Others thought differently, but, having understood the will of Galerius , they, either from dread of displeasing or from a desire of gratifying him, concurred in the opinion given against the Christians . Yet not even then could the emperor be prevailed upon to yield his assent. He determined above all to consult his gods; and to that end he dispatched a soothsayer to inquire of Apollo at Miletus , whose answer was such as might be expected from an enemy of the divine religion . So Diocletian was drawn over from his purpose. But although he could struggle no longer against his friends, and against Csar and Apollo, yet still he attempted to observe such moderation as to command the business to be carried through without bloodshed ; whereas Galerius would have had all persons burnt alive who refused to sacrifice . Chapter 12. A fit and auspicious day was sought out for the accomplishment of this undertaking; and the festival of the god Terminus , celebrated on the sevens of the kalends of March , was chosen, in preference to all others, to terminate, as it were, the Christian religion . That day, the harbinger of death, arose, First cause of ill, and long enduring woes; of woes which befell not only the Christians , but the whole earth. When that day dawned, in the eighth consulship of Diocletian and seventh of Maximian , suddenly, while it was yet hardly light, the prefect , together with chief commanders,