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 justice (Soz. v. 5). The church lost its power of inheritance, and its ministers the privileges of making wills and of jurisdiction in certain cases (Jul. Ep. 52, p. 437 Bostrenis). But perhaps what was felt most of all was the loss of immunity from personal taxation and from the service of the curiae or municipal councils, who were held responsible for the taxes of their district. A short decree issued on Mar. 13, 362, made all persons, formerly privileged as Christians, liable to the office of decurion (Cod. Theod. xii. I, 50). We may readily admit that the church would have been safer and holier without some of its privileges, which bound it too closely to the state. But to abolish them all at once, without warning, was a very harsh proceeding, which caused much suffering, and Ammianus only spoke the general opinion when he censured the conduct of his hero (Amm. xxv. 4, 21, cf. xxii. 9, 12). A Greek decree of apparently the same date, addressed to the Byzantines—i.e. the citizens of Constantinople—extended this measure to all privileged persons whatsoever, except those who had "done public service in the metropolis"—i.e. probably, those who had as consuls or praetors exhibited costly games for the public amusement (Ep. II); a later decree also confirming the "chief physicians" in their immunities (Cod. Theod. xiii. 3–4, nearly equivalent to Ep. 25).

In the spring of this year, while he was still at Constantinople, the affairs of the church of Alexandria attracted Julian's attention, and led to the first decided step which violated his policy of personal toleration. The intruded Arian bishop, George of Cappadocia, had made himself equally detested by pagans and Catholics. On Dec. 24 he was foully murdered by the former (without any intervention of Christians) in a riot. Dracontius, master of the mint, who had overturned an altar recently set up in his office, and Diodorus, who was building a church and gave offence to pagan prejudices by cutting short the hair of some boys employed under him, were both torn to pieces in the same sedition (Amm. xxii. II, 9). Julian wrote an indignant reprimand to the people, but inflicted no punishment (Ep. 10, Amm. l.c.; cf. Julian's letter to Zeno, Ep. 45). On Feb. 22 St. Athanasius was again seated upon his throne amid the rejoicing of the people. Julian saw in him an enemy he could not afford to tolerate. He wrote to the Alexandrians (apparently at once), saying that one so often banished by royal decree ought to have awaited special permission to return; that in allowing the exiled bishops to come back he did not mean to restore them to their churches; Athanasius, he feared, had resumed his "episcopal throne," to the great disgust of "god-fearing Alexandrians." He therefore ordered him to leave the city at once, on pain of greater punishment (Ep. 26). Athanasius braved the emperor's wrath and did not leave Alexandria, except, perhaps, for a time. Public feeling was with him, and an appeal was apparently forwarded to the emperor to reconsider his sentence. (Ep. 51, written probably in Oct. 362, speaks of Athanasius as (ἐπιζητούμενος by the Alexandrians.) The sequel of this appeal will appear later.

Another change of policy about this time shewed a further advance in intolerance and inconsistency. Julian determined to take the control of education into the hands of the state. On June 17, while en route between Constantinople and Antioch, he issued an edict, promulgated at Spoleto, to the Western empire, on June 28. This document said nothing about Christian teachers, but required for all professors and schoolmasters a diploma of approval from the municipal council in every city before they might teach. This was to be forwarded to himself for counter-signature (Cod. Theod. xiii. 3, 5). This power of veto was no doubt aimed at Christian teachers; and another edict, supposed to have been issued soon after, struck an open and violent blow at the church. This may have been issued even earlier; it can hardly have been much later (Ep. 42, with no title or date). It declares that "only a cheat and a charlatan will teach one thing while he thinks another. All teachers, especially those who instruct the young, ought . . . not to oppose the common belief and try to insinuate their own. . . . Now Homer, Hesiod, Demosthenes, Herodotus, Thucydides, Isocrates, and Lysias all founded their learning upon the gods, and considered themselves dedicated to Hermes or the Muses. It is monstrous, then, that those who teach these writers should dishonour their gods. I do not wish them to change their religion that they may retain their offices, but I give them the choice, either not to teach, or, if they prefer to do so, to teach at the same time that none of these authors is guilty of folly or impiety in his doctrine about the gods. . . . If teachers think these authors which they expound wise, and draw philosophy from them, let them emulate their religion. If they think them in error, let them go to the churches of the Galileans and expound Matthew and Luke, who forbid our sacrifices. I wish, however, the ears and tongues of you Christians may be 'regenerated,' as you would say, by these writings which I value so much."

Christians considered the decree practically to exclude them from the schools. For Julian expressly orders all teachers to insist on the religious side of their authors. Grammar schools were to become seminaries of paganism. No indifferent or merely philological teaching was to be allowed. No sincere Christian parents therefore could send their sons to such schools. A quotation given by Gregory, as if from this decree, is not found in the text of the edict as we have it (Or. 4, 102, p. 132). Perhaps he may be quoting some other of Julian's writings, e.g. the books against the Christians. The words are characteristic: "Literature and the Greek language are naturally ours, who are worshippers of the gods ; illiterate ignorance and rusticity are yours, whose wisdom goes no further than to say `believe.'" The last taunt is borrowed from Celsus (Origen, c. Celsum, i. 9).

Two celebrated men gave up their posts rather than submit to this edict—Prohaeresius of Athens, whom many thought superior to Libanius, and C. Marius Victorinus of Rome. Julian had already made overtures to the former (Ep. 2), and even offered to except him from the action of the edict; but he refused to be put in a better condition than his fellows (Hieron. Chron. sub anno 2378; cf. Eunap.