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But the empire did not remain without a king, for Constantine, having adorned himself with his father's purple, came forth from the paternal palace, showing to all, as it were, his father come to life again and reigning through him. Then, leading the procession with his father's friends around him, he escorted his father. Myriad crowds of people and bodyguard companies of soldiers, some leading and some following behind, with all due ceremony escorted the God-beloved, and all honored the thrice-blessed one with acclamations and hymns, and with unanimous accord they regarded the son's accession as a revival of the dead, and with shouts of praise they immediately from the very 1.22.2 first cry proclaimed the new emperor Imperator, and Augustus, and Sebastos. And the acclamations for the son adorned the one who had died, and they blessed the son who was proved to be the successor of such a father, and all the nations under the empire were filled with gladness and unspeakable joy, as though they had not been deprived of imperial good order for even the briefest moment of time. This end of a pious and God-loving character God showed to our generation in the case of the emperor Constantius. 1.23.1 But of the others, as many as persecuted the churches of God by the law of war, I judged it not fitting to hand down the catastrophes of their lives to the present narrative, nor to defile the memorials of the good with the mention of their opposites. The experience of their deeds is sufficient for the correction of those who by sight and hearing have received the history of what befell each. Thus indeed God, the ruler of the whole universe, by His own hand appointed Constantine, born of such a father, to be ruler and leader of all, so that no man might boast of his promotion alone, while the others were deemed worthy of the honor by the judgment of others. As, then, he was established in the empire, for a time he administered his father's portion, overseeing with great benevolence all the nations that had previously been governed under his father's share, and as many barbarian tribes dwelling around the river Rhine and the western ocean as dared to revolt, all these he subjugated, making them civilized from untamed, while others he checked and drove away from his own territory like wild beasts, as many as he saw were incurably disposed toward a civilized 1.25.2 state of life. And when these matters were settled by him in due order, placing before his eyes the remaining portions of the world, for a time he crossed over to the nations of the Britons lying within the ocean itself, and having subdued these, he considered the other divisions of the whole, that he might care for those in need of aid. 1.26.1 Then, as if conceiving the whole element of the earth as a great body, and then perceiving the head of the whole, the ruling city of the Roman empire, to be subjected to tyrannical slavery, he at first yielded the defense of it to the rulers of the other parts, since they were his seniors in time, but when none of them was able to give aid, and those who wished to make the attempt met a shameful end, he said that life was not worth living for him if he should overlook the queen city thus afflicted, and he prepared himself for the overthrow of the tyranny. But well considering that he needed assistance greater than military aid, because of the wicked and magical enchantments practiced by the tyrant, he sought a god as his helper, considering matters of hoplites and a multitude of soldiers of secondary importance (for he believed that without the aid of God these could accomplish nothing), saying that things done with God's cooperation were invincible and unconquerable. 1.27.2 He considered, then, what sort of god he should enlist as a helper, and as he was seeking, a thought came to him, that of the many who had previously held the imperial power, those who had placed their hopes in many gods, and had served them with libations and sacrifices and offerings, had been deceived at first by gratifying oracles and by predictions announcing favorable outcomes for them, but had met with no favorable end, nor did any of the gods stand by them to prevent their being subjected to divinely-sent catastrophes, and that only his own father, who had taken the opposite course to them

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Οὐ μὴν ἀβασίλευτος ἔμενεν ἡ ἀρχή, αὐτῇ δ' ἁλουργίδι πατρικῇ Κωνσταντῖνος κοσμησάμενος τῶν πατρικῶν οἴκων προῄει, ὥσπερ ἐξ ἀναβιώσεως τὸν πατέρα βασιλεύοντα δι' ἑαυτοῦ δεικνὺς τοῖς πᾶσιν. εἶτα τῆς προκομιδῆς ἡγούμενος σὺν τοῖς ἀμφ' αὐτὸν πατρικοῖς φίλοις τὸν πατέρα προὔπεμπε· δήμων τε πλήθη μυρία στρατιωτῶν τε δορυφορίαι, τῶν μὲν ἡγουμένων τῶν δὲ κατόπιν ἑπομένων, σὺν παντὶ κόσμῳ τὸν θεοφιλῆ συνέπεμπον, εὐφημίαις τε καὶ ὕμνοις οἱ πάντες τὸν τρισμακάριον ἐτίμων, ὁμογνώμονί τε συμφωνίᾳ τοῦ τεθνεῶτος ἀναβίωσιν τὴν τοῦ παιδὸς κράτησιν ἐδόξαζον, βοαῖς τ' εὐφήμοις τὸν νέον βασιλέα αὐτοκράτορα καὶ σεβαστὸν αὔγουστον εὐθέως ἐκ 1.22.2 πρώτης ἀνηγόρευον φωνῆς. καὶ τὸν μὲν τεθνηκότα ἐκόσμουν αἱ βοαὶ ταῖς εἰς τὸν υἱὸν εὐφημίαις, τὸν δὲ παῖδα ἐμακάριζον τοιοῦδε πατρὸς διάδοχον ἀποδειχθέντα, πάντα δὲ τὰ ὑπὸ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἔθνη εὐφροσύνης ἐπληροῦτο καὶ ἀλέκτου χαρᾶς ὡς μηδὲ χρόνου βραχυτάτου ῥοπὴν χηρεύσαντα βασιλικῆς εὐκοσμίας. τοῦτο τέλος εὐσεβοῦς καὶ φιλοθέου τρόπου ἐπὶ βασιλεῖ Κωνσταντίῳ θεὸς ἔδειξε τῷ καθ' ἡμᾶς γένει. 1.23.1 Τῶν δ' ἄλλων, ὅσοι τὰς ἐκκλησίας τοῦ θεοῦ πολέμου νόμῳ μετῆλθον, τὰς τοῦ βίου καταστροφὰς οὐκ εἶναι πρέπον ἔκρινα τῷ παρόντι παραδοῦναι διηγήματι οὐδὲ τὰς τῶν ἀγαθῶν μνήμας τῇ τῶν ἐναντίων παραθέσει μιαίνειν. ἀπαρκεῖ δὲ ἡ τῶν ἔργων πεῖρα πρὸς σωφρονισμὸν τῶν αὐταῖς ὄψεσι καὶ ἀκοαῖς τὴν τῶν ἑκάστῳ συμβεβηκότων παρειληφότων ἱστορίαν. Οὕτω δὴ Κωνσταντῖνον, τοιούτου φύντα πατρός, ἄρχοντα καὶ καθηγεμόνα τῶν ὅλων θεὸς ὁ τοῦ σύμπαντος κόσμου πρύτανις δι' ἑαυτοῦ προεχειρίζετο, ὡς μηδένα ἀνθρώπων μόνου τοῦδε τὴν προαγωγὴν αὐχῆσαι, τῶν ἄλλων ἐξ ἐπικρίσεως ἑτέρων τῆς τιμῆς ἠξιωμένων. Ὡς οὖν ἐπὶ τῆς βασιλείας ἵδρυτο, τέως μὲν τῆς πατρικῆς προενόει λήξεως, ἐπισκοπῶν σὺν πολλῇ τῇ φιλανθρωπίᾳ πάνθ' ὅσα πρότερον ἔθνη ὑπὸ τῇ τοῦ πατρὸς μοίρᾳ διεκυβερνᾶτο, ὅσα τε γένη βαρβάρων τῶν ἀμφὶ Ῥῆνον ποταμὸν ἑσπέριόν τε ὠκεανὸν οἰκούντων στασιάζειν ἐτόλμα, πάνθ' ὑποτάττων ἥμερα ἐξ ἀτιθάσων κατειργάζετο, ἄλλα δ' ἀναστέλλων ὥσπερ τινὰς θῆρας ἀγρίους ἀπεσόβει τῆς οἰκείας, ὅσα περ ἀνιάτως ἔχοντα πρὸς ἡμέρου 1.25.2 βίου κατάστασιν ἑώρα. ἐπεὶ δὲ ταῦτα κατὰ λόγον ἔκειτο αὐτῷ, τὰς λοιπὰς τῆς οἰκουμένης λήξεις πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν θέμενος, τέως μὲν ἐπὶ τὰ Βρεττανῶν ἔθνη διέβαινεν ἔνδον ἐπ' αὐτῷ κείμενα ὠκεανῷ, παραστησάμενος δὲ ταῦτα διεσκόπει τὰς ἑτέρας τοῦ παντὸς μοίρας, ὡς ἂν θεραπεύοι τὰ βοηθείας δεόμενα. 1.26.1 Εἶθ' ὥσπερ μέγα σῶμα τὸ πᾶν τῆς γῆς ἐννοήσας στοιχεῖον, κἄπειτα τὴν τοῦ παντὸς κεφαλήν, τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἀρχῆς τὴν βασιλεύουσαν πόλιν, τυραννικῇ δουλείᾳ συνιδὼν καθυπηγμένην, παρεχώρει μὲν τὰ πρῶτα τὴν ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς ἄμυναν τοῖς τῶν λοιπῶν κρατοῦσι μερῶν ἅτε δὴ χρόνῳ προάγουσιν, ἐπεὶ δὲ τούτων οὐδεὶς οἷός τ' ἦν ἐπικουρεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ πεῖραν λαβεῖν ἐθελήσαντες αἰσχρὸν ὑπέμειναν τέλος, οὐδὲ βιωτὸν αὐτῷ τὴν ζωὴν εἶναι εἰπών, εἰ τὴν βασιλίδα πόλιν οὕτω κάμνουσαν παρίδοι, παρεσκευάζετο τὰ πρὸς τὴν καθαίρεσιν τῆς τυραννίδος. Εὖ δ' ἐννοήσας ὡς κρείττονος ἢ κατὰ στρατιωτικὴν δέοι αὐτῷ βοηθείας διὰ τὰς κακοτέχνους καὶ γοητικὰς μαγγανείας τὰς παρὰ τῷ τυράννῳ σπουδαζομένας, θεὸν ἀνεζήτει βοηθόν, τὰ μὲν ἐξ ὁπλιτῶν καὶ στρατιωτικοῦ πλήθους δεύτερα τιθέμενος (τῆς γὰρ παρὰ θεοῦ βοηθείας ἀπούσης τὸ μηθὲν ταῦτα δύνασθαι ἡγεῖτο), τὰ δ' ἐκ θεοῦ συνεργίας ἄμαχα εἶναι καὶ ἀήττητα 1.27.2 λέγων. ἐννοεῖ δῆτα ὁποῖον δέοι θεὸν βοηθὸν ἐπιγράψασθαι, ζητοῦντι δ' αὐτῷ ἔννοιά τις ὑπεισῆλθεν, ὡς πλειόνων πρότερον τῆς ἀρχῆς ἐφαψαμένων οἱ μὲν πλείοσι θεοῖς τὰς σφῶν αὐτῶν ἀναρτήσαντες ἐλπίδας, λοιβαῖς τε καὶ θυσίαις καὶ ἀναθήμασι τούτους θεραπεύσαντες, ἀπατηθέντες τὰ πρῶτα διὰ μαντειῶν κεχαρισμένων χρησμῶν τε τὰ αἴσια ἀπαγγελλομένων αὐτοῖς τέλος οὐκ αἴσιον εὕραντο, οὐδέ τις θεῶν πρὸς τὸ μὴ θεηλάτοις ὑποβληθῆναι καταστροφαῖς δεξιὸς αὐτοῖς παρέστη, μόνον δὲ τὸν ἑαυτοῦ πατέρα τὴν ἐναντίαν ἐκείνοις τραπέντα