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As the emperor marched against the usurper the intelligence of the
formidable preparations made by him so alarmed the troops under
Maximus, that instead of fighting for him, they delivered him bound
to the emperor, who caused him to be put to death, on the
twenty-seventh of August, under the same consulate. Andragathius,
who with his own hand had slain Gratian, understanding the fate of
Maximus, precipitated himself into the adjacent river, and was
drowned. Then the victorious emperors made their public entry into
Rome, accompanied by Honorius the son of Theodosius, still a mere
boy, whom his father had sent for from Constantinople immediately
after Maximus had been vanquished. They continued therefore at Rome
celebrating their triumphal festivals: during which time the Emperor
Theodosius exhibited a remarkable instance of clemency toward
Symmachus, a man who had borne the consular office, and was at the
head of the senate at Rome. For this Symmachus was distinguished for
his eloquence, and many of his orations are still extant composed in
the Latin tongue: but inasmuch as he had written a panegyric on
Maximus, and pronounced it before him publicly, he was afterwards
impeached for high treason; wherefore to escape capital punishment he
took sanctuary in a church. The emperor's veneration for religion led
him not only to honor the bishops of his own communion, but to treat
with consideration those of the Novatians also, who embraced the
'homoousian' creed: to gratify therefore Leontius the bishop of the
Novatian church at Rome, who interceded in behalf of Symmachus, he
graciously pardoned him for that crime. Symmachus, after he had
obtained his pardon, wrote an apologetic address to the Emperor
Theodosius. Thus the war, which at its commencement threatened so
seriously, was brought to a speedy termination.
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