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of these pious men, and again fields and again deserts, glens and mountains received the servants of Christ. But since these things also proceeded for the impious one in this manner, he finally conceived the idea of stirring up a persecution against all, 10.8.19 and the plan was prevailing, and there was nothing to hinder him from proceeding to the deed, had not God, the champion of his own souls, very quickly anticipated the future, and as in deep darkness and gloomiest night, suddenly made a great light and savior to shine forth for all, guiding with a high arm his servant Constantine to the affairs here. 10.9.1 To him, therefore, from above, from heaven, He granted the trophies of victory over the impious as a fruit worthy of his piety, but the sinner with all his counselors and friends He cast prostrate under the feet of Constantine. 10.9.2 For as his affairs drove to the furthest bounds of madness, the emperor, the friend of God, reasoning that he was no longer to be endured, and combining his sober judgment and his firm sense of justice with philanthropy, decides to come to the aid of those who were suffering under the tyrant, and sets out to rescue the greatest part of the human race, by putting a few destroyers out of the way. 10.9.3 For during the time before this, when he had used philanthropy alone and pitied him who was not worthy of sympathy, nothing was gained, for he was not delivered from his wickedness, but rather increased his rage against the subject nations, while for those who were being ill-treated, tyrannized by a terrible beast, no hope of salvation was left. 10.9.4 Wherefore, the champion of the good, mixing his hatred of evil with his love of good, went forth together with his son Crispus, a most philanthropic emperor, stretching out a saving right hand to all who were perishing. Then, having God the King of all and the Son of God, the Savior of all, as their guide and ally, father and son together, dividing the battle-line against the God-haters, carry off an easy victory, as everything in the engagement was made easy for them by God according to their purpose. 10.9.5 At once, then, and quicker than word can tell, those who yesterday and the day before were breathing death and threats were no more, not even being remembered by name; and their portraits and honors received their deserved dishonor. And what Licinius had seen with his own eyes happen to the impious tyrants of old, these same things he also suffered, because he himself had neither accepted correction nor been brought to his senses by the scourges of his neighbors, but having pursued the same path of impiety as they, he was justly brought round to the same precipice as they. 10.9.6 But he, thus cast down, lay there. But the greatest victor Constantine, pre-eminent in every virtue of piety, together with his son Crispus, a most God-beloved emperor and in all things like his father, recovered their own East, and made the Roman empire one and united, as of old, bringing under their peace the whole world from the rising of the sun in a circle to the opposite parts of the world, both north and south, to the furthest limits of the setting day. 10.9.7 And so all fear of those who had formerly oppressed them was taken away from men, and they celebrated brilliant and festive holidays; and all things were full of light, and those who before were downcast looked at one another with smiling faces and cheerful eyes. With dances and hymns in cities and countryside alike they first of all glorified God the King of all, for this they had been taught, and then the pious emperor with his God-beloved children. 10.9.8 There was an amnesty for former evils and a forgetting of all impiety, an enjoyment of present goods and, in addition, an expectation of those to come. And so in every place ordinances of the victorious emperor full of benevolence were spread abroad, and laws containing tokens of munificence and of true piety. 10.9.9 Thus, then, with all tyranny purged away, the rightful sovereignty was preserved, secure and free from envy, for Constantine and his sons alone, who, having wiped away from life the God-hatedness of all those before them, of the

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τούτοις τῶν θεοσεβῶν ἐγίνοντο ἀνδρῶν, καὶ πάλιν ἀγροὶ καὶ πάλιν ἐρημίαι νάπαι τε καὶ ὄρη τοὺς Χριστοῦ θεράποντας ὑπεδέχοντο. ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ ταῦτα τοῦτον προυχώρει τῷ δυσσεβεῖ τὸν τρόπον, λοιπὸν καὶ τὸν κατὰ πάντων ἀνακινεῖν διωγμὸν ἐπὶ διάνοιαν ἐβάλλετο, 10.8.19 ἐκράτει τε γνώμης καὶ οὐδὲν ἐμποδὼν ἦν αὐτῷ μὴ οὐχὶ ἐν ἔργῳ χωρεῖν, εἰ μὴ τάχιστα τὸ μέλλον ἔσεσθαι προλαβὼν ὁ τῶν οἰκείων ψυχῶν ὑπέρμαχος θεὸς ὡς ἐν βαθεῖ σκότῳ καὶ νυκτὶ ζοφωδεστάτῃ φωστῆρα μέγαν ἀθρόως καὶ σωτῆρα τοῖς πᾶσιν ἐξέλαμψεν, τὸν αὐτοῦ θεράποντα Κωνσταντῖνον ὑψηλῷ βραχίονι ἐπὶ τὰ τῇδε χειραγωγήσας. 10.9.1 Τούτῳ μὲν οὖν ἄνωθεν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ καρπὸν εὐσεβείας ἐπάξιον τὰ τρόπαια τῆς κατὰ τῶν ἀσεβῶν παρεῖχε νίκης, τὸν δ' ἀλιτήριον αὐτοῖς συμβούλοις ἅπασιν καὶ φίλοις ὑπὸ τοῖς Κωνσταντίνου ποσὶν πρηνῆ κατέβαλεν. 10.9.2 ὡς γὰρ εἰς ἔσχατα μανίας τὰ κατ' αὐτὸν ἤλαυνεν, οὐκέτ' ἀνεκτὸν εἶναι λογισάμενος βασιλεὺς ὁ τῷ θεῷ φίλος τὸν σώφρονα συναγαγὼν λογισμὸν καὶ τὸν στερρὸν τοῦ δικαίου τρόπον φιλανθρωπίᾳ κερασάμενος, ἐπαμῦναι κρίνει τοῖς ὑπὸ τῷ τυράννῳ ταλαιπωρουμένοις, καὶ τό γε πλεῖστον ἀνθρώπων γένος, βραχεῖς λυμεῶνας ἐκποδὼν ποιησάμενος, ἀνασώσασθαι ὁρμᾶται. 10.9.3 μόνῃ γὰρ αὐτῷ χρωμένῳ φιλανθρωπίᾳ τὸν πρὸ τούτου χρόνον καὶ τὸν οὐ συμπαθείας ἄξιον ἐλεοῦντι, τῷ μὲν οὐδὲν ἐγίνετο πλέον, τῆς κακίας οὐκ ἀπαλλαττομένῳ, αὔξοντι δὲ μᾶλλον τὴν κατὰ τῶν ὑποχειρίων ἐθνῶν λύτταν, τοῖς δὲ κακουμένοις οὔτις ἐλείπετο σωτηρίας ἐλπίς, ὑπὸ δεινῷ θηρὶ κατατυραννουμένοις. 10.9.4 δι' ὃ δὴ τῷ φιλαγάθῳ μίξας τὸ μισοπόνηρον ὁ τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀρωγὸς πρόεισιν ἅμα παιδὶ Κρίσπῳ βασιλεῖ φιλανθρωποτάτῳ, σωτήριον δεξιὰν ἅπασιν τοῖς ἀπολλυμένοις ἐκτείνας· εἶθ' οἷα παμβασιλεῖ θεῷ θεοῦ τε παιδὶ σωτῆρι ἁπάντων ποδηγῷ καὶ συμμάχῳ χρώμενοι, πατὴρ ἅμα καὶ υἱὸς ἄμφω κύκλῳ διελόντες τὴν κατὰ τῶν θεομισῶν παράταξιν, ῥᾳδίαν τὴν νίκην ἀποφέρονται, τῶν κατὰ τὴν συμβολὴν πάντων ἐξευμαρισθέντων αὐτοῖς ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ κατὰ γνώμην. 10.9.5 ἀθρόως δῆτα καὶ λόγου θᾶττον οἱ μὲν χθὲς καὶ πρὸ ἡμέρας θανάτου πνέοντες καὶ ἀπειλῆς οὐκέτ' ἦσαν, οὐδὲ μέχρις ὀνόματος μνημονευόμενοι, γραφαί τε αὐτῶν καὶ τιμαὶ τὴν ἀξίαν αἰσχύνην ἀπελάμβανον, καὶ ἃ τοῖς πάλαι δυσσεβέσιν τυράννοις ἐνεῖδεν αὐτοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς Λικίννιος, ταῦτα ὁμοίως καὶ αὐτὸς ἔπασχεν, ὅτι μηδ' αὐτὸς ἐδέξατο παιδείαν μηδὲ ἐπὶ ταῖς τῶν πέλας ἐσωφρονίσθη μάστιξιν, τὴν ὁμοίαν δ' ἐκείνοις τῆς ἀσεβείας μετελθὼν ὁδόν, ἐπὶ τὸν ἴσον αὐτοῖς ἐνδίκως περιηνέχθη κρημνόν. 10.9.6 ἀλλ' οὗτος μὲν ταύτῃ πῃ βεβλημένος ἔκειτο ὁ δ' ἀρετῇ πάσῃ θεοσεβείας ἐκπρέπων μέγιστος νικητὴς Κωνσταντῖνος σὺν παιδὶ Κρίσπῳ, βασιλεῖ θεοφιλεστάτῳ καὶ τὰ πάντα τοῦ πατρὸς ὁμοίῳ, τὴν οἰκείαν ἑῴαν ἀπελάμβανον καὶ μίαν ἡνωμένην τὴν Ῥωμαίων κατὰ τὸ παλαιὸν παρεῖχον ἀρχήν, τὴν ἀπ' ἀνίσχοντος ἡλίου πᾶσαν ἐν κύκλῳ κατὰ θάτερα τῆς οἰκουμένης ἄρκτον τε ὁμοῦ καὶ μεσημβρίαν εἰς ἔσχατα δυομένης ἡμέρας ὑπὸ τὴν αὐτῶν ἄγοντες εἰρήνην. 10.9.7 ἀφῄρητο δ' οὖν ἐξ ἀνθρώπων πᾶν δέος τῶν πρὶν αὐτοὺς πιεζόντων, λαμπρὰς δ' ἐτέλουν καὶ πανηγυρικὰς ἑορτῶν ἡμέρας, ἦν τε φωτὸς ἔμπλεα πάντα, καὶ μειδιῶσι προσώποις ὄμμασί τε φαιδροῖς οἱ πρὶν κατηφεῖς ἀλλήλους ἔβλεπον, χορεῖαι δ' αὐτοῖς καὶ ὕμνοι κατὰ πόλεις ὁμοῦ καὶ ἀγροὺς τὸν παμβασιλέα θεὸν πρώτιστα πάντων, ὅτι δὴ τοῦτ' ἐδιδάχθησαν, κἄπειτα τὸν εὐσεβῆ βασιλέα παισὶν ἅμα θεοφιλέσιν ἐγέραιρον, 10.9.8 κακῶν δ' ἀμνηστία παλαιῶν ἦν καὶ λήθη πάσης δυσσεβείας, παρόντων δ' ἀγαθῶν ἀπόλαυσις καὶ προσέτι μελλόντων προσδοκίαι. ἥπλωντο δ' οὖν κατὰ πάντα τόπον τοῦ νικητοῦ βασιλέως φιλανθρωπίας ἔμπλεοι διατάξεις νόμοι τε μεγαλοδωρεᾶς καὶ ἀληθοῦς εὐσεβείας γνωρίσματα περιέχοντες. 10.9.9 οὕτω δῆτα πάσης τυραννίδος ἐκκαθαρθείσης, μόνοις ἐφυλάττετο τὰ τῆς προσηκούσης βασιλείας βέβαιά τε καὶ ἀνεπίφθονα Κωνσταντίνῳ καὶ τοῖς αὐτοῦ παισίν, οἳ τῶν πρόσθεν ἁπάντων ἀποσμήξαντες τοῦ βίου τὴν θεοστυγίαν, τῶν