Chapter XXVII: Civil Wars, Reign Of Theodosius.—Part I

Death Of Gratian.—Ruin Of Arianism.—St. Ambrose.—First Civil War,
Against Maximus.—Character, Administration, And Penance Of
Theodosius.—Death Of Valentinian II.—Second Civil War, Against
Eugenius.—Death Of Theodosius.

The fame of Gratian, before he had accomplished the twentieth
year of his age, was equal to that of the most celebrated
princes. His gentle and amiable disposition endeared him to his
private friends, the graceful affability of his manners engaged
the affection of the people: the men of letters, who enjoyed the
liberality, acknowledged the taste and eloquence, of their
sovereign; his valor and dexterity in arms were equally applauded
by the soldiers; and the clergy considered the humble piety of
Gratian as the first and most useful of his virtues. The victory
of Colmar had delivered the West from a formidable invasion; and
the grateful provinces of the East ascribed the merits of
Theodosius to the author of his greatness, and of the public
safety. Gratian survived those memorable events only four or five
years; but he survived his reputation; and, before he fell a
victim to rebellion, he had lost, in a great measure, the respect
and confidence of the Roman world.

The remarkable alteration of his character or conduct may not be
imputed to the arts of flattery, which had besieged the son of
Valentinian from his infancy; nor to the headstrong passions
which the that gentle youth appears to have escaped. A more
attentive view of the life of Gratian may perhaps suggest the
true cause of the disappointment of the public hopes. His
apparent virtues, instead of being the hardy productions of
experience and adversity, were the premature and artificial
fruits of a royal education. The anxious tenderness of his father
was continually employed to bestow on him those advantages, which
he might perhaps esteem the more highly, as he himself had been
deprived of them; and the most skilful masters of every science,
and of every art, had labored to form the mind and body of the
young prince. 1 The knowledge which they painfully communicated
was displayed with ostentation, and celebrated with lavish
praise. His soft and tractable disposition received the fair
impression of their judicious precepts, and the absence of
passion might easily be mistaken for the strength of reason. His
preceptors gradually rose to the rank and consequence of
ministers of state: 2 and, as they wisely dissembled their secret
authority, he seemed to act with firmness, with propriety, and
with judgment, on the most important occasions of his life and
reign. But the influence of this elaborate instruction did not
penetrate beyond the surface; and the skilful preceptors, who so
accurately guided the steps of their royal pupil, could not
infuse into his feeble and indolent character the vigorous and
independent principle of action which renders the laborious
pursuit of glory essentially necessary to the happiness, and
almost to the existence, of the hero. As soon as time and
accident had removed those faithful counsellors from the throne,
the emperor of the West insensibly descended to the level of his
natural genius; abandoned the reins of government to the
ambitious hands which were stretched forwards to grasp them; and
amused his leisure with the most frivolous gratifications. A
public sale of favor and injustice was instituted, both in the
court and in the provinces, by the worthless delegates of his
power, whose merit it was made sacrilege to question. 3 The
conscience of the credulous prince was directed by saints and
bishops; 4 who procured an Imperial edict to punish, as a capital
offence, the violation, the neglect, or even the ignorance, of
the divine law. 5 Among the various arts which had exercised the
youth of Gratian, he had applied himself, with singular
inclination and success, to manage the horse, to draw the bow,
and to dart the javelin; and these qualifications, which might be
useful to a soldier, were prostituted to the viler purposes of
hunting. Large parks were enclosed for the Imperial pleasures,
and plentifully stocked with every species of wild beasts; and
Gratian neglected the duties, and even the dignity, of his rank,
to consume whole days in the vain display of his dexterity and
boldness in the chase. The pride and wish of the Roman emperor to
excel in an art, in which he might be surpassed by the meanest of
his slaves, reminded the numerous spectators of the examples of
Nero and Commodus, but the chaste and temperate Gratian was a
stranger to their monstrous vices; and his hands were stained
only with the blood of animals. 6 The behavior of Gratian, which
degraded his character in the eyes of mankind, could not have
disturbed the security of his reign, if the army had not been
provoked to resent their peculiar injuries. As long as the young
emperor was guided by the instructions of his masters, he
professed himself the friend and pupil of the soldiers; many of
his hours were spent in the familiar conversation of the camp;
and the health, the comforts, the rewards, the honors, of his
faithful troops, appeared to be the objects of his attentive
concern. But, after Gratian more freely indulged his prevailing
taste for hunting and shooting, he naturally connected himself
with the most dexterous ministers of his favorite amusement. A
body of the Alani was received into the military and domestic
service of the palace; and the admirable skill, which they were
accustomed to display in the unbounded plains of Scythia, was
exercised, on a more narrow theatre, in the parks and enclosures
of Gaul. Gratian admired the talents and customs of these
favorite guards, to whom alone he intrusted the defence of his
person; and, as if he meant to insult the public opinion, he
frequently showed himself to the soldiers and people, with the
dress and arms, the long bow, the sounding quiver, and the fur
garments of a Scythian warrior. The unworthy spectacle of a Roman
prince, who had renounced the dress and manners of his country,
filled the minds of the legions with grief and indignation. 7
Even the Germans, so strong and formidable in the armies of the
empire, affected to disdain the strange and horrid appearance of
the savages of the North, who, in the space of a few years, had
wandered from the banks of the Volga to those of the Seine. A
loud and licentious murmur was echoed through the camps and
garrisons of the West; and as the mild indolence of Gratian
neglected to extinguish the first symptoms of discontent, the
want of love and respect was not supplied by the influence of
fear. But the subversion of an established government is always a
work of some real, and of much apparent, difficulty; and the
throne of Gratian was protected by the sanctions of custom, law,
religion, and the nice balance of the civil and military powers,
which had been established by the policy of Constantine. It is
not very important to inquire from what cause the revolt of
Britain was produced. Accident is commonly the parent of
disorder; the seeds of rebellion happened to fall on a soil which
was supposed to be more fruitful than any other in tyrants and
usurpers; 8 the legions of that sequestered island had been long
famous for a spirit of presumption and arrogance; 9 and the name
of Maximus was proclaimed, by the tumultuary, but unanimous
voice, both of the soldiers and of the provincials. The emperor,
or the rebel,—for this title was not yet ascertained by
fortune,—was a native of Spain, the countryman, the
fellow-soldier, and the rival of Theodosius whose elevation he
had not seen without some emotions of envy and resentment: the
events of his life had long since fixed him in Britain; and I
should not be unwilling to find some evidence for the marriage,
which he is said to have contracted with the daughter of a
wealthy lord of Caernarvonshire. 10 But this provincial rank
might justly be considered as a state of exile and obscurity; and
if Maximus had obtained any civil or military office, he was not
invested with the authority either of governor or general. 11 His
abilities, and even his integrity, are acknowledged by the
partial writers of the age; and the merit must indeed have been
conspicuous that could extort such a confession in favor of the
vanquished enemy of Theodosius. The discontent of Maximus might
incline him to censure the conduct of his sovereign, and to
encourage, perhaps, without any views of ambition, the murmurs of
the troops. But in the midst of the tumult, he artfully, or
modestly, refused to ascend the throne; and some credit appears
to have been given to his own positive declaration, that he was
compelled to accept the dangerous present of the Imperial purple.
12

1 (return) [ Valentinian was less attentive to the religion of
his son; since he intrusted the education of Gratian to Ausonius,
a professed Pagan. (Mem. de l’Academie des Inscriptions, tom. xv.
p. 125-138). The poetical fame of Ausonius condemns the taste of
his age.]

2 (return) [ Ausonius was successively promoted to the Prætorian
præfecture of Italy, (A.D. 377,) and of Gaul, (A.D. 378;) and
was at length invested with the consulship, (A.D. 379.) He
expressed his gratitude in a servile and insipid piece of
flattery, (Actio Gratiarum, p. 699-736,) which has survived more
worthy productions.]

3 (return) [ Disputare de principali judicio non oportet.
Sacrilegii enim instar est dubitare, an is dignus sit, quem
elegerit imperator. Codex Justinian, l. ix. tit. xxix. leg. 3.
This convenient law was revived and promulgated, after the death
of Gratian, by the feeble court of Milan.]

4 (return) [ Ambrose composed, for his instruction, a theological
treatise on the faith of the Trinity: and Tillemont, (Hist. des
Empereurs, tom. v. p. 158, 169,) ascribes to the archbishop the
merit of Gratian’s intolerant laws.]

5 (return) [ Qui divinae legis sanctitatem nesciendo omittunt,
aut negligende violant, et offendunt, sacrilegium committunt.
Codex Justinian. l. ix. tit. xxix. leg. 1. Theodosius indeed may
claim his share in the merit of this comprehensive law.]

6 (return) [ Ammianus (xxxi. 10) and the younger Victor
acknowledge the virtues of Gratian; and accuse, or rather lament,
his degenerate taste. The odious parallel of Commodus is saved by
“licet incruentus;” and perhaps Philostorgius (l. x. c. 10, and
Godefroy, p. 41) had guarded with some similar reserve, the
comparison of Nero.]

7 (return) [ Zosimus (l. iv. p. 247) and the younger Victor
ascribe the revolution to the favor of the Alani, and the
discontent of the Roman troops Dum exercitum negligeret, et
paucos ex Alanis, quos ingenti auro ad sa transtulerat,
anteferret veteri ac Romano militi.]

8 (return) [ Britannia fertilis provincia tyrannorum, is a
memorable expression, used by Jerom in the Pelagian controversy,
and variously tortured in the disputes of our national
antiquaries. The revolutions of the last age appeared to justify
the image of the sublime Bossuet, “sette ile, plus orageuse que
les mers qui l’environment.”]

9 (return) [ Zosimus says of the British soldiers.]

10 (return) [ Helena, the daughter of Eudda. Her chapel may still
be seen at Caer-segont, now Caer-narvon. (Carte’s Hist. of
England, vol. i. p. 168, from Rowland’s Mona Antiqua.) The
prudent reader may not perhaps be satisfied with such Welsh
evidence.]

11 (return) [ Camden (vol. i. introduct. p. ci.) appoints him
governor at Britain; and the father of our antiquities is
followed, as usual, by his blind progeny. Pacatus and Zosimus had
taken some pains to prevent this error, or fable; and I shall
protect myself by their decisive testimonies. Regali habitu
exulem suum, illi exules orbis induerunt, (in Panegyr. Vet. xii.
23,) and the Greek historian still less equivocally, (Maximus)
(l. iv. p. 248.)]

12 (return) [ Sulpicius Severus, Dialog. ii. 7. Orosius, l. vii.
c. 34. p. 556. They both acknowledge (Sulpicius had been his
subject) his innocence and merit. It is singular enough, that
Maximus should be less favorably treated by Zosimus, the partial
adversary of his rival.]

But there was danger likewise in refusing the empire; and from
the moment that Maximus had violated his allegiance to his lawful
sovereign, he could not hope to reign, or even to live, if he
confined his moderate ambition within the narrow limits of
Britain. He boldly and wisely resolved to prevent the designs of
Gratian; the youth of the island crowded to his standard, and he
invaded Gaul with a fleet and army, which were long afterwards
remembered, as the emigration of a considerable part of the
British nation. 13 The emperor, in his peaceful residence of
Paris, was alarmed by their hostile approach; and the darts which
he idly wasted on lions and bears, might have been employed more
honorably against the rebels. But his feeble efforts announced
his degenerate spirit and desperate situation; and deprived him
of the resources, which he still might have found, in the support
of his subjects and allies. The armies of Gaul, instead of
opposing the march of Maximus, received him with joyful and loyal
acclamations; and the shame of the desertion was transferred from
the people to the prince. The troops, whose station more
immediately attached them to the service of the palace, abandoned
the standard of Gratian the first time that it was displayed in
the neighborhood of Paris. The emperor of the West fled towards
Lyons, with a train of only three hundred horse; and, in the
cities along the road, where he hoped to find refuge, or at least
a passage, he was taught, by cruel experience, that every gate is
shut against the unfortunate. Yet he might still have reached, in
safety, the dominions of his brother; and soon have returned with
the forces of Italy and the East; if he had not suffered himself
to be fatally deceived by the perfidious governor of the Lyonnese
province. Gratian was amused by protestations of doubtful
fidelity, and the hopes of a support, which could not be
effectual; till the arrival of Andragathius, the general of the
cavalry of Maximus, put an end to his suspense. That resolute
officer executed, without remorse, the orders or the intention of
the usurper. Gratian, as he rose from supper, was delivered into
the hands of the assassin: and his body was denied to the pious
and pressing entreaties of his brother Valentinian. 14 The death
of the emperor was followed by that of his powerful general
Mellobaudes, the king of the Franks; who maintained, to the last
moment of his life, the ambiguous reputation, which is the just
recompense of obscure and subtle policy. 15 These executions
might be necessary to the public safety: but the successful
usurper, whose power was acknowledged by all the provinces of the
West, had the merit, and the satisfaction, of boasting, that,
except those who had perished by the chance of war, his triumph
was not stained by the blood of the Romans. 16

13 (return) [ Archbishop Usher (Antiquat. Britan. Eccles. p. 107,
108) has diligently collected the legends of the island, and the
continent. The whole emigration consisted of 30,000 soldiers, and
100,000 plebeians, who settled in Bretagne. Their destined
brides, St. Ursula with 11,000 noble, and 60,000 plebeian,
virgins, mistook their way; landed at Cologne, and were all most
cruelly murdered by the Huns. But the plebeian sisters have been
defrauded of their equal honors; and what is still harder, John
Trithemius presumes to mention the children of these British
virgins.]

14 (return) [ Zosimus (l. iv. p. 248, 249) has transported the
death of Gratian from Lugdunum in Gaul (Lyons) to Singidunum in
Moesia. Some hints may be extracted from the Chronicles; some
lies may be detected in Sozomen (l. vii. c. 13) and Socrates, (l.
v. c. 11.) Ambrose is our most authentic evidence, (tom. i.
Enarrat. in Psalm lxi. p. 961, tom ii. epist. xxiv. p. 888 &c.,
and de Obitu Valentinian Consolat. Ner. 28, p. 1182.)]

15 (return) [ Pacatus (xii. 28) celebrates his fidelity; while
his treachery is marked in Prosper’s Chronicle, as the cause of
the ruin of Gratian. Ambrose, who has occasion to exculpate
himself, only condemns the death of Vallio, a faithful servant of
Gratian, (tom. ii. epist. xxiv. p. 891, edit. Benedict.) * Note:
Le Beau contests the reading in the chronicle of Prosper upon
which this charge rests. Le Beau, iv. 232.—M. * Note: According
to Pacatus, the Count Vallio, who commanded the army, was carried
to Chalons to be burnt alive; but Maximus, dreading the
imputation of cruelty, caused him to be secretly strangled by his
Bretons. Macedonius also, master of the offices, suffered the
death which he merited. Le Beau, iv. 244.—M.]

16 (return) [ He protested, nullum ex adversariis nisi in acissie
occubu. Sulp. Jeverus in Vit. B. Martin, c. 23. The orator
Theodosius bestows reluctant, and therefore weighty, praise on
his clemency. Si cui ille, pro ceteris sceleribus suis, minus
crudelis fuisse videtur, (Panegyr. Vet. xii. 28.)]

The events of this revolution had passed in such rapid
succession, that it would have been impossible for Theodosius to
march to the relief of his benefactor, before he received the
intelligence of his defeat and death. During the season of
sincere grief, or ostentatious mourning, the Eastern emperor was
interrupted by the arrival of the principal chamberlain of
Maximus; and the choice of a venerable old man, for an office
which was usually exercised by eunuchs, announced to the court of
Constantinople the gravity and temperance of the British usurper.

The ambassador condescended to justify, or excuse, the conduct of
his master; and to protest, in specious language, that the murder
of Gratian had been perpetrated, without his knowledge or
consent, by the precipitate zeal of the soldiers. But he
proceeded, in a firm and equal tone, to offer Theodosius the
alternative of peace, or war. The speech of the ambassador
concluded with a spirited declaration, that although Maximus, as
a Roman, and as the father of his people, would choose rather to
employ his forces in the common defence of the republic, he was
armed and prepared, if his friendship should be rejected, to
dispute, in a field of battle, the empire of the world. An
immediate and peremptory answer was required; but it was
extremely difficult for Theodosius to satisfy, on this important
occasion, either the feelings of his own mind, or the
expectations of the public. The imperious voice of honor and
gratitude called aloud for revenge. From the liberality of
Gratian, he had received the Imperial diadem; his patience would
encourage the odious suspicion, that he was more deeply sensible
of former injuries, than of recent obligations; and if he
accepted the friendship, he must seem to share the guilt, of the
assassin. Even the principles of justice, and the interest of
society, would receive a fatal blow from the impunity of Maximus;
and the example of successful usurpation would tend to dissolve
the artificial fabric of government, and once more to replunge
the empire in the crimes and calamities of the preceding age.
But, as the sentiments of gratitude and honor should invariably
regulate the conduct of an individual, they may be overbalanced
in the mind of a sovereign, by the sense of superior duties; and
the maxims both of justice and humanity must permit the escape of
an atrocious criminal, if an innocent people would be involved in
the consequences of his punishment. The assassin of Gratian had
usurped, but he actually possessed, the most warlike provinces of
the empire: the East was exhausted by the misfortunes, and even
by the success, of the Gothic war; and it was seriously to be
apprehended, that, after the vital strength of the republic had
been wasted in a doubtful and destructive contest, the feeble
conqueror would remain an easy prey to the Barbarians of the
North. These weighty considerations engaged Theodosius to
dissemble his resentment, and to accept the alliance of the
tyrant. But he stipulated, that Maximus should content himself
with the possession of the countries beyond the Alps. The brother
of Gratian was confirmed and secured in the sovereignty of Italy,
Africa, and the Western Illyricum; and some honorable conditions
were inserted in the treaty, to protect the memory, and the laws,
of the deceased emperor. 17 According to the custom of the age,
the images of the three Imperial colleagues were exhibited to the
veneration of the people; nor should it be lightly supposed,
that, in the moment of a solemn reconciliation, Theodosius
secretly cherished the intention of perfidy and revenge. 18

17 (return) [ Ambrose mentions the laws of Gratian, quas non
abrogavit hostia (tom. ii epist. xvii. p. 827.)]

18 (return) [ Zosimus, l. iv. p. 251, 252. We may disclaim his
odious suspicions; but we cannot reject the treaty of peace which
the friends of Theodosius have absolutely forgotten, or slightly
mentioned.]

The contempt of Gratian for the Roman soldiers had exposed him to
the fatal effects of their resentment. His profound veneration
for the Christian clergy was rewarded by the applause and
gratitude of a powerful order, which has claimed, in every age,
the privilege of dispensing honors, both on earth and in heaven.
19 The orthodox bishops bewailed his death, and their own
irreparable loss; but they were soon comforted by the discovery,
that Gratian had committed the sceptre of the East to the hands
of a prince, whose humble faith and fervent zeal, were supported
by the spirit and abilities of a more vigorous character. Among
the benefactors of the church, the fame of Constantine has been
rivalled by the glory of Theodosius. If Constantine had the
advantage of erecting the standard of the cross, the emulation of
his successor assumed the merit of subduing the Arian heresy, and
of abolishing the worship of idols in the Roman world. Theodosius
was the first of the emperors baptized in the true faith of the
Trinity. Although he was born of a Christian family, the maxims,
or at least the practice, of the age, encouraged him to delay the
ceremony of his initiation; till he was admonished of the danger
of delay, by the serious illness which threatened his life,
towards the end of the first year of his reign. Before he again
took the field against the Goths, he received the sacrament of
baptism 20 from Acholius, the orthodox bishop of Thessalonica: 21
and, as the emperor ascended from the holy font, still glowing
with the warm feelings of regeneration, he dictated a solemn
edict, which proclaimed his own faith, and prescribed the
religion of his subjects. “It is our pleasure (such is the
Imperial style) that all the nations, which are governed by our
clemency and moderation, should steadfastly adhere to the
religion which was taught by St. Peter to the Romans; which
faithful tradition has preserved; and which is now professed by
the pontiff Damasus, and by Peter, bishop of Alexandria, a man of
apostolic holiness. According to the discipline of the apostles,
and the doctrine of the gospel, let us believe the sole deity of
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; under an equal majesty,
and a pious Trinity. We authorize the followers of this doctrine
to assume the title of Catholic Christians; and as we judge, that
all others are extravagant madmen, we brand them with the
infamous name of Heretics; and declare that their conventicles
shall no longer usurp the respectable appellation of churches.
Besides the condemnation of divine justice, they must expect to
suffer the severe penalties, which our authority, guided by
heavenly wisdom, shall think proper to inflict upon them.” 22 The
faith of a soldier is commonly the fruit of instruction, rather
than of inquiry; but as the emperor always fixed his eyes on the
visible landmarks of orthodoxy, which he had so prudently
constituted, his religious opinions were never affected by the
specious texts, the subtle arguments, and the ambiguous creeds of
the Arian doctors. Once indeed he expressed a faint inclination
to converse with the eloquent and learned Eunomius, who lived in
retirement at a small distance from Constantinople. But the
dangerous interview was prevented by the prayers of the empress
Flaccilla, who trembled for the salvation of her husband; and the
mind of Theodosius was confirmed by a theological argument,
adapted to the rudest capacity. He had lately bestowed on his
eldest son, Arcadius, the name and honors of Augustus, and the
two princes were seated on a stately throne to receive the homage
of their subjects. A bishop, Amphilochius of Iconium, approached
the throne, and after saluting, with due reverence, the person of
his sovereign, he accosted the royal youth with the same familiar
tenderness which he might have used towards a plebeian child.
Provoked by this insolent behavior, the monarch gave orders, that
the rustic priest should be instantly driven from his presence.
But while the guards were forcing him to the door, the dexterous
polemic had time to execute his design, by exclaiming, with a
loud voice, “Such is the treatment, O emperor! which the King of
heaven has prepared for those impious men, who affect to worship
the Father, but refuse to acknowledge the equal majesty of his
divine Son.” Theodosius immediately embraced the bishop of
Iconium, and never forgot the important lesson, which he had
received from this dramatic parable. 23

19 (return) [ Their oracle, the archbishop of Milan, assigns to
his pupil Gratian, a high and respectable place in heaven, (tom.
ii. de Obit. Val. Consol p. 1193.)]

20 (return) [ For the baptism of Theodosius, see Sozomen, (l.
vii. c. 4,) Socrates, (l. v. c. 6,) and Tillemont, (Hist. des
Empereurs, tom. v. p. 728.)]

21 (return) [ Ascolius, or Acholius, was honored by the
friendship, and the praises, of Ambrose; who styles him murus
fidei atque sanctitatis, (tom. ii. epist. xv. p. 820;) and
afterwards celebrates his speed and diligence in running to
Constantinople, Italy, &c., (epist. xvi. p. 822.) a virtue which
does not appertain either to a wall, or a bishop.]

22 (return) [ Codex Theodos. l. xvi. tit. i. leg. 2, with
Godefroy’s Commentary, tom. vi. p. 5-9. Such an edict deserved
the warmest praises of Baronius, auream sanctionem, edictum pium
et salutare.—Sic itua ad astra.]

23 (return) [ Sozomen, l. vii. c. 6. Theodoret, l. v. c. 16.
Tillemont is displeased (Mem. Eccles. tom. vi. p. 627, 628) with
the terms of “rustic bishop,” “obscure city.” Yet I must take
leave to think, that both Amphilochius and Iconium were objects
of inconsiderable magnitude in the Roman empire.]