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Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died

Lactantius

Chapter 27

About this work

Author: Lactantius

Chap. XXVII.

But Maximian, who knew the outrageous temper of

‹ Chapter 26 Chapter 28 ›

Galerius

,

began

to

consider

that

,

fired

with

rage

on

hearing

of

the

death

of

Severus

,

he

would

march

into

Italy

,

and

that

possibly

he

might

be

joined

by

Daia

,

and

so

bring

into

the

field

forces

too

powerful

to

be

resisted

.

Having

therefore

fortified

Rome

,

and

made

diligent

provision

for

a

defensive

war

,

Maximian

went

into

Gaul

,

that

he

might

give

his

younger

daughter

Fausta

in

marriage

to

Constantine

,

and

thus

win

over

that

prince

to

his

interest

.

Meantime

Galerius

assembled

his

troops

,

invaded

Italy

,

and

advanced

towards

Rome

,

resolving

to

extinguish

the

senate

and

put

the

whole

people

to

the

sword

.

But

he

found

everything

shut

and

fortified

against

him

.

There

was

no

hope

of

carrying

the

place

by

storm

,

and

to

besiege

it

was

an

arduous

undertaking

;

for

Galerius

had

not

brought

with

him

an

army

sufficient

to

invest

the

walls

.

Probably

,

having

never

seen

Rome

,

he

imagined

it

to

be

little

superior

in

size

to

those

cities

with

which

be

was

acquainted

.

But

some

of

his

legions

,

detesting

the

wicked

enterprise

of

a

father

against

his

son

-

in

-

law

,

and

of

Romans

against

Rome

,

renounced

his

authority

,

and

carried

over

their

ensigns

to

the

enemy

.

Already

had

his

remaining

soldiers

begun

to

waver

,

when

Galerius

,

dreading

a

fate

like

that

of

Severus

,

and

having

his

haughty

spirit

broken

and

humiliated

,

threw

himself

at

the

feet

of

his

soldiers

,

and

continued

to

beseech

them

that

he

might

not

be

delivered

to

the

foe

,

until

,

by

the

promise

of

mighty

largesses

,

he

prevailed

on

them

.

Then

he

retreated

from

Rome

,

and

fled

in

great

disorder

.

Easily

might

he

have

been

cut

off

in

his

flight

,

had

any

one

pursued

him

even

with

a

small

body

of

troops

.

He

was

aware

of

his

danger

,

and

allowed

his

soldiers

to

disperse

themselves

,

and

to

plunder

and

destroy

far

and

wide

,

that

,

if

there

were

any

pursuers

,

they

might

be

deprived

of

all

means

of

subsistence

in

a

ruined

country

.

So

the

parts

of

Italy

through

which

that

pestilent

band

took

its

course

were

wasted

,

all

things

pillaged

,

matrons

forced

,

virgins

violated

,

parents

and

husbands

compelled

by

torture

to

disclose

where

they

had

concealed

their

goods

,

and

their

wives

and

daughters

;

flocks

and

herds

of

cattle

were

driven

off

like

spoils

taken

from

barbarians

.

And

thus

did

he

,

once

a

Roman

emperor

,

but

now

the

ravager

of

Italy

,

retire

into

his

own

territories

,

after

having

afflicted

all

men

indiscriminately

with

the

calamities

of

war

.

Long

ago

,

indeed

,

and

at

the

very

time

of

his

obtaining

sovereign

power

,

he

had

avowed

himself

the

enemy

of

the

Roman

name

;

and

he

proposed

that

the

empire

should

be

called

,

not

the

Roman

,

but

the

Dacian

empire

.