fei conjuges fororesque wives, fifters and children, & liberi ante currum were led before their charducti funt. Conceffe- iot. They retired, one to runt autem Salonas Salona, and the other inunus, alter in Luca- to Lucania. niam. 28. Diocletianus 28. Diocletian grew privatus in villa, quæ old a private perfon, in haud procul a Salonis glorious tranquillity, in a eft, præclaro otio fenu- country houfe, which is not it; inufitata virtute. far from Salona; having ufus; ut folus omni- fhewn an uncommon virum post conditum tue, that he alone of all Romanum Imperium, men fince the founding of ex tanto faftigio fponte the Roman Empire, read privatæ vitæ ftatum turned from fo great a civilitatemq; remearet. dignity, to the condition of Contigit igitur ei quod a private life, and an enulli poft natos homi- quality with the other cit. nes, ut cum privatus izens. That happened obiiffet, inter Divos therefore to him which tamen referretur. happened to no one fince men were first produced, that though he died a private man, yet he was plac ed amongst the Gods. EUTROPII *This is a mistake: Sylla had done the fame before in laying down the Distatorship, which had been given him for life, HIS igitur abeunti IS igitur abeunti- THESE gentlemen, bus, ad admin- therefore, retiring iftrationem reipublicæ to a private life, Conftan. Conftantius & Galerius tius and Galerius were Augufti creati funt di. made Emperors for the vifufque inter eos Ro- adminiftration of the gov. manus orbis, ut Galli- ernment, and the Roman am, Italiam, Africam Empire was divided beConftantius Illyri- twixt them, fo that Concum, Afiam, Orientem ftantius had Gaul, Italy Galerius obtineret; and Africa; Galerius fumptis duobus Cæfari- held Illyricum, Afia and bus. Conftantius ta- the Eaft; two Cæfars bemen, contentus dignita. ing taken in. But Con te Augufti, Italiæ atque ftantius being content with Africa adminiftrandæ the dignity of being Em folicitudinem recufa- peror, refufed the trouble vit; vir egregius & of governing Italy and Af præftantiffimæ civilita- rica; an excellent man, tis divinis provincia- and of extraordinary mod. ac privatorum eration, bleffed with the ftudiis, fifci commoda wonderful affection of the non admodum affec- provincials and fubjects, : lium tans: tans: ducenfq; melius, not much regarding the publicas opes a priva- improvement of his extis haberi, quam intra chequer, and thinking it unum clauftrum re- better that the public fervari adeo autem wealth fhould be poffeffed cultus modici, ut feri- by private perfons, than atis diebus, fi cum referved in one the treafuamicis numerofioribus ry; a man of fuch modeffet epulandum, pri- erate accommodations, that vatorum eis argento upon holy days, if he was. oftiatim petito triclinia to feaft with a good numfternerentur. Hic non ber of his friends, his dinmodo amabilis, fed e- ing rooms were furnished. tiam venerabilis Gallis with the plate of his fubfuit, præcipue quod jets, fetched from their Diocletiani fufpectam houfes. He was not only. prudentiam, & Maxi- amiable, but venerable to miani fanguinariam the Gauls, especially becaufe temeritatem imperio they had escaped the fufejus evaferant. Obiit picious prudence of Diocle in Britannia, Eboraci, tian, and the bloody rafhprincipatus anno tertio nefs of Maximian, under decimo, atque inter his government. He died Divos relatus eft. in Britain, at York, in the 13th year of his reign, and was ranked a mongst the Divi. 2. Galerius, vir & probe moratus, & egregis in re militari, cum Italiam quoque, finente Conftantio, ad miniftrationi fuæ ac- was added to his adminceffiffe fentiret, Cæfares iftration, made two Cœduos creavit. Verum fars. 2. Galerius, both a well behaved man, and excellent; in the military art, when he found that Italy too, by. Conftantius's permiffion, But Conftantius: He reigned as Emperor but little above two years, but from the time of his being made Cæfar were is yea Conftantio mortuo, being dead, Conflantine, Conftantius, ex obfcu- his fon by a wife of riore matrimonio ejus obfcure birth, was made filius, in Britannia Emperor in Britain, and creatus eft Imperator, fucceeded as ta most defir& in locum patris ex- able governor in the room optatiffimus moderator of his father. At Rome, acceffit. Romæ inte in the mean time, the rea Prætoriani, excitato guards, raifing a tumult, tumultu, Maxentium declared Maxentius, the Herculii filium, qui fon of Herculius, who liv haud procul ab urbe ed then in the public vilin villa publica mora- la not far from the city, batur, Auguftum nun- Emperor. Upon which cupaverunt ; quo nun- news Maximianus Hercucio Maximianus Her- lius being roufed to the culius adfpem erectus hopes of refuming the dig refumendi faftigii,quod nity which he had unwilinvitus amiferat, Ro- lingly parted with, came mam advolavit e Lu- immediately to Rome out cania quam fedem pri- of Lucania; which, when vatus elegerat, in agris become a private perfon, amoeniffimis confenef. he had chofe for the place cens: Diocletianumque of his abode, growing old per litteras adhortatus in a moft pleafant country, eft, ut depofitam and he advised Diocletian refumeret poteftatem by letters to refume the quas ille irritas habuit: authority he had laid fed adverfum motum down, which he flighted; Prætorianorum atque but Severus Cæfar being Maxentii #2 Her name was Helena; fhe was only a concubine of Conftantius's, fo that Conftantipe is to be ranked among the number of bala ds. Our author might with more truth have faid ut indifferent, as appears fufficiently from his own account of him in the following chapters, as well as from other authors. particularly Zofimus. He was the first Chriftian Einperor, but his character did no great credit to the Christian cause, any more than that of our Harry the VIIIth to the Re formation. This was a house built in the Campus Martius, for the entertainment of ambassadors from foreign nations, Maxentii Severus Ca- fent to Rome against this far Romam miffus a rifing of the guards, and Galerio, cum exercitu Maxentius by Galerius, venit obfidenfque came thither with an ar urbem militum fuorum my, and befieging the city, fcelere defertus eft. was deferted by the vil lany of his own foldiers. 3. Maxentius's power 3. Au&tæ Maxentio opes, confirmatumque was now increased, and imperium. Severus his government fixed. Se-fugiens, Ravennæ in- verus flying for it,* was terfectus eft. Herculius fain at Ravenna. Yet: tamen Maximianus, Herculius Maximianus,. poft hæc in concione after this endeavoring to exercitus filium Max- depofe Maxentius his fon: entium denudare co- in an affembly of the army, natus, feditionem & met with a mutiny and ill' convicia militum tulit. language from the folInde ad Gallias pro diers. From thence he fectus eft, dolo com- went to to Gaul upon a pofito tanquam a filio feigned pretence, as if he effet expulfus, ut Con- had been forced away by ftantino genero junge his fon, that he might join retur moliens tamen his foninlaw. Yet enConftantinum, reperta deavoring to take off Con occafione interficere, fantine, having found his qui in Galliis, & mili tum & provincialium ingenti jam favore reg nabat, cæfis Francis at. que Alamannis, cap tifque eorum regibus; Franks opportunity as he thought, who reigned in Gaul with great favor, both of the foldiers and provincials, having ouerthrown the and Alamans, quos etiam beftis, cum and taken their Kings, Others fay he was fala at Rome, See Victor and Zofimus, magnificum |