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CHAPTER XI.

THE TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF THE ENEMIES OF RELIGION.

THUS, then, Maximinus, who had proved the worst of all the surviving enemies of religion, by the goodness of God, the omnipotent ruler, being removed out of the way, the renovation of the churches was begun from the very foundations. The doctrine of Christ shining forth to the glory of the supreme God, enjoyed greater privileges than before, whilst the impious and profane were covered with shame and irrecoverable disgrace. First of all, Maximinus himself, being publicly denounced by the emperors as the public enemy, was confirmed to be the most impious and detestable, as well as the most hostile to the Deity, by his public edicts. And of the paintings and representations which had been placed in honour of him or his children, in every city, some were forced down from their elevation, and torn to pieces or broken, others were destroyed by having the face daubed with black paint. Whatsoever statues, also, had been erected to his honour, were cast down and broken, lying exposed to the laughter and jests of those that were disposed to insult and wantonly abuse them. All the honours of the other enemies of religion were removed. All that favoured the party of Maximinus were slain, especially those that had been distinguished by him with eminent offices, as rulers, for their flattery to him, in their insolent excesses against our faith. Of this number was Peucetius, the most honoured, and revered, and dearest of all his favourites, who had been consul twice and thrice, and had been appointed by him prime minister. Culcianus, also, who had been promoted through every grade of office, and who was also prominent for his many slaughters of the Christians in Egypt. There were also not a few others, by whose agency especially, the tyranny of Maximinus had been augmented and confirmed. Justice, also, summoned Theotecnus, by no

means overlooking the evils he had done against the Christians. Whilst he expected to enjoy himself, after he had erected the statue at Antioch, and was now promoted to the government of a province, Licinius came to the city of Antioch, and making a search for all the impostors, put the prophets and the priests of the newly wrought statue to the torture, asking at the same time, how they came to concoct such a delusion. And when unable by reason of the tortures to conceal it any longer, they disclosed that the whole secret was a device of Theotecnus. After punishing all according to their deserts, he first condemned Theotecnus, and after him all the partners of his impostures, to death, with the greatest possible torments. To all these were superadded the children of Maximinus, whom he had already made sharers in the imperial dignity with his titles and statues. Also, the relatives of the tyrants, who before this were elated and boasting, and exercising their power over all men, had the same punishments, together with the utter disgrace of the others, inflicted upon them; as they would neither receive instruction nor understand the exhortation given in the holy Scriptures: "Trust not in princes, in the children of men, in whom there is no safety. For his breath goeth from him, and he will return to his earth again. In that day all their thoughts shall perish." Thus, the impious being cleared away, the government was deservedly preserved secure, and without a rival, for the only two, Constantine and Licinius. These, after first removing the hostility to God out of the way, and sensible of the great benefits conferred on them by his goodness, exhibited both their love of virtue and God, as well as their piety and gratitude to Him, by the laws they enacted in favour of the Christians.

BOOK X.-CHAPTER I.

THE PEACE WHICH WAS GRANTED US BY DIVINE INTERPOSITION.

THANKS be to God, the omnipotent and universal Sovereign, thanks also to the Saviour and Redeemer of our souls, Jesus Christ, through whom we pray that peace will be preserved to us at all times, firm and unshaken by any temporal molestation from without, and troubles from the mind within. Attended by your prayers, O most holy Paulinus, whilst we add this tenth book to the preceding ones of our ecclesiastical history, we shall dedicate this to You, announcing you as the seal of the whole work. Justly shall we here subjoin a perfect number,† a complete discourse and panegyric on the renovation of the churches yielding to the Spirit of God, inviting us in the following manner: Sing to the Lord a new song, because he hath done wonderful works. His right hand hath saved him, and his holy right arm. The Lord hath made known his salvation, his righteousness hath he openly showed in the sight of the heathen." Thus, then, as the Scriptures enjoin upon us to sing a new song, we shall accordingly show that after those dreadful and gloomy spectacles and events, we have been privileged to see such things, and to celebrate such things as many of the really pious and martyrs of God before us ardently craved to see, and did not see them, and to hear, and did not

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*Paulinus was bishop of Tyre, and Eusebius here dedicates the work to him, as the one who suggested and urged him to undertake it.

The number ten is called perfect, because it is the limit and close of our system of numeration; all the numbers beyond ten being only combinations of this and the included digits. Shorting has overlooked the stress which our author intended to lay on the expression. He has considered it as a mere qualification of panegyric. It may be observed, this book contains the celebrated panegyric delivered by Eusebius at the renovation of the cathedral of Tyre. But the author seems to intend the whole book as a eulogy upon the happy reverse of affairs, and therefore, a happy close of the whole work. He now seems to lay aside the historian, and to swell into the amplifications of the orator.

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hear them. They, indeed, hastening on their course, obtained "what was far better;" being transferred to the heavens themselves, and to the paradise of celestial pleasures. But we freely acknowledging this state of things in our day as better than what we could expect, have been beyond measure astonished at the magnitude of the grace manifested by the Author of our mercies, and justly do we admire and adore him with all the powers of our mind, and bear witness to the truth of those declarations recorded, where it is said, "Come hither and behold the works of God, the wonders that he hath done upon the earth; he removeth wars until the ends of the earth, he breaketh the bow and snappeth the spear asunder, and burneth the shields in fire." Rejoicing in these things fulfilled in our day, we shall pursue the tenor of our history. All the race of the enemies of God were destroyed in the manner we have stated, and were thus suddenly swept away from the sight of men, as the divine Word again declares: "I saw the wicked lifted up and exalted like cedars of Lebanon, and I passed by, and lo, he was not; and I sought, and his place was not found." And now a bright and splendid day, with no overshadowing cloud, irradiated the churches in the whole world with its celestial light; neither was there any indisposition even on the part of those who were strangers to our faith, to enjoy with us the same blessings, or of sharing at least in the overflowings of these as they were provided from God.

CHAPTER II.

THE RESTORATION OF THE CHURCHES.

ALL men, then, were liberated from the oppression of the tyrant, and those who had been delivered from the miseries previously existing, acknowledged, one in one way, and another in another, that the only true God was the protector of the pious. To us especially,-all whose hopes are suspended on the Christ of God, there was an

incessant joy, and there sprung up for all a certain celestial gladness, seeing every place, which but a short time before had been desolated by the impieties of the tyrants, reviving again, and recovering as from a long and deadly distemper,-temples again rising from the soil to a lofty height, and receiving a splendour far exceeding those that had been formerly destroyed. Moreover, those who held the supreme power, confirmed the privileges granted us by the divine beneficence to a still wider and greater extent by their constant decrees in favour of the Christians, and epistles of the emperor were issued, addressed to the bishops, with honours and superadded donations of monies; of which it may not be singular to insert extracts in the proper place in this book, as in a certain sacred tablet, as we have translated them from the Latin into the Greek language, that they may remain recorded for those that come after us.

CHAPTER III.

THE DEDICATIONS OF THE CHURCHES IN ALL PLACES.

AFTER this the sight was afforded us so eagerly desired and prayed for by all, the festivals of dedicating and consecrating the newly erected houses of prayer throughout the cities, and after this the convention of bishops, the concourse of foreigners from abroad, the mutual benevolence of the people, the unity of the members of Christ concurring in one harmonious body. Then was it according to the prophetic declaration, mystically indicating what would take place, "bone was brought to bone, and joint to joint," and whatsoever other matters the divine word faithfully intimated before. There was, also, one energy of the Divine Spirit, pervading all the members, and one soul among all, one and the same ardour of faith, and one song of praise to the Deity. Yea, now indeed, complete and perfect solemnities of the prelates and heads of the church, sacred performances of sacred rites, and solemn rituals of the church. Here you

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