Fromthisfact,andfromsomecollateralexamples,Iconclude,thatunderthesuccessorsofConstantine,themoderatepriceofwheatwasaboutthirty—twoshillingstheEnglishquarter,whichisequaltotheaveragepriceofthesixty—fourfirstyearsofthepresentcentury。SeeArbuthnot'sTablesofCoins,Weights,andMeasures,p。88,89。Plin。Hist。Natur。xviii。12。Mem。del'AcademiedesInscriptions,tom。xxviii。p。718—721。Smith'sInquiryintotheNatureandCausesoftheWealthofNations,vol。
i。p246。ThislastIamproudtoquoteastheworkofasageandafriend。]
[Footnote16:Nunquamapropositodeclinabat,Gallisimilisfratris,licetincruentus。Ammian。xxii。14。Theignoranceofthemostenlightenedprincesmayclaimsomeexcuse;butwecannotbesatisfiedwithJulian'sowndefence,inMisopogon,p。363,369,ortheelaborateapologyofLibanius,Orat。Parentalc。
xcvii。p。321。]
[Footnote17:TheirshortandeasyconfinementisgentlytouchedbyLibanius,Orat。Parental。c。xcviii。p。322,323。]
[Footnote18:Libanius,adAntiochenosdeImperatorisira,c。
17,18,19,inFabricius,Bibliot。Graec。tom。vii。p。221—223,
likeaskilfuladvocate,severelycensuresthefollyofthepeople,whosufferedforthecrimeofafewobscureanddrunkenwretches。]
[Footnote19:LibaniusadAntiochen。c。vii。p。213remindsAntiochoftherecentchastisementofCaesarea;andevenJulianinMisopogon,p。355insinuateshowseverelyTarentumhadexpiatedtheinsulttotheRomanambassadors。]
[Footnote20:OnthesubjectoftheMisopogon,seeAmmianus,xxii。14,Libanius,Orat。Parentalis,c。xcix。p。323,
GregoryNazianzen,Orat。iv。p。133andtheChronicleofAntioch,byJohnMalala,tom。ii。p。15,16。IhaveessentialobligationstothetranslationandnotesoftheAbbedelaBleterie,ViedeJovien,tom。ii。p。1—138。]
[Footnote21:Ammianusveryjustlyremarks,Coactusdissimulareprotemporeirasufflabaturinterna。TheelaborateironyofJulianatlengthburstsforthintoseriousanddirectinvective。]
[Footnote22:IpseautemAntiochiamegressurus,HeliopolitenquendamAlexandrumSyriacaejurisdictionipraefecit,turbulentumetsaevum;dicebatquenonillummeruisse,sedAntiochensibusavarisetcontumeliosishujusmodijudicemconvenire。Ammian。
xxiii。2。Libanius,Epist。722,p。346,347,whoconfessestoJulianhimself,thathehadsharedthegeneraldiscontent,pretendsthatAlexanderwasauseful,thoughharsh,reformerofthemannersandreligionofAntioch。]
[Footnote23:Julian,inMisopogon,p。364。Ammian。xxiii。2,andValesius,adloc。Libanius,inaprofessedoration,inviteshimtoreturntohisloyalandpenitentcityofAntioch。]
YetAntiochpossessedonecitizen,whosegeniusandvirtuesmightatone,intheopinionofJulian,fortheviceandfollyofhiscountry。ThesophistLibaniuswasborninthecapitaloftheEast;hepubliclyprofessedtheartsofrhetoricanddeclamationatNice,Nicomedia,Constantinople,Athens,and,duringtheremainderofhislife,atAntioch。HisschoolwasassiduouslyfrequentedbytheGrecianyouth;hisdisciples,whosometimesexceededthenumberofeighty,celebratedtheirincomparablemaster;andthejealousyofhisrivals,whopersecutedhimfromonecitytoanother,confirmedthefavorableopinionwhichLibaniusostentatiouslydisplayedofhissuperiormerit。ThepreceptorsofJulianhadextortedarashbutsolemnassurance,thathewouldneverattendthelecturesoftheiradversary:thecuriosityoftheroyalyouthwascheckedandinflamed:hesecretlyprocuredthewritingsofthisdangeroussophist,andgraduallysurpassed,intheperfectimitationofhisstyle,themostlaboriousofhisdomesticpupils。^24WhenJulianascendedthethrone,hedeclaredhisimpatiencetoembraceandrewardtheSyriansophist,whohadpreserved,inadegenerateage,theGrecianpurityoftaste,ofmanners,andofreligion。Theemperor'sprepossessionwasincreasedandjustifiedbythediscreetprideofhisfavorite。Insteadofpressing,withtheforemostofthecrowd,intothepalaceofConstantinople,LibaniuscalmlyexpectedhisarrivalatAntioch;withdrewfromcourtonthefirstsymptomsofcoldnessandindifference;
requiredaformalinvitationforeachvisit;andtaughthissovereignanimportantlesson,thathemightcommandtheobedienceofasubject,butthathemustdeservetheattachmentofafriend。Thesophistsofeveryage,despising,oraffectingtodespise,theaccidentaldistinctionsofbirthandfortune,^25
reservetheiresteemforthesuperiorqualitiesofthemind,withwhichtheythemselvesaresoplentifullyendowed。Julianmightdisdaintheacclamationsofavenalcourt,whoadoredtheImperialpurple;buthewasdeeplyflatteredbythepraise,theadmonition,thefreedom,andtheenvyofanindependentphilosopher,whorefusedhisfavors,lovedhisperson,celebratedhisfame,andprotectedhismemory。ThevoluminouswritingsofLibaniusstillexist;forthemostpart,theyarethevainandidlecompositionsofanorator,whocultivatedthescienceofwords;theproductionsofareclusestudent,whosemind,regardlessofhiscontemporaries,wasincessantlyfixedontheTrojanwarandtheAtheniancommonwealth。YetthesophistofAntiochsometimesdescendedfromthisimaginaryelevation;heentertainedavariousandelaboratecorrespondence;^26hepraisedthevirtuesofhisowntimes;heboldlyarraignedtheabuseofpublicandprivatelife;andheeloquentlypleadedthecauseofAntiochagainstthejustresentmentofJulianandTheodosius。Itisthecommoncalamityofoldage,^27tolosewhatevermighthaverendereditdesirable;butLibaniusexperiencedthepeculiarmisfortuneofsurvivingthereligionandthesciences,towhichhehadconsecratedhisgenius。ThefriendofJulianwasanindignantspectatorofthetriumphofChristianity;andhisbigotry,whichdarkenedtheprospectofthevisibleworld,didnotinspireLibaniuswithanylivelyhopesofcelestialgloryandhappiness。^28
[Footnote24:Libanius,Orat。Parent。c。vii。p。230,231。]
[Footnote25:Eunapiusreports,thatLibaniusrefusedthehonoraryrankofPraetorianpraefect,aslessillustriousthanthetitleofSophist,inVit。Sophist。p。135。Thecriticshaveobservedasimilarsentimentinoneoftheepistlesxviii。edit。
WolfofLibaniushimself。]
[Footnote26:Neartwothousandofhisletters—amodeofcompositioninwhichLibaniuswasthoughttoexcel—arestillextant,andalreadypublished。Thecriticsmaypraisetheirsubtleandelegantbrevity;yetDr。BentleyDissertationuponPhalaris,p。48mightjustly,thoughquaintlyobserve,that"youfeel,bytheemptinessanddeadnessofthem,thatyouconversewithsomedreamingpedant,withhiselbowonhisdesk。"]
[Footnote27:Hisbirthisassignedtotheyear314。Hementionstheseventy—sixthyearofhisage,A。D。390,andseemstoalludetosomeeventsofastilllaterdate。]
[Footnote28:Libaniushascomposedthevain,prolix,butcuriousnarrativeofhisownlife,tom。ii。p。1—84,edit。Morell,ofwhichEunapiusp。130—135hasleftaconciseandunfavorableaccount。Amongthemoderns,Tillemont,Hist。desEmpereurs,tom。iv。p。571—576,Fabricius,Bibliot。Graec。tom。vii。p。
376—414,andLardner,HeathenTestimonies,tom。iv。p。
127—163,haveillustratedthecharacterandwritingsofthisfamoussophist。]
ChapterXXIV:TheRetreatAndDeathOfJulian。
PartII。
ThemartialimpatienceofJulianurgedhimtotakethefieldinthebeginningofthespring;andhedismissed,withcontemptandreproach,thesenateofAntioch,whoaccompaniedtheemperorbeyondthelimitsoftheirownterritory,towhichhewasresolvednevertoreturn。Afteralaboriousmarchoftwodays,^29hehaltedonthethirdatBeraea,orAleppo,wherehehadthemortificationoffindingasenatealmostentirelyChristian;whoreceivedwithcoldandformaldemonstrationsofrespecttheeloquentsermonoftheapostleofpaganism。ThesonofoneofthemostillustriouscitizensofBeraea,whohadembraced,eitherfrominterestorconscience,thereligionoftheemperor,wasdisinheritedbyhisangryparent。ThefatherandthesonwereinvitedtotheImperialtable。Julian,placinghimselfbetweenthem,attempted,withoutsuccess,toinculcatethelessonandexampleoftoleration;supported,withaffectedcalmness,theindiscreetzealoftheagedChristian,whoseemedtoforgetthesentimentsofnature,andthedutyofasubject;andatlength,turningtowardstheafflictedyouth,"Sinceyouhavelostafather,"saidhe,"formysake,itisincumbentonmetosupplyhisplace。"^30TheemperorwasreceivedinamannermuchmoreagreeabletohiswishesatBatnae,asmalltownpleasantlyseatedinagroveofcypresses,abouttwentymilesfromthecityofHierapolis。ThesolemnritesofsacrificeweredecentlypreparedbytheinhabitantsofBatnae,whoseemedattachedtotheworshipoftheirtutelardeities,ApolloandJupiter;buttheseriouspietyofJulianwasoffendedbythetumultoftheirapplause;andhetooclearlydiscerned,thatthesmokewhicharosefromtheiraltarswastheincenseofflattery,ratherthanofdevotion。Theancientandmagnificenttemplewhichhadsanctified,forsomanyages,thecityofHierapolis,^31nolongersubsisted;andtheconsecratedwealth,whichaffordedaliberalmaintenancetomorethanthreehundredpriests,mighthastenitsdownfall。YetJulianenjoyedthesatisfactionofembracingaphilosopherandafriend,whosereligiousfirmnesshadwithstoodthepressingandrepeatedsolicitationsofConstantiusandGallus,asoftenasthoseprinceslodgedathishouse,intheirpassagethroughHierapolis。Inthehurryofmilitarypreparation,andthecarelessconfidenceofafamiliarcorrespondence,thezealofJulianappearstohavebeenlivelyanduniform。Hehadnowundertakenanimportantanddifficultwar;andtheanxietyoftheeventrenderedhimstillmoreattentivetoobserveandregisterthemosttriflingpresages,fromwhich,accordingtotherulesofdivination,anyknowledgeoffuturitycouldbederived。^32HeinformedLibaniusofhisprogressasfarasHierapolis,byanelegantepistle,^33whichdisplaysthefacilityofhisgenius,andhistenderfriendshipforthesophistofAntioch。
[Footnote29:FromAntiochtoLitarbe,ontheterritoryofChalcis,theroad,overhillsandthroughmorasses,wasextremelybad;andtheloosestoneswerecementedonlywithsand,Julian。
epist。xxvii。ItissingularenoughthattheRomansshouldhaveneglectedthegreatcommunicationbetweenAntiochandtheEuphrates。SeeWesselingItinerar。p。190Bergier,HistdesGrandsChemins,tom。ii。p。100]
[Footnote30:Julianalludestothisincident,epist。xxvii。,
whichismoredistinctlyrelatedbyTheodoret,l。iii。c。22。
TheintolerantspiritofthefatherisapplaudedbyTillemont,Hist。desEmpereurs,tom。iv。p。534。andevenbyLaBleterie,ViedeJulien,p。413。]
[Footnote*:Thisname,ofSyriacorigin,isfoundintheArabic,andmeansaplaceinavalleywherewatersmeet。Juliansays,thenameofthecityisBarbaric,thesituationGreek。ThegeographerAbulfedatab。Syriac。p。129,edit。KoehlerspeaksofitinamannertojustifythepraisesofJulian。—St。Martin。
NotestoLeBeau,iii。56。—M。]
[Footnote31:SeethecurioustreatisedeDeaSyria,insertedamongtheworksofLucian,tom。iii。p。451—490,edit。Reitz。
ThesingularappellationofNinusvetusAmmian。xiv。8mightinduceasuspicion,thatHeirapolishadbeentheroyalseatoftheAssyrians。]
[Footnote32:Julianepist。xxviii。keptaregularaccountofallthefortunateomens;buthesuppressestheinauspicioussigns,whichAmmianusxxiii。2hascarefullyrecorded。]
[Footnote33:Julian。epist。xxvii。p。399—402。]
Hierapolis,situatealmostonthebanksoftheEuphrates,^34hadbeenappointedforthegeneralrendezvousoftheRomantroops,whoimmediatelypassedthegreatriveronabridgeofboats,whichwaspreviouslyconstructed。^35IftheinclinationsofJulianhadbeensimilartothoseofhispredecessor,hemighthavewastedtheactiveandimportantseasonoftheyearinthecircusofSamosataorinthechurchesofEdessa。Butasthewarlikeemperor,insteadofConstantius,hadchosenAlexanderforhismodel,headvancedwithoutdelaytoCarrhae,^36averyancientcityofMesopotamia,atthedistanceoffourscoremilesfromHierapolis。ThetempleoftheMoonattractedthedevotionofJulian;butthehaltofafewdayswasprincipallyemployedincompletingtheimmensepreparationsofthePersianwar。Thesecretoftheexpeditionhadhithertoremainedinhisownbreast;
butasCarrhaeisthepointofseparationofthetwogreatroads,hecouldnolongerconcealwhetheritwashisdesigntoattackthedominionsofSaporonthesideoftheTigris,oronthatoftheEuphrates。Theemperordetachedanarmyofthirtythousandmen,underthecommandofhiskinsmanProcopius,andofSebastian,whohadbeendukeofEgypt。TheywereorderedtodirecttheirmarchtowardsNisibis,andtosecurethefrontierfromthedesultoryincursionsoftheenemy,beforetheyattemptedthepassageoftheTigris。Theirsubsequentoperationswerelefttothediscretionofthegenerals;butJulianexpected,thatafterwastingwithfireandswordthefertiledistrictsofMediaandAdiabene,theymightarriveunderthewallsofCtesiphonatthesametimethathehimself,advancingwithequalstepsalongthebanksoftheEuphrates,shouldbesiegethecapitalofthePersianmonarchy。Thesuccessofthiswell—concertedplandepended,inagreatmeasure,onthepowerfulandreadyassistanceofthekingofArmenia,who,withoutexposingthesafetyofhisowndominions,mightdetachanarmyoffourthousandhorse,andtwentythousandfoot,totheassistanceoftheRomans。^37ButthefeebleArsacesTiranus,^38kingofArmenia,haddegeneratedstillmoreshamefullythanhisfatherChosroes,fromthemanlyvirtuesofthegreatTiridates;andasthepusillanimousmonarchwasaversetoanyenterpriseofdangerandglory,hecoulddisguisehistimidindolencebythemoredecentexcusesofreligionandgratitude。HeexpressedapiousattachmenttothememoryofConstantius,fromwhosehandshehadreceivedinmarriageOlympias,thedaughterofthepraefectAblavius;andtheallianceofafemale,whohadbeeneducatedasthedestinedwifeoftheemperorConstans,exaltedthedignityofaBarbarianking。^39TiranusprofessedtheChristianreligion;
hereignedoveranationofChristians;andhewasrestrained,byeveryprincipleofconscienceandinterest,fromcontributingtothevictory,whichwouldconsummatetheruinofthechurch。ThealienatedmindofTiranuswasexasperatedbytheindiscretionofJulian,whotreatedthekingofArmeniaashisslave,andastheenemyofthegods。ThehaughtyandthreateningstyleoftheImperialmandates^40awakenedthesecretindignationofaprince,who,inthehumiliatingstateofdependence,wasstillconsciousofhisroyaldescentfromtheArsacides,thelordsoftheEast,andtherivalsoftheRomanpower。^!
[Footnote*:OrBambyce,nowBambouch;ManbedjArab。,orMaboug,Syr。Itwastwenty—fourRomanmilesfromtheEuphrates。—M。]
[Footnote34:ItaketheearliestopportunityofacknowledgingmyobligationstoM。d'Anville,forhisrecentgeographyoftheEuphratesandTigris,Paris,1780,in4to。,whichparticularlyillustratestheexpeditionofJulian。]
[Footnote35:Therearethreepassageswithinafewmilesofeachother;1。Zeugma,celebratedbytheancients;2。Bir,frequentedbythemoderns;and,3。ThebridgeofMenbigz,orHierapolis,atthedistanceoffourparasangsfromthecity。]
[Footnote*:DjisrManbedjisthesamewiththeancientZeugma。
St。Martin,iii。58—M。]
[Footnote36:Haran,orCarrhae,wastheancientresidenceoftheSabaeans,andofAbraham。SeetheIndexGeographicusofSchultens,adcalcemVit。Saladin。,aworkfromwhichIhaveobtainedmuchOrientalknowledgeconcerningtheancientandmoderngeographyofSyriaandtheadjacentcountries。]
[Footnote*:OnanineditedmedalinthecollectionofthelateM。Tochon。oftheAcademyofInscriptions,itisreadXappan。
St。Martin。iii60—M。]
[Footnote37:SeeXenophon。Cyropaed。l。iii。p。189,edit。
Hutchinson。ArtavasdesmighthavesuppliedMarcAntonywith16,000horse,armedanddisciplinedaftertheParthianmanner,Plutarch,inM。Antonio。tom。v。p。117。]
[Footnote38:MosesofChoreneHist。Armeniac。l。iii。c。11,p。
242fixeshisaccessionA。D。354tothe17thyearofConstantius。]
[Footnote*:ArsacesTiranus,orDiran,hadceasedtoreigntwenty—fiveyearsbefore,in337。TheintermediatechangesinArmenia,andthecharacterofthisArsaces,thesonofDiran,aretracedbyM。St。Martin,atconsiderablelength,inhissupplementtoLeBeau,ii。208—242。AslongashisGrecianqueenOlympiasmaintainedherinfluence,ArsaceswasfaithfultotheRomanandChristianalliance。OntheaccessionofJulian,thesameinfluencemadehisfidelitytowaver;butOlympiashavingbeenpoisonedinthesacramentalbreadbytheagencyofPharandcem,theformerwifeofArsaces,anotherchangetookplaceinArmenianpoliticsunfavorabletotheChristianinterest。ThepatriarchNarsesretiredfromtheimpiouscourttoasafeseclusion。YetPharandsemwasequallyhostiletothePersianinfluence,andArsacesbegantosupportwithvigorthecauseofJulian。HemadeaninroadintothePersiandominionswithabodyofRansandAlansasauxiliaries;wastedAderbidganandSapor,whohadbeendefeatednearTauriz,wasengagedinmakingheadagainsthistroopsinPersarmenia,atthetimeofthedeathofJulian。SuchisM。St。Martin'sview,ii。276,etsqq。,whichrestsontheArmenianhistorians,FaustosofByzantium,andMezrobthebiographerofthePartriarchNarses。InthehistoryofArmeniabyFatherChamitch,andtranslatedbyAvdall,TiranisstillkingofArmenia,atthetimeofJulian'sdeath。F。