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The popular saying is, that the former emperors were zealous about
some useful matter or other; such as were fond of ornaments, cared for
the royal purple, the crown, and the like; those who were studious of
letters, composed some mythical work or treatise capable of fascinating
its readers; those who were practiced in war, sought to send the
weapon straight to the mark, to hit wild beasts, to hurl the spear,
or to leap upon the horse. Every one who was devoted to a craft which
was pleasing to the rulers announced himself at the palace. One brings
a precious stone not easily susceptible of polish; another undertakes
to prepare a more brilliant color than the purple robe; one dedicates a
poem or treatise; another introduces an expert and strange fashion of
armor.
It is considered the greatest and a regal thing for the ruler of the
whole people to possess, at least, one of the homely virtues; but no
such great estimate has been made of piety, which is, after all, the
true ornament of the empire. Thou, however, O most powerful
Emperor Theodosius, hast in a word, by God s help, cultivated
every virtue. Girt with the purple robe and crown, a symbol of thy
dignity to onlookers, thou wearest within always that true ornament of
sovereignty, piety and philanthropy. Whence it happens that poets and
writers, and the greater part of thy officers as well as the rest of
thy subjects, concern themselves on every occasion with thee and thy
deeds. And when thou presidest as ruler of contests and judge of
discourses, thou art not robbed of thy accuracy by any artificial sound
and form, but thou awardest the prize sincerely, observing whether the
diction is suitable to the design of the composition; so also with
respect to the form of words, divisions, order, unity, phraseology,
construction, arguments, thought, and narrative. Thou recompensest
the speakers with thy favorable judgment and applause, as well as with
golden images, erection of statues, gifts, and every kind of honor.
Thou showest greater personal favor toward the speakers than the
ancient Cretans did toward the much-sung Homer; or the Alevadae did
to Simonides; or Dionysius, the tyrant of Sicily to Plato, the
companion of Socrates; or Philip the Macedonian, to Theopompus the
historian; or the Emperor Severus to Oppianus, who related in verse
the kinds, nature, and catching of fish. For after the Cretans had
rewarded Homer with a thousand nummi, they inscribed the amount of the
gift on a public column as if to boast of their excessive munificence.
The Alevadae, Dionysius, and Philip were not more reserved than
the Cretans, who boasted of their modest and philosophical
government, but quickly imitated their column, so that they might not
be inferior in their donative. But when Severus bestowed upon
Oppianus a golden gift for each line of his moderate verse, he so
astonished everybody with his liberality, that the poems of Oppianus
are popularly called golden words to this day. Such were the donations
of former lovers of learning and discourses. But thou, O Emperor,
surpassest any of the ancients in thy liberality to letters, and thou
seemest to me to do this not unreasonably. For while thou strivest to
conquer all by thy virtues, thou dost also conduct thine own affairs
successfully, according to thy thorough knowledge of the story of those
ancient affairs, so prosperously directed by the Greeks and Romans.
Rumor says that during the day, thou takest military and bodily
exercise, and arrangest affairs of state by giving judicial decisions,
and by making note of what is necessary, and by observation, both in
public and private, of the things which ought to be done; and at night
that thou busiest thyself with books. It is a saying, that there
serves thee for the study of these works, a lamp which causes the oil
to flow automatically into the wick, by means of some mechanism, so
that not one of the servants in the palace should be compelled to be
taxed with thy labors, and to do violence to nature by fighting against
sleep. Thus thou art humane and gentle, both to those near, and to
all, since thou dost imitate the Heavenly King who is thy pattern;
in that He loves to send rain, and causes the sun to rise on the just
and unjust, as well as to furnish other blessings ungrudgingly. As is
natural, I hear also that by thy various learning, thou art no less
familiar with the nature of stones, and the virtues of roots, and
forces of remedies, than Solomon, the wisest son of David; while
thou excellest him in virtue; for Solomon became the slave of his
pleasures, and did not preserve to the end, that piety which had been
for him the source of prosperity and wisdom. But thou, most powerful
Emperor, because thou settest thy restraining reason in array against
levity, art not only an autocrat of men, but also of the passions of
soul and body, as one would naturally suppose. And this, too, ought
to be remarked: I understand that thou dost conquer the desire for all
food and drink; neither the sweeter figs, to speak poetically, nor
any other kind of fruit in its season, can take thee prisoner, except
the little that thou dost touch and taste, after thou hast returned
thanks to the Maker of all things. Thou art wont to vanquish thirst,
stifling heat, and cold by thy daily exercise, so that thou seemest to
have self-control as a second nature. Lately, as is well known,
thou wast anxious to visit the city of Heraclea in Pontus, and to
restore it, prostrated by time, and thou tookest the way in the summer
season through Bithynia. When the sun about midday was very fiery,
one of the body-guard saw thee, heated with much sweat and clouds of
dust, and, as if to do thee a favor, he anticipatingly offered to
thee a bowl which reflected brilliantly the rays of the sun; he poured
in some sweet drink, and added cold water thereto. But thou, most
powerful Emperor, didst receive it, and didst praise the man for his
good will, and thou didst make it obvious that thou wouldst soon reward
him for his well-wrought deed with royal munificence. But when all
the soldiers were wondering with open mouth at the dish, and were
counting him blessed who should drink, thou, O noble Emperor, didst
return the drink to him and didst command him to use it in whatever way
he pleased. So that it seems to me that Alexander, the son of
Philip, was surpassed by thy virtue; of whom it is reputed by his
admirers, that while he, with the Macedonians, was passing through a
waterless place, an anxious soldier found water, drew it, and offered
it to Alexander; he would not drink it, but poured out the draught.
Therefore, in a word, it is appropriate to call thee, according to
Homer, more regal than the kings who preceded thee; for we have heard
of some who acquired nothing worthy of admiration, and others who
adorned their reign with scarcely one or two deeds. But thou, O most
powerful Emperor, hast gathered together all the virtues, and hast
excelled every one in piety, philanthropy, courage, prudence,
justice, munificence, and a magnanimity befitting royal dignity. And
every age will boast of thy rule as alone unstained and pure from
murder, beyond all governments that ever existed. Thou teachest thy
subjects to pursue serious things with pleasure, so that they show zeal
for thee and public affairs, with good will and respect. So that for
all these reasons, it has appeared to me, as a writer of
Ecclesiastical History, necessary to address myself to thee. For to
whom can I do this more appropriately, since I am about to relate the
virtue of many devoted men, and the events of the Catholic Church;
and since her conflicts with so many enemies lead me to thy threshhold
and that of thy fathers? Come thou, who knowest all things and
possessest every virtue, especially that piety, which the Divine
Word says is the beginning of wisdom, receive from me this writing,
and marshal its facts and purify it by thy labors, out of thy accurate
knowledge, whether by addition or elimination. For whatever course
may seem pleasing to thee, that will be wholly advantageous and
brilliant for the readers, nor shall any one put a hand to it after
thine approval. My history begins with the third consulate of the
Caesars, Crispus and Constantine, and stretches to thy seventeenth
consulship. I deemed it proper to divide the whole work into nine
parts: the first and second books will embrace the ecclesiastical
affairs under Constantine; the third and fourth, those under his
sons; the fifth and sixth, those under Julian, the cousin of the
sons of the great Constantine, and Jovian, and, further, of
Valentinian and Valens; the seventh and eighth books, O most
powerful Emperor, will open up the affairs under the brothers Gratian
and Valentinian, until the proclamation of Theodosius, thy divine
grandfather, as far as thy celebrated father Arcadius, together with
thy uncle, the most pious and godly Honorius, received the paternal
government and shared in the regulation of the Roman world; the ninth
book I have devoted to thy Christ-loving and most innocent majesty,
which may God always preserve in unbroken good will, triumphing
greatly over enemies, and having all things under thy feet and
transmitting the holy empire to thy sons' sons with the approbation of
Christ, through whom and with whom, be glory to God, and the
Father, with the Holy Spirit forever. Amen.
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