_DIFFICULTIES WITH PAGANS, JEWS, IMAGE WORSHIPPERS, AND CIVIL POWERS._
THE NAME OF CHRISTIAN.
Though for the last sixteen centuries the name of Christian has been used
throughout the whole world, this descriptive word was not much used in the
first four centuries. The Christians used to call each other disciples,
believers, elect, saints, and brethren. Third parties called them at first
Jesseans, spiritual physicians, or gnostics. When heretics or followers of
peculiar opinions of a novel kind arose, these were called by the name of
their leaders, as Marcionites, Valentinians, Donatists; while those
holding the standard or orthodox opinions adhered to the name of
Christians or Catholic Churchmen. The heathen often called the new body
Jews, as the early Christians were of that race. There were also names of
reproach given by the heathen, such as Nazarenes, Galileans, atheists,
Greeks, impostors, magicians, superstitionists, Sibyllists, self-murderers
(on account of their desire for martyrdom), desperadoes, fagot-men (from
being so often burned), skulkers (from meeting in secret). The division
between clergy and laity was soon acknowledged, all those who held regular
offices in the Church being called _clerici_, or clerics, or clerks; and
to this day the word "clerk" is the proper legal denomination of a priest
of the Church of England. The origin of the word is disputed, but is
generally traced to the Greek word "cleros," signifying that the clergy at
first were chosen by lot.
AN EARLY PAGAN RIOT AGAINST CHRISTIANS.
The teaching of Christian doctrines seems to have already begun to tell
upon Pagan practices when St. Paul worked at Ephesus. After he had been
preaching there two years, the great feasts and shows connected with the
worship of Diana came round. A silversmith, named Demetrius, found out
during the fair that his little silver shrines were not sold so
extensively as before, and that business was slack. He spoke to many in
the trade, and they all agreed that their business had fallen off, and
that it could be caused by nothing but by the missionary preaching of
Paul. So they resolved to hold an indignation meeting, and, if necessary,
get rid of this new-fangled sect. Demetrius harangued the mob, and they
all shouted, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians!" and "Down with the Jews!"
They all rushed to seize that invidious sect. Paul was concealed from the
popular vengeance by Priscilla and her husband. The crowd then rushed to
the theatre, which was large enough to hold 30,000 people. Paul wanted to
address the excited audience, but his friends warned him to avoid it. One
Alexander was asked to satisfy them that all the Jews were not Christians.
The yelling and confusion grew worse. At last the town clerk made a most
businesslike speech, never to be forgotten for worldly wisdom, and which
amounted to this--that if Paul or the Christians had done wrong, the law
was open to the persons thereby aggrieved, but that this was no excuse for
dragging them about and maltreating them. This soon quelled the storm, and
the mob became more peaceable. And soon after Paul left the city, and went
elsewhere to carry out his missionary labours.
THE EARLY CHRISTIANS AND SLAVERY.
The Pagans treated slavery as an integral part of society, and their
wisest men never dreamt of a time when slaves could be dispensed with. On
the contrary, one radical doctrine of Christianity being that all men are
brethren, it is at first difficult to understand how it took eighteen
centuries to bear upon this old vice. Dr. Schaff, in his "History of the
Apostolic Church," states the reasons in this way: The Apostles did not
attempt even a sudden political and social abolition, and would have
discountenanced any stormy and tumultuous measures to that effect. For, in
the first place, the immediate abolition of slavery could never have been
effected without a revolution which would have involved everything in
confusion, a radical reconstruction of the whole domestic and social life
with which the system is interwoven. In the next place, a sudden
emancipation would not have bettered the condition of the slaves
themselves, but would have rather made it worse, for outward liberation,
in order to work well, must be prepared by moral training for the rational
use of freedom, and by education until majority was attained. And this
can only be done by a gradual process. Paul, moreover (1 Cor. vii. 17),
lays down the general principle that Christianity primarily proposes no
change in the outward relations in which God has placed a man by birth,
education, or fortune; but teaches him rather to strive for a higher point
of view, and to attain glimpses of a new spirit, until in time a suitable
change shall be worked out. He recommends Christians to emancipate their
slaves (Eph. vi. 9), and he himself sent back Onesimus, a runaway slave,
to his master, asking that master to receive the slave kindly. He does not
exhort slaves to burst their bonds, but to give reverential and
single-hearted obedience to their masters for the time being.
NERO AND THE FIRST PERSECUTION OF THE CHRISTIANS.
St. Paul was released from his first trial at Rome in A.D. 63, and the
next year Rome was devastated by a great conflagration. Some say that the
Emperor Nero set fire to one place, and this, owing to the inflammable
materials, spread in all directions, and the inhabitants fled to the
fields. Men were going about with torches, saying that they had orders to
spread the fire, though perhaps this was only an excuse for plunder. Nero
at the moment was at Antium, and did not return till his own palace had
caught fire. He set apart the Campus Martius and his own gardens whereon
to fix temporary structures to accommodate the houseless. A general report
was circulated that Nero went on the stage of his private theatre while
the city was burning, and sang "The Fall of Troy," as being similar in its
catastrophe. At length on the sixth day numbers of buildings had been
demolished, so as to intercept the flames. The capital was rebuilt with
wider streets. Meanwhile the rumour spread more and more that Nero had
himself ordered the fire. To stop this rumour Nero accused and punished
with exquisite tortures the people called Christians. Many were clothed in
skins of wild animals and torn to pieces by dogs, or crucified, or set on
fire, and were burned like lamps. Nero made a holiday spectacle of these
atrocities, riding about like a charioteer in the circus. Tacitus, though
referring to Christ as a Jewish malefactor put to death by Pilate, and
treating Christianity as an Eastern superstition, yet said the people were
slain, not for the public good, but because of the cruelty of one man.
This is usually called the first persecution of the Christians. Four years
later Paul was tried again at Rome for some offence, and it is usually
believed that he perished there by the sword.
HOW THE EARLY CHRISTIANS APPEARED TO PAGANS.
Pliny the younger, one of the most eminent advocates of Rome, and full of
sprightliness and good-nature, when appointed a governor of Pontus and
Bithynia, near the Black Sea, wrote to the Emperor Trajan in 101 this
account of the Christians, who used to be charged before him for refusing
to worship the Pagan gods. He said: "Some who said they had once been
Christians affirmed the whole of their guilt or their error to be, that
they met on a certain stated day before it was light, and addressed
themselves in some form of prayer to Christ or to some god, binding
themselves by a solemn oath--not for the purposes of any wicked design,
but never to commit any fraud, theft, or adultery--never to falsify their
word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up,
after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble to eat in
common a harmless meal. I tried to extort the real truth by putting two
female slaves to the torture who were said to administer religious
functions, but I could discover nothing more than an absurd and excessive
superstition on their part. This contagious superstition is not confined
to the cities only, but has spread its infection among the country
villages. Nevertheless, it still seems possible to remedy this evil and
restrain its progress. It is possible that numbers might be reclaimed from
their error if a pardon were granted to those who shall repent." The tone
of this letter showed that Pliny had misgivings as to the proper way of
treating the new sect. The Emperor in reply said that Pliny seemed to have
acted rightly, though it was difficult to lay down a rule; but that though
these Christians were not to be run after, yet should they chance to be
accused and convicted they ought to be punished.
CHRISTIANITY OPPOSES SHOWS OF WILD BEASTS.
The brutal spectacles in which Pagan Rome delighted--the fights of
gladiators, and the combats of men with beasts--roused the indignation of
the Christians. Not merely did women crowd the amphitheatre during these
fierce and almost naked encounters, but it was the especial privilege of
the Vestal virgins to give the signal for the mortal blow, and to watch
the sword driven into the quivering entrails of the victim. St. Augustine
describes the frenzy and fascination of the spectators for these brutal
shows. A Christian student of the law was once compelled by the
importunity of his friends to enter the amphitheatre. He sat with his eyes
closed and his mind totally abstracted from the scene. He was suddenly
startled from his trance by a tremendous shout from the whole audience. He
opened his eyes. He could not choose but gaze on the spectacle. Directly
he beheld the blood, his heart caught the common frenzy; he could not
choose to turn away; his eyes were riveted on the arena. The interest, the
excitement, the pleasure grew into complete intoxication. He looked on, he
shouted, he was inflamed; he carried away from the amphitheatre an
irresistible propensity to return to its cruel enjoyments. Emperor after
emperor gradually prohibited first one part then another part of these
disgusting spectacles, being influenced by the persistent remonstrances of
Christians. The progress was not, however, very rapid. At last an Eastern
monk, named Telemachus, travelled all the way to Rome, in order to protest
against the disgraceful barbarities. In his noble enthusiasm he leaped
into the arena to separate the combatants; but whether with or without the
sanction of the prefect or that of the infuriated assembly, he was torn to
pieces--a martyr to Christian humanity. The impression of this awful scene
of a Christian and a monk thus murdered in the arena was so profound, that
Honorius (who died 423) issued an edict, putting an end to such bloody
spectacles. This edict, however, only suppressed the mortal combats of
men; the conflict of wild beasts continued till the supply was cut off by
the narrowing of the limits of the empire. The distant provinces no longer
rendered their accustomed contributions of lions from Libya, leopards from
the East, dogs of remarkable ferocity from Scotland, crocodiles and bears
and other wild animals from remote regions. Towards the end the improving
humanity of the people allowed artificial methods to be substituted, so as
to excite the fury of the beasts without endangering the lives of the
combatants. In the West these games sank with the Western Empire; in the
East they disappeared at the close of the seventh century under the
prohibition of the Council of Trullo.
EMPEROR CONSTANTIUS TESTING THE FIDELITY OF CHRISTIANS.
Sozomen says that the Emperor Constantius (who died at York in 306) wished
to test the fidelity of certain Christians as excellent and good men who
were attached to his palace. He called them all together, and told them
that if they would sacrifice to idols as well as serve God they should
remain in his service and retain their appointments; but that if they
refused compliance with his wishes, they should be sent from the palace,
and should scarcely escape his vengeance. When difference of judgment had
divided them into two parties, separating those who consented to abandon
their religion from those who preferred the honour of God to their present
welfare, the Emperor determined upon retaining those who had adhered to
their faith as his friends and counsellors; but he turned away from the
others, whom he regarded as unmanly impostors, and sent them from his
presence, judging that those who had so readily betrayed their God could
not be faithful to their king. Hence, as Christians were deservedly
retained in the service of Constantius, he was not willing that
Christianity should be accounted unlawful in the countries beyond the
confines of Italy--that is to say, in Gaul, in Britain, or in the region
of the Pyrenean mountains as far as the Western Ocean.
CONSTANTINE THE GREAT FIRST FAVOURS THE CHRISTIANS.
Constantine the Great, son of the Emperor Constantius, deserved the
appellation of the first emperor who publicly professed and established
the Christian religion, and in whose epoch, accordingly, all Christendom
is interested. While the Pagans represented him as a disgraceful tyrant,
the Christians treat him as a hero, or even as a saint, and equal to the
Apostles. His stature was lofty, his countenance majestic, and his
deportment graceful. He delighted in society, and had a turn for raillery;
and, though rather illiterate, he was indefatigable in business, and a
consummate general in the field. He accepted the purple at York, where his
father, Constantius, died in 306, and in his career gained signal
victories over the foreign and domestic policy of the republic. In the
last fourteen years of his life (323-337) he was said to have degenerated,
being corrupted by fortune, and growing rapacious and prodigal. He
affected an effeminate and luxurious dress. He is represented with false
hair of various colours, laboriously arranged by the skilful artists of
the times; a diadem of expensive fashion; a profusion of gems and pearls,
of collars and bracelets; and a variegated and flowing robe of silk, most
curiously embroidered with flowers of gold. He was twice married, and had
an only son, Crispus, by the first wife, and by the second wife, Fausta,
three daughters and three sons. Crispus was amiable and popular, and had
been a pupil of the eloquent Christian Lactantius, but he soon incurred
the suspicion and jealousy of his father, and was, owing to the intrigues
and jealousies of the second family, put to death. Constantine, it was
said, then discovered the falsehood of the charges against his son,
erected a golden statue to his memory, and the cruel stepmother, in turn,
was said to have suffered death or imprisonment. In his latter days
Constantine had to chastise the pride of the Goths, then led by Alaric,
and spreading terror and desolation. In 337 Constantine, the only emperor
since Augustus who had reigned so long as thirty years, died at the age of
sixty-four at Nicomedia. His body, adorned with purple and diadem, was
transported to Constantinople, and deposited on a golden bed, at which the
great officials, with bended knees, offered their respectful homage as
seriously as if he had been alive, so that his flatterers remarked that by
the peculiar indulgence of Heaven he reigned after his death.
CONSTANTINE'S STANDARD OF THE CROSS.
When Constantine, in 324, was invested with the sole dominion of the Roman
world, he exhorted, by circular letters, all his subjects to imitate
without delay his example and embrace the Divine truths of Christianity.
The Christians, knowing that the Emperor's father, Constantius, was on
their side, had looked to the elevation of Constantine as intimately
connected with the designs of Providence, and they confidently expected
some Divine and miraculous aid to attest the great revolution in the
world's affairs then at hand. History accordingly has preserved full
particulars of the standard, the dream, and the celestial sign which
sealed their hopes. The Emperor took measures to have the standard of the
cross affixed to his own statue, and on the helmets, shields, and banners
of his army. The principal standard was styled the _labarum_, which was a
long pike intersected by a transverse beam, from which hung down a silken
veil, which was curiously inwrought with the images of the reigning
monarch and his children. The summit of the pike supported a crown of
gold, which enclosed the mysterious monogram at once expressive of the
figure of the cross and the initial letters of the name of Christ. The
safety of the _labarum_ was entrusted to fifty guards of approved valour
and fidelity. The opinion soon grew that so long as the guards of the
_labarum_ were in the execution of their office, they were secure and
invulnerable amidst the darts of the enemy. The sight of the standard gave
the troops an invincible enthusiasm, and scattered terror and dismay among
the enemies. There is still extant a medal of the Emperor Constantine,
where the standard of the _labarum_ is accompanied with these memorable
words, "_By this sign thou shalt conquer!_"
THE DREAM OF CONSTANTINE.
In the age of Constantine the sign of the cross had come to be used by
the primitive Christians in all their ecclesiastical rites, in all the
daily occurrences of life, as an infallible preservative against every
species of spiritual and temporal evil. A contemporary writer affirms with
perfect confidence that in the night which preceded the last battle
against Maxentius Constantine was admonished in a dream to inscribe the
shields of his soldiers with the celestial sign of God, the sacred
monogram of the name of Christ; that he executed the commands of Heaven;
and that his valour and obedience were rewarded by the decisive victory of
the Milvian Bridge. The senate and people, exulting in the success of
Constantine, acknowledged that his victory surpassed the power of man. The
triumphal arch which was erected about three years after the event
recognised that by an instinct or impulse of the Divinity Constantine had
saved and avenged the Roman Republic. Twenty-six years after the event the
historian Eusebius narrates that in one of his marches Constantine saw a
luminous cross in the sky inscribed with the words, "By this conquer," and
this sign astonished the whole army; and that in a vision of the ensuing
night Christ appeared to the Emperor, displaying the same celestial sign
of the cross, and directing him to march with an assurance of victory.
These incidents were universally adopted, as undoubted truths, by the
Catholic Church both of the East and the West; but it is noted by the
sceptics that, though the Fathers of the fourth and fifth centuries often
celebrated the triumphs of Constantine, they do not allude to these signs
and wonders as accompanying the event.
THE EMPEROR CONSTANTINE PREACHING (A.D. 314).
The Emperor Constantine revolutionised the Empire by giving a chief place
to Christian doctrines and practices. He issued an edict of toleration in
313; decreed the observance of Sunday, the use of prayer in the army;
abolished the punishment of crucifixion, gladiatorial games, infanticide,
private divinations; and encouraged slave emancipation. He was a great
admirer of good preaching. Eusebius says he himself once delivered a
sermon in the palace before the marvellous man on the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre. There was a crowded audience. The Emperor stood erect the whole
time; would not be induced to sit down on the throne close by; paid the
utmost attention; would not hear of the sermon being too long; insisted on
its continuance; and on being entreated to sit down, replied, with a
frown, that he could not bear to hear the truths of religion in any easier
posture. More often he was himself the preacher, and one sermon of his is
preserved by Eusebius. These sermons were always in Latin, but they were
translated into Greek by interpreters appointed for the purpose. On these
occasions a general invitation was issued, and thousands of people flocked
to the palace to hear the Emperor do duty as the preacher. He stood erect,
and then with a set countenance and grave voice poured forth his address,
to which, at the striking passages, the audience responded with loud
cheers of approbation. He usually discoursed on the follies of Paganism,
the scheme of Providence and redemption, and the avarice and rapacity of
courtiers.
THE LAST ILLNESS OF CONSTANTINE (A.D. 337).
The Emperor Constantine was anxious to see a reunion of the Arian and
Athanasian controversialists; but owing to the sudden death of Arius at a
critical moment, and, as was often surmised, by a Divine judgment, the
opportunity lapsed. Constantine had been seized with sudden illness while
preparing for his Persian expedition, and he tried the mineral waters near
Helenopolis in vain. He now bethought himself of the necessity of baptism,
which he had omitted, though he had been for twenty-five years convinced
of the Christian faith. In the church of Helenopolis he was admitted a
catechumen by the imposition of hands. He then cast off his imperial
purple robes and assumed those of dazzling whiteness, and was baptised by
an Arian bishop, but nevertheless ordered the recall of the orthodox
Athanasius. He was greatly comforted at the accomplishment of his baptism,
and on his deathbed bade his friends rejoice at his speedy departure. He
died at the age of sixty-four. His body was laid out in a coffin of gold,
and carried by a procession of the whole army to Constantinople. For three
months the body lay in state in the palace, lights burning around and
guards watching. The Bishop of Nicomedia, who had been entrusted with the
Emperor's will, alarmed at its contents, placed it for security in the
dead man's hand till his son Constantius arrived. It was believed to
express the Emperor's conviction that he had been poisoned by his brothers
and their children, and to call on Constantius to avenge his death. That
bequest was obeyed by the massacre of six princes of the imperial family.
Prayers were offered up to the dead Emperor, and miracles were believed to
be wrought by him.
THE FIRST CHURCH COUNCIL OF NICE (A.D. 325).
When the first great Church controversy arose as to the Trinity, the
Emperor Constantine summoned the first great Council of the Church at
Nice in 325 to settle this and other doubtful points. Three hundred
bishops attended, with many presbyters and deacons and laity. The assembly
sat in solemn silence till the Emperor entered with great state and
glittering with jewels. The whole assembly rose to do him honour. He
advanced with modest dignity to a low golden seat, and did not take the
seat till a sign of permission had been given by the bishops. A leading
prelate began with a short address and hymn; then the Emperor delivered an
exhortation to unity. The debate next began, and mutual accusations,
defences, and recriminations followed, the Emperor occasionally softening
asperities and commending pacific views. The council sat two months, and
at the end the Emperor invited the bishops to a sumptuous banquet. They
all attended, and were delighted at the prosperous turn which affairs had
at last taken. The Nicene Creed was the result. Three hundred and eighteen
bishops signed it, and five dissented, though ultimately only two of these
withstood to the last.
AN EARLY BISHOP SILENCING THE PAGANS.
When Alexander was Bishop of Byzantium, about 314, being then
seventy-three years old, he presided at a conference which the Emperor
Constantine appointed to be held between the Pagan philosophers and the
bishop. The latter was called an apostolic bishop, owing to his reputation
for sanctity. And the historians say that on the occasion of the
conference he put the spokesman of the Pagans to silence by firmly
exclaiming, "In the name of Jesus Christ, I command thee to be silent!" On
another occasion the same bishop was an ardent opponent of Arius, who then
enjoyed the patronage of the Court party. The Emperor Constantine ordered
that Arius should be admitted to the Communion. But Alexander was
determined not to admit the heretic, and rather than comply with the royal
command shut himself up in the church of Irene for purposes of prayer.
Strange to say, Arius died suddenly on the following morning, as he was
proceeding in triumph to the cathedral, and the people all believed that
this was a judgment on the heretic in answer to the good bishop's prayers.
HOW TO CHALLENGE AND REFUTE A HERETIC.
Gregory of Nyssa relates of Ephraim the Syrian, who died about 373, and
who was a most voluminous author, preacher, commentator, and hymn-writer:
One Apollinaris had written a treatise in two volumes, containing much
that was contrary to Scripture. These volumes he had entrusted to a lady
at Edessa, from whom Ephraim obtained a loan of them by pretending that he
was a disciple of Apollinaris, and was preparing to defend his views. But
before returning them he glued the leaves together, and then challenged
the heretic to a public disputation. Apollinaris accepted the challenge,
but only so far as to consent to read from these books what he had
written, and declining to do more on account of his great age. The
controversialists met; but when Apollinaris endeavoured to open the books,
he found the leaves so firmly fastened together that the attempt was in
vain, and he withdrew, mortified almost to death by his opponent's
unworthy triumph.
JULIAN THE APOSTATE.
As there are many examples of kings and emperors converted to the
Christian religion, so there is a notable example of one relapsing to the
condition of an apostate. Julian the Emperor was brought up as a
Christian, and had the repute even of a zealous Christian till he attained
the age of twenty, when he took a grudge against the Christians, and
resolved to restore, if possible, the worship of the gods as it used to be
before the Christian era. He was initiated into the Eleusinian mysteries,
and studied with the Pagan philosophers. He composed an elaborate work
against the Christians. To spite the Christians he resolved to rebuild the
Temple of Jerusalem; but earthquakes, whirlwinds, or fiery eruptions
destroyed these attempts. He prohibited the Christians from teaching
rhetoric and grammar, and excluded them from offices of trust, ordered the
Christian temples to be demolished and the Pagan temples to be rebuilt,
and showed an irrepressible dislike to the progress of Christianity.
Julian admitted that neither fire nor the sword could change the faith of
mankind. He therefore prohibited the putting to death of the Galileans, as
he called the Christians. He looked on them as wild, savage, and
intractable brutes, or at least poor, blind, misguided creatures, who
needed only be left to punish themselves. The Pagans of Antioch received
him with rapture; but on entering the temple of Apollo, where he expected
to find a magnificent procession, he found only a solitary priest, and a
single goose for sacrifice, at the very sight of which parsimonious
neglect he was greatly incensed. While he was busy urging on the
restoration of Apollo's temple, it took fire, and this the Christians
viewed as a judgment; while Julian, on the other hand, attributed it to
their malice. He retaliated on the cathedral at Antioch by despoiling it
of the sacred vessels. Julian died in battle after two years' enjoyment of
the throne, and it was said his last words were, "Thou hast conquered, O
Galilean!" But the most trustworthy accounts state that he died in 363
without remorse, as he had lived without guilt, and delivered an
impressive address to his friends, submitting with dignity to the stroke
of fate.
HOW JULIAN THE APOSTATE DIED OF WORMS (A.D. 363).
Sozomen relates that Julian, when governor of Egypt, put the presbyter,
Theodoret of Antioch, the custodian of the sacred ornaments of the church,
to cruel tortures, and then caused him to be slain. Julian then proceeded
to the sacrilege of the sacred vases, which he flung upon the ground and
sat upon, at the same time uttering incredible blasphemies against Christ;
but his impious course was suddenly arrested, for certain parts of his
body were turned into corruption, and generated enormous quantities of
worms. The physicians confessed that the disease was beyond the reach of
their art; but from fear and reverence towards the Emperor, they tried all
the resources of medicine. They procured the most costly and the fattest
birds, and applied them to the corrupted part, in hope that the worms
might be thereby attracted to the surface. But this was of no effect; for,
in proportion as some of the worms were thus drawn out, others were
generated in the flesh, by which he was ceaselessly devoured, until they
put an end to his life. Many believed that this disease was an infliction
of Divine wrath visited upon him in consequence of his impiety, and this
supposition appears the more probable from the fact that the treasurer of
the Emperor, and others of the chief officers of the Court who had
persecuted the Church, died in an extraordinary and dreadful manner, as if
Divine wrath had been visited upon them.
THEOLOGICAL DISPUTES THE TALK OF THE DAY.
When the Arians and Athanasians, early in the fourth century, were in the
height of their controversy about the mysteries of the Trinity, the public
also took sides, and things beyond all human comprehension became the
fashionable topic of conversation at Court. The dispute spread to the
people of high rank, and then pervaded the classes below. Socrates said
that a war of dialectics was carried on in every family. Gregory of Nyssa
in one of his orations thus graphically described the state of public
excitement: "Every corner and nook of the city is full of men who discuss
incomprehensible subjects--the streets, the markets, the people who sell
old clothes, those who sit at the tables of the money-changers, those who
deal in provisions. Ask a man how many pence it comes to, he gives you a
specimen of dogmatising on generated and ungenerated beings. Inquire the
price of bread, you are answered, 'The Father is greater than the Son, and
the Son subordinate to the Father.' Ask if the bath is ready, and you are
answered, 'The Son of God was created from nothing.'"
THE GREAT CONTROVERSY ABOUT THE TRINITY.
The controversy between the Arians and the Athanasians exercised the
leaders of the Church from the time of Constantine to the Second Ecumenic
Council in 381. All the great and commanding minds of the age were with
the Trinitarians, each condemning the Arian heresy in his own peculiar
way. One leader was Ephraim, the Syrian monk, who wept night and day for
the sins of mankind and for his own, and who poured forth verse and prose
in defence of orthodoxy. It was said his very writings wept, even his
panegyrics and festival homilies flowed with tears. His psalms and hymns,
however, animated his monkish companions, and were the occupation and
delight of all the earnest believers, and all his thoughts and emotions
were rigidly Trinitarian. St. Basil the monk, whose boast it was to be
"without wife, without property, without flesh, almost without blood," was
equally zealous for the Trinity, and as its champion he was made
Archbishop of Cæsarea. St. Gregory of Nazianzen was equally zealous and
eloquent in the same cause; and even the Arian monks and virgins were
excited to tumults and bloodshed by his exasperating popularity.
Chrysostom in the same cause offended the Empress, who was inclined to the
Arians. He was banished; but the Empress, on seeing the commotion caused
by an earthquake, was afraid, and he was recalled amid the enthusiasm of
the whole inhabitants, who went forth to welcome his return. His renewed
insults led the Emperor to send his military officers to seize Chrysostom
at the altar during the celebration of the Sacrament, and he was carried
off. The same night the church took fire, for which his followers were
blamed, and he never returned from exile. The cause of the Trinitarians
triumphed at last and became the settled faith.
ATHANASIUS ATTACKED IN HIS OWN CHURCH.
Athanasius, the great champion of the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity,
who died in 373, escaped many imminent dangers in his career. When
Syrianus, Duke of Egypt, at the head of five thousand soldiers attacked
Alexandria in 356, the Archbishop Athanasius was with his clergy and
people engaged in their nocturnal devotions. The troops with horrid
imprecations battered in the door and interrupted the service; but the
archbishop, seated on his throne and expecting the approach of death,
merely desired the trembling congregation to chant one of the Psalms of
David which celebrates the triumph of the God of Israel over the haughty
and impious tyrant of Egypt. When the door was burst in, a cloud of arrows
was discharged, and the soldiers with drawn swords rushed forward, their
armour gleaming under the lights round the altar. Athanasius refused the
importunate prayers of the monks and presbyters who urged him to escape,
and insisted on keeping his seat till he had dismissed in safety the last
of the congregation. The darkness and tumult of the night favoured his own
retreat, though he was thrown down in the crowd and was eagerly searched
for by the soldiers, who had been instructed by their Arian guides that
the head of Athanasius would be a most acceptable present to the Emperor
Constantius, who was zealous for the Arian faction. It was on this
occasion that Athanasius was lost sight of for six years, making
hairbreadth escapes during all that period.
ATHANASIUS CONCEALED BY A HOLY VIRGIN.
Sozomen says that Athanasius, the champion of orthodoxy, on hearing of the
death of Constantius in 362, appeared by night in the church at
Alexandria, to the astonishment of his friends. He told them that while
his enemies were seeking to arrest him he had concealed himself in the
house of a holy virgin in Alexandria. She was only twenty years old, and
was of such extraordinary beauty, modesty, and wisdom that the gravest and
best men felt indescribable fascination in her presence. It is said that
Athanasius was led by the revelation of God to seek refuge in her house,
and the result showed that all the events were directed by Providence. The
friends and relatives of Athanasius would thus have been preserved from
danger had search been made for him amongst them, and had they been
compelled to swear that he was not concealed with them. There was nothing
to excite suspicion of a bishop being concealed in the house of so lovely
a virgin. She had, moreover, the courage to receive him and sufficient
prudence to preserve his life. She alone ministered to him and supplied
his wants. She washed his feet, brought him food, provided him with the
books he wanted, and acted so prudently that during the whole time of his
residence with her none of the inhabitants of Alexandria suspected the
place of his retreat. The people of Alexandria rejoiced at this unexpected
reappearance of Athanasius, and at once restored his churches to him.
AN IMPRESSIVE SERMON ON THE TRINITY.
Alanus de Insulis was a schoolman of immense renown in the eleventh and
twelfth centuries. He had appointed a certain day to preach on the Blessed
Trinity and to give a perfect explanation of that mystery to his auditors.
On the preceding day, as he took a solitary walk on the margin of a river,
he saw a little boy scooping out a small trench, and trying to fill it
with water from a shell; but the water escaped through the sandy bottom as
fast as he filled it. "What are you doing, my pretty child?" asked Alanus.
The reply was, "I am going to put all the water of the river into my
trench." "And when do you think, my child, that you will succeed in this
great design?" "Oh," said the child, "I shall succeed before you succeed
in yours. For they say you are to explain the Trinity, in your sermon
to-morrow, by the rules of science." Alanus was struck with this reply and
seized with compunction. He returned home meditating deeply on the child's
remarks and his own presumption. On the morrow, when the hour of the
sermon arrived, a great crowd assembled. Alanus mounted the pulpit and
uttered these words, which were his whole discourse, "It is sufficient, my
friends, that you have seen Alanus." He immediately descended and
withdrew, leaving the people in astonishment. The same day he left Paris
for Burgundy, and repaired to the abbey of Citeaux, where he became a
monk, and ended his days in holy offices and far-reaching reflections.
PAGANS PLEADING AGAINST DEMOLISHING TEMPLES.
When the young Emperor Valentinian, who died A.D. 375, was about to carry
out the edict of his predecessor and demolish the Pagan temples and remove
the statue of Victory, the eloquent prefect of Rome, Symmachus, ventured
to remonstrate, and in the Senate he lavished his eloquence in defence of
the immortal gods and the religion of his ancestors. He was cautious,
dextrous, and conciliatory. He told the Emperor how their old religion had
subdued the world to the Roman dominion, that Heaven was above them all,
and there were many ways by which we arrive at the great secret. But he
presumed not to contend on this occasion; he was a humble suppliant. It
would surely be a disgrace to the imperial treasury to be enriched by the
paltry saving in the maintenance of the Vestal Virgins and by confiscating
legacies bequeathed by the piety of individuals. Yea, the deified father
of the Emperor would look down with sorrow from the starry citadel to see
the intolerance of that day's proceedings. Ambrose, the Archbishop of
Milan, was, however, at hand to confront and confute this Pagan harangue.
He told the Emperor that ancestors were to be treated with reverence, but
that the question now was the right way of treating with God alone. No
part of the public revenue must be given to maintain idolatry. He who
offered to images would have his offerings returned by the Church with
disdain. All the gods of Rome had done nothing for her. It was the courage
of the legions, and not the influence of all the false idols, that turned
in their favour the issue of battles. Valentinian was murdered before the
final step was taken, and his successor hesitated. Ambrose had to fly from
Milan, for the soldiery boasted that they would stable their horses in the
churches and press the clergy as soldiers. Alaric soon arrived on the
scene, the Roman aristocracy became absorbed by the Christianising
population, and Paganism at last gradually died out in 493, and the new
religion took its place in the old temples.
THE DEFENCE OF THE PAGAN IDOLS.
The ruin of Paganism and its idols took place in the age of the Emperor
Theodosius (378-395). The Roman priests, with their robes of purple,
chariots of state, and sumptuous entertainments, were the admiration of
the people; and they found their great champion and advocate in Symmachus,
who in turn was baffled by Ambrose, Archbishop of Milan, whose influence
caused the Pagan orator to be exiled. On a vote of the Senate as to
whether the worship of Jupiter or of Christ should be the religion of the
Romans, a large majority condemned Jupiter, and this led to a special
committee of officers, who were directed to shut up the temples and
destroy the instruments of idolatry. The Sophists who stood by the Pagan
religion describe the acts of the Christian image-breakers as a dreadful
and amazing prodigy which covered the earth with darkness. They
pathetically relate how the Pagan temples were converted into sepulchres,
and how the filthy monks polluted holy places with relics of martyrs which
were nothing better than the heads--salted and pickled--of those infamous
malefactors who, for the multitude of their crimes, had suffered an
ignominious death. But the monks triumphed, and the bodies of St. Andrew,
St. Luke, and St. Timothy were transported from their obscure graves in
solemn pomp and deposited in the Church of the Apostles, which the
magnificence of Constantine had founded in Constantinople. The example of
Rome and Constantinople confirmed the faith and discipline of the Catholic
world; and the influence of this part of the worship of the faithful
lasted during the twelve hundred years which elapsed between the reign of
Constantine and the reformation of Luther.
THE FIRST CHRISTIAN DEMOLITION OF TEMPLES.
When Theodosius, the Christian Emperor, in 379 made an edict ordering the
demolition of idolatrous temples, it filled the Pagans with dismay.
Theophilus, the Archbishop of Alexandria, hastened to execute the order.
Marching at the head of the military, he entered the proud temple of the
god Serapis, to which a hundred steps led up, and magnificent portices and
pillars surrounded the spot. There stood the celebrated colossal statue of
the god, made of gold, silver, and other metals fused together, and inlaid
with precious stones. When the Christians entered the vast deserted
building, the centre of adoration for centuries, they stood silent and
awestruck, and after a pause of wonder a soldier was ordered to strike the
statue on the knee. He did so timidly, for the spectators expected some
terrific outburst of thunder and lightning to destroy him instantaneously.
There was an echo, but no sign came. The man, being emboldened, then
climbed up to the head, and with one blow struck it off and made it roll
to the ground. Another pause. Still no sign of insulted godhead; but a
large colony of rats, disturbed from their peaceful abode, suddenly leapt
out and scampered about in all directions. The multitude, with their
high-strung nerves, were prepared for some act of personal vengeance, but
at once dissolved with mirth; peals of loud laughter and jests and mockery
mingled with the rest of the work. The curious crowd were further
gratified by discovering some of the machinery by which the tricks were
produced which had so long imposed on their simple faith, such as letting
the light through an aperture fall suddenly on the lips of the statue at
the right moment, also a magnet in the roof, which kept a small statue
suspended in the air. The fragments of the statue of Serapis were
zealously dragged through the streets, and the foundations of the walls
were rooted up. The Pagans waited in vain for some sequel of god-like
retribution to come; but the river Nile flowed on unmindful of its god
without any unusual outbreak. And like scenes were repeated in other
cities with the same impunity. In some of the earlier demolitions,
however, in other parts of the empire the Pagans resisted, and in some
cases successfully. The war against the temples began in Syria. One
enthusiastic iconoclast, named Marcellus of Apamea, after successfully
destroying temples in other neighbouring places, when attacking that in
his own district was seized rudely by the inhabitants and burned alive.
The synod of Christians, thinking it a glorious death, refused to revenge
on the ignorant barbarians their precipitate outrage.
DESTROYING PAGAN TEMPLES TOO ABRUPTLY.
When the Emperor Theodosius in 386 directed the prætorian prefect
Cynegius, an ardent supporter of Christianity, to shut up all the Pagan
temples, this was not done without great excitement. One Theophilus,
Bishop of Alexandria, a somewhat worldly man, who was rather bent on
erecting splendid churches than on carrying out the spirit of
Christianity, obtained from the Emperor a gift of a temple of Bacchus, and
he proceeded to convert it into a Christian church. He acted most
injudiciously, first collecting all the indecent decorations out of that
impure place, and ordering these to be carried in a procession through the
streets, so as to expose them to the ridicule and contempt of the people.
But it had rather a contrary effect, for it roused the fanatical spirit,
and caused the mob to create a riot and retaliate on the Christians,
driving them off and themselves taking refuge in the magnificent temple of
Serapis, the pride of Pagan idolaters. There a fanatical Pagan named
Olympius, who was clad in the garb of a philosopher, harangued his
followers, and instigated them to fight for the sanctuaries of their
fathers. The spirit of the mob rose to fever heat, and the loss of life in
these commotions was so great that the Emperor took occasion of it to
issue a decree, in which he found it necessary to pardon the ringleaders
of the Pagans, but at the same time he directed all the heathen temples at
Alexandria to be destroyed, since it was through these that such serious
disturbances had been created. And this led, amongst others, to the
demolition of the celebrated temple of Serapis, and its conversion into
churches and cloisters. After these events it was expected that Paganism
would soon die out.
DEMOLISHING AN IMAGE AT THE PALACE.
There was a magnificent image of Christ erected over the bronze portal of
the Imperial Palace at Constantinople. The legend was, that Theodore, a
wealthy merchant, after losing all his property at sea, went to borrow
some capital from a wealthy Jew, who demanded good security. Theodore had
nothing of value but an image of Christ, and this he boldly offered as his
surety. The Jew was so amused and yet overwhelmed at this simplicity that
he agreed to accept it. The result was that the merchant won back all his
wealth, and repaid the Jew to the uttermost farthing, and the great image
called the Surety was set up. When the imperial decree was published
against this and other images, a soldier of the Emperor's guard erected a
ladder in order to take it down to be burned. But a crowd of women
collected, demanding that the image should be spared; and when they
watched the soldier striking his axe at it, they were so maddened with
indignation, that they pulled the ladder from under his feet, and caused
him to fall, and he was killed. The Emperor sent troops to the spot to
drive away the people, and set up a plain cross instead of the image which
had so won upon the reverence of the lieges.
ST. MARTIN OF TOURS DEMOLISHING TEMPLES (A.D. 380).
St. Martin of Tours (who died 396) distinguished himself by his zeal and
efficiency as a destroyer of the Pagan temples when the word was given to
destroy them. The Pagans occasionally used to resist. Once, after
demolishing a temple, he was also desirous of cutting down a pine that
stood near it. But the Pagans opposed this, and after some argument agreed
that they themselves would fell it upon condition that he, who boasted so
much of his trust in God, would stand under it where they would place him.
The saint consented, and suffered himself to be tied to that side of the
tree on which it leaned. When it seemed just ready to fall upon him, he
made the sign of the cross, and it fell on the contrary side. Whereupon
the Pagans were so astonished that they all upon the spot demanded to be
enrolled in his list of catechumens. Another time he was pulling down a
temple, when a great number of Pagans fell upon him with fury, and one
attacked him sword in hand. The saint, however, merely took off his mantle
and presented his bare neck to him, whereupon the Pagan was so terrified
that he fell backwards, and begged the saint to forgive him.
THE KING OF THE GOTHS RESPECTS THE CHURCHES.
When Alaric, King of the Goths, besieged Rome the third time, in 410, the
Salarian Gate was silently opened by his confederates inside at midnight,
and the inhabitants were roused by the piercing sound of the Gothic
trumpet. The tribes of Germany and Scythia then rushed in, eager to
enrich themselves with the spoils of the great city. Alaric exhorted his
troops to respect the churches of the Apostles, St. Peter, and St. Paul.
The Goths were impressed, and showed here and there some self-restraint.
One barbarian chief burst open the humble dwelling of an aged virgin,
demanding all her silver and gold, and was astounded at the readiness with
which she conducted him to a splendid hoard of massy plate curiously
inwrought, which made the eye of the captor sparkle with delight. But the
woman with a confident air said to him, "These are the consecrated vessels
belonging to St. Peter; if you presume to touch them, the sacrilegious
deed will haunt your conscience. As for me, I dare not keep what I am
unable to defend." The captain was awestruck; and after reporting the
circumstance to the king, the latter ordered all the consecrated plate and
ornaments to be transported without damage or delay to the Church of the
Apostles, and a detachment of Goths thereupon marched in battle-array,
bearing aloft these sacred treasures amid barbarian shouts and the psalms
of rejoicing Christians who joined in the procession. The Goths, in
pillaging the city, spared nothing beyond these select vessels of the
Church; and gold, jewels, silks, and works of art were piled in waggons
for their own spoil. The victorious Goths evacuated the city on the sixth
day and marched south, spreading terror and destruction. On reaching
Sicily, Alaric's life was cut short, and his funeral was celebrated with
barbaric pomp. A small river, Busentinus, that washes the walls of
Consentia, was diverted from its course, and in its bed the hero's body
with the spoils and trophies of Rome were buried. The prisoners who had
been compelled to execute this work were then massacred, and the river was
restored to its former channel, so as to conceal for ever the place of
burial.
ATTILA, KING OF THE HUNS, IMPRESSED BY THE POPE (A.D. 453).
When Attila, the King of the Huns, was supposed to meditate the invasion
of Italy, so great was the consternation that the Senate and people
thought it prudent to send a solemn embassy to deprecate the wrath of that
ferocious monarch. He listened to the appeal, and the deliverance of Italy
was purchased by the immense ransom or dowry of the Princess Honoria. When
Attila talked of carrying his victorious arms to the gates of Rome, both
friends and foes warned him that Alaric did not long survive the conquest
of the Eternal City; but in 453 he carried out his resolution. Meanwhile,
Leo, the bishop, was induced to venture his life to endeavour to mollify
the conqueror. Leo's eloquence and majestic aspect and sacerdotal robes
made an immense impression on the superstitious barbarian. It was said by
the chroniclers that the two apostles St. Peter and St. Paul appeared in
person on the occasion, and threatened Attila with instant death if he
rejected the prayer of their successor. He was much embarrassed; but
before he evacuated Italy he still threatened to return more dreadful and
implacable if the Princess Honoria were not delivered up to him according
to the treaty. Fortunately for Italy, Attila was one night seized with
sudden illness, during which a blood-vessel burst and suffocated him in
his sleep. After solemnly exposing his body under a silken pavilion,
squadrons of Huns wheeled round, chanting a funeral song to his memory.
They inclosed his remains in three coffins, of gold, of silver, and of
iron, and privately buried him in the night, throwing into his grave the
spoils of nations and the bodies of captives massacred for the purpose.
THE VANDALS SACKING ROME AND CAPTURING SACRED VESSELS (455).
When Genseric, King of the Vandals, was secretly invited by the Empress
Eudoxia to deliver her from the brutal treatment of the Emperor Maximus,
the African galleys brought an army to the mouth of the Tiber. Maximus
being, meanwhile, slain in a tumult of his subjects, the Vandals advanced
at once to the gates of Rome; but instead of meeting an army, saw only a
procession of clergy, headed by the bishop, who by his venerable
appearance sought to mitigate the ferocity of the conqueror. Some show of
mercy was promised; but the conquerors, nevertheless, were allowed to
pillage the city, which they did for fourteen days and nights. Vast spoils
were collected, including the splendid relics of the temples, both Pagan
and Christian. Magnificent furniture, sideboards of massy plate, and
jewels stripped from the persons of the Empress and her daughters were
collected and stowed in the ships. Amongst others, the holy instruments of
the Jewish worship, the gold table and the gold candlestick with seven
branches, originally framed by the direction of God Himself, and which
were placed in the sanctuary of His Temple, had been displayed to the
Roman people by Titus, and afterwards deposited in the Temple of Peace.
These spoils of Jerusalem at the end of four hundred years were
transferred from Rome to Carthage by the Vandals. It has been related that
the vessel which transported the relics of the Capitol was the only one of
the fleet which suffered shipwreck. Thousands of Romans of both sexes, and
mostly those skilled in the arts, were included among the captives; and
the Bishop of Carthage generously sold the gold and silver plate of his
church to relieve them.
JUSTINIAN DRIVING OUT THE GREEK PHILOSOPHERS (526).
Though Julian the Apostate, in his zeal to re-establish Paganism, made no
great impression, the schools of the Greek philosophers, with their dreamy
morality, were not allowed to expire like a worn-out veteran in peaceful
dignity. The impatient zeal of the Emperor Justinian in 526 led him to
forcibly expel the remnant of the old philosophers from the ancient groves
and porches of Athens. Seven followers of Proclus were obliged to find a
retreat in Persia; but the Magi there were still more intolerant than the
Christians. Philosophy found no resting-place; it found itself supplanted
by a new faith, which now domineered over the human mind. Justinian
governed the Roman Empire for thirty-eight years (527-565), and great and
curious events occurred in his time. The Empress Theodora was daughter of
an official called the Master of the Bears, and took to the stage in her
youth. Her forte was not to sing or dance or play on the flute, but to act
in pantomime and buffoonery, her eyes being bright, and her agile and
elegant form drawing down endless applause. She captivated the nephew of
the Emperor Justin, young Justinian, whom she married, and she maintained
an ascendency over him to the last. She developed into a rapacious and
cruel tyrant, and yet patronised many charitable schemes; and her
influence and power with the Emperor were unbounded, and many a courtier
fell a victim to her caprice. Her physicians at last warned her that her
health required her to use the Pythian warm baths. She went there attended
by a splendid train of four thousand officials. Highways and palaces were
repaired and made ready during the progress. In passing through Bithynia
she distributed liberal alms to the churches, the monasteries, and
hospitals that they might implore Heaven for the restoration of her
health. At last in 548, the twenty-second year of her reign, she was
carried away by a cancer.
MAHOMET'S KNOWLEDGE OF CHRISTIANITY (632).
Mahomet's knowledge of and connection with Christianity are inferred from
the fact that his favourite slave Zeyd leaned to the Christian faith. And
the monk Bahari, who conversed with Mahomet on his first journey with the
camel-drivers, who professed to foresee and welcome the future greatness
of the prophet, may have communicated many of the traditions of the
faith. Though Mahomet was not well acquainted with the canonical gospels,
yet the apocryphal gospels with the current traditions of the time were
familiar to him. He adopted the legend of the Seven Sleepers at Ephesus,
and of the Wandering Jew. Many incidents of ecclesiastical history have
analogies in the Koran. There is a priesthood in the sense of men devoted
to the interpretation of the Koran. The saints are also venerated, and
pilgrims make annual visitations. The ceremonial rites are even more
mechanical than are to be found in any portion of the Christian Church.
THE OAK OF GEISMAR DEMOLISHED (724).
When St. Boniface was sent as a missionary by the Pope in 724 to convert
the Germans, they were found grovelling in Pagan superstition, putting
their faith in sacred groves and fountains. The missionary, when made a
bishop, determined to strike a blow at this creed. There was an old and
venerable oak of immense size in the grove of Geismar, in Upper Hesse,
hallowed for ages to Thor, the thunder-god. Attended by all the clergy,
Boniface, who felt that one visible ark of sacred confidence must be
replaced by another, went publicly forth to fell this tree. The Pagans
assembled in multitudes to behold a trial of strength between the rival
gods. They awaited the issue in profound silence, some expecting that the
sacrilegious axe would recoil on the impious Christians. But only a few
blows had been struck when a sudden wind was heard in the groaning
branches, and down it came toppling, and split into four pieces. The
shuddering Pagans at once bowed before the superior might of Christianity.
Boniface at once built out of the wood a chapel dedicated to St. Peter.
After this churches and monasteries sprang up, and zealous labourers from
England flocked to help in civilising the Teutonic race. Eadberga, the
abbess of Minster, in the isle of Thanet, sent presents of clothes and
books. Boniface was then made a metropolitan, with his throne at Mentz, on
the Rhine, and Christianity spread from that time throughout that
district, and it was by his hand that Pepin the Little was anointed king.
In his old age Boniface descended the Rhine in a boat towards the Zuyder
Zee. He took with him a shroud, in which his body might be wrapped and
sent back to Fulda in Hesse in case of accident. It proved that the Pagan
priests attacked him, and then, laying his head upon a volume of the
gospels, he received the fatal blow, being killed in 755, and his
seventy-fifth year.
THE POPE DEFENDING ROME AGAINST FOREIGNERS (742).
When Luitprand, the Lombard King, was conquering Italy in 742, and was
approaching Rome, Pope Zacharias went and met him at Terni, surrounded
with a courtly array of bishops. He chose the church of St. Valentine for
the place of meeting; and the Pope, availing himself of the solemnity of
the building, and reminding the king of the last account and the damnation
that must await him, made such an impression that the king was overawed
and agreed to a treaty, making the concessions asked; and the Pope, after
a solemn service in church, ended by inviting the king to a banquet. But
ten years later another Pope (Stephen) was less successful with the next
Lombard king, Astolph. The Pope's ambassadors were received and listened
to, but nothing more. The king did not stay his career, but approached
Rome. Not all the Litanies, not all the solemn processions to the most
revered altars of the city, in which the Pope himself with naked feet bore
the cross and the whole people followed with ashes on their heads, and
with a wild howl of agony implored the protection of God against the
blaspheming Lombards, arrested for an instant his progress. The Pope
appealed to Heaven by tying a copy of the treaty violated by Astolph to
the holy cross. Astolph entered notwithstanding; and, strange to say,
while he remained he busied himself digging up the bodies of saints, not
for insult, but as the most precious trophies, and carried them off as
tutelar deities to Lombardy. At the same time the Pope was making a
journey to King Pepin of France, and there met with a warm reception,
which led to many future favours from that quarter.
THE FORGED DECRETALS ABOUT CONSTANTINE (795).