Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 1.djvu/1032

Rh 1014 DIOCLETIANUS. of the sovereign with a sort of sacred and myste- rious grandeur. Passing over the military skill of Diocletian, we can scarcely refuse to acknowledge that the man who formed the scheme of reconstructing a great empire, and executed his plan within so brief a space of time, must have combined a bold and capacious intellect with singular prudence and practical dexterity. That his plans were such as a profound statesman would approve may fairly be questioned, for it needed but little knowledge of human nature to foresee, that the ingenious but complicated machine would never work with smoothness after the regulating hand of the inventor was withdrawn ; and, accordingly, his death was the signal for a succession of furious struggles among the rival Caesars and Augusti, which did not terminate until the whole empire was reunited under Constantine. Still the great social change was accomplished ; a new order of things was introduced which detennined the rela- tion between the sovereign and the subject, until the final downfall of the Roman sway, upon prin- ciples not before recognized in the Western world, and which to this day exercise no small influence upon the political condition of Europe. One of the worst effects, in the first instance, of the revolution, was the vast increase of the public expenditure, caused by the necessity of supporting two imperial and two vice-regal courts upon a scale of oriental splendour, and by the magnificent edifices reared by the vanity or policy of the different rulers for the embellishment of their capitals or favoiuite residences. The amount of revenue required could be raised only by increased taxation, and we find that all classes of the com- munity complained bitterly of the merciless exac- tions to which they were exposed. Yet, on the whole, Diocletian was by no means indifferent to the comfort and prosperity of his people. Various monopolies were abolished, trade was encouraged, a disposition was manifested to advance merit and to repress corruption in every department. The views entertained upon subjects connected with political economy are well illustrated by the singular edict lately discovered at Stratoniceia, by Colonel Leake, fixing the wages of labourers and artizans, together with the maximum price, throughout the world, of all the necessaries and commodities of life. It is not possible to avoid being struck by the change wrought upon the general aspect of public affairs during the years, not many in number, which elapsed between the accession and abdication of Diocletian. He found the empire weak and shat- tered, threatened with immediate dissolution, from intestine discord and external violence. He left it strong and compact, at peace within, and triumph- ant abroad, stretching from the Tigris to the Nile, from the shores of Holland to the Euxine. By far the worst feature of this reign was the terrible persecution of the Christians. The con- duct of the prince upon this occasion is the more remarkable, because we are at first sight imable to detect any motive which could have induced him to permit such atrocities, and one of the most marked features in his character was his earnest avoidance of harsh measures. The history of the affair seems briefly this : The pagans of the old school had formed a close alliance with the scep- tical philosophers, and both perceived that the time was now arrived for a desperate struggle DIODORUS. which must finally establish or destroy their su- premacy. This faction found an organ in the relentless Galerius, stimulated partly by his own passions, but especially by the fanaticism of his mother, who was notorious for her devotion to some of the wildest and most revolting rites of Eastern superstition. As the health of Diocletian declined, his mind sunk in some degree under the pressure of disease, while the influence of his associate Augustus became every day more strong. At length, after repeated and most urgent repre- sentations, Galerius succeeded in extorting from his colle.igue — for even the most hostile accounts admit that the consent of Diocletian was given with the greatest reluctance — the first edict which, although stem and tyrannical in its ordinances, positively forbad all personal violence. But when the proclamation was torn down by an indignant believer, and when this act of contumacy was followed by a conflagration in the palace, occurring under the most suspicious circumstances, and unhesitatingly ascribed by Galerius to the Chris- tians, the emperor considered that the grand prin- ciple for which he had been so strenuously con- tending, the supreme majesty and inviolability of the royal person, was openly assailed, and thus was persuaded without further resistance to give his assent to those sanguinary decrees which for years deluged the world with innocent blood. It is not improbable that the intellects of Diocle- tian were seriously affected, and that his malady may have amounted to absolute insanity. (Aurel. Victor, de Goes. 39, Epit. 39 ; Eutrop. ix. 13, &c.; Zonar. xii. 31.) [W. R.] COIN OF DIOCLETIANUS. DIO'CORUS or DIO'SCORUS (Atrf/copos or Ai6aKopos), a commentator on the orations of De- mosthenes. (Ulpian, ad Dem.Phii. iv. init.) [L.S.] DIODO'RUS (A«)5«pos), historical. 1. A commander of Amphipolis in the reign of king Per- seus of Macedonia. When the report of the king's defeat at Pella reached Amphipolis, and Diodorus feared lest the 2000 Thracians who were stationed as garrison at Amphipolis should revolt and plun- der the place, he induced them by a cunning stratagem to leave the town and go to Emathia, where they might obtain rich plunder. After they had left the town, and crossed the river Strymon, he closed the gates, and Perseus soon after took refuge there. (Liv. xliv. 44.) 2. The tutor of Demetrius. When Demetrius was kept in captivity at Rome, Diodorus came to him from Syria, and persuaded him that he would, be received with open arms by the people of Syria if he would but escape and make his appearance among them. Demetrius readily listened to him, and sent him to Syria to prepare everything and to explore the disposition of the people. (Polyb. xxxi. 20, 21.) [L. S.] DIODO'RUS (Aio5«pos),literary. 1. Of Adra- MVTTiUM, a rhetorician and Academic philosopher. He lived at the time of Mithridates, under whom