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A Noble action of Acacius bishop of Amida, at that time greatly
enhanced his reputation among all men. As the Roman soldiery would on
no consideration restore to the Persian king the captives whom they had
taken, these captives, about seven thousand in number, were being
destroyed by famine in devastating Azazene, and this greatly
distressed the king of the Persians. Then Acacius thought such a
matter was by no means to be trifled with; having therefore assembled
his clergy, he thus ad- dressed them: 'Our God, my brethren,
needs neither dishes nor cups; for he neither eats nor drinks, nor is
in want of anything. Since then, by the liberality of its faithful
members the church possesses many vessels both of gold and silver, it
behooves us to sell them, that by the money thus raised we may be able
to redeem the prisoners and l also supply them with food.' Having
said these things and many others similar to these, he ordered the
vessels to be melted down, and from the proceeds paid the soldiers a
ransom for their captives, whom he supported for some time; and then
furnishing them with what was needful for their journey, sent them back
to their sovereign. This benevolence on the part of the excellent
Acacius, astonished the king of the Persians, as if, the Romans
were accustomed to conquer their enemies as well by their beneficence in
peace as their prowess in war. They say also that the Persian king
wished that Acacius should come into his presence, that he might have
the pleasure of beholding such a man; a wish which by the emperor
Theodosius' order was soon gratified. So signal a victory having
through Divine favor been achieved by the Romans, many who were
illustrious for their eloquence, wrote panegyrics in honor of the
emperor, and recited them in public. The empress herself also
composed a poem in heroic verse: for she had excellent literary taste;
being the daughter of Leontius the Athenian sophist, she had been
instructed in every kind of learning by her father; Atticus the bishop
had baptized her a little while previous to her marriage with the
emperor, and had then given her the Christian name of Eudocia,
instead of her pagan one of Athenais. Many, as I have said,
produced eulogiums on this occasion. Some, indeed, were stimulated
by the desire of being noticed by the emperor; while others were
anxious to display their talents to the masses, being unwilling that
the attainments they had made by dint of great exertion should lie
buried in obscurity.
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