revolt of Britain was produced. Accident is commonly the parent of
disorder; the seeds of rebellion happened to fall on a soil which was
supposed to be more fruitful than any other in tyrants and usurpers;
the legions of that sequestered island had been long famous for a
spirit of presumption and arrogance; and the name of Maximus was
proclaimed, by the tumultuary, but unanimous voice, both of the
soldiers and of the provincials. The emperor, or the rebel, -- for
this title was not yet ascertained by fortune, -- was a native of
Spain, the countryman, the fellow-soldier, and the rival of Theodosius
whose elevation he had not seen without some emotions of envy and
resentment: the events of his life had long since fixed him in
Britain; and I should not be unwilling to find some evidence for the
marriage, which he is said to have contracted with the daughter of a
wealthy lord of Caernarvonshire. But this provincial rank might justly
be considered as a state of exile and obscurity; and if Maximus had
obtained any civil or military office, he was not invested with the
authority either of governor or general. His abilities, and even his
integrity, are acknowledged by the partial writers of the age; and the
merit must indeed have been conspicuous that could extort such a
confession in favor of the vanquished enemy of Theodosius. The
discontent of Maximus might incline him to censure the conduct of his
sovereign, and to encourage, perhaps, without any views of ambition,
the murmurs of the troops. But in the midst of the tumult, he
artfully, or modestly, refused to ascend the throne; and some credit
appears to have been given to his own positive declaration, that he
was compelled to accept the dangerous present of the Imperial purple.

But there was danger likewise in refusing the empire; and from the
moment that Maximus had violated his allegiance to his lawful
sovereign, he could not hope to reign, or even to live, if he confined