Barbarian conqueror. About six weeks afterwards, Theodosius declared
his resolution of expelling from all the churches of his dominions the
bishops and their clergy who should obstinately refuse to believe, or
at least to profess, the doctrine of the council of Nice. His
lieutenant, Sapor, was armed with the ample powers of a general law, a
special commission, and a military force; and this ecclesiastical
revolution was conducted with so much discretion and vigor, that the
religion of the emperor was established, without tumult or bloodshed,
in all the provinces of the East. The writings of the Arians, if they
had been permitted to exist, would perhaps contain the lamentable
story of the persecution, which afflicted the church under the reign
of the impious Theodosius; and the sufferings of their
holy confessors might claim the pity of the disinterested reader. Yet
there is reason to imagine, that the violence of zeal and revenge was,
in some measure, eluded by the want of resistance; and that, in their
adversity, the Arians displayed much less firmness than had been
exerted by the orthodox party under the reigns of Constantius and
Valens. The moral character and conduct of the hostile sects appear to
have been governed by the same common principles of nature and
religion: but a very material circumstance may be discovered, which
tended to distinguish the degrees of their theological faith. Both
parties, in the schools, as well as in the temples, acknowledged and
worshipped the divine majesty of Christ; and, as we are always prone
to impute our own sentiments and passions to the Deity, it would be
deemed more prudent and respectful to exaggerate, than to
circumscribe, the adorable perfections of the Son of God. The disciple
of Athanasius exulted in the proud confidence, that he had entitled
himself to the divine favor; while the follower of Arius must have
been tormented by the secret apprehension, that he was guilty,
perhaps, of an unpardonable offence, by the scanty praise, and