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Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died

Lactantius

Chapter 25

About this work

Author: Lactantius

Chap. XXV.

Some few days after, the portrait of Constantine,

‹ Chapter 24 Chapter 26 ›

adorned

with

laurels

,

was

brought

to

the

pernicious

wild

beast

,

that

,

by

receiving

that

symbol

,

he

might

acknowledge

Constantine

in

the

quality

of

emperor

.

He

hesitated

long

whether

to

receive

it

or

not

,

and

he

was

about

to

commit

both

the

portrait

and

its

bearer

to

the

flames

,

but

his

confidants

dissuaded

him

from

a

resolution

so

frantic

.

They

admonished

him

of

the

danger

,

and

they

represented

that

,

if

Constantine

came

with

an

armed

force

,

all

the

soldiers

,

against

whose

inclination

obscure

or

unknown

Cæsars

had

been

created

,

would

acknowledge

him

,

and

crowd

eagerly

to

his

standard

.

So

Galerius

,

although

with

the

utmost

unwillingness

,

accepted

the

portrait

,

and

sent

the

imperial

purple

to

Constantine

,

that

he

might

seem

of

his

own

accord

to

have

received

that

prince

into

partnership

of

power

with

him

.

And

now

his

plans

were

deranged

,

and

he

could

not

,

as

he

intended

formerly

,

admit

Licinius

,

without

exceeding

the

limited

number

of

emperors

.

But

this

he

devised

,

that

Severus

,

who

was

more

advanced

in

life

,

should

be

named

emperor

,

and

that

Constantine

,

instead

of

the

title

of

emperor

,

to

which

he

had

been

named

,

should

receive

that

of

Cæsar

in

common

with

Maximin

Daia

,

and

so

be

degraded

from

the

second

place

to

the

fourth

.