After the death of Constantius, Africa fell to the share of his youngest
son, Constans, who sent some officers into the country with orders to
make presents to the Donatists, in the hope of thus bringing them to
join the Church. But Donatus flew out into a great fury when he heard of
this--"What has the emperor to do with the Church?" he asked; and he
forbade the members of his sect (which was what he meant by "the
church") to touch any of the money that was offered to them.
By this time a stranger set of wild people called _Circumcellions_ had
appeared among the Donatists. They got their name from two Latin words
which mean _around the cottages_; because, instead of maintaining
themselves by honest labour, they used to go about, like sturdy beggars,
to the cottages of the country people, and demand whatever they wanted.
They were of the poorest class, and very ignorant, but full of zeal for
their religion. But, instead of being "pure and peaceable" (_St. James_
iii. 17), this religion was fierce and savage, and allowed them to go
on, without any check, in drunkenness and all sorts of misconduct. Their
women, whom they called "sacred virgins," were as bad as the men, or
worse. Bands of both sexes used to rove about the country, and keep the
peaceable inhabitants in constant fear. As they went along, they sang or
shouted "Praises be to God!" and this song, says St. Augustine, was
heard with greater dread than the roaring of a lion. At first they
thought that they must not use swords, on account of what our Lord had
said to Peter (_St. Matt._ xxvi. 52); so they carried heavy clubs, which
they called _Israels_; and with these they used to beat people, and
often so severely as to kill them. But afterwards the Circumcellions got
over their scruples, and armed themselves not only with swords, but with
other weapons of steel, such as spears and hatchets. They attacked and
plundered the churches of the Catholics, and the houses of the clergy;
and they handled any clergyman whom they could get hold of very roughly.
Besides this, they were fond of interfering in all sorts of affairs.
People did not dare to ask for the payment of debts, or to reprove their
slaves for misbehaviour, lest the Circumcellions should be called in
upon them. And things got to such a pass, that the officers of the law
were afraid to do their duty.
But the Circumcellions were as furious against themselves as against
others. They used to court death in all manner of ways. Sometimes they
stopped travellers on the roads, and desired to be killed, threatening
to kill the travellers if they refused. And if they met a judge going on
his rounds, they threatened him with death if he would not hand them
over to his officers for execution. One judge whom they assailed in this
way played them a pleasant trick. He seemed quite willing to humour
them, and told his officers to bind them as if for execution; and when
he had thus made them harmless and helpless, instead of ordering them to
be put to death, he turned them loose, leaving them to get themselves
unbound as they could. Many Circumcellions drowned themselves, rushed
into fire, or threw themselves from rocks and were dashed to pieces; but
they would not put an end to themselves by hanging, because that was the
death of the _traditor_ (or traitor) Judas. The Donatists were not all
so mad as these people, and some of their councils condemned the
practice of self-murder. But it went on nevertheless, and those who
made away with themselves, or got others to kill them in such ways as
have been mentioned, were honoured as martyrs by the more violent part
of the sect.
Constans made three attempts to win over the Donatists by presents, but
they held out against all; and when the third attempt was made, in the
year 347, by means of an officer named Macarius, the Circumcellions
broke out into rebellion, and fought a battle with the emperor's troops.
In this battle the Donatists were defeated, and two of their bishops,
who had been busy in stirring up the rebels, were among the slain.
Macarius then required the Donatists to join the Church, and threatened
them with banishment if they should refuse, but they were still
obstinate: and it would seem that they were treated hardly by the
government, although the Catholic bishops tried to prevent it. Donatus
himself and great numbers of his followers were sent into banishment;
and for a time the sect appeared to have been put down.