Chapter XXIII: Reign Of Julian.—Part II

The inclination of Julian might prefer the gods of Homer, and of
the Scipios, to the new faith, which his uncle had established in
the Roman empire; and in which he himself had been sanctified by
the sacrament of baptism. But, as a philosopher, it was incumbent
on him to justify his dissent from Christianity, which was
supported by the number of its converts, by the chain of
prophecy, the splendor of miracles, and the weight of evidence.
The elaborate work, 30 which he composed amidst the preparations
of the Persian war, contained the substance of those arguments
which he had long revolved in his mind. Some fragments have been
transcribed and preserved, by his adversary, the vehement Cyril
of Alexandria; 31 and they exhibit a very singular mixture of wit
and learning, of sophistry and fanaticism. The elegance of the
style and the rank of the author, recommended his writings to the
public attention; 32 and in the impious list of the enemies of
Christianity, the celebrated name of Porphyry was effaced by the
superior merit or reputation of Julian. The minds of the faithful
were either seduced, or scandalized, or alarmed; and the pagans,
who sometimes presumed to engage in the unequal dispute, derived,
from the popular work of their Imperial missionary, an
inexhaustible supply of fallacious objections. But in the
assiduous prosecution of these theological studies, the emperor
of the Romans imbibed the illiberal prejudices and passions of a
polemic divine. He contracted an irrevocable obligation to
maintain and propagate his religious opinions; and whilst he
secretly applauded the strength and dexterity with which he
wielded the weapons of controversy, he was tempted to distrust
the sincerity, or to despise the understandings, of his
antagonists, who could obstinately resist the force of reason and
eloquence.

30 (return) [ Fabricius (Biblioth. Græc. l. v. c. viii, p. 88-90)
and Lardner (Heathen Testimonies, vol. iv. p. 44-47) have
accurately compiled all that can now be discovered of Julian’s
work against the Christians.]

31 (return) [ About seventy years after the death of Julian, he
executed a task which had been feebly attempted by Philip of
Side, a prolix and contemptible writer. Even the work of Cyril
has not entirely satisfied the most favorable judges; and the
Abbé de la Bleterie (Preface a l’Hist. de Jovien, p. 30, 32)
wishes that some _theologien philosophe_ (a strange centaur)
would undertake the refutation of Julian.]

32 (return) [ Libanius, (Orat. Parental. c. lxxxvii. p. 313,) who
has been suspected of assisting his friend, prefers this divine
vindication (Orat. ix in necem Julian. p. 255, edit. Morel.) to
the writings of Porphyry. His judgment may be arraigned,
(Socrates, l. iii. c. 23,) but Libanius cannot be accused of
flattery to a dead prince.]

The Christians, who beheld with horror and indignation the
apostasy of Julian, had much more to fear from his power than
from his arguments. The pagans, who were conscious of his fervent
zeal, expected, perhaps with impatience, that the flames of
persecution should be immediately kindled against the enemies of
the gods; and that the ingenious malice of Julian would invent
some cruel refinements of death and torture which had been
unknown to the rude and inexperienced fury of his predecessors.
But the hopes, as well as the fears, of the religious factions
were apparently disappointed, by the prudent humanity of a
prince, 33 who was careful of his own fame, of the public peace,
and of the rights of mankind. Instructed by history and
reflection, Julian was persuaded, that if the diseases of the
body may sometimes be cured by salutary violence, neither steel
nor fire can eradicate the erroneous opinions of the mind. The
reluctant victim may be dragged to the foot of the altar; but the
heart still abhors and disclaims the sacrilegious act of the
hand. Religious obstinacy is hardened and exasperated by
oppression; and, as soon as the persecution subsides, those who
have yielded are restored as penitents, and those who have
resisted are honored as saints and martyrs. If Julian adopted the
unsuccessful cruelty of Diocletian and his colleagues, he was
sensible that he should stain his memory with the name of a
tyrant, and add new glories to the Catholic church, which had
derived strength and increase from the severity of the pagan
magistrates. Actuated by these motives, and apprehensive of
disturbing the repose of an unsettled reign, Julian surprised the
world by an edict, which was not unworthy of a statesman, or a
philosopher. He extended to all the inhabitants of the Roman
world the benefits of a free and equal toleration; and the only
hardship which he inflicted on the Christians, was to deprive
them of the power of tormenting their fellow-subjects, whom they
stigmatized with the odious titles of idolaters and heretics. The
pagans received a gracious permission, or rather an express
order, to open All their temples; 34 and they were at once
delivered from the oppressive laws, and arbitrary vexations,
which they had sustained under the reign of Constantine, and of
his sons. At the same time the bishops and clergy, who had been
banished by the Arian monarch, were recalled from exile, and
restored to their respective churches; the Donatists, the
Novatians, the Macedonians, the Eunomians, and those who, with a
more prosperous fortune, adhered to the doctrine of the Council
of Nice. Julian, who understood and derided their theological
disputes, invited to the palace the leaders of the hostile sects,
that he might enjoy the agreeable spectacle of their furious
encounters. The clamor of controversy sometimes provoked the
emperor to exclaim, “Hear me! the Franks have heard me, and the
Alemanni;” but he soon discovered that he was now engaged with
more obstinate and implacable enemies; and though he exerted the
powers of oratory to persuade them to live in concord, or at
least in peace, he was perfectly satisfied, before he dismissed
them from his presence, that he had nothing to dread from the
union of the Christians. The impartial Ammianus has ascribed this
affected clemency to the desire of fomenting the intestine
divisions of the church, and the insidious design of undermining
the foundations of Christianity, was inseparably connected with
the zeal which Julian professed, to restore the ancient religion
of the empire. 35

33 (return) [ Libanius (Orat. Parent. c. lviii. p. 283, 284) has
eloquently explained the tolerating principles and conduct of his
Imperial friend. In a very remarkable epistle to the people of
Bostra, Julian himself (Epist. lii.) professes his moderation,
and betrays his zeal, which is acknowledged by Ammianus, and
exposed by Gregory (Orat. iii. p.72)]

34 (return) [ In Greece the temples of Minerva were opened by his
express command, before the death of Constantius, (Liban. Orat.
Parent. c. 55, p. 280;) and Julian declares himself a Pagan in
his public manifesto to the Athenians. This unquestionable
evidence may correct the hasty assertion of Ammianus, who seems
to suppose Constantinople to be the place where he discovered his
attachment to the gods]

35 (return) [ Ammianus, xxii. 5. Sozomen, l. v. c. 5. Bestia
moritur, tranquillitas redit.... omnes episcopi qui de propriis
sedibus fuerant exterminati per indulgentiam novi principis ad
acclesias redeunt. Jerom. adversus Luciferianos, tom. ii. p. 143.
Optatus accuses the Donatists for owing their safety to an
apostate, (l. ii. c. 16, p. 36, 37, edit. Dupin.)]

As soon as he ascended the throne, he assumed, according to the
custom of his predecessors, the character of supreme pontiff; not
only as the most honorable title of Imperial greatness, but as a
sacred and important office; the duties of which he was resolved
to execute with pious diligence. As the business of the state
prevented the emperor from joining every day in the public
devotion of his subjects, he dedicated a domestic chapel to his
tutelar deity the Sun; his gardens were filled with statues and
altars of the gods; and each apartment of the palace displaced
the appearance of a magnificent temple. Every morning he saluted
the parent of light with a sacrifice; the blood of another victim
was shed at the moment when the Sun sunk below the horizon; and
the Moon, the Stars, and the Genii of the night received their
respective and seasonable honors from the indefatigable devotion
of Julian. On solemn festivals, he regularly visited the temple
of the god or goddess to whom the day was peculiarly consecrated,
and endeavored to excite the religion of the magistrates and
people by the example of his own zeal. Instead of maintaining the
lofty state of a monarch, distinguished by the splendor of his
purple, and encompassed by the golden shields of his guards,
Julian solicited, with respectful eagerness, the meanest offices
which contributed to the worship of the gods. Amidst the sacred
but licentious crowd of priests, of inferior ministers, and of
female dancers, who were dedicated to the service of the temple,
it was the business of the emperor to bring the wood, to blow the
fire, to handle the knife, to slaughter the victim, and,
thrusting his bloody hands into the bowels of the expiring
animal, to draw forth the heart or liver, and to read, with the
consummate skill of an haruspex, imaginary signs of future
events. The wisest of the Pagans censured this extravagant
superstition, which affected to despise the restraints of
prudence and decency. Under the reign of a prince, who practised
the rigid maxims of economy, the expense of religious worship
consumed a very large portion of the revenue; a constant supply
of the scarcest and most beautiful birds was transported from
distant climates, to bleed on the altars of the gods; a hundred
oxen were frequently sacrificed by Julian on one and the same
day; and it soon became a popular jest, that if he should return
with conquest from the Persian war, the breed of horned cattle
must infallibly be extinguished. Yet this expense may appear
inconsiderable, when it is compared with the splendid presents
which were offered either by the hand, or by order, of the
emperor, to all the celebrated places of devotion in the Roman
world; and with the sums allotted to repair and decorate the
ancient temples, which had suffered the silent decay of time, or
the recent injuries of Christian rapine. Encouraged by the
example, the exhortations, the liberality, of their pious
sovereign, the cities and families resumed the practice of their
neglected ceremonies. “Every part of the world,” exclaims
Libanius, with devout transport, “displayed the triumph of
religion; and the grateful prospect of flaming altars, bleeding
victims, the smoke of incense, and a solemn train of priests and
prophets, without fear and without danger. The sound of prayer
and of music was heard on the tops of the highest mountains; and
the same ox afforded a sacrifice for the gods, and a supper for
their joyous votaries.” 36

36 (return) [ The restoration of the Pagan worship is described
by Julian, (Misopogon, p. 346,) Libanius, (Orat. Parent. c. 60,
p. 286, 287, and Orat. Consular. ad Julian. p. 245, 246, edit.
Morel.,) Ammianus, (xxii. 12,) and Gregory Nazianzen, (Orat. iv.
p. 121.) These writers agree in the essential, and even minute,
facts; but the different lights in which they view the extreme
devotion of Julian, are expressive of the gradations of
self-applause, passionate admiration, mild reproof, and partial
invective.]

But the genius and power of Julian were unequal to the enterprise
of restoring a religion which was destitute of theological
principles, of moral precepts, and of ecclesiastical discipline;
which rapidly hastened to decay and dissolution, and was not
susceptible of any solid or consistent reformation. The
jurisdiction of the supreme pontiff, more especially after that
office had been united with the Imperial dignity, comprehended
the whole extent of the Roman empire. Julian named for his
vicars, in the several provinces, the priests and philosophers
whom he esteemed the best qualified to cooperate in the execution
of his great design; and his pastoral letters, 37 if we may use
that name, still represent a very curious sketch of his wishes
and intentions. He directs, that in every city the sacerdotal
order should be composed, without any distinction of birth and
fortune, of those persons who were the most conspicuous for the
love of the gods, and of men. “If they are guilty,” continues he,
“of any scandalous offence, they should be censured or degraded
by the superior pontiff; but as long as they retain their rank,
they are entitled to the respect of the magistrates and people.
Their humility may be shown in the plainness of their domestic
garb; their dignity, in the pomp of holy vestments. When they are
summoned in their turn to officiate before the altar, they ought
not, during the appointed number of days, to depart from the
precincts of the temple; nor should a single day be suffered to
elapse, without the prayers and the sacrifice, which they are
obliged to offer for the prosperity of the state, and of
individuals. The exercise of their sacred functions requires an
immaculate purity, both of mind and body; and even when they are
dismissed from the temple to the occupations of common life, it
is incumbent on them to excel in decency and virtue the rest of
their fellow-citizens. The priest of the gods should never be
seen in theatres or taverns. His conversation should be chaste,
his diet temperate, his friends of honorable reputation; and if
he sometimes visits the Forum or the Palace, he should appear
only as the advocate of those who have vainly solicited either
justice or mercy. His studies should be suited to the sanctity of
his profession. Licentious tales, or comedies, or satires, must
be banished from his library, which ought solely to consist of
historical or philosophical writings; of history, which is
founded in truth, and of philosophy, which is connected with
religion. The impious opinions of the Epicureans and sceptics
deserve his abhorrence and contempt; 38 but he should diligently
study the systems of Pythagoras, of Plato, and of the Stoics,
which unanimously teach that there _are_ gods; that the world is
governed by their providence; that their goodness is the source
of every temporal blessing; and that they have prepared for the
human soul a future state of reward or punishment.” The Imperial
pontiff inculcates, in the most persuasive language, the duties
of benevolence and hospitality; exhorts his inferior clergy to
recommend the universal practice of those virtues; promises to
assist their indigence from the public treasury; and declares his
resolution of establishing hospitals in every city, where the
poor should be received without any invidious distinction of
country or of religion. Julian beheld with envy the wise and
humane regulations of the church; and he very frankly confesses
his intention to deprive the Christians of the applause, as well
as advantage, which they had acquired by the exclusive practice
of charity and beneficence. 39 The same spirit of imitation might
dispose the emperor to adopt several ecclesiastical institutions,
the use and importance of which were approved by the success of
his enemies. But if these imaginary plans of reformation had been
realized, the forced and imperfect copy would have been less
beneficial to Paganism, than honorable to Christianity. 40 The
Gentiles, who peaceably followed the customs of their ancestors,
were rather surprised than pleased with the introduction of
foreign manners; and in the short period of his reign, Julian had
frequent occasions to complain of the want of fervor of his own
party. 41

37 (return) [ See Julian. Epistol. xlix. lxii. lxiii., and a long
and curious fragment, without beginning or end, (p. 288-305.) The
supreme pontiff derides the Mosaic history and the Christian
discipline, prefers the Greek poets to the Hebrew prophets, and
palliates, with the skill of a Jesuit the _relative_ worship of
images.]

38 (return) [ The exultation of Julian (p. 301) that these
impious sects and even their writings, are extinguished, may be
consistent enough with the sacerdotal character; but it is
unworthy of a philosopher to wish that any opinions and arguments
the most repugnant to his own should be concealed from the
knowledge of mankind.]

39 (return) [ Yet he insinuates, that the Christians, under the
pretence of charity, inveigled children from their religion and
parents, conveyed them on shipboard, and devoted those victims to
a life of poverty or pervitude in a remote country, (p. 305.) Had
the charge been proved it was his duty, not to complain, but to
punish.]

40 (return) [ Gregory Nazianzen is facetious, ingenious, and
argumentative, (Orat. iii. p. 101, 102, &c.) He ridicules the
folly of such vain imitation; and amuses himself with inquiring,
what lessons, moral or theological, could be extracted from the
Grecian fables.]

41 (return) [ He accuses one of his pontiffs of a secret
confederacy with the Christian bishops and presbyters, (Epist.
lxii.) &c. Epist. lxiii.]

The enthusiasm of Julian prompted him to embrace the friends of
Jupiter as his personal friends and brethren; and though he
partially overlooked the merit of Christian constancy, he admired
and rewarded the noble perseverance of those Gentiles who had
preferred the favor of the gods to that of the emperor. 42 If
they cultivated the literature, as well as the religion, of the
Greeks, they acquired an additional claim to the friendship of
Julian, who ranked the Muses in the number of his tutelar
deities. In the religion which he had adopted, piety and learning
were almost synonymous; 43 and a crowd of poets, of rhetoricians,
and of philosophers, hastened to the Imperial court, to occupy
the vacant places of the bishops, who had seduced the credulity
of Constantius. His successor esteemed the ties of common
initiation as far more sacred than those of consanguinity; he
chose his favorites among the sages, who were deeply skilled in
the occult sciences of magic and divination; and every impostor,
who pretended to reveal the secrets of futurity, was assured of
enjoying the present hour in honor and affluence. 44 Among the
philosophers, Maximus obtained the most eminent rank in the
friendship of his royal disciple, who communicated, with
unreserved confidence, his actions, his sentiments, and his
religious designs, during the anxious suspense of the civil war.
45 As soon as Julian had taken possession of the palace of
Constantinople, he despatched an honorable and pressing
invitation to Maximus, who then resided at Sardes in Lydia, with
Chrysanthius, the associate of his art and studies. The prudent
and superstitious Chrysanthius refused to undertake a journey
which showed itself, according to the rules of divination, with
the most threatening and malignant aspect: but his companion,
whose fanaticism was of a bolder cast, persisted in his
interrogations, till he had extorted from the gods a seeming
consent to his own wishes, and those of the emperor. The journey
of Maximus through the cities of Asia displayed the triumph of
philosophic vanity; and the magistrates vied with each other in
the honorable reception which they prepared for the friend of
their sovereign. Julian was pronouncing an oration before the
senate, when he was informed of the arrival of Maximus. The
emperor immediately interrupted his discourse, advanced to meet
him, and after a tender embrace, conducted him by the hand into
the midst of the assembly; where he publicly acknowledged the
benefits which he had derived from the instructions of the
philosopher. Maximus, 46 who soon acquired the confidence, and
influenced the councils of Julian, was insensibly corrupted by
the temptations of a court. His dress became more splendid, his
demeanor more lofty, and he was exposed, under a succeeding
reign, to a disgraceful inquiry into the means by which the
disciple of Plato had accumulated, in the short duration of his
favor, a very scandalous proportion of wealth. Of the other
philosophers and sophists, who were invited to the Imperial
residence by the choice of Julian, or by the success of Maximus,
few were able to preserve their innocence or their reputation.
The liberal gifts of money, lands, and houses, were insufficient
to satiate their rapacious avarice; and the indignation of the
people was justly excited by the remembrance of their abject
poverty and disinterested professions. The penetration of Julian
could not always be deceived: but he was unwilling to despise the
characters of those men whose talents deserved his esteem: he
desired to escape the double reproach of imprudence and
inconstancy; and he was apprehensive of degrading, in the eyes of
the profane, the honor of letters and of religion. 47 48

42 (return) [ He praises the fidelity of Callixene, priestess of
Ceres, who had been twice as constant as Penelope, and rewards
her with the priesthood of the Phrygian goddess at Pessinus,
(Julian. Epist. xxi.) He applauds the firmness of Sopater of
Hierapolis, who had been repeatedly pressed by Constantius and
Gallus to _apostatize_, (Epist. xxvii p. 401.)]

43 (return) [ Orat. Parent. c. 77, p. 202. The same sentiment is
frequently inculcated by Julian, Libanius, and the rest of their
party.]

44 (return) [ The curiosity and credulity of the emperor, who
tried every mode of divination, are fairly exposed by Ammianus,
xxii. 12.]

45 (return) [ Julian. Epist. xxxviii. Three other epistles, (xv.
xvi. xxxix.,) in the same style of friendship and confidence, are
addressed to the philosopher Maximus.]

46 (return) [ Eunapius (in Maximo, p. 77, 78, 79, and in
Chrysanthio, p. 147, 148) has minutely related these anecdotes,
which he conceives to be the most important events of the age.
Yet he fairly confesses the frailty of Maximus. His reception at
Constantinople is described by Libanius (Orat. Parent. c. 86, p.
301) and Ammianus, (xxii. 7.) * Note: Eunapius wrote a
continuation of the History of Dexippus. Some valuable fragments
of this work have been recovered by M. Mai, and reprinted in
Niebuhr’s edition of the Byzantine Historians.—M.]

47 (return) [ Chrysanthius, who had refused to quit Lydia, was
created high priest of the province. His cautious and temperate
use of power secured him after the revolution; and he lived in
peace, while Maximus, Priscus, &c., were persecuted by the
Christian ministers. See the adventures of those fanatic
sophists, collected by Brucker, tom ii. p. 281-293.]

48 (return) [ Sec Libanius (Orat. Parent. c. 101, 102, p. 324,
325, 326) and Eunapius, (Vit. Sophist. in Proæresio, p. 126.)
Some students, whose expectations perhaps were groundless, or
extravagant, retired in disgust, (Greg. Naz. Orat. iv. p. 120.)
It is strange that we should not be able to contradict the title
of one of Tillemont’s chapters, (Hist. des Empereurs, tom. iv. p.
960,) “La Cour de Julien est pleine de philosphes et de gens
perdus.”]

The favor of Julian was almost equally divided between the
Pagans, who had firmly adhered to the worship of their ancestors,
and the Christians, who prudently embraced the religion of their
sovereign. The acquisition of new proselytes 49 gratified the
ruling passions of his soul, superstition and vanity; and he was
heard to declare, with the enthusiasm of a missionary, that if he
could render each individual richer than Midas, and every city
greater than Babylon, he should not esteem himself the benefactor
of mankind, unless, at the same time, he could reclaim his
subjects from their impious revolt against the immortal gods. 50
A prince who had studied human nature, and who possessed the
treasures of the Roman empire, could adapt his arguments, his
promises, and his rewards, to every order of Christians; 51 and
the merit of a seasonable conversion was allowed to supply the
defects of a candidate, or even to expiate the guilt of a
criminal. As the army is the most forcible engine of absolute
power, Julian applied himself, with peculiar diligence, to
corrupt the religion of his troops, without whose hearty
concurrence every measure must be dangerous and unsuccessful; and
the natural temper of soldiers made this conquest as easy as it
was important. The legions of Gaul devoted themselves to the
faith, as well as to the fortunes, of their victorious leader;
and even before the death of Constantius, he had the satisfaction
of announcing to his friends, that they assisted with fervent
devotion, and voracious appetite, at the sacrifices, which were
repeatedly offered in his camp, of whole hecatombs of fat oxen.
52 The armies of the East, which had been trained under the
standard of the cross, and of Constantius, required a more artful
and expensive mode of persuasion. On the days of solemn and
public festivals, the emperor received the homage, and rewarded
the merit, of the troops. His throne of state was encircled with
the military ensigns of Rome and the republic; the holy name of
Christ was erased from the _Labarum;_ and the symbols of war, of
majesty, and of pagan superstition, were so dexterously blended,
that the faithful subject incurred the guilt of idolatry, when he
respectfully saluted the person or image of his sovereign. The
soldiers passed successively in review; and each of them, before
he received from the hand of Julian a liberal donative,
proportioned to his rank and services, was required to cast a few
grains of incense into the flame which burnt upon the altar. Some
Christian confessors might resist, and others might repent; but
the far greater number, allured by the prospect of gold, and awed
by the presence of the emperor, contracted the criminal
engagement; and their future perseverance in the worship of the
gods was enforced by every consideration of duty and of interest.

By the frequent repetition of these arts, and at the expense of
sums which would have purchased the service of half the nations
of Scythia, Julian gradually acquired for his troops the
imaginary protection of the gods, and for himself the firm and
effectual support of the Roman legions. 53 It is indeed more than
probable, that the restoration and encouragement of Paganism
revealed a multitude of pretended Christians, who, from motives
of temporal advantage, had acquiesced in the religion of the
former reign; and who afterwards returned, with the same
flexibility of conscience, to the faith which was professed by
the successors of Julian.

49 (return) [ Under the reign of Lewis XIV. his subjects of every
rank aspired to the glorious title of _Convertisseur_, expressive
of their zea and success in making proselytes. The word and the
idea are growing obsolete in France may they never be introduced
into England.]

50 (return) [ See the strong expressions of Libanius, which were
probably those of Julian himself, (Orat. Parent. c. 59, p. 285.)]

51 (return) [ When Gregory Nazianzen (Orat. x. p. 167) is
desirous to magnify the Christian firmness of his brother
Cæsarius, physician to the Imperial court, he owns that Cæsarius
disputed with a formidable adversary. In his invectives he
scarcely allows any share of wit or courage to the apostate.]

52 (return) [ Julian, Epist. xxxviii. Ammianus, xxii. 12. Adeo ut
in dies pæne singulos milites carnis distentiore sagina
victitantes incultius, potusque aviditate correpti, humeris
impositi transeuntium per plateas, ex publicis ædibus..... ad sua
diversoria portarentur. The devout prince and the indignant
historian describe the same scene; and in Illyricum or Antioch,
similar causes must have produced similar effects.]

53 (return) [ Gregory (Orat. iii. p. 74, 75, 83-86) and Libanius,
(Orat. Parent. c. lxxxi. lxxxii. p. 307, 308,). The sophist owns
and justifies the expense of these military conversions.]

While the devout monarch incessantly labored to restore and
propagate the religion of his ancestors, he embraced the
extraordinary design of rebuilding the temple of Jerusalem. In a
public epistle 54 to the nation or community of the Jews,
dispersed through the provinces, he pities their misfortunes,
condemns their oppressors, praises their constancy, declares
himself their gracious protector, and expresses a pious hope,
that after his return from the Persian war, he may be permitted
to pay his grateful vows to the Almighty in his holy city of
Jerusalem. The blind superstition, and abject slavery, of those
unfortunate exiles, must excite the contempt of a philosophic
emperor; but they deserved the friendship of Julian, by their
implacable hatred of the Christian name. The barren synagogue
abhorred and envied the fecundity of the rebellious church; the
power of the Jews was not equal to their malice; but their
gravest rabbis approved the private murder of an apostate; 55 and
their seditious clamors had often awakened the indolence of the
Pagan magistrates. Under the reign of Constantine, the Jews
became the subjects of their revolted children nor was it long
before they experienced the bitterness of domestic tyranny. The
civil immunities which had been granted, or confirmed, by
Severus, were gradually repealed by the Christian princes; and a
rash tumult, excited by the Jews of Palestine, 56 seemed to
justify the lucrative modes of oppression which were invented by
the bishops and eunuchs of the court of Constantius. The Jewish
patriarch, who was still permitted to exercise a precarious
jurisdiction, held his residence at Tiberias; 57 and the
neighboring cities of Palestine were filled with the remains of a
people who fondly adhered to the promised land. But the edict of
Hadrian was renewed and enforced; and they viewed from afar the
walls of the holy city, which were profaned in their eyes by the
triumph of the cross and the devotion of the Christians. 58

54 (return) [ Julian’s epistle (xxv.) is addressed to the
community of the Jews. Aldus (Venet. 1499) has branded it with
an; but this stigma is justly removed by the subsequent editors,
Petavius and Spanheim. This epistle is mentioned by Sozomen, (l.
v. c. 22,) and the purport of it is confirmed by Gregory, (Orat.
iv. p. 111.) and by Julian himself (Fragment. p. 295.)]

55 (return) [ The Misnah denounced death against those who
abandoned the foundation. The judgment of zeal is explained by
Marsham (Canon. Chron. p. 161, 162, edit. fol. London, 1672) and
Basnage, (Hist. des Juifs, tom. viii. p. 120.) Constantine made a
law to protect Christian converts from Judaism. Cod. Theod. l.
xvi. tit. viii. leg. 1. Godefroy, tom. vi. p. 215.]

56 (return) [ Et interea (during the civil war of Magnentius)
Judæorum seditio, qui Patricium, nefarie in regni speciem
sustulerunt, oppressa. Aurelius Victor, in Constantio, c. xlii.
See Tillemont, Hist. des Empereurs, tom. iv. p. 379, in 4to.]

57 (return) [ The city and synagogue of Tiberias are curiously
described by Reland. Palestin. tom. ii. p. 1036-1042.]

58 (return) [ Basnage has fully illustrated the state of the Jews
under Constantine and his successors, (tom. viii. c. iv. p.
111-153.)]