of his pre- decessor, and the imperfections of the church in his day. With Julian himself fell also his artificial, galvanized heathenism, " like the baseless fabric of a vision, leaving no wreck behind," save the great doctrine, that it is impossible to swim against the stream of history or to stop the progress of Christianity. The heathen philosophers and soothsayers, who had basked in his favor, fell back into obscurity. In the dis- persion of their dream they found no comfort from their superstition. Libanius charges the guilt upon his own gods, who sufiered Constantius to reign twenty years, and Julian hardly twenty months. But the Christians could learn from it, what Gregory ISTazianzen had said in the beginning of this reign, that the church had far more to fear from enemies within, than from without. § 5. From Jovian to Theodosius. a.d. 363-392. I. The heatlien sources here, besides Ammianus Marcellinus (who unfor- tunately breaks off at the death of Valens), Zosimus and Eunapius (who are very partial), are : Libanius : 'Ynep rchv iepuv, or Oratio pro 'templis (first complete ed. by L. de Sinner, in Novus Patrum Graec. saec. iv. delectus. Par. 1842). Symmaohus : Epist. x. 61 (ed. Pareus, Frcf. 1642). On the Christian side: Ambrose: Epist. xvii. and xviii. ad Valentinian. II. Prudentius : Adv. Symmachum. Augustin : De civitate Dei, 1. v. c. 24-26 (on the emperors from Jovinian to Theodosius, especially the latter, whom he greatly glorifies). Socr. : 1. iii. c. 22 sqq. SozoM. : 1. vi. c. 3 sqq. Theodor. : 1. iv. c. 1 sqq. Cod. Theodos. : 1. ix.-xvi. ' The Christian poet, Prudentius, forms an exception, in his well known just es- timate of JuHan (Apotheos. 450 sqq.), which Gibbon also cites: " Ductor fortissimus armis ; Conditor et legum celeberrimus ; ore manuque Consultor patriae ; sed non consultor habendae Religionis ; amans tercentum millia Divum. Perfidus ille Deo, sed non et perfidus orbi." 60 THERD PERIOD. A.D. 311-590. II. De la Bleterie: Histoire de Tempereur Jovien. i^msterd. 1740, 2 vols. Gibbon: chap, xxv-xxviii. Schrookh : vii. p. 213 sqq. Stuff- ken: De Theodosii M. in rem christianam meritis. Lugd. Batav, 1828. From this time lieathenism approach eel, with slow hut steady step, its inevitable dissolution, until it found an •iglo- rious grave amid the storms of the great migration and the ruins of the empire of the Csesars, and in its death proclaimed the victory of Christianity. Emperors, bishops, and iii< nks committed indeed manifold injustice in destroying temples and confiscating property ; btit that injustice was nothing com])ai'ed with the bloody persecution of Christianity foi' three himdred years. The heathenism of ancient Greece and Home died of internal decay, which no human power could prevent. After Julian, the succession of Christian emperors continued unbroken. On the day of his death, which was also the ex- tinction of the Constantinian family, the general Joviajj, a Christian (363-364), was chosen emperor by the army. He concluded