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that the affairs had not been well divided, and that he had usurped the greatest part of the rule belonging to him. But the generals and guardians of the country, whom Constas had appointed, said that they could not move anything small or great without his opinion and counsel; for it was unholy. But he prepared for war, and took up arms against one who had done no wrong. Constantine therefore falls fighting in the war, and desiring the portion of others, also lost what he seemed to hold securely. 10. His people therefore turned to Constans, and the entire rule of the West came under him, though he had striven not at all for it; God having judged these things, Do not move the boundaries of your fathers, nor touch the furrow of your neighbor; for he who acts wickedly against his neighbor, brings destruction upon himself, drawing down the judgment of God upon himself. Constans therefore reigned over the whole western dominion, having joined the two inheritances into one, and establishing both parts as one rule. Not much time passed, and Constans, having turned to revels and drunkennesses, and strange amorous pastimes, carelessly gambled away the whole empire, departing from the greatness of the kingship; he himself is accordingly plotted against by one of the generals, Magnentius, and along with the kingdom he also loses his life. When he had fallen, Magnentius takes power, with whom Nepotianus and Vetranio also took part in the tyranny. 11. When Constantius learned these things from his sister's letters, departing from the East, and having come to the West, he joins battle against both, and wins by force, as Vetranio had turned to him; at which time also the sign of the cross appeared, very great and awesomely manifest in its entirety, so as to outshine the light of day with the striking quality of its splendor, and was seen over Jerusalem at about the third hour of the day, when the feast called Pentecost was at hand, stretching from the place called Skull, all the way to the Mount of Olives, from where the Savior had made his ascension. Constantius therefore takes power over the entire kingdom, being left the only one of the sons of Constantine the Great. 12. Therefore, gazing at the greatness of the empire, and feeling dizzy, as being a man, and not having anyone from his family to defend it with him; for no child had been born to him, nor had any of his brothers been left; and fearing that some tyrant might rise up against him again, rising up against his rule, he considers taking one of his relatives as co-heir and defender of the kingdom. Which indeed he also did, appointing Gallus, the brother of Julian, as Caesar; for Gallus was his cousin on his father's side; for Constantine, the father of Gallus and Julian, was the brother of Constantine the Great. Therefore having appointed him in Sirmium, Constantius also joins his own sister to him as a wife, for the sake of trust and security; and he gives him officials, having appointed them himself; for it was not permitted to him, being a Caesar; having sent Thalassius as Praetorian Prefect; and Montius, over the imperial 96.1264 affairs, whom they are accustomed to call quaestors, at the same time also making him a patrician. But Gallus, when he was then sent by Constantius to the East, took charge of affairs; As soon as the Persians learned of him, they were terrified, having heard that he was both young and zealous in his deeds, and they no longer made their expedition against the Romans. And he was in Antioch of Syria; while Constantius was setting affairs in order in the West; and then indeed the Roman empire was especially and completely at peace, by both

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οὐ καλῶς τῶν πραγμάτων διανεμηθέντων, καὶ ὅτι πλεῖστον μέρος τῆς αὐτῷ προσηκούσης ἀρχῆς ἐσφετερίσατο. Οἱ δὲ τῆς χώρας στρατηγοί τε καὶ φύλακες, οὓς ὁ Κώνστας ἐχειροτόνησεν, οὐκ ἔφασαν χωρὶς τῆς ἐκείνου γνώμης τε καὶ βουλῆς δύνασθαί τι μικρὸν ἢ μέγα μετακινεῖν· ἀνόσιον γάρ· ὁ δὲ πρὸς πόλεμον ἀποδύεται, καὶ ὅπλα κινεῖ κατὰ τοῦ μηδὲν ἀδικήσαντος. Πίπτει τοίνυν ὁ Κωνσταντῖνος ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ μαχόμενος, καὶ τῆς μερίδος τῶν ἀλλοτρίων ἐπιθυμῶν, καὶ ἅπερ ἐδόκει βεβαίως κρατεῖν προσαπώλεσεν. ιʹ. Ὁ τοίνυν τούτου λαὸς ἀποκλίνει πρὸς Κώνσταντα, καὶ γίνεται πᾶσα ἡ τῆς Ἑσπέρας ἀρχὴ ὑπ' ἐκείνῳ μηδὲν περὶ ταύτης σπουδάσαντι· τοῦ Θεοῦ ταῦτα δικάσαντος, Μὴ κίνει ὅρια πατέρων σου, μὴδε τοῦ πλησίον καθάπτου τῆς αὔλακος· ὁ γὰρ κατὰ τοῦ πλησίον πονηρευόμενος, αὐτὸς ἑαυτῷ συνάγει τὸν ὄλεθρον, τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ δίκην ἐφ' ἑαυτὸν ἐπισπώμενος. Βασιλεύει τοίνυν ὁ Κώνστας ἐφ' ὅλης τῆς Ἑσπερίου ἀρχῆς, τὰς δύο κληροδοσίας εἰς ἓν συνάψας, καὶ μίαν ἀρχὴν ἀμφότερα τὰ μέρη στησάμενος. Οὐ πολὺς ἐν μέσῳ καιρὸς, καὶ ὁ Κώνστας εἰς κώμους καὶ μέθας ἐναποκλίνας, καὶ ἀλλοκότους ἐρώτων διαγωγὰς, ῥᾳθύμως τὴν ὅλην ἀρχὴν διεπέττευε, τὸ τῆς βασιλείας μέγεθος ἐξερχόμενος· ἐπιβουλεύεται τοιγαροῦν καὶ αὐτὸς παρά τινος τῶν στρατηγῶν, Μαγνεντίου, καὶ μετὰ τῆς βασιλείας προσαπόλλυσι καὶ τὸ ζῇν. Τούτου πεσόντος, κρατεῖ τῆς ἀρχῆς ὁ Μαγνέντιος, μεθ' οὗ τῆς τυραννίδος συναπελάβοντο Νεποτιανὸς καὶ Βρεττανίων. ιαʹ. Ταῦτα μαθὼν ὁ Κωνστάντιος ἐκ τῶν τῆς ἀδελφῆς γραμμάτων, ἀπάρας ἐκ τῆς Ἀνατολῆς, καὶ πρὸς τὴν Ἑσπέραν γενόμενος, συνάπτει πρὸς ἀμφοτέρους πόλεμον, καὶ κατὰ κράτος νικᾷ, τοῦ Βρεττανίωνος πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀποκλίναντος· ὅτε καὶ τὸ τοῦ σταυροῦ σημεῖον μέγιστον τε καὶ δεινῶς ἐκφανὲν ἅπαν, ὡς ὑπεραστράπτειν τῷ πληκτικῷ τῆς αἴγλης τῆς ἡμέρας τὸ φῶς, ἐπὶ τῶν Ἱεροσολύμων ὤφθη περὶ τρίτην ὥραν μάλιστα τῆς ἡμέρας, τῆς ἑορτῆς τῆς λεγομένης Πεντηκοστῆς ἐνεστηκυίας, διῆκον ἀπὸ τοῦ Κρανίου λεγομένου τόπου, ἄχρι καὶ τοῦ Ἐλαιῶνος ὄρους, ὅθεν ὑπῆρχεν ὁ Σωτὴρ τὴν ἀνάληψιν ποιησάμενος. Κρατεῖ τοίνυν τῆς βασιλείας ἁπάσης Κωνστάντιος, τῶν τοῦ μεγάλου Κωνσταντίνου υἱῶν μόνος ὑπολειφθείς. ιβʹ. Ἀτενίσας οὖν πρὸς τὸ τῆς ἀρχῆς μέγεθος, καὶ εἰλιγγιάσας, ὡς ἅτε δὴ ἄνθρωπος ὢν, καὶ μὴ ἔχων τὸν ἐκ τοῦ γένους αὐτῷ συνασπίζοντα· οὔτε γὰρ αὐτῷ παῖς ἐγεγόνει, οὔτε τις τῶν ἀδελφῶν κατελέλειπτο· καὶ δείσας μή τις αὐτῷ πάλιν ἐπανασταίη τύραννος κατὰ τῆς αὐτοῦ βασιλείας ἐξανιστάμενος, σκέπτεται τῶν συγγενῶν τινα λαβεῖν σύγκληρον καὶ τῆς βασιλείας ὑπασπιστήν. Ὃ δὴ καὶ πεποίηκε, Γάλλον τὸν Ἰουλιανοῦ ἀδελφὸν Καίσαρα προστησάμενος· ἀνεψιὸς δὲ πρὸς πατρὸς ὁ Γάλλος ἦν αὐτῷ· Κωνσταντῖνος γὰρ, ὁ Γάλλου καὶ Ἰουλιανοῦ πατὴρ, ἀδελφὸς ἦν Κωνσταντίνου τοῦ μεγάλου. Τοῦτον οὖν ἐν τῷ Σιρμίῳ προχειρισάμενος, γυναῖκά τε αὐτῷ ζεύγνυσι τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἀδελφὴν Κωνστάντιος, πίστεως καὶ βεβαιότητος χάριν· καὶ ἄρχοντας αὐτῷ δίδωσιν αὐτὸς καταστήσας· οὐ γὰρ ἐκείνῳ γε ἐφεῖτο Καίσαρί γε ὄντι· Θαλάσσιον μὲν ἀποστείλας ἔπαρχον πραιτωρίων· Μόντιον δὲ, ἐπὶ τῶν βασιλικῶν 96.1264 πραγμάτων, οὓς κοιαίστωρας αὐτοῖς ὀνομάζειν φίλον, ἅμα καὶ πατρίκιον αὐτὸν ποιησάμενος. Ὁ δὲ Γάλλος, ὡς τότε παρὰ τοῦ Κωνσταντίου πεμφθεὶς ἐπὶ τῆς Ἑῴας, εἴχετο τῶν πραγμάτων· ὃν αὐτίκα μαθόντες οἱ Πέρσαι κατωῤῥόδησαν, νέον τε αὐτὸν καὶ θερμουργὸν εἰς τὰ ἔργα πυθόμενοι, οὐκέτι ἐποιήσαντο τὴν ἐπὶ τοὺς Ῥωμαίους ἐξέλασιν. Καὶ ὁ μὲν ἐν τῇ Ἀντιοχείᾳ τῆς Συρίας ἦν· Κωνστάντιος δὲ ἐν τῇ Ἑσπέρᾳ καθίστη τὰ πράγματα· καὶ τότε δὴ μάλιστα καθαρῶς ἡσύχασεν ἡ Ῥωμαίων ἀρχὴ, πρὸς ἀμφοτέρων