Page:History of the First Council of Nice.djvu/37

Rh and nephews of the late emperor had attempted to poison him, and directing that his death should be avenged on them. Whereupon the soldiers declared they would have no sovereigns but the sons of Constantine; and, Constantius probably conniving at the crime, his two uncles and several cousins, with some of their friends, were murdered in cold blood.—Gibbon.

Constantine was not a great man in depth and penetration of intellect, but exceedingly shrewd, prompt, and energetic in all the affairs of life, and inspired by such unbounded selfish ambition, that he overcame difficulties, which far greater souls would have deemed insurmountable. His credulity and superstition, which arose probably from ignorance of even the first principles of natural science, were the only checks upon his evil propensities. And both the old religion and the new, as he understood them, taught that every event was a special providence, and Jehovah, or some other deity, was the first and only cause of all our fortunes. However, according to his plan, sovereigns were instruments to carry on the affairs of the world, so they might imitate the Heavenly King, and make laws for nations, slay their subjects at pleasure, as the laws of nature do, and wield the sword and fire, and every kind of vengeance, against their foes, without overstepping the bounds of their proper sphere; and whatever God allowed to be successful, bore the stamp of his approval, inasmuch as it would not have been permitted unless it were right.

He was taught by the bishops that God sent his only Son to be crucified for the benefit of mankind; therefore a sovereign might order his son to be sacrificed for the good and peace of society. Under the influence of such fanaticism, he perhaps