The sun., 1895-05-05
m.

| In the west subsequent events prOVeu Inht
Julians campaigns against the German tribes
| and his administrative reforms had not been
thrown away. valentinian. in his military and
| provincial arrangements and conduct, proved o
| worthy successor. He fixed his residence for a
| time at Paris, and labored, rs Julian had done.
| for the relief Of the burdens and difficulties Of
tho Gauls. On the other hand. tho great in
crease OF the barbarian element In the Roman
army which Julian had felt II necessary to re-
tain throughout his wars. continued to influence
| for evil and for good the fortunes OF tho Roman
world. 1t is doubtful whether tho wisest OF
rulers could long have averted the irruption of
| tho Teutonc peoples into the lands OF southern
| Europe. Yet. II we would estimate the worth
| of what WINS accomplished by Julian and those
| that followed in his steps, we should bear in
| mind that every delay was a clear gain. The
| longer the masses of the barbarians were kept
| at bay on the borders of the empire. while their
ablest men were learning something of organ
lied enterprise and civilized life. in military
| employment in the Roman army or in private
intercourse with the officials Of the imperial
court, the more likely were they to respect and
spare some relics of the ancient civilization.
when tho power over much of 1t should fall to
their share.
For certain period the general objects Of
Julian's Government were kept In view, and
the legislation of his immediate successors
shows the same desire to check the abuses of
officials especially in regard to the post system.
Neither did tho impulse which he had given
toward the encouragement Of the arts and SOL
ences cease to act, but showed itself In the lib
eral provisions for higher teaching in the Uni
versity at Constantinople and in the privileges
which were continued to the medical profession.
Even in religious affairs there was not at once
total change Of policy. Jovian. Valentinian.
and their successors were known. indeed.
to be Christians. but prudence dictated a
programme Of comparative toeration. As
suredly, tho adherents Of pagansm were
not for some time prosecuted. Under
Valentinian and Valens. tho clergy. to be
sure. gradually recovered their former privi-
leges. and Christian teachers again received tho
right of educating the young. Sunday and
Easter were again recognized as holidays Tho
property Of Pagan temples was conflscated to
the State and sacrifices which involved blood
shed as we'll nocturnal meetings were pro-
hibited. Yet. even here. concessions were
made to local popular feeling: thus. tho
Eleusinian Mysteries were excepted from
the prohibition, and. for a time. the
State professed the intention of protecting the
liberty and security of men of all religions. 1t
should further be noted that Julian's policy of
non-intcrvention in the conflict of parties with
In the Church was for the most part. adhered
to, till tho civil arm intervened to give the final
determination to that ascendancy of the Athan-
asian creed which had been already practically
decided by means other than those of nero tor
rorism. Except among the barbarian Goths,
Arianism seems not to have had much vitality.
1t Is not, however. by what no accomplished.
but by what he tried to do and by what he was,
that Julian raised himself to position among
thosa WI IN riyef he Of nd End
oring in the final chapter to look at him i'm
partially. the author sees in him not a genius of
the first rank in craftsmanship, strategy. ltera-
ture, or religious philosophy. not character
of Ideal virtue and strength, but man who
did something because of his earnest devotion
to ideals, and who would have done more II he
had been gifted with surer insight and had
moved at a less feverish pace. He WAS. as his
epitaph said, q good king and a strong war
rior. Yet his conduct in one trying exigency
showed him unable to meet all tho require
ments OF n disordered State, and his neglect of
precautions, especially in the Persian war, pre-
vents him from taking rank among the great
Generals Of the world. He wrote in what for
his age, is considered pure style. but he wrote
too rapidly to produce any great work. He was
a thinker, and often threw a ray of clear light on
matters obscured by convention and prejudice,
but his mind was not sufficiently calm and COL
His personal character was most attractive He
had warm affections q strong desire to do jus-
tice, and an abiding sense of moral responsible
ity. lie was. moreover. although he had been
reared amid circumstances that seemed to
compel dissimulation, of a singularly trans
parent nature. living. soon as the evil days
were over, always aboveboard, hating secrets,
proclaiming IN season and out of season his as
pirations and his principles. Nevertheless,
Nl,ArA oS
which he was incapable of approaching. and,
with all his desire for equity. he could not al
ways be fair to those whom he could not under
stand. In spite OF his realization of tho little
ness Of human effort in the universal system of
nature and man, he could not comprehend how
powerless were his own endeavors to oppose a
barrier to the incoming flood.
Yet this is not the authors final word. Turn
ing from his short and checkered career to the
main principle by which he was unwaveringly
guided, she recognizes In 1t an entire devotion
to the Greek idea OF thought and life settled
determination to prevent, SO far as in him lay
the overthrow. by what he regarded as barbarous
and degrading forces. OF that fair fabric of
ancient civilization under xhich men had
learned to venerate beauty and order, to aim at
a reasonable, self-contained life and 10 live In
orderly society under ineligible laws and
humane institutions. 1t 10 pointed out, more
over, IIht tno cause IOr WnlCn no Btr0ve has
triumphed. after all, not indeed by the
suppression Of Christian institutions, as
Julian vainly hoped, still less by the ex-
tinction of tho Christian spirit as
motive power in the world, but by the permea-
tton OF society, speculation and practical life
with the permanent elements of Greek culture
II he was mistakenin In thinking that tho religious
ideas lately come from Palestine would soon
fail before the revived ideas OF Greece, no less
shortsighted were those who thought that Hell
lenism was buried In the Emperors grave. For
better or worse. the two streams have blended.
till 1t is now hard to conceive what either might
have been apart from the other.
No attention is paid In the body OF this book
TO the legend that Julian, when he fell In his
last battle. exclaimed. 20 Galilean. Thou hast
conquered!" AS It is pointed out In note ap-
pended to tho fourteenth chapter tho assertion
that these words were uttered by the dying En-
peror appears for tho first time In rheodoret
and therefore lacks any adequate authority.