99
CHAP. XVIII.
Character of Constantine—Gothic war—Deathof Constantine—Division of the empire amonghis three sons—Persian tear—Tragic deathsof Constantine the younger and Constans —Usurpation of Magnentius —Civil war — Vic-tory of Constantius .
The character of the prince who removed! chap.
the seat of empire, and introduced such impor-.
taut changes into the civil and religious consti- Charactertution of his country, has fixed the attention, stantine.and divided the opinions, of mankind. By thegrateful zeal of the Christians , the deliverer ofthe church has been decorated with every at-tribute of a hero, and even of a saint; whilethe discontent of the vanquished party hascompared Constantine to the most abhorred ofthose tyrants, who, by their vice and weak-ness, dishonoured the imperial purple. Thesame passions have in some degree been per-petuated to succeeding generations; and thecharacter of Constantine is considered, even inthe present age, as an object either of satire orof panegyric. By the impartial union of thosedefects which are confessed by his warmest ad-mirers, and of those virtues which are acknow-ledged by his most implacable enemies, wemight hope to delineate a just portrait of thatextraordinary man, which the truth and can-