selbst als Pontifex maximus sein wollte, in seinem voUen Glanz und Gepriinge, mit alien seinen Ceremonien und Mysterien wieder her- zustellen, macht einen Eindruck, der es kaum verkennen lasst, wie wenig er sich selbst das Unnatiirliche und Erfolglose eines solchen Strebens verbergen konnte." ' Julian s views on the heathen priests are laid down especially in his 49th Epistle to Ursacius, the highpriest of Gaul, p. 429, and in the fragment of an oration, p. 300 sqq., ed. Spanh. UUmann, in his work on Gregory of Nazianzen, p. 527 sqq., draws an interesting parallel between Gregory's and Julian's ideal of a priest. TOL. II. — 4 50 THIRD PERIOD. A.D. 311-590. tasteless and immoral mythological stories ! Every temple was to have a well arranged choir, and the congregation its re- sponses. And finally, Julian established in different provinces monasteries, nnnneries, and hospitals for the sick, for orphans, and for foreigners without distinction of religion, aj)propriated to them considerable sums from the public treasury, and at the same time, though fruitlessly, invited voluntary contribu- tions. He made the noteworthy concession, that the heathens did not help even their own bretlu-en in faith ; while the Jews never begged, and " the godless Galileans," as he malignantly styled the Christians, sup23lied not only their own, but even the heathen poor, and thus aided the worst of causes by a good practice. But of course all these attempts to regenerate heathenism by foreign elements were utterly futile. They were like gal- vanizing a decaying corpse, or grafting fresh scions on a dead trunk, sowing good seed on a rock, or pouring new wine into old bottles, bursting the bottles and wasting the wine„ IL The negative side of Julian's plan was the suppression and final extinction of Christianity. In this he proceeded witb extraordinary sagacity. He abstained from bloody persecution, because he would not forego the credit of philosopical toleration, nor give the church the glory of a new martyrdom. A history of three centuries also had proved that violent measures were fruitless. Accord- ing to Libanius it was a principle with him, that fire and swoixl cannot change a man's faith, and that persecution only begets hypocrites and martyrs. Finally, he doubtless perceived that the Christians were too numerous to be assailed by a general persecution without danger of a bloody civil war. Hence he oppressed the church " gently," ' under show of equity and universal toleration. He persecuted not so much the Chris- tians as Christianity, by endeavoring to draw off its confessors. He thought to gain the result of persecution without incurring the personal reproach and the public danger of persecution * 'ZitieiKws ifiid(eTo, as Gregory Xazianzen, Orat. iv., expresses it. t § 4. JULIAN THE APOSTATE. 51 itself. His disappointments, however, increased his bitter- ness, and had he returned victorious from the Persian war, he would probably have resorted to open violence. In fact, Gregory Nazianzen and Sozomen, and some heathen writers also, tell of local persecutions