CHAPTER XII.

AN IMPERIAL REPENTANCE.

But, although these secret horrors, which degraded the noblest family of the empire, were kept as still as private crimes, and men dared scarcely speak of them except in terrified whispers, the knowledge thereof spread abroad, until enough was known to fill the Christian world with detestation of the emperor; and he whose governing passion had been to rule mankind, and to command their respect and reverence at any cost, found himself to be held by the popular verdict as an outcast from virtue and decency. His iron soul was proof against every shaft except this, but the wound it inflicted upon his boundless self-love was bitter and incurable. Realizing that he had outraged the moral sentiment of Christendom by these atrocious crimes, the emperor determined to overthrow what he called Christianity, and re-establish the pagan religion, charging his crimes to the blinding influences of the superstition and strong magic of the Church, and thereby win for himself the love and confidence of that large portion of his subjects who still adhered to the ancient idolatries. In pursuance of this design, Constantine applied to the flamens at Rome for purification from his domestic crimes, as the first step toward the rehabilitation of his moral nakedness and deformity; but the priests, who knew his crafty, unscrupulous, cruel, and atheistic nature, and who already had in training the young and gifted Julian, seized this opportunity to gratify their theological hate, by boldly declaring that the ancient rituals of paganism did not know any form of expiation for such fearful and unnecessary crimes as his.

Then Constantine turned away forever from heathenism, and sent for Hosius, Bishop of Cordova, who assured him that "in Christianity all sin, however great, may find forgiveness: for He saveth unto the uttermost all that come unto God by him."

"And what method must I use to secure this forgiveness?" asked the emperor.

"Only true repentance toward God, and humble, sincere faith in Jesus Christ," said the bishop.

Then, with a singular smile, Constantine looked at the bishop and answered: "Bishop, thou dost forget that thou art not now talking to a woman taken in adultery, nor to a thief upon the cross. Farewell!"

And with a wave of the hand the emperor contemptuously dismissed him.

But Constantine could not endure the popular detestation of which he knew himself to be justly the object, and as a last resort he sent for Eusebius of Caesarea. Eusebius knew the emperor fully as well as the emperor knew him, and, of course, knew that he might as well chant psalms to a deaf ass as to recommend faith and repentance to the imperial atheist, as Hosius of Cordova had innocently endeavored to do. When Eusebius came before the emperor, Constantine spoke to him in a light, bantering tone, saying: "Bishop, Crispus Caesar became infatuated with the idea that he was great enough to wear my sandals and to wield my spear even while I live; and the young man met with a fatal accident. The youth Licinius, and the woman Fausta, exposed themselves to some unwholesome atmosphere, and the results of their indiscretion were deleterious to their health. These events have happened unfortunately for me, and I require thine unfailing aid in avoiding further inconvenience from them. What canst thou do for me?"

"Could not the flamens of Jupiter give thy burdened conscience rest?" said the bishop, quietly, but with malicious pleasure.

"No," answered Constantine, laughing. "The priests are good haters--somewhat too demonstrative, perhaps, but steady and reliable in their antipathies; and so they took out their spite upon me the first time Fate gave them an opportunity."

"Could not the most learned and holy Hosius point out to thee the road to peace?"

"No, indeed. That respectable idiot began some sort of mummery concerning faith and repentance; but I cut him short. Bishop, thou wert not wont to be so difficult. I confess that, since the Council of Nicea, I have not done justice to thy superior merit, and have even felt somewhat estranged from thee. Forget all that, and let us once more be friends."

"Augustus," said the bishop, "I have keenly felt the withdrawal of thy favor, although I have complained to no one. I think that, if it had been otherwise, I could have showed thee sufficient reasons for avoiding some terrible mistakes. What is the exact difficulty which these mistakes have led thee upon?"

"The Arians are rejoiced by any occurrence that gives them a pretext for railing at me; the orthodox Christians have the unblushing impudence to attempt to sit in judgment upon the actions of the emperor that rescued them from persecutions, and affect to be shocked thereby, just as if they were fit to judge his deeds or comprehend his policy; the implacable flamens hope to make such use of these accidents as to lead the world back to paganism without my aid. The Arians hate me because I would not permit them to establish a kingdom in the empire of which I was not to be the king. Thou must find some way to conciliate the fools, for the hearts of all men are estranged from me; and, as thou hast always known, I would rather rule by love than by terror. But rule I will, while I shall live. Now, how can I regain my former hold upon either the pagan or the Christian world?"

"Thou must first of all definitely abandon the idea that the empire can ever return to paganism," said Eusebius. "The amazing progress of Christianity among the people and the rapid decline of heathenism demonstrate that the old religion hath almost ceased to be a political force, and any emperor who would seek to re-establish it is foredoomed to certain failure."

"Let that pass. Ye bishops always regard the Church as the first thing to be considered. I concede that thou art right. What then?"

"Thou must also understand," said Eusebius, with malicious pleasure, "that, while the will of the emperor is the law of the land, it is no longer the standard of right and wrong for Christians. Thy statutes may control political life, and prescribe the external forms of worship for the Church: its conscience hath passed even beyond thy control."

Constantine turned white with wrath.

"The impudent beggars!" he cried, "whom I redeemed from tortures and from death! Where, then, was their 'conscience' when the council subverted the kingdom of heaven upon earth, and they all signed the decree which abolished the earthly sovereignty of Christ? But," checking his furious anger with a mighty effort, "what next?"

"If a man hath done a crime," said Eusebius, "no matter how cruel and unnatural, the Christians understand that he may obtain forgiveness for his sin by repentance and faith, even as King David did in the matter of Bath-sheba."

"Well!" said Constantine, impatiently.

"The Christian world will never pardon thee without this repentance and faith, or the appearance of it," said Eusebius, and he uttered the last few words in a low, peculiar tone.

"And what shape might 'the appearance of it' assume?" asked the emperor, with a laugh.

"Thou mightst go in sackcloth and ashes unto the church and publicly pray to God and man for pardon!"

"And I might far sooner hang up a bishop and exterminate a sect that would seriously insist upon any such degrading terms!"

"So I supposed," said Eusebius, "and even then such a course would only be 'the appearance' of faith and repentance, not the things themselves. But thou mightst build a church and dedicate it unto the memory of Caesar; or set up his statue, with an inscription intimating that he was the victim of a mistake, and the object of affectionate and sorrowful remembrance. Either of these 'appearances of it' might be sufficient."

"That will answer," cried Constantine. "Crispus Caesar was a handsome man, and an excellent subject for a statue. The statue shall be of gold, and the inscription shall be, 'To Crispus, mine injured and innocent son.' Will that, think you, reconcile the orthodox? Or what else dost thou advise?"

"The Empress-mother Helena should exhibit some similar token of repentance for her hatred of the Empress Fausta."

"And what 'appearance of it' should her faith and repentance assume?" said Constantine, laughing merrily.

"Recently," replied Eusebius, "a lively interest hath sprung up throughout the Church in the 'holy places' in Palestine. If the empress should make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and found there a handsome church and some sacred shrines, she would cease to annoy thee, amuse herself, and do a great work toward restoring the love and confidence of Christians to thyself and her."

"Thou art a true and glorious bishop," laughed the emperor, "and thou dost never forget the welfare of the Church. The empress-mother shall go quickly on her sacred pilgrimage, and all the holy places shall rejoice. Is not that enough? Or is there yet something more?"

"This would suffice for the orthodox," said Eusebius; "but years have passed since the Council of Nicea. Time hath assuaged the bitterness of former days, which would, perhaps, have faded out altogether but that the banishment of Arius keepeth it alive. If thou wouldst reconcile the whole Church unto thyself, recall and even show some special honor to the Libyan."

"Thou hast reserved thy bitterest medicine for the last!"

"But it is necessary, Augustus. For days past thy sister Constantia, who is even now upon the bed of death, hath entreated me that I would come unto thee and ask thee to visit her, that she might make it her dying request that thou recall Arius and restore his church to him. Of course I could not come till thou didst order it." And then the bishop, fixing his eyes firmly upon the face of Constantine, with his right hand extended, said with inexpressible dignity: "Augustus, thy sister's husband, Licinius, the Emperor of the East, and her only son, Licinius, both perished by thine own order; yet her devotion unto thee hath never faltered. Surely thou canst not refuse her dying supplications!"

Constantine's face for once grew soft with a genuine emotion of humanity, and he replied: "Surely not, bishop! I always loved Constantia. I will visit her, and do whatever she desires."

"Go to-day, then," said Eusebius, "for she hath but few hours more to live."

And Constantine went; and the long and sorely tried and deeply injured, but still faithful and loving sister, with her dying breath besought him to recall the great and holy Arius, and restore the peace and unity of the Church and of the empire; and with a mighty oath (as usual) he promised so to do.