Bercea to an entertainment, amongst whom were the father and the son. Julian caused them to sit down by him, and after some time he said to the father, It seems to me not reasonable to force the inclinations; therefore do not compel your son to follow your opinions, as I do not compel you to follow mine, though I have it in my power to use violence. Then the father, animated with a pious zeal, replied, Do you speak to me, Sir, in favour of a rascal abhorred of God, who hath preferred lies to the truth? Friend, said Julian, putting on the appearance of gentleness, let us have no invectives: and turning to the son, he added, I will take care of you myself, since I cannot prevail with your father. This fact I thought it convenient to record, to shew the admirable boldness of this excellent man." Thus says Theodoret *. Theodoret*. But some persons perhaps will be inclined to call the bishop's judgment in question, and to think that the father did not act prudently, and that he lost an opportunity of doing more service to the Christian cause than could arise from discarding his son. He might have said to the emperor, Though I am greatly displeased and concerned at my son's bad choice, yet at your desire I will not disinherit him, upon condition that you will grant us the same favour, that you will not disinherit us, that you will consider yourself as our common parent, and not oppress your Christian subjects, or suffer others to insult and injure them. Justinian made a law that a son should not be disinherited for entering into a state of monkery against his father's will. Though iii, 22, Though the heart of Julian was fully set on subverting Christianity, yet he omitted the most probable way to effect it, which would have been to chuse some person of family, reputation, and abilities, and of his own religion, and to adopt him for his son and successor, who might carry on the great and important scheme which he had begun, and re-establish paganism. Either he could not find a man altogether to his mind, or he was not willing to share his power with another, or he feared lest he should be served as he had served Constantius, and raise up a Cæsar who might forget his obligations. But by avoiding and declining this method, his wild and ill-concerted plan of destroying Christianity fell with him, which was no more than he might easily have foreseen. After a very short reign, like the persecuting emperors before him, he was cut off in the midst of his days, in his expedition against the Persians, undertaken rashly, and conducted wretchedly. "They who represent Julian as the greatest of men* and of princes, either are blinded by prejudice, or never attentively perused his works, or know not the qualities which make a man truly great and good. Take away his ingeniousness, which yet was by no means superlative, his military prowess, his love of literature, his knowledge of the later Platonism, which was a fanatical jargon, and his patience in bearing toil and fatigue, the rest was a small matter. To his good qualities many bad ones stand opposed; as a contemptible superstition; which is a sure mark of a little mind, a childish affectation of popular applause, an excessive credulity and levity, a crafty and disin As Montesquieu, and others. genuous genuous spirit, and an ignorance of solid and rational philosophy. If in some things he was a greater prince any of the sons of Constantine, he was much inferior to Constantine, though he ever affected to scorn and to censure him *." than Julian invited Chrysanthus, and other philosophers and magicians, to come and live at court. Chrysanthus declined the favour; and being appointed high-priest of Lydia by the emperor, he exercised his function with great moderation. He rebuilt no temples, whilst the Pagans in other places were very busy at that work, and he did no harm to the Christians. He and a few other philosophers behaved themselves prudently on this flattering occasion, as forseeing † without the help of magic, the revolution which might probably soon ensue. These rats did not care to sail in a rotten ship. Julian in an epistle to 'Arsacius, says ; I am willing to relieve the Pessinuntians, if they restore the worship of the mother of the gods; else they may expect from me, not only no favour, but nothing less than the effects of a just resentment: 21 n Οὐ γάρ μοι θέμις ἐςὶ κομιζέμεν, ἢ ἐλεαίρειν ̓́Ανδρας, οἵ κε θεοῖσιν ἀπέχθονται ἀθανάτοισιν. Thus they have given us these lines, in Sozomen ‡. Οὐ γὰρ μοι θέμις ἐςὶ κομιζέμεν, ἐδ ̓ ἀποπέμπειν * Mosheim, 147. See Tillemont H. des Emp. iv. $12. The The Romans were plagued with a set of public of ficers, belonging to the emperor's court, called Curiosi, and Imperatoris Oculi, part of whose employment was to go about as detectors of frauds and misdemeanors. These trading justices used to commit to prison whom they thought fit, and extort money from the innocent, and share the plunder with the guilty; and Libanius represents them as the vilest of mankind. Constantius (A. D. 355.) published a law to curb them, leaving them only the office of informers, and threatening to make examples of them, if they accused any man falsely. But Julian took a shorter and a more effectual method, and totally suppressed them, and cleared the palace and the country of this vermin. They crept into office again, and were turned out by Honorius* These men were called The eyes of the emperor. The prophets of old were called the mouth of the Lordt. Perhaps, says Dodwell ‡, the Hebrews imitated the eastern princes, who gave to their ministers the names of those members of the body, whose functions represented their office. Thus in Persia, there were officers who were called the eyes of the king §; others, the ears of the king. And it is not improbable that Zachariah || alludes to this custom, when he calls seven angels the seven eyes of God. Julian kept a devil, by way of running footman, and sent him from Persia, to bring him back word what was passing in the west. But Publius the monk stopped him, by continuing in prayer for ten days together. * Cod. Theod. L. vi. Tit. xxix. p. 192. and Gothofred. De Jure Laicorum. § See Eschylus Pers. 934. and the notes of Stanley. xv. 10. together. This miracle converted one of Julian's offi cers When Julian sent to consult the gods concerning his Persian expedition, the poor priest of one of the oracles was so stupid, that he returned this response to the emperor, by way of poetry. Νῦν πάντες ώρμήθημεν Θεοὶ νίκης τρόπαια κομίσασθαι παρὰ θηρὶ πολαμῷ τῶν δ ̓ ἐγὼ ἡδεμονεύσω θέρος πολεμόκλονος "Αρης. Universi nunc Dii parati sumus victoriæ tropæa ferre juxta Ferum amnem: horum vero ego dux ero, violentus ac bellipotens Mars †. By Sapi wolau, the priest, I suppose, meant the river Tigris. The editors of Theodoret have not explained it. In the time of this emperor, a boy, who was the son of a Pagan priest, embraced Christianity. A woman of great piety, and a deaconness in the church, was intimate with the boy's mother, and had often exhorted the child to imitate the Christians, and to be religious. The mother died, and the child continued to visit the woman, and being desirous to profess Christianity, asked her what method he should take. She advised him to elope from his father, and to hide himself in some other town.-So said and so done. She took him and carried him to Meletius, who kept him in an upper room. The father, searching about for him, saw him peeping out of the window, and went directly up, and seized and carried him home. First he whipped him, then he burned him with an iron, and then locked him up in a chamber. The boy, left to himself, brake his father's idols to pieces; and then reflecting upon the danger he was in, he prayed *Tillemont, H. E. viii. 338. †Theodoret. iii. 21. most |