Opening the library…

Home Bible Corpus Discover You

Search the Bible

Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died

Lactantius

Chapter 14

About this work

Author: Lactantius

Chap. XIV.

But Galerius, not satisfied with the tenor of

‹ Chapter 13 Chapter 15 ›

the

edict

,

sought

in

another

way

to

gain

on

the

emperor

.

That

he

might

urge

him

to

excess

of

cruelty

in

persecution

,

he

employed

private

emissaries

to

set

the

palace

on

fire

;

and

some

part

of

it

having

been

burnt

,

the

blame

was

laid

on

the

Christians

as

public

enemies

;

and

the

very

appellation

of

Christian

grew

odious

on

account

of

that

fire

.

It

was

said

that

the

Christians

,

in

concert

with

the

eunuchs

,

had

plotted

to

destroy

the

princes

;

and

that

both

of

the

princes

had

well

-

nigh

been

burnt

alive

in

their

own

palace

.

Diocletian

,

shrewd

and

intelligent

as

he

always

chose

to

appear

,

suspected

nothing

of

the

contrivance

,

but

,

inflamed

with

anger

,

immediately

commanded

that

all

his

own

domestics

should

be

tortured

to

force

a

confession

of

the

plot

.

He

sat

on

his

tribunal

,

and

saw

innocent

men

tormented

by

fire

to

make

discovery

.

All

magistrates

,

and

all

who

had

superintendency

in

the

imperial

palace

,

obtained

special

commissions

to

administer

the

torture

;

and

they

strove

with

each

other

who

should

be

first

in

bringing

to

light

the

conspiracy

.

No

circumstances

,

however

,

of

the

fact

were

detected

anywhere

;

for

no

one

applied

the

torture

to

any

domestics

of

Galerius

.

He

himself

was

ever

with

Diocletian

,

constantly

urging

him

,

and

never

allowing

the

passions

of

the

inconsiderate

old

man

to

cool

.

Then

,

after

an

interval

of

fifteen

days

,

he

attempted

a

second

fire

;

but

that

was

perceived

quickly

,

and

extinguished

.

Still

,

however

,

its

author

remained

unknown

.

On

that

very

day

,

Galerius

,

who

in

the

middle

of

winter

had

prepared

for

his

departure

,

suddenly

hurried

out

of

the

city

,

protesting

that

he

fled

to

escape

being

burnt

alive

.

Notes

1
[That it had become in some degree popular, see evidence, vol. vi. pp. 158–160.]