158 THE DECLINE AND FALL the insults of the popuhice. The Arian ecclesiastics who ventured to shew themst'lves in the streets were exposed to the most imminent danger of their lives; and Ambrose enjoyed the merit and reputation of resruincf his personal enemies from the hands of the enraged nmltitude. But, while he laboured to restrain the effects of their zeal, the pathetic vehemence of his sermons continually inflamed the anjjry and seditious temper of the people of Milan. The characters of Eve, of the wife of Job, of Jezebel, of Herodias, were indecently applied to the mother of the emperor ; and her desire to obtain a church for the Arians was compared to the most cruel persecutions which Christianity had endured under the reign of Paganism. The measures of the court served only to expose the magnitude of the evil. A fine of two hundred pounds of gold was imposed on the corporate body of merchants and manufacturers : an order was signified, in the name of the emperor, to all the officers, and inferior servants, of the courts of justice, that, during the continuance of the public disorders, they should strictly confine themselves to their houses : and the ministers of V'alentinian imprudently confessed that the most respectable part of the citizens of Milan was attached to the cause of their archbishop. He was .igain solicited to restore peace to his country, by a timely compliance with the will of his sovereign. The reply of Ambrose was couched in the most humble and respectful terms, which might, however, be interpreted as a serious declaration of civil war. " His life and fortune were in the hands of the emperor ; but he would never betray the church of Christ or degrade the dignity of the episcopal character. In such a cause, he was prepared to suffer whatever the malice of the daemon could inflict ; and he only wished to die in the presence of his faithful flock, and at the foot of the altar ; he had not contributed to excite, but it was in the power of God alone to appease, the rage of the people : he deprecated the scenes of blood and confusion which were likely to ensue ; and it was his fervent prayer that he might not survive to behold the ruin of a flourishing city and perhaps the desolation of all Italy.^^ The obstinate bigotry of Justina would have endangered the ••s Retz had a similar message from the queen, to request that he would appease the tumult of Paris. It was no longer in his power, &c. A quoi j'ajoutai tout ce que vous pouvez vous imaginer de respect, de douleur, de regret, et de souraission, &c.(M6moires, torn. i. p. 140). Certainly I do not comfiare either the causes or the men ; yet the coadjutor himself had some idea {p. 84) of imitating St. Ambrose.
