114 THE DECLINE AND FALL,

xvih some it will perhaps be thought, that theremembrance of a conjugal union of twentyyears, and the honour of their common off-spring, the destined heirs of the throne, mighthave softened the obdurate heart of Constan-tine; and persuaded him to suffer his w'ife,however guilty she might appear, to expiateher offences in a solitary prison. But it seemsa superfluous labour to weigh the propriety,unless we could ascertain the truth, of this sin-gular event; which is attended with some cir-cumstances of doubt and perplexity. Thosewho have attacked, and those who have de-fended, the character of Constantine, have alikedisregarded tw r o very remarkable passages oftwo orations pronounced under the succeedingreign. The former celebrates the virtues, thebeauty, and the fortune of the empress Fausta ,the daughter , wife, sister, and mother of so manyprinces. 1 * Thelatter asserts,in explicit terms, thatthe mother of the younger Constantine, who wasslain three years after his father’s death, sur-vived to weep over the fate of her son.' Not-withstanding the positive testimony of several

d Julian. Orat. i. He seems to call her the mother of Crispus. Shemight assume that title by adoption. At least, she was not consideredat his mortal enemy. Juliau compares the fortune of Fausta with thatofParysatis, the Persian queen. A Roman would have more naturallyrecollected the second Agrippina:

Et moi, qui sur le trone ai suivi mes ancetres:

Moi, fille, femme, sosur et mere de vos maitres.

e Monod. in Constantin. Jun. c. 4, ad Calcem Eutrop. edit.Havercamp. The orator styles her the most divine and pious ofqueens.