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THE Eastern section of the empire had received the infection from
many quarters. Arius, a presbyter of Alexandria in Egypt, there
begat the blasphemy. Eusebius, Patrophilus, and Aetius of
Palestine, Paulinus and Gregorius of Phoenicia, Theodotus of
Laodicea and his successor Georgius, and after him Athanasius and
Narcissus of Cilicia, had nurtured the seeds so foully sown.
Eusebius and Theognis of Bithynia; Menophantus of Ephesus;
Theodorus of Perinthus and Maris of Chalcedon, and some others of
Thrace famous only for their vices, had for a long time gone on
watering and tending the crop of tares. These bad husbandmen were
aided by the indifference of Constantius and the malignity of Valens.
For these reasons only the bishops of his own empire were summoned by
the emperor to meet at Constantinople. They arrived, being in all
one hundred and fifty in number, and Theodosius forbade any one to
tell him which was the great Meletius, for he wished the bishop to be
recognized by his dream. The w hole company of the bishops entered the
imperial palace, and then without any notice of all the rest,
Theodosius ran up to the great Meletius, and, like a boy who loves
his father, stood for a long space gazing on him with filial joy, then
flung his arms around him, and covered eyes and lips and breast and
head and the hand that had given him the crown, with kisses. Then he
told him of his dream. All the rest of the bishops were then
courteously welcomed, and all were bidden to deliberate as became
fathers on the subjects laid before them.
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