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INTELLIGENGE Of these proceedings reached the ears of the
Emperor Constantius, whose residence was then at Antioch.
Accordingly he ordered his general Hermogenes, who had been
despatched to Thrace, to pass through Constantinople on his way, and
expel Paul from the church. He, on arriving at Constantinople,
threw the whole city into confusion, attempting to cast out the
bishops; for sedition immediately arose from the people in their
eagerness to defend the bishop. And when Hermogenes persisted in his
efforts to drive out Paul by means of his military force, the people
became exasperated as is usual in such cases; and making a desperate
attack upon him, they set his house on fire, and after dragging
through the city, they at last put him to death. This took place in
the consulate of the two Augusti,--that is to say, the third
consulship,--Constantius, and the second of Constans: at which
time Constans, having subdued the Franks, compelled them to enter
into a treaty of peace with the Romans. The Emperor Constantius,
on being informed of the assassination of Hermogenes, set off on
horseback from Antioch, and arriving at Constantinople immediately
expelled Paul, and then punished the inhabitants by withdrawing from
them more than 40,000 measures of the daily allowance of wheat
which had been granted by his father for gratuitous distribution among
them: for prior to this catastrophe, nearly 80,000 measures of
wheat brought from Alexandria had been bestowed on the citizens. He
hesitated, however, to ratify the appointment of Macedonius to the
bishopric of that city, being irritated against him not only because he
had been ordained without his own consent; but also because on account
of the contests in which he had been engaged with Paul, Hermogenes,
his general, and many other persons had been slain. But having given
him permission to minister in the church in which he had been
consecrated, he returned to Antioch.
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