hands even from God. He was the man who overturned the whole world, partly by avarice and partly by cowardice. He made three partners in his government, dividing the Empire into four parts, so that armies were multiplied, because each of the four endeavoured to have a much 5 greater number of soldiers than former emperors had when they ruled the state alone. Thus the receivers of taxes began to be more in number than the payers, so that by reason of the consumption of husbandmen's goods by the excess of land-taxes, the farms were left waste 10 and tilled lands turned into forest. In order too that all places might be filled with terror the provinces also were cut up into fragments, and many presidents and sundry companies of officials lay heavy on every territory, and indeed almost on every city; and there were many 15 receivers besides and secretaries and deputies of the prefects. All these very seldom had civil cases before them, only condemnations and continual confiscations and requisitions-I will not say frequent, but unceasing-of every kind of property, and in the levying intolerable 20 wrongs. Even these might be borne if they were intended to provide pay for the soldiers; but Diocletian in his insatiable avarice would never let his treasures be diminished, but was always heaping up extraordinary aids and benevolences, in order to keep his hoards untouched 25 and inviolate. Again, when by various evil deeds he caused a prodigious scarcity, he essayed by law to fix the prices of goods in the market. Then much blood was shed for trifling and paltry wares, and through fear nothing appeared in the market, so that the scarcity was 30 made much worse, till after the law had ruined multitudes it was of sheer necessity abolished. In addition to this he had an unlimited taste for building, and levied of the provincials as unlimited exactions for the wages of workmen and artificers, and the supplying of wagons and 35 sint fabricandis operibus necessaria. Hic basilicae, hic circus, hic moneta, hic armorum fabrica, hic uxori domus, hic filiae. Repente magna pars civitatis exceditur. Migrabant omnes cum coniugibus ac liberis, quasi urbe ab 5 hostibus capta. Et cum perfecta haec fuerant cum interitu provinciarum, Non recte facta sunt, aiebat; alio modo fiant. Rursus dirui ac mutari necesse erat, iterum fortasse casura. Ita semper dementabat, Nicomediam studens urbi Romae coaequare. Iam illud praetereo, quam multi to perierint possessionum, aut opum gratia. Hoc enim usitatum et fere licitum consuetudine malorum. Sed in hoc illud fuit praecipuum, quod ubicunque cultiorem agrum viderat, aut ornatius aedificium, iam parata domino calumnia et poena capitalis, quasi non posset rapere aliena 15 sine sanguine. ID. De Mort. Pers. 7. LXX. INTER caetera, quae pro rei publicae semper commodis atque utilitate disponimus, nos quidem volueramus antehac, iuxta leges veteres et publicam disciplinam Romanorum, cuncta corrigere, atque id providere, ut etiam Christiani, 20 qui parentum suorum reliquerant sectam, ad bonas mentes redirent: siquidem quadam ratione tanta eosdem Christianos voluntas invasisset et tanta stultitia occupasset, ut non illa veterum instituta sequerentur, quae forsitan primum parentes eorundem constituerant; sed pro arbitrio 25 suo atque ut iisdem erat libitum, ita sibimet leges everything else that was wanted for the works in hand. Here were public offices, there a circus, here a mint, there a factory of arms, here a palace for his wife, and there one for his daughter. On a sudden a large part of the city is turned out of doors: they all had to remove 5 with wives and children, as if the city had been taken by enemies. And when the works had been finished at the cost of ruin to the provinces-'They are not done right,' he used to say; 'let them be done another way.' So they had to be pulled down and altered, perhaps only to be 10 demolished again. Thus he always played the madman in his endeavour to equal Nicomedia with imperial Rome. I leave untold how many perished on account of their estates or wealth, for by the custom of evil men this was become frequent and almost lawful. Yet the worst of 15 it was this, that wherever he saw a field more carefully tilled or a house more elegantly adorned than usual, straightway an accusation and capital sentence was prepared for the owner as though he could not spoil his neighbour's goods without shedding of blood. The Toleration Edict of Galerius. 20 AMONGST Our other arrangements, which we are always making for the use and profit of the commonwealth, we for our part had heretofore endeavoured to set all things right according to the ancient laws and public order of the Romans, and to compass this also that the Christians 25 too who had left the persuasion of their own fathers should return to a better mind; seeing that through some strange reasoning such wilfulness had seized the Christians and such folly possessed them, that, instead of following those constitutions of the ancients which per- 30 adventure their own ancestors had first established, they were making themselves laws for their own observance, merely according to their own judgement and as their facerent, quas observarent, et per diversa varios populos congregarent. Denique cum eiusmodi nostra iussio exstitisset, ut ad veterum se instituta conferrent, multi periculo subiugati, multi etiam deturbati sunt; atque cum 5 plurimi in proposito perseverarent, ac videremus, nec diis eosdem cultum ac religionem debitam exhibere, nec Christianorum deum observare, contemplatione mitissimae nostrae clementiae intuentes et consuetudinem sempiternam, qua solemus cunctis hominibus veniam Io indulgere, promptissimam in his quoque indulgentiam nostram credidimus porrigendam; ut denuo sint Christiani, et conventicula sua componant, ita ut ne quid contra disciplinam agant. Per aliam autem epistolam iudicibus significaturi sumus, quid debeant observare. Unde iuxta 15 hanc indulgentiam nostram debebunt deum suum orare pro salute nostra, et rei publicae, ac sua, ut undiqueversum res publica praestetur incolumis, et securi vivere in sedibus. suis possint. Ibid. 34. LXXI. LITTERAE LICINII. CUM feliciter tam ego Constantinus Augustus, quam 20 etiam ego Licinius Augustus apud Mediolanum convenissemus, atque universa, quae ad commoda et securitatem publicam pertinerent, in tractatu haberemus, haec inter caetera quae videbamus pluribus hominibus profutura, vel in primis ordinanda esse credidimus, quibus divinitatis 25 reverentia continebatur, ut daremus et Christianis et omnibus liberam potestatem sequendi religionem, quam quisque voluisset, quo quidquid divinitatis in sede coelesti1, nobis atque omnibus, qui sub potestate nostra sunt constituti, placatum ac propitium possit existere. Itaque hoc 30 consilium salubri ac rectissima ratione ineundum esse 1 Eus. Η. Ε. x. 5 ὅ, τί ποτέ ἐστι θειότητος καὶ οὐρανίου πράγματος. pleasure was, and in divers places were assembling sundry sorts of peoples. In short, when a command of ours had been set forth to the effect that they were to betake themselves to the institutions of the ancients, many of them were subdued by danger, many also ruined; yet when 5 great numbers held to their determination, and we saw that they neither gave worship and due reverence to the gods, nor yet regarded the god of the Christians-we therefore in consideration of our most mild clemency, and of the unbroken custom whereby we are used to grant 10 pardon to all men, have thought it right in this case also to offer our speediest indulgence, that Christians may exist again, and may establish their meetings, yet so that they do nothing contrary to good order. By another letter we shall signify to magistrates, how they should 15 proceed. Wherefore, in accordance with this indulgence of ours, they will be bound to pray their god for our good estate, and that of the commonwealth, and their own, that the commonwealth may endure on every side unharmed, and they may be able to live securely in 20 their own homes. WHEN We, Constantine Augustus and Licinius Augustus, had happily met together at Milan, and were holding. consideration of all things which concern the advantage. and security of the state, we thought that amongst other 25 things which seemed likely to profit men generally, we ought in the very first place to set in order the conditions. of the reverence paid to the Divinity, by giving to the Christians and all others full authority to follow whatever worship any man has chosen; whereby whatsoever Divinity 30 dwells in heaven may be benevolent and propitious to us, and to all who are placed under our authority. Therefore we thought it good with sound counsel and very right |