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having been taken from the throats of the men who were set against him, has been commanded to live under my care in such a way that in the very city in which he was living he abounds in all necessities, even though his renowned virtue, trusting in divine assistance, makes light of the burdens of a harsher fortune. Therefore, although our master Constantine Augustus of blessed memory, my father, had chosen to restore the same bishop to his own place for your most beloved piety, yet since, being overtaken by the lot of mortals, he rested before fulfilling his prayer, I thought it proper, having succeeded to the choice of the emperor of divine memory, to fulfill it. When he has the good fortune of meeting you, you will know how much respect he has received from me. For it is not surprising if I have done anything on his behalf; for both the image of your longing and the character of so great a man moved and urged my soul to this. Divine providence will preserve you, beloved brothers." With these letters the divine Athanasius arrived. And all received him gladly, both city-dwellers and country-folk, and 96 the few and the many, and his return annoyed only the partisans of the Arian madness. For this reason Eusebius and Theogonius and all those who were of their faction again set their own machinations in motion, and again they undermined the ears of the emperor, who was young. And I shall also tell how he was turned aside from the straight path of the apostolic doctrines. Constantia had been the wife of Licinius, and was the sister of Constantine. A certain presbyter, who had received the Arian pestilence, became her associate. And he did not show the disease openly, but in constant conversation with her he said that Arius had suffered from slander. The all-praised Constantine deemed her worthy of every kind of care after the death of the impious man, and did not allow her to experience the sorrows of widowhood, and was with her at her very death, offering her fitting care. Then indeed she ordered this presbyter to be called, and begged him to be deemed worthy of the emperor's care. And Constantine promised to do this then and afterwards fulfilled his promise; for he gave him the greatest possible freedom of speech. But nevertheless, although he was deemed worthy of great attention, he did not dare to reveal his disease, seeing that the emperor's opinion concerning divine things was firm. But when Constantine, passing to the indestructible kingdom, distributed by will this mortal kingdom to his sons (and none of them was present at his death), he entrusted the will to this presbyter alone, ordering it to be given to Constantius; for he, being nearer than the others, was expected to arrive before the others. From this he became known to Constantius (for he delivered 97 the will as he had been commanded), and he became an associate and was ordered to visit him often. And perceiving that Constantius's opinion was fickle and like reeds bent this way and that by opposing winds, he dared to undertake the war against the evangelical doctrines. And, supposedly lamenting the storm in the churches, he said that those who had inserted the unwritten word 'homoousios' into the teaching of the faith were the cause, and that this created division for both the clergy and the laity. From this, accusing Athanasius and those who thought like him, he contrived plots against them. Using him as a collaborator, Eusebius and Theogonius and Theodore of Perinthus (and Theodore was especially distinguished, and he also wrote the interpretation of the divine gospels, though many call him Heracleotes), these men, seeing the emperor constantly since they were neighbors, said that the return of Athanasius from exile had become the cause of very many evils, and that not only Egypt was partaking of the turmoil, but also Palestine and Phoenicia and the

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ἀφαιρεθεὶς τῶν φαρύγ "γων τῶν ἐπικειμένων αὐτῷ ἀνδρῶν, ὑπ' ἐμοὶ διάγειν κεκέλευσται "οὕτως ὡς ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ πόλει ἐν ᾗ διέτριβε πᾶσι τοῖς ἀναγκαίοις ἐμ "πλεονάζειν, εἰ καὶ τὰ μάλιστα αὐτοῦ ἡ ἀοίδιμος ἀρετή, ταῖς θείαις "πεποιθυῖα βοηθείαις, καὶ τὰ τῆς τραχυτέρας τύχης ἄχθη ἐξουθενεῖ. "τοιγαροῦν εἰ καὶ τὰ μάλιστα πρὸς τὴν προσφιλεστάτην ὑμῶν θεο "σέβειαν ὁ δεσπότης ἡμῶν ὁ τῆς μακαρίας μνήμης Κωνσταντῖνος ὁ "σεβαστός, ὁ ἐμὸς πατήρ, τὸν αὐτὸν ἐπίσκοπον τῷ ἰδίῳ τόπῳ παρα "σχεῖν προῄρητο, ὅμως ἐπειδή, ἀνθρωπίνῳ κλήρῳ προληφθείς, πρὸ "τοῦ τὴν εὐχὴν πληρῶσαι ἀνεπαύσατο, ἀκόλουθον ἡγησάμην τὴν "προαίρεσιν τοῦ τῆς θείας μνήμης βασιλέως διαδεξάμενος πληρῶσαι. "ὅστις ἐπειδὰν τῆς ὑμετέρας τύχῃ προσόψεως, ὅσης παρ' ἐμοῦ αἰδοῦς "τετύχηκε γνώσεσθε. οὐ γὰρ θαυμαστὸν εἴ τι δἂν ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ "πεποίηκα· καὶ γὰρ τὴν ἐμὴν ψυχὴν ἥ τε τοῦ ὑμετέρου πόθου εἰκὼν "καὶ τὸ τοῦ τηλικούτου ἀνδρὸς σχῆμα εἰς τοῦτο ἐκίνει καὶ προέτρεπεν. "ἡ θεία πρόνοια ὑμᾶς διαφυλάξει, ἀδελφοὶ ἀγαπητοί." Μετὰ τούτων ὁ θεῖος Ἀθανάσιος ἀφίκετο τῶν γραμμάτων. πάντες δὲ αὐτὸν ἀσμένως ἀπέλαβον, καὶ ἀστοὶ καὶ χωρητικοί, καὶ 96 οἱ ὀλίγοι καὶ οἱ πολλοί, μόνους δὲ ἠνία τῆς Ἀρείου μανίας τοὺς θιασώτας ἐπανελθών. διὸ δὴ πάλιν τὰς οἰκείας ἐκίνησαν μηχανὰς Εὐσέβιός τε καὶ Θεογόνιος καὶ ὅσοι τῆς τούτων ὑπῆρχον συμμορίας, καὶ πάλιν τὰς τοῦ βασιλέως νέου γε ὄντος διώρυττον ἀκοάς. ἐρῶ δὲ καὶ ὅπως οὗτος ἐκ τῆς τῶν ἀποστολικῶν δογμάτων εὐθύτητος παρετράπη. Κωνσταντία Λικιννίου μὲν ἐγεγόνει γαμετή, Κωνσταντίνου δὲ ἦν ἀδελφή. ταύτῃ τις πρεσβύτερος, τὴν Ἀρειανικὴν εἰσδεξάμενος λώβην, συνήθης ἐγένετο. καὶ τὴν μὲν νόσον οὐ προφανῶς ἐδείκνυ, συνεχῶς δὲ αὐτῇ προσδιαλεγόμενος ἔλεγε συκοφαντίαν ὑπομεμενηκέναι τὸν Ἄρειον. ταύτην ὁ πανεύφημος Κωνσταντῖνος μετὰ τὴν τοῦ δυσ σεβοῦς ἀνδρὸς τελευτὴν παντοδαπῆς κηδεμονίας ἠξίου καὶ τῶν τῆς χηρείας ἀνιαρῶν πεῖραν οὐκ εἴα λαβεῖν, καὶ παρ' αὐτὴν δὲ τὴν τελευτὴν παρῆν αὐτῇ τὴν ἁρμόττουσαν θεραπείαν προσφέρων. τότε δὴ τοῦτον κληθῆναι κελεύσασα τὸν πρεσβύτερον, τῆς τοῦ βασιλέως ἀξιοῦσθαι προμηθείας ἱκέτευεν. ὁ δὲ Κωνσταντῖνος καὶ τηνικαῦτα τοῦτο ποιήσειν ὑπέσχετο καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα πεπλήρωκε τὴν ὑπόσχεσιν· μετέδωκε γὰρ αὐτῷ παρρησίας ὅτι μάλιστα πλείστης. ἀλλ' ὅμως καὶ πολλῆς ἀξιούμενος θεραπείας οὐκ ἐθάρρησεν ἀποκαλύψαι τὴν νόσον, βεβαίαν ὁρῶν περὶ τὰ θεῖα τοῦ βασιλέως τὴν γνώμην. ἐπειδὴ δὲ Κωνσταντῖνος εἰς τὴν ἀνώλεθρον μεθιστάμενος βασιλείαν τοῖς παισὶν ἐν διαθήκαις τὴν ἐπίκηρον ταύτην βασιλείαν διένειμεν (οὐδεὶς δὲ τούτων τελευτῶντι παρῆν), τούτῳ μόνῳ τῷ πρεσβυτέρῳ τὰς διαθή κας ἐπίστευσε, Κωνσταντίῳ ταύτας δοθῆναι κελεύσας· οὗτος γὰρ τῶν ἄλλων πλησιέστερος ὢν πρὸ τῶν ἄλλων ἀφίξεσθαι προσδόκιμος ἦν. ἐντεῦθεν οὗτος τῷ Κωνσταντίῳ γενόμενος γνώριμος (ἀπέδωκε γὰρ 97 τὰς διαθήκας ὡς προσετάχθη), συνήθης ἐγένετο καὶ θαμὰ φοιτᾶν παρ' αὐτὸν ἐκελεύετο. κατιδὼν δὲ εὔριπον τοῦ Κωνσταντίου τὴν γνώμην καὶ καλάμοις ὑπ' ἀνέμων ἐναντίων τῇδε κἀκεῖσε κλινομένοις προσεοικυῖαν, ἐθάρρησε τὸν κατὰ τῶν εὐαγγελικῶν δογμάτων ἀνα δέξασθαι πόλεμον. καὶ τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν δῆθεν τὴν ζάλην ὀλοφυρό μενος, αἰτίους ἔλεγε τοὺς τὴν ἄγραφον τοῦ ὁμοουσίου φωνὴν ἐν τεθεικότας τῇ διδασκαλίᾳ τῆς πίστεως, καὶ τοῦτο καὶ τοῖς ἱερωμένοις καὶ τοῖς πολλοῖς ἐργάζεσθαι τὴν διάστασιν. ἐντεῦθεν Ἀθανασίου καὶ τῶν τὰ ἴσα φρονούντων κατηγορῶν τὰς κατὰ τούτων ἐπιβουλὰς ἐτεκταίνετο. Τούτῳ συνεργῷ κεχρημένοι Εὐσέβιός τε καὶ Θεογόνιος καὶ Θεό δωρος ὁ Περίνθιος (ἐλλόγιμος δὲ διαφερόντως ὁ Θεόδωρος ἦν καὶ δὴ καὶ τῶν θείων εὐαγγελίων τὴν ἑρμηνείαν συνέγραψεν, Ἡρακλεώ την δὲ αὐτὸν ὀνομάζουσιν οἱ πολλοί), οὗτοι συνεχῶς ἅτε δὴ γειτο νεύοντες τὸν βασιλέα ὁρῶντες, τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς ἐξορίας ἐπάνοδον Ἀθα νασίου παμπόλλων ἔλεγον αἰτίαν γεγενῆσθαι κακῶν, καὶ οὐ μόνον τὴν Αἴγυπτον μεταλαγχάνειν τοῦ κλύδωνος, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν Παλαιστί νην καὶ τὴν Φοινίκην καὶ τὰ