HE was the son of Victor, a Christian soldier in Numidia. According to
the law which obliged the sons of soldiers to serve in the army at the
age of twenty-one years, his measure was taken, that he might be
enrolled in the troops, and he was found to be of due stature, being
five Roman feet and ten inches high,[1] that is, about five feet and a
half of our measure. But Maximilian refused to receive the mark, which
was a print on the band, and a leaden collar about the neck, on which
were engraved the name and motto of the emperor. His plea was, that in
the Roman army superstitions, contrary to the Christian faith, were
often practised, with which he could not defile his soul. Being
condemned by the proconsul to lose his head, he met death with joy in
the year 296. See his acts in Ruinart.
Footnotes:
1. See Tr. ur la Milice Romaine, t. 1.