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AFTER the death of Eugenius, the emperor went to Milan, and
repaired towards the church to pray within its walls. When he drew
near the gates of the edifice, he was met by Ambrose, the bishop of
the city, who took hold of him by his purple robe, and said to him,
in the presence of the multitude, "Stand back! a man defiled by
sin, and with hands imbrued in blood unjustly shed, is not worthy,
without repentance, to enter within these sacred precincts, or partake
of the holy mysteries." The emperor, struck with admiration at the
boldness of the bishop, began to reflect on his own conduct, and,
with much contrition, retraced his steps. The occasion of the sin was
as follows. When Buthericus was general of the troops in Illyria, a
charioteer saw him shamefully exposed at a tavern, and attempted an
outrage; he was apprehended and put in custody. Some time after,
some magnificent races were to be held at the hippodrome, and the
populace of Thessalonica demanded the release of the prisoner,
considering him necessary to the celebration of the contest. As their
request was not attended to, they rose up in sedition and finally slew
Buthericus. On hearing of this deed, the wrath of the emperor was
excited immediately, and he commanded that a certain number of the
citizens should be put to death. The city was filled with the blood of
many unjustly shed; for strangers, who had but just arrived there on
their journey to other lands, were sacrificed with the others. There
were many cases of suffering well worthy of commiseration, of which the
following is an instance. A merchant offered himself to be slain as a
substitute for his two sons who had both been selected as victims, and
promised the soldiers to give them all the gold he possessed, on
condition of their effecting the exchange. They could not but
compassionate his misfortune, and consented to take him as a substitute
for one of his sons, but declared that they did not dare to let off
both the young men, as that would render the appointed number of the
slain incomplete. The father gazed on his sons, groaning and
weeping; he could not save either from death, but he continued
hesitating until they had been put to death, being overcome by an equal
love for each. I have also been informed, that a faithful slave
voluntarily offered to die instead of his master, who was being led to
the place of execution. It appears that it was for these and other
acts of cruelty that Ambrose rebuked the emperor, forbade him to enter
the church, and excommunicated him. Theodosius publicly confessed his
sin in the church, and during the time set apart for penance,
refrained from wearing his imperial ornaments, according to the usage
of mourners. He also enacted a law prohibiting the officers entrusted
with the execution of the imperial mandates, from inflicting the
punishment of death till thirty days after the mandate had been issued,
in order that the wrath of the emperor might have time to be appeased,
and that room might be made for the exercise of mercy and repentance.
Ambrose, no doubt, performed many other actions worthy of his
priestly office, which are known, as is likely, only to the
inhabitants of the country. Among the illustrious deeds that are
attributed to him, I have been made acquainted with the following.
It was the custom of the emperor to take a seat in assemblies of the
church within the palisades of the altar, so that he sat apart from the
rest of the people. Ambrose, considering that this custom had
originated either from subserviency or from want of discipline, caused
the emperor to be seated without the trellis work of the altar, so that
he sat in front of the people, and behind the priests. The emperor
Theodosius approved of this best tradition, as did likewise his
successors; and we are told that it has been ever since scrupulously
observed.
I think it necessary to make a record of another action worthy of
mention performed by this bishop. A pagan of distinction insulted
Gratian, affirming that he was unworthy of his father; and he was in
consequence condemned to death. As he was being led out to execution,
Ambrose went to the palace to implore a pardon. Gratian was then
engaged in witnessing a private exhibition of the hunt, such as the
emperors were wont to celebrate for their private pleasure, and not for
the public pastime. On finding this to be the case, the bishop went
to the gate where they led in the beasts; he hid himself, and entered
with the hunters who took charge of the animals, and did not intermit,
although Gratian and his attendants resisted, till he had obtained an
immediate and saving consent of the emperor, which released the man who
was to be led out to death. Ambrose was very diligent in the
observance of the laws of the Church, and in maintaining discipline
among his clergy. I have selected the above two incidents from among
the records of his numerous magnanimous deeds, in order to show with
what intrepidity he addressed those in power when the service of God
was in question.
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