a river filled with horses with their riders. And the citizens of Rome, having crowned him, received him with great joy and acclamations, calling both the victory-making cross and the victorious emperor savior. Then the emperor commanded the relics of the holy martyrs to be gathered and to be given a holy burial, and for their possessions to be returned to those who had been wronged; and they held a victory festival for seven days, honoring the cross of Christ. This was the seventh year of Constantine's reign. Hearing these things, Galerius Maximianus had departed. For he himself also expected the same fate, and for a short time desisted from his threat against the Christians. But the great Constantine, trusting in the invincible weapon of the cross, rushed against him. And he had Licinius fighting with him against the tyrants, pretending to rejoice in the Christian doctrines. But the tyrant, relying on magical deceptions, went forth to battle against the pious emperor, priding himself on an innumerable multitude of troops. And when the battle took place, and the precious cross appeared, the tyrant's shield-bearers, unable to withstand the assault, were turned to flight, and some fled with speed, while the others pursued with might, many thousands of the enemy having fallen. The rest, abandoning the tyrant, went over to the emperor. And the impious one, casting off the royal robe, of which he happened to be unworthy, so that he might not be recognized while fleeing, and wandering from village to village and hiding, was barely saved, naked, with a few of his most loyal men. And gathering the priests of the so-called gods, and the prophets, and the seers, and those renowned for divination, whom he formerly loved and honored, he slaughtered them as deceivers and frauds, and conspirators against his own safety. And as he was about to fall alive into the hands of the emperor (for the war was still pressing upon him), a divinely sent wrath overtook him and disposed him in such a way that he lay prone on the ground begging for help, and not receiving it. A flame, kindled from the depths of his entrails and marrow, caused him unbearable pains as he gasped for breath and writhed this way and that, so that both of his eyes leaped out onto the ground and left him blind. And as the flame within burned without limit, his flesh rotted completely, and was separated from his bones, so that he called for death upon himself. And thus, having rotted through completely, he gave up his soul. 4057 And with the tyrants out of the way, and the great Constantine having become sole ruler, the world existed in deep peace, and the affairs of the Christians were daily raised to a height, and in all nations the cross of Christ was glorified. And to Licinius, as one who had allied with him for the overthrow of the tyrants, Constantine gave his own sister as a wife. And having set apart for him a sufficient portion of the Roman land, he appointed him emperor, demanding from him agreements to do nothing against the doctrine of the Christians. But Licinius, having taken power, did not bear his good fortune, but as if having forgotten what had happened to the tyrants before him, he drifted into idolatry. And of those whose bitter destruction he had become a spectator, he emulated their life, being mad for women, doing injustice and murdering the Christians. Learning these things, the servant of God, Constantine Augustus, and being seized with grief, wrote to him, advising him to desist from his madness against the Churches of Christ. But he, being contemptuous, carried on the persecution more madly, and henceforth secretly devised plots against his benefactor, and later even organized a public war against him, while the emperor was being guarded by divine power. And when a battle took place in the regions of Bithynia, with the glorious cross leading the way, the wretched man became subject to the emperor, alive

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ποταμὸν πεπληρωμένον ἵππων σὺν ἀναβάταις. Οἱ δὲ πολῖται τῆς Ῥώμης στεφανώσαντες αὐτὸν εἰσεδέξαντο μετὰ χαρᾶς μεγάλης καὶ εὐφημιῶν, τόν τε νικοποιὸν σταυρὸν καὶ τὸν νικηφόρον βασιλέα σωτῆρα ἀποκαλοῦντες. Τότε ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐκέλευσε συναχθῆναι τὰ λείψανα τῶν ἁγίων μαρτύρων καὶ ὁσίᾳ ταφῇ ταῦτα παραδοθῆναι, καὶ τοῖς ἀδικηθεῖσιν τὰς οὐσίας αὐτῶν ἀποδοθῆναι· καὶ ἦσαν ἄγοντες ἐπινίκιον ἑορτὴν ἑπτὰ ἡμέρας γεραίροντες τὸν σταυρὸν τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Οὗτος ἧν ἕβδομος ἐνιαυτὸς τῆς βασιλείας Κωνσταντίνου. Ταῦτα ἀκούσας ὁ Γαλέριος Μαξιμιανὸς ἐξεληλύθει. Ἐξεδέχετο γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸς τὸν αὐτὸν μόρον, καὶ μικρὸν ἀπέστη τῆς κατὰ τῶν Χριστιανῶν ἀπειλῆς. Ὁ δὲ μέγιστος Κωνσταντῖνος θαῤῥῶν τῷ ἀηττήτῳ ὅπλῳ τοῦ σταυροῦ, ὥρμησεν ἐπ' αὐτόν. Εἶχε δὲ καὶ Λικίνιον συμπολεμοῦντα αὐτῷ κατὰ τῶν τυράννων, προσ ποιούμενον χαίρεσθαι τοῖς Χριστιανικοῖς δόγμασιν. Ὁ δὲ τύραννος ταῖς γοητικαῖς ἀπάταις ἐπερειδόμε νος, παρατάξεσθαι τῷ εὐσεβεῖ βασιλεῖ ἐξελήλυθεν ἀναριθμήτῳ πλήθει τῶν στρατοπέδων φανταζόμενος. Γενομένης δὲ τῆς συμβολῆς, καὶ τοῦ τιμίου σταυροῦ φανέντος, οἱ τοῦ τυράννου ὑπασπισταὶ, τὴν προσβολὴν μὴ ἐνέγκαντες, ἐτράπησαν εἰς φυγὴν, καὶ οἱ μὲν ἔφευ γον κατὰ τάχος, οἱ δὲ κατὰ κράτος ἐδίωκον, πολλῶν χι λιάδων τῶν ἐναντίων καταπεσουσῶν. Οἱ λοιποὶ καταλι πόντες τὸν τύραννον προσεχώρησαν τῷ αὐτοκράτορι. Ὁ δὲ δυσσεβὴς ῥίψας τὸ βασίλειον, οὗπερ ἀνάξιος ἐτύγχανεν, ὡς ἂν μὴ ἐπιγνωσθῇ φεύγων, περιερχό μενος δὲ ἀπὸ κώμης εἰς κώμην καὶ κρυπταζόμενος μόλις μετ' ὀλίγων τῶν εὐνουστάτων διεσώθη γυμνός. Συναγαγὼν δὲ τοὺς ἱερεῖς τῶν δῆθεν θεῶν, καὶ τοὺς προφήτας, καὶ τοὺς μάντεις, καὶ τοὺς ἐπὶ μαντείᾳ βεβοημένους, οὓς πρώην ἀγαπῶν ἐτίμα, ὡς ἀπατεῶ νας καὶ πλάνους, ἐπιβούλους θ' ἑαυτοῦ σωτηρίας κατέσφαξεν. Μέλλοντα δὲ ζῶντα εἰς τὰς χεῖρας τοῦ βασιλέως ἐμπεσεῖν (ἐπέκειτο γὰρ αὐτῷ ἔτι ὁ πόλε μος), προλαβοῦσα θεήλατος ὀργὴ οὕτως αὐτὸν διέθη κεν, ὡς κεῖσθαι αὐτὸν πρηνῆ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἐδάφους δεόμε νον ἐπικουρίας, καὶ μὴ τυγχάνοντα. Φλὸξ δὲ ἐκ βά θους τῶν σπλάγχνων καὶ μυελῶν αὐτοῦ ἀναφθεῖσα ἀνυποίστους αὐτῷ τὰς ὀδύνας ἐνεποίει ἀσθμαίνοντι, καὶ τῇδε κἀκεῖσε περιστρεφομένῳ, ὥστε ἀμφότερα τὰ ὅμματα αὐτοῦ ἐκπηδῆσαι ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ κατα λιπεῖν αὐτὸν τυφλόν. Τῆς δὲ ἔνδον φλογὸς εἰς ἄπει ρον ἐξαπτομένης, αἱ σάρκες αὐτοῦ συνεσάπησαν, καὶ τῶν ὀστέων ἀπεχωρίζοντο, ὥστε ἐφ' ἑαυτοῦ ἐπικα λέσασθαι τὸν θάνατον. Οὕτως δὲ δι' ὅλου κατασαπεὶς ἀπέῤῥηξε τὴν ψυχήν. 4057 Τῶν δὲ τυράννων ἐκ ποδῶν γενομένων, καὶ μονο κράτορος γεγονότος τοῦ μεγάλου Κωνσταντίνου, ἐν βα θείᾳ εἰρήνῃ ὑπῆρχεν ἡ οἰκουμένη, καὶ τὰ τῶν Χρι στιανῶν ὁσημέραι εἰς ὕψος ἐγείρετο, καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν ἔθνεσιν ὁ σταυρὸς τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐδοξάζετο. Τῷ δὲ Λι κινίῳ, ὡς συμμαχήσαντι αὐτῷ εἰς τὴν τῶν τυράν νων κατάλυσιν, ἐξέδοτο Κωνσταντῖνος τὴν ἀδελφὴν αὐτοῦ εἰς γυναῖκα. Καὶ ἀφορίσας αὐτῷ μοῖραν ἱκα νὴν τῆς Ῥωμαίων γῆς, ἀνέδειξε βασιλέα, ἀπαιτήσας αὐτῷ συνθήκας μηδὲν κατὰ τοῦ δόγματος τῶν Χρι στιανῶν πράττειν. Ὁ δὲ Λικίνιος κρατήσας τῆς ἀρ χῆς, οὐκ ἤνεγκε τὴν εὐτυχίαν, ἀλλ' ὥσπερ λήθην λα βὼν τῶν συμβεβηκότων τοῖς πρὸ αὐτοῦ τυράννοις, εἰς εἰδωλολατρείαν ἐξώκειλε. Καὶ ὧν τῆς πικρᾶς καταστροφῆς θεατὴς γέγονε, τούτων τὸν βίον ἐζηλώ κει, γυναικομανῶν, ἀδικῶν καὶ φονεύων τοὺς Χρι στιανούς. Ταῦτα μαθὼν ὁ δοῦλος τοῦ Θεοῦ Κωνσταν τῖνος σεβαστὸς, καὶ συσχεθεὶς τῇ λύπῃ ἔγραψεν αὐτῷ, παραινῶν ἀποστῆναι αὐτὸν τῆς κατὰ τῶν Ἐκκλη σιῶν τοῦ Χριστοῦ μανίας. Ὁ δὲ καταφρονήσας μα νικωτέρως τὸν διωγμὸν ἐχρήσατο, καὶ λοιπὸν κρυπτῶς κατὰ τοῦ εὐεργέτου ἐπιβουλὰς ἐπενόει, ὕστερον καὶ δημόσιον πόλεμον συνεκρότει κατ' αὐτοῦ, ὑπὸ θείας δυνάμεως φρουρουμένου τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος. Καὶ συμ βολῆς γενομένης ἐν τοῖς τῆς Βιθυνίας μέρεσι, καὶ τοῦ ἐνδόξου σταυροῦ προάγοντος, ὑποχείριος γένονεν ὁ δείλαιος τῷ αὐτοκράτορι, ζῶν

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