eagerly
defirous of going to meet the Emperor as foon as
he was in the Roman territories ; either to engage
him, or at leaft to render him favourable to their
party. Amidft fuch a diverfity of opinions, Jovian, as
I have already faid, had the happinefs to know the
truth. He had preferred Chriftianity to his for
tune, and openly profeffed the Catholic doctrine.
If the purity of his manners did not perhaps
anfwer to that of his faith, at leaft he ardently
wifhed, it cannot be doubted, to fee all his fubjects
re-united in the bofom of the true religion. But
Jovian was too well inftructed in the nature of re
ligion itfelf to offer violence to any one. A con-
feffor of the faith become a perfecutor would have
been a kind of prodigy. Who fhould be better
acquainted with the rights of confcience than he
6 who

fi8 HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
who himfelf had been obliged to claim them ? Pie
was convinced that faith perfuades, but does not
command ; that to employ fire and fword, in the
progrefs of the gofpel, is to combat at once the
fpirit of the gofpel, and the principles of reafon ;
that fear only makes hypocrites ; that God re
jects forced homage, and that if he difapproves
error, he detefts perjury ; that the excellence of
the end propofed cannot fandtify unlawful means ;
that, befides, in order to fucceed, the means muft
be fuited to the end, and thus that confciences can
no more be carried by force of arms than ramparts
by arguments "*.
But, befides, if Jovian had -thought it law
ful and poffible to convert men by the dread of
punifhments and death, it would have been rifking
too much at the beginning of a new reign to irritate
the Arians, who ftill retained, among the Chriftian
communions, that air of fuperiority which had
been given them by the protection and favour of
Conftantius. It would have been ftill more dan
gerous to attack Paganifm in front, which, under
Julian, had recovered ftrength, and had even be
come again the religion of the ftate. It muft be
fuppofed, that the Pagans, feeing themfelves at the
* Thefe truly Proteftant doctrines flow from the pen of
a nominal Papift, but are as different from thofe of the
murderers of Cranmer in former times, and of thofe of
Calas in the prefent, as light from darknefs. Such liberal
fentiments in fome ages and countries would have configned
the author to the Inquifition. difcretion

HISTORY OF JOVIAN. 319
difcretion of a prince who was a zealous enemy to
idolatry, were extremely alarmed, and that many
expreffed fo much uneafinefs as to occafion fome to
that weakly eftablifhed prince. With a view there
fore to confirm them, and alfo to confirm himfelf,
he haftened to make a law, by which he maintained
them in the free exercife of their religion, and
permitted them to re-open the temples, where, by
forcible means, and without the authority of the
prince, they had been fhut fince the death of
Julian. " You underftand," fays Themiftius, a Pagan
philofopher and fenator of Conftantinople *, in a
panegyric on Jovian, which he pronounced before
him, " that there are fome things which a fo-
•' vereign cannot reftrain. Among thefe are the
*' virtues, and efpecially religion. A prince,
" who fhould make an edict to enjoin his fubjects
" to love him, would not he obeyed. Could he
" flatter himfelf with being fo for commanding
" them to have fuch or fuch a religious perfuafion ?
" Fear, without doubt, will effect tranfient meta-
" morphofes. But fhall we confider as men con-
*' vinced, thofe men more changeable than Eu-
" ripus -f, perfuaded by their variations to be the
" adorers of the purple, and not of the divinity,
" thofe ridiculous Proteufes who difhonour human
" kind, and who are fometimes feen in the temples
* See the Epiftle to him, Vol. I. p. 4.
f This narrow fea, between Bceotia and Eubcea, ebbed
and- flowed feven times in 24 hours, or oftener,"' or feldomer,
as the wind fat. " at

S" HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
(t at the feet of the ftatues and altars, and fomri-
" times at the holy table in the churches of the
" Chriftians ? Thus, inftead of ufing violence, you
" have made a law which allows every one to pay
" to the Deity the worfliip which he fhall think
" the belt. As the image of the Supreme Being,
" you imitate his conduct:. He has placed in the
" heart of man a natural inclination which leads
" him to religion j but he does not force him in
" the choice. Thus the coercive laws, which
" tended to deprive man of a liberty which God
" leaves him, have lafted at moft during the lives
•' of their authors •, inftead of which, your law,
" or rather that of God himfelf, fubfifts in all
" ages. Neither confiscations, nor exiles, nor
" punifhments can annull it. The body may be
" imprifoned, tormented, deftroyed ; but the foul
" takes her flight : fhe efcapes from violence, bear-
" ing in herfelf this indelible law, this liberty of
" thinking, of which it is impoflible to deprive
" her, though the tongue fhould be forced
'* to articulate fome words  The wifdom
" of your edict allays our cruel divifions. This,
** Emperor, beloved by God, you know better
" than any one : The Perfians were lefs formidable
" to the Romans than the Romans themfelves ; the
*' incurfions of thofe Barbarians lefs dangerous than
" the accufations fuggefted by the fpirit of party
** to deftroy citizens. Continue to hold the ba-
*' lance even. Allow all mouths to addrefs prayers
*' to heaven for the profperity of your empire. . .
" A law

HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
" A law fo juft muft penetrate all the fubjects of
" our divine monarch with refpect and love, thofe,
" among others* to whom not contented to reftore?
" liberty, he explains the tenets of their religion
" as well as the ableft of their teachers."
Thus, in the prefence of Jovian himfelf, . fpoke
Themiftius, one of the moft illuftrious magiftrates
of his age, and deputed by the body to harangue
the Emperor. His authority fufficiently authen
ticate". *b." hw rv<" jovian, though it no longer exift?,
and t' ough other writers feem to have been igno-
ranr of ir. The panegyrics of princes fometimes
praife them for virtues which they do not poffefs,
but never for laws which they have not made. It
cannot be denied that Themiftius, in the difcourfe,
part of which I have juft quoted, lays down, on
occafion of that law, fome Very philofophical and
even very Chriftian maxims. But as truth is very
feldom found in. the mouths of Pagans without any
mixture of error, to the folid arguments which
condemn cruelty and violence he adds the pre
tended impoffibility of knowing how the Deity
Would be adored, and the imaginary honour which
redounds to the Supreme Being front the variety
of worfhips which divide the world. This phjjo-
fopher confounds, political toleration with indif
ference, while Jovian, by the light of the gofpel,
perfectly diftinguifhes them.
The fame edict, which permitted the temples to
be re- opened, ordered the abominable fanftuaries
Vol. II. Y of

3*2 H I S T O R Y- O F J O V I A N.
of impoftures and witchcraft to be fhut. It fuffered
the public facrifices, and the worfliip formerly au-
thorifed, to remain ; but it forbade enchantments,
magic, and all worihip vilibly founded on im-
pofture. Though the Roman laws had always con
demned thefe practices, the foolifh fuperftition and
credulity of Julian had brought them extremely
into fafhion. The wifeft among the Pagans muft
greatly praife his fucceffor for the care which he
took to profcribe what they deemed foreign to their
religion, and likely to do it difcredit. It feemed
to them, ho doubt, performing a legitimate act of
the pontifical power, which they ftill afcribed to
the Chriftian Emperors, and of which Conftantine
had ufefully availed himfelf, to effect the destruction
of idolatry.
Properly fpeaking, the Pagan religion had no
dogmas ; it confifted of a heap of practics, and
the Sovereign Pontiff had a right to fupprefs fuch
as he thought abufive *. Conftantine therefore
having formed the plan of diffolving it by little
and little, and of deftroying it by degrees, with
out fhocking the Pagans, had confined it within
very narrow bounds, by retrenching fometimes a
worfliip contrary to good manners, fometimes a fuf-
picious practice; here fubverting a temple that
was become the fcliool of libertinifm, there inter-
* See the Diflertation of the Baron de la Baftie, on the
.Sovereign Pontificate of the Roman Emperors (Part III.)
in the Memoirs of the Academy of Iufcriptions and Belles
Lettm, t, XV. B. dieting

HISTORY OF JOVIAN. 323
dieting an oracle whofe priefts manifeftly abufed
the public credulity. It appears that Jovian did
not pretend to tolerate Paganifm but in the ftate
to which Conftantine had reduced it. On that
footing only it could in fact be fuffered, and the
moderate Pagans required nothing more.
The political toleration of Jovian was effective
and fincere. Inftead of feeking pretences to difturb
the Pagans, he did not avail himfelf of the mod
natural occafions. He might, without injuftice,
have abandoned to the feverity of the laws feveral
priefts of the idols, and the philofophers who
had abufed the confidence of Julian. Neverthelefs,
it is not to his reign that the rigours which, Li
banius fays *, were exercifed againft them, muft be
* As Libanius did not pronounce his fecond funeral
oration on Julian till eighteen months after the death of
that prince, and confequently more than ten months after
the death cjf Jovian, I know not why M. de TiUemont ap
plies to the reign of the latter the bitter complaints of that
orator. " At prefent," fays that orator, (Orat. Parent. 148,
et feq.) " thofe who declaim againft the Gods are treated
;" with refpe.ct, while the priefts, thofe who are only guilty
,*' of ferving the Gods, undergo unjuft trials. That which
" they have employed in divine worfliip, that which the
" flame has confumed on the altars, they are forced to
" furrender. Are they unable to pay ? They languifh in
" fetters. The temples have been deftroyed, or remain
*' half-built, to ferve as a ridicule for Chriftians. The
" philofophers are put to the torture. To have received
" fomething from the Emperor is tp have, contracted a
" debt. What do I fay ? It is to have committed a theft.
" In the midft of fummer, at noon -day, a man is expofed
" quite naked to the. heat of the fun. Befides what he
y 2 " ha*

[24

HISTORY OF JOVIAN.

has received, he is afked what every one fees he has not
received. It is well known that this is to require an
impoffi'bility ; but it is a pleafure to burn him ; he muft
expire in this horrible torture. The profeffors of elo
quence, accuftomed to live with the great, are driven
from their doors, like infamous murderers. That nu
merous fwarm of young difciples who always accom
pany them, feeing their mafters thus treated, conceive
that knowledge is good for nothing, and feek a better
protedion. In every city the members of the public
council unjuftly difpenfe with the fervice, which their
country has a right to expect from Jhem; and no one
checks fo outrageous a diforder. Nothing is every where
feen but exactions, forced fales, confifcations, indigence,
poverty, tears. The labourer choofes rather to beg than
to cultivate the earth. He who to-day gives alms, to
morrow will be obliged to afk them. The Scythians, the
Si Sarmatians, the Celts, in a word, all the Barbarians be-*
" gin again to infult us on all fides," &c. ,
The odious ftrokes of this picture do not relate to Jovian.
Indeed, during his reign, the bifhops, and other Chriftian
preachers, were in great efteem, and fpoke againft Pa
ganifm with full liberty. It is alfo very poffible, that at
the news Of his election, in places where- the Chriftians
were the ftrongeft, the populace might deftroy fome temples.
Thofe which Julian was building remained unfiriifhed, be-
¦ caufe Jovian- would not furnifh trie expence, -and the zeal
of iflulateis cooled, I alio fuppofe that LiM'hius, and his
fellows, did not find the lame accefs to the great : fome ma-
giftrate might have refufed him admittance ; a very fenfible
affront to that fophift", who treated Julian as an equal. But
this is all -that can reafonably be afcribed to the reign of
Jovian. 'According to Libanius,1- it was " the height of
" fummer," (jj.iaa Btpas) when the philofophers were per-
fec"uted. Noiv Jovian did not enter on the territories of the
empire till towards the beginning of autumn, and died be
fore the end of winter. Befides, the philofopher tor
mented fo cruelly is plainly the famous Maximus. But'
Prifcus and he were brought to trial at the beginning of the
reign of ValCntinian and Valens.
As to what Libanius fays of the venality of exemptions^
and of the oppreflion of the people, no author reproaches
Jovfon with anything lite it s on the contrary, the patrician
Petronius,

HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
be afcribed. It is true, that, after the death of
Julian, their protector and their dupe, fome phi
lofophers were called to a fevere account for the
immenfe fums, which, it was faid, they had drawn
from him; and this perhaps is the only time that
the royal treafure ha? purfued men of letters.. But
thofe enquiries were not made till the reign of Var-
lens. Eunapius, alfo a Pagan, and as plaintiyp
as Libanius, affirms that Jovian continued to ho
nour the philofophers * who were in the train of
his predeceffor. We may at leaft conclude, from
that expreffion, that he had fome regard for them.
Themiftius reckons as a merit in him his protecting
philofophy at a time when almoft every one elfe
declared againft it, and recalling it to court in 3.
lefs difgraceful habit. Fear had at firft driven the
philofophers from it ; but they foon recovered
their courage ; and Jovian allowed them to appear
there again, but in the common drefs. It may,
however, be prefumed, that they were not feen
there with a very gracious eye, and that they muft
Petronius, the father-in-law of Valens, a monfter of ava
rice and cruelty, rendered immediately the government of
his fon-in-law highly odious, and ruined a multitude of
families, by enquiring what was due to the treafury for
near a century paft. See Amm. xxvi. 6. In fliort, the
two brothers reigned when the Barbarians, being no longer
reftrained by the fear of Julian, again took up arms. Thofe
¦people had fcarce had time to hear of his death, and to
make fome preparations, during the reign of Jovian. B.
* Ti/am» tou; «»Jj«t iteltteati. Illos vii q,, bonore profstjui nori
dejitit.
Y 3 fofer

HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
fuffer fome mortifications, and perhaps infults,
from the courtiers, which the Emperor did not
take the trouble to avenge ; and tha"t, if I miftake
not, is the meaning of what Themiftius fays, in a
difcourfe addreffed to Valens ; that " it is a flain to
" the glory of Jovian to have fuffered infults to
" be offered them, though, as to himfelf, he offered
•' them none."
Libanius continued inceffantly to bewail Julian,
and to praife him in his writings. Some would
have made it a ftate crime, and Jovian was advifed
to fend him to confole himfelf with his hero. But
he thought it beneath an Emperor to trouble him
felf with what a fophift might write. He was
fenfible alfo that by putting an author to death, his
works, inftead of beiug fuppreffed, are affured of
immortality. As Jovian fpared a Maximus and
a Libanius, we may judge what tranquillity was
enjoyed by fuch Pagans as could be reproached
with nothing but their religion. It is certain,
that at Conftantinople ' facrifices were publickly
offered for the folemnity of the confulfhip of
Jovian. If this prince, in quality of common father and
chief of the body politic, thought himfelf obliged
not to reflrain the confciences of his fubjects, he
did not forget that he owed a ftriking protection
to the religious fociety of which he was a member.
It appears by his medals that he replaced in the
i Labarum

HISTORY OF JOVIAN. 327
Lnbarum * the monogram of Jefus Chrift. Not
content with having, thus declared that Chriftianity
was the religion of the empire, he' formally de-_
dared by a letter -j-, which he wrote to the gover-

nors

* The principal ftandard which difplayed the triumph
of the crofs was ftyled the Labarum, or Laborum, an ob
fcure though celebrated name, which has been vainly de
rived from almoft all the languages of the world. It is de
fcribed as a long pike interfered by a tranfverfal beam.
The filken veil, which hung down from the beam, was cu-
rioufly enwrought with the images of the reigning mo
narch and his children. The fummit of the pike fupported
a crown of gold, which inclofed the myfterious mo
nogram, at once expreffive of the figure of the crofs,
and the initial letters of the name of Chrift. The fafety
of the Laborum was entrufted to fifty guards of approved
valour and fidelity. Gibbon.
Julian had replaced in the ftandards the antient Latin
letters, S. P. Qi R.
•f This letter, mentioned by Sozomen, is, I fancy, the
very law of which Themiftius gives the elogium. He fays,
plainly enough, that this law was the firft of thofe of
Jovian ; and Sozomen afferts, that Jovian did not defer a
moment (sJin f«?iXiis-as) to write to the generals of the pro
vinces. It is probable, that the law contained two heads.
The Emperor there declared, firft, that the Chriftian re
ligion was that of the ftate, &c. Secondly, that he did
not pretend to deprive any one of the liberty of following
and exercifing any other, &c. The Pagan philofopher
dwells only on the fecond head, which was advantageous
to the Pagans : the ecclefiaftical hiftorian mentions only the
firft, which favoured the Chriftians. Each of them com
ments in his own way on the article which interefts him,
and gives it too much latitude. In reading Themiftius,
one would think that Jovian had put all religions on the
fame level ; but Sozomen, whofe text I am far from under
flanding rigoroufly.,, fays, that this prince declared Chrifti
anity fhe only religion of his fubjects. M. de TiUemont did
pat know how to reconcile the law that Themiftius mentions
Y 4 with

HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
nors of the provinces, all Pagans no doubt, as
they had been put or left in place by Julian ; en
joining them to act fo that the Chriftians might
affe.mble in the churches : for in feveral places they
had either been deftroyed or converted to profane
ufes. He recalled all who had been banifhed on
account of religion, reftored to the clergy, fq
virgins, and to widows the privileges granted by
the Chriftian Emperors, and re-eftablifhed the dif-
tribution of corn which the demefne allowed tq
every church for the fubiiftence of widows and
orphans. The famine which then afflicted the
empire obliged him to reduce to one-third that
pious donation of Conftantine ; but he promifed tq
give the remainder at the firft return of plenty.
He made alfq a law^ which we ftill have; ad
drefled tq Salluft the Second, Prasfect of the pra?-
torium of the Eaft, denouncing capital punifliment:
to thofe who fhpuld dare to fteal away, or even
folicit in marriage, the virgins confecrated to God *„
Thefe;
with that referred, to by Sozomen. I flatter myfelf that
this learned writer would have approved the method of
agreement here propofed. B.
The Abbe de la Bleterie judicioufly remarks, that Sozo
men has forgot the general toleration, and Themiftius the
eftablifhment of the Catholic rt';gion. Each of them
turned away from the object which he difliked, and wifhed
to fupprefs the part of the edict the leaft honourable, in his
opinion, to the Emperor Jovian. Gibbon.
* The following are the very terms of the law. Imp.
Jovianus A. ad fecundum P, P. Si quis, tion dicam rapere,fed vel
atten~

HISTORY OF JOVIAN. 3?9
Thefe fcandalous marriages had grown common
under Julian. To accomplifh them, fome had em
ployed violence, and others feduction. An officer,
named Magnus, the fame who was, under Valens,
and perhaps from the time of Julian, treafurer of
the Emperor's houfhold *, had burned, by his pri
vate authority, the church of Beryta in Phoenicia.
Ecclefiaftical hiftory reprefents Count Magnus f as
unprin-
attentare, matrimonii jungendi caufa, facratas virgines vel in
vitas aufus fuerit, capital! fententid feriatur. Dat. XI. Kal.
Mar. Antiochia, Joviano A. et Van oniano Cofs. Inftead of
invitas, we fhould perhaps read invitarc. Sozomen feems
to have _read intueri, as he tranflates the Latin word by
thefe ; axoharus tspoa^iirotla, impudice afpicicntem. There is
no probability that this was the fenfe. The date of this
law is alfo falfe, like a number of others. Jovian did not
take the confulfliip till a month at fooneft after his leaving
Antioch; and, befides, he was no longer in this world on
the 19th of February, 364, as he died between the 16th
and 17th of that month. B.
The new law which Condemned the rape or marriage of
nuns, is exaggerated by Sozomen ; who fuppofes that an
amorous glance, the adultery of the heart, was punifhed;
with death by the evangelic legiflator. Gibbon.
* Thus, I think, Comes largitionum comitatenfium fhould be
tranflated. B.
¦f It was he who, in the time of Valens and of the go
vernor Palladius, perfecuted by an inferior order the Ca
tholics of Alexandria, to oblige them to receive the bifhop
Lucius. Having caufed nineteen, as well priefts as deacons,
to be apprehended and brought before his tribunal, fome
of whom were more than fourfcore years of age, he faid
to them, " Embrace, wretches, embrace the opinion of
" the Arians. If your religion be true, God will pardon
" you for having yielded to neceffity. You will pleafe the
H moft clement, auguft Valens." After having put them in

93o HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
Unprincipled, a Have to thceourt, ardent to diftin-
guifji himfelf in all perfecutions, and committing
with the bafenefs of a fubaltern fome crimes of
fupererogation. He was very near being beheaded
by Jovian. Powerful interceffions obtained his
pardon -, but he was condemned to re-build the
church of Beryta at his own expence.
Athanafius, the perfonal object of the hatred
and perfecution of Julian, hearing of the death of
that prince, had on a fudden re- appeared in the
midft of his people, who were agreeably furprifed.
As the orders of Julian had not then been re
voked, a Pagan or an Arian might have made an
attempt on the perfon of the holy prelate. How
was it known whether the new Emperor would not
be difpleafed that Athanafius fliould fhew himfelf
publickly in Alexandria, without the leave of the
fame authority, which had baniflied him from all
iEgypt ? But his fears were immediately difpelled
by a letter from Jovian, conceived in thefe terms :
" To the moft religious friend of God, Athanafius,
" Jovian. As we admire beyond all expreffion the
" fancthy of your life, in which fhine forth the
in prifon, and caufed them to be fcourged and tormented,
he baniflied them into an idolatrous country, made theiri
fet out immediately, urging them himfelf, fword in hand,
vithout giving them time to take neceffaries, without wait
ing till the fea became calm, without being moved by the,
ciies and tears of the whole Catholic people. Epfiola Petri
Akxaudrini apud Theodoret. 1. iv. 22, B. " marks

HISTORY OF JOVIAN. 331
" marks of refemblance to the God of the uni-
" verfe *, and your zeal for Jefus Chrift our Sa-
*f viour, we take you now under our protection,
" moft refpedtable bifliop. You deferve it by that
" courage which has made you reckon as nothing
" the moft painful labours, and regard as an ob-
" jedt of contempt the rage of perfecutors and
" menacing fwords. Holding in your hand the
t: helm of faith, which is fo dear to you, you ceafe
" not to combat for the truth, nor to edify the
" Chriftian people who find in you the perfect
" model of all virtues. For thefe caufes, we re-
" call you immediately, and we order you to return,
" to teach the doctrine of falvati'on. Return there-
" fore to the holy churches ; feed the people of his
" God. Let the paftor, at the head of the flock,
" offer up prayers for our perfon : for we are per-
" fuaded that God will diffufe on us, and on thofe
" who are Chriftians like us, his moft fignal favours,
*' if you grant us the affiftance of your prayers.5'
It appears by the order contained in this letter,
that the Emperor was ignorant, or chofe to be
ignorant, that Athanafius had refumed the public
exercife of his functions f. Be that as it may,
* The word " celeftial" faintly expreffes the impious
and extravagant flattery of the Emperor to the archbifliop,
TJ3S irpog rot ®tot rut t/Kut ofj,otuasu$. GiBBON,
f He might be ignorant of it ; for St. Gregory of Na-
zianus fays, that the order for the recall of Athanafius was
difpatched the firft of all. Greg. Naz. or, xxi. B.
Jovian

33* HISTORY OF JOVIAN,
jovian wrote to him again, to afk iriftruction of him
as to .the tenets which were then the fubject of
difputes. Not that he was not a coufirmed catholic.
The letter juft quoted would alone prove it * ;
and, befides, thus to confult the great Athanafius,
the man of the church and the bulwark of the
faith, was loudly to declare himfelf for the doctrine
of Nice. Bpt not to mention the difpute which
had been raifed concerning the divinity of the Holy
Ghoft, the Arians, by their fophifms and captious
formularies, fome of which were rather infuffi-
cient than erroneous, had introduced into a con-
troverfy, fimple in itfelf, more difficulties than
were neceffary to embarrafs a foldier like Jovian.
Thinking himfelf then obliged by the ftate to
labour on the great work of the reunion of Chrif
tians, and refolved to employ only perfuafion, he
had need of fome palpable but decifive and keen
arguments to convince the fectaries, without en
tering into thorny difcuffions, which would have
been above his reach, and in one fenfe beneath his
dignity, Athanafius entered fully iqto his views; cori-
vened fome intelligent bifhops, and anfwered him
* Theodoret (1. iy. c. 2.) fays, that he ordered thefe,
who had adhered to the faith of Nice in its purity, to be
put in poffeffion of the churches. If that be true, the
brdrr was not rigoroufly executed. It appears, however,
that Jovian gave a church new-built to the Catholics of
Antioch (of the communion of St. Mcletius) ; which feems
to prove that under Julian the Chriftians might build
churches. B. 1 TV
IaJ.

HISTORY OF JOVIAN. 333
in the name of the whole patriarchate of Alexan
dria. After congratulating the Emperor on the care
which he took to inform himfelf of the truth *, the
holy teacher proves that he muft attach himfelf to
the faith of Nice. It is the faith of the Apoftles and!
martyrs. They were in poffeffion of that doctrine
when Arius came to fow his errofs. All the
churches have received, and ftill receive, the de-
cifion of Nice; the fmall number of Arians that
oppofe it cannot form a prejudice againft the reft f
of
* We have this letter in the Hiftory of Theodoret, and
among the works of Athanafius. In the letter, as it is
quoted by Theodoret, is a half phrafe in" which Athaaafiu*
feems to promife Jovian a long and tranquil reign, as the
reward of his defire to be inftructed in heavenly truths :
Kai T?)* @aat?ieiat fj.tr eipnins irj/J.ai; slut 7rs^oi-ji$ iKiiOuti-. : " and
" yOu will govern the empire many years in peace."
As Jovian reigned a very fhort time, Batonius imagines,
that thefe words are an addition of fome Arian, who was
willing to make Athanafius pafs for a falfe prophet ; but
in authors who are not inipired fuch fort of exprefJioni
ought to be regarded as willies, and not as promife, much
lefs as propheiies. B.
Before his departure from Antioch \, he affured Jovian
that his orthodox devotion would be rewarded with a
long and peaceful reign. Athanafius had reafon to hope'^
that he fliould be allowed either the merit of a fuccefsful
prediction, or the excufe of" a grateful, though ineffectual,
prayer. In fome MSS. this indifcreet promife is omitted;
perhaps by the Catholics, jealous of the prophetic fame
of their leader, Gi'bbok,-
-f Z^Vurl'riQjOi rvyx^aatt at xolfl ro'irot ty.'ihr.aitxt . . . Trapif oKtyutt
tut ra. Apaw (ppottstlui . . . xat tives dv}t\iyaai rauln tjj vitrei «
$vtoti\at irpoxptpa. izoiat wa'oat rri ii«8^. " All the churches
" every where agree ... a few excepted, who embrace
t This letter was rather previous fj his taming to Amioch, «,nd indeed
iSccafioutd it. Seep. 334. it £},»

HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
of the world. At length Athanafius, willing to
guard Jovian againft the herefy of Macedonius,
obferves, that the fame council of Nice has fuffici
ently eftabliftied the confubftaritiality of the Holy
Ghoft, by faying, that it is " glorified with the Fa-
" ther and the Son." Thus this able divine adapts
himfelf to the neceffity and capacity of the prince,
and does not omit to fupply him with peremptory
arguments, drawn from prefcription, and the confent
of the churches as to a formal and determined tenet.
The Emperor was fo well fatisfied with the letter
of Athanafius, that he wifhed to converfe with him,
and ordered him to repair to Antioch. The holy
bifhop obeyed the more willingly, as he had already
refolved to go to court ; not from tafte (for no
bifhop was ever lefs a courtier), but for the interefts
" the opinion of Arius *, and though fome contradict this
" faith, wc know that they cannot prejudice the whole
" world.1' Athanafius, by reducing the Arians to fo fmall
a number, feems to differ from the common opinion ; but
it muft be obferved, 1. That the bifhops who had fub-
fcribed to the council of Rimini, had recovered their fall
after the' death of Conftantius. 2. At the" very time when
herefy feemed to prevail, many of thofe who ' received the
forms propofed by the Arians, received them in a Catholic
1 fenfe. 3. As the moft determined of the Arians did not
fcrnple to fay, that Jefus Chrift is God, the Chriftian
people, who knew only the Supreme God, underftood that
Jefus Chrift was the only and fame God with his Father,
and underftood in a good fenfe the ambiguous expreflions
with which the error was envelppped. This occafioned the
faying of a father of that time : " The ears of the people
" are more holy than the hearts of the priefts." B.
* This affcrtion was verified in the fpace of thirty or forty years.
Gibbon, Of

HISTORY OF JOVIAN. 33$
of the church, and from deference to the advice of
his intimate friends. However advantao-eous his
reputation was, he always gained by a perfonal
acquaintance. Jovian liked him extremely, and
gave him his confidence. It is honourable for
that prince to have placed it fo well. Athanafius
was the greateft man of his age ; and perhaps,
taken all together, the church has never had a
greater. God, who deftined him to combat the moft:
dreadful of herefies, armed at once with the
fubtleties of logic and the power of the Emperors,
had endued him with all the gifts of nature and of
grace, which could render him proper to fill that
high deftination.
Pie had a juft, quick, and penetrating mind; a
generous and difinterefted heart; cool courage, and,
it may be faid, uniform heroifm, always the fame,
without impetubfity or extravagance ; lively faith ;
unbounded charity ; profound humility ; a chrif
tianity, ftrong, fimple, and noble, like the gofpel;
a natural eloquence, abounding with penetrating
ftrokes, ftrong in fubftance, going directly to the
point, and of rare precifion in the Greek writers
of that time. The aufterity of his life rendered
his virtue refpectable ; the gentlenefs of his manners
made him beloved. The calmnefs and ferenity of
his foul were painted on his face. Though he
had not an advantageous perfon *, his external ap
pearance had fomewhat majeftic and ftriking. He
* See note *. p- 141. Was

$$6 HISTORY OF JO VI AN.
was not ignorant of the profane fciences, but he
avoided making a parade of them. Skilled in the
letter of the fcriptures, he alfo poffeffed their
fpirit. Neither Greeks, nor Romans; ever loved
their country fo much as Athanafius loved the
church,- whofe interefts were always infeparable
from his. Long experience had inured him to eccle
fiaftical affairs. Adverfity, which enlarges and
refines when it does not crufh the genius, had
given him admirable penetration to difcover re-
fources, even human, when every thing feemed
defperate. Threatened with exile when he was in
his fee, and with death when he was exiled, he
ftruggled for near fifty years againft a league of
men fubtle in arguments, profound in intrigues,
acute courtiers, mafters of the prince, arbiters of
favour and difgrace, indefatigable calumniators^
barbarous perfecutors. He difconcertedj confound
ed, and always efcaped them, without giving them
the confolation of feeing him make one falfe ftep; he
made them tremble even when he was flying before
them, and when he was buried alive in the tomb of
his father *. He read hearts and futurity. Some
Catholics were perfuaded that God revealed to him
the defigns of his enemies ; the Arians accufed him
bf magic ; and the Pagans pretended that he was
* Under Valens he concealed himfelf in the fepulchre
of his father, and remained there four months. Among
the ancients, particularly in ^Lgypt, fepulchres were builds
ings in the open country, lb confiderable that there were
apartments in them. M. Fieury, 1. xvi. 10. B. \erfed

HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
Verfed in the fcience of auguries, and that he un
derftood the language of the birds * ; fo true it is
that his prudence was a kind- of divination. No
one difcertied better than he the feafons to difclofe
Or to conceal himfelf; thofe of fpeech or filence;
Of action or repofe. He knew how to fix the in-
conftancy of the people (the Alexandrians, which
is faying all), to find a new country in the places
of his exile, and the fame credit at the extremity
of Gaul, in the city of Treves, as in iEgypt, and
the very bofom of Alexandria; to keep up cor-
refpondences ; to procure protections; to unite
the orthodox ; to encourage the moft timid ; of
a weak friend never to make an enemy; to ex"
cufe weakneffes with a charity and goodnefs of
heart, which fhewed, that, if he condemned ri
gorous methods in matters of religion, it was
lefs from intereft than principle and character,
* This we learn from Ammianus : " It was faid, that
" being thoroughly fkilled in foothfaying, and in what
" was portended by augural birds, he fometimes foretold
" future events.'' It is related on this fubject, that as
Athanafius was paffing through the ftreets of Alexandria
on the eve of a feftival which the Pagans were to celebrate
with great feftivity, a raven was heard to croak. " What
" fays that bird ?" exclaimed the Pagan populace. Atha
nafius anfwered fmiling, " He fays, eras" (which fignifies
in the Roman language, " to-morrow);" " and declares to
" you that the Emperor of the Romans forbids you to ce'.e-
" brate your feftival." On the morning after, the pro
hibition of the Emperor did not fail to arrive. Sozomen. B,
A prophecy, or rather a joke, is related by Sozomen,
(1. iv. c. 10.) which evidently proves, if the crows fpeak
Latin, that Athanafius underftood their language. Gibbon,
Vol. II. Z JulLn,

333 HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
Julian, who did not perfecute the other bifhops,
at leaft openly, confidered the taking away his
life as a piece of great, policy, thinking that
the fate of Chriftianity was attached to that of
Athanafius. This honourable diftinction feemed
to have completed the glory of the holy bifhop,
when he repaired to Jovian. He was then about
feventy years old ; but his career was not ready to
clofe. After having made him triumph over three
former Emperors *, God deftined him to gain
other victories over Valens f.
We are ignorant of the particulars of the ad
vice which Athanafius gave to Jovian.; but we
may be certain, that he confirmed him in the de
fign of labouring only in a Chriftian manner to re-
Unite Chriftians ; and that he made him under
ftand that it was previoufly neceffary to infpire all
parties with principles of kindnefs ; to teach them
to bear with one another; to defire and to feek
peace, till it fhould pleafe God to accomplifh it. At
the fame time he difclofed to him the fnares of the
fedtaries, fome of whom at leaft had formed pro
jects of conqueft on a prince who was not fuffi
ciently inftructed in theological matters to diftin-
* That is, of Conftantine (in the latter years of his •
reign deceived by the Arians), Conftantius, and Julian. B.
-j- The Janfenifts have often compared Athanafius and
Arnauld, and have expatiated with pleafure on the faith
and zeal, the merit and exile, of thofe celebrated doctors.
This concealed parallel is very dexteroufly managed by the
Abbe de la Bleterie. Gibbon. guifll

HISTORY OF JOVIAN. 339
guifli by himfelf what characterifes error, when it
borrows the features of truth.
Arrian and Candidus, pure Arians, ordained
bifhops by the famous iEtius *, both relations of the
Emperor, were gone to meet him at Edeffa ; and Jo
vian, if we may believe Philoftorgius, had, in fpeak
ing to them, expreffed a kind of neutrality which
might give them fome hope, though his anfwer might
be only the effect of his moderation. They had fol
lowed him, without doubt, to Antioch ; and it is
alfo known that Euzoi'us, bifhop of that great city,
and fome other Arians, already practifed upon the
eunuchs of the palace, having not forgotten that,
by that method, they had gained the favour of
Conftantius, and reigned in his name. All the
leaders of parties befieged Jovian to obtain his per-
miffion to perfecute their enemies. We may judge
of their refpective pretentions by the petition of the
Macedonians, who demanded to be put into pof-
feffion of the churches which were occupied by
the pure Arians. The Emperor contented himfelf
with replying, " I hate difputes : I love and ho-
" nour thofe who have peaceable views, and who
" concur in union." Thefe words, proceeding
from the mouth of the fovereign, and coming from
the bottom of his heart, were an effectual ftroke,
and immediately chilled the warmeft difputants.
They held a council in Antioch, where the Arians
of the party of Acacius of Caffarea in Paleftine *
* See Vol. I. p. 2. note *.
Z 2 com-

340 HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
communicated with Meletius, one of the two Ca
tholic bifhops of that city, and fubfcribed to the
form of Nice, The fincerity of their fignature is
queftioned ; but if they betrayed their confeience,
it was not the fault of Jovian, who declared plainly
that he would not conftrain any one, and who
faid it fincerely. He was not fo fuccefsful in ter
minating the fchifm of the Catholics of Antioch,
divided between Meletius and Paulinus. Fra
ternal diffeufions are always the moft obftinate.
Though Jovian fhewed very great regard for
Athanafius, the Arians of Alexandria, fupported
clandestinely by HUzoius, made fome attempts
to prevent his returning to his church. After the
tragical death of their bifhop, George of Cappa
docia, which happened in the time of Julian *,
they had eaft their eyes on a prieft named Lucius,
a man of very bad looks, and of a ftill worfe cha
racter, who did not fail to juftify their choice by
the cruelties which he committed in the perfecution
of Valens. The Arians of Alexandria, for fome
reafon that is not known, had not yet caufed him
to be ordained. They fent deputies to Jovian, and
Lucius at their head; wifhing to have him for
their bifliop, or, at leaft, any other that the Em
peror would give them to the exclufion of Athan
afius. The Catholics of Alexandria fent deputies
alfoj on their part, to oppofe the efforts of the
Arians ; the latter addreffed the Emperor feveral
* See the IXth and Xth Epiftles of Julian, p, 17 — 23.
times.

HISTORY OF JOVIAN. 341
times. We have the original relation of the dif-t
ferent audiences which he gave them *, It is a
curious remain in many refpects. Above all, Jo
vian is there feen drawn to the life : he there
fliews firmnefs, fenfe, judgement, and equity, fome-
thing blunt and military,^ lively difpofltion, and,
if I miftake not, a tafte rather than a talent for
raillery. But 1 am wrong to foreftall the reader ;
let him judge for himfelf f,
[The Emperors, who originally were only ge
nerals of the army, were accuftomed to exercife
with their foldiers. There was near every city a
place for exercife, called, " The field of Mars,"
or, " The field.]" One day, when Jovian [at
tended by his guard] was going on horfeback
through the Roman gate to the field of Mars,
Lucius, Berniccus, and the other [deputies of
the] Arians, approached him, faying, " We beg
" your power, your majefty, your piety, to give
" us audience." ' Who, and whence are you?'
faid Jovian. They anfwered, " Sir, we are Chrif-
" tians." ' Whence, and of what city ?' added
the Emperor. " Of Alexandria," replied the Arians,
' What do you defire of me ?' faid the Emperor.
'« We befeech your majefty," faid they, " to give
*' us a bifhop." ' I have ordered Athanafius,' re-
* Petitio Arianorum ad Jovian, inter opera Atban. t. I.
p, 782. B. ^
f I give this account entire, having taken care to indole
within crotches all that is not in the afts themfelyes, and
yet was neceflary to facilitate the underflanding them.
Z 3 plied

.42, HISTORY O F JO VI AN.
plied Jovian, ' to return to his fee.' " Sir," faid
the Arians, " Athanafius has been banilhed many
" years for crimes of which he is not cleared."
Then a foldier [a Catholic, of the Emperor's
guard], in the tranfport of his zeal, took the
liberty to fay, ' Sir, give yourfelf the trouble
< to examine who are thefe people, and whence
* they come. They are the miferable remains
' of the faction of Cappadocia, the agents of
' George, of that villain, who defolated the city
' of Alexandria, and the whole world.' At thefe
words, the Emperor fpurred his horfe, and went
to the field.
They prefented themfelves a fecond time, and
faid, ' We have feveral heads of accufation againft
' Athanafius, which we are able to prove. It is
' thirty years fince he was banifhed by Conftan-
* tine and Conftantius, of immortal memory. He
' has been banifhed lately by the beloved of God,
' the moft philofophical * and moft happy Julian.'
" The accufations of ten, twenty, thirty years,"
faid the Emperor, " are obfolete. Speak no more
" to me of Athanafius. I know why he was ac-
" cufed, and how he was banifhed."
[So firm an anfwer did not repulfe the Arians.
They returned to the charge a third time], " We.
* It is difficult to conceive that peifons who profeffed
Chriftianity, and, befides, were fpeaking to a Chriftian
Emperor, fliould have been fo irreligious, fo abfurd, as to
give Julian thefe epithets.
Muft there not haye been fome i iterj olation here ? B.
" have/"

HISTORY OF JOVIAN. 343
" have," faid they," " new complaints againft Atha-
*« nafius." [The deputies of the Catholics of Alex
andria beginning, as it feems, to fpeak at the fame
time], " Jovian faid, ' When all fpeak together, it
' is impoflible to underftand who is in the right.
s Choofe two perfons on each fide ; for I cannot
* anfwer both of you.' The Catholics began. " Sir,"
faid they, " thefe men, whom you fee, are the re-
" mains of the deteftable George, the fcourge of
" our province. They do Dot fuffer in the cities any
" fenator''. . . The Arians [wifhing to cut fhort an
account which would have covered them with con
fufion, and perceiving, befides, that Lucius, a c'rea*
ture of George, would never be approved by the Em
peror, interrupted the Catholics by faying], ' Be fo
' kind, Sir,' as to fet over us whomever you pleafe,
' except Athanafius.' " I have already told you," re
plied the Emperor, " what concerns Athanafius is
" fettled-," — and in an angry tone, he faid 'to his
guard in Latin, " Feri, fieri," that is to fay, "Strike,
" ftrike *." [The order, without doubt, was noc
executed, as the Arians perfi'fted.]' ' Sir,' faid
they, ' if you fend back Athanafius, our city is
' ruined ; and, befides, no one affociates with him.'
" I have* however,' faid Jovian/ " made en-
" quiries ; and I am affured, that he thinks well,
" that he is orthodox, and that he teaches found
* Jovian fpoke Greek to the Alexandrians. It is pro
bable that the Emperors always fpoke Latin to their
guard. B. Z 4 " doctrine."

HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
" doctrine." ' It is true,' replied the Arians, * that
* he fpeaks well ; but he thinks ill.' The Em
peror faid, " I require no other teftimony than that
*' which you have given him. If he thinks ill, he
" muft give an account of it to God. We men
" hear words ; God alone knows the bottom of the
" heart." ' Sir,' faid the Arians, ' allow us to
' hold our affemblies *.' " Ah I" replied Jovian,
11 what hinders you ?" « Rut, Sir,' added they,
1 Athanafius declares us heretics and dogmatifts.
•' His place obliges him," faid Jovian. " It is the
" duty of thofe who teach the truth." ' Sir,'
proceeded the Arians, ' he has taken away the lands
' of the churches -f-.' " You would make me be-
41 lieve," faid Jovian, " that you are brought
" hither by other views than thofe of the faith.
" Retire, and live in peace. Go to church ; you
" have an affembly to-morrow." [This was on
a Saturday, or the eve of fome feftival. J. " After
" the affembly, every one fhall fubfcribe his pro?
" feffion of faith. You have here fome bifhops
" and Nemefinus X' Athanafius alio is here. Thofe
" who are not inftructed in the faith have only to
" apply themfelves to him. I give you to-morrow,*
" and the day after. I am now going to the field
¦j- This perhaps is the meaning here of the word rx
TtlASVYl. B.
X This Nemefinus is not known ; he might be an officer
employed by the Emperor to effectuate the re-union. Under
Conftantius we find Nemefianus, intendant of the finances,
comes largitionum. B. " of

HISTORY OF JOVIAN. 345
M of Mars." A lawyer, a Cynic philofopher, then
faid to Jovian, ' Sir, on account of the bifliop
* Athanafius the treafurer-general has taken fome
' houfes from me.' Jovian anfwered him, " If the
" treafurer-general has taken fome houfes, is Atha-
" nafius refponfible for it ?" Another lawyer,
named Patalas, then faid to him, ' I have a charge
* againft Athanafius.' " What bufinefs," faid the
Ethperor, " has a Pagan like thee to trouble liim-
" felf with Chriftians I"
[During this time Lucius kept behind the other
deputies. The bad fituation in which he faw his
affairs was likely to increafe the confufion which
his difadvantageous perfon might already have oc
cafioned in him. He would have mingled inj the
crowd of the people of Antioch, who were col
lected round the Emperor, Rut fome feized him,
and having made him advance, againft his will,
* See, Sir,' laid they, ' what a fubject they wifh to
1 make a bifliop !' [It muft be remembered that
Athanafius had a countenance full of noblenefs
and dignity *.J
Neverthelefs the fame Lucius [depending per
haps on fome private recommendation] ventured
to appear again before the Emperor at the
gate of the palace, and begged an audience.
Jovian flopped, and faid to him, * Lucius, is it
( thou to whom I am fpeaking ? How cameft thou
' hither ? By fea or by land ?' " By fea, Sir," re
plied Lucius. ' May the God of the univerfe, may
* See p. 141, note. ? tW

346 HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
'the fun * and the moon,' faid the Emperor,
* punifli the companions of thy voyage, for not
' having thrown thee into the fea ! May the fliip
' be eternally the fport of outrageous Waves, ahd
' never arrive in port !' [Thus he delivered him
felf from that odious man by an ironical impre
cation, in which the learned editors of Athanafius
difcover much wit f . I queftion whether every one
difcovers as much ; nor do I know whether they will
not be furprifed at this fantaftic affemblage of the
fun and moon with the God of the univerfe in the
mouth of a prince in other refpects fo religious.]
The Emperor, having learned that the Arian
cabal were ufing indirect meafures at court, and
that Euzoius had engaged Probatius, the great
chamberlain, and the other eunuchs of the pa-
kfee, to fpeak to him "in favour of the Arians
of Alexandria, was enraged to fee that the fuc-
ceffors of Eufebius and Bardion J, who had made
a traffic of the favours of Conftantius, fhould pre
tend to fucceed to their credit. He made his
eunuchs undergo the torture to difcover the
bottom of the intrigue ; and faid, " that he would
" treat in the fame manner the fir'ft [of his do-
" mefticks] who fhould dare to folicit him ¦; againft
"' the Chriftians." After having begun the work
* It is in the Greek Kopiliis >]Mo?, " the blazing fun." B.
t See the Latin Life of Athanafius, which is prefixed to
the new edition ; et faccti quid'em.- B .
j,:Bxaudion in the French ; but in. the" Greek, tiapitut. of

HISTORY OF JOVIAN. 347
of re-union, as far as time would permit, under the
eyes and direction of Athanafius, he allowed him
to return into iEgypt, and remained impreffedi
with efteem for his virtues and talents *.
With fuch zeal for the Chriftian. religion, Jovian,
one would think, muft haVe fucceeded at An
tioch better than his predeceffor. But the city
was filled with Arians, or with perfons who
thought themfelves fuch; and the Arian fects
deemed themfelves perfecuted when they could not
perfecute. Befides, the inhabitants of Antioch. re-*
mained in poffeffion of the faculty of defpifing all
their fovereigns, or at leaft. of turning them into
ridicule. What prince could- have found favour
in their fight? They did not fpare Marcus Au
relius. Some Emperors had punifhed: thofe info-
lent people. Moft had connived at theip infults..
* Athanafius at the court of Antioch is agreeably re
prefented by La Bleterie-. He tranfbites the Angular and'
original conferences of the Emperor,,the primate of /Egypt,
and the Arian deputies. The Abbi is not fatisfied with;
the coarfe pleafantry of Jovian ; but his partiality for Atha,
nafius affumes, in his eyes, the character of juftice;
Gibbon-.
As foon as Athanafius had gained the confidence, and
fecured the faith, of the Chriftian' Emperor, he returned
in triumph to his diocefe, and continued, withv mature
counfels and undiminiflied vigour, to direct, ten years
longer, the ecclefiaftical government of Alexandria, iEgypt,
and the Catholic church. The true a;ra of his death is
perplexed with fome difficulties. But the date (A. D. 373,
May 2.1 which feems the moft confiftent with hiftory and>
reafon, is ratified by his authentic life (Maffei OJervazioni
Letterarie, torn. III. p. Si.) , Ibid.
<i Julian

348 HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
Julian had lately revenged himfelf with his pen.
But Antioch was a city that was incorrigible, was
reckoned fuch, and abufed its reputation. Jovian
was not well received. The treaty of peace, and
the ceffion of Nifibis, furnifhed the jokers with a
thoufand farcaftic ftrokes. They had ridiculed Julian
for his beard, his diminutive ftature, his temerity.
As for Jovian, he was treated as a fecond Paris;
" he has," it was faid, " the good looks and per-
" fon of the Trojan prince. He has, like him,
*' ruined his nation. O that he had periflied in
" the war ! He fhould be fent back into Perfia
" to commence another treaty. His perfon was
" formed at the expence of his mind. The meafure
" of his ftature is that of his folly." The walls
were covered with abufive bills, the ftreets and
fquares were ftrewed with verfes of Homer, applied,
or parodied, in the moft infulting manner *. In
the Hippodrome a man of the dregs of the people
made the fpedtators laugh by repeating, with a
loud voice, fome low jefts on the ftature of the
Emperor; and at the idea of this wretch being ap
prehended, the people revolted. This fedition
might have had dreadful confequences, if the
praffect Salluft the fecond had not quelled it ; and
that required all his authority.
* The libels of Antioch may be admitted on very flight
evidence. Gibbon.
5 Thefe

HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
Thefe facts, though taken from the fragments
of a Greek monk *, an hiftorian little known, are
no more than probable and fuitable to the character
of the inhabitants of Antioch. But what the
fame writer adds merits no belief. " There was,"
fays he, " in Antioch, a fmall temple, of very
" elegant architecture, built by Hadrian, in ho-
" nour of his adoptive father, Trajan. Julian had
" converted it to a library, and entrufted the care
" of it to the eunuch Theophilus. Jovian, at the
" inftigation of his wife, reduced it to afhes, with
" all the books that it contained." But, what is
more furprifing, the author makes Jovian march to
this expedition at the head of his feraglio, with a
torch in his hand -j-, juft as Alexander formerly,
with the courtefans of Greece, burned the palace
of Perfepolis.
I am far from fufpedting the Greek monk of in
venting fo ridiculous a ftory, and of intentionally
blackening Jovian. He copied, without difcern
ment, fome enemy of that prince, Eunapius per
haps, an hiftorian very envenomed againft the
Chriftian Emperors. That the morals of Jovian
* John of Antioch, whofe hiftory began with the cre
ation of the world, and clofed with the reign of Phocas. B.
4- Avlut rut ircthXaxiiut vQotirlaaut fttla. ythulog r-nt usv^ar.
" The harlots themfelves with laughter'lighting the pile."
Suidas. He might be edax, et vino Vcnerique indulgens. But I agree
with La Bleterie in rejecting the foolifh report of a Bac
chanalian riot (ap. Suidam) celebrated at Antioch, by the
Emperor, his ivife, and a troop of concubines. Gibbon, were

ISO HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
were not very regular we may believe, if we pleafe,
on the word of Ammianus Marcellinus, though ac
cording to the judicious reflection of Ammianus
himfelf, on the fubject of another Emperor, the
malignity, or corruption, of mankind, is accuftonaed
to lend frailties to princes who have them not *.
However, if Jovian had lived in a public and
fcandalous irregularity, the Chriftians would not-
have loaded him with praifes at a time when no
one had any thing more to hope or fear from him.
The concurrence of the Emprefs with the miftreffes
of the Emperor is alfo fomeching very Angular.
But by what Caprice could the wife of Jovian,
Cariton, to whom her father, Luciilian, had, with
out doubt, given a Roman education, fuitable to
the rank which he himfelf held in the ftate, have
wifhed to burn a temple, which was* no longer a
temple, but a library ? To annihilate the remains
of profane literature is a Muffulman tafte, which
never prevailed among Chriftians, efpecially in
the fourth century, when the moft celebrated men
in the church were at the fame time the moft con-
verfant with the fciences of the Greeks. Befides,
we fhall prefently fee that the wife of Jovian was
not then with him. In fliort, the filence of Am
mianus and Zofimus completes the deftruction of
this calumny, and even renders what I have juft
* It is fuppofed that they would do all that they can
with impunity, S}uod crimen etiamfi non invenit malignitas,
fingit in J'ummarum liccntid peteftatum. B.
mentioned,

HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
mentioned, of the ribaldry of Antioch againft Jo
vian, in fome degree fufpicious.
Neither of them fay a word of what happened
during his refidence in that city. Ammianus con
tents himfelf with relating feveral natural events
which the Pagan fuperftition confidered as fatal
prefages. The ftatue of Maximian, placed in the
veftibule of the palace, loft on a fudden the
[brazen] globe (a fymbol of the empire) which
it held in its hand. A dreadful noife was heard
in the council- room. Comets were feen in the
day-time *. The Emperor, too intelligent to be
alarmed by thefe pretended figns of the wrath of
heaven, but filled with a thoufand anxieties on ac
count of the provinces of the Weft, of whicli he
had received no intelligence, fet out with his army
in the month of December. Forced marches, and
the rigour of the feafon, deftroyed a great number
of men and horfes.
At Tarfus he paid the laft duties to Julian, ac
cording to Socrates, and gave him a folemn fu
neral. Ammianus only fays, that he ordered his
* Ammianus, who is very ready to difplay his erudition,
here relates the various fentiments of the ancient phi-,
lofophers on comets, and concludes with the opinion of
Pythagoras, which feems then to have had the preference';..
" that they are ftars, like the reft, but that we are igno-
" rant of their revolutions." Stellas efife quafdam ceteris.
fimiles, quorum ortus obitufque, quibus fint temporibus praftituti, .
humanis mentibus ignorari, B.
tomb

35* HISTORY OF JOVlAtf.
tomb to be decorated *. This order was executed
under Valentinian and Valens, with much atten
tion, on their part, and even with fufficient mag
nificence. To give fome nlea of it, it is enough
to fay, that Libanius was fatisfied. Thus three
Chriftian Emperors, whom Julian had molefted on
account of their religion, concurred in granting
him that frivolous reward of his frivolous virtues,
or rather that prerogative annexed to the rank in
which God had placed him in the world. Hu
manity, decorum, policy, and even religion autho-
rifed their conduct ; and Jovian did not forefee,
that, at the end of twelve centuries, his having bu
ried the dead, and expreffed fome regard for the
talents of the man, the Emperor, and the nephew
of the great Conftantine, would be imputed to him
as a crime f .
Though we have no inconteftible proofs of the
apotheofis of Julian, there is no doubt that the
* Zonaras fays the fame in thefe words ; e| Atltoxttus it
eij Ta(>aot ytyotui;, x«» to fj.tnjJ-a, xoafj.r,aa.% t« IaXiava eirama."
" Going from Antioch to Tarfus, he honoured Julian by
" adorning his tomb." He alfo relates that the corpfe of
Julian was afterwards removed from Tarfus to Conftan
tinople ; which is confirmed by Cedrenus. Valois.
f Baronius, in his Annals, confiders the premature death
of Jovian as the punifliment of his having commanded the
adorning the tomb of a wretch who deferved to be thrown
into the highway, hominis alioqui ne cafpititia quidem fepulturd.
digni. B .
The Abbe de.la Bleterie handfomely expofes the brutal
bigotry of Baronius, who would have thrown Julian to the
dc&s. Gibbon. fenate

HISTORY OF JOVIAN. 353
fenate of Rome, whofe members were ftill almoft
all idolaters, paid him an honour due by right to
the Emperors, unlefs a proeefs was inftituted againft
their memory. Even the Chriftian princes were
deified. There was no medium : they muft be
ranked among the Gods, or numbered among the
tyrants. Many cities, in which Paganifm prevailed,
affociated Julian with their tutelar deities. Some
of his credulous adorers thought that they per
ceived fome effects of his power ; while it Was faid
by the Chriftians, that the aflies of that apoftate
ftirred in the tomb. A report was even fpread
that the earth, by a violent fhock, had difcharged
them from her bofom. There, however, they re
mained, when, writing in the reign of Theodofius,
Ammianus judged the city of Tarfus little worthy
of fuch a treafure. This hiftorian, a foldier, wifhed
to have feen Julian on the banks of the Tiber
among the firft Ccefars * ; and Libanius, entirely
a man of letters, would have been better pleafed
with him in the Academy by the fide of the divine
* xv. 10. The paffage deferves to be tranfcribed:
Cujus fuprcma et cincres . . . non Cydnus vidcre deberet, quam-
vis gratijimus amnis et liquidus ; fed ad perpetuandam glofiant
rcBe faBorum prtetcrlatnbere Tibcris, intcrfecans urban atemam,
divorumque veterum monumenta praftringens. B.
" Whofe obfequies and aflies fliould not have been feen'
" by the Cydnus, though a 'moft pure and limpid ftream,
" but, to perpetuate the glory of his good deeds, fliould
" have been laved by the Tiber, which interfeits the
" eternal citv, and chills the monuments of the ancient
" Gods." Vox.. IL A a Plato,

.54 HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
Plato *. Either in the field of Mars, or in the
Lyceum, Julian would have been placed with pro
priety. On the contrary, he would have been
remarkably mifplaced, if, as the modern Greeks
pretend, he had been afterwards removed from
Tarfus to Conftantinople, and interred among the
Chriftian princes in the church of the Holy
Apoftles. Who could have made that auguft
temple fo ftrange a prefent ? This kind of di-
greffion will, I hope, be excufed. To the hiftory,
that I am writing, nothing that relates to Julian is
foreign. Jovian, continuing to make long marches, paffed
through Tyana in Cappadocia, where Procopius,
the fecretary of ftate, and the tribune Memoridus,
who had been difpatched into the Weft, brought
him the following intelligence. Lucillian, his
father-in-law, on arriving at Milan, had learned
that Malarich, that confidential Frank, appointed
by the new Emperor to command the troops in
Gaul, in the room of Jovinus, refufed to accept
that employment. Upon that, the Count had
fpeedily paffed the Alps, and repaired to Rheims,
with Valentinian and the tribune Seniauchus. He
* Orat. Parent, c. 1 56. p. 377. Talot tie^dlo [xtt to srpo Tap-
out T«ts KtXniiKj Xur""> eiXl ^a" itxatoltpot totwj Axa&i/xt«s TrAr.-
atot YVKoC[uto^. B.
" The fuburb of Tarfus in Cilicia received him ; but
" he had a greater right to be buried in the Academy near
" the tomb of Plato."
The hiftory of princes does not very frequently renew the
example of a fimilar competition. Gibbon.
7 had

HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
had found Gaul tranquil and fubmiffive to Jovian.
But without confidering that the authority of his
fon-in-law was not fufficiently eftabliftied, he un
dertook to' proceed againft fome officers with a
premature feverity. A criminal, apprehenfive of
being puniflied for his mifdemeanours, fought an
afylum among fome troops of Batavians *, who
were probably quartered in the neighbourhood of
Rheims. To induce them to take him under their
protection, he affured them that Jovian was only
an ufurper who had revolted againft Julian ; but
that Julian was living, and would foon make that
rebel fenfible of it, if he had not already ; and that
the moft effential fervice which fubjects could ren
der to their lawful fovereign was to exterminate the
emiffaries of a tyrant, who. came to furprife the
fidelity of the people, and to engage them in their
revolt. This Roman, indifcreet as he was, found
credit among people that were fimple, and befides
affectionate to Julian. They took arms, and maf-
facred Lucillian and the tribune Seniauchus. Va-
lentinian (who in a few months was to reign) owed
his life to the care which his hoft took to fecrete
him. The Batavians, having foon difcovered the
* Ammianus only fays, ad militaria figna confugit, with
out mentioning the Batavians. Zofimus names them,
but extremely" mutilates all this hiftory, and places the
fcene at Sirmium. It appears, however, by the Notitia of
the empire, that there were Batavians at Condi en, in
the fecond Belgic, of which Rheims was the capital. Pra-
feBus Latirum Batavorum Contra fincnfium, Noviomago Belgica
fecundaf, B, . '.
A a 2 impofition,

356 HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
impofition, returned to their duty. As, on the re-
fufal of Malarich, Jovinus had retained the com-
< mand of the troops, he difpatched the principal
officers to Jovian, to affure him of the fubmiffion of
the army and himfelf *. Procopius and Memo-
ridus, accompanied by Valentinian, proclaimed the
approaching arrival of his deputies.
The Emperor, to reward the zeal of Valen
tinian, gave him the fecond [fchool, or] company
of tajrgetteers, of his domeftic guards, and fenfe
Arinthasus immediately with a letter to Jovinus,
by which he confirmed that general in his poft,
and enjoined him to punifh the author of the im
pofition, and to fend the principal leaders of the
fedition to court, loaded with Irons.
At the little town of Afpuna f, in Galatia, the
deputies from the army of Gaul met Jovian, who
having given them a public audience with extreme
fatisfaction, made them prefents, and ordered theru
to return immediately to their refpective employ
ments. ,
He entered Ancyra X at the end of the month
of December ; and on the firft day of January,
364, he there celebrated the folemnity of his
confulfhip. In the room of Varronian, his father,
* The moderation of -Jovinus, mafter-general of the
cavalry, who forgave the intention of his difgrace, foon
appealed the tumult, and confirmed the uncertain minds
of the foldiers. Gibbon.
f As he defcended from mount Taurus, Ibid.
X The capital of Galatia.
Who

HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
who died conful elect, he had chofen for his col-
legue young Varronian, his fon. He had been
brought from Illyricum to Ancyra, where the Em
peror immediately conferred upon him the title of
Nobiliffimus ; a title invented for the brothers of
Conftantine, and afterwards given to the fons of
the Emperors *. They quitted it only to affume
that of Csefar. Other princes had often raifed
their fons to the confulfliip before the time fixed
by the laws ; but a conful in the cradle had never
yet been feen. Jovian thought it a debt to the
memory of his father to fubftitute to that illuftrious
veteran an infant who bore his name. After
all, this dignity, which was ftill called the fummit
of human grandeur, had no longer any functions'.
It ferved merely to denominate the years, and to
perpetuate the form of the ancient government.
On the day of the ceremony, when the young
prince was to be placed, according to cuftom, in
the-curule chair, he expreffed by obftinate cries a
reluctance, which feemed a bad omen, and which
was foon after confidered as a kind of forefight f.
* The fame is now the title of our dukes.
' + Cujus vagitus, pertinaciter reluBantis, ne in curuli fella
veberctur ex more, id quod mox accidit portendebat. Ammian.
xxv. 10. Auguftus, and his fucceffors, refpectfully folicited
a difpenfation of age for the fons or nephews, whom they
raifed to the confulfliip. But the curule chair of the firft
Brutus had never been difhonoured by an infant. Gibbon.
See p. 290.
A a 3 From

HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
From Ancyra Jovian repaired to Dadaftana, %
fmall city, or town, on the frontiers of Galatia and
Bithynia, but which belonged to the firft of thefe
provinces *. There, if we credit Socrates, he re
ceived the deputies from the fenate of Conftanti
nople, who came to compliment him on his con
fulfhip. Themiftius, the chief of the deputation,
there pronounced, according to the fame hiftorian,
the panegyric of the Emperor, in which never
thelefs are obferved all the marks of a difcourfe
pronounced the very day that Jovian took poffeffion
of the confular dignity. The piece, however, is
Written with great elegance and dignity ; but, like
all that comes from the pen of Themiftius, is rather
too much loaded with learned allufions. Some
ftrokes of flattery appear in it concerning the
election of Jovian, and on the peace made with
Sapor. The author extolls, with much more juf
tice, the patronage with which the prince honours
men of learning. The elogium principally turns
on his mildnefs and equity with regard to matters
of religion. The fame orator gives him a commen
dation which is alone worth a panegyric; namely,
that his elevation had made no change in his man
ner of treating mankind. He neither forgot nor
flighted thofe who had been his equals. He did not
affect to make his fuperiority perceived by thofe who
* The Itinerary of Antoninus fixes Dadaftana 125 Ro
man miles from Nice, 117 from Ancyra. Weffeling, Itinerar.
V' J42' Gibbon. might

H I S T O R Y O F J O V I A N. 359
might have made him fenfible of theirs. His friends,
his benefactors, did not difcern the change of his
fituation, but by the effects of his gratitude and
liberality. He collected at his court the moft vir
tuous men in the empire : he invited thither, he
attached to his perfon, thofe whom difgrace, or
exile, had eftranged. " There were feen," accord
ing to the expreffion of Themiftius, " watching
" over the fafety of his reign, the wifeNeltor, the
" free and generous Diomed, theChryfantus of Cy-
" rus, and the Artabazus of Xerxes." I fufpect that
Salluft the fecond istheNeftor; Valentinian might
be the Diomed. I am not fufficiently acquainted
•with the court of Jovian to guefs the two others.
It is not only in modern times that orators, by
way of being eloquent and figurative, exprefs
themfelves in a manner fometimes ^enigmatical to
their contemporaries, and almoft always unintel
ligible to pofterity.
The endowments of Jovian, acknowledged by
the Pagans themfelves, his attention to find out
perfons of merit, and that talent, which in a prince
may fupply the place of all others, of knowing
mankind, of eftimating their worth, and properly
employing them, announced to the Romans a wife
government. Some faults, which I have not dif-
guifed, he committed. Raifed on 3 fudden from a
ftation of little eminence to the fupreme power, to
which he had never afpired even in a dream, in a
manner dazzled and feduced by the fatality of cir-
A a 4 cumftances,

360 HISTORY OF JO VI AN.
omittances, he made fome flips on the moft rugged
and flippery ground in the world. But the faults
of inexperieuce and furprife often turn to the ad
vantage of thofe who commit them, when they
have good fenfe and juft intentions. Jovian was
young : he might have acquired what he wanted.
Ammianus could not have had a mean opinion of
him, as, when he reproaches him with fome vices,
that author prefumes that he might have corrected
them through refpect to his diadem. Every thing
may be hoped from a monarch who refpects himfelf
fo far as to find motives to become virtuous even in
independence, the ufual ftumbling-block of virtue.
The choice, which Jovian made, of his confidents
and minifters, gives room to believe, that he was
capable of receiving advice ; and, as it is obferved
by one of the greateft men of the laft age, " ftates
44 are generally better governed under a prince of
44 moderate abilities, who knows how to hear and
•' follow good advice, than by a fovereign of a
41 fuperior genius, who is attached to his under-
4< ftanding, and thinks himfelf infallible *."
The two capitals, the provinces, the armies, had
acknowledged Jovian. The church was about to
enjoy a profound peace ; the ftate, united within
itfelf, hoped to. repair its loffes; Jovian feemed
* Grotius, in hi? hiftory of the war of the Netherlands,
/. vu. under the year 1598. Ufu compcrtum . . . multa
fecp'c falubrius gefta fub principe qui aliorum bene repertis aurcs
et juffa com;:iodarct, qnam fi cui fapiendi fiducia contumaciam
eddidift'. B, able

HISTORYOF JOVIAN, 361
able to promife himfelf a long and glorious reign.
Conftantinople was preparing to receive him mag
nificently, and, impatient to poffefs him herfelf,
conjured him to get the ftart of the prince his fon.
Rome, who alfo flattered herfelf with foon feeing
the Emperor, was already ftriking medals to cele
brate his arrival ; his wife was coming to meet
him with the pomp of an emprefs ; when, in the
night between the 16th and 17th of February
[364], he was found dead in his bed, after having
reigned only feven months and twenty days. This
was the third Emperor who difappeared in lefs than
three years and a half.
It is pretended that he was fuffocated by the
fumes of charcoal that was lighted in his chamber,
to warm it, and to dry the walls which had been
newly plaiftered *. The danger to which Julian had
been expofed at Paris f, might have put him- on
his guard againft a like accident. Others afcribe
his death to indigeftion ^, or to the attack of an
apoplexy. The caufe was neglected to be afcer-
tained ; without doubt, becaufe it was thought na
tural : but this very negligence made many imagine
it to be the effect of the wickednefs of men. Am-
* See Ammianus Eutropius, who might likewife be pre
fent, Jerom, Orofius, Sozomen, Zofimus, and Zonaras., W"c
cannot expect a perfect agreement, and we fliall not difculs
minute differences. Gibbon,
f See the Mifopogon, Vol.1, p. 236.
X Occafioned either by the quantity of the wine, or the
quality of the mufhrooms, whioh he had fwallowed in the
evening. Gibbon.
mianus,

3<fe HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
mianus, by faying, that " his death, like that of
4' Scipio iEmilianus, was followed by no enqui-
4' ries," infinuates, that he loft his life by fome
fecret attack *. St. Chryfoftom fays exprefsly,
that " Jovian was poifoned by his domeftics."
Would the eunuchs of the palace have formed a con
fpiracy to deprive themfelves of a mafter who feemed -
not to be of a temper to fuffer himfelf to be go
verned, or were they fet at work by fome am
bitious man, fuch as Procopius, who, neverthelefs,
did not avail himfelf of that crime? Still it is cer
tain, that the fufpicion could not fall on the fuc
ceffor of Jovian. It was not tilt after having of
fered the empire to Salluft, born to deferve it,. and
eonftantly to refufe it f ; it was not till after, hav
ing eaft their eyes on various fubjects, among others
on Januarius, a relation of Jovian, that the army
fuddenly determined [Feb. 26J, in favour of Va
lentinian I, who was then abfent §. The Chrif tians
* Ammianus, unmindful of his ufual candour and good
fenfe, compares the death of the harmlefs Jovian to that
of the fecond Africanus, who had excited the fears and
refentment of the popular faction. Gibson.
f He enjoyed the glory of a fecond refufal ; and when
the virtues of the father were alleged in favour of his fon,
the prsfect, with the firmnefs of a difinterefted patriot,
declared to the electors, that the feeble age of the one, and
the unexperienced youth of the other,- were equally in
capable of the laborious duties of government. Ibid.
* Valentinian was the fon of' Count Gratian, a native
ef Cibalis, in Pannonia, who, frorti an obfcure condition,
had raifed himfelf, by matchlefs ftrength and dexteritv, to
the military commands of Africa and Britain ; from which he

HISTORY OF JOVIAN. 363
tians bitterly lamented Jovian, and thought that;
God had only fhewn him to the world, becaufe the
world was not worthy of him *. A proof that it
was not the fpirit of party that caufed their tears
to flow, is the good that is faid of him by the Pa
gans. Va>lentinian and Valens did not prevent the
fenate of Rome from placing him among the Gods f .
His corpfe was carried to Conftantinople into the
church of the Holy Apoftles J, where, long after,
his tomb was feen among thofe of the other Au
gufti. His wife furvived him feveral years; an inftance
as memorable, but ftill more ftriking, of the in-
fignificance of what is ftyled grandeur. She had
loft in a few months a father-in law, a father, a
hufband, of whofe elevation fhe only heard to feel
more poignantly his lofs. That which is the re-
fource of all other mothers, completed her unhap-
pinefs. She had a fon ; but a fon deprived of the
higheft hopes, and fufpicious to the government.
he retired with an ample fortune and fufpicious integrity.
The city of Nice in Bithynia was chofen for the place of
election. Valentiaian affociated his brother Valens in the
empire, in one of the fuburbs of Conftantinople, thirty days
after his own elevation. Gibbon,
§ In his quarters at Ancyra.
* Oftendunt terris hunc tantum fata, neque ultra
Effe finunt. Virg. ,
f This feems to me the meaning of thefe words of Eu-
tropius : benignitdtc principum qui ei fuccefferunt inter Divos
relatus eft. B.
+ The fad proceffion was met on the road by his wife
Charito. ' Gibbon. f
The

364 HISTORY OF JOVIAN.
The empire was elective, and young Varronian
not having been chofen Casfar, had no right to
pretend to it. Befides, Jovian had not had time to
ingratiate many dependents. It was feared, how
ever, that Varronian would fooner or later afpire
to the place which his father had filled. He was
ftill living in the year 380. A barbarous policy
had already deprived him of an eye; and his
mother conftantly trembled for the life of that
unfortunate child, who had no crime but that of
being the fon of an Emperor *. She was, without
doubt, a Chriftian, and no one had ever more need
of the folid confolations which Chriftianity alone can
give. It is not certain that Jovian had conferred
on her the title of Augufta. No medal of this
princefs now exifts, though thofe of Jovian are not
fcarce. She was placed, after her death, in the
tomb of her hufband.
* Chryfoftom, torn. I. p. 336. 344. edit. Montfaueon. The
Chriftian orator attempts to comfort the widow by the ex*
amples of illuftrious misfortunes ; and obferves, that " of
" nine Emperors (including the Caefar Gallus) who had
" reigned in his time, only two (Conftantine and Con-
" ftantius) died a natural death." Such vague confolations
have never wiped away a fingle tear. Gibbon.

An

C -3*5 3
An ABSTRACT of an ESSAY,
By the Abbe de la BLETERIE,
On the Rank and Power of the Roman
Emperors, in the Senate *.
From Les Memoir es de V Academie des Sciences et
Belles Lettres, at Paris, torn. XXIV.
HP H E object of this Memoir is to fhew the
-1- error of thofe who confider the imperial go
vernment as a monarchy, and to prove that it was
in fact an ariftocracy, the head of which, invefted
with the power of the civil and military magiftrates,
the confuls, tribunes, and generals of the ancient
republic, was, after all, only the firft magiftrates
powerful enough indeed to opprefs his country,
when willing to expofe himfelf to the rifk of act
ing the tyrant, but alfo liable to be puniflied as
fuch whenever fhe could affert her rights. With
out admitting this point, the hiftory of the Em-,
perors muft appear a heap of the groffeft contra
dictions, a confufed chaos of unaccountable facts
and events, a downright fchool of fanaticifm and
rebellion ; whereas, by adopting it, every obfcu
rity vanifhes, every difficulty is removed ; and we
* The Abbe de la Bleterie delights to purfue the veftiges
%f the old conflitution, and fometimes finds them in his
copious fancy. Gibbon. are

The RANK and POWER
are no longer furprifed at feeing the fenate pro
ceed judicially againft a Nero, and other fuch
ir.onfters, both before and af:er their deaths.
In the fenate the Emperor fat between the two
Confuls. His curule chair did not, by any thing
that appears, differ in any refpect from theirs.
The privilege, granted to Caius *, of fitting on a
tribunal fo high that it was impoffible to reach
him, did not defcend to his fucceffors. Neither
, Tiberius nor Auguftus had ever any guards in the
fenate. Tiberius, indeed, in the twentieth year of
his reign, alked leave to introduce with him Macro,
Prasfect of the Praetorium, accompanied by a fmall
number of other officers ; and the fenate permitted
him to bring in as many military men as he thought
proper ; but this conceffion, of which that prince,
as he never returned to Rome, never had occafion
to avail himfelf, became fo precarious, as to be re
newed for Caius, and then for Claudius, after
whom the Emperors generally appeared in the
fenate with one or two Prefects of the Prae
torium. The meetings of the fenate were either ordinary,
the number of which was fixed to two for every
month, or extraordinary, being Called, as the exi
gence of affairs feemed to require, by the Conful
in poffeffion of the fafces, the Prastor, in the ab
fence of the Confuls, or the Tribune, in certain
* Caligula. cafes,

of the R O M A N EMPEROR S. 367
cafes, which it is not eafy to determine. The
Emperors, without being Confuls for the year, had
the privilege of calling extraordinary meetings of •
the fenate ; firft, as invefted with the tribunitiati
power ; fecondly, by virtue of the conceffion made
to Auguftus, A. U. C. 732 ; thirdly, as perpetual
Confuls. Moft of the Emperors, when at Rome,
were prefent in the fenate ; and all, or almoft all
of them, acknowledged themfelves inferior to ir,
at leaft in fome refpects. They addrefled it as
fuppliants or petitioners. " I pray you, I conjure
44 you, I befeech you, confeript Fathers," are their
common expreflions. Some of them ftyle the fe
nators their lords and their patrons ; others call
them the princes of the world, and give them the
title of " Your clemency, your majefty," Sec. The
Emperors chofen by the army always applied to
the fenate to confirm their election. But what
were the prerogatives of the Emperor in this auguft
affembly ?
Either the Emperor was Conful for the rime
being, or Conful elect, or neither the one nor the
Other. In quality of Conful for the time being,
he convened the fenate, prefided in it, propofed
the affairs upon which it was to deliberate, col
lected the fuffrages, and finally difmiffed it; all
functions attached to the confular dignity ; but it
was only alternately with the other Conful, his
collegue, that he performed them. For a long
time, the Prince, when in the exercife of the con
fular

36S The RAN K a«d POWER
fular power, wore the fame kind of robes as the
other Confuls * ; which robes were kept in the
capitol, to fhew that both one and the other held
from Heaven, and their fellow-citizens, the powers
of which thofe robes were the enfigns f.
As Conful- elect, the Prince performed the func
tions attached to that dignity. The Confuls elect
gave their votes firft, and it appears that the Em
peror fubmitted to this cuftom. In the early days
of Rome, the Confuls for the time being never
gave their votes in affairs of their o\vn propofing ;
and if they fometimes voted during the Imperial
govermenr, it was never but in matters which the
Emperor himfelf had laid before the fenate.
The Emperor feldom prefided in the fenate,
though actually prefent, unlefs invefted with the
¦ordinary confular dignity. This the Abbe de la
Bleterie proves by a paffage in Pliny the younger,
who, fpeaking of Marcus Prifcus, fays, that Tra
jan then prefided iu the fenate, " for he was
** Conful." The Prince was often prefent only in
quality of fenator. We read that feveral Emperors
reckoned it an honour to be members of the Senate,
and to pay the tax called glebes fenatoria: praftatio.
* That drefs was a robe of purple, embroidered with
filk and gold, and fometimes ornamented with coftly gems.
Gibbon.
¦f The Emperors themfelves, who difdained the faint
fljadow of the republic, were confcious that they acquired
an additicnal fplendor and majefty as often as they afiiimed
the annual honours of the confular dignity. Ibid,
They

< op the R O M AvN EMPERORS. 369
They never left the houfe till the Conful had dif
miffed the fenators in the ufual form, by the words
" Nihil vos moramur, Patres confcripti." There
are many inftances to prove, that the Emperor
ufed to give his opinion in the fenate ; and that
the Conful called upon him for it. This is fuffi
cient to fhew the error of Salmafius and Muret,
who, from the Emperor's collecting the votes, con
cluded, that he never gave any himfelf; it being
an eftabliftied cuftom, that whatever member col
lected the votes never gave any himfelf, and the
prince was, befides, fuperior to all the other ma
giftrates. But, as the prince did not always pre-
fide, neither did he always collect the votes, nor
was he fuperior to the ftate,' of which the Conful
Was both the organ and the reprefentative, when,
as prefident of the affembly, he called upon the
members for their ^votes. Accordingly, the fenate
often decided againft the opinion of the Emperor,
and its decrees were always confidered as the voice
of the ftate. Sometimes, it is true, the will of
defpotic princes was blindly followed by the fena
tors; but even then the fenate deliberated and
decided fovereignly. On this occafion M. de la
Bleterie obferves, that authors, in general, are too
apt to exaggerate the abufe which the Roman Em
perors made of their authority. From the year of
Rome 727, the epocha of the lawful authority
of Auguftus, to the firft year of Diocletian, and
U. C. 1037, there elapfed 310 years. Now let
Vol. II. Bb us,

The R A N K and P O W E R
us, on the one hand, add together the reigns of
all the bad Emperors, and, on the other hand, the
reigns of thofe who were fometimes good and
fometimes bad, and we fhall not be able to ma e
out above 120 years of oppreffion for the Romans j
and even in this interval we fhall find proofs of the
Roman liberty fubfifting, at leaft de jure, though
oppreffed de fatfo; fo that there remain 190 years,
during which the government was conformable to
law, and favourable to liberty. This learned
Academician has, befides, obferved, in order to
invalidate a fact related by Tertullian, that authors
are apt to infift too much on the flavifh fubjection
of the fenate to the will of Tiberius. That Em
peror, having received from Paleftine an account
of the miracles performed by Jefus Chrift, wrote
to the fenate to propofe placing him among the
Gods ; which propofal was rejected. It is true,
indeed, that the fenate was, at that time, both the
inftrument and the victim of that Emperor's cruelty,
and that, therefore, it would not have refufed to
comply with his defire, had, he difcovered fuch
earneftnefs to have it granted as might have been
deemed an order. But the fenate, no doubt, was
aware, that, in order to amufe the people with a
fhadow of liberty, he afked, with little earneftnefs,
what he was not folicitous to have granted. Nor
was mush refolution requifite to humour this gri
mace. But

of the R O M A N E M P E R O R S. 371
. But if, on the one hand, the fenate had a right
to decide againft the opinion of the Emperor, the
Emperor, on the other, by virtue of his tribunitian
power, had a right, by his veto, to hinder the de-
cifions of the fenate from being carried into exe
cution. Befides, he prefided " extraordinarily,"
without being Conful, by virtue of a fpecial con-
ceffion, which conftituted one of the moft con-
fiderable branches of the Imperial power. This
prerogative is known by the name oi jus relationis,
or " right of propofing matters in the fenate."
This was primitively the ordinary function of the
Confuls, in the abfence of the Praetors, and, in
certain cafes, of the Tribunes. When, in the year
of Rome 731, Auguftus diverted himfelf of the
.Confulfhip, which he then exercifed for the
eleventh time, he likewife refigned that confqlar
prerogative. Upon which, the fenate confirmed
to him, in perpetuity, the tribunitian power, with
the privilege of propofing, at^every fitting, any
one fubject that he thought proper ; whereas the
Conful had an unlimited authority of propofing
as many as he pleafed. Soon after, the fenate
conferred upon him the right of convening it as
often as he thought proper. In 735, the fenate
offered him, for life, the ordinary and extraor
dinary powers of the confulfhip, and he accepted
them, but without affuming any title that indicated
fuch perpetual confulfhip ; without depriving the
annual Conful of the righc of performing the
B b 2 public

s\ -> n
3/ A-

The RANK and POWER
public ceremonies, and propofing affairs to the de
liberation of the fenate, and perhaps too, without
accepting the lienors and fafces, that were likewif*
offered to him. He accepted, however, firft, the
precedence in the fenate; fecondly, a tribunal,
with a right of trying caufes, and, probably, tht
general infpection of the finances; and, thirdly, the
prerogative of acting as he thought proper in the
preffing exigencies of the ftate, without waiting
for the orders of the fenate.
Auguftus confined himfelf to the prerogative,
that had been granted him, of propofing any one
fubject he thought proper, at every meeting, fo that
neither he, nor his fucceffors, unlefs they happened
to be annual Confuls, ever enjoyed an unlimited
right of propofing matters to the deliberation of
the fenate. Accordingly we find this right con
ferred at every change, with fixed bounds, juster-
tia, quartes, . quintce relationh. As often as the
Emperor propofed any affair to. the deliberation of
the fenate, he became Prefident of it, if he was
not fo already in quality of annual Conful, and
ufed to afk the votes as a mere Conful might have
done, but with one remarkable difference. Ori
ginally, and even under the Emperors, the ma
giftrates in office never gave their opinion in affairs
of their own propofing. The Conful who pre
fided, and propofed the bufinefs on which the
fenate was to deliberate, did riot call upon his,
eollegue, nor the Praetors, nor any of the Curule
; magiftrates,

of the ROMAN EMPERORS. 3f3
magiftrates, for their opinion. Pie firft addreffed
himfelf to the Confuls elect, to the Prince of the
fenate, or firft fenator, to the Praetors, and other
magiftrates, elect, in fhort, to all the members of
the fenate not actually in office. He might indeed
re-capitulate the arguments on both fides, and
weigh them one againft another, but without pre
tending to conclude upon them ; which pre
cautions were, no doubt, employed to fecure to all
the members a proper liberty of fpeech. But
when the Emperor propofed any affair, the Conful
and other magiftrates were allowed to give their
opinion. This is exprefsly obferved by Tacitus,
(Ann. III. 17,) in fpeaking of the charge brought
againft Pifo, and his wife Placina, for the murder
of Germanicus, The Abbe de la Bleterie is of
opinion, that this conceffion, to the Confuls, of
voting, was' by way of compenfation for the two
fpecial privileges they had before, one, of pro
pofing any affair they thought proper, the other, of
hindering the fenate from deliberating upon it ;
and that this conceffion extended by degrees, to the
Other magiftrates,
•' This entertaining and inftructive Memoir is fol
lowed by another, containing " an anfwer to fome
" objections." The firft objection is, that the dc-
cifions of the Roman fenate might be, and were
fometimes, actually amended, and even refcinded,-
by the judgements of the Emperor; and that the
Emperor continued in the poffeffion of this pre-
B b 3 rogativC

The R A N K and P O W E R
rogative till the reign of Hadrian, which began,
140 years after that of Auguftus. This we find
in the Digeft, fei endum eft appellari a fenatu non prffe
principem ; idque oratione Divi Hadriani effeEium *.
Till then, therefore, the decrees of the fenate
Were fubject to the revifion of the prince, whofe
authority, of courfe, muft have been fuperior to
that of the fenate, and the whole nation.
This prohibition of Hadrian, fays the Abbe de
la Bleterie, proves indeed that appeals ufed fome
times to be made from the fenate to the Emperor,
and that the Emperor finally decided upon thefe
appeals ; but it does not prove, that thefe ap
peals, or the decifions given upon them, were ac
cording to law. The legal authority of the Em
peror refulted entirely from his power as both
Conful and Tribune. Now, neither the ordinary
power of the Conful, nor even the extraordinary
power, by virtue of which the Confuls might act,
in preffing emergencies, without confulting the
fenate, gave him any right to alter the decrees of
the fenate, not even while the republic fubfifted
in its primitive form, when the fenate was only the
national council, and ftill lefs under its new form,
when the fenate reprefented the whole nation. As
Tribune, the Emperor had a right firft, to inter-
pofe both judicially and by force in favour of the
oppreffed, and obftruct the execution of all fen-
tences, even thofe that were national : fecondly, a
* Lib, xnx. Tit, 2, a quibus appellare,
v new

of the ROM AN EMPERORS. 375
new right of trying all caufes brought into his
court, either in the firft inftance, or by appeal,
and of pardoning thofe who had been condemned
at any other tribunal whatever. But the author
has elfewhere proved, that the only appeals that
could be made from the fenate to the Emperor,
were thofe which preceded a final fentence. Befides,
to pardon and to abfolve are different things, and,
in general, inftead of giving it himfelf, he ufed to
afk the fenate for the pardon of criminals.
Suetonius, it is true, feems to fay, that Tibe
rius cancelled fome decrees cf the fenate, confli-
tutiones quafdam fenatus refcidit; but, perhaps, thefe
decrees had not as yet gone through the ufual
forms. For example, zfenatus confultum was con-
fidered as little better than the project of a huv,
till it had been depofited in the Mrar'mm. In fuch
cafes, therefore, the oppofition of the Emperor
did not exceed the bounds of his authority as Tri
bune. Perhaps too the hiftorian means no more
than that Tiberius engaged the fenators to alter
fome of its decrees; an interpretation which no way
clafhes either with the text or the ftyle of Suetonius.
For example, he tells us, in another place *, that
.Vitellius, uncle to the Emperor of the fame name,
" accufed Pifo of the murder of Germanicus, and
" condemned him," accufavit, condemnavitque. Nov.-,
the fame perfon could not be both judge and ac
cufer ; and it is, befides, well known that Pifo was
* In Vitell. c. II. 2.
B b 4 eon-.

376 The RANK and POWER
condemned by the fenate on the accufation of Vi-
tellius. This therefore muft have been the mean
ing of Suetonius; and the word refcidit will admit
of the fame latitude. Befides, the paffage of Sue
tonius can only be underftood "of the beginning of
the reign of Tiberius, who not being as yet firmly
feated on the throne, and being, befides, under ap-
prehenfions from Germanicus, would hardly have
ventured to give any umbrage to the fenate by an
nulling its decrees.
Suetonius, likewife tells us, that Vefpafian can
celled the decree *, by which the fenate had voted
divine honours to Galba + ; decretum Vefpaftanus.
abokvit. The Abbe de la Bleterie, by combining
what Tacitus and Suetonius have faid on this fub
ject, proves, that, at the requeft of the ypunger
Domitian, the fenate by way of reparation for the
* Here we may obferve that the fuperiority of the fenate
over the Emperor, if we may truft to Father Hardouin,
is proved by the decrees of that body granting divine ho
nours to thefe princes. Neque enim confecrat, fays he, aut
in Divos reponit, nifi potefias fuperior co qui confecratur ; a
principle, from which he has drawn the following conclu.
fion, which M. de la Bleterie has corroborated by fo many
Other proofs : Atque bine intelligis id, quod multis aliunde con~
flat argumentis, Imperatores Romanos fenatui fuiffe fubjeBps, a
quo utique ctnfecrabantur ii, qui bunc Jibi poft obitum deferri bo-
norcm in vita meruiffent. Note 18. on the xxxvith book of
Pliny, Sed. 14.
This argument-fcarce proves the fuperiority of the fenate
to the living reigning prince. , AH that can well be deduced
from it is, that the fenate was fuperior to the Emperors
when they were dead, . according to the old -adage, A
jiving dog, &C.
f Galba, c. xxm. infults

of the ROMAN EMPERORS.
infults offered to Galba, ordered, firft, that his
ftatues fhould be erected again ; and, fecondly,
that a column and a new ftatue fhould be erected'
to him in the forum : that Tacitus mentions only
the firft of thefe orders, and Suetonius only the
fecond. The firft was executed; the fecond re
quired time; and Vefpafian, who fufpe&ed Galba
of having formed a defign upon his life, gave him
felf no trouble to haften the execution of it ; and
the fenate, being informed of the Emperor's fuf-
picions, fuffered the projeft of the ftatue and the
column to drop; fo that this part of its decree Was
abolifhed by the mere non-execution of it; and
the term employed by Suetonius may fignify no
more, and not a formal abrogation.
By a fhort view, which our learned author take?,
pf all the Emperors before Hadrian, it appears
that Caligula was the only one among them who
can be proved to have made any encroachment on
the jurifdiction of the fenate; and it was, no doubt,
in order to prevent fuch encroachments for the
future, that Hadrian, who was perfectly well ac
quainted with the rights of the Roman people,
?nd never decided any important queftion without
the advice of the fenate, whofe intereft he had
yery much at heart, brought in the law mentioned
in the Digeft. After all, this law only forbade
appeals, after judgement had been formally given
by the fenate ; till then, the parties might appeal
from the fenate to the Emperor, who, in quality of

378 The RANK and POWER
of Tribune, might interpofe, of himfelf, ex officio,
fo as to hinder the fenate from ever proceeding to
judgement, though he had no right to judge him
felf, or call the affair to his own tribunal.
The fecond objection to this doctrine of the
Abbe de la Bleterie is drawn from an epiftle
quoted by Julius Capitolinus. Macrinus, PraefecV
of the Prsetorium, having caufed Antoninus Cara
calla to be affaffinated, was chofen Emperor by
the army *, who did not believe him acceffary to
that murder. This election required confirmation
by a national act. The decree of the fenate, as re
prefenting the nation, that conferred on the new
prince all the prerogatives of which the Imperial
authority was the refult, was ftyled, firft/ lex im
perii, and afterwards, under Juftinian, lex regia*
Macrinus, therefore, wrote to the fenate, requeft-
ing them to ratify what had been done by the
army. He fays, in his epiftle, that in conjunction
with the troops, he had decreed divine honours to
Caracalla, adding, " You will likewife decree them
" to him, confcript Fathers : we have a right, as
*« Emperor, to command you to do it ; neverthe-
" lefs, we only requeft it of you." Et vos, Patres
confcripti, ut decernatis, cum poffimus imperatorio furs
fracipere, iamen rogamus.
But this epiftle bears fo many marks of forgery,
that it is furprifing M. de TiUemont fhould have
been the only one who has difcovered the impofturc;
* See the Cxfars, Vol. I. p. 163; though

of the R O M A N E M P E R O R S, 379
though TiUemont, neverthelefs, for want of having
narrowly examined the nature of the Imperial
government, confidered the Emperors as real mo-
narchs. Our learned Academician fhews, that this pre
tended epiftle is full of contradictions, and of ex
preflions, which not only chifli with probability,
but cuftom, and even truth. He alfo proves, that it
muft have been forged by fome friend of Elaga
balus, an implacable enemy of Macrinus and his
fon Diadumenus. We likewifs find, in the hiftory
of Auguftus, two epiftles afcribed to the laft,
though it is evident that they were forged with a
defign to blacken Diadumenus, and to make him
pafs for a monfter, of which Elagabalus did well
to rid the world.
For farther particulars the reader muft be re
ferred to the Memoir itfelf, in which he will meet
with deep refearches, folid reflections, and great
purity of ftyle.

ADDL

[ 38t ]
ADDITIONAL NOTES.
VOLUME I.

P. 14. 1. 18. Carterius. *
* Libanius, in his Lite, p. 59, mentions a Carterius, who
was in many refpects notorious for his folly, particularly ia
daring to offend the auguft Emperors. The perfon above-
named muft probably have offended Conftantius, or he
would not have wanted the intereft of Julian, and the affif
tance of Araxius. Libanius alfo mentions another Carte
rius, in his ccxLviiith Epiftle (probably the fori of the
former) as an orator whom the fenators of Arce in Phoe
nicia had enrolled among them. And in his cLxxth he,
apologifes to Maximus for his deferting the Mufes, and
following Mars. Araxius was prefect of Paleftine. Li
banius has fix Epiftles to him.
P. 121. note f.
To the " Rhodian fhower of gold" Libanius alfo alludes
in his Dcccxxxuid Epiftle ; and Ammianus, xvn. •/..
P. 149. To note * may be fubftituted this.v
* Julian has here in view that paffage of Homer, in rhe-
flrft book of the Iliad, [ver. 607.] where he fays, that
*' every God has his manfion and throne f fabricated by
" Vulcan with his own hands ;" and which he repeats in
another place. Spanheim.
lb, 1. 18. When therefore they rife at the entrance of
their Father + &c.
X This is alfo taken from a paffage of Homer, in the
fame book [ver. 533.] to this effect ; that <* at the approach
" of their Father Jupiter all the Gods rife from their
*( feats, and go to meet him, and that no one waits for
" him." I find, however, that the poet fays the fame
thing of Apollo, in the Hymn which is afcribed to him, in
praife of that God. Ibid.
¦J- In this paffage Homer mentions only their manfion, et houfe, iu/ta.
— — their Harry domes —
The fhjninj monuments of Vulun's art, Pori, 778.
The

38a ADDITIONAL NOTES.
The fhining fynod of th' immortals wait
The coming God, and from their thrones of ftate
Arifing filent, wrapt in. holy fear,
Before jhe majefty of heaven appear, ice. Pope, 690.
P. 151. To note f add.
t The authority of Julian, no doubt, is highly refpe£table;
but if a perfon in youth carry the marks of a bad difpo
fltion, and deliberately commit atrocious actions, when his
intereft required them, we are ftill warranted to queftion
the fincerity of his converfion, though, in a different ftate
of his intereft, even the whole tenor, of his life fhsuld
change. Ferguson.
P. 290. To note f add.
Thefe Abantes are alfo mentioned by Libanius in his
Orat. xix.
P. 305. To note f add.
The Jupiter, who laments with tears of blood the death
of Sarpedon, his fon, had a very imperfeiSt notion of hap
pinefs, or glory, beyond the grave. Gibbon.
Libanius, " on hearing of the death of Julian," repeats
this allufion, by faying, " I looked up to heaven, expefting
" tears mixed with blood, fuch as Jupiter fhed upon Sar-
" pedon ; but I did not fee them ; though perhaps he
*' poured them on the corpfe,' and, like the dull: and blood
" attendant on a battle, they were feen by few." In Jul.
Imp. Necem.
P. 312. note +. Out' it Xoyu st' it apt&iJtu. Subftitute this.
Libanius quotes this oracle again in his Mcxvith Epiftle:
" But now he who is ignorant of the laws is truly an
" jEgian *, of no name or rank." On which the tranf-
lator has the following note :
* Aiyis«5.] In the MS incorrectly Aiysi>f, called Aiyw/?, from
Atyiot, a city of Achaia, as we learn from Stephens de
Urbib.us, p. 36, who quotes this oracle given to them,
Yjua; i'Atyiii; alt rpfloi, hIe rtlaplot,
to which others add the following,
Ov\t ivviexdlot, bt' ev Xoyu, bt' it aft8/j,u.
Compare Th. de Pinedo on this paffage, p, 36. To this
our author refers. Erafmus, in his Adages, p. 393, ap
plies this to the yEginenfians, deceived by the fimilitude of
the name. Wolfius.
The fcholiaft on Theocritus applies it to the inhabitants
of Megara.
tfj-tif i'a MtyajHif, k. r. X, p.: 3i6.

ADDITIONAL NOTES. 3S3
P. 316. note *.
Calliopius, it appears from feveral other Epiftles, was
alfo an affiftant to Libanius in his inftruetion of youth, one
of his ufhers.
P. 324. 1. 8. Calliope is alfo honoured, &c.
f See Vol. II. p. 251. note *.
VOLUME II.
P. 14. Epiftle VIII. " You are come, Telemachus.'
Libanius begins his Legation to Julian (vpeaSstHuui irpe;
laXtatot) with the fame quotation.
P. 45. Epiftle XXII. To Leontius *.
* Confular of Paleftine in 363, as appears by thetitleof
a law, xn Cod. Theod. tit. 55. De Decurionibus.
This Leontius feems to be that governor of Paleftino
whom at that time, together with Alypius, lulian is faid by
Ammianus to have given a fruitlefs commiffion to re-build
the temple of Jerufalem. [See p. 74. note.] To the fame
there are feveral Epiftles of Libanius. He afterwards go
verned Paleftine as ?ro-conful under Theodofius the Great.
GootFROi.
P. 46. Epiftle XXIII. To Hermogenes f.
f Libanius often mentions an Hermogenes, as Prartor
of Syria, and ftyles him in his Life, p. 39, " the beft of
" magiftrates." He has alfo two Epiftles to him, viz. the
MDXLixth of Wolfius, and the xnth of Zambicari, 1. in.
By the latter he appears to have had a houfe at Corinth.
Ammianus too mentions him, xix. 12. See Valois on the
paffage, and Godefroi in the profopographia of his Theo-
dofian Code, p. 365.
P. 69. 1. 16. The garden *.
* The fhort defcription, which Julian here gives, of this
Syrian garden, may be added to the few particulars of an
cient gardens which Mr. Burgh has collected in a note on
Mr. Mafon's Englifh Garden, p. 130. The extent is not
mentioned, but by its comparifon to that of Laertes it muft
have been fmall. Of its difpofltion, however, we are in
formed, which was far from happy. The pot-herbs, and
fruit-trees were planted in the middle, the latter, in that hot

384 ADDITIONAL NOTES.
hot climate, not requiring walls to farce them, and theri
was not only a grove of cypreffes, but a row of thofe trees
was alfo ranged along the walls, it being, like the Italian
gardens defcribed by Bifhop Burnet, walled rotlnd, and
by this double fortification ; as it were, completely excluded
from a view of the country.
P. 90. I. 2.
" Diogenes," fays Libanius, " was a native of Synope,
" and the uncle of Ariftophanes." See Vol, I. p. 317.
P. 148. 1. 7. fwallows f.
¦j- In like manner his mafter Libanius (Ep. XLIV.) com
pares chattering and long letters to fwallows, birds that
are noify in the fummer, and fly to and fro. Wolfius,
P. 199. Add to note *.
By the Epiftles above-mentioned of Libanius, Eutherius
appears to have been prefect of Armenia, and tc have had
a fon under his tuition.
P. 227. Add to the fecond paragraph of the note :
In a fubfequent work Libanius deems both thefe events
prefages of the death of Julian. " This," fays he, " was
" predicted by the temple of Apollo deftroyed by fire.
" The God forfook the earth, as it was foon to be pol-
" luted. This was alfo foretold by the earthquakes con-
" vulfing all the ground as harbingers of approaching
" difturbance and confufion." In Jul. Lip. Necem, p. 258.
P. 246. AmOng the gardens of antiquity to which
Milton, b. iv. compares and prefers his " Paradife of
" Eden," is
" That fweet grove
" Of Daphne by Orontes."
P. 247. Add to note *.
Libanius in his Life, p. 47, 8. mentions the Olympics
which were celebrated on his 50th birth-day, which muft
have been in the year 364, the year after the death of
Julian. "'At thefe," fays he, " I had an ardent defire to
" be prefent : but on the firft day was .imprifoned, not by
" the Prxtor, but by a fevere attack of the gout."

INDEX.

I N L> E , X
L .  -
T O
VOLUME II,

All I • I . j • . j -w - ¦
._ Page
JT^TIUS, bifliop, Julian writes to hitn v-; .: 78
•"-' a note on that Epiftle, by Fabricius 200
Alexander, the Great, his figure in miniature i.J. the
founder of Alexandria 20. his efteem for. Homer
-30. ("note) confpjred againft by .Hermolaus- 166.
his cruelties 167
Alexandrians, Julian writes to them 19, 64. 136. 155.
Alypius, of Antioch, Julian writes to him 73. 76
; ' commiffioned by Julian to re-build the temple
of Jerufalem 74 (note)
—  banifhed by Valens ibid. 220 (note)
 author of a geographical work 76
Amerius, Juliajj writes to him 93
Amida, city of, is enlarged. Jovian builds a ftiburb
there for the inhabitants of Nifibis 308
Ammianus, Marcellinus, his opinion of the treaty of
Dura 280
Amogila, "Julian intercedes for her 200
Amphion, fragment on, 207
Anacreov, quotation from 38
' Ancyra, Jovian .celebrates tbeje.the folemnity o-f his
confulfliip 3S6
Antioehx people<of, Julian writes to them 189. rejoice
at his death 2.93. the ftay that Jovinn makes
there 311. fchifm of the church 314. 4heir
unworthy treatment of Jovian 348
Vol. IL O c Antiochus,

sSo- INDEX. Page
Antiochus, tutor of. Julianas long .(fa, called).. . - *96
Apis, grief at "his "death" 24:
Apollo, Daphnsean, ftatue of defcribed 249, deftroyed 250
Areus, a friend of Auguftus J39
Argives, Julian intercedes for them 83
Arianifm, a cruel and perfecting feet 314
Arintheus, a great-general, ferit by Jovian to Sapor ^ 276
¦ — receives baptifm 277 (note)
Ariftanetm, prefect of Bithynia 218. Monody on by
Libanius 227 (note) his death 237
Ariftomencs} Julian writes to him 7
Ariftophanes, quotation- from. ' • 47
.  of Corinth 193
Ariftotle, quotation from 49
Arfaces, fatrap of Armenia, Julian writes to him 186
'• this epiftle probably is fpurious 187 (note):
deferved to be dif'graced by Julian, and why 281
is abandoned by Jovian ibid, his death ibid, (note)
Arfacius, high-prieft of Galatia, Julian writes ;o him 127
Artabius, Julian'writes to'him 13
Aftydamas, proverbially, a felfTcommender 27. 159
Athanafius, archbifliop of Alexandria, banifhed by Ju-
f lian-64, 5. recalled by Jovian,who writes to him
330. anfwers Jovian 333. comes to 'Antioch 334. '¦'
his ' character 3 3 5. "Compared, to Arnauld 338. ""
(note) returns to Alexandria 347. hisdeath ib. (note)
Athens, its foundation by Cecrops 232. named by
Minerva 233 (note)
Auguftus, the tribunitian power confirrhed to him iri
perpetuity ¦ 37!
; : -; • .ik,?» : :¦.'.¦: ava. ". .,-.v ¦ \
Baronius, his brutal bigotry exploded 352 (note)
Bafil (not the Great), Julian writes to him 26
Batna defcribed 6S-, 69. 383
Berea, city of, Julian arrives there 66: attempts in
vain to pervert the'fenate 67. firmnefs of one of "•••\
the chief citizens ibid, (note)
Befanfon, city of 97 (note)
Binejes, a Perfian fatrap, 282 (note) takes poflMIon
of Nifibis . ,297i g
¦Bleterie, John Philip Rene de la, account of 307
Bcfire-

I .jN D E X. 387
... . . .' i^ge
Boftrcnians, J.uliap writes to them jaa
Boys, ordered' by Julian to be itiftructed in facred
mufic 1 et
Byzantines, Julian writes to them 24., Perhaps Bi-
- fanthians 2-5' (note)
Ci
Caligula, the only Ernperor W/ho. .encroached on the
jurisdiction of the fenate 375?
Callimachus, quotation from ; ,a,.\, 77
Callippus, the Athenian, deceived BJatq • 16.1
Callixenc, prieftefs of Ceres. Julian writes tctiher . _. 43
Cappadocians, Julian is dilgufted with them, and why 8 (note)
their religion 9 (note)
Carrha, inhabitants of, murder , the. mefTenger who
announced the death of Julian .,,,291, 2
Celts, explained ( 31 (note-)
Chabrias, a fable of 160
Chamber of juftice 46 (note) $9*(note)
Charito, wife of Jovian 349, 50, goes, ,tp ,meet him.,,,
361. it is .not .thought, that he gave her the title .
,, . of Aug'uftd " ,...,,.. 364
Chriftians praftife all virtues by the Confeffion of Ju
lian 128. long abftained- from blood, and from
things ftrangled.182 (note) ,sheir joy at the death
of Julian 292. their divifions 313. their difputes
are renewed 317. lament Jovian .; , ..„,., 363
Chriftianity, neceffary to mankind „ ;•;.,.,,, 131 (.ao.t&).
Church, ftate of, when Jovian came to the empire 314, &c.
Cimmerian darknefs <¦ .149
Cimon, a natural fon of Libanius 222 (note)
Conftans, Emperor 159
Conftantinople, people of Julian, write3 to them 184
this epiftle afcribed by Wolfius to Libanius lb. (note)
Conftantius, Emperor 28.46,78. 197
Confuls, their functions: : _, ».. 01 .;;;,,.. 36^
Corduenne, its fituation • , 260
Corinth, its origin and deftrueYion f*--A[ ..-.231, 2
Corinthians opptefs the Argives ¦ I'i«,I.1..,.,iri,q sdl ,.$S> ^c>
'Council of Antioch,  , • ' ?rb ^> abin ; t'"*-" 319
C c 2 y-un.wa d) jDada-

t N ft ""fi X.
D. Page
Dadaftana-, city of> joyiafl receives thefe the deputies
. . r from the fenate of Conftantinople 35°
Damafcus, praifes of , , $ '
Daniel, a prophecy of, "perverted perhaps by Julian 58 (note)
Dap'hrixdn teiliple of Apollo bUrrit 243 (riotej 250, &c.
defcribed ^49) &c-
Daphne, its beauty 68. 246
Dead, cuftom of the Pagans hi funerals 309
DeTany, Dn i86 (note)
Democritus, his confolation of DariuS 94'
Didymaan otacle, qubtetl 177
Diadorusi, bifliop of 'Parfus lot _
Diogenes, the philofopher go. Julian writes to him 20t
D'umyfius, Julian writes to hirn 158. his cowardice 160
his drunken abufe 165. his blunders 1&9; per
haps commander hi Greece 210 (note)
Divination of Heatbetls under Valens 219. ittquifition
into it. ib. (note)
banatiftsj furib'iis fc'hifmatrcs 316
Dofit/Jeits, Juliati Writes to him . jj
Dura, city of, Julian lofeS four days there 273. igno-
'' minipus treaty of , 28,0:
'  E.
Ecdicius, prsefedt tiff iEgypt, Juliart writes to him n. 17.
134. 153
Eeebolus, the fophift, Julian writfes to him 39
¦1  • Chief magiftrate of Edeffa, Julian write* to
him 118
Echo, the wife of Pan zci
Edeffa, city of, perfecuted by Julian i 1 8. zeal of its
inhabitants for the Chriftian religion 119 (note)
Jovian arrives there 310
EdiB of Julian relating to phyficians 63. to profeffors 1 10
forbidding the Chriftians to teach polite literature 112
relating to profaners of tombs, artd concerning
funerals jg^
Ekifmian pontiff •¦- ro (note)
ElpidiUs, the philofopher, Julian writes to him 154.
Ethaarchs, chiefs of the Jews till the beginning of fhe
¦•• -Vth century 58 (note)
Euagrius, Julian writes to him 1 22
5 £*clidj

i N D! E Xi
Euclid, the philofopher, JuBaft writes to him
Eugenius, the; philofopher, Jplian writes to him
Eumenius and Pharianus, Julian writes to them
Euripides, quotations from 164 (note) ,237 (hoc)
Eufebius and Bardion, eunuchs of Conftantius
Euzoius',.-an Arian bifliop of Antioch

Page 204 .38
347
S,46 339

¦:¦ F.
Fabricius John Albert^ his Lux Evangelii 193 (rjote) ^
19*6 (note) his Life of Libanius tranflated 216 — 226
Fame, a Daemon 16.5
Fragments of Epiftles ¦;¦•.. , 20.7 — 211
Florentius, prifect of Gaul, J-ulian complains of him 36

G.
Galen, quotation frofn
Gaul, army offends deputies to joviari , t
George, archbifhopi of Alexandria, his Library
maffacre

-the Catholic, Julian writes to him

0rafsboppers defcribed 1.10 (note) loquacious
Qreefo, the ten thoufand, retreat of 259".
Gregory, duke, Julian writes to him
~-  Nazianien, his difcourfe againft Julian

49 (note).
-. ¦ 356.
17. 1^2. his
1,8 (note)
' 14; 151
283 (note) n
291. 312

¦* ¦'. tt\
iladrid?if Emperor, builds. a teniple to "Trajan
Hatra, city, of, Jovian arrives there
¦p — its hiftory
HeBor, fon'of Parmenio, drowned
Hercynian foreft, fragment oh
Hermogenes,. late pro-feet of itEgypt, Julian writes to
him 46. praetor of Syria
Herodotus, Quotations from 45. 47. fragment on 208.
, account of ibid, (note)
Hefiod, quotations from •*'• 87-
Hippocrates, quotations froth 49. ioi. miftaken by
Julian ihl (,10t<b>
C c 3 Homer $

3"49 285
286 167
2! I

383

39° I CN D E X.
. Page
Homer, quotations from 14. 16. 33. 39. 40. 4.1, 45. 48. 5,1. 54.
5c. 56. 82, 94, i-oor 106. po.8 (note) uo (note). 114
(note) 121; 124, 130. 133, .148., 149 (note), 150 (note)
164 (note) 168. 1,95. 203. 229 (note) 230 (note) 238
(note) '247 (note) 249 (note)., ; j
Hundred, preferable toall other numbers, and why 55
J. and L
Jamblichus, J alian writes to him 80. 101. 107. 148. 1 7 1. 1.74^
Two .philofophers muft be diftinguifhed of that"
name 70 (note) 80 (note).
Januarius, a relation of Jovian, thought of for Emperor 362
Jerufalem,- temple of, attempt to re-build, defeated 61, 62
(note) 74 (note)
Jews, community of, Julian addreffes them 57. lefs
odious to the Pagans than the Chriftians, and
• why -•,;-• 183 (note)
Imperial government, an ariftocfacy . , '¦,, vimn 365
John of .AritiQch,:his^hiftqry , -. ; „;,.,;/ 349
JoviAN;-conducts the corpfe of Conftantius to, Con
ftantinople, 262. rather, choofes to; quit ;the -fer
vice than renounce his faith, 263. His character,
264. chofen Emperor, 265. declares that ; he .
cannot command Pagans, 266, liftens;to the pro- ,
poials of Sapor, 276. r.eafqns which induce him ... .
to accept the peace, 281, 2. paffes the Tigris,
284. caufes his election to be announced to the
provinces of the Weft,- ^89. encamps under the
walls of Nifibis; and: obliges the inhabitants, to
evacuate it, 296, &c. enters Antioch, 311. re
gulates matters of religion, 319. makes a law
to allow liberty of confeience, ibid, reftridtions
which he puts upon that liberty, 322, 3. treat*
with fome refpect the philofophers who were in
the train of Julian, 325. writes in favour of the
Chriftians, 327. recalls thofe who were baniflied
on account of religion, and reftores to the
churches their privileges, 328. makes a law
in favour of the virgins confecrated to God,
ibid, writes to Athanafius, and invites him to
court, 330, &c. gives three audiences to the
Arians,

I N't D E : X, 393
Page
Arians, 341 -5. is defpifod by the inhabitants of
Antfocli, 34S. celebrates the funeral, of Julian atT-. 1
• ¦¦u Tarfus, 351. orders his tomb, to be decorated,.
352. paffes through Ty&na,- in Cappadocia, and ;
hears 'news from the Weft, 354. enters Ancvra,
;•- and celebrates the folemnity of his. confulfhip,
having taken his fon Varronian far his coljegue,
'-f 356, &c. his death, 361. his apotheofis, 363. ,;
Jovianus, a dift-inguifhed officer, his tragical death ...... .297
Joviajis, a- body of troops , . 263
Jovinus, commander of the troops in the Gau's 289. 356
Ifthmian games fupported by the Corinthians 86
Julian, Emperor, collects the library of George, 17. 91
believes in dreams, 34. attempts in vain to re
build the temple of Jerufalem 61, 2 (note) 74
(note) leaves Antioch, paffes through Litarbe^
r - Berea, and Batna?, and arrives" at Hierapolis,
65—71. ah accident which happened to him at
JUierapolis 72 (note) beli'eves in theurgy, 98 , con-
• - . fifcates the effects of the church of Edeffa, 118.
makes a! prefent of a co«ntry-hbufe; to one of , -;
his friends, .12;. pays an honourable teftimony
;••- to Chriftians, 128. wiflies to eftablifh in Pa
ganifm the difcipline of the church, ibid, at
tacks Chriftianity with weak arguments, 137, &c,
<K" perfecutes the Chriftians, 145. fends for ah <J,_
?' ' obelifk to decorate Conftantinople, 155. believes
; the immortality of the foul, detefts the materialifts
^nd free-thinkers, 179, 80. ill treats Arfaces 'king
of Armenia, 186 (note) deftroys his own fleet,
. '258. ftate of his army at his death, 260. idea that
the Perfians had of him, 267. various opinions of
-his death, 269. his funeral, 309. badconlequences
~ ; of his government, 312. he is interred at Tarfus,
351. his tomb is decorated by three Chriftian
princes, 352. he is placed in the number of the
Gods ¦ 353
Julian Count,. The Emperor Julian writes to him 27
Julus, Patriarch of the jews 60. miftaken by Fa
bricius ''¦ 200 (note)
i ., ¦-: it Ah <-:.;. ... A
;:_>..' . Lobar urn,

INDEX.
A^nl ¦ L.
Lalai'um, Jovian replaces in it the monogram of Jefus
Chrift 327. defcribed ibid, (note)
Lardneri, Dr. doubts' the truth of the fiery eriiptiori
62 (note) his feafons ibid.
Lemnian misfo'fturtes 240. proverbial , ib'. (note)
Leontius, Julian writes to him 45. confular of Pa
leftine , 383
Libanius, the fophift, Julian writes to him 6. 28. 65.
12b. 195. 263. his life by Fabricius ii6 — 226.
his monody on Nicomedia 227 — 242. his monody
on Daphne 243 — 2 51. his. thoughts on the death of
Julian 269. is inclined to kill himfelf 296. com- -
pofes two difcourfes in honour of Julian 291J
complains of the fevefities exefcifed againft the
Pagans 32*
Lucian, the fophift, Julian" writes to. him  79
Lucillian, Count, father in law of Joviarij his defence
of Nifibis 364. fent fo Milan 289. '354.' is Rilled
at Rheims 35$'
Lucius, an Ariari bifliop, chofen t£^ fucceed George
340. fent to Jovian ibid. Joviari extricates him
felf from hirn 346
Macedonians (heretics) their .requeft to Jovian 339''
Macrinus, Emperor, a forged epiftle of ... 37 »
Magnentius, his ufulpation 1^9 (fiote) 288
Magnus, Count, bufns the chutch' of Eetyta 329. is
pardoned 3'30. his chaf-actei ibid, his cruelties
, , . , ibid, (note)
Malarich, a F raffle officer, appointed commander of the
troops in the Gauls 189.' refufes that employ-
merit ._ ^ , , , . 354
Maryland, Mr. refers to a paffage of Julian 50 (note)
Maximus, the perverter of Julian', that prince writes
to him 29. 31. 96. 160. is perfecuted under
Valens, and put to death, 30 (note) 22©;(note.) 324 (note).
Meletius and Paulinus, bifliops of Antioch 315 ..(note)
Memoridus, a tribune, fent into the Weft 288. gives an
account of his commiffion 354
Majtiitii

i N D E X.
Mbmus, his farcafm on the fandal of Venus 166*
Morell, Frederick, his tranflation df Libanius faulty ' 223
(note) 233 (note) i36 (note) his intenffc applica
tion to it 223 (note) his plagiarifm 224 (note
Muret, error of -60
Mufonius, fragment ori aid
Mi
tiemeah games, defrayed by the ArglveS 88
Neptune, his deftruction of the Grecian wall 230. re
primanded by Libanius 230. 233
frevitta,* general 47 (note) 261
Newton, bifhop, defends the fiery eruption 62 (note)
Nicomedes 1: founder of Nicomedia 230 t
Siicomedia defcribed 227 (note) 233, &c; hiftory of 231
deftroyed by an earthquake 228 (note) 237, Sec.
kite, the rifing of 1 34. caiife of it 1 31 5 (notej
Nifibis^ city of, its hiftory 299* confterriation of its
inhabitants ori being forced by Jovian to quit it
304. they afk but are refufed permilfion to der
fend themfelves 305. they retire to Amida' 308
Novatians (heretics) their tenets 116
tfiympit gariies, fupported by the Eleani 86
'^  :  of'AntiOch 247
Oribafius, phyfician to Julian, that pt iricer writes to
him 33. his works 34 (note)
P.
Paganifm had tio itiorality 131 (note) properly fpeak
ing, had no dogmas 322. the methods Con
ftantine employed to u-nderttiirie it ibta.
Pagans^ virtues rare among them 131 (riote) their de-
fpair at the death of Julian 2t)i
Painter, Juliafi writes to one i8c
Patriarch (of Antioch) Julian writes to hiiri 200
Paul, his calumny arid ptinifhmerit ; .194 (notei
Ph*don,of Elis ;, ,  16*
Phadrus of Plato _...;_.„ - A'^v.. .?.: *°$
Pbaleris, his epiftles, "fabricated perhaps by Libanius 226 (note)
Phidias,

393

$94 \: N D E- X. Page
Phidias, file fculptor^his excellence J $k
Philip, Julian. writes jo him. ',. 197
Philofophers, alarmed at the acceffioh of Jovian .r 312
perfecuted under Valens 523 (fipte) well' treated
by Jovian , , 325
Pbotinum, Juliani Epiftola ad, 205. bifhop of Sirmium,
his temerity and degradation ibid, (note)
Phyficians, exemptions granted' to them . 63
Pindar, quotations from 39- 55* '°4- 12S
Plato; referred to' 160, 161. deceived by Dionyfius 161
pococi, Dr. his defcription of Nicomedia 234 (note)
Porphyry, treafurer-general of IfLgypt, Julian writes
•to- him  93
Prieft-, a heathen, cenfured and fufpended by JuHan 177
Prifcus, the philofopher 6. Julian writes to him 202
Probaiius, great chamberlain to Jovian 346
Procopius, a relation of Julian, cortirhands in Mefo-
j>6tariiia, is fiifpected by Jovian 2^6, &e. hckno-.v-
ledges Jovian 296. conducts the corpfe of Julian
to Tarfus 309. fecretes himfelf 310. his revolt
' and death "-' '221 (note)
-*-;  fecretary of ftate 288
Profeffors, regulated, and Chriftians forbidden to teach 112
Proharefius, a Chriftian fophift, Julian writes to him 5
Proteus, an impoftor ..,;.-,, 81
Pythian games, fupported by the Delphians 86
'-'-? ..» -
 R.
Rheims, city of 355
Rhine, the people bordering on that river plunge their
.infants into it, and why 31
Rhodian fhower of gold. 381
Roftgaard, Frederick, his celle^ions 193 (note) 225 (note)
. S. : ,
Sabinus, a citizen of Nifibis, fpeaks boldly to Jovian 305
Salluft (afterwards Praefect of Gaul) extolled by Julian 37
 the fecond (afterwardsPrsefeftof the-Eaft) prefi-
dent of the council of Chalcedon 47 (note) refitfes
T^r- the empire after the death of Julian 261. is fent
¦uini.jij.^c ; •".-,-'" i - iii'.': ¦ ta'.
;¦• ¦"- Oss "*
. , _ Vi

I N D E X. 3$
-.•I : ........ -«^--P^
to Sapor 276. quells a tumult at Antioch . 348
refines the empire again after the death
of Jovian . , ' '.''•" - ' ^6,2
Salmaftus, an error of _ . ' 369
Sappho, quotations from 39. 40, 17,3
Sapor I. king of Perfia, burnt Antioch ' 245
Sapor II. hears' of the death of Julian 267. i atfaclcs
the Roman army ibid, m.alces the firft overtures. ,.»-,"•?
for a peace ij'c. thinks it ftrange that the' death
of Julian is not' revenged 277
Sebaftian, Count, comes to pay his duty to Jovian, 296
•Sepulchres, punifliment of thole who profaned fnerri,
exceffes of fome ChriftiansV laws on that fubject
7 ;, 190, &ps-,(note,)
Serapj'en, a fenator, Julian writes to hirp . ; 47
Simonides; an expreffion of , -t , • 55
¦Singara, city of, demanded. by;:Sapor 280. Jovian
makes the inhabitants quit it 30?
Sopater, the difciple of Jamblichus ,;. ; 7c. 149,
fxofiipater, (probably the fame) Julian writes to him 196
Sozomen, the hiftorian, his murderous doctrine . 271
Suetonius, a paffage. of explained , 377
Sun, his bleffings ; .130
Surena, the general of the Perfian cavalry,; fent to
¦( ., Jovian by Sapor 275
JSwan-fong, a poetical idea 37 (note)
Sylofon, ill rewarded by Darius 73
Symmachus, a Roman orator, extolled by Julian 163
T. ., .„ j .
Telchinl a name for Apollo • 248
Telcbines, inhabitants of Rhodes, their ingenuity ib. (note)
Temenus, the eldeft of the Heraclidae 84
Tertullian, a fact related by him invalidated 370
Themiftius, fenator of Conftantinople, pronounces the
panegyric of Jovian 319. part of that elogium
ibid. &c. fubftance of it 321
Theocritus, quotation from 7
Theodora, Julian writes to her 10. a letter to her
from Libanius ibid, (note)
Theodore, a high prieft, Julian writes to him 178
Theodorus.

£$£ INDEX.
Tittedorus, named in a divination, and put to death. .
220 (note)
Thiophraftus, quotation from 5<*
Therapeutic, their fuperftition J 56 (note)
Thifalphata, the name of the place wh,^re Jovian re
entered the Roman territories 296
Thracians, Julian writes to. them 125
Tiberius, Emperor, his propofal for placing Jefus Chrift
among the Godf rejected 3 79
Titus, bifliop of Bpftiaa, Julian endeavours to prejudice
him in the minds of the people^ 145. fys tenets
_fibid. (note)
Trajan, Emperor ,¦„ ,. 286. 349
V- andU. ¦»> >¦•
ftttentinian a^cbjppanfes Lucillian into the Gauls 354
is in danger of his life 355. is made captain of
the guards 356. fucceeds Jovian 362. "affociates
his brother Valeria in the empire 363 (note)
Vdlentinians, heretics 118
Farronian, Count, father pf Jovian 263. dies conful
elect 390.
— <  • an infant, fon of Jovian, chofen, conful in
the room of his grandfather 357.' his unhappy fate 364
'Vehicles, public, their danger and inconvenience 203
Vefontio (now Befanc:on) defcribed 97
Vetranio, his revolt 288 (note)
Ur, a caftle of Mefopotamia - 2S7
W.
Warburton, bifhop, his " Julian" 61 (pote) 62 (note)
Wolfius, John Chriftopher, his edition of the Epiftles
of Libanius 3*5 (note)
Z,
gantbicari, Francis, his Latin Epiftles of Libanius 225 (note^
Zeno, a celebrated phyfician, Julian writes to him 121

Since

C 397 3
*.** Since this work has been printed off, I am
enabled, by the Nouveau Diclionnaire Hijlorique *,
fame edition, 6 tomes, Bvo, a Caen, 1779), to add
the following account of a writer to whom I am
much obliged.
Bleterie (John Philip Rene de la), born at
Rennes, died in afi .yad^an.ced age, in 1772. He
was a man of learning, was much attached to
religion* and, , his morals did ,no,t belie his prin
ciples. His knowledge, being folic! aind diverfified,
rendered, his converfation interefting an,d improv
ing. He p\ib]rlhed feveral w.ojrks, which "have
been well reLCgjvsdi by "the public. 1. the MJfeity
of Julian the Apofate +, Paris," J 735. J746. 12010.
a .ouwous performaniee, well written, and • dif-
<ri.ngaifhed at once, b^ its impartiality, pr,eqifion,
elegance, and judgement. 2, The Hifiwy of the
Emperor Jovian, w^ith tranfiatyQ^ of foxn§ work?
of the Emperor Julian, Paris, 1748, 2 vols, 13010,
&c. &c,
* The work fo ftyled, ou Hiftoire abregee de tous les
hommes qui fe font fait un nomme par le Genie, les Talens, les
Vertus, les Erreurs, &e. depuisle commencement du monde jufqu a
nos jours, par unc Societe de Gens de lettres, is of itfelf a library,
¦\ This work, it is obfervable, is not fo entitled by the
author, but folely Vie de I'Empereur Julien,

Vol. II. D d

ERRATA in V O L. II.

Page ,
17. note -j- 1. 1. r. " Julian
•f was truly"
26. note f 1. 6. r. * xtv<r®''
31. note * 1. 2. r. " common
" reading"
65. 1. 13. r. ' Chalcis'
66. is-mifpaged
S2. note * 1. 3. r.' tvpti srotV
95. note*l, 7. r. ' ivcrumur-
' J ' &a.'
97. note f 1. 7. * F. Mar
tinius,'' &c. belongs to the
next note .
102. note \ 1, 1. r. ' itutiiui.'
1 24. 1. 13. After ' friends' add
X and prefix the fame re
ference . to the note be.
ginning " Julian, it ap
pears, kc.

Page ,
1C9. I.

5-

Confhms* zI"J

165.' note * li 3. r. ' fhaedon'
169. note * 1. 1. r. ' frgaht'
206. 1. the laft, r. * confectam'
214. 1. 4. r. (21)
240. note * 1. the laft, r.
' Chiliades'
259. is mifpaged
279. note * 1. 3. r. ' to whom'
1. 3. fr, the bottom, r.
; as were'
note f 1. 3. r. * a Latin*
note -f 1. 3. r. • itact
1. 17. r. ' Bernicius'
to note -j- add B.
note * 1. 1 . after * Am
mianus', add a comma

284.
291.
333- 34i
361.

PINTS.