登陆注册
5214200000095

第95章

And on this account, Theodosius not only preserved during the lifetime of Gratian that fidelity which was due to him, but also, after his death, he, like a true Christian, took his little brother Valentinian under his protection, as joint emperor, after he had been expelled by Maximus, the murderer of his father.He guarded him with paternal affection, though he might without any difficulty have got rid of him, being entirely destitute of all resources, had he been animated with the desire of extensive empire, and not with the ambition of being a benefactor.It was therefore a far greater pleasure to him, when he had adopted the boy, and preserved to him his imperial dignity, to console him by his very humanity and kindness.Afterwards, when that success was rendering Maximus terrible, Theodosius, in the midst of his perplexing anxieties, was not drawn away to follow the suggestions of a sacrilegious and unlawful curiosity, but sent to John, whose abode was in the desert of Egypt,--for he had learned that this servant of God (whose fame was spreading abroad)was endowed with the gift of prophecy,--and from him he received assurance of victory.Immediately the slayer of the tyrant Maximus, with the deepest feelings of compassion and respect, restored the boy Valentinianus to his share in the empire from which he had been driven.Valentinianus being soon after slain by secret assassination or by some other plot or accident, Theodosius, having again received a response from the prophet, and placing entire confidence in it, marched against the tyrant Eugenius, who had been unlawfully elected to succeed that emperor, and defeated his very powerful army, more by prayer than by the sword.Some soldiers who were at the battle reported to me that all the missiles they were throwing were snatched from their hands by a vehement wind, which blew from the direction of Theodosius' army upon the enemy; nor did it only drive with greater velocity the darts which were hurled against them, but also turned back upon their own bodies the darts which they themselves were throwing.And therefore the poet Claudian, although an alien from the name of Christ, nevertheless says in his praises of him, "O prince, too much beloved by God, for thee AEolus pours armed tempests from their caves; for thee the air fights, and the winds with one accord obey thy bugles."(1) But the victor, as he had believed and predicted, overthrew the statues of Jupiter, which had been, as it were, consecrated by I know not what kind of rites against him, and set up in the Alps.And the thunderbolts of these statues, which were made of gold, he mirthfully and graciously presented to his couriers who (as the joy of the occasion permitted) were jocularly saying that they would be most happy to be struck by such thunderbolts The sons of his own enemies, whose fathers had been slain not so much by his orders as by the vehemence of war, having fled for refuge to a church, though they were not yet Christians, he was anxious, taking advantage of the occasion, to bring over to Christianity, and treated them with Christian love.Nor did he deprive them of their property, but, besides allowing them to retain it, bestowed on them additional honors.

He did not permit private animosities to affect the treatment of any man after the war.He was not like Cinna, and Marius, and Sylla, and other such men, who wished not to finish civil wars even when they were finished, but rather grieved that they had arisen at all, than wished that when they were finished they should harm any one.Amid all these events, from the very commencement of his reign, he did not cease to help the troubled church against the impious by most just and merciful laws, which the heretical Valens, favoring the Arians, had vehemently afflicted.

Indeed, he rejoiced more to be a member of this church than he did to be a king upon the earth.The idols of the Gentiles he everywhere ordered to be overthrown, understanding well that not even terrestrial gifts are placed in the power of demons, but in that of the true God.And what could be more admirable than his religious humility, when, compelled by the urgency of certain of his intimates, he avenged the grievous crime of the Thessalonians, which at the prayer of the bishops he had promised to pardon, and, being laid hold of by the discipline of the church, did penance in such a way that the sight of his imperial loftiness prostrated made the people who were interceding for him weep more than the consciousness of offence had made them fear it when enraged? These and other similar good works, which it would be long to tell, he carried with him from this world of time, where the greatest human nobility and loftiness are but vapor.Of these works the reward is eternal happiness, of which God is the giver, though only to those who are sincerely pious.But all other blessings and privileges of this life, as the world itself, light, air, earth, water, fruits, and the soul of man himself, his body, senses, mind, life, He lavishes on good and bad alike.And among these blessings is also to be reckoned the possession of an empire, whose extent He regulates according to the requirements of His providential government at various times.Whence, I see, we must now answer those who, being confuted and convicted by the most manifest proofs, by which it is shown that for obtaining these terrestrial things, which are all the foolish desire to have, that multitude of false gods is of no use, attempt to assert that the gods are to be worshipped with a view to the interest, not of the present life, but of that which is to come after death.For as to those who, for the sake of the friendship of this world, are willing to worship vanities, and do not grieve that they are left to their puerile understandings, I think they have been sufficiently answered in these five books; of which books, when I had published the first three, and they had begun to come into the hands of many, I heard that certain persons were preparing against them an answer of some kind or other in writing.Then it was told me that they had already written their answer, but were waiting a time when they could publish it without danger.Such persons I would advise not to desire what cannot be of any advantage to them;for it is very easy for a man to seem to himself to have answered arguments, when he has only been unwilling to be silent.For what is more loquacious than vanity? And though it be able, if it like, to shout more loudly than the truth, it is not, for all that, more powerful than the truth.But let men consider diligently all the things that we have said, and if, perchance, judging without party spirit, they shall clearly perceive that they are such things as may rather be shaken than torn up by their most impudent garrulity, and, as it were, satirical and mimic levity, let them restrain their absurdities, and let them choose rather to be corrected by the wise than to be lauded by the foolish.For if they are waiting an opportunity, not for liberty to speak the truth, but for license to revile, may not that befall them which Tully says concerning some one, "Oh, wretched man! who was at liberty to sin?"(1) Wherefore, whoever he be who deems himself happy because of license to revile, he would be far happier if that were not allowed him at all; for he might all the while, laying aside empty boast, be contradicting those to whose views he is opposed by way of free consultation with them, and be listening, as it becomes him, honorably, gravely, candidly, to all that can be adduced by those whom he consults by friendly disputation.

同类推荐
  • 澉水志

    澉水志

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 娇红记

    娇红记

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 范村梅谱

    范村梅谱

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • ARTICLES ON CHINA

    ARTICLES ON CHINA

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 鼓掌绝尘

    鼓掌绝尘

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 医鸣惊仙

    医鸣惊仙

    你想卸我的胳膊,我先卸你的胳膊!你想灭我的锐气?我先灭你的威风!以牙还牙,以眼还眼是我的个性!现代生物工程学博士蓝明歌穿越到一个修仙世界,炼丹,看病,做手术,补经脉,养灵花,逗灵宠,训婴儿,走出了一条上达通天的金丹大道!医鸣惊仙第二部《魔医神女:绝品大小姐》火热连载中
  • 球童

    球童

    莫洋,你为什么要装作不会打篮球?这句话是在大一第六个礼拜的体育课上,陈磊在莫洋的耳边轻轻说的。莫洋和陈磊选的都是羽毛球班,当时的莫洋一如往常,在老师宣布自由练习之后便一屁股坐在了场边,而陈磊则走到他的边上蹲了下来。莫洋直视着陈磊的小平头脑袋,说你见过我打篮球么?陈磊摇摇头说没有。莫洋说那你干嘛说我会打球?我不会。陈磊说,不可能,那天我亲眼看见了,你从二号场地的羽毛球网上跳了过去,这么好的弹跳,很少是天生的,要我说,你肯定是经过了严格的训练。
  • 朝婚暮爱

    朝婚暮爱

    感情到了结束的时候再迁强就是矫情-----题记苏小莫真正地赞同闺蜜是用来背叛的这句话时,是亲眼看到她的丈夫和白姗去她那里做产检的时候,两个她最爱的人同时背叛了她,不为别的,只因为她产后身材没有恢复.苏小莫当即立断做了离婚的决定.再婚那天前夫和曾经的闺蜜去嘲笑她,她也觉得无所谓.**世界上最痛苦的事不是我爱你,你不知道,而是明明知道他恨你,却还是爱了.陈逸南是那个最不可能爱苏小莫的人,因为他恨她.苏小莫在陈逸南面前觉得有负罪感,在父母面前觉得有愧疚,在图图面前她觉得欠他的太多,她活到二十岁的时候经历了爱情,离婚,还有背判,这一切让她很累,也让她成了成熟的人.【四海阁,爱是天时地利的迷信。】
  • 中国历史名人之七

    中国历史名人之七

    辽、西夏、金在建立自己本民族的政权中,都涌现出了一大批优秀的人才,如本书中叙及的阿保机、阿骨打、萧太后等。正当中原地区出现宋金对峙、纷争不已的时候,我国北方的蒙古族开始崛起于漠北高原。公元1206年,成吉思汗统一了蒙古各部,建立了蒙古政权。公元1279年,元世祖忽必烈灭亡了南宋,统一了全国。
  • 归来之我要定你

    归来之我要定你

    [注:有些章节被屏蔽了,你们就不看了,内容大概跟不上]她本应是个幸福的小公主,却因一次意外,永远的失去了母亲。伤心欲绝之时,疼爱自己的父亲却把小三接回了家中,而,小三的女儿,还是自己最好的闺蜜,她不敢置信,在一次误会后,她被赶出了家门。同时,她也遇见了两个同她命运的女孩,三人成了无话不谈的姐妹。她也在两人的帮助下,渐渐的走出了母亲的离世、父亲的伤害、闺蜜的背叛、陷害阴影中……三人一同回过报仇,却因此发生了翻天覆地的变化,她究竟何去何从?在一次次的误会中,他们能幸福的走到一起吗?(敬请期待《归来:女王拽炸天》)(冰冷PK淡漠,谁更胜一筹?)
  • 世界儿童必读经典:影响孩子一生的100个英雄故事

    世界儿童必读经典:影响孩子一生的100个英雄故事

    古今中外丰富多彩的故事是世界各国社会和生活的结晶,是高度艺术化的精神产品,具有永久的闪光魅力,非常集中、非常形象,是中小学生了解世界和社会的窗口,是走向世界、观摩社会的最佳捷径。这些著名故事,伴随着世界各国一代又一代的青少年茁壮成长,具有广泛而深远的影响。我们青少年只要带着有趣的欣赏的心态阅读这些美丽的故事,便非常有利于培养积极的和健康向上的心理、性格、思维和修养,便有利于了解世界各国的社会和生活,并能不断提高语言表达和社会交往的才能。
  • 明天晴

    明天晴

    希望明天晴,一直晴。“什么是幸福?”“幸福?”她歪着头想了一会,回答道,“以前我一直认为,所谓的幸福就是有一间大房子,里面住着一航,他当我是孩子,会把我高高地抱起,会给我买很多的零食,会陪我去任何地方……”“那现在呢?”“现在?”她微笑,“对于我来说,可以没有大房子,没有吃的,没有玩的,只要有一航,那就是我的幸福。”
  • 此仙只应天上有

    此仙只应天上有

    新书是《若为落白故》,欢迎入新坑,我爱大家~九天仙阙之上,天帝之女扶摇公主横行霸道,玩弄众神、欺压群仙,与上古龙族缔结婚约却遭悔婚,应有此报,不过……“老娘本来就不想嫁。”她说,一切都在她计划之中,趁机勒索龙族苍天令,持令牌前往石沉溪洞拜苍玄始神为师,拜师是假,真心是真,苦苦追索十万年,今朝终能见君面。称心如意之后,日常对话是这样的:“她们说我猪。”某妖:“什么?猪?”“就猪!”“哦。但……不像么?”“……”很温很暖超萌非常闹的故事,不要虐心、不要阴谋、不要生离死别,要在一起!【Q群217853682喜欢的加哟。】
  • ANN VERONICA

    ANN VERONICA

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 凶悍嫡女:腹黑红颜覆天下

    凶悍嫡女:腹黑红颜覆天下

    谁让我过愚人节,我让她过清明节!她不就是嚣张狂妄一些嘛,老天爷需要苦大仇深的让她穿越么?她前世不过是太聪明了,这辈子也不用成傻子吧?幸好有个金牌丞相爹,不愁吃来不愁穿。她爹不过是宠她了点,那些人需要那么眼红么?后娘要毒死她,妹妹要抢她地位。乌鸦就是乌鸦,永远成不了凤凰。居然把她当病猫,没听过一句话么!别跟小人过不去,因为你还要过下去,惹我者死,趁其不备,杀其不意,片甲不留!