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 124 THE DECLINE AND FALL though lofty ascent ; the triple structure was celebrated as a prodigy of art, and tlie boundless prospect of the land and sea might have raised the mind of a sectary to the contemplation of the God of the universe. Six hundred and thirty bishops were ranged in order in the nave of the church ; but the patriarchs of the East were preceded by the legates^ of whom the third was a simple priest ; and the place of honour was reserved for twenty la3'nien of consular or senatorian rank. The gosjjel was ostentatiously displayed in the centre, but the rule of faith was defined by the papal and Imperial ministers, who moderated the thirteen sessions of the council of Chalcedon.''" Their partial interposition silenced the intemperate shouts and execrations which degraded the episcopal gravity ; but, on the formal accusation of the legates, Dioscorus was compelled to descend from his throne to the rank of a criminal, already con- demned in the opinion of his judges. The Orientals, less adverse to Xestorius than to Cyril, accepted the. Romans as their deliverers : Thrace, and Pontus, and Asia were exasperated against the murderer of Flavian, and the new patriarchs of Constantinople and Antioch securcul their places by the sacrifice of their benefactor. The bisho))s of Palestine, Macedonia, and Greece were attaciied to the faith of Cyril ; but in the face of the synod, in the heat of the battle, the leaders, with their obsequious train, passed from the right to the left wing, and decided the victory by this seasonable desertion. Of the seventeen sutlragans who sailed from Alexandria, four were tempted from their allegiance, and the thirteen, falling ])ros- ti'ate on the ground, imj)lored the mercy of the council, with sighs and teai's and a pathetic declaration that, if they yielded, they should be massacred, on their return to Egypt, by the indignant people. A tardy re})entance was allowed to expiate the guilt or error of the accomplices of Dioscorus ; but their sins were accumulated on his head ; he neither asked nor hoped for pardon, and the moderation of those who pleaded for a general amnesty was drowned in the prevailing cry of victory and revenge. To save the reputation of his late adherents, ''■' The Acts of the Council of C'halcedon (Concil. torn. iv. p. 761-2071) compre- hend those of Ephesiis (p. S90-1189), which agahi comprise the synod of Constanti- nople under Flavian (p. 930-1072) ; and it requires some attention to disengage this double involution. The whole business of Eutyches, Flavian, and Dioscorus is related by Evagrius (!. i. c. 9-12, and 1. ii. c. 1,2, 3, 4) and Liberatus (Hrcv. c. ji, 12, 13, 14). Once more, and almost for the last time, I appeal to the diligence of Tillemont (M^m. Ecclcs. tom. xv. p. 479-719). The annnls of Baronius and Pagi will accompany me much farther on my long and laborious journey.