the sirname of Great. The Gentiles for the main had enjoyed the peaceable exercise of their religion for many years, having met with little or not inerruption in it since the times of Constantius. And for the first two years of Theodosius, almost wholly taken up with wars, their temples were open, and they had the freedom of their old rites and ceremonies; so that many began to look kindly upon their former superstitions, and others, meeting with such cruel usage in the reign of Valens, (when the persecution was carried on by a joint concurrence of Arians, Jews, and Gentiles,) took shelter in the old religion. Insomuch that the emperor found it necessary to restrain it by a law dated April 26, ann. 381; "that they who apostatized from Christianity to paganism should lose all power of making a will, (ever accounted the great birth-right and privilege of a Roman,) so that none of his friends or kindred should be the better for any estate which he left behind him." About the end of the same year he forbad, under pain of proscription, all divinatory sacrifices, either by day or night, or that any should approach the temples for any such purpose; adding, that "God is to be worshipped with pure and chaste prayers, not with execrable charms and conjurations." " 3 In the western parts Gratian kept somewhat a severe hand upon the pagans. He had given them a taste of what they might expect from him, when he refused the sacerdotal robe. The Roman emperors had all along borne the office and title of ponti 1 Vid. Zosim. lib. iv. p. 755. 2 C. Th. lib. xvi. tit. vii. 1. 1. vid. 1. 2, 3, 4. 3 Ib. tit. x. 1. 7, p. 266. 4 Zosim. lib. iv. p. 761. fex maximus, or chief head of the pontifical college. Nay, none of the Christian emperors had hitherto scrupled to accept of it as an honorary title. But when the priests came to confer it upon Gratian, and offered him the pontifical robe, he plainly refused it, accounting it unlawful for him who was a Christian to wear that habit. The stole being de chief of their com livered back to the priests, the pany cried out, "If the emperor will not be styled pontifex maximus, it will not be long before Maximus be pontifex;" reflecting upon Maximus, who was then ready to invade the empire, and who shortly after treacherously murdered Gratian, and became a great friend and patron to the Gentiles. But saving the authority of Zosimus, who reports it, plain it is, both from some ancient inscriptions,' and from the testimony of Ausonius, Gratian's tutor, that this title was frequently conferred upon him, though perhaps it might be only by connivance, and not by the allowance of the emperor. But whatever intimations of dislike Gratian might make, the Gentiles were not discouraged from attempting something in the cause of their religion; for finding the public affairs embroiled, they began to take heart, at Rome especially, where a small part of the senate took upon themselves, in the name of the whole, to send an address to the emperor Valentinian, to beg favour in behalf of their religion, but were countermined and quashed by pope Damasus and St. Ambrose. And when a great famine soon after raged at Rome, it was said 1 IMP. CES. GRATIANUS PIUS. FELIX. PONT. MAX. reliqua vid. ap. Collectores Inscript. Unus in ore omnium Gratianus, potestate imperator Pontifex religione. Auson. Grat. Action. ad Imp. Gratian. p. 716 to proceed from the displeasure of the gods, for the neglect and suppression of their religious rites, and that the punishment had a visible signature of the sin upon it, it being but just that they should want bread themselves, who had taken away from the priests and vestal virgins that little maintenance which the munificence of former times had bestowed upon them. The following year Symmachus was made provost of Rome, who immediately drew up a large address to the emperor, wherein with all the subtleties of wit and eloquence he pleaded the cause of his religion; but was happily encountered, answered, and baffled by the great and learned bishop of Milan.1 The Gentiles in the east, notwithstanding the provision that had been made against it four years since, could not be taken off from tampering with aruspices, augures, magicians, and the rest of that tribe, which forced Theodosius to quicken the execution of those laws, making it capital for any either upon any present emergency, or for the knowing any future event, to consult divinatory sacrifices. This rescript is directed to Cynegius, the prætorian præfect of the east, a person honourable both for his greatness and his piety, and employed by the emperor upon the most important services to him he committed the care of reforming paganism in the eastern parts, especially in Egypt, whither he sent him, ann. 387, empowering him to shut up or demolish the Gentile temples, and extirpate their superstitions. Upon his arrival at Alexandria, informers accused several of the senate, and brought both their persons and estates St. Ambrose. Sosim. lib. iv. p. 762. 2 in danger, upon pretence, it is like, that they were church-lands, revenues belonging to the pagan temples. Cynegius upon examination punished the informers, and freed their estates, whose judgment herein, upon their petition at court, the emperor himself confirmed.' But, alas! Cynegius left the main work imperfect, dying the next year, and was honourably buried at Constantinople. The work went on however, Theophilus bishop of Alexandria being zealous in it. The first attempt in it was thus:-There was at Alexandria an ancient and famous temple, dedicated to Serapis, described by Rufinus, and affirmed by a geographer of that age, to have been a piece of exquisite artifice, and for the stateliness of the building, contrivance of the structure, and solemnity of the worship, to have carried away the glory from all other places, and to have been the almost only admirable spectacle in the whole world. This place Theophilus had begged of the emperor, designing to enlarge it into a church. Workmen were set on to clear the rubbish, who found many dark vaults and cellars, the secret receptacles of the pagans' most hidden rites and mysteries, out of which they brought many detestable and obscene images and utensils, which they publicly exposed to the scorn and derision of the people. This provoked the Gentiles beyond measure, who immediately gathered into a body, and though the far lesser number, yet being armed with rage and fury, broke in upon the Christians, wounded many of them, others they killed outright, and flying to the temple, en C. Th. lib. x. tit. v. 1. 19, p. 444. garrisoned themselves in it. Some Christians they had taken prisoners, and brought along with them, whom they forced to do sacrifice, or upon their refusal, put to death with the most exquisite and unheard-of tortures. The party was headed by one Olympus, a philosopher, who persuaded them not to desert the religion of their country, but if need was, valiantly to die for it. Several essays were made by the magistrates to bring them to reason, and make them give account of what they had done; but in vain. They despised all arguments and threatenings, whereupon the magistrates were forced to send and acquaint the emperor with what had happened; who, according to the sweetness of his nature, replied, that, "for the Christians that had been slain, they were happy, having been honoured with the crown of martyrdom; and for their murderers, he resolved to pardon them, in hopes that so much grace and clemency might become an effectual argument for their conversion : but that the temples, that had been the cause of all this, should be pulled down to the ground." The letter was no sooner read, but the Christians entertained it with infinite acclamations, and the Gentiles dispersed and fled; which done, the temple itself was wholly demolished, in the walls whereof they found stones with hieroglyphics engraven upon them, resembling a cross, which the Christians interpreted of the honourable ensign of their religion; and were therein the more confirmed, when one skilled in those mystic letters, and lately turned Christian, assured them, those hieroglyphic 1 Rufin. lib. ii. c. 22, p. 253, c. 23, p. 254; Socr. lib. v. c. 16, 17, p. 274; Sozom. lib. vii. c. 15, p. 723. |